CSI approach to decluttering

I've never really been the domestic goddess type but over the last couple of years (particularly with my own house) I've realised that I've never had a proper sort of system for doing deep deep cleaning ...you know the behind the press cleaning...where you find you have been breeding strains of cholera with the amount of dirt. Usually I waited until the dirt was actually seeping from behind the press before doing something about it...this year I decided to be different.

One of my favourite authors is Jeffery Deaver and one of his heros is a CSI called Lincoln Rhyme (who also happens to be a quadraplegic...) . Lincoln's approach to a crime scene is "work the grid"..break the crimescene into squares and systematically tackle it that way. That inspired me..then I came across another website which suggested doing a room per month. Hey presto I had my system. I do deep cleaning on one room a month BUT I only do one job per time...do one "square of the grid". So this month I did our sitting room: did the window one day (including curtains), then the DVD/TV corner another day. And it's really working!

In fact I suggested to my 11 year old son (OK, I did a BIT more than suggest <g>) that we tackle his dirtpit, sorry bedroom, using this approach. We broke the room into small pieces. Let's just say that under the bed represents one major chunk...and spent about 45 minutes on it. And it really worked. Usually when I suggested tidying his room, it was met with howls of indignation about how it "was too much" but this approach really worked. I cunningly suggested that we do something fun after each sector was completed...at the moment that's watch an episode of Blakes 7 together...