A January reset: the deep clean checklist we use ourselves

January cleaning is different from spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is about throwing open the windows and renewing. January cleaning is about quietly putting the house back together after Christmas. Less catharsis. More closure.

Here's the checklist we use ourselves, in roughly the order we'd do it.

Start with the tree (if it's still up) and the decorations. Don't just pack them away — give every glass bauble a quick wipe before it goes into the box. They'll come out next December clean. We label every box with what's inside and which room it lives in. Future you will thank past you.

Move to the kitchen. The oven, after Christmas, has seen things. We pull the racks out, leave them to soak in a bath of hot water and dishwasher tablets while we tackle the cavity with a non-caustic oven cleaner. The hob, the extractor filter, the inside of the microwave. Defrost the freezer if you can spare the time — January is the only month it's not painful.

The fridge gets a full empty. Out come the half-eaten Stiltons and the unopened jars of cranberry. Wipe every shelf with hot water and a tiny bit of bicarbonate of soda. Don't use bleach — it lingers.

Now the soft furnishings. Christmas brings dust. Wash all the throws and cushion covers. Vacuum the sofa cushions, both sides, and underneath them. If you have a fabric sofa, this is the moment for a steam clean.

January cleaning is about closure, not catharsis.

Windows, top to bottom, inside. The light is low in January and dirty windows make it worse. Take down the lampshades, dust them, put them back. Wipe the bulbs while they're cold. A clean bulb gives noticeably more light — we promise.

The last step is the smallest. Walk through every room with a single bin bag and a single thought: what doesn't belong here? An odd sock from the bedroom that's in the kitchen. A book that's lived in the hall for three months. A candle that died in November. Put each thing back where it lives, or out of the house entirely. January is not the time to start a new project. It's the time to finish the old ones.