The Importance of a Clean Home

I’ve always wanted to own my own home. For years before we purchased this home, I thought about what it would be like to decorate as I wanted, spending time in the aisles of Hobby Lobby and Home Goods. Taking the time to build out Pinterest boards for every room in the house and making those boards into a reality. Dragging my husband along with me to stores and online shopping sessions to ask for his opinion to things he’d just answer with, “Whatever you want.”

For many many many years, before marriage, kids and busy side gigs, my mom and I would spend some weekends touring model homes in new neighborhoods or looking at open houses for sale. All of these homes were beautiful and I mentally stored inspiration for my future house. 

I don’t know why, but I automatically assumed that those model homes is what my house would look like. Back then, I didn’t have a thought of owning acres and living outside of a traditional community. I just figured I’d purchase a home in the same sort of neighborhood I grew up in and all my friends had, but as I got older, I wanted the peace and serenity that comes with being more removed.

Technically, we are in a neighborhood, but the houses aren’t cookie-cutter, they are spaced apart, I live on a 1.75 acre corner lot, and life is good. But, as any homeowner knows, ownership of a home and property is never as straightforward as one would hope. It never crossed my mind about owning a home after someone else has already lived in it for many years. Like, I was for it or against it – it literally wasn’t a thought. But taking over a home from someone else could mean that you end up with a house that needs a lot in the way of updates, repairs and cleaning because it just wasn’t maintained in the way that you would have. And that’s an okay reality.

That’s where we were (and still are, in some ways) when we purchased this home of ours. 

The first thing we did before moving in was deep clean every crevice, window sill, grout line, and bathroom fixture (we replaced the toilets because there was no making me comfortable with used toilets, sorry), and continued to clean baseboards, walls, doors, and closet handles. I mean, we got.in.there.

The floors had to have 20 years of built-up grime that I think we are still pulling up. Honestly, I think we are better off just replacing the entirety of the tile, but that’s an expensive project given our open floor plan. I really should’ve hired cleaners and just been done with it because, for the amount of time it took me, I would’ve been better off.

For the outside, though, I got a little smarter and brought in a company. Do you know the difference pressure washing the outside of your home, patio floor and driveway makes? A company like ZAP Cleaning can completely change the look of surfaces around your home! And I am not ashamed to admit how obsessed I am with watching pressure washing videos. Seriously just take a look! You won’t be able to keep your eyes off of the process. 

For ZAP Cleaning’s residential services, they specialize in concrete cleaning, deck cleaning, house washing, residential power washing, and roof washing, but you can even opt for more. Located close by in Sarasota, it’s a no-brainer for any new home. Start fresh with clean siding, clear windows, and impressive curb appeal. Then, you can easily maintain it from there!

It’s from experience that I know that it’s entirely possible to purchase a home, put most of your savings into a 20% downpayment and kitchen renovation and still not feel like this house is your home. It’s important to maintain your home, fix it up to your liking, put the effort and time into it, and have that responsibility to feel even more connected to this major, long-term purchase of yours. 

I’m so glad that we took this house seriously before we even moved in, making sure it was as ready for us as possible! It made such a huge difference, especially because I had two young kids — Max had just turned 2 and Juliette was barely 6 months old. I couldn’t imagine my husband and I getting more done by ourselves than we did without help and I certainly can’t imagine doing anything with these little ones running around and getting in the way, plus taking up tons of time.

If you’re purchasing a home, do yourself a favor and invest in having a professional cleaning company take care of both the inside and outside for you. It makes all the difference!