The charming bungalows and mid-century ranch homes that line Homewood's tree-shaded streets weren't built with massive closets or open-concept storage in mind. Most of these 1950s-era homes feature smaller rooms, built-in cabinets, and hardwood floors that show every speck of dust—especially during Alabama's notoriously humid summers when pollen from the oaks and pines seems to coat every surface. That Red Mountain clay gets tracked inside on shoes, settling into grout lines and baseboards, while the humidity makes clutter feel even more oppressive. When you're preparing for a deep clean in one of these classic homes, you quickly realize that moving piles from the coffee table to the couch isn't going to cut it.

Here's the thing about deep cleaning: it only works when your cleaning team can actually reach the surfaces that need attention. Those baseboards caked with clay dust, the hardwood floors that need proper treatment, the ceiling fans collecting humid-air grime—none of them get properly cleaned if they're blocked by stacks of mail, kids' toys, or that exercise equipment you meant to use. Decluttering first isn't about being judgmental; it's about making your investment in professional cleaning actually count. When you clear the decks before the cleaning crew arrives, you're ensuring they spend their time scrubbing and sanitizing rather than navigating obstacle courses through your living room.

Declutter First: The 40% Rule

Professional cleaners consistently report that homes with clear surfaces take 35–45% less time to clean thoroughly. That means a better result — or the same time spent going deeper on what matters.

Where to Start in a Homewood Home

The Kitchen Counter Problem

Homewood kitchens accumulate countertop appliances quickly: air fryers, Instant Pots, coffee systems, smoothie makers. The rule: if you don't use it at least weekly, it goes in a cabinet or out of the house. Goal: one clear strip of counter behind the sink and at least half of all counter space unoccupied.

The Bathroom Surface Audit

The average American bathroom has 17 items on the counter. Ideal is 3–5. Everything else goes in a drawer, medicine cabinet, or under-sink storage. This transforms a 15-minute bathroom clean into a 7-minute one.

Bedroom Floor Rules

Anything on a bedroom floor that isn't furniture is clutter. Under-bed storage with a flat lid surface is the best Homewood solution for extra storage without floor clutter.

The Flat Surface Principle

Every flat surface — dressers, nightstands, coffee tables, bookshelves — should have at most 3 objects on it. Everything else creates visual noise and collects dust.

Room-by-Room Declutter Plan

Kitchen (2–4 Hours)

  1. Pull everything out of one cabinet at a time
  2. Group: keep, donate, toss, relocate
  3. Apply the "last used" test: if unused in 12 months, it goes
  4. Tackle the junk drawer last
  5. Clear all countertops; return only daily-use items

Closets (1–2 Hours Each)

  1. Remove everything entirely
  2. Clean the empty closet
  3. Evaluate each item: does it fit, do you love it, have you used it in the last year?
  4. Return only what passes; bag the rest for donation

Living Areas (1–2 Hours)

  1. Remove all items not permanently belonging to that room
  2. Reduce decorative items to "gallery-worthy" only
  3. Cable management — loose cords are clutter and dust magnets

The Donation Schedule

In Homewood, these organizations accept household goods and furniture:

Maintaining It

The one-in-one-out rule: every time something new enters your home, something equivalent leaves. Applied consistently, this maintains your decluttered space without periodic purges.

Once you've decluttered, TotalCare Cleaning can give your Homewood home the deep clean it deserves. Call (888) 378-7451 to schedule.