While the holiday season brings joy and celebration, it can also leave behind clutter and hidden messes. January is the perfect time to reset your childcare program’s space, ensuring it is prepared for the months ahead.
This article provides a detailed checklist for January cleaning tasks, helping childcare programs tackle post-holiday cleanup and prepare for the peak winter illness season. By following these steps, you will learn how to perform a post-holiday deep clean, implement effective disinfecting strategies, and maintain a safe space throughout the month.
Post-holiday deep cleaning checklist
After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, your facility likely needs a reset. This section guides providers through a thorough deep clean to restore order and hygiene to their spaces.
Declutter and organize
The first step in your January cleaning routine is to clear out the remnants of December.
- Take down and properly store holiday decorations: Carefully remove all holiday decor. Inspect each item for damage before packing it away in labeled bins. This prevents you from storing broken items and makes next year's decorating much easier.
- Organize play areas: Sort through toys and materials in the classrooms. Discard or repair any broken items that may have been damaged during the excitement of the holiday season. Ensure that all bins are labeled and returned to their designated spots.
- Clear out storage: Take time to organize storage closets and supply cabinets. Dispose of expired supplies or materials that are no longer useful to free up space for the new year’s inventory.
Deep clean surfaces and furniture
Once the clutter is gone, focus on the surfaces that often get overlooked during daily cleaning.
- Wipe down walls and fixtures: Use a mild cleaning solution to wipe down all walls, baseboards, and light switches. These areas collect dust and fingerprints over time and can harbor germs.
- Thoroughly clean tables and shelving: Remove all items from tables, chairs, and shelving units to clean and disinfect them thoroughly. Pay special attention to the undersides of tables and chairs where little hands often leave sticky residue.
- Shampoo carpets and rugs: Holiday foot traffic can track in dirt, salt, and allergens. Shampooing carpets and rugs removes deep-seated grime and freshens the air. Don't forget to deep clean hard-surface floors by stripping and waxing if necessary, or simply giving them a heavy-duty scrub.
Sanitize toys and learning materials
Germs linger on high-touch items, making toy sanitation a critical part of your deep clean.
- Wash fabrics: Gather all machine-washable soft toys, dress-up clothes, and fabric learning materials. Launder them according to the manufacturer's instructions using the warmest appropriate water setting.
- Disinfect hard toys: Disinfect plastic and hard-surface toys by soaking them in a child-safe sanitizing solution or running them through a dishwasher's sanitizing cycle if applicable. Ensure they are completely dry before returning them to the play area.
- Wipe down shared materials: Books, puzzles, and board games should be wiped down with disinfectant wipes or a cloth dampened with a sanitizing solution.
The Ultimate Cleaning Guide for Childcare Programs
Use this guide to create safe and healthy spaces for children, staff, and families.
Preparing for winter illnesses
January often marks the height of cold and flu season. Proactive cleaning measures are essential to minimize the spread of germs and protect the health of your staff and the children in your care.
High-touch point disinfection routine
Germs spread quickly on surfaces that are touched frequently. Establishing a rigorous disinfection routine is your first line of defense.
- Create a daily schedule: Implement a schedule specifically for disinfecting high-touch surfaces multiple times a day. Ideally, this should happen mid-morning, after lunch, and at the end of the day.
- Focus on key areas: Your checklist should include doorknobs, light switches, faucet handles, toilet flushers, and cabinet pulls. These are prime vectors for virus transmission.
- Use effective products: It is crucial to use an EPA-approved disinfectant. Always follow the label instructions regarding "contact time"—the amount of time the surface must remain wet for the disinfectant to effectively kill germs.
Restroom and diapering station sanitation
Restrooms and diapering areas require strict hygiene protocols to prevent outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses and other infections.
- Restroom protocols: Outline a daily and weekly cleaning protocol for restrooms. Toilets, sinks, and floors should be disinfected daily. Deep cleaning of grout and hard-to-reach areas should occur weekly.
- Diapering stations: Follow strict step-by-step instructions for cleaning and sanitizing diaper-changing stations after each use. This involves cleaning the surface with soap and water, applying a disinfectant, and allowing it to air dry for the required contact time.
- Stock supplies: Ensure that soap dispensers, paper towel holders, and hand sanitizer stations are fully stocked at all times to encourage proper hand hygiene among staff and children.
Improving indoor air quality
With windows often closed against the cold, indoor air quality can suffer, concentrating airborne germs.
- Check HVAC filters: Inspect and replace HVAC filters to ensure clean air circulation. A clogged filter cannot effectively trap dust and allergens.
- Use air purifiers: Consider using air purifiers with HEPA filters in classrooms and common areas. These devices can capture airborne particles, including viruses and bacteria, significantly improving air quality.
- Ventilate when possible: Even in winter, opening windows for brief periods when the weather permits can flush out stale air and introduce fresh air, reducing the concentration of indoor pollutants.
Ongoing January maintenance tasks
Consistency is key. While a deep clean resets the space, ongoing daily and weekly tasks maintain that level of cleanliness throughout the month.
Daily cleaning checklist
- Floors: Sweep or vacuum floors to remove crumbs and debris that attract pests.
- Mealtime surfaces: Wipe down and sanitize mealtime surfaces before and after every use.
- Waste management: Empty all trash and recycling bins daily to prevent odors and bacterial growth.
- Spot cleaning: Address spills and messes immediately as they happen to prevent stains and sticky spots.
Weekly cleaning checklist
- Floors: Mop all hard-surface floors with a suitable cleaner to remove build-up.
- Appliances: Clean the interior and exterior of appliances like refrigerators and microwaves. Toss out old food from the fridge.
- Windows: Wipe down windowsills and interior glass to remove nose prints and dust.
- Bedding: Launder all bedding, cot sheets, and blankets to keep naptime areas fresh and hygienic.
A fresh start for a healthy year
A comprehensive January cleaning session sets a positive tone for the rest of the year. By addressing post-holiday clutter, preparing for seasonal illnesses, and sticking to a regular maintenance schedule, you create a safer, more welcoming environment.
A clean start to the year helps protect the health and well-being of the children in your care and your staff, reducing sick days and ensuring that learning continues uninterrupted.
