How to Clean the Attic

The hardest part of cleaning the attic may be getting the courage to get up there.

Who knows what lurks high above your head in the attic. These often creepy and always dusty places can be stocked with cobwebs, bats and even ghosts if you don’t give the attic a regular cleaning. At least take a dust rag to it once in a while. You can clean the attic, and maybe even find some forgotten treasures, with a few simple steps.

Things You'll Need

• Vacuum
• Rags
• Bucket of water
• Empty boxes
• Razor to open taped up boxes
• Tape to tape them shut again once you’ve looked through them

Instructions

1. Place some empty boxes and garbage bags at the bottom of the attic steps. These will serve to hold all the goodies you find you want to bring down to the attic to use, throw away or sell at your next rummage sale.

2. Climb up in the attic and make some room. If your attic is packed full and barely gives you room to turn around, take down some of the lighter, bulkier items, like fans, pillows and boxes that are not too heavy so you at least have an area to begin your work.

3. Vacuum and dust the cleared away area, making sure to get between the rafters, any vents and deep corners where weird things can lurk. Use a damp rag for crusted on dust and rinse the rag often. Once that area is cleaned, begin to move boxes and into that area to clear away a new space and repeat the process.

4. Open boxes, trunks, bag and whatever else may be stuffed up there so you can quickly look through them to determine their worth. Dust each box as you come to it. Some may be stuffed with momentos and you will automatically know you want to keep the whole trunk in the attic intact. Others may have miscellaneous stuff that no longer has any value to you.

5. Get rid of the unwanted. When you run across items that you no longer want, toss them down the stairs if they are not breakable, like clothing, pillows, stuffed animals and plastic geegaws. If you think the things might break if you toss them down the stairs, keep another empty box next to you in the attic to gather up the unwanted stuff as you move along.

6. Take down the box full of unwanted stuff and clear away the bottom of the stairs as you go through the process. You don’t want to create a box of unwanted stuff that’s so cumbersome it’s sitting around getting in your way or a pile so tall you will never be able to climb down out of the attic.

Tips & Warnings

• The vacuum will work best if you use the hose attachment to suck up all the dust.

• Refresh your water bucket often, especially if it’s turning black.

• Don’t be freaked out if you find live mice, dead mice, bats and lots of spiders. Letting the attic get piled up and unused invites such critters.