You’ve Gone Wall-Blind, and Here’s How to Fix It

Ever heard of nose blindness? When you get so used to smells at home that you don’t even notice them anymore? We think the phenomenon extends to your other senses; specifically, there’s one cleaning blind spot you might be missing.

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Our walls and baseboards are so much a part of our surroundings that we don’t often take time to notice how they’re looking. But upon closer inspection, you may be slightly aghast at what you see, especially if you have children or pets. From about waist height down, you’ll likely notice all kinds of fingerprints, smudges, rub marks and splatters, depending on the room you’re in.

This weekend we’re going to erase these marks and smudges and the difference, though subtle, will definitely be one you appreciate.

• A duster or a stack of dryer sheets
• A Magic Eraser (aka melamine foam) OR a rag and a mild all-purpose cleaner

1. Dust. Before you grab your Magic Eraser, you’ll want to make sure your baseboards are dust-free. Dust them with either a dusting wand or with dryer sheets, which should help repel dust.

2. Test your walls. If you choose to use a Magic Eraser, which I find is the easiest for this task, make sure to test it on an inconspicuous area first so you’re not accidentally scrubbing away any paint. If the Magic Eraser damages your walls, or you just prefer not to use one, a rag dampened with all-purpose cleaner will also work.

3. Clean kitchen or dining room walls. Pay special attention to the walls near your table. Chairs that scrape the wall or food splatters can make these walls particularly dirty.

4. Clean the rest of your walls. Pay special attention to walls, particularly corners, that your pets rub their bodies against. You’ll often find these areas dingy from body oils. Also pay attention to corners that your kids may tend to grab onto while they enter or exit rooms. You’ll likely find greasy little hand marks here too.

5. Erase marks on your baseboards. Once your baseboards are dusted, these marks are easy to notice. At first glance, you may think your baseboards need to be painted, but you’ll be surprised to find that most of these scuffs can be easily wiped away.

Wiping down walls and baseboards gives you the feeling of freshly painted walls with a lot less time and effort. Enjoy your clean cocoon.

You can catch up with weekend projects right here. Share your progress with us and others by posting updates and photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #atweekendproject.

Remember: This is about improvement, not perfection. Each week you can either choose to work on the assignment we’ve sent you, or tackle another project you’ve been meaning to get to. It’s also completely okay to skip a weekend if you’re busy or not feeling the assignment.