Now that school has started and your children are no longer in the home, this is probably a great time for you to get your house clean from top to bottom. In addition, consider making a plan for maintaining your house's cleanliness. From creating a cleaning calendar to hiring a professional cleaning crew, here are some ideas for you to clean and maintain a clean house.

Get Started - Using a calendar, make a cleaning plan that will be easy for you to follow.

For the initial cleaning, decide on how many days you need to get the job done. For example, if you want to do all of the work fast, choose a day when you won't have to leave your house so you can use the entire time to do your cleaning.

If you have given yourself several days in which to thoroughly clean your house, space the chores over all of those days. For example, on Monday you could clean all of the bathrooms. Don't forget to include drawers and cabinets in your cleaning plan. Tuesdays could be for cleaning bedrooms, Wednesdays for your kitchen, and so on.

Arrange For Professionals - Perhaps you have decided that you can't thoroughly clean your house by yourself. If so, arranging for a house cleaning company to send experienced workers to help you would be a great idea. A company like IQ CLEANING can give you more details.

Before the workers come, think of clearing your house of things that simply need to be put away (e.g. children's toys, dishes, etc.). After all, the workers wouldn't know where they belong.

It may be that you want the workers to concentrate on certain parts of your house. For example, your kitchen cabinets and countertops may need extra attention. Be sure to make a note of these spots before the service arrives. Does the cleaning service include changing bed linens? If you have a specific way that you like your beds made, show the cleaners on the first time. They'll catch on fast!

Once your initial cleaning has been done, think about maintaining it with a plan in mind. For example, use Saturdays when the family is together for you to go through your entire house with chores for each person to accomplish. And, if you were happy with the work that was done by those who came from the house cleaning company, think about having them return on a regular basis.