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This is the second article of the two part series How Clean is Clean?. Read part one if you haven’t already.

In the first article, I addressed some principles and foundational issues for keeping the church clean. This article will give you some specific standards and ideas you can implement that will help you practice the art of Clean-Fu beyond the day-to-day rituals.

• The cleaner the better. The only people I know of who complain of something being too clean are the self-righteous, jealous-type like television character Marie Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond. Don’t be afraid to be an over-achiever when it comes to cleaning the church.
• Straighten chairs in the sanctuary and classrooms. Make sure the chairs in the sanctuary are straight and equally spaced front to back. If the spacing gets out of whack, some of your attenders will feel like their sitting in the economy seats in an airplane while others will be sitting in luxury first class.
• Empty garbage early in the week and check it again at the end of the week. You never know what may have crept into your garbage cans mid-week. Remember those 30 young mothers with preschool-aged kids? By the way, they fed them tuna fish and egg salad sandwiches and threw the half-eaten leftovers in the trash.
• The bathrooms should smell nice and be stocked with paper towels and toilet paper. Place fresh flowers in the women’s bathroom if your budget can handle it, but regularly dusted fake flowers if not.
• Glass should be cleaned of streaks and fingerprints. Unless the current trend in glass entrances is smudgy-translucent, feel free to leave the hand prints and smears on your glass doors. I know this is a very difficult thing to keep clean and you’ll have to Windex them every time you turn around but it’s worth it.
• Door knobs and handles should be wiped off, especially in the wintertime. Believers are commissioned to spread the gospel, not the latest sickness going around. An ounce of prevention…
• Toys used in the nursery or children’s ministry should be cleaned weekly. Since I have a child who has recently graduated from the nursery, I’m well aware of the parental concerns about cleanliness in the room where babies are infatuated with jamming things into their mouths while fluids drain from their facial orifices. It’s like the previous point except us adults don’t chew on door knobs and drool on each other.

When you have yourself on cleaning schedule, make a list of things to do at the last minute to make sure the building is in suitable condition for visitors and regular attenders. Walk through the building late in the day on Saturday or early Sunday morning prior to your first scheduled event and pay attention to these details along with any from your own list.

• First, enter the building and put on the lenses of a visitor.
• Is there anything laying around (piles of papers, stray Bibles, coats)? Are the pews or chairs clear of debris or youth ministry shrapnel?
• Are the chairs and tables straight?
• Is the nursery in presentable condition?
• Are the piano and other items on the platform dusted?
• Is the glass still clean?

Do you have tips and ideas for keeping your building clean and being efficient as part of the cleaning staff? Share them in the comments.

Tags: Facilities