We have all had to endure the chores of cleaning and we have all cleaned at different levels. We’ve wiped everything down with a wet rag, to dawning the hazmat suit to use industrial strength chemicals, or to tossing in a match and starting over. I have used the hazmat suits, when I was in the military. I have never gotten so far as to just torch everything, but I have considered it.

At my house I am responsible for all the cleaning and that’s all right. It fits for our family. My wife works and I’m the stay-at-home dad. I have my routines for cleaning the house that make it relatively easy. I clean one area of the house each day.

However, there is one place I lack when it comes to cleaning and that’s my Geek Cave. I have come to the conclusion that cleaning a Geek’s area is a lot different from regular cleaning and wwwaaaayyyy more time consuming. One inherent thing about being a Geek is we all collect stuff. Lots of stuff. There are books, posters, board games, video game consoles, video games, costumes, action figures, models, and much more. When we collect all of this stuff, we tend to cram it all into one small area. All that cramming makes it very difficult to clean.

I have lots of Star Wars Legos and several of them hang from the ceiling. Like everything else they collect dust, but those little Lego bumps make it impossible to clean the ships off. Then there are my action figures. I have to move all of them, clean, and then stand them all up again. Don’t get me started on my desk with its piles of papers, books, and little figures. What would normally take five minutes to wipe down, can be an all-day project. I’m not exaggerating about the all-day project, especially if I start playing with my stuff.

There is one shelf that is the worst. It is the top shelf of my bookcase. Every square inch is covered in Lego Star Wars mini-figures. In between those mini-figures is a lot of dust. I dread cleaning this shelf because it takes so long to set them all back up. The last time I cleaned this shelf, which was sometime during this past winter, I simply took the duster and swiped all the mini-figures to one side. They laid there in a pile for over month before I took the time to set them all back up.

I should not complain. I have heard of a lot worse areas. All you have to do is turn on Hoarders. I guess I should be thankful for the small area I have for my Geek Cave and how little it is cluttered. I still do not want to clean that Lego mini-figure shelf!

Some of the ways I clean are actually quite simple. Start from the top and work down. That means dusting first. Get the corners of the walls and the ceiling. You’d be amazed as to how many cobwebs you will find and most of those webs will be connected to anything like Lego ships you have hanging. So, grab ahold of those ships and give them a wipe down. I use a Swiffer Duster. It does a good job getting the big stuff off of Legos. The only way you will get them completely clean is to use water and sometimes that means taking the Lego apart.

Next hit those shelves. For this use a damp rag. It’s the best way to get those shelves looking good, especially if the shelves are black like mine. I know glass displays look awesome, but they look dirty quick and getting the glass back to a nice shine really takes a lot. When I hit my shelves, the only thing you can do is to move the collectables off to get everything clean. I have found when I move my collectables to clean, I find inspiration to re-organize how I display my stuff.

The last thing I do is vacuum. Do the best you can to move items on the floor. I know that is more difficult than said, but do the best you can.

I’m not really good at cleaning my Geek Cave, but I try to clean at least once a month. But, one thing is still for sure. I hate cleaning that Lego minifig shelf!

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