Before I go forth with cleaning the battery, it's got lots of grease and dirt covered all over, any precautions that I should look out for?

sorry for the newbie question but the negative is on the left side next to the fuse box rite..

 

dont use water,..well you can but dont hose it down or anything,..just wipe it down yourself being very careful that you dont get the terminals wet,...and yes the negative is closer to the fuse box,...it should have a "-" sign next to it and the positive terminal should have a "+" sign next it,..and to clean the terminals you should use a terminal brush which is basically a wire brush

 

can't you also use a mixture of water and baking soda to clean off the terminals?

 

Yes.

 

i don't clean my car h: