Cleaning and greasing rear shock linkages

[Wypipo]

I took my rear shock off to change the spring and while I?m at it I want to clean and grease all of the linkage bearings. Sorry if this stuff seems simple, I?ve never done any of these things before.
The linkage is all very dirty. What is a good way to clean them before I take the end caps off to get to the bearings? I?m worried about pushing dirt through the seals and into the bearings.