How are you supposed to clean your ears properly? How often?

I was listening to my Ipod with my In-ear earbuds and I noticed that they were all disgusting and waxy as usual. So I cleaned my ears with quetips like I normally do once a week. Afterwards, I checked on how you're really supposed to clean them, but the internet said not to clean the ear canal at all with quetips, because it shoves the crap right back to the eardrum. So how do I clean my ears safely and keep the earbuds clean as well?