Nothing motivates a clean house quite like a phone call from unexpected guests saying they’re coming over for a visit. (Or am I the only one?)
Over the years, I’ve picked up some tried-and-true secrets for how to clean a house fast when you just need to get it done quickly!
A few years ago, I spent some time researching how professionals clean houses and studied the basic methods of speed cleaning. I still use many of the tricks I learned back then. These tips from professional cleaners will take you from a messy house to a clean home in a surprisingly short amount of time.
7 Simple Tricks for Speed Cleaning
1. Prioritize which rooms to spend your limited time on.
The first thing to do is decide which rooms to speed clean based on the cleaning time you have.
For instance, when I’m short on time, my game plan is to focus on the living room and main-floor spaces, not the entire house! I can clean the bedrooms and main bathroom upstairs when I have extra time.
2. Tidy one room at a time.
Before you get to the cleaning tasks, each room needs to be tidied of the extra clutter that builds up in daily life.
Focus on one room at a time and quickly gather up items that belong elsewhere. A laundry basket helps with this. If the area is especially messy, grab a garbage bag too and toss things in as you go.
3. Move quickly.
Put on some peppy music if it helps, and keep your body moving as fast as you can. Stay on task, tidying one room completely before moving on to the next. Don’t start tidying the dining room before you finish the living room!
4. Gather your favorite cleaning tools and supplies.
Once a room is tidied, you can get down to the cleaning part, so grab your favorite tools and get to work! Some people like a cleaning caddy for this, always stocked and ready to go.
Here are my favorite cleaning products for each room:
- Living Room & Dining Room: A wet microfiber cloth with clean water to dust the coffee table, bookshelves, and end tables (I use the Norwex Envirocloth); a vacuum for my throw rugs and hard floors; a microfiber mop for laminate floors
- Kitchen: A microfiber kitchen cloth with water for wiping down cabinets, countertops, the kitchen sink, microwave, stove, and small appliances. A microfiber window cloth to shine the windows and the kitchen sink and faucets.
- Bathroom: A microfiber cloth for counters, mirror, and sink. My homemade cleaner for how to clean glass shower doors quickly (which also works great on my fiberglass shower tub unit), paper towels and toilet bowl cleaner for the toilet, and a microfiber mop for the floors.
- Bedrooms: A microfiber cloth for dusting the floating bedside tables and dresser; a vacuum for the rugs
5. Clean from top to bottom.
The best way to clean a room is to work your way around it clockwise, from the top (ceiling) down to the bottom (floors).
This sounds complicated, but it isn’t! Just pick a starting spot in the room, like the far corner away from the door, and clean from the top down.
The logic is this: you don’t want to dust ceiling fans and light fixtures and have the dust fall onto your freshly cleaned hard floors! Cleaning from top to bottom keeps you from undoing work you’ve already done.
You’ll get so much more done in less time when you follow a methodical system.
6. Do laundry as you clean.
While you’re cleaning, start a load of clothes or bedding in the washing machine. It can run while you work on other things! Once the rooms are done, you can put fresh, clean sheets on your bed. It feels great to relax in a refreshed bedroom after a hard day of cleaning!
7. Develop a cleaning routine that works for you!
The last thing I want to mention is that it’s a good idea to set a cleaning schedule that works for you. If you get into a routine of doing small tasks consistently, cleaning the whole house won’t take nearly as much time.
Want more ideas for you & your home?
