A Quicker Way to Clean House

I dont know about any of you guys...but usually by the time I have cleaned my home top to bottom and spent a whole day doing it....the first thing I cleaned needs to be cleaned again! LOL It is impossible with pets, kids and a hubby running through like a hurricane!

The best way to make your home APPEAR to be clean is to get rid of clutter. A home that's clean but cluttered looks dirty. It's also easier to clean without stuff in the way.

As a single father, (My daughter is raised now) I was in school and working, afterwards I would pick my daughter up from my parents house, go home, start dinner...then her and I would vacuum, whether it needed it or not, dust things off. After dinner clean the kitchen. Keeping on top of your house work is well over half the battle...! My daughter is married and has two young boys, and from her up bringing, her home is Immaculate!!

I clean like this. I go and make all the beds , fold all the blankets and fluff the pillows on the couch then start the table pick ups .Move to the vacuum. Mop then clean the kitchen . Cleaning is not hard if you do a little everyday.

I would add an additional step, before the others: Putting things away. If you have kids or even a husband who acts like a kid, there are always items out of place. I would sweep through the house, top to bottom and put items back in their place, then start dusting. It's easier to dust or wipe down surfaces when there isn't clutter in the way.

I thought this was going to be another one of those boring re-hash articles. I was very pleasantly surprised! I knew some of this but, not all of it. Very informative!

The fastest way to clean your home is to hire someone else to do it. YES!

This is all a bunch of bunk. You don't need bleach to "disinfect" anything. Use a bit of hydrogen peroxide with a small amount of water and a bit of "green" non toxic liquid detergent in a pan of water for your bathroom and kitchen...swish it around and use a cloth to wipe around areas.

You can also just use the hydrogen peroxide wipes available now. Use a few to wipe the bathroom and kitchen floors, sinks, etc.. when in a hurry. Kills the germs. After all isn't peroxide what you use when you cut yourself, to make sure it is disinfected?

Bleach is toxic, hurts the lungs, not needed and peroxide basically does the same thing as bleach. I also add a bit of peroxide when I wash my sheets or towels...just put dye free "green" laundry detergent in the washing machine then throw in about an ounce or two of peroxide, turn the machine on and when the water starts flowing, then put in your sheets or towels. They are not only cleaned but disinfected. It also cleans your washing machine too! People waste so much money and time on bleach and all these chemicals when they are not needed. Peroxide is also great for cleaning the toilet, the wipes or the liquid solution. Peroxide kills mold, kills germs and cleans...so there you go! And it's not toxic!

like the idea of the cleaning with diluted vinegar; will try it

About dusting; I use the brush attachment on my Hepa vac on every surface of the furniture and over every chotchky (sp?), picture frame, lamp, and lamp shade, etc. In between regular vacuumings I use a swiffer sheet for quick dustings. This article doesn't touch on the advantages of keeping your home free of clutter. I have found that keeping on top of it (the clutter) my cleaning sessions are much less time consuming then, say, having to move a large pile of magazines and shoes. I also don't assign certain days to certain tasks. If the bathroom sink is dirty, I clean it. I don't put it off "because today is Wednesday and I only clean the bathroom on Fridays". I like to live in a clean home on a daily basis so when I see something that needs cleaning, I clean it. I don't wait for a specific cleaning day.

If you are REALLY CLEANING the one room at a time system is the best. Housekeeping was my business for many years.

I dust, my husband vacuums, I sweep, he mops the floors, I wipe the counters/stove, he washes the dishes, he does the laundry, I fold it and within two hours, not four, we are done. Get your significant others to help, that's what decreases your clean-up time in half!

It is incredibly easy to keep soap #$%$ off your shower doors and walls. Scrub them clean, then apply liquid lemon oil furniture polish. Buff dry and be careful not to get it in tub, it will make it dangerously slick. It will prevent soap #$%$ from sticking. Car wax also works. I go over the shower walls with a small household squeegee after I shower, and that's all I need to do (you can use a towel for textured doors). Looks good for ages!

is it really too hard to show a man cleaning the house, too?

At my age, I have to clean one room at a time. Hell if I tried dusting each room and going back to clean the furniture, then go back to clean the floors, I'd forget what I was supposed to be doing in each room. I thoroughly and I mean thoroughly clean my 2 story, 9 room house every Saturday morning. It takes me 2 hours. I've never used air freshners - I've always boiled a little water w/a capful of Vanilla Extract in it. Makes the house smell so good. I agree w/Anne - It's much easier to clean when things are put away. Also, I do a 5 to 10 minute sweep through the downstairs in the mornings before I leave for work putting away snacks from the night before, dishes in the dishwasher or putting away clean dishes, then wipe the kitchin counters.....place looks good when I come home from work.

I have been cleaning since I was 14 with my mom. I am 44 and I own my own cleaning business. There are so many problems to this article. You make beds first. Why dust then strip and make a bed and stir up more dust?? Dry dust??? So it poofs off just to land again?? Sounds like job securtiy at the owners expense! Start at one end of the house.. clean one room and move on to the next. Have your cleaning buck and a trash bag and your cloths and rags. Save floors for last either from room to room or when youare done with one level. But always wipe the bathroom floor when youa re done and on your way out. By the way... my mom is still cleaning houses that she has had for about 30 years. My aunt who is now 82 just had to quit cleaning with her because of a hysterectomy last year. Im pretty sure they know what they are doing. I have houses that I have cleaned for 14 years. :) Oh... and my work is in Fort Collins, Co, as well. I also clean 5 offices.

Save up and get a Kirby Vaccume cleaner, they can handle most of the dusting, cleaning the furniture *especially the mattress* and the floors plus unlike regular vaccumes with the synthetic bristles it won't ruin your carpet . I'm too OCD for this list lol

Anyone else find it odd that ALL the pictures are of women cleaning.

my mom always go crazy if I clean her messy house.. she will go like this "WHY IS THAT MY LIVING ROOM LOOK LESS THING IN IT??..i actually do cleaning by "getting the dirty things out of sight"..hahaha..

So... did this author want the readers to use MICROFIBERS??? I'm not quite sure if we should use MICROFIBERS. Can someone tell me if we should use MICROFIBERS!