If you've been blocking out hours to tackle your housecleaning chores, it's time to rethink the way you clean. Making a few changes to your cleaning routine can whittle your cleaning time down dramatically. These quick cleaning hacks are a great place to start.
Get Down to the Nitty Gritty...
If you feel like you need multiple cleaning solutions and cleaning tools before you can work, you're spending too much time and money on your cleaning routine. Pare down to the essential cleaning solutions and tools that can multi-purpose, and you'll speed your cleaning up before you even start.Time Saved: 3-5 minutes
...And Keep It Together
Storing your cleaning products and tools in various places throughout your home, or far away from where they are used will also waste time when it's cleaning time. When you've pared down to the essentials, it's easy to store your cleaning products and tools together in one closet or cabinet. To speed things up even more, stash the items you use most in the rooms where you use them most; put a spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner in the bathroom and in the kitchen, and store dust-busting microfiber cloths in every room of the house, so that they are handy when you have a few minutes to clean.Time Saved: 5 minutes or more
Move Now, Sort Later
Even the simplest cleaning task can become tedious if you're spending time putting everything in its place as you clean. If returning random pieces of clutter to their rightful places slows you down, grab a bag or basket, and toss in everything that doesn't belong in the room you're working. Sort through the items and return them to their places when you have more time.Time Saved: 5 minutes or more
The Miracle of Microfiber
Simply trading your paper towels or plain old cleaning rags for microfiber cloths can help you speed up your cleaning. Microfiber's natural dust-attracting quality means you can quickly dust furniture, cabinets, window sills, and other surfaces with no need for furniture polish or other cleaners. Microfiber cloths can make short work of mopping floors, too. Simply dampen a microfiber cloth, wrap it around the head of an electrostatic broom, and spray your cleaning solution directly on the floor. Then, mop with the electrostatic broom; floors dry in almost no time. If you're really pressed for time, you can go back over your wet floors with a dry microfiber cloth attached to the broom.Time Saved: 2-3 minutes on dusting, 5-15 minutes on mopping by eliminating filling the mop bucket, adding floor cleaner, waiting for floors to dry
Top to Bottom Clean
Getting in the habit of cleaning rooms from top to bottom saves time by eliminating the need to go back over spots you missed or messed up as you swept through. In bedrooms and living rooms, dust the highest surfaces first, working your way down to the lower, then vacuum or sweep. In bathrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms, wipe down upper surfaces, then counter surfaces, then lower surfaces, then sweep and mop. Working from top to bottom really saves time when it comes to bathrooms; spraying your bathroom cleaner on a tub or shower stall, then working from top to bottom to scrub soap scum away gives the cleaner more time to penetrate tougher soap scum and stains that gather on the lower parts of the tub or stall.Time Saved: Average of 3-5 minutes
Selective Cleaning
If company's coming and you're really in a hurry, now is not the time for deep-down cleaning. Instead, use selective cleaning, cleaning only what your guests are likely to see. Dust only the dustiest parts of the room. Throw any clutter in a basket or bag and stash it away to be sorted later. Sweep or vacuum only the high-traffic and most visible areas of your floor. Wipe down the worst messes on counters. Is it an ideal clean? No, but this method will keep you sane and give the appearance of neatness when you're in a crunch.Time Saved: 20-30 minutes
More cleaning articles from this contributor:
Little Cleaning Tweaks, Big Results
15 Minutes to a Sparkling Bathroom
