Spring Cleaning: How to Clean Smarter, Not Harder

Crush your chores without breaking a sweat! Pinpoint your preferred approach, then use these tips to tidy up your entire home in record time.

Related: Stay Organized Year-Round »

Everyone has a basic tidy-up "personality" that affects the way they get things done (or don't!). After you identify your style, learn how to turbocharge your cleaning tasks, maximizing your strengths and using some easy work-arounds to rectify your weaknesses.

If you are a multitasker... You're a sprinter, blitzing your way through the house, picking up clutter with one hand, steering the vacuum with the other, while that foaming cleanser is loosening soap scum in the shower. Meanshile, you're using your MP3 player to learn Spanish. In your zeal to do it all, you often run out of time--meaning that some chores are left unfinished, and you have to start them over again. To clean smarter:
• Divide and conquer. Make two lists: hands-on tasks (clear clutter, dust, vacuum, mop) and hands-off tasks (do laundry, run the dishwasher, spray the shower with a scrub-free cleanser). Then pair up one assignment from each column. Choose jobs that mesh well together based on the amount of time they take and their location in the house. Doing that can help you further expedite your cleaning methods and ensure that each chore gets the attention it needs.
• Set a timer. Most hands-off tasks require wrap-up action at their tail end. Plan ahead for that hands-on period so you don't run out of time. Set the alarm on your smartphone to remind you when to switch gears from vacuuming, say, to folding laundry.
• Mark the spot. Leave a visual cue (such as your cleaning caddy) when you turn away from one task to check on the progress of the other one. That way, you'll know to pick up where you left off.

Plus: 5 Easy Steps to be Clutter-Free »

If you are a detail diva... You're a gal who sweats the small stuff--there's no such thing as "clean enough." For you, if it's not utterly sterilized, it's still dirty. The grimier the job, the more you enjoy it! You employ an array of tools and don't stop until every trace of dirt is eradicated. While you focus intensely on one area, you lose sight of the other tasks that need your attention, so your home is never "done." To clean smarter:
• Do the math. Each room takes about 20 minutes, on average, to clean. So how much can you realistically cover in the interval you've got? If you're short on time, prioritize. For instance, target the public rooms this go-round (especially if you're expecting guests!), and save the rest for later.
• Choose your weapons. Find go-to tools to help you speed through a variety of duties while affording you the satisfaction of a job well done. For instance, a handheld steamer is great for cleaning bathroom grout, polishing the stovetop and oven and blasting fuzz and grime out of crevices between the floors and molding. With the right kit, you can whiz through your routine.
• Stay on top. Train yourself to tend to some tasks immediately. Wipe down the bathroom sink every day and squeegee after every shower. That way, you won't have to spend time scraping off hard toothpaste globs or scrubbing soap scum.

Find more cleaning tips for toucher-uppers and some supereffective tools here.

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