Keeping the house clean can seem like an impossible task, especially if you have a house full of messy kids (and partners!) Whether you want to learn how to reduce your cleaning schedule to the absolute minimum or you’ve got unexpected guests about to arrive and need to get the house looking shipshape, read on to find out all about speed cleaning…
1. Organise your cleaning products and tools
The first thing that will help you get the house cleaned as quickly as possible is being prepared. Get together everything that you’ll need – cloths, sponges, cleaning liquids – and carry them around in a caddy to avoid unnecessary trips up and down the stairs for forgotten items. Take a bin bag with you as you go around the house and collect any clutter or rubbish as you go.
Want to become an expert speed cleaner? Take this step to the next level by having a specific caddy for upstairs and downstairs, or even room by room. Saves you lugging cleaning products around the house and you’re always prepped for an impromptu clean up in a spare five minutes.
2. Clean with a soundtrack
Is there anything that a bit of Beyonce won’t help? Having a playlist ready filled with your favourite tracks (Beyonce is optional of course!) or listening to your favourite podcast will stop your mind wandering onto different tasks and make the job a more enjoyable one. And who’s to say you can’t incorporate a few dance moves in with your cleaning while you’re at it!
3. Set a time limit
It may seem too good to be true, but this tip is simple – set a timer on your phone and get to work. This tip has been popularised by Mrs Hinch and sees her millions of followers joining in, challenging themselves to ‘Hinch Half Hours’.
Having a time limit stops you getting distracted and taking longer you need to. 30 minutes is a good amount of time but if you only have 15 minutes, be strict with yourself and prioritise the areas that will make the biggest impact, or those that need the most urgent attention.
Be realistic with what you can get through so that when the timer goes off you’re pleased with how much you’ve achieved, rather than tempted to continue and spend even longer cleaning.
4. Work around the house once
If you’ve planned ahead and got all your tools ready, then you should really be able to do the house in one sweep. If you’re cleaning to impress impending guests, choose a route which is similar to the one they’ll take when entering the house to prioritise key rooms. If it’s a regular clean, take each room one at a time and make sure you don’t get distracted with unnecessary tasks. Stick to the job you are doing and only move on once that room is done.
5. Clean top to bottom
When cleaning multiple surfaces in the same room you should always go top to bottom to be most efficient – it’s physics! Dislodged dirt and dust will follow the laws of gravity and drop onto surfaces below. If you start by sweeping and mopping the floor you’ll just have to do it again.
Run a duster around picture rails, shelving and then skirting boards before vacuuming. Clean crumbs off the counter before you tackle sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor.
6. Fluff the pillows
It’s those final touches that really make the difference, whether you’re trying to impress the mother-in-law or you just want to find some peace with your messy house. Don’t underestimate the power of freshly plumped cushions on the sofa, a clean set of towels in the bathroom or hiding the iron and ironing board to breathe new life into your home and destroy that clutter-induced anxiety.
7. Be your future friend
Cut those lazy habits that you know are going to cause ‘future you’ a headache. Instead of letting shower scum build up, keep a daily shower spray and squeegee in the bathroom – 30 seconds each day after a shower can prevent a 30 minute scrub later down the line. Tackle spills and stains at the time rather than letting them stick and become a bigger chore later on. As tempting as it is, don’t leave the dishes until the morning; by then the food will be dried on and all you’ll have achieved is being furious at yourself.
8. Make speed cleaning a team sport
Let’s be honest, this tip isn’t always the easiest one to put into practice, but it is so worth it! Once your kids are old enough, make it fun and get them involved in speed cleaning in a way that’s suitable for their age.
For example, see how many bits of rubbish they can collect in five minutes, give them the feather duster and ask them to dust all the skirting boards as quickly as they can or, for older children, allocate them a room each and see who can get it cleaned fastest. You may not get a perfect finish to begin with, but practice makes perfect and they’ll hopefully catch the speed cleaning bug – which in the long-term is definitely a good thing!
If things have got on top of you abit and you need help with rubbish removal, companies such as Kwiksweep can help you get back on track.
Author bio
Jess Bray is a Marketing Assistant at thecleaningcollective.co.uk, with 10 years’ experience in digital marketing. She loves applying her knowledge of design and marketing to the world of cleaning, helping her to share tips, tricks and hacks with keen members of ‘The Cleaning Collective’.Â
*This is a collaborative post.
Music really does make light work to cleaning – actually like doing it
I’ve been doing all this for years, but because of health problems, I now find that I have to go much slower and just do one room a day. It’s frustrating, but at least I’m managing that.