Speed Cleaning Your Home

Cleaning supplies inside blue portable caddy.Stock speed cleaning supplies in a portable caddy.

Speed cleaning is the perfect solution for those times when you just don't have a lot of time to spend house cleaning.

Quick house cleaning can actually lift your spirits almost as much as if you had chosen to do a deep house cleaning instead.

Why? Because when you have a clean house - everything in life seems fresher.

These speed cleaning tips will help you get the dirty jobs done right - and fast!

Shift Into High-Gear by Stocking Up On Supplies

Shift into high gear by stocking up on cleaning products and supplies for the quick-and-dirty jobs that lie ahead.

Gather cleaners, rags, paper towels, sponge, and scrub brush in the kitchen and bath so you won't have to backtrack between rooms to get what you need. 

By keeping a permanent stash of supplies in each of these rooms, you'll always be prepared to tackle those last-minute cleanups quickly and efficiently.

Break Weekly Cleaning Into Smaller Daily Tasks

For a clean house each week, break down the big jobs into small, manageable tasks, and tackle them day by day. Clean the microwave Monday, the toilet Tuesday. Mop the floors Wednesday, tackle the tub Thursday.

By Friday, your big target areas - the kitchen and bathrooms - are nearly done. A few minutes spent Friday on surface duty, and your home is clean - and the weekend is yours.

Change Your Speed Cleaning Focus Weekly

You can also quicken the pace of your speed cleaning routine by focusing on a different type of cleaning each week.

Choose an all-purpose cleaner this Friday, and spend several minutes spritzing and wiping the main surfaces of your kitchen and bathroom.

Use a disinfectant cleaner next Friday, spraying on countertops, in toilets, and the tub or shower. Then read the mail or relax; return to flush the toilet and wipe clean the countertops and bathtub or shower.

Dust this week, vacuum the next. This simple routine means no juggling of cloths and paper towels, switching of spray bottles, or putting away of dust rags as you pull out the vacuum.

You focus on just one thing at a time. (For a definition of types of cleaners, check out cleaning products defined.)

If you've got better things to do this week - or you simply can't summon the energy for housework - even the speedy variety - it's OK to take a break from your cleaning routine.

Going two weeks between disinfecting and dusting won't cause any irreparable harm, and taking a rest - even from speed cleaning - may do you good.


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