Summer Home Cleaning Tricks

It's summertime - and the living is easy. Cleaning should be easy as well, but often it isn't. These summer home cleaning tricks can help keep summer cleaning time to a minimum.

Summer brings its own set of cleaning challenges. Dust accumulates on countertops, kitchens become a hub for grease and grime, and bathrooms, well, they need extra attention during this season.

With work, kids, and leisure pursuits all competing for your attention, why devote more time to cleaning than necessary? These tips can help.

Summer Home Cleaning Tricks

Get organized. Stock cleaning tools and supplies in a basket or lightweight caddy that's easy to tote from room to room.

Clean smart - and fast. Learn the clockwise cleaning routine: Begin at the door and clean from top to bottom, moving clockwise around each room. This smart approach ensures you'll attend to a room's every surface in a single pass.

Break down big weekly chores into smaller daily tasks. Instead of waiting until the weekend, when you're likely to find something better to do than clean the house, break down the big chores into smaller daily tasks. Clean the microwave Monday and the toilet Tuesday, mop the floors Wednesday and tackle the tub Thursday. By Friday, your significant target areas - the kitchen and bathroom - are nearly done. A few minutes on Friday surface duty, your home will be clean, and the weekend will be yours.

Summer Home Cleaning Tricks for Bathrooms

Four essential cleaning products are all you'll need to get bathrooms sparkling clean with these home cleaning tricks:

a tub, tile and sink cleaner

an all-purpose cleaner

a toilet-bowl cleaner

a glass cleaner.

You'll also need the right cleaning tools: a long-handled scrub brush, scrubber sponge, microfiber cleaning cloths and paper towels.

You can save time by spraying cleaners on areas that will benefit from extra soaking time—such as the toilet and tub or shower—and tackling other surfaces while the cleaners do their work.

By letting the cleaners penetrate, all you'll have to do to most surfaces is wipe them clean.

To prevent mildew, open the shower door or curtain after use to let it air dry. Give your shower, tub, and sink fixtures a once-over with a glass cleaner and a microfiber cleaning cloth to put them in a finishing shine.

Summer Home Cleaning Tricks for Kitchens

For the kitchen's potluck of dirt, grease, and germs, you'll need an all-purpose cleaner, hand dish-washing detergent, a clean, dry cloth, and a scrubber sponge for these summer home cleaning tricks.

Start by putting away anything that's out of place, such as the kids' art projects or mail that has taken up residence on your kitchen table.

Send oven mitts and dish towels into the wash.

Don't waste your precious time scrubbing dried-on foods or baked-on spills on the countertops or stove - instead, give them a generous spritz of all-purpose cleaner. Allow the cleaner to penetrate the grime while you move on to the (cold) oven.

Remove the racks, and scrape off any burned-on gunk with a dull knife. Use an oven cleaner or, if you have a self-cleaner, turn it on and let the appliance clean itself.

For baked-on messes in the microwave, apply hand dish-washing detergent using your scrubber sponge; rinse clean with a damp sponge.

Spot-clean countertops, the oven exterior, cabinets, dishwasher, and refrigerator by spraying on an all-purpose cleaner and wiping clean with a dry cloth.

Finish the job by sweeping the floor to remove corner crumbs, and then mop your way out the door.

Speed Cleaning Rooms

Move clockwise around each room, putting away surface clutter and mislaid items. Stash anything that doesn't belong outside the door.

Dust shelves, windowsills, miniblinds, lamps, tables, bureaus, and TV screens with a clean, damp cloth.

Don't use a feather duster—it just sends dust into the air, and it eventually settles back down where it came from.

Vacuum upholstered chairs and sofas, take decorative pillows outdoors to shake off the dust or fluff them up with a 10-minute tumble in the dryer. Change bed linens.

Finish with a quick surface vacuuming, and spend a few extra seconds vacuuming near the doorways. Now relax and enjoy - summer fun awaits!