Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Crystal Ann, for www.fulfilledwellness.com
Let’s face it, cleaning is not your favorite way to spend your time. But unfortunately, it’s a part of life. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be great to clean more efficiently so you can spend less time doing it, and still have a home that looks great?
In this article we’ll take a look at eight tips that you can implement right away to make your cleaning more streamlined and less time consuming. No worries if you’ve been waiting until guests are on the way… we can help you have a sparkling home in no time!
1. Focus on the Rooms Your Guests Will See
Preparing your house for guests can be nerve-wracking task f you hadn’t started the cleaning process until you received the “On our way!” text. Your guests will probably only see certain parts of your home, so those are the areas that you want to focus on cleaning. If you’re running short on time, don’t worry about cleaning the rooms or areas that guests aren’t likely to see.
If you have a home office you can simply close the door and not worry about cleaning it for now. Likewise, your guests probably won’t need to see your master bedroom or master bathroom (unless there is only one bathroom). Closets, aside from a coat closet, can also wait.
2. Use a Quality Microfiber Cloth
A few years ago I started using microfiber cloths and it has made a huge difference in my own cleaning. A good microfiber cloth can be used for just about any type of surface, cutting out the need for a lot of different sponges, clothes, and paper towels. A general microfiber cloth and glass cleaning cloth will take care of 90% of your cleaning needs. They clean extremely effectively, so you’ll spend much less time scrubbing.
Not only will it save you time, you’ll also be able to reduce chemicals in your home by cleaning with just water. And you’ll save money by not needing as many cleaning products. The two leading microfiber clothes are e-cloth and Norwex Microfiber. I’ll let you be the judge and decide between the e-cloth or Norwex Microfiber.
3. Start with the Trash
When you’re ready to start cleaning, a good place to begin is with the trash. Go around the house or apartment and pick up anything that needs to go in the trash (or recycling). This can include things like magazines you no longer need, junk mail, food containers, and more.
Getting rid of the trash will help by starting to eliminate some of the clutter. Taking the trash outside will also get rid of anything causing the indoor space to smell less-than-fresh.
4. Pick Up Dirty Clothes
After you’ve taken out the trash you can move on to the dirty clothes. Walk through the house or apartment and pick up all the dirty clothes. Don’t forget towels and wash clothes in the bathroom!
If there are clothes out that don’t need to be washed you can hang them in the closet or fold them to go back in a drawer.
Don’t worry about separating the clothes at this point. You can take care of that when you do the laundry. For now, just get them in a hamper or laundry basket.
5. Gather All Dirty Dishes
Next, go around the house or apartment and gather up the dirty dishes. Take them all to the sink or dishwasher.
If you don’t use dishes or glasses outside of the kitchen this should be an easy job. But, if you’re like most people you probably have some plates and cups in other rooms. Don’t forget to gather any cups or glasses that you have in the bathroom (the bathroom usually isn’t the first place you look for dishes).
Keeping the kitchen clean is one of the toughest tasks when cleaning a home, but it has a drastic effect on how the entire apartment looks. If your kitchen is sparkling, the entire mood of the home changes as the kitchen usually takes a big chunk of the apartment square footage.
6. Use Baskets or Containers
Now you can focus on putting things in the right place. Use an empty laundry basket or some other container. You can walk around the house or apartment and gather anything that belongs in another room. Use the basket or container to hold several things at a time so you don’t have to keep walking back and forth to different rooms just for one or two items.
7. Clean Surfaces
Once everything is straightened up, you can focus on cleaning surfaces. This includes tables, countertops, floors, windows, and everything in the bathroom. Make sure to keep the surfaces squeaky clean because they have an enormous impact on the overall atmosphere and cleanliness of the room.
8. Establish a Schedule
The best way to make cleaning easier is to stay on top of it. Create a schedule that you can follow so you won’t be overwhelmed. It can be a daily, weekly, or monthly plan – whatever works for you. It can be a detailed list of every single thing that needs to be done, or it can be a general guide that shows you what rooms to clean when.
Now that you’re organized and you know how to clean quickly and efficiently, you won’t need to race last minute to get it done before your guests arrive.
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