Spring Cleaning: Speed-Cleaning Tips

If you missed the past few weeks of my spring cleaning posts, make sure to read:

Spring Cleaning: Organizing & Getting Started
Spring Cleaning: DIY Cleaning Products

Below are tips to speed clean your home in about an hour:

1. Stay Focused and Move Quickly
When it comes to cleaning fast, the key is to have a system and move quickly. Set a timer for 15 minutes at a time to clean the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and bathroom. When the timer goes off, move to the next room even if you aren’t quite done. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted and spend too much time cleaning one item.

If there is a major cleaning project that needs to get done, make a note to do it at another time. If an area in one of the rooms is already clean, don’t waste time making it cleaner. And if there is one dirty place on a large surface, clean just the spot not the entire space.

2. Keep Supplies Together
Make sure to have quick and easy access to your cleaning supplies, and place them in a container so you can move them with you from room to room. If you have to look for the supplies, you’ll be less motivated to clean.

3. Turn on the Music
Music makes a huge difference in how quickly you clean. Create a playlist of high-energy and fast songs that will make you move quickly, make you feel good, and make you have fun.

4. Make a Clean Sweep
If you are really pressed for time because company is coming over, then make a clean sweep through your house. Scan the room to see what’s out of place and stash unnecessary items in nearby drawers or closets. You want to clear the surfaces to make the room look tidier. Quickly dust, spray and clean the surfaces, empty wastebaskets, then speed-vacuum yourself out of the room.

5. Clean As You Go
This technique is also something you can implement daily to keep your house regularly looking clean. When you see a mess, quickly clean it up right then. This includes wiping up spills before they harden, and grabbing a handful of items off the floor or counter that belong in another room. I usually don’t leave a room without picking up an item or two and taking it with me to put away in the other room I’m headed towards.

An idea that works great is to gather up clutter, random items, and papers in one room, and place them in a basket. Take the basket with you from room to room as you clean and put the items away in their proper place. This saves time going back and forth between rooms.

Do you have any speed-cleaning techniques you use?

Here are other Spring Cleaning posts to help you save time and money:

Spring Cleaning: Organizing and Getting Started
Spring Cleaning: DIY Cleaning Products
Spring Cleaning: Speed-Cleaning Tips
Spring Cleaning: Professional Cleaning Tips and Tricks
Spring Cleaning: How to Keep Your House Clean All Year Long