Two words: cleaning caddy. Instead of losing time and energy running back and forth to the laundry room for cleaning supplies, spend all your available time getting the actual tasks at hand done by taking everything you might need with you the first time. There are a lot of different kinds of cleaning caddies to choose from, but ideally find one with a good handle and made of a wipeable surface with little to no compartments. Since your cleaning product preferences are likely to vary slightly over time, keep your caddy shape universal so any shape and size product fits. 

How do you start cleaning a dirty house? When you only have a few spare minutes to clean, having a clear, predetermined goal will allow you to accomplish a task without being overwhelmed with all the others on your to-do list. Having a cleaning schedule to reference will help make sure you hit those needed dirty areas consistently and don’t forget about those areas that really need to be cleaned, but never seem to get to. Take 20 minutes to write down a weekly cleaning to do list. 

Sunday

• Vacuum floors
• Mop floors 
• Dust baseboards 

Monday

• Sanitize door handles 
• Wipe down inside windows
• Wipe down all mirrors 

Tuesday

• Change bed linens
• Vacuum sofas and other fabric surfaces 
• Clean kitchen sink

Wednesday

• Clean toilet bowls
• Clean showers/baths 
• Empty trash cans

Thursday 

• Dust/clean electronics (including your cell phone and remotes)
• Choose one drawer/cupboard to organize 
• Clean cooktop

Friday

• Wipe down fridge 
• Organize fridge/freezer
• Make shopping list 
• Wipe down kitchen cupboards
• Wipe down appliances 

Saturday

• Dust light fixtures
• Dust furniture 
• Clean microwave 
• Clean kitchen sink

Instead of saying you don’t have time to clean the bathrooms today, what if you committed to just cleaning all the toilets in your house; one area of the bathroom that can easily be completed in five to 10 minutes? So many of us get fixed on that “all or nothing” mentality, which leads to the house getting into a stately sight. The simpler we can make the task, the more efficient we will be.

If you aren’t the only one living in your home, guess what? You are not the only one responsible for the constant upkeep and cleaning of your home.

Delegating even the smallest daily cleaning can help create the opportunity to tackle those chores that aren’t currently being done.

If it’s your teenager’s chore to unload the dishwasher and wash the pots and pans, that will allow you to have a 10-minute vacuuming session or finally clean the microwave.

Once you’ve built a cleaning schedule for your home, delegating becomes a lot easier. 

When you want to make your house look clean fast (all of us have been there an hour before guests arrive), focus on cleaning the areas first in your sightline. If you only have 5 minutes, wipe down your bathroom and kitchen surfaces and declutter any misplaced items. Focusing on big areas closer to eye level will help you quickly make a room look clean.

No wonder you despise cleaning—you’ve been trying to fit a week’s worth into a single day on the weekend. You know the weekend? That time when you should be resting and recharging. Depending on your home, your cleaning schedule will vary but this sample weekly schedule is designed to make the most out of those 10 to 20 minute cleaning spurts and hit every area of your home. 

You likely have too much stuff if you struggle to keep your space clean. Instead of getting frustrated that your hall closet always seems to go back to disaster mode within a couple of days, figure out why that is. Usually, either the closet’s organization is ineffective or there is too much in it.

Adjust the number of processions you have, and cleaning will become much easier.

If you have 10, 15 or 20 minutes, choose one drawer or cupboard to organize and edit down any items not needed in that space.

As beautifully said by architect William Morris, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

And if you’re still struggling to open closet doors without stuff falling onto you, read this:  why “stashing” is the worst cleaning habit — and how to break it. 

When you only have a few minutes to clean, make them count. Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes, reference your cleaning schedule and complete one of the day’s tasks without distraction. You can accomplish more than you think, especially if you blast your fave cleaning playlist. Tackle one of these cores when you have 10 minutes or less:

• Vacuum high-traffic areas
• Wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces
• Switch over a load of laundry 
• Empty/load the dishwasher 
• Empty all the trash cans 
• Clean all toilets 
• Declutter high-traffic areas 
• Dust/clean electronics 
• Clean microwave

Feeling that mid-afternoon lull? While a caffeine pick-me-up may do the trick, 15 minutes of cleaning might do the same. When you approach cleaning with a Mary Poppins mindset, you could find yourself making cleaning a personal game with the objective of seeing how much you can complete before the time runs out. Each of the cleaning chores below will take you approximately 15 minutes:

• Clean all showers and baths 
• Disinfect all door handles 
• Clean and organize the fridge  
• Dust a room 
• Wipe down all mirrors 

With a little more time on your hands, it’s time to get into the cleaning to-dos that take a little bit more preparation and execution. Twenty minutes is the perfect amount of time for a cleaning session because you can accomplish a lot without losing your stamina (whoever said cleaning wasn’t a workout clearly isn’t doing it right). The next time you have 20 minutes to spare, check one of these 20-minute chores off your to-do list:

• Dust light fixtures
• Mop floors
• Wipe down all windows 
• Dust baseboards 
• Choose a drawer or cupboard to organize
• Clean cooktop 

• Make bed 
• Wipe down kitchen and bathroom counters
• Vacuum high-traffic areas (entryway and kitchen)
• 10-minute declutter 
• Throw in a load of laundry 
• Put away laundry 
• Load/empty dishwasher

Yes, there will always be unforgivable chores that need to be done daily. Always start with these seven items before moving on to any of the other tasks on the checklist. And if you don’t want to clean at all on the weekends, try these 10 things you can do daily to avoid that big weekend clean.

Not sure how to start cleaning a dirty house? Breaking up your cleaning into achievable 10, 15, and 20-minute sessions will help inspire you to tackle more on your cleaning checklist.

Oftentimes we associate cleaning with chaos (only getting to it an hour before guests arrive or when the house has become too dirty to bear).

But the following day’s tasks will seem much less daunting when you consistently clean daily (even if it is just 10 minutes). Plus, once you’ve completed 10 to 20 minutes of cleaning, you may find yourself inspired to keep going that little longer.