I’m not a heavy duty cleaner and usually only like to allot a few minutes at a time to any given task. If you are like me, these speed cleaner tips will help you get through more of your house with less effort because you won’t need to set huge chunks of your day aside to deep cleanse your house.
So, pull out the vacuum cleaners, your favorite all purpose cleaner, and some hot water! We are about to break down how to master speed cleaning for first-time attempters.
15 Things You Can Clean In 10 Minutes – Speed Cleaner Tips
Here are 15 things that you can tackle in just ten-minute chunks. A quick cleaning should be thrown into your already moving day. You can set a timer to make sure that you stay within your time blocks, or you can just tell yourself that you are going to finish this one task and then move on.
A Fast Cleaner Needs Tools
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I don’t have a variety of cleaning supplies for when I tackle my house. I pretty much just use an all-purpose spray, a glass spray, a granite spray, and then a stainless steel spray. That’s it. You can tackle everything from a hot tub to your android phone to art supplies with this list.
Sometimes I watch cleaning videos on YouTube and I see about 20 different house cleaning products come out during a cleaning sessing and I think that I just don’t have enough options! But then I think that I don’t want that many options under my sink. LOL! In case you are curious about what I personally use here are my personal favorites:
- Method Daily Granite Cleaner Spray, Apple Orchard – No harsh chemicals. No nasty residue. Just streak-free, sparkling surfaces
- Formula 409 Multi-Surface Cleaner (or I use Lysol or anything that is a multi-surface cleaner honestly)
- Method Steel For Real, Cleaner & Polish – Perfect for stainless steel appliances
- Windex Ammonia-Free Glass Cleaner Trigger Bottle – Removes fingerprints, smudges, and smears
- Method Squirt + Mop Hardwood Floor Cleaner Refill – Plant-based, surface safe and biodegradable cleaner formulated for sealed hardwood and laminate floors
- Magic Eraser – I also have this for markers on walls (SOS emergencies)
Sometimes I go to the Dollar Store with coupons online and get Windex Wipes for FREE because you can do that when you coupon. You just have to watch out for those sales, but that is an entirely different blog post, isn’t it? More on that in a bit.
10 Minute Clean Fast Spurts
Ok, it’s time to talk about what you can clean fast in ten-minute spurts. It’s easier than you think! I have 15 quick ideas for you and if you do 2 a day, you will pretty much have your house in great shape all week long.
SPOILER ALERT – if you get the rest of your family involved, you will ROCK IT that much quicker. The fastest way to clean your house is to get some HELP.
If you are dealing with heavy grime, it might be helpful to grab an extra set of hands.
(1) Wiping Down Kitchen Counters – Remove everything from the kitchen counters and give them a proper wipe down. Yes, even get the icky corners that always seem to accumulate and document what type of bagels you like to toast in the AM.
(2) Organize Your Junk Drawer – This one can be done in ten minutes because although the junk drawer is mighty, it is small. Before you begin, grab a few rubber bands, envelopes and storage bags. Then group like items together, combine and throw away anything else that doesn’t make sense.
(3) Reorganize Your Kids’ Storage Bins – This is only ten minutes. Remember. Do what you can here! You won’t be able to fix everything. But try to bring a bit of order to the chaos. At ten minutes – STOP! Or if you are feeling brave, finish the project. Otherwise, pick it back up again tomorrow.
(4) Vacuum The Dining Room – Give it a good once over. Pull all the chairs out and get deep into the nooks and crannies. It’s been a while.
(5) Restock The Bathroom – Replenish the bathroom with toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, soap. Check to see what is missing or is running really low and bring up the supplies.
(6) Toss all dirty clothes in the hamper – Do you children (husband) miss the hamper entirely when changing out of dirty clothes? It can’t just be me. Do a quick sweep and pick up all dirty clothes and get them in the hamper. This could also mean that you pull old towels from bathrooms and put fresh ones up for the week.
(7) Hang Up Clean Clothes – Speaking of clothes, put the laundry away. I know it FEELS like it takes all of eternity, but it really only takes about ten minutes to put a load of laundry away. BUT IT SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF US, RIGHT? UGH. But in all seriousness, a quick and clean tips is to just do it.
(8) Deal With The Dishwasher – I said “deal with the dishwasher” because you know if it needs to be unloaded or loaded. I’m not there with you. If you need to unload it, then girl… unload that puppy. If you need to load it and get your sink unburdened, release your demons. Domestic cleaning is so fun, isn’t it?
(9) Look Up The Cost Of Maid Services – Around tip 9 is where people start looking up the cost of maid services and look, I don’t blame you! This is real life and real life is ugly. Professional cleaning services can run you around $100 a house though. Is it worth it? That’s up to you. I’ll give you a bonus at the end – don’t worry. You will still get 15.
(10) Clean Out Your Garbage Disposal – Are you ready for a little secret? Growing up, it was illegal for me to actually own a garbage disposal. So, we’ve just never had one or knew anyone who did. NYC would not allow it. Isn’t that wild? I’ve always thought it was super cool in movies whenever I saw someone have that magic thing in their sink. That and a garage door that automatically opened. I didn’t know a single person who had a garage in Queens. That was for rich people! Anyway – your garbage disposal is a mess and it smells and dead things are in there. Clean it out.
(11) Make The Beds – Did I mention that the people in your house can help with these speed cleaner ideas? I just wanted to say that one more time. 😉 Hope from one room to the next and make all the beds that are still unmade. Confession – before I got married, I never made my bed. Now, I can’t start the day without making it!
(12) Declutter One Room – Pick one room that looks like a bomb dropped in it and declutter it from left to right. As a speed cleaner, sometimes I can get so overwhelmed when there is too much to do. So, sometimes I just start from one side of the room and work my way over to the next. It works!
(13) Wipe Down The Bathroom – It’s time to deal with the least pleasant area of the entire house. The potty throne as my son likes to call it. Grab your bleach (yeah, I said it) and give the toilet, sink and shower a good wipe down. If you have it in you, clean the floors as well.
(14) Mail Time – Do you have a family control center? You need one. Take some time and get that section organized. Go through your mail, figure out your bills, and get your paperwork organized for the day. Your kitchen counter will thank you.
(15) Dust The Perimeter – I think you can do the entire house in ten minutes. Go through all your fans, doors, switch plates, and baseboards – dust them. You can use a microfiber cloth (yes, I still want one) or you can use traditional paper towels and some spray.
(16) Wipe Down Electronics – Here’s the bonus to make up for the cleaning service reference. As a fast cleaner, you also have to remember what people use the most. Today, that’s remotes, the sides of screen, game consoles, iPads, computers, etc. I would also include microwaves, refrigerators, and toasters. Anything that has fingerprints!
As a side note, you could buy a specific product made for electronics – like a screen cleaner if you want to take extra care of your tech.
Schedules That Work
This is not impossible to do and remember, if you’d like to parts of vehicles to the schedule, please do! It doesn’t have to be confined to the inside of your home. You could also tackle the garage and the backyard.
To print your copy of the speed cleaner schedule so you can fill in your wins for the week or prepare how you want to break down your workload, click here.