September 2023

I’m not what people would call “The Queen of Clean”… if anything, I’m far from it. But I do like to have a clean house… and I do get stressed out when my house is a mess.

This is exactly what inspired me stop approaching house cleaning the way I had always approached it and start finding a new, better way to go about cleaning. 

See, I used to spend hours (h-o-u-r-s) cleaning my house every single week.
 
And, since I was a stay at home wife, even though I didn’t enjoy spending hours every week cleaning, I had the time to do it, so I didn’t look for ways to make cleaning the house easier.
 
However, after starting up a business and becoming a mom… things had to change. I simply didn’t have 3 hours to spend cleaning my house each week.
 
I had two options – either never clean, since I didn’t have the time to continue cleaning as I had been, I might as well not clean at all (right?), OR I could learn how to clean my house fast and efficiently. I chose option #2.
 
Since picking up on some pretty cool house cleaning tips, I’ve been able to significantly cut down on the amount of time spent cleaning while still managing to keep and maintain a clean house.
 
Oh, the hours I could have saved if only I would have learned all this earlier on in life.
 
Since you’re here, there’s a good chance cleaning the house isn’t what you’d willingly choose to spend a Friday evening doing, either, and you’re looking for some house cleaning tips to make it fast and easy.
 
So, let’s get right to it…

How do I clean my house fast?

The key to cleaning any house fast, regardless of the size of house and without doing a sloppy job is simply a matter of cleaning your house in a specific order.
 
This prevents you from wasting time cleaning things twice, which we’ll talk about in a bit, and getting into the right mindset to tackle your house in a timely matter – which we’ll cover exactly how to do below.

Getting into the right mind-set

Let’s face something right out of the gate – sometimes, no matter how hard you try to get into the mood for cleaning, it just doesn’t happen.
 
Sometimes it feels like you have as much of a chance to find an ounce of cleaning motivation as you do of finding a big gold nugget hiding in the pantry.
 
Slim. Very slim.
 
I talk all about motivation here and how to find your cleaning motivation when it’s lost (or you never had any to start with), but the gist of it is this:

Find something absolutely tiny and doable to start with

When you have no motivation to clean, walking into a house that’s a disaster and telling yourself, “I’m going to clean this. Now.” likely won’t work very well. You’re more likely to get overwhelmed and push the task off than to actually grab your cleaning supplies and start cleaning.
 
The best way to start when you have no cleaning motivation is to find a tiny task that takes no brainpower to do, and do it.
 
This may be something as simple as shaking the floor mat off outside or wiping the kitchen table off.
 
It doesn’t matter what it is that you choose, all that matters is that you choose something easy to do and something that will offer quick results.
 
When you’re overwhelmed, your brain needs a quick win to get motivated to continue cleaning – so right now we’re not focusing on cleaning the entire house… we’re focusing on doing something small – seemingly meaningless – to get into the cleaning mindset.
 
This area should be somewhere central, something that you see often, so you can see your results every time you walk past it.
 
It should also be bothersome. It should drive you nuts to see it dirty (which should be pretty easy – because chances are, your entire house is driving you nuts right now).
 
The area you choose should also be, just like we talked about, tiny. Someplace super easy that you can clean in 5 minutes or less, but also something that will give you a feeling of accomplishment once it’s done.
 
That is the best thing you can do to find your cleaning motivation when it’s lost – or you never had any to start with.

5 house cleaning tips to make cleaning a breeze

1. Make a gameplan

I talk more about exactly how to create a cleaning gameplan in my post 4 Hacks That Will Make You a House Cleaning Genius, but the easy way to make a cleaning gameplan is to follow these specific steps:

• Make some goals: Think of a few goals you’d like to accomplish while cleaning your house – what are certain areas you want to clean first and how do you want those areas to look after you’re done cleaning them?

• Set a deadline: Create a time limit. This step is vital. It keeps you accountable and on track, this way you don’t get distracted and forget about cleaning, because you’ve set a deadline that you’re determined to meet. Try to think of a doable time frame that you’d like to have your house cleaned by.

• Be precise: Be really precise with your gameplan. Don’t just say, “I want to have my whole house cleaned by tomorrow,” That’s just too vague. Instead, say something like, “by tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM I will have [this room], [this room], and [this room] of my house completely cleaned,” … and so on.

• Choose a starting point: Pick the room or place in your house that you will start, and the place that you will end with. Then, write down in what order you’ll clean the rooms of your house.
   
  This step may sound extreme (you may be thinking, “why don’t I just choose a room to clean in and wing it from there?… as long as I get all the rooms cleaned, I’m good.”), but being precise and deciding the order that you’ll clean each room of your house in is exactly what will take away cleaning overwhelm.
   
  It’s exactly what will stop you from wasting time thinking, “okay… I’ve got the office cleaned. What should I clean next?”.
   
  It will also stop you from jumping around from half-done task to half-done task. Instead, you’ll be motivated to fully finish a room before moving on to the next.

• Write It Down: Now that you’ve got your gameplan outlined, write it all down. Write down your main goal or two, when you want to be done by, your starting point, and the order that you will clean the rooms of your house in.
   
  “But isn’t this a bit extreme? Why can’t I just think it out in my head?” Sure, you could just think it and go with the flow, but if you’re looking for a fast and easy way to clean your house without wasting any time so that you can be finished sooner, this is the way to do it.

2. Top to bottom, left to right

Cleaning your house in the right order is a key tip when it comes to learning how to clean a house fast and efficiently.
 
Cleaning from top to bottom, left to right, ensures you only ever clean something once. Instead of starting somewhere in the middle of a room, then dusting up high, and realizing you just knocked dust onto your freshly cleaned surface… and having to clean it again.
 
Cleaning from left to right gives you structure to work from one side of the room all the way to the other without having to go back on your work and possibly mess up places that have already been cleaned.

3. Use a cleaning caddy, or make your own

Gathering all your tools into a cleaning caddy, or a DIY cleaning caddy, will save you a lot of time from running around the house to gather individual cleaning supplies.
 
A cleaning caddy will allow you to keep all the cleaning supplies you need (outside of the mop and vacuum) in one place, by your side, without filling your hands up.
 
You can put your cleaning rags, cleaners, sponges, grout brush (if applicable), dusting mitt, and any other cleaning supplies you need, all in the caddy to have by your side no matter where in the house you’re cleaning.

4. Get rid of clutter first

Clear up the clutter first, then clean. There’s no point in creating extra work for yourself by cleaning around, beneath, and behind objects that aren’t in the correct place and/or you don’t even need.
 
Quickly go through your house before you start cleaning and get rid of any trash, put items in their proper place, and gather items you no longer want into a box to get rid of later. This isn’t a time for a thorough room-by-room decluttering.
 
All you’re doing now is putting things away in the right place, getting rid of trash, and putting items you know – without a doubt – that you no longer need into a box to get them out of the way.
 
If you’re interested in decluttering your home after you’ve tackled the big chore of cleaning it, first, you can find some extremely helpful decluttering tips here.

5. Floors last

Always, always, always remember to clean the floors last. You should never clean the floors, then go back into the room to dust, polish mirrors, and wipe off countertops.
 
What does that do?
 
Knocks dirt and grime onto your clean floor. Cleaning the floor should be the very last thing on your cleaning to-do list so that you don’t have to clean it twice (remember – we’re trying to learn how to clean your house fast and efficiently… not in a time-consuming matter that requires you to clean certain things twice).

Conclusion

When it comes to cleaning a house fast and easy, there are just a few minor steps to follow:

• Make a gameplan (and follow through with it)
• Clean every room from the top to the bottom, from left to right
• Use a cleaning caddy to eliminate time wasted running from one room to the next gathering supplies
• Get rid of clutter before you clean
• Finish with the floors

Following these 5 extremely simple house cleaning tips will set you on the path to having a beautifully clean home in no time. Want more? Find 9 more house cleaning tips here.

Amy is the founder of DeliberatelyHere.com where she helps wives and moms find joy in their homemaking and learn how to find purpose in even the most mundane daily tasks.