Do you have a busy lifestyle but have little time to deal with home cleaning? Do you find yourself spending hours cleaning over the weekend with the mess that piled up during weekdays? Are you wasting time getting distracted while sorting things out? Then, my friend, read on. You can achieve a clean and tidy home in a fraction of the time.
Before we dive in with the specific tips, there is one important thing to remember if you want to keep your house spic and span all the time: little by little becomes a lot. Don’t wait for dirt and clutter to pile up. It is a good strategy to allot some time daily to do a quick clean, even just 10 mins or less daily for each room.
Now, here’s a cleaning plan you can copy for a cleaner home all week, and more rest time for you on weekends.
We love this idea from Clutter Bug about the Just S.T.A.R.T method which stands for:
S: Set a Timer
Give yourself 10 minutes per room to put things back where they belong, wipe surfaces, spot sweep, and mop floors, then move on to the next area when the timer is done. On busy days, focus on the most used rooms such as the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Here’s a sample speed cleaning to-do list:
Kitchen
- Empty /Load Dishwasher
- Clean Sink
- Wipe Countertops
- Spot Sweep/Mop Floors
Living Room and Entrance Way
- Spot Sweep/Mop Floors
- Pick up clutter
Bathroom
- Clear and wipe the counter
- Wipe sink
- Brush toilet
- Spot clean mirrors
T: Tidy Tote
In each room, grab things that don’t belong there and put them in a tidy tote — a bin or basket with different removable smaller bins. It is an easy way to sort things based on which room they belong to. You can learn more about the technique here. You can put this away later in the day or in the weekend. For now, at least, you have a temporary place to keep clutter.
A: Assign a Home
Inspired by the idea from Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, she shares the idea of thinking that each item has a “home” and to keep a clutter-free home, your items need to be “home” by end of the day. Look around your home and see if each household item has a designated “home” and create one for each. “Homes” can be a drawer, on top of a table, or a basket — totally up to you. This way, you’ll also know where is what every time.
R: Run Your Buns Off
Move like your in-laws are coming! You’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish given the time pressure. But of course, safety must always come first so be cautious on wet or slippery floors.
T: Touch It Once
We have tendencies to steer away from opportunities to clean something up right away and pile it until later only to regret it afterward. Do. It. Now.
After coming back from work or an errand, if you have time and energy for more, perhaps on weekends or days you’re feeling more motivated, you can go back to your usual cleaning routine or do things like:
- Speed clean other parts of your home
- Empty Tidy Tote
- Wipe Appliances and cupboard doors
- Hang Clean Towels
- Dust/Vacuum surfaces
Try this cleaning habit and let us know how it goes! You may also want to check out how the Japanese maintain an impeccable home. Here are some housekeeping tips, the Japanese way.
