How to Clean Your House Fast

Here are my top eight tips to clean your house fast! I've been using these tips myself, as a mom of four, and they've made a huge difference for me. I clean my house in less time, and it stays clean more consistently. So let's get started!

How to Clean Your House Fast – 8 Tips

All of these tips fall under the category of “cleaning as you go.” Basically, as you're using your bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc., you clean those areas as you go. Not necessarily every day or every time, but every other day or every other time. All of these tips I learned from the Flylady System, which you can check out all of my blog posts on that here! It has completely changed the way I look at chores and cleaning up our house.

Tip 1 – Toilet Swish and Swipe

So the idea here is that each time you dirty up the toilet, you take a toilet brush and swipe out the toilet instead of waiting until “cleaning day.” It makes it even better if you use a toilet bowl cleaner, but it's not necessary. I have a natural, healthy recipe here if you'd like to use it. The key that makes this easy is to keep a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner and a brush next to each toilet so that it's super easy to do this on a regular basis.

Tip 2 – Clean the Countertops and Toilet Often

I also suggest keeping cleaning wipes (use my tutorial here to make your own reusable, natural ones) or a microfiber cloth and an all purpose cleaner in the bathroom as well. With one of the items, you can easily wipe down the sink and toilet after you dirty them.

Tip 3 – Use a Shower Spray and a Squeegy Often In Your Shower

Next, keep your shower consistently clean so that on cleaning day, you won't have to use much elbow grease to clean it at all! Of course, this goes for the rest of the bathroom as well if you're doing a toilet “swish and swipe.” To do this, I suggest using a daily shower spray (I have a recipe for a natural one here) and a squeegee and cleaning it after each shower. This will also help prevent mold and mildew!

Tip 4 – Wipe Down the Bathtub After Using

This tip, I thought, was just brilliant! Keep a sponge next to the bath and after you're done using it, wipe it down to remove soap scum and dirt, hair, etc. This will prevent the bathtub from getting gross and really dirty!

Tip 5 – 5 Minute Room Rescue

When you walk by a dirty room, which for us is usually the kids' playroom, the kitchen, or one of the kids' rooms, set your timer for five minutes and clean up as much as you can. You'll be amazed at how much you can actually clean in that short amount of time! And the timer is the brilliant part because it gives you a boundary – you know you're giving yourself permission to stop after five minutes. You could go longer if you want, and you'll feel really good about yourself if you do because you already accomplished your goal.

Tip 6 – Set a Timer to Clean for 15 Minutes

Again, here you're using the brilliant idea of a timer. So this ties into the Flylady's Zone Cleaning Method, which was a game changer for me in cleaning my house! You set a timer for 15 minutes once a day and clean in that zone. This type of cleaning keeps your home consistently clean and you don't get overwhelmed, tired or annoyed in nearly as easily.

Tip 7 – 2 Minute Hot Spot Clean Up

Set a timer for two minutes and clean a hot spot area in your home. A hot spot is a place where things tend to collect. For most of us, this is a countertop, a tabletop, a sideboard, a dresser. Usually flat surfaces. Take just 2 minutes everyday to clean up these spots and the clutter will really start to get better.

Tip 8 – Vacuum or Sweep Every Night

So here's my last tip on how to clean your house fast! My husband and I switch kitchen cleaning nights every other day. So when he's cleaning the kitchen after dinner, I'm putting the kids to bed, and vice versa. This system has been working SO well for both of us! So as part of our kitchen cleanup, we also vacuum the kitchen floor, the dining room, and the entry way – our high traffic areas of the home. We don't wear shoes in our house (it's a German thing, we live in Germany, by the way) so that helps to keep dirt and trash off of the floors. (This tip I didn't share in the video, it's a bonus tip!)

Cleaning Recipes Mentioned in This Post

My blog is FULL of natural cleaning, laundry and beauty recipes! Here are the ones mentioned in this post:

• All Purpose Household Cleaner
• Daily Shower Spray
• Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Reusable Cleaning Wipes