How To Clean Your House in 20 Minutes a Day for 30 Days
When I first learned to clean my own place, I thought Saturday had to be an all day clean-a-thon. I didn’t really have a concept of how to balance the work load during the week so weekends could be reserved for larger projects or even you know…fun! Now I clean in 20 minutes a day — every day — and things just seem to take care of themselves. Here’s a glimpse at the schedule I use!
No one said you had to do everything at once and even when time seems short, if you can manage one task a day, things should start to work themselves out. Adjust this list as your family’s needs require (those with more or less children might require doing certain activities more or less). If it’s easier, take a blank calendar and fill it in accordingly so easier tasks are on days where your day is go, go, go and reserve the more difficult ones for days when things are a little lighter.
1. Do your dishes after every meal.
This will help you stay on top of your kitchen instead of having it turn into a monster! No one really wants to do them (after all, you probably cooked dinner to boot). But waiting for another meal or until you have enough to fill the dishwasher just makes things feel overwhelming and easier to put off. The same goes for taking out trash as well. If you need to take the trash out, place it by the front door to go out in the morning or dispose of it that night so it’s over and done with. Still having trouble? Try the one-cup method.
2. Stay on top of laundry.
If you have a washer and dryer at home, do a little bit each day. Spread things out so you don’t feel bogged down by 200 towels and stinky socks. If you take things to a laundromat, sort clothes as you go so things are easier to load into machines when you get there. Fold them before you come home so you aren’t dumping baskets out on your sofa or bed and they can go straight into drawers and closets. Not feeling inspired? Treat yourself… to a new laundry basket. It’s the little things.
3. Whistle while you work.
No one really enjoys cleaning, but singing, humming, whistling or turning up your favorite playlist are all great options to keep the beat in your feet and have fun while working. I recommend creating your very own killer cleaning soundtrack.
4. Set a timer.
Most items on the list below should take no more than 20 minutes total. It’s easy to rationalize 20 minutes, but it’s also easy to get distracted by phone calls, emails, children and other projects that call your name as you tackle each chore. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes (whichever works best for you) and that way when it sounds you know exactly how much time you have left. If you find yourself off task it’s easy to get back on track.
5. Deal with what comes through the door.
Set up a small area by the front door to act as a “landing strip” for incoming items to your home. If you’re a longtime reader this is nothing new to you. If this is the first time you’ve heard this phrase outside of reference to personal grooming habits, then make sure to check out Maxwell’s Home Cure video on the topic.
1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)
2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)
3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)
4. Surface clean “extra” rooms (basement, office, play room)
5. Surface clean living room and kitchen
6. Clean bathrooms
7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)
8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don’t forget stairs)
9. Surface clean bedrooms
10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)
11. Clean bathrooms
12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)
13. Surface clean “extra” rooms
14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)
15. Surface clean living room and kitchen
16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)
17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.
18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry
19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they’re often our home away from home)
20. Surface clean living room and kitchen
21. Surface clean bathrooms
22. Surface clean bedrooms
23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)
27. Surface clean bathrooms
28. Surfaces clean bedrooms
29. Clean one item you’ve been meaning to get to and haven’t (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
To this list you can also add chores that need to be done monthly or quarterly. It’s easier to plan for larger tasks like steam cleaning a sofa or a heavy traffic hallway, when it feels like part of the routine instead of that thing you keep putting off and dreading.
Habits are formed by doing and one of the best ways to change a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit. So if the time spent right when you come home from work is usually filled with email reading or a short nap, try switching this out with your cleaning instead. Filling these first 20 minutes of your time at home with quick cleaning will build good habits and help you stay on top of the game without feeling like it’s a huge chore.
Do you have anything to add to the list? What cleaning tasks would you add? Let us know in the comments below!
Re-edited from a post originally published 11.1.10