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How To Speed Your Way To Clean
Multi-tasking and cutting corners have become a way of life today. We are all familiar with doing many things all at the same time. We incorporate this skill in levels of our lives such as work, home and family. This skill set is also useful in our cleaning lives.
While no one really has the time to do a thorough cleaning once every week, there are some tips and tricks to speed your way to clean.
Your Mindset
Believe it or not, the attitude you go into cleaning with can make or break your experience. Let’s face it, cleaning is a dirty job, and somebody has to do it. If you go in with the knowledge that you will be doing the best you can in as short a time as possible, you will go in happy and come out satisfied.
So open up the windows, let the fresh air in, turn the music up and speed your way to clean.
Get Rid of Clutter
The next time you are on your obligatory weekly phone call with your favourite relative take the opportunity to get rid of clutter while you chat. You can be an attentive listener while you go through that pile of mail. Toss everything into the room that it belongs and you will see that your main quarters, living room, dining room and kitchen are starting to shape up nicely.
Your house may be spotless, but if it is cluttered no one will ever know. And clutter makes cleaning hard work. Whatever is not of any use to you any longer, feel free to purge. Next time around, your home will be ready for an even quicker cleaning.
Stick to a Cleaning Ritual
For bigger cleanings, however, set a schedule even going as far as making up a cleaning calendar. You will find, hands down, that once you put it in writing, you will want to stick to it and then cross it off your to-do list just like anything else. When you have a date with cleaning, you will find it gets done and it gets done quickly so you will move onto the next thing on your list.
Have a specific list of chores for that calendar otherwise you will definitely find yourself dusting your bedroom and then cleaning out the wardrobe – leaving you with nothing more than a big mess. Cleaning cupboards, washing walls and skirting boards and so on are all best left as monthly or seasonal projects. The best thing is, though, that if you follow a regular speed cleaning schedule, they won't be big jobs. You'll be able to get your spring or autumn cleaning done in no time.
Get Down and Dirty
Before cleaning, make sure you have all your cleaning supplies on hand. Carrying them around in a bucket with a handle works really well. When you are finished, you can use the bucket to mop the floors.
Start by stripping the beds of all the sheets and run them through the washing machine. Next, load the dishwasher and turn it on. This way your dishes will clean themselves and your laundry will wash in the time it takes to clean the rest of the house.
I like to work in one room or zone at a time. I break the zones down like this:
Monday: Kitchen, laundry, family, lounge, dining and hall
Tuesday: Main bed and bath
Wednesday: Bed 2, main bath, back verandah
Thursday: Bed 4, shopping
Friday: Bed 3, Front entrance, swish'n'swipe lounge, dining and family
Start by taking a soft broom and running it around the cornices and then along the skirting boards. Next job is dusting all the furniture in all the room. This way you will focus on just dusting. Clean all the glass in the room, including windows. Microfibre glass cloths are perfect for this job, one damp to wash, one dry to polish. Wipe over switchplates and any fingerprints on doors and walls with a damp cloth and a spritz of Miracle Spray if needed. Next sweep or vacuum all floors (including under beds and sofas), then mop if necessary.
Cleaning like this every week means you never have to do a huge spring clean. Your home is cleaned top to bottom every week and best of all the more you follow this plan, the cleaner your home is and the faster you get your cleaning done.
While no one really has the time to do a thorough cleaning once every week, there are some tips and tricks to speed your way to clean.
Your Mindset
Believe it or not, the attitude you go into cleaning with can make or break your experience. Let’s face it, cleaning is a dirty job, and somebody has to do it. If you go in with the knowledge that you will be doing the best you can in as short a time as possible, you will go in happy and come out satisfied.
So open up the windows, let the fresh air in, turn the music up and speed your way to clean.
Get Rid of Clutter
The next time you are on your obligatory weekly phone call with your favourite relative take the opportunity to get rid of clutter while you chat. You can be an attentive listener while you go through that pile of mail. Toss everything into the room that it belongs and you will see that your main quarters, living room, dining room and kitchen are starting to shape up nicely.
Your house may be spotless, but if it is cluttered no one will ever know. And clutter makes cleaning hard work. Whatever is not of any use to you any longer, feel free to purge. Next time around, your home will be ready for an even quicker cleaning.
Stick to a Cleaning Ritual
For bigger cleanings, however, set a schedule even going as far as making up a cleaning calendar. You will find, hands down, that once you put it in writing, you will want to stick to it and then cross it off your to-do list just like anything else. When you have a date with cleaning, you will find it gets done and it gets done quickly so you will move onto the next thing on your list.
Have a specific list of chores for that calendar otherwise you will definitely find yourself dusting your bedroom and then cleaning out the wardrobe – leaving you with nothing more than a big mess. Cleaning cupboards, washing walls and skirting boards and so on are all best left as monthly or seasonal projects. The best thing is, though, that if you follow a regular speed cleaning schedule, they won't be big jobs. You'll be able to get your spring or autumn cleaning done in no time.
Get Down and Dirty
Before cleaning, make sure you have all your cleaning supplies on hand. Carrying them around in a bucket with a handle works really well. When you are finished, you can use the bucket to mop the floors.
Start by stripping the beds of all the sheets and run them through the washing machine. Next, load the dishwasher and turn it on. This way your dishes will clean themselves and your laundry will wash in the time it takes to clean the rest of the house.
I like to work in one room or zone at a time. I break the zones down like this:
Monday: Kitchen, laundry, family, lounge, dining and hall
Tuesday: Main bed and bath
Wednesday: Bed 2, main bath, back verandah
Thursday: Bed 4, shopping
Friday: Bed 3, Front entrance, swish'n'swipe lounge, dining and family
Start by taking a soft broom and running it around the cornices and then along the skirting boards. Next job is dusting all the furniture in all the room. This way you will focus on just dusting. Clean all the glass in the room, including windows. Microfibre glass cloths are perfect for this job, one damp to wash, one dry to polish. Wipe over switchplates and any fingerprints on doors and walls with a damp cloth and a spritz of Miracle Spray if needed. Next sweep or vacuum all floors (including under beds and sofas), then mop if necessary.
Cleaning like this every week means you never have to do a huge spring clean. Your home is cleaned top to bottom every week and best of all the more you follow this plan, the cleaner your home is and the faster you get your cleaning done.