Home Life Hacks: How to Clean Faster

How can you clean the house regularly when you are absolutely short on time? It seems it would take a whole day. But if you tidy up not once a week, but a little more often, then you will spend no more than two hours cleaning the apartment, freeing up your well-earned day off for spending time with loved ones and for entertainment. You can do daily cleaning in just one of the rooms, spending no more than half an hour on it.

How do you clean quickly and thoroughly? To begin with, draw up a clear plan of action and prepare everything you need. For a quick apartment cleaning, you actually do not need all that much equipment:

Sponges, microfiber cloths or, for example, faux-suede cloths for different surfaces. If you wipe surfaces with old towels or T-shirts, you will only add to your troubles – traces of fibers will remain on the surfaces and you will have to do the same job over again.

• A cleaning agent for tiles, plumbing fixtures, and floors.
• A grease remover, to deal with splatters on the stove and the kitchen backsplash.
• Paper towels, to wipe everything dry and definitely rid the surfaces of any residue of household chemicals. As an alternative – disposable wipes made of nonwoven material.
• Gloves, so as not to harm your hands with household chemicals.

If you do not know how to clean and where to begin, take the advice of experienced housewives. And the first thing they do is set about tidying up the rooms, and only then do they get down to cleaning the hallway, kitchen, and bathroom. To do a quick cleaning of a room takes no more than 30 minutes, the hallway will take about 25 minutes, and the kitchen and toilet with bathroom – about 15 minutes each.

Quick cleaning of the entrance hall

The corridor, the entrance hall – is like a portal between the dirty street and the clean home. And the dirt is brought in not only on shoes. Outerwear – is also a carrier of dust, soot, street dirt, and bacteria. That is why it is advised to clean the entrance hall regularly and thoroughly.

To do a quick cleaning of the corridor, plan out the work. The sequence is as follows:

1. Start with the contents of the mailbox that have piled up on the shelves. Put the newspapers and letters into a container. It is good if there is a separate hook on the wall for keys, so that they do not clutter the space.
2. Thoroughly shake out and wash the mats that lie on either side of the door. If the material is suitable for washing, wash it. And do not forget to wash the door itself.
3. Remove unnecessary outerwear that you no longer use. So that the entrance hall is clean and presentable, there should hang a minimum of clothing, what is needed for the weather. If there is a wardrobe for outerwear in the corridor, tidy up there too. Fortunately, this needs to be done once a season. And then the daily cleaning of the entrance hall will take mere minutes.
4. For a quick cleaning of the entrance hall, it is enough to wipe the shelves with a soft cloth. Wash the shoes and soles, so that streaks do not later leave marks in the clean entrance hall. Run a damp cloth over the shoe shelves. And only then place the clean shoes there.
5. Vacuum the floor and wash it with the addition of a special agent for your type of floor covering.

The daily cleaning of the entrance hall will take about five minutes: wash the floor, and that can be the end of it. Carry out the other operations every other day or even less often.

How to clean the bathroom faster

It is better to clean the bathroom and toilet last. After washing the floors in the rooms and the kitchen, you will have to pour the dirty water into the toilet. No one is safe from drops landing on the floor.

For a quick cleaning of the bathroom with minimal effort, apply cleaning agent to the sink, toilet, and bathtub and leave it for a while. And in the meantime, check the cabinets and throw out anything unnecessary. Wipe the shelves, wash the mirrors, go over the tiles. The daily cleaning will be faster if you throw out empty shampoo and soap bottles as soon as the product runs out.

Now it is time to clean the bathtub, sink, and toilet. The cleaning agent has already «worked», and washing off the grime will be quick and easy. The last step – is washing the floor.

To save time on the daily cleaning of the bathroom, apply cleaning agent to the toilet before bed, and in the morning go over it with the brush. That way it will always be clean and gleaming white.

How to tidy up the bedroom faster

It is better to clean the house starting with the living rooms and bedrooms. To tidy up faster, arm yourself with a trash bag and collect what needs to be thrown out. Neatly fold the clothes and put them away in the wardrobe.

Brush the dust off the shelves and door frames, wipe the rungs on the chairs. You need to start from the very top, gradually moving lower and lower. Eventually, you will reach the floor.

And do not forget about the curtains. There is, of course, no need to wash the curtains every day. But there is also no point in passing them by. Make use of cleaning life hacks that do not require daily washing: spray the curtains with water from a spray bottle, or wet a towel, twist it up, and go over the curtains, patting them. That way you will remove the accumulated dust. 

Life hack: add a few drops of essential oil to the water, and then the room will smell pleasant for a long time afterward. Lavender works well, this scent helps you fall asleep.

Change the bed linens, if the time has come to do so.

Now you need to vacuum or go over the room with a broom. Collect the dust under the bed, behind the wardrobe, and in hard-to-reach places. You need to start from the corners and move toward the center of the room.

To wipe a mirror quickly and thoroughly, use a special agent for cleaning glass or computer monitors and a clean microfiber cloth.

An agent that does not need to be rinsed off will help you wash the floor quickly. It is good if the solution contains components for killing bacteria. You can use a mop, but in the corners do go over by hand all the same.

Life hacks for cleaning the kitchen

Perfect order in the kitchen can also be achieved quickly and easily. Start with the dishes. To save water, put the dishes in the sink, fill it with water, add dishwashing liquid, and leave it for a while. And in the meantime, apply cleaner to the stove so that the components begin to act on the grime.

Remove anything unnecessary from the counters and other surfaces. Wipe the shelves with a soft cloth, using a special agent.

It would be good to tidy up the cabinets. The first time this will take some time, but after that no more than a couple of minutes, and there will be no more questions about how to clean faster.

After you wipe the appliances with a damp cloth, set about washing the dishes and the stove, which have just soaked, and the grime will wash off easily. Wash the sink and wipe down the refrigerator. Vacuum and wash the floor.

Daily cleaning of the children's room

Cleanliness in the children's room – is the key to the child's good health, discipline, and their attitude toward order in the future. For cleaning the children's room, use special hypoallergenic products or ordinary baby soap.

• Wash the toys in a soapy solution – this will be enough to get rid of bacteria.
• Tidy up the children's desk, put things in their places. Wipe off the dust, starting from the upper level. Use microfiber cloths. Only then pick up the vacuum cleaner. You can freshen up the carpet with ordinary salt. Sprinkle salt on the soiled spot, moisten it with water from a spray bottle, and half an hour later vacuum it.
• The floor can be washed with the addition of hydrogen peroxide: one spoon per liter of water. Such a solution will be both safe and effective.
• Use organizers for toys and small items. Store building sets in boxes with lids, so that dust does not get inside.
• It is good if the surfaces in the children's room can be washed: both the walls and the furniture set. That way it will be easier to maintain cleanliness and remove the traces of children's creativity.

A thorough cleaning of the children's room, with the washing of hard-to-reach places, light fixtures, and the changing of curtains, should be carried out weekly.

The daily cleaning of the children's room is simple: put away the toys and clothes and wash the floor. By the way, the fewer open shelves there are, the faster the cleaning of the children's room will be.

More secrets of quick cleaning

Life hacks for quick cleaning will help save a great deal of time and will suggest how to tidy up the home faster.

• Put the cleaning and washing agents, cloths, and sponges into one container. And then you will not have to go back and forth for everything you need, and the cleaning will be quick.
• To quickly clean the shower stall, use a car windshield squeegee. If you wipe the walls of the stall with the agent each time after showering, they will always be like new.

• Another life hack for quick apartment cleaning – dishwasher tablets. Dissolve one tablet in hot water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. With this agent you can quickly remove old greasy streaks in the kitchen, even on the range hood. Spray it, leave it for a while, and then wash it off with a damp sponge. This agent is suitable for cleaning the stove and removing limescale from a shower head or faucets.
• An old toothbrush will help clean hard-to-reach places. With it you can also easily clean corners and the recesses in plumbing fixtures and household appliances.
• So that dirt does not drip off your shoes in the entrance hall, place pebbles or cat litter into the lid from a shoebox. During bad weather it will become an excellent shoe stand.
• You can clean sponges and plastic cutting boards of germs and unpleasant odors with a microwave. Heat them for one minute. Wooden boards are easy to freshen up by rubbing them with a slice of lemon.
• To protect the trash bin from dirt and possible leaks, place an old newspaper at the bottom of the trash bag. The paper will absorb liquids and spare you the need to scrub the walls every time.
• Baking soda will help clean dishes of tea and coffee stains. It will also keep cabinets fresh. Pour soda into little jars with holes in the lid and place them on the shelves.
• Sort everything lying around the apartment into containers and little boxes. Place a small vase or box in the entrance hall, where you will put keys and other small items. And even if disorder arises, it will be localized – only within the bounds of this container. That way a quick cleaning will be possible much faster.
• Dryer sheets for the washing machine can be used for wiping down furniture. The special antiseptic composition will keep the dust from settling again, and the cleaning will go faster.
• Buy a robot vacuum cleaner and an air humidifier. Together they will keep the amount of dust in the apartment to a minimum.

Now you know how to clean an apartment quickly. If you use these home life hacks, cleaning will become simple and pleasant.