Do you want to spend less time cleaning and more time doing things that you actually enjoy? Then you’re going to love these 7 habits that can reduce your cleaning time by as much as half!
1. Soak Everything
By soaking things you have to clean, it becomes easier to get the dirt off of them. As a result, you have to spend less time scrubbing. This applies to just about everything in your home, including:
● Cookware and ovenware — submerge them overnight in hot water with a little dash of detergent and remove with a gentle brush in the morning.
● Basin, shower, and toilet — spray them with a cleansing solution a couple of hours before you have to clean them.
● Laundry — put it in your laundry machine for a pre-soak cycle to remove long-term stains and freshen up towels and sheets to make them look like new.
2. Always Clear Before You Clean
Before you start cleaning a room, make sure there’s nothing in your way. For instance, all the benchtops should be cleared, your waste bins should be moved to another room temporarily, and there should be no clutter. Only once the ground is clear should you charge ahead. This way you won’t have to multitask during the cleaning.
3. Wash Your Dishes Right Away
After you’re done eating, never put your dishes down on the counter. Don't put them in the sink either. Instead, always put them directly where they belong: inside the dishwasher.
That way, they won’t get any other part of your home dirty, like your shelves. Once the rack fills to the brim, you can start it up at once—thus completely eliminating the weary task of loading the dishwasher.
4. Invest in Cleaning Gadgets
Cleaning gadgets, such as robot vacuums, can save you a ton of time. So the next time you run across a great deal on a cleaning gadget, don’t hesitate to snag it. The time savings will pay for it and then some.
5. Keep Everything Dry
Did you know that all items in your home develop more bacteria when they stay damp, which makes it harder to clean them? So it’s a good idea to hang every hangable item in your home on a clean surface whenever possible to keep them dry.
6. Never Clean Your Fridge
Raise your hand if you agree that cleaning a fridge takes too long. If your hand is raised, we’ve got some good news for you: there’s no need to clean your fridge anymore.
We say that because there’s a way to prevent your fridge from getting dirty — and if it’s never dirty, you don’t have to clean it ever again. The only thing you have to do is take this two-step precaution:
1. Line the shelves and drawers with wax paper
2. When the paper gets dirty, toss it away and reline the shelves with a new layer of sheet
7. Adjust Your Standard
Last but not least, you can save a lot of time if you can accept this one fact: having a less-than-impeccable home isn’t a crime.
So rather than aiming for perfection at all times, decide what your kind of acceptable looks like and aim for that — no more, no less.