Okay, all you Martha-wanna-be’s out there, tell me the truth. There are times when your house is quite simply a mess, especially if you have children. For me, Sunday mornings are one of the worst. We invariably sleep too late and then have to rush around trying to get ready for church. Add to that the fact that one or both of my girls almost always have company over and you wind up with a sink full of dishes, towels laying on the bathroom floor and unmade beds. That’s on a good day. Fortunately, I know how to clean a messy house fast!
Who needs info on how to clean your house in two hours? I can teach you to do it in 20 minutes tops.
My always sensitive to my plight husband loves to pick these moments to invite someone back to our home, thinking that everything looks “fine”. Embarrassment! I hate people seeing my house like that. It makes me feel like a horrid housekeeper, which let’s face it — I am. But, I don’t want people to know this because they’ve seen my house a mess. This means that I wind up having to run around like a crazy person stashing items here, there and everywhere, which means even more closet decluttering later.
Tips for How to Clean a Messy House Fast
It is truly amazing how much “stuff” you can get rid of in fifteen short minutes if you throw all the kids’ stuff into their bedrooms and slam the door. In fact, this typically gets most of my house clean. Of course, their bedrooms are then messes, but I can always close the door to their bedrooms. Right?
So, my house might not be Martha-ready (or ready for company either), but it can quickly look Martha-ready. And just think. The company never even knew that I had two bedrooms with the kids belongings thrown here there and everywhere.
How to Clean a Messy House Fast
- Use a laundry basket to gather up any clutter in the main areas of the house.
- Stash the laundry basket in an unused room.
- Get dishes out of the sink. If you don’t have time to clean them, stash them in another laundry basket until company leaves.
- Dust down the kitchen counter tops and table.
- Spray room freshener everywhere.
- Put cookies in the oven. This makes it smell like you’ve been baking all day and the homey smell allows people to forgive minor messes.
Even though your house won’t be perfect, people will enjoy visiting with you more than they’ll notice your mess. And with these fast tips, your house will at least look passable.
House Cleaning Plan
Once company leaves, I always vow never to allow this to happen to me again. I’m always determined to come up with a house-cleaning plan of some sort. Over the years, it’s gotten easier. My kids are grown and there are less messes to keep up with. However, when they were still home, here are some things that helped me:
Choose a Room a Day
One thing I do is choose one room a day and deep clean it. This ensures that my house isn’t filthy. I can handle a little clutter, but I can’t handle dust bunnies in the corner.
Here is how my plan looks:
- Mondays – Clean both bathrooms. Spray mirrors, clean toilets and tubs and sweep and mop the floor.
- Tuesdays – Clean the living room. Put away clutter, dust and vacuum.
- Wednesdays – Deep clean the kitchen. Bleach the sink, wipe down counters and surfaces, sweep and mop floor.
- Thursdays – Hit the bedrooms. Put away any scattered belongings, dust and vacuum. I also usually throw the sheets in the wash.
- Fridays – Clean out my purse and fridge. I reserve Fridays for cleaning out my purse and refrigerator.
- Saturdays – Deep cleaning tasks. Saturdays are for deep cleaning anything I might have missed and is getting dirty. This might be a day when I clean my oven, pull out the fridge or clean baseboards.
- Sundays – Off
Separating my tasks up works well for me, because I don’t have to devote too much time any one day to cleaning.
Other Tips for Cleaning Your House
I’ve picked up so many cleaning tips over the years. I loathe cleaning. Here are some other things I do that save time and make life easier.
- Keep 2 sets of sheets. It’s easier to immediately put a new set on while the other set is in the laundry. If I forget to pull them out of the dryer, I can still go on to bed that night.
- Buy a Crosswave. No, I don’t get paid by them, I just love mine more than words can express. It saves a step. I no longer have to sweep and then mop. It does both tasks at one time.
- Declutter. One of the best things you can do to keep a clean house is get rid of stuff. We all have too much stuff.
- Find a natural cleaner. I’ve switched to an all natural cleaner. We all could do with a few less chemicals in our life. My cleaner does almost every job cutting down on running to find furniture polish or seeking out the window cleaner.
- Get everyone on board. Even the youngest of family members can do some small task, such as picking up their own toys.
- Keep your sink clean. I learned this tip years ago from Fly Lady. If you keep your kitchen sink clean, it sort of spreads out to other areas of your home.
- Put things away immediately. Find a place for everything and put it away the minute it comes in the house or out of the dryer.
Clean Your House Fast
One of the keys to a cleaning your house fast is getting the clutter put away and making your house smell good. Putting some pine scented cleaner on a sponge and setting it in your sink makes it smell like you’ve been cleaning for hours. Get creative and remember to enjoy your company rather than worrying too much about your house being perfect.
