Keep A Clean House In Under 20 Minutes A Day

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Finding an easy way for how to keep a clean house without taking all your time to do it can be a pretty tall order to fill. Today’s tips will change how you plan out your days so you can keep a neater home using a maintenance plan.

Put this task on auto-pilot so you can spend more time doing what you love.

How to Keep a clean house without sacrificing your entire weekend to do it. Simple house cleaning hacks you need to start using today; they seriously will change everything!

There is nothing I hate more than cleaning.

Scrubbing floors, dusting, sweeping, and don’t even get me started on toilets. The thing is, I used to spend a full day cleaning our house every single week. While most families were out doing fun things together, I was stuck inside scrubbing those toilets because that was how I was taught to do it. In our home, weekends were for cleaning, doing laundry, mowing, and other maintenance projects.

Then one day, I thought, why? Why am I wasting my weekends cleaning when I should be out having fun with the kids?

So, I decided to come up with a game plan that eliminated all of that. And what I created is nothing short of life-changing. I found a way to keep a clean house in under 20 minutes a day.

If you think about everything that needs to be done to keep your home clean, most of the chores take just a few minutes to complete. Unless you are doing a full spring clean, you can usually get cleaning chores done quickly.

• To unload the dishwasher is just 3 minutes. 
• To dust the family room is 2 minutes. 
• To vacuum the bedroom is 4 minutes. 

It is quite eye-opening to see the exact time a chore takes to complete. By breaking chores down into small tasks and tackling one or more every day, you will be able to keep your house neat and tidy without having to sacrifice your entire weekend to do it. 

When you think about it, 20 minutes is easy, right?

And I don’t know about you, but I would much rather do a daily 20 minutes each day instead of doing a long list of chores that cover an entire Saturday.

How to keep a clean house in under 20 minutes a day

To make this super simple, because you all know I love simple….especially super! We are going to break this down into steps.

Step #1  When you cook, clean up as you go.

There is nothing worse than a messy and dirty kitchen to face after you have eaten a delicious meal. I used to be so guilty of this. By the time I was done cooking, my kitchen looked like a disaster area, and my sink would be full of dirty dishes.

The trick here is to clean as you cook.

Instead of tossing a dirty dish or pot into the sink, rinse it and put it directly into the dishwasher. Have a pan that is a complete mess? Fill your sink or a tub with hot soapy water and allow it to soak as you eat. By the time you are done, that caked-on mess will usually rinse right off. 

As things are simmering on the stove, you can wipe down counters and wash any items you are finished using. This one little tip will make your after-dinner clean-up a breeze.

SLCG Pro Tip: I like to use a plastic wash tub to collect dirty dishes from the table so you can get most everything over to the sink in one trip. You can do the same with items that belong in the refrigerator or pantry.

These tubs can be incredibly helpful, especially if you have young children helping to clean up.

Step #2  Every time you use the bathroom, clean the sink as you wash your hands.

This takes seconds and is a great habit to get into.

Soap and toothpaste splatters can make an entire bathroom look a mess. By doing a quick wipe down and shine, you can give your bathroom a neat and tidy look in seconds. 

Before you rinse your hands, use that soap to wipe down the inside of the sink, along with the faucet and handles. Rinse everything as you are rinsing your hands. 

Finally, dry your hands and the faucet handles, and wipe down the mirror to remove any splash marks. 

This one small habit can make a big impact on your sink in just seconds. 

Step #3  Sweep the kitchen floor after dinner every time.

This is another simple and quick chore, especially when you do it frequently.

Sweeping strains my back, and for that reason, I used put this chore off for as long as I can. The problem was I was making a bitter mess. Not sweeping my kitchen floors routinely allowed crumbs and dust to be tracked all over the house.

So, instead of just sweeping my kitchen I now needed to do all the floors. I used to ignore this chore, only doing it once a week, but I soon found that a dirty kitchen floor made for a dirty house. And now that I have grandkids that love to walk around barefoot, a dirty floor is not so fun to walk on for them either! 

To help I decided to find a way to make this chore easier for me to do.

If you hate to sweep, then you really must invest in a Roomba. I purchased this Roomba a few years ago, and I still love it today. All I need to do is push a button, and my floors are kept clean and dust-free. It is the best money I have ever spent on my home. 

I also purchased my very first Swiffer Wet Jet, which was another great investment. Now I can wash our floors in just 10 minutes.

Lesson learned: sweep your kitchen daily so you only have to vacuum your carpets weekly and make it easier to keep a clean house.

Step #4  Pick up trash and clutter before heading off to bed.

If you want to help control the clutter constantly lying out, you can use this helpful tip.

I like to call this a room reset; it is a busy mom’s game-changer. When you start adding this to one task to your evening routine, you will be greeted with a neater home in the morning. That alone is worth the 6 minutes it takes to complete this task. 

If you still have children living at home, more specifically clutter bug children, give a reminder to each before they head off to bed. Just announce for them to gather up their things from around the home. Then when you make your rounds, you will have a much smaller mess to collect. 

READ: HOW TO DO A ROOM RESET

Before heading off to bed, arm yourself with a laundry basket, my favorite decluttering tool. Walk each of your main rooms, gathering any items that belong somewhere else. Dishes, food containers, socks, toys, etc. Then take those items and put them all where they belong. 

Step #5  Do a load of laundry every single day.

Even when I had all 4 of my boys at home, I found that by doing at least one load of laundry each morning, I never found myself behind in the laundry department. Another chore that, if broken down, takes just minutes but, if left for later, can take an entire day.

Add “Doing a load of laundry” to your usual morning routine. When you do it, transfer the wet to the dryer and remove the dry to fold and put away. 

This entire chore will take just 10 minutes and keep you up to date on your laundry. 

READ:  The Laundry System That Will Save You Hours

Step #6  Make a list of everything you need to do to keep a clean house.

Vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms (ugh), sweeping, scrubbing floors, laundry, windows, whatever you normally do each week when you clean your home. 

Do a full “Clean the House” brain dump and get it all down on paper. 

Step #8  Next to each chore, jot down how long it takes to complete.

This will help you when you set up your weekly schedule. Knowing how much time you need to finish a chore will help you get more done, especially the tasks you avoid.

You may be surprised at how little time it takes to complete a chore. Even one you hate like sweeping the kitchen floor.

Step #9  Be consistent

Choose a day each week to clean a different area or room in your home. Block out 20 minutes so you remember to do your daily cleaning task.

Room a day cleaning plan:

• Monday – Bedrooms
• Tuesday – Bathrooms
• Wednesday – Kitchen
• Thursday – Errands
• Friday – Office/Bills
• Saturday – Outside
• Sunday – Family room

Breaking things down to just a room a day not only saves time but keeps your entire home cleaner without sacrificing an entire weekend.

Step #10  Enlist help

Let’s face it; the house doesn’t get messy on its own, so ensliting help only seems logical. Maybe not to your family, but most definitely to you!

Is there a chore you hate?

That might be a good one to have someone else tackle. You might just be surprised at what even your youngest children can do.

Chores for young children:

• Sweeping the floor
• Putting clean towels away
• Dusting
• Emptying bathroom trash
• Putting silverware away
• Watering plants

Young kids love to help, so get them while you can.

You can also get them their own cleaning kit like this one. I promise you when they get older, it won’t be nearly as easy.

Step #11 Weekly and monthly tasks

Take things a step further and make a plan for the bigger chores.

A bigger chore might take longer than 20 minutes, but by incorporating one into your weekly or monthly routine, you will be even more on your game.

A few things to consider for this are:

• Washing sheets and/or comforters
• Dusting pictures and/or wall hangings
• Cleaning baseboards
• Washing light fixtures
• Cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer
• Vacuuming furniture
• Vacuuming stairs
• Washing windows and screens
• Disinfecting light switches and doorknobs
• Dusting shelves and nick nacks

I am sure you might think this idea of doing a little every day so you don’t have to do a lot every week is a silly and simple concept, but sometimes simple can make the biggest impact.

By creating an easy, effective, and second-nature system, you will find yourself getting more done in less time and with little effort.

Say hello to your Saturdays!

For me, cleaning day was always on Saturday. It was just a given that I would wake up early and hit the ground running, trying to get as much done as possible.

But no more! Now I have taken back my Saturdays; they are a time of rest, family, and fun.

When you are focused and on track, you can get more done in 20 minutes than you think. Heck, you may not even need the full 20, and if not…good for you! The goal is to keep a clean house without wasting a day away! 

Do you have tips on how to keep a clean house? Share below in the comments! 

More Cleaning Resources:

• Spring Cleaning Hacks
• Auto-Pilot Laundry Systems
• 50 Things to Declutter When You’re Stuck