It seems like a simple enough concept to keep your home clean, but far too often we are bombarded with barriers (or if I may be lovingly honest – excuses) that keep us from doing so. It’s far too easy to list reason after reason why our homes are a wreck, but the biggest hurdle most women profess—by far—is a lack of time. 

 

While I can’t give you a magic trick to get more hours in your day, I can give you some handy house cleaning tips that, if done regularly, will make a massive dent in your home chore list. Even better? These can all be done in 10 minutes a day or less. 

 

These home hacks will help get your space in order and bring some much-needed peace to our homes. 

 

Change Your Mindset

 

First, however, let’s chat about a simple mind-shift to help get our hearts right. Rather than spending time scrolling on our phones, we could instead spend time thanking God for His gift of a home by taking good care of it. 

 

Instead of complaining about exhaustion while watching Netflix, praise Him by blessing those in your family with a clean, orderly area.

 

For example, instead of being irritated we have yet another load of laundry to do, our hearts and minds would be much better served to be thankful for the blessing of a washing machine and clothes to wear. We are so fortunate!

 

Now, onto some helpful house cleaning tips.

 

 

Quick House Cleaning Tips (10 Minutes or Less)

 

These ten tips will help you get your home back in order when you are feeling overwhelmed and cleaning is the last thing you want to do.

 

These aren’t meant to replace deep cleaning—somethings simply just WILL take longer than a tiny pocket of time like 10 minutes. But, this is a good start. 

 

So when you see the mess, just go far. Most things only take 10 minutes. 

 

Declutter

 

If you are looking for home hacks, the number one, best, most life-changing tip I can give you is to get rid of your junk. 

 

Pick a spot from one of the suggestions below and get rid of the things you don’t need. I believe so strongly that this one thing can make the biggest impact in your home that I wrote an entire book about it. 

 

Each bullet point should only take 10 minutes. 

• Clean out your children’s closets and/or dressers. Remove anything that no longer fits or items they (or you) don’t like and donate or discard. 
• Go through your medicine cabinet and cosmetics. Anything expired, used up or that doesn’t bring you peace…toss it. 
• Sort through your stack of mail and get rid of the paper clutter. Recycle the junk mail and scan or take pictures of important bills—then toss them too. 

 

Need more ideas of things to get rid of right now? Check out this list of 101 items to declutter. 

 

Fold Laundry—Then Put it Up

 

Folding a load of laundry will take you less than 10 minutes. Don’t believe me? Go time it. 

 

I know it can seem like it takes ages, but I have timed myself multiple times and it takes me about 5-7 minutes to do.

 

Here is the kicker and one of the best house cleaning tips I can give you: once you have folded your laundry—go put it up.

 

This will take you maybe 2 more minutes. Don’t skip this step! It’s far too easy to sit on the couch, fold laundry and put it back in the basket thinking you’ll put it away later. 

 

You won’t. Get up and go do it now. 

 

Or even better… just fold the laundry in the room that goes in and put it away as you go. I know you enjoy watching television while you do this, but skipping that part will make the chore go much faster. 

 

Plus, when you want to watch something you can sit and relax and not have to do any laundry. 

 

Tackle Kids’ Toys

 

There are multiple ways to declutter your children’s toys. Here is how I go about it. When done correctly, you can remove excess toys from the area while also teaching your children a valuable life-long lesson. 

 

• If you haven’t decluttered toys in a while, tackle that first. 
• If you have already decluttered, wipe down every toy and re-sort/group them so they are put away orderly. 

 

Clean Your Floors

 

Whether you sweep, vacuum, or mop, your floors take a lot of damage and need to be cleaned often. Thankfully, it’s quite easy to clean them in 10 minutes or less if you tackle in chunks throughout the day. 

 

I prefer to do all my vacuuming and sweeping at one time, then come back later to mop. If I go room by room, it will take me longer to switch back and forth between each tool. 

 

As those who are longtime readers will know, I am a big believer in something I like to call Vacuum Thursday. I say set your timer for 15 minutes and vacuum/sweep as much as you can of the whole house. Something new I’ve been doing is vacuuming the bedrooms, and living room, while the Roomba does the kitchen and dining room.

 

Keeping up with this task once a week makes it easier to if I need to do a spot clean throughout the week. Like those times when the kids dump cheerios on the floor! Spot cleans actually take WAY less than 10 minutes! 

 

The same goes for mopping. I follow a cleaning routine that has me mopping the floors on Friday. I don’t allow myself to do this for longer than 15 minutes. I use a spray mop and get high traffic areas. 

 

This then allows for quick, 10 minute clean up when trouble arises… such as rainy days and dogs!

 

Clean the Bathroom

 

Another one of my favorite home hacks to recommend is spending 10 minutes per day to tidy up the bathroom.

 

 

In addition to “Toilet Tuesday,”  you can get the bathroom in order in under 10 minutes. This is always the first room I tidy up if guests are coming over… no one wants to use our dirty bathroom.

 

Here are some tasks you can do in the bathroom, in 10 minutes or less:

 

• Clear everything off the counters, toilet and tub edge
• Wipe down the sink counter with a microfiber cloth to remove dust and hair
• Spray down the sink
• Wipe down the outside of the toilet
• Clean the inside of the toilet
• Spray and wipe your bathtub with a clean cloth
• Use another clean cloth to wipe down the sink on your way out

 

Easy, right?

 

Organize Your Linen Closet

 

Everyone’s linen closet is a bit different, so what you do here depends on what stays in your closet. Here are a few generic ideas—pick 2-3 and get to work. 

 

• Re-sort and re-fold linens and towels
• Pull out board games that don’t get used and donate if they are in good working condition
• Take an inventory of any cleaning products or toiletries, purge and re-sort
• Wipe down the shelves and sweep the floor

 

Go Through Your Closet

 

Far too often we hold on to clothes that don’t fit thinking they might one day. 

 

Nope. 

 

Time to toss that stuff out (or donate it). 

 

Spend 10 minutes going through your closet, pulling out things you no longer wear or no longer love (or fit into).

 

Put them in a plastic bag and stick them in your trunk. Next time you are out running errands, swing by a donation center and get rid of them. 

 

Kitchen Cleaning in 10 Minutes or Less

 

The kitchen seems to be a source of stress for most women. And I get it. It can get messy.

 

But only if you let it. 

 

YOU are the gatekeeper that decides whether your kitchen counter is full of dishes covered in old food, or if your counters are spotless. 

 

Here’s how to keep your kitchen clean in less than 10 minutes per chore. 

 

Do a Load of Dishes

 

Keeping up with dishes is a huge part of kitchen cleaning success. It is almost impossible for a load of dishes to take more than 10 minutes long. If it does, it’s because you are letting dishes pile up. 

 

Don’t do that. Do your dishes. It takes less time to clean dishes right away. Otherwise good settles in and is harder to scrub off. 

 

I STRONGLY believe that loading and running your dishwasher is the ONE THING that can change your entire home. So much so, that I wrote an entire blog post about it. 

 

Every single night, I run a load of dishes. Whether it’s half full or totally full. Doesn’t matter.

 

Then, I unload it every single morning. It takes literally FOUR minutes every morning to do this. 

 

• If your dishwasher is full, but clean, unload it immediately. Remember, this will only take you about four minutes to do. 
• If your dishwasher is half-full or empty, and you have dishes in your sink, put your dishes in the dishwasher.
• If your dishwasher is full and running, and you still have dishes in your sink or on the counter, that doesn’t give you a pass. Handwash your dishes. People have made do without dishwashers for centuries. You can do it too. 

 

Clean Your Appliances

 

A part of kitchen cleaning that often falls to the wayside is maintaining and cleaning your appliances. Yes, we may wipe down the stovetop from time to time, but when’s the last time you cleaned your toaster? 

 

Here are some simple tasks you can get done in 10 minutes or less.

 

• Wipe down your fridge.  Fridges can (and will) get sticky and gross. Take some time to remove everything off each shelf, one by one, wipe the shelf clean, and put stuff back in a nice, orderly way. 
• Clean out your freezer. The poor freezer is often overlooked because unlike a fridge, it isn’t painfully obvious when items in the freezer go bad. Get in there, sort through what’s expired and what isn’t, clean the shelves and put back the items you can still eat. 
• Scrub your stove. Like a really good, thorough scrubbing. Remove the eyes (if you have them), scrub underneath, wash the eyes, wipe down the dials and make it all nice and pretty. 
• Clean your small appliances. This includes the toaster, slow cooker, pressure cookers, air fryer…whatever. Pull them out, give them a good cleaning and put away. 

 

Take Inventory of Your Pantry

 

Keeping a log of what you have in your pantry as part of your kitchen cleaning will help in several ways. 

 

First, you will be able to catch items that are close to expiration so you can use them up.

 

Secondly, this exercise will help you meal plan. If you have a ton of rice and cans of beans, add salsa to your grocery store list and make a meal of it. 

 

Thirdly, creating an orderly pantry will encourage you to use your supplies more, make it easier to bake or make dinner, and generally contribute to a better kitchen life.

 

If you only have 10 minutes, go shelf by shelf. Take note of what you have, toss out anything expired. Make sure to wipe the shelf down to remove all the particles of food.

 

Don’t forget to sweep as well. 

 

See? With a little time (ten minutes!) and taking action instead of putting it off, you can easily tackle your home’s trouble spots with these home hacks to create a peaceful environment for yourself and your family. 

 

Thank You! Do You Need More Help?!

 

Thanks for stopping by. Come back anytime! I love helping women love that home that they are in by teaching them systems and routines to keep homemaking simple. 

 

If this is something you need help with. I have many additional resources that can help you. Pick which one is right for you!

 

• Sign up for my newsletter which includes weekly cleaning tips, declutter challenge, items to help you stay organized, and other random tips I have. Signing up for the newsletter gives you access to all of my free printables… all design to make homemaking easier for you. 
• Sign up for my 3-Day Declutter Challenge – Declutter Your Bedroom in Just 3 Days!!
• Check out my shop which includes all downloaded items to help you stay on track with your homemaking.