Love a clean house but hate the actual cleaning? Having a clean house doesn’t mean dedicating hours each week to chores. You can keep your home spick and span in just 10 minutes a day with this handy cheat-sheet.
Remember when you first moved into your own place and you spent each Saturday getting it spick and span? Remember how good it felt to have clean floors, a microwave that wasn’t covered in last week’s baked bean splatter and a toilet you could let guests comfortably use?
Then you either realised that weekends could be used for fun (or you had kids) and all that cleaning went by the wayside. The dishes started piling up, the laundry room could have featured in an article on third world clothing markets and you started to eat out more because you had a niggling concern that your kitchen might not be safe for food.
Cleaning your home might seem like an insurmountable task and sure, getting your home back into some semblance of order may take some time. But the good news is that once you — or a professional — have given your house a good spring clean, you can actually keep your home looking spick and span in about 10 minutes a day. That’s two ad breaks. Simple.
The key, says Irwin Clark from OneClickClean is to be organised.
“A good way to save a lot of time on cleaning is by organising the entire process. Having a good plan is the key to a quick and successful clean and by following the plan you can make sure everything is cleaned without missing a spot,” he says.
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So, just what do you need to do every day to keep your home looking fresh? First, you need to make sure you don’t let junk pile up. Dedicate some space by your front door to collect mail and other incoming objects and put it away or throw it away every night.
The laundry room is another place where things tend to get out of control so try and do a little bit each day so you’re not left folding mountains of clothes at the end of the week.
Finally, make a plan and stick to it. Apartment Therapy have a wonderful 30 day schedule that will get your home thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom but if you’re looking for something a bit more instant then have a look at the weekly cleaning cheat-sheet below. Print it off and pop it on your fridge and in just 10 minutes each day you’ll have a clean home and chore-free weekends again.
10-minute cleaner
10 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time and obviously the amount of time will depend on the size of your house. But it really doesn’t take much time to keep your house clean. You don’t need to scrub your toilet with a toothbrush if you clean it every week so the trick is consistency. Stick to it.
Monday
Get your bathrooms sparkling by scrubbing down wet surfaces, wiping counters and cleaning all toilets.
Tuesday
Today is the day to get your kitchen clean so wipe down counters, stoves, the outside of the fridge and the cupboards. Each fortnight clean your oven using a specialised spray-on cleaner.
Wednesday
Give each room a wipe over with a soft, wet cloth and once a fortnight rub down furniture with a specialised polish. On alternate fortnights dust artworks, photos, mirrors and ceiling corners.
Thursday
If you have carpets, vacuum them. Sweep and mop floorboards or other hard surfaces in each room. Each fortnight wipe over skirting boards and on alternate fortnights vacuum between the sofa cushions and brush over any other upholstery.
Friday
Today is the day to give your home a touch up if it’s needed. Give obvious surfaces a quick wipe over to remove any accumulated dust/dirt.
Saturday/Sunday
Use your weekends to do one quick chore such as sweeping up your patio, tidying up your wardrobe or cleaning out your fridge. Aim to wipe down your windows once a month and don’t forget your car — take it through the carwash and vacuum the inside to keep it looking fresh.
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