Uh oh, you have friends coming over in 15 minutes and your house is a wreck! There's no time for a deep clean, or let's face it, even a quick tidy! Use these hacks to speed clean your house and make it look clean fast.
If you guys know me, you know that I love to entertain and have people in my home. But let’s be honest, I have 8 kids and we can make some really big messes! I find that I’m less likely to open my home to other people if it’s messy. Or we may still have people over, but I can’t really focus and connect with my guests and I feel a little self-conscious about my home if there are messes everywhere.
However, the goal of speed cleaning for me isn’t really having the appearance of a “perfect home.” It’s more about having the confidence and being able to open up my doors, let people in, and really have that connection with them that may otherwise be lost if my house is in disarray.
So today, I’m going to give you some tips on how to clean your house fast juuuuust enough so that you can avoid those distractions and really be able to connect with your guests. But let me also mention that you’ll be able to do it quickly and with the least amount of effort, what whaaatttt!
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Alright, enough talking, let’s get on with this! Click to watch below or keep on reading to learn all about how to speed clean your house! Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new videos every Thursday!
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Alright, you made it! Now you know how to clean your house fast like a champ. Make sure that you keep on reading for a recap so that you can do your own victory lap!
SPEED CLEAN AND CLEAR OFF THOSE SURFACES
If you only have 10-15 minutes to clean your house fast before a friend stops by last minute, then you won’t have time to put every item away in its proper spot. Our living room is the place where all the toys and things come to play during the day, but they don’t always get put away.
My biggest tip for this is to get a laundry basket or 2 (if you have 2 floors) and put all of the things in the baskets. I put everything that goes upstairs in one basket and everything that stays on the main floor in another basket. I put the baskets where nobody will find them once they're done. This can be in a closet, the laundry room, or my favorite place – the shower – because guests will never look there!
As you are clearing off your surfaces, keep a damp rag handy so that you can clean your house fast and wipe everything down. I like to use disinfecting microfiber eCloths. I do a quick spot clean to get anything sticky or gross off of the counters. Make sure that you’re closing drawers, doors, and cabinets as you’re speed cleaning, too!
STRAIGHTEN FURNITURE AS YOU SPEED CLEAN
This is another easy way to clean your house fast. Go around and make sure that all of your furniture is straightened and arranged properly. Fix any chairs or tables that have gotten out of whack. Once that’s done, straighten your pillows and then give them a good chop! I don’t know why pillows need bunny ears, but it makes everything look so polished. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!
Another speed cleaning tip to make the most impact is to give the back of your couch faux “vacuum lines.” Take a damp rag, and swipe up and down on the back of your couch. When you’re done, you’ll have beautiful stripe lines on your couch and you’ll have your guests wondering how in the heck you have time to vacuum your couch!
TAKE CARE OF YOUR DISHES
First up, clean your house fast by gathering all of your dirty dishes. You can either put them all into the sink to clean later, or you can put them unrinsed into your dirty dishwasher and forget about them for now! Then, if you have any clean dishes sitting out on your drying rack on the counter, put them away. If you have the time to actually put them where they go, then do that. But if you don’t, hide them away under your sink or in a cabinet. Are you freaking out about not doing the dishes properly? Honey, you’re running out of time and you just gotta move, so don’t blink an eye at those dishes!
SPEED CLEAN YOUR BATHROOM
Your guests are probably going to need to use the bathroom at some point. And if your bathrooms are anything like mine, you’re probably going to need a hazmat suit!
FOLD TOILET PAPER
This is one of the easiest speed cleaning tips – fold your toilet paper to make a fancy tip. This will take you about 5 seconds and will give your bathroom the appearance of being cleaned by professionals!
See, doesn't that make it look so fancy?
SPRINKLE TOILET CLEANER
Speed clean your bathroom by sprinkling a little toilet cleaner in the toilet. You don’t even have to scrub it! If you have the time, then go for it. But this will give the appearance that your toilet is spotless. And it will make it smell better, too!
WASH YOUR HANDS TO CLEAN THE SINK
This is a great little hack to clean your house fast! Wash your hands in the sink and scrub the countertop, sink bowl, and faucet with your hands. This is a quick way to clean up any messes in or around the sink. Do a once-over with your towel when you’re done and your sink will be spotless in about 30 seconds! (And don’t forget to wipe down the mirror with that towel once you’re done!)
FRESHEN THE AIR
Don’t forget to make your house smell good, along with looking good! Plug in an air freshener or light a candle right next to the front door. That way when guests walk into your house, their first impression of your home is walking into a beautiful smell.
They’ll feel like they’re walking into a nice and relaxing spa rather than the danger zone that it was 15 minutes ago! And you'll feel nice and relaxed when you're breathing in that relaxing smell.
EXTRA THINGS TO SPEED CLEAN
Okay Freebs, IF you’re lucky and you have some spare time, don’t forget to speed clean your floors! Take a broom or an electric sweeper and hit the major areas that need some attention. Make sure that you take care of the kitchen and around the table to get the crumbs. You can also vacuum if you have some messes on the rug or carpet that need to be taken care of.
If you do run out of time, at least you know that you’ve done the least amount of work that will make the most impact for your home to feel beautiful and fresh for your guests! Do make sure that at the end of the day, you get your kids and your spouse to help empty the baskets and get all of the dishes put away properly. Ain’t nobody got time to do that by themselves!
Some of these principles that I taught today can be found in my Productivity Boot Camp program. Much like speed cleaning, it’s all about getting the most amount of results in the least amount of time and going to bed feeling satisfied at the end of the night. Be sure to check it out and use the code FCFBLOG for 10% off because I love ya! 😉
If you’d like to see how I speed clean my bedroom when I know that someone is going to want a tour of my house, you can watch that video HERE or below.
Alright, well there you have it! Those are just some quick tips on how to clean your house fast so that it’s comfortable and beautiful for your guests. Sometimes I’ll even do this routine for myself if my house feels like it’s beyond repair and I can’t focus on anything else. The whole family will get together, we’ll set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and go to town. Try it out and let me know how it goes for you in the comments!
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Want more tips?
- Deep clean your house with one task per day. A printable is included!
- Learn how I balance work and life to keep my sanity!
- Come see how we do kid snacks and lunches without going broke.
- Inventory your pantry, freezer and fridge, and clean it while you do!
- See how we do chores in our house.
- Start doing your laundry the unconventional way like me!
XOXO
What sweeper did you use in your kitchen video?
This one: http://amzn.to/2vCn1hU I love it!
I would LOVE to see how you would speed clean your bathroom (especially one that a man uses regularly, Yuk!!) or your child’s play room! You are smokin’ awesome lady!! Thanks for all the great tips
I often get overwhelmed when cleaning my home, so this is a great way to be productive and make your living space habitable in a manageable way. Thanks for these tips!
Thank you for these speed cleans. Could you make a written list of the process? I rewatched to stop/start and write down. I just discovered you and love what I’ve seen so far. As someone working 3 part time jobs whe going to school, saving money and time are key.
The speed clean of your bedroom is my favorite video you have done… laughed out loud with the cartwheel! I think you are awesome… thanks for sharing your tips.., where does one get a disco machine?
After I read this post I started using your speed cleaning tips before we have guests come over. Is It bad that sometimes I use it at night just so I can pretend that my house is clean and I can get a good nights sleep! Thank you so much!
I’ve been doing this since The beginning fo January and it has made a huge difference in keeping my house up! Thanks for all the awesome tips!
I love the one chore a day method! It has helped me to get more things cleaned!
It’s so motivating to see speed cleaning videos! Thanks!!
Love this! It’s going to go well with my goals I need to set. Thanks for this post (and all of your other awesome posts)!
10 minutes? I’m in!!
I showed this to my mom, I loved it so much! I’ve set timers for myself just like you did and it’s helped me so so much. Such good advice and so practical. Thanks 🙂
I’ve been able to apply so many tips from these videos in my home and love how clean it stays! Thank you!
Great ideas!!
I love the idea of speed cleaning! I always procrastinate cleaning because it ends up taking me all day because I don’t know where to stop! I am going to try this.
I love your timer idea! It makes it almost like a game to see just how much you can really get done!
Love this!
Thank you! Your tips in this blog and via insta stories have made me lower my standards (in a healthy way) about cleaning the house and house jobs – I don’t have to wait until I have a whole day to tackle everything perfectly! Our timer is now our best friend!
I definitely fall into the “I’ll clean everything on Saturday” pit! Focusing for a shorter amount of time is magical! Thanks for the tips!
I need to be better at this! Thank you for the tips!
Poor baby got a dance party bump!! I love that you have the kids help. My son loves to do dishes (more power to ya kid). Thanks so much, setting a timer so helps!
A couple weeks after my first daughter figured out how to walk I remember thinking to myself “my house has never been this messy!” ? cute toddling baby + carrying anything and everything she could get her hands on = pots and pans in my bedroom and stuffed animals in the cupboards. She left a literal trail of miscellaneous stuff wherever she went and I couldn’t keep up with her. Your tips/videos helped me get out of the mindset of having to feel like I had to clean everything in the room all at once. 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there makes a big difference at the end of the day. Also your tip to never leave a room empty handed – gamechanger! Love your tips!
I printed out the schedule and can’t wait to start using it around the house. I know it will help so much! Thank you!
I use your 10 minute tip all the time! I’ve actually started setting timers too to get stuff done. It such a simple concept that I never thought of before! Thanks for the tips Jordan!
I was just dreading all the deep cleaning i want to do this weekend. I get so frustrated and it takes me forever to clean because i hop from kitchen to living space then back to the kitchen. Thanks for timer tip AND the videos.
This was one of my favorite posts.
I now speed clean all the time. I set a little timer and blast music. I also do the thing where I leave a room with something that doesn’t belong in the room and put it back and vice verse. But by far I just love the timer method. It’s a fun little personal challenge that I love to win!
Setting a timer to do my cleaning and un loading dishwasher every morning has changed my life!!! Thank you!!
This is very helpful! Love your tips!
Love these tips! I’ve been speed cleaning all over my house and setting timers. If I know it’s only a few minutes, I don’t dread it as much! Thank you for your amazing posts and videos!
Thanks for the printable!
Sounds doable! Thanks!
I love how you simplify these monotonous tasks so they don’t seem so aweful!
I have always used this method for deep cleaning (it really works!). And I loved your speed cleaning tips! It can be easy to get overwhelmed with littles running around the house so I’m definitely going to try these out!
Jordan! I love the speed cleaning! I have started doing it at my house and it really does help things stay cleaner and it makes you feel accomplished! Thanks for all your tips and tricks! I look forward to every new video and I have binge watched all the previous ones! Love your energy and your example.
I use this tip all.the.time! I recommend it to my friends too. I definitely think I get more cleaning done when I use a timer.
Great post! 100k giveaway!
For insta giveaway:
This has been awesome! I’ll put the printable in our cleaning closet ? I would love a video of how you deep clean your bathroom! Maybe some cleaning products you recommend for that? I feel like all cleaning products are pricey & maybe not the safest ? thanks for all you do!!! You rock!!
I love this! I have started doing this about 30 minutes before my husband gets home so the house is semi clean. I do this for 10 minutes and then take 10 minutes to do dinner prep so I can throw it together when he gets home
Being a working mom with my husband in school full time, often cleaning gets cut out of the to dos. Thank you for the tips!
I always clean so slowly! THis will up my game!
Got carried away reading your blog posts! I read this one about speed clean, hutch drowning one, and shelf cooking! I have following you on Instagram for some time now, but have only watched your videos! I’ll be reading your blog posts often now! And hopefully I will try your budget boot camp soon when we have a little extra money. Thanks for being so real, and inspirational.
I have 1 print out with the things I Should be doing regularly. I have a wet erase marker and I write the day beside the chore that I completed it so whenever I’m bored I look to the west and see what needs to be done that has been done in a while
Thanks for the tips and all! I actually had never thought of speed cleaning before watching this video… that is such a great idea, can’t understand how I never thought of it myself… Thanks!
Short bursts of cleaning really do help especially with working full time and 2 young kids. Thanks for the suggestions!
Your timer system is brilliant..I need to know there is an end in sight!
I love your tips! They help me keep a cleaner house and I share this post with people all the time! Thank you thank you!!!
This is amazing!