Fastest Way to Clean Your House and keep it Spotless : Routine, Deep Clean, Checklist

I used to panic when I had people coming over. Even if it was a repair man. That was because no matter how hard I tried my house was always a mess.

How to Clean your House Fast? Plan your cleaning activities in advance. Planning ensures that you have a plan of action and can tackle each area in rotation with minimum wasted time and effort. Cleaning surfaces is quicker if you have limited surfaces to clean.

It is advisable to keep minimal furniture and items in the house. Prior to cleaning I would recommend focusing on decluttering your house.

When Cleaning a House where do you Start?

Drowning in dust and stressed out by the constant cleaning, (which apparently was not working as the house was not staying clean) I decided I needed to take some action. The problem was I did not know where to begin.

The house was a total mess. I then had the fortune of reading a book by Flylady which totally simplified the entire process for me.

I now had a step by step action plan to tackle the mess. I also used the Konmari method to reduce the clutter and minimize my possessions.

To get started with cleaning always begin at the same part of your room. I always work from right to left and top to bottom.

Flylady recommends splitting up your house into Zones. As an example my zones are

Zone 1 – Entryway and the hall ( living room) + main Balcony
Zone 2 – Kitchen
Zone 3 – Dining Room + small balcony
Zone 4 – Master Bedroom and Bathroom
Zone 5 – Kids Rooms and Bathrooms ( kids help)

As per Flylady’s method work in one zone per week. So Week 1 we work in Zone 1. Spend 15 minutes each weekday in Zone 1.

This is what I do

Declutter
Relocate items which do not belong
Tackle the cobwebs
Dust off furniture, tables and other flat surfaces
Dust the fans if needed
Clean and mop the floors

If you do not believe in this method, you can simply start with that part of the house which bothers you the most. When I started cleaning I had started with the kitchen.

Cleaning Routines

I try to do the following tasks every Saturday. Saturdays are the best days for me to restart my house and give it a face lift. My kids are at home and they help out ( a LOT).

Empty all trash, wash trash cans if needed
Dust the fans
Remove the cobwebs
Change the Bedsheets and put them in the washing machine

Daily Cleaning Routine

I do this every morning,even if I am unwell. My cleaning routines have become a habit and it took me 2 months or more to get started with my routines and to stick to them.

Make the bed
Clean the Toilet
Wash Master Bathroom Floor
Laundry – 2 to 3 loads per day, this includes folding the clothes. The kids help with that and since this is a task I do not like, I listen to audiobooks so that I can get through the task with the least resistance.
Wet mop the kitchen, hall, balcony and master bedroom. Some days I mop the kids rooms as well. They clean their own rooms but I always clean again when they are at school.
Dishes – These are washed as soon as I use them. Kitchen counters are wiped down daily.
Fridge – The refrigerator I had planned to clean once a week. It never happened. I hate cleaning the fridge, so I give it a quick look and wipe daily. When I take a dish out or some veggies, I use a damp rag to clean up inside. When I take the spices I store in the fridge door, I clean the door cubicles. This method is working for me.

Deep Cleaning Routine

My deep cleaning is performed once a month ( if I can ) or when I just cant stand the dirt. These tasks should ideally be in my current zone,but if I find a particular spot messy, I just deep clean it.

Bathrooms – Once a month and sometimes twice a month I will deep clean each kids bathroom. I apply cleaner to the grout on the floor tiles, cleaner to the commode ( toilet). While that soaks, I wash the wash basin and wipe down mirrors, the cabinet and the door. Then I scrub the toilet seat, the toilet, the sides of the toilet, the floor tiles and wash everything off.
Kitchen – I deep clean bits and parts of the kitchen almost every day. I might tackle a part of the refrigerator one day, the gas stove another day, the chimney, kitchen cupboards. Keeping the cleaning to once a month does not work for me, and it gets too greasy and stained. So I deep clean almost everyday.
Bedrooms – Wiping down the dressers, the bed, under the bed, the mosquito net is done once a month. The kids and me go through our clothes, toys, accessories,makeup, craft supplies and books often. Usually I ask the kids to check their clothes and remove items which are small and with holes or those which they do not like anymore. We put most in a big bag and give it away. The torn clothes are just put in the trash.

How do I Clean my House in One Day?

To be honest nowadays I try not to attempt this herculean feat. The last time I did that I was exhausted for a week and totally angry with myself.

But I do have an action plan for cleaning in a day, just because I have done that on several occasions.

Declutter – I declutter the most important areas. These are the areas which visitors to my house will notice immediately. So I declutter the hall or living room, the balcony near the hall, my dining area, guest bathroom and my son’s room.
Cobwebs – I take care of any visible cobwebs and the fans. The fans take a lot more time for me. Sometimes I use my flat mop to wipe down the fans and it works much better.
Dust – Next I dust of all surfaces, straighten the beds and fluff up the pillows. I might end my weekly tasks with Dusting if I am busy.
Mop – I wet mop the floors in almost all the rooms. Sometimes the kids do this for me. Usually I prefer to do this task because I listen to the audio books while mopping. It relaxes me and I get some exercise for the day.
Bathroom – The Guest bathroom is cleaned, trash cleared. I have nothing kept out in the guest bathroom, so it does not take me much time. I have seen some amazing guest bathrooms, with amazing decor, mine is stark bare. It is important for me because I cannot clean so many things ( it would drive me nuts). So I sacrificed the Pinterest perfect bathrooms for a minimized clean bathroom.
Relocate – I next put things back in their place ( the ones I had decluttered earlier). Some go in the trash.

This usually takes me a few hours ( nowadays less than an hour). I have made it a point to remind the kids to keep the hall clear of their stuff. They are also responsible for keeping their stuff in order.

This means I just can focus on quick cleaning.

I left the kitchen out because I am always attending to the kitchen through the day. When I use something I put that back immediately ( I make haste… because I know I am lazy at doing this).

I try to keep the dishes out of the sink, washed and air drying. I have a mop which I clean the kitchen floor with almost every time I use it… because spills do happen and I cannot deal with a huge mess later.