Quick and Easy Cleaning Tips to Help You Win at #Adulting

This post is sponsored by Swiffer.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Adulting can be hard.  Cleaning, cooking, laundry, bill payments, work, kids, sports activities. The list could go on, and sometimes things can really feel like they’re piling up.  When you feel like you’re going to burst, I want you to pause for a moment, take a few deep breaths, and remember that you really don’t have to do it all.  These quick and easy cleaning tips will help you to win at adulting and hopefully relieve some of that pressure that we all tend to put on ourselves.

You know how you start to feel old when your kids reach certain milestones like starting Kindergarten and becoming a teenager?  Well, this year Swiffer turns 18 and it really doesn’t seem that long ago that I bought my first Swiffer Sweeper when it first came on the market.  Dave and I were living in our little basement suite at my parent’s house at the time and used it to keep all of the dog and cat hair under control in our small space.

Well Swiffer is now all grown up and broadened into a variety of different cleaning products like their dusters and mops.  Our home {and people in it!} have also grown a lot larger over the years, so I’m thankful for cleaning products that can help us get the job done in as little time as possible.  I’ve put together some quick and easy cleaning tips to help you cut back on the time that you spend cleaning – and allow you a little more time for the really important things in your life.

So let’s get started…

Develop a Daily Cleaning Routine

If you have difficulty keeping your home clean on a regular basis, taking a few minutes to come up with a daily cleaning routine can really help.   Daily routines help you to focus on the most important tasks that should be done and keep you on track with your cleaning activities.  The more you practice your routine, the easier and quicker it becomes to complete your tasks.  While I don’t have a regular cleaning schedule that I follow {i.e clean the bathrooms on Mondays, do the laundry on Tuesdays, etc.}, following my basic daily cleaning routine keeps things relatively clean and tidy and provides flexibility for cleaning what actually needs to be cleaned.

Know Your Home’s Trouble Spots

There are always a few specific areas in your home that tend to accumulate the dirt, dust and clutter more than others.  If you can focus on those areas with your daily cleaning, it will make a huge difference in the tidiness of your home and will help to prevent all of the mess from spreading to other areas.  Look for your high traffic areas, and the main entries to your home.

I use the Swiffer Vac in our front entry area almost every day.  It really only takes a few minutes from start to finish and stops all of the dirt and dust that tends to accumulate there from being tracked to other areas of the house.  The vac will pick up the larger dirt while the Swiffer cloth traps all of the lighter dust particles that are often missed by a vacuum alone.  You can read more about how I use the Swiffer cleaning cloths HERE.

Be Happy with “Clean Enough”

While it’s important to do some basic daily cleaning, your house doesn’t have to be {and likely won’t be!} perfect. Try to keep the bigger picture in mind, and focus on those areas that make the biggest impact.  Getting caught up in all of the little details {like making sure every little speck is cleaned up off the floor or getting to all of those little out of the way and hard to reach places to dust} are huge time suckers and are probably details that no one would really notice.  I’m not saying that they never need to be cleaned, but make them part of a deep cleaning routine rather than your regular weekly cleaning schedule.  You can download this free printable HERE, if you need a little reminder. 🙂

Keep Cleaning Supplies Handy

Ideally you want to keep your cleaning supplies as close to where you use them as possible.  Each of our bathrooms has its own little cleaning caddy of basic cleaning supplies.  This makes it so much easier to give the toilet a quick scrub or wipe the gross toothpaste spit off the mirror without having to track down cleaning supplies. Try to do these simple tasks as you see the need – most of them take only a minute or two – and it will really reduce how often you need to do a top to bottom deep clean.

Clean as You Go

This one may seem obvious but I think it’s something that we often don’t do.  Putting things away as you go doesn’t really take up much time but it will definitely make the difference between a tidy house and a messy house at the end of the day.  Take your clothes off by your closet and either hang them back up or put them directly in the laundry.  Load the dirty dishes directly into the dishwasher instead of just placing them on the counter.  Put your shoes and coat away as you come in the door.  Have all the family help out cleaning up the kitchen after dinner so you are not stuck with a messy kitchen when it’s really time to go to bed. All of these little things are just habits that can be created with a little intentional planning.  Obviously there will be times when this is not possible, but do it when you can and you will save yourself a ton of cleaning up in the end!

Include Your Kids

Kids don’t suddenly learn all of those important adulting skills just because they turn 18.  Start including your kids in basic household chores when they’re young and slowly add new age-appropriate tasks as they grow.  Remember that they won’t be perfect, so give them time {and practice!} to master their new cleaning skills.  Swiffer products make it easy for kids to succeed in the their cleaning tasks and help to get them more engaged.

Even cleaning up muddy paw prints can be done in no time with the Swiffer Wet Jet.  Our backyard is kind of a mud pit at this time of year so Blue needs a good paw wipe down every time he comes in.  We keep a small bin at the back door with a microfiber towel to clean him up, but the floor usually needs a quick clean at the end of the day for those dirty paw prints that make it through.  TIP: Just because the Wet Jet pad looks dirty doesn’t mean that you need to throw it out.  Since it traps in the dirt, you can be sure that you’re not spreading it around and use the pad until it’s no longer efficient.  I also find that the front of the pad ends up getting the dirtiest, so I will flip the pad around in between uses.

Declutter

The more things you have in your home, the more you have to clean.  If you really want to decrease your cleaning time, work on getting all of that extra clutter out.  Instead, fill your home with items that you truly need and love.  You’ll have more time to enjoy your home and can cut down on all of that cleaning!  Decluttering is definitely not a quick process, but if you come up with a plan and tackle one room or area at a time, it does not have to be overwhelming.  Follow along with my Household Organization Diet or purchase my new book, The Home Decluttering Diet, to develop a plan to get your home organized once and for all!

Add a Little Fun

So cleaning is probably not at the top of your list when it comes to fun activities, but if you have to do it, you might as well make it as enjoyable as possible.  Put on some of your favorite tunes, move as quickly through the tasks as possible {you’ll get a mini-workout in at the same time!}, or do a little dancing as you clean.  I’m always much more willing to clean when I’m cleaning with someone, so try to do some tasks with your partner or kids and chat while you’re working.  You can even try a cleaning swap with a friend and switch back and forth helping each other out.  When all else fails, I can always rely on Blue to keep me company.

Schedule in Some “Me Time”

As necessary as all of those cleaning and household activities are, scheduling in some time for yourself everyday is just as important.  Adulting can be hard, so be sure to carve out some intentional time each day to feed your body and soul.  This can be hard to do when you’re always on the go, but really is the best way to take care of both you and your family.  Using Swiffer products can help cut down on your cleaning and provide you with a little extra time to show yourself some love.  Print this list of self-care ideas, add your own favorites, and place it somewhere that you will see it often.

So what about you?  Do you have any cleaning tips or tricks to help cut down your cleaning time?  I’d love to hear them!