It’s easier than you think to learn how to clean your house quickly and efficiently! Follow this step by step tutorial to clean your house in just one hour!
So you have company coming in an hour and the house is a mess? Or maybe you’ve just been putting off those chores and want to get it over with as quickly as possible. So, how do you clean your house fast?
Don’t have a full hour? Use this guide to faking a clean house when you have unexpected guests!
Tricks from a former hotel maid & housekeeper
When I was in college I worked a couple of summers as a hotel maid and in residential house cleaning. I picked up a few tricks and I’m telling you that yes, you can clean an ENTIRE average size house in an hour but it takes hustle and focus!
No getting distracted while gathering up those old magazines, or checking your phone for the latest on Facebook. If you keep moving and follow this guide you’ll have that house sparkling in no time!
Note: We aren’t deep cleaning house right now, this is a surface clean with the most bang for your buck when you’re short on time!
When you have more time be sure to check out my tutorial for cleaning a front load washer, top load washer, dryer, or how to clean a keurig with vinegar.
Tips to Clean a House Fast!
Start at the Top – No matter what room you’re cleaning, clean from the top down so that dirt and dust from higher surfaces falls on lower surfaces that haven’t yet been cleaned. Dust ceiling fans, then furniture wiping dirt directly on the floor. Clean all of the floors as your last step to remove the dirt and dust.
Batch Clean – Clean all bathrooms at once, save the floors of the entire house for the last step of cleaning your house.
If you try my guide, please click the star rating below to let me know that it helped!
How to Clean Your House Fast
It's easier than you think to learn how to clean your house quickly and efficiently! Follow this step by step tutorial to clean your house in just one hour!
Materials
- Dust spray
- Microfiber Cloth
- Bathroom Cleaner
- Toilet Cleaner
- Paper Towels
- Toilet Brush
- Vacuum
- Glass Cleaner
- Sponge
- Dish Soap
- Hardwood Floor Cleaner
Instructions
Bedroom-6 Minutes per Bedroom
- Strip linens and remake beds. When making beds rather than hunch over tucking bottom sheets under the mattress use one hand to lift the corner while tucking the sheet with the other.
- Clear all clutter, if you’re in a hurry gather clutter in a spare basket or bin for later organization and tuck out of sight in a closet.
- Wipe down furniture with a dusting spray and microfiber cloth, working top to bottom.
Bathrooms-7 Minutes per Bathroom
- I like to clean all of my bathrooms at once-make a quick trip around all the bathrooms in the house to clear counters and spray counters and tubs with cleaner, allow to sit while you clean toilets and wipe down the outer toilet surface.
- Go back and wipe down counters and rinse tub then clean mirrors.
- Come back to clean the floors when cleaning the kitchen floor.
Living/Dining Room-7 Minutes
- Clear all clutter.
- Starting in one corner of the room and working around dust all surfaces top to bottom. (If you have blinds and/or ceiling fans, dust those first.)
- Use an upholstery attachment and vacuum upholstered furniture.
Kitchen-12 Minutes
- Load all dirty dishes in the dishwasher and fill sink with hot soapy water. If your stove top has removable burner pieces that need to be cleaned, place in water as well.
- Clear counters.
- Dunk sponge in hot water and squeeze out excess, wipe down cabinets, counters and other surfaces again working top to bottom. Rinse sponge in hot water as you clean.
- Wipe down appliances.
- Finish cleaning any stove pieces and replace.
Floors-15 Minutes Whole House
- Vacuum carpeted rooms work your way backwards out of the room, moving quickly and without too much overlap to save time.
- Vacuum, don’t sweep hard floors-use an attachment to get corners where dust and pet hair can accumulate.
- Steam mops or Hardwood Floor Cleaners also make cleaning hard surfaces much faster than traditional mops, so I highly recommend investing in one of those to keep your cleaning quick!
Notes
- Always clean from top to bottom so dirt and dust falls on uncleaned areas.
- Clean floors as the last step after all other cleaning is finished.
- Vacuum all carpeted areas in one session, then vacuum hard surfaces. Finish by cleaning all hard surface floors in one session as well.
- Tools such as a steam mop or hardwood floor cleaner can make cleaning faster.
Use tricks to make cleaning easier moving forward:
- How to Remove and Prevent Fingerprints on Stainless Steel
- Prevent Water Spots on Chrome
- Clean & Refresh Grout to prevent discoloration
Do you have any additional tips? This is obviously not a deep cleaning your home tutorial but a general day to day surface clean. For deeper cleans check out my Spring Cleaning Checklist and Fall Cleaning Checklist, you can also see my Daily Cleaning Checklist if you prefer to work a little each day!
Want a printable flow chart version of this cleaning plan to help you clean your house fast? Become part of our community for a subscriber-only Printable One Hour Cleaning Flowchart!
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Skip to Instructions
Maddie says
Saved my life
Carrina says
I tried this. GAH thank you for making it more simple. I started with a timer because I have adhd and it’s hard to do without motivation. It took 3 hours for my kitchen, living room, and there bathrooms. I’m thankful to have it done.
Carrina says
*three bathrooms*
Melissa says
We’re military and move a lot and it takes me time each time we move to get the routine down to an hour…plus obviously the more often you do it the less intense the clean is and faster it gets. I hope the post was helpful even though it took longer the first time you tried!
Taunya Enright says
I read through your blog post here. I did have a question though I think you could answer. Is there a good way to get burns out of vinyl countertops? I had a party over the weekend and my kitchen is a mess… Haha! Thanks for the post, and I look forward to seeing your reply.
Cindy W. says
Awesome tips. Maybe it’s because I have a big house, I can never finish chores within the hour.
I’d be trying the tips. Thanks lots.
Daisy Complete Clean says
Thanks for sharing this blog regarding home cleaning.
Joy E Lifto says
I didn’t see anything about cleaning walls and ceiling
Tu
Ruta Walker says
Thanks for these tips! Cleaning the house is a great way for one to get more responsible and have the place looking nice and clean. I am delighted to have this!
Ariska says
Please help it takes me longer .
Elisa says
Great info…
I love such a post. Here is an excellent discussion of all point about house cleaning. Basically, I was looking for some information dishwasher cleaning. My dishwasher is dirty and I can’t clean properly. But I found your blog. Your tips are very helpful. Thanks for sharing the beautiful post. Next time, I will follow your technique.
BAHJASRA MOHAMED YOOSAF says
Excellent tips…….you are doing a great job
Deborah Hill says
Thanks so much for posting this. Cleaning our house seems like a fairly self-explanatory task, but when we sit down to think about it, you might realize that you have a lot of questions.
Emma Young says
So nice article. As a mom of 2, I need to clean the house every day (sometimes even twice per day, ha). Sure, it is extremely important to keep your home fresh, clean and organized. But, as for me, the health of my family is a main goal. So, I use only green cleaning products, cause they are chemical free and safe for children and pets. You can make your own cleaning products at home for all purposes. The top ingredient are backing soda, vinegar, essential oils. I love lemon, lavender and orange essential oils, but you can add whateever you want, really, Vinegar can clean everything, I swear 🙂
Who is also a fan of green cleaning products? 🙂
Dallas Horton says
I love your beginning statement! If you get distracted by the phone or those pictures you’ve been meaning to hang up, you will not get the house done in an hour! Put your phone away and make a mental note of any side trail you come along so you can come back to it later. Good post!
Jasper Whitton says
Great tips! I must say you have a very good management skills. The way you manage the time for cleaning is superb. Really appreciated. As I have a very busy schedule so this time management will surely help me for my home cleaning, Thank you for posting this life saving articles for us. keep up the good work!
Ro says
Hey there! Thanks for all these tips, I’m just getting a cleaning business rocking and rolling and it’s nice to get some validation and some stuff to speed it up!
This advice helps do a good job and do it quickly 🙂 cheers everyone! and happy dirt&dust hunting. I’m out in Vermont and there’s lots of winter filth that creeps in!
Bryan says
We recently started a house cleaning business, and came across this article.
Really appreciate you taking the time to write this. there are a lot of handy tips and tricks.
This information definitely helps to expedite the process of tidying up a house
Christian says
Great article! I own a cleaning company in my area and it is great to see other people find passion in cleaing
Deborah Hill says
Great cleaning house blog. You did a great job on everything.
Mark William says
6 minutes, 7 minutes segmantion in this way – it helps me lots.
Chelsea says
It’s pretty amazing when you break it down into time intervals how quickly you can get everything done! Great job!
We own a window cleaning business in Utah, and after this harsh winter are definitely feeling the spring fever, and ready to scrub, and declutter everything for us as well as our clients! Cheers to Spring!
Thanks for all the info & happy cleaning!
Chloe susan says
Great helpful reminders. Thanks for curating a detailed list to remember everything. I just started cleaning houses for cash as a side hustle and it’s important to be wise with time management. I feel confident and organized with these nifty tips.. Keep up the good work I’ll be checking back in for references!