How to Clean Your House in 2 Hours (or Less!) + Checklist!

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Let’s face it…most of us don’t have time to spend all day cleaning our homes.

Knowing how to clean your house in 2 hours or less is something that most of us want to know.

Am I right?

I mean, I’m a work at home mom with 3 children all under the age of 5.

Life. is. busy.

These are some of the fastest tips to clean your house. They’ll help you know how to do a quick clean of your home and how to get good at cleaning!

Having little ones means that I need to know how to clean a trashed house (on a daily basis!) and also how to stay focused on cleaning house when there are so many other distractions.

I want a clean house for so many reasons (hello sanity!), but it needs to be achieved quickly or it just won’t get done.

That’s pretty much the attitude I have for all household chores, which is why I love these laundry hacks.

We all have busy lives so having a practical step-by-step guide to getting your house in ship shape condition FAST is what we all want.

And then, there are those times when you get a phone call or text to let you know that so-and-so is coming over and your house is, well…a mess.

You go into overdrive wondering how on earth you’ll get the place presentable in time.

Let me teach you some tips that’ll change your world and save you when you’ve just got to make the place look decent in lightening speed.

How to Clean the House Fast

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty so we can come up with a great game plan for getting the house clean fast.

You’ll find some really helpful printable checklists to download at the end of this post, so don’t worry if this is all a bit much to remember.

Read through the post so you can have a good understanding of how much time to devote to each area, but remember that you can just print out the list to refer to.

Other Helpful Posts…

Strategic Home Cleaning Tips

Okay, now that we know what needs to be done let’s focus on how to actually do it all in under two hours.

I’ve put together 3 different cleaning plans that you can refer to.

Obviously, the 30 minute one is not going to be as in-depth as the 2 hour one, but if you’re in a hurry and just need to get the house looking decent, then at least you’ll be able to achieve that.

30 Minute House Cleaning Plan

So you’ve got 30 minutes to clean your house because guests are coming over and you need to make sure they don’t think you live in a pigsty (which you don’t, but I know that’s what I’m afraid of).

You have to prioritize.

What are the main areas that people are going to see?

Obviously, the living areas, possibly your kitchen, your hallway, and also your bathroom/s.

Bedrooms aren’t really a priority because you can shut the door and it would be kinda weird for guests to go snooping around.

Let’s get cleaning!

• Put away the mess (10 mins). Go through each room and put away things that just don’t belong. You can also straighten things up as you go (i.e cushions on the sofa)
• Do a quick clean of the kitchen and bathroom/s (10 mins). This might involve putting dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down surfaces. You don’t need everything to be spotless, just clean.
• Vacuum (10 mins). If your floors are in a state then take 10 minutes to quickly run the vacuum over them. Having a cordless vacuum like the Dyson will make this really easy.

If you don’t need to vacuum then you can take some extra time cleaning up the kitchen and/or bathroom.

1 Hour House Cleaning Plan

You’ve got a spare hour to clean your house and you’re wondering how best to use it in order to get the most done.

Here’s how to do it:

• Put away the mess (10 minutes). Do this quickly by having adequate storage solutions. Having a place for everything will make the process much faster.
• Do the dishes & wipe down the counters (10 mins). Don’t sweat it if you don’t have time to do a full clean of the entire kitchen. We’re aiming for neat and tidy, not a deep clean.
• Clean the bathroom/toilet (10 mins). Again, we’re aiming for a wipe down of surfaces, not scrubbing with a toothbrush!
• Dust the baseboards and vacuum (20 mins). This may take some time but having clean floors can make a world of difference to how a room feels.
• Mop the floors (10 mins). You can mop any floors where needed. Usually, this is just the kitchen and bathrooms but if you have other areas, you can do those too.

2 Hour House Cleaning Plan

The 2 hour house cleaning plan is where you get to take a bit of extra time doing things you otherwise just couldn’t do.

Let’s get started:

• Strip the bedsheets & put them in the washer (10 mins). You can have the washer going while you’re doing the rest of the cleaning.
• Put away the mess (10 mins). I like to do this room-by-room so I don’t get overwhelmed and distracted.
• Dust (10 mins). Again, it is a good idea to do this room-by-room. You can dust all surfaces (shelves, windowsills, etc) as well as baseboards.
• Wipe down windowsills, shelves, etc (10 mins). Go room to room and do this.
• Wash the dishes (15 mins). The time on this can vary depending on if you use a dishwasher or not.
• Wipe down the kitchen counters/cabinets & clean the backsplash (5 mins). This shouldn’t take long at all if you’re doing it regularly as there’s less time for things to build up.
• Wipe down/clean appliances (5 mins). You could put a small glass of water in the microwave to heat up while you’re cleaning other appliances. It’ll make it super easy to clean.
• Clean the bathroom/s (10 mins). A great tip is to actually clean the shower just before you take one. It’ll save time in that you won’t have to include it in this cleaning routine.
• Clean mirrors (5 mins). I love using this window vacuum to do just that. It makes it SO much faster!
• Clean the walls (5 mins). Take 5 minutes to go through the house and wipe off any obvious marks you see on the walls.
• Vacuum (15 mins). You can do the entire house in one go and it’ll save you time in the long run.
• Mop (10 mins). Mop the floors that need it.
• Make the beds (10 mins). While the floors are drying, you can make the beds.

Simplifying Cleaning Tasks

One way to make cleaning faster is to break down your tasks and assess if there are ways to do them more easily or just faster.

Here are some of my favorite tips and tools for doing just that.

Vacuuming

Vacuuming is not one of my favorite chores but there are two things that make it a whole lot faster.

The first is to invest in a cordless vacuum. The Dyson Stick vacuum has a really good name and is up to the task of really cleaning your floors.

Not having to drag out a vacuum that you then have to pull around behind you (and they get stuck on EVERY corner) will save you loads of time.

The other idea is basically my favorite ever and that is to get a robot vacuum cleaner.

I know, I know…

Well, I used to, but then I actually had one and let me tell you…that thing became like a family member to us.

Imagine a world where you don’t have to vacuum…at all. Yeah, it is about as amazing as it sounds.

There are some really great ones on the market at the moment and not all of them cost an arm and a leg.

Here are some of the best ones (and trust me, I’ve researched this topic IN-DEPTH):

Cleaning Windows/Mirrors

How much do you love cleaning windows? About as much as cleaning the toilet I imagine.

Yeah, me too.

One of the things that we bought several years ago was a window vacuum.

It was mainly to combat the condensation on the windows we have every morning during winter (awesome poorly insulated kiwi housing).

However, it also makes cleaning windows and mirrors a breeze. Seriously, I just use a damp cloth to wipe clean any residue and then use the window vacuum.

Super quick and simple. We have the Karcher window vacuum pictured below.

Tips for House Cleaning Success

Here are a few tips for how to making house cleaning successful because even with the best of intentions, sometimes it is still just all too much.

Nail these suggestions and you’ll make your life a whole lot easier.

#1 Have a Place for Everything

Cleaning your house is almost impossible when it is covered in clutter.

And then sometimes it isn’t clutter but you just don’t have a place for things.

Take the time to MAKE places for things using clever storage solutions.

Baskets, containers, hampers…they’re all super simple solutions that don’t cost the earth.

It’ll save you so much time if you can quickly know where something belongs and don’t just have to shove it in a corner somewhere.

#2 Have a Process

Don’t just go into cleaning without thinking about what you’re going to do and when.

That’s what the above outlines are for…to give you an idea for a process.

If you don’t have a process for cleaning, you’ll get distracted and find yourself missing jobs or spending too long on others.

#3 Simplify Your Supplies

A big part of making cleaning quick and simple is to not go overboard with your cleaning supplies.

You don’t need a mountain of different products. In fact, I generally use just two types of cleaning products to do my entire house.

One is a DIY surface cleaner which you can find the recipe for at the end of this post.

The second is just the toilet bowl cleaner.

Also, having a cleaning caddy that you can take with you into each room will help save you time going back and forth.

House Cleaning Supplies

Here are some of my favourite supplies. I don’t go overboard and only recommend what is good value for money.

Stay Focused

The last part of being successful with cleaning is to stay focused.

It is far too easy to get distracted or try to multitask.

Tips for How to Stay Focused on Cleaning

Keep to single tasks

Don’t try and do everything at once. You need to just focus on completing one thing at a time.

Play Music

Having music on in the background makes things more lighthearted and enjoyable. Consequently, you’ll be more inclined to focus on the job at hand.

check off the list

If you’re using a checklist then be sure to check off your tasks as you complete them.

It’ll give you a visual of what is still left to do and will also add motivation every time you complete something.

Use a timer

If you find that you’re inclined to lose track of time and get distracted, a great thing to combat that is to use a timer.

Set a timer for 10 minutes or however long it should take you to complete your task and then move onto the next thing when it goes off.

Cleaning Room by Room

One of my favorite quotes that I often refer to when feeling overwhelmed by a task is:

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

The key to completing big jobs is to break them down into what seems achievable in your mind.

A very easy way to do that when it comes to cleaning your entire house is to break it down into rooms or spaces.

I’m going to list every important job for each room and then I’ll give you a timeline breakdown so you can see how it can be achieved in 2 hours or less.

Living & Dining

• Pick up and put away everything back into its proper place
• Dust (including baseboards)
• Wipe down surfaces
• Clean TV screen
• Wipe any marks off the walls
• Vacuum
• Mop

Kitchen

• Clear the counters
• Clear out old food from the fridge
• Do the dishes
• Wipe down counters
• Wipe down lower cabinet doors & handles
• Wipe down appliances
• Clean the microwave
• Clean the backsplash
• Wipe down the hob
• Dust window sills
• Vacuum
• Mop

Bathroom

• Clear out unused/finished products
• Dust window sills & baseboards
• Wipe down all surfaces
• Clean shower/bath & Toilet
• Vacuum
• Mop

Laundry

• Sort/tidy laundry (there is ALWAYS laundry so I’m not going to suggest you have it all done)
• Put away anything that doesn’t belong
• Dust
• Wipe down surfaces
• Vacuum
• Mop

Hallway

• Dust baseboards & corners (for spiderwebs)
• Put away anything that doesn’t belong
• Wipe down any hall tables, etc
• Clean walls of obvious marks
• Vacuum
• Mop (if necessary)

Bedrooms

• Change the sheets (I do this on specific days, but you can do it now if it works for you)
• Put away everything in its place
• Dust
• Wipe down windowsills and other surfaces
• Clean marks on the walls
• Vacuum

Keep the House Clean in the Future

If you’ve done a deep clean of your house then you know how much time can be involved. It is a lot of hard work.

The key to being able to clean your home in a smaller amount of time is to maintain it regularly.

Here are a couple of tips for keeping your home fairly tidy on a regular basis so that it is easier to keep that way.

Set a Cleaning Schedule

Having a cleaning schedule will give you a guideline for when things need to be cleaned.

It’ll also mean that dirt and grime doesn’t build up as much which will, in turn, make cleaning easier overall.

De-clutter

I am a HUGE fan of getting rid of “stuff” on a regular basis.

This declutters both my home and my mind. There is just less stuff to have to keep track of and tidy up.

You’ll find it so much easier to keep a clean home if there isn’t a pile of mess covering everything to begin with.

Set boundaries, make a routine, and just get rid of things that you no longer need.

Speed Cleaning Checklist

I know that there was a lot of info in this post, so for that reason, I’ve created several speed cleaning checklists that you can download and print off.

You can grab them for free by clicking on the button below.

Hi! I’m Christine. I am a former registered nurse, turned stay-at-home mom, turned work-at-home mom!

Motherhood has always been my passion and blogging has only added to that and given me a creative outlet to share about the things I love.

As my blog has grown, my desire to share the knowledge of what makes my life less stressful, simplified, and more fulfilled has become one of my driving forces.

I have a heart for mothers that feel as though they are just existing from day to day and are longing for more. You can find out more about me and my family over on my ‘About Me‘ page.

As well as the abundance of posts you’ll find on my blog, you can also find me over at This Homeschool House, Simply Keeping House and Today Parenting.

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