Today I am going to share the cleaning hack I use every day to get an hour and a half of cleaning done in thirty minutes or less!!

I know that sounds insane. But, I swear this cleaning hack works wonders!

My husband and I used to do this every night before bed when we had work the next morning. Now, I use this trick every day as a mom, usually after breakfast when the babe is down for her first nap.

Without using this cleaning hack, I feel overwhelmed and anxious. I get caught in the rabbit hole of cleaning and end up wasting so much time. Instead of getting what I NEED done in thirty minutes or less, I end up cleaning for an hour and a half. Sometimes, the mess just expands. Sometimes, I just give up.

Why Unstructured Cleaning Takes So Long

Ever need to “pick up the house” and you know it should take about 20-30 minutes. But, as you are cleaning, you pick things up and bring them back to the room where they belong. And…

“right, I should throw this laundry in.”

You walk down to the basement, start the laundry, and then see the dog food bag.

You realize you need to bring some upstairs to refill the container.

Then, “oh, shoot… let me start the dishwasher.”

Down and down and down the rabbit hole you go. Yes, plenty of “chores” are getting done, but did the simple pick-up of random things in your living room, dining room, and kitchen get done? No, but you got 47 other random things done. The baby is now awake or it is time to go to that appointment. Even worse, your company just pulled up outside. Your house is still a mess.

That 20-30 minute pickup turned into an hour and a half of randomness with nothing to show.

 

Why You end Up Making More of a Mess

There are also times where I am in one of these side-tracked cleaning escapades and I realize that it is time for a FULL BLOWN purge of my closet. Or, I end up in the basement and realize it is time to reorganize the entire panty.

Instead of getting the house picked up quickly, the house is STILL a mess. But, now…in addition… my bedroom is a mess with piles of clothes everywhere and I have random items distributed all over my basement floor as I run out of time reorganizing my pantry.

Maybe it is just me (but, for some reason I don’t think it is!), but if I don’t have a goal with a specific road map of limits and time, I am not going to achieve the goal in the time I would like to. For me, this applies work, relationships, projects around the house, and even cleaning.

 

Why Unstructured Cleaning = Anxiety

Yes, it is now worse because, although I had good intentions, the house is even more of a mess. My goal was not met. Time is up and the next thing in life needs to be tackled.

But, the worst part of this all is my anxiety immediately heightens. No matter what the next thing on the list to do is, I can still see the mess around my house. Even if I left and I am in my car, I know what is waiting as soon as I come back.

Let’s be real, a clean house offers so much peace and it affects how you feel every time you walk into it or wake inside of it in the morning.

So, stop letting your time go to waste. Begin to structure your cleaning with intent! Below I am going to share my cleaning hack that I use when I feel like there is limited time and so much to get through.

 

My Favorite Cleaning Hack That I Use Every Day

This cleaning hack is simple, but powerful.

What you will need:

A timer

 

Instructions:

1. Set your timer to the amount of time you have to work with in that moment.

For me? I usually only have 20-30 minutes to work with. Sometimes, only 10. You can use a timer on your phone, microwave, stove, etc.

2. Choose your chores.

Decide which rooms you are going to do a quick pick-up in within your house/apartment.

3. Start your timer and begin cleaning.

Don’t run around your house, but move at a quick pace to fit in as much cleaning as you can—…hey, a good excuse to get some steps in!

4. Stop cleaning when time is up.

Don’t touch anything else afterwards. Let it go. Set the timer another time later in the day or just leave it until tomorrow.

 

Guidelines:

1. Don’t stop cleaning

(unless you absolutely have to… an emergency, the baby wakes up, someone is at the door, etc). Don’t watch tv, stay off social media, don’t reply to texts…

2. One room at a time.

Ok, so you are first picking up your living room and you find a few items meant to be in your bedroom. When you go to bring them back to your bedroom, put the item in its place, and go back to the designated room you were cleaning.

3. Stick to the plan.

Don’t take on any extra chores or rooms as you are cleaning. Stay within the time you choose and only clean the designated areas.

The Benefits of Using This Cleaning Hack

 

It Will Save You Time 

No matter what, you do have time to do this 30 min or less cleaning hack. You just might have to give up something else that is taking up this time (a tv show, online shopping, scrolling instagram…). Instead of wasting an hour + “cleaning” and getting distracted during the process as life happens around you, you will have a focused time to get your house cleaned.

Once you begin implementing this, you will see how much more free time you will have to do other things you enjoy while having a clean house to come back to.

 

You Can Achieve a Realistic Goal

Let’s be real… who doesn’t like checking something off of their list that they completed? Each day in your planner, write down “Quick Clean.” Set your timer. Stick to the guidelines. Achieve the clean space that you want! Setting a timer for 10, 20, or 30 minutes and staying focused is not difficult! Once you are done, check or cross that item off of your list and feel some accomplishment. Better yet, watch it motivate you to get even more done that day!

 

It will Increases Your Happiness

We first began using this hack about a year ago each work night before we went to bed. Although we did not set a timer, we always made sure to be in bed by 9:30ish every night. So, around 9:20 if the house was not clean, we would each tackle different rooms and get ourselves in our rooms by bedtime. Waking up in the morning and having a cup of coffee with a clean kitchen, watching the news in a clean living room, and getting ready in a clean bathroom… so calming! 

No matter when you use this hack, you will find that you will experience more happiness because there will be less clutter and disorganization in your life.

BONUS: Turn on some music or your favorite podcast and make the experience enjoyable and (hopefully) a habit!