Keeping a house clean when you’ve got work and kids and pets and all of the things can be a pretty ominous task if you think of it all at once. However if you can break it down, and tackle a single chore or maybe even a couple of smaller tasks when you’ve got a free 10 minutes in your day (or evening), you’ll be amazed at how much better your home can look, and how great it can make you feel.
(We aren’t the only ones who experience clean counter zen, are we?)
Here, we’ve got a terrific list of 30 household chores and tasks that you can do in just 10 minutes each, because sometimes even completing a single small task can make a huge difference in your home. And your sanity. Hooray for that.
Related: 7 really smart decluttering habits to start now, so you don’t have to KonMari your house later
Living Room/Family Room
1. Sort your mail stack and toss the junk, recycle the catalogs.
2. Clean out under the couch cushions then flip them.
3. Grab a bin and drop in all the stuff that needs to be put away so it’s in one place (temporarily)
4. Dust just the TV and the media center.
5. Wipe off all your TV controllers and shared tech gadgets.
6. Align all the book spines on your bookshelf so they look nice and even.
Kitchen
7. Put away any extra stuff on your kitchen counters.
8. Put clips on all your open chips, snacks and cereals.
9. Take quick inventory of your fridge and toss anything past its expiration date.
10. Wipe down all the stainless surfaces that gather fingerprints.
11. Empty the sink or the drying rack. (Not just us, right?)
Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash
Foyer/Entrance Way
12. Pick up all shoes and place in bins or closets, while setting aside pairs that are outgrown or never worn.
13. Hang up coats, hoodies, and jackets.
14. Shake out the door mat or a single throw rug.
15. Sweep or vacuum the floor — clean just one room or area if that takes 10 minutes.
Bathrooms
16. Wipe down the mirror.
17. Throw out expired meds, vitamins and the stuff you say you’ll use but never do.
18. Wipe down the toilet seat and around the base.
19. Spray down your shower, tub or sink.
20. Empty all the small garbage cans into one garbage bag.
21. Toss old makeup and cosmetic brushes.
Laundry Room
22. Wash out your washing machine.
23. Put away any items that seem to live on top of the dryer.
24. Handwash and hang bras or other delicates that have been piling up.
Related: The one small spring cleaning task that makes a big difference
Bedroom
25. Refill your drawer sachets with fresh lavender or cedar.
26. Make the beds or replace a duvet cover with a fresh new one.
27. Wipe down your ceiling fan and vents.
28. Clean off and organize a single bedside table.
29. Fold and organize a single drawer — socks, t-shirts, gym clothes.
30. Rotate all your hanging clothes to face the same direction. One small change — for a very big difference in how you feel about your closet!
Put a bin in closet or under bed and dedicate for clothing donations.
Great ideas to get small things done and out of the way!
These are awesome tips! Especially the kitchen tips. Its hard to clean up if you are in such a hurry. I try to clean as much as i can but with limited time, its just hard to pick where to start. Thanks for this! It will definitely help.
One thing that’s always tough for me to get done is unloading the dishwasher. I timed myself once. It took 65 seconds.
Instead of bending over eight times, I like to sweep everything into pile, including toys, shoes, paper, etc. it’s much easier to sort through one pile of stuff then it is to crawl around on the kitchen floor gathering lost items.
My tip comes from Gretchen Rubin: If you come across something that can be done in a minute or less, go ahead and do it. This has made such a difference in my house.
My favorite cleaning tip is to pick up the family room every night before going toned. That way you don’t wake up to a mess.
Sort mail as it comes in and discard the junkmail
I always wash the dishes while I am cooking so I do not have a lot of dishes after dinner.
My favorite cleaning tip is especially useful during cooking! I have a big mixing bowl out for all of my trash, produce peels,etc. This way, I don’t have a big mess on the counter while we eat!
Sorting the mail, pitching the junk mail and filing the bills. Also, picking up the dirty clothes at the end of the day.
Thanks for the tips ! Always forget germy remotes
Dust and vacuum. For some reason doing these just really seems to clean up a room to me. Especially the living room.
I wipe down bathroom counter at night while my nightly face mask is setting. Since it gets all wet from washing off my cleanser, i kill two birds with one stone 🙂
I straighten up each room and throw away trash etc., before attempting to clean.
When visitors show up and the bathroom mirror is water spotted i just grab a bath towel and wipe off the mirrors. It’s ok if it is a little damp.
My favorite tip is to put away items that seem to live on top of the dryer. I’m glad I’m not alone in that situation!
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers might actually be made from magic!
Clean one room daily instead of trying to clean the whole house on Saturday
I make my bed and kids beds every morning before work and pick up/clean up the living room every evening before bed. Each only takes a few minutes but makes me feel so much better about the state of my house!
I like to organize my Tupperware while watching tv..
I recommend having cleaning supplies stored on every floor / in every bathroom. If you keep what you need close by, it is a lot easier to clean as you come across a mess!
My favorite tip is to use a bin and drop in all the stuff that needs to be put away so it’s in one place…when full I return all the misfit items to their proper homes.
my favorite cleaning tip is to just purge items you no longer use — it makes cleaning everything up so much easier in general!
My cleaning tip is to do a little bit each day so it doesn’t get overwhelming. I hate being overwhelmed.
Hire a cleaning person to come in one a month to do the stuff that you don’t have time to do
My favorite tip is to clean the mirrors. You don’t realize how dirty they actually are until you clean them!
To help keep bedrooms clear and clean of clothes clutter. Each season switch out your clothes and donate those clothes that you did not wear. The time it takes you to do this twice a year will save hours in the long run (plus the headaches).
use baking soda and vinager to clean the bathrrom
I give each room 10 minutes, and set a timer for those 10 minutes.
most people hide their cleaning supplies, I leave my out and ready in a nice container, especially wipes, grab wipe done. And I have assigned my husband master of the master toilet since he actually touches and looks at it the most
My favorite tip is stick to the purge at hand. When you find something that belongs in another room, don’t go chase down a home for it – just set it aside and finish up in the first room first.
I have a 2 year old so I usually clean the kitchen when she’s sleeping. Since she makes such a mess with toys I usually wait till the end of the day to pick everything up so you sleep with peace of mind!
Multi tasking! I try to do dishes while I’m making dinner, make beds and tidy up while babies are playing and happy.
LEMON HAS THE WAY OF REFESHING AND CLEANING A LOT OF THINGS BETTER!!!!!
Never buy drain o again! Get boiling water, baking soda, and vinegar. Baking soda first, then add vinegar and wash it down with water. Repeat until satisfied with flow. It works!!!!
My cleaning tip is to let the kids help! The older they get the better at it they are and I need as much help as I can get:)
I got a roomba and now I can set it to vacuum while I am away and I come home to a clean floor!
I like to start cleaning taller surfaces and then make my way down to the floor. That way, I catch all the traveling dust and crumbs at the end.
Take used dryer sheets and wipe down the inside of window frame. They do a great job of collecting dust or dirt!
Keep baby wipes around in all the rooms to clean up quick messes. They are good for all king of household chores!
Thank you for the reminder to wipe the remotes – I always forget about those!
My favorite tip is to get my kids in on the action. My kid and squirt bottle and a rag gets windows, doors and cabinets wiped. My kid has fun and I do the less fun cleaning line sweeping and vacuuming.
A paste of baking soda and vinegar works to clean the sticky stuff on the bottom of my oven–so much better than those toxic sprays!
Wipe down ceiling fan and vents
I have long haired dogs. I find that a carpet rake (like a giant dog brush on a handle) before vacuuming cuts the time in half.
I keep a bag for outgrown kids’ clothes in a closet – that way I have one place to put outgrown clothes while I’m folding laundry. Then I drop off the bag at a donation center once a month.
Sign up your library card online so that you can listen to free audio books on your phone while you clean.
I like #25 – pulling something out of a drawer that smells like lavender sounds amazing!
Do one or two things each day (clean windows one day, Swiffer floor next, etc). It makes it less overwhelming!
Keep cleaning supplies in a tote with a handle for ease in carrying throughout your house.
Spray down shower/tub! If I did this more often, it would make cleaning the bathroom so much easier!
Great tips!!
I clean my bathroom weekly on a Sunday, by cleaning the mirror, the sink, spray the shower before I get dressed. That way when I came home from church the bathroom is clean and I can relax and watch football.
My tip is to put things away immediately after use. Decrease clutter and saves time later.
I mix lemon juice and baking soda–frothy nice smelling abrasive to clean the kitchen sink, and cheaper than most products. (I buy big containers of lemon juice at costco.) I also pick one project a day–a bookshelf, a stack of laundry–to tackle. Baby steps!
Use a magic eraser to remove stains from upholstery!
I walk around with slightly dampened old socks on my hands, giving surfaces and dust collectors a quick going over. This keeps dust from accumulating, except on the socks. When I’m done with a pair or two, they’re dropped in the washing machine.
.
My tip is to try to take care of small tasks right away. Seems like if you let them linger they become much harder to accomplish.
Wipe down the shower/tub when you’re in there. It saves water and only takes a few seconds.
Squeegee the shower after using it; makes the cleaning job less-awful next time.
Everytime I clean, I add one place or item I do not normally. For instance, I’ll vacuum under the beds one week, or clean the refrigerator shelves another week.
I keep a bag by the basement and add old clothes and toys to take to goodwill whenever it fills up!
Just moved so these tips will come in handy once unpacked
Make the bed! It makes such a difference.
We don’t wear shoes in the house- it cuts down so much on dirt and disgusting things tracking through the house (ew!). The house will still get dirty, but definitely not as bad!
As soon as I realize something isn’t usable I get rid of it — if I can give it away I do (I have a bag for the charity shop), recycle, or throw away. Helps clean up clutter bit by bit.
Anything I can do while my toddler is eating is a plus. I will identify the one thing that will make everything else manageable. I especially like clearing my countertops so I can prep for meals and carve away some extra time for myself while he naps.
I love to use Vinegar in my wash- to get out stains, to whiten whites!
Wipe down bathroom surfaces and/or toilet seat and/or mirror while the kid is finishing his bath.
Give the kids a bin or a paper grocery bag and have them race each other to see who can pick up the most loose toys in a specific room. Winner gets a treat. Then race again to put them away. Winner gets a treat…and I am happy 🙂
I always sort the mail right away & toss/recycle the junk mail. I have also called some of the companies so they stop sending me junk in the first place.
I always try to have a clean sink. It’s nice to not wake up to a mess in the morning.
I clean as I go. If you do that, the mess is gone and therefore cannot get worse. It works for me.
i love using dawn and vinegar in a squirt bottle to clean our shower. I let it soak overnight and then the next morning, I lightly scrub and it’s clean!
What works for us is to pick a different room every day that is getting the most thorough cleaning.
This system works for our apartment with 5 different rooms, so during the week we have at least one room that’s spotless.
And all rooms can be quickly cleaned during the weekend.
Plus, we always maintain the best cleaning in a family room, which is the first room you see entering/leaving our apartment.
My best tips are to use Magic Erasers and to get my son to help my making it fun!!
I turn emptying the dishwasher into a learning activity for my 4 year old twins. They have fun sorting and counting the silverware while I unload the fragile items. Turning clean up into an activity helps motivate us all!
To make cleaning out expired items from the pantry and fridge easier, I keep a permanent marker in there and mark items with the expiration date, really big, right on the front as soon we we get the items home. Then when it’s time to toss, you can just take a quick glance at the date and purge everything.
I use old dryer sheets to dust everything. They are like magnets for dust, there’s always more of them to use, and seeing them in the laundry reminds me I should probably dust something.
My tip is to have your kids earn screen time by helping with chores.
A quick vacuum and/or sweep in the kitchen and living room make a huge difference for me! Those little tasks make me feel more like I have a handle on keeping the house clean!!
Harnessing the power of the sun for stain and /or odor removal. It’s amazing what a couple hours in the sun will do!
Keep a cubby/bin in the kids room for clothes that they have grown out of. Then, once a month, sort it out and store/donate as necessary.
My favorite thing to scrub down is my kitchen, I love when all the countertops sparkle! I use baking soda and vinegar to get the really tough baked on gunk!
Always put clothes into the hampers right away. Now if I could only get my husband to do this every time…
I always clean as I go when I am cooking or baking. This way all you have to clean after dinner are the dishes. It also makes me want to experiment more with cooking if I don’t have a lot of clean up after eating.
We use the “if you step on something, pick it up” rule. When the kids actually follow it, the common areas are much more tidy.
I have a daily cleaning routine, i do my deep cleaning on mondays which starts the week off great. I go room for room until each room is done before moving on to the next because then i end up distracted.
get the whole family involved! we clean every weekend as a unit!
I play music really loud and dance while I’m cleaning up. It’s a workout and it puts me in a good mood. 🙂
I use a mixture of vinegar, blue dawn, cornstarch, and hot water to clean the shower. Does a great job of removing soap scum from the tub and tiles.
One task that always makes me feel like I did something but doesn’t take long is wiping down the counters after washing the dishes. I can never leave a dirty sink overnight!
Kids can clean! Make them responsible for their bathroom and bedroom. Also love bartender’s friend for sinks!
I have a basket on one of the bottom stairs to accumulate things that need to be taken upstairs. It looks so much neater than when things were just thrown haphazardly there!
I like the tip to clean one thing at a time. It’s a process. So you don’t feel overwhelmed just go room by room or even piece by piece in a single room.
Sort mail the day it arrives. Have kids be weekly responsible for collecting trash from small trash bin around house and also take out the garbage and recycling when bins are full.
With two kids under 3 our lightweight dyson has been a total life saver- no more standing on crushed puffs or worrying about everyone getting tangled up in the cord! And being able to whip it out as messes come up is a much easier deal.
I love having a goodwill bin in the garage for tossing things in on a daily basis, this way things that no longer fit, work, or have a use can quickly be removed from the living spaces. We also have the “5 minute clean up”..I yell out “5 min cleanup” and everyone stops what they are doing and starts picking up or cleaning for 5 minutes. After 5 min we can all go back to what we were doing!
I clean the house and do laundry before I leave for vacation. I hate coming home to a dirty, cluttered house.
Add white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment in your washer if you prefer a more natural and scent free soft in your clothes and towels. This trick is easy on the wallet too.
have cleaning supplies under every sink, you’re more likely to clean if they’re close at hand
Put all misc items in a laundry basket, to do later. After one week, most can be tossed!
My best cleaning tip. . .Send the kids to Grandma’s. . .When they are gone I get so much more done in less time!!
I also sweep and clear the floor first. It makes a huge difference.
Soak showerheads and fridge door water dispenser with a bag of vinegar to remove hard water build up
I like to try new cleaning products- when your focused on a good smell, the cleaning seems to be a lot easier! Especially laundry detergent!
Favorite cleaning hack – use dryer sheet to shiny all faucets, collect dust.
And if i have missing socks – use them to clean dust from fragile surfaces – computer, tv.
Turn on upbeat music and wear your workout gear. Turn cleaning into a workout. Move fast and rhythmically. Flatten back and stick out your rear when picking up toys, and suddenly its a squat. Two birds, one stone.
baking soda helps deodorize stuff
I wipe down the shower stall with a squeegee after every shower so that soap scum doesn’t build up.
Dawn and a non scratch sponge will clean almost anything!
Cleaning up the kitchen while cooking! Dishes, set the table, clean off the countertops, etc!
Try to do 3 things in an area, if you take laundry down the hall to
put away, for example, stay in the room a couple minutes and
do 2 more things – less steps, more productivity.
Good tips. I most appreciated the reminder to clean makeup brushes and throw out old cosmetics. I have a tendency to hang on to things too long, or not pay attention to how old they are. And if they are too old to use, why let them clutter up the drawer?
?
We keep three bins by our staircase: one for each child. During the day, as they use things but don’t want to put them away or take them upstairs right away, we put the objects into the bins, so that they can take them all up at once at the end of the day.
Even though it’s longer and more painful- don’t do it all for your kids. Get them to do work as well- it will pay off in the long run!
I love to rearrange things as I clean…it’s easier to clean as I rearrange, and the space is extra clean because of it. Plus it satisfies my decorating urges.
My favorite cleaning tip is sprinkling baking soda in the tub and then squirting a bunch of cheap baby soap over it, let it sit for 5 min, or however long you forget about it, then you have nice scrub that wipes away grime without harsh chemicals. If you just want a quick wash without the scrub add some white vinegar and watch the magic work.
I always wash the dishes as I am cooking. And I don’t like to go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink or dishes drying in the drying rack so everything is clean and dry and put away before I go to bed. I love all of these tips!!
Awsome 10 minute tips. It’s amazing how much a mom can do with 10 minutes, although I admit I am a fan of the 10 minute nap!
Line the refrigerator shelves with saran wrap. Clean up is easy, no scrubbing. Just lift out and replace.
I try to clean 1 thing everyday to keep up.
25. Refill your drawer sachets with fresh lavender or cedar.
A robot vacuum has been life changing!
I love to use the little bits of time I have during the day to quickly clean up the kitchen, bathroom, and family room.
Thank goodness someone else piles stuff on the dryer. Great reminder that it only takes minutes to clear it off!
I feel like I am always cleaning, I try to be efficient but there is always something to be cleaned up with one kid, one dog, one cat and one husband.
I try to do a light clean and pick up each day
I love using white vinegar to clean glass. Works great and non-toxic.
Scrub my cutting board with a lemon and salt, then rinse off
I try to clean in small chunks of time so I don’t get behind – I only had 10 minutes yesterday so I could only swiffer the stairs but it was better than not cleaning any of the floors! Also, multi-tasking when I can helps.
Being a mother of 7 quick and easy is my motto I put a bowl of water with drop of dish liquid in the microwave for 5 minutes when it stop let it sit for a while that heat stream that inside of the microwave and then I wipe it out pour the water in sink for dishes
I like to clean the dishes as I’m cooking. I’ll run the dishwasher while we’re eating and then by the time we’re done the next round is ready to go in and we go to bed with a clean kitchen!
Clean a little each day so it’s not overwhelming!
I have a routine and clean certain things every day so that I’m never overwhelmed.
My cleaning tip is to do little-by-little until things get done.
Unmatched socks go from the lost souls basket, they get used to dust, and then they get thrown away! One last chance to be useful before they’re discarded.
If I have a few minutes, I try to clean the kitchen table. This seems to be a dumping ground for everything and a hot spot for our family, so if it’s tidy, the whole room looks neat!
My best cleaning tip is to use a dry erase marker to write on the washer items that you need to remember to pull out and hang or lay flat to dry before throwing everything in the dryer!
Keep a basket near the staircase. Put things in that need to go up or down and take with you the next time you use the stairs!
Clean a little each day!
Tackle a little of your cleaning each day so it will not become overwhelming
My favorite cleaning tip is to do the dishes before bed.
I make myself wash prep dishes as I cook dinner. Then the only dishes that need washing are the ones used at the table! The kitchen is clean in no time!
Clean small toys in a laundry bag and throw in washing machine.
Great tips!
If I have just a few I like to clean the bathroom sink and put stuff away.
My favorite tip is to get the kids involved. It teaches them responsibility and it makes it go by faster….sometimes.
Cleaning off the counters
I try to do one load of laundry a day , wash, dry and put up. That way i dont have a whole lot of laundry piling up.
Music makes the time fly by! We all listen to music when we clean at our house!
Getting the kids involved in cleaning as a fun activity. My kiddo loves to use the Swiffer around the house!
If I think of something that takes less than 2 minutes to do, I just go ahead and do it right then. I also try to have the one touch rule. If I touch an item, I have to put it where it belongs,not just set it somewhere and need to touch it again later.