7 Ways To Clean Your House Without Really Cleaning It

I love the result of a clean house approximately 20 times more than the process of creating one. The whole process of deep cleaning is time-consuming and tiring–in fact, I spent 10 full hours cleaning our house last weekend. To me, that time is well spent because the state of my home is often the state of my mind. When my environment is clean, uncluttered, and tidy, my mind tends to reflect that.

All that said, there is a time for donning your raggedy old clothes, throwing your hair in a ponytail, and scrubbing your house until it sparkles. Though there’s no substitute for a proper deep clean, when that’s not necessary, time doesn’t allow for it, or you have company coming over and need to quickly get your house in shape, here are seven quick things you can do to clean up your house without really cleaning it!

1 | Make your bed

I am squarely in the Make Your Bed Everyday camp. Making your bed will take you under 90 seconds and will result in a room that looks and feels tidy and pulled together. Plus, if your bed is made, you’re more likely to actually use your hamper and put your shoes away. Even if your dresser needs dusting, your bedroom mirror needs to be wiped down, and your carpet could use vacuuming, a made bed will keep you sane until you’re able to get out your cleaning caddy.

2 | Open your blinds

I love natural light, so I spend the first few minutes when I wake up each morning opening up all of the blinds in our house. It baffles me when I visit someone’s home and her blinds are drawn throughout the day! Natural light makes spaces feel large, open, and airy, so pull open your blinds and let the sunshine in. You’ll be amazed at how lovely your space feels.

3 | Wipe down your kitchen and bathrooms

Okay, so technically this falls under “cleaning,” but it’s a must-do. If you don’t have time to properly deep clean, at least wipe down your kitchen and bathroom(s). Why? Because grimy kitchens and bathrooms are disgusting and will make your entire home feel dirty. This can be fast! In the kitchen, do your dishes, change out your dish towels, and wipe down your countertops; in the bathroom, clean your toilet, wipe down your countertops and sink, and change out your hand towels. Unless the floors are really dirty, they can probably wait. When I have guests coming over, I always do these two things–together, they only take about 10 minutes.

Also? Empty your trashcans. Overflowing trashcans are gross, disorderly, and smelly. (Yuck!) Take just five minutes or less to empty your them and your whole house will instantly feel more refreshed and clean. This is a simple and quick chore that truly impacts your home environment!

4 | Clear off your refrigerator

Clutter and I don’t get along, so we rarely have anything hanging on our fridge. I totally understand why some people like to hang up their friends’ wedding invitations or a cute family photo, but most peoples’ refrigerators have layers upon layers of random paperwork and outdated invitations, making the heart of the home feel congested and disorganized. A quick fix? Clear off all the junk on your fridge and sort/recycle it. If you must, return only a few things to your fridge, and hang them neatly.

5 | Get rid of your piles of mail

Piles of mail make me completely annoyed. I can’t stand them! I have everything I possibly can set to paperless statements because paper clutter is the worst, but we still get some bills and other snail mail each week. I’m sure you can relate–almost everyone has a pile of mail or two. If you want to make your home feel clean without using a spray bottle and a rag, sort your mail, recycle what you don’t need, and file what you do need. If you’re anything like me, I promise you’ll be able to sleep better! 😉

6 | Straighten up your throw pillows

Sometimes our living room and den are relatively clean but feel messy because all of our throw pillows are deflated, on the floor, or generally strewn about. If you have a similar problem, spend a minute to pick up your pillows, fluff them, and arrange them nicely. This is a great and super-fast way to make a room look deceivingly clean and tidy even when it could use some TLC.

7 | Do a quick de-clutter with a laundry basket

This is one of my favorite ways to clean my house when I don’t have time to really clean it. Here’s what you do: grab an empty laundry basket and walk through each room of your house, picking up any items that need to be put away somewhere else. As you go, you can easily redistribute items as necessary, and in the end, you’ll only need to spend an extra few minutes putting items in their proper places since you did some of the work as you went.

For example, if you pick up two pairs of shoes in your living room, you can put them on the shoe rack in your bedroom when you head in there.  When you pick up some empty water cups on your nightstands, you can put them in the dishwasher when you head into the kitchen. If you’ve been to every room in your house and still have pens and blankets in your basket, a quick trip to the office and den will complete your task! If you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to this, set your timer for 10 or 15 minutes and do as much as you can! (I guarantee you that you’ll get more done than you think!)

// How do you clean your house without really cleaning it when you don’t have the time or necessity for a proper deep clean?

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