I love having a clean house. I actually have a hard time relaxing or concentrating on anything else when my house isn’t clean. However, I’m about to have four kids, run a business, run a blog, and would still like time for my marriage, my social life, and myself! Figuring out a quicker way to keep up my house was imperative for me. (And an absolute necessity if I wanted to maintain the other things in my life that are important to me!)

Ladies, I have a wondrous cleaning schedule for you today. I have devised a way for you to clean your home in just thirty minutes. It’s hard to find time to get chores done, but most of us can manage to find half an hour in our day. If you follow this system, coupled with my Laundry 101 system, The 10 Minute Tidy,  and a few very basic, everyday chores, you can have a clean and sparkly home in just a few hours a week! Sound too good to be true? I assure you, it works!

The Caveats

Okay, let me be real for a few minutes before we begin. The 30 Minutes to a Clean Home will NOT work for you if your home is not generally tidy to begin with. If you keep a messier home, you may need to spend a bit of time picking up some clutter before you can begin the system. However, if you are a person that can tolerate piles (I am NOT!), the system will still leave your house worlds cleaner than it was!  Some of you may just need to take a quick 10 Minute Tidy break before you begin and just walk around your home picking up and putting away items that are misplaced, on the floor, or need to be tossed.

This is NOT a stroll in the park type of thirty minutes. This is some tough, no-nonsense cleaning. You will need to MOVE your buns and go as fast as you can. I broke a sweat ladies. So worth it. (I am pregnant, and NOT fitness woman, so I think that most women will be able to do this in the time allotted.)

*Background on my home: I used the following system on a two story, 2300 square foot home. I have 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and mostly carpet. If your home is bigger/smaller than mine, you may find that you spend a little less/more time on the schedule.

Ready to find out how to clean YOUR home in just 30 minutes?!  Here we go!!

To Prepare

1. First, have ALL of your cleaning supplies out and ready to go! You may want to use a caddy or just have them in a central location where they will be quick to grab as you need them. Here is what I used:

Vacuum

Mr. Clean with Febreze All-Purpose Spray (LOVE this stuff!)

Clorox Clean-up with Bleach Spray

Windex

toilet brush

rags and/or paper towels

1. Vacuum Downstairs – 3 minutes

Vacuum the entirety of carpeting in the downstairs of your home. (If you have a one story home, you can combine the two vacuuming times or just finish early!)  Move quickly! We’re not going for perfectly straight vacuum lines here, we’re just trying to make our carpets look nicer!

2. Bleach Attack! – 3 minutes

Take your Clorox spray (or other disinfectant) and spray EVERY sink (don’t forget the kitchen!), every toilet bowl, and every tub/shower with the bleach spray. Don’t worry about wiping it up or rinsing yet. (We’ll take care of that in a bit.) For now, just spray it down, and let the cleaner work its magic for a bit. (And call me crazy, but the smell of bleach makes me feel like my house is a lot cleaner…)

3.Beds-3 minutes

QUICKLY make all the beds in your home. (I made 3 in three minutes, so we’re not going for hospital corners here…) Pull up the sheets, straighten the blankets, and arrange the pillows. Set up a few stuffed friends on your child’s bed and be on your way. I just feel better about the world when the beds are made. It will help, and it WILL make your home look cleaner! *If you are heading upstairs, take your vacuum with you!

4.  Vacuum Upstairs – 5 minutes

Vacuum all bedrooms, hallway, etc. I find that the upstairs takes me just a bit longer, as there are more things to maneuver around, due to much less open spaces, and I typically have to take a few seconds to pick up stray toys in the kids’ rooms.

*You’re halfway there! Keep it up! Your house is going to look amazing!!

5. Trash-3 minutes

Empty EVERY trash can in your house. I typically take a large trash bag upstairs with me and empty all of the smaller trash cans into the one bag. Then I take that bag, the kitchen trash, and the downstairs bathroom trash out to the outside trash can all at the same time. Having empty trash cans really does make a difference, and can really make your home SMELL better!

6. Bleach Wipe-Up- 6 minutes

Time to go back through the house and rinse out the bleach. Rinse each sink, and wipe down as needed with a rag or paper towel. Run your toilet brush around each toilet bowl. (You can gild the lily here and use a Clorox wipe to wipe up the seat/back of each toilet during this step!) Rinse out each tub/shower, and quickly scrub the floor surface with your sponge. Wipe down the sides of the tub with a rag.

7. Counters/Mirrors- 4 minutes

Grab your Mr. Clean or other all purpose spray and quickly spray down the counters in your bathrooms. Wipe up the spray with a rag. Windex and wipe each of your bathroom mirrors. (Bet you never knew you could clean all of your bathrooms this fast huh?!)

8. Spray the Living Area- 3 minutes

Spray down all of your kitchen counters, kitchen table, coffee table, end tables, etc with your all purpose spray, and then wipe with a rag or paper towel. The clean smell of the spray will really add to the clean feeling of your home, and getting rid of the dust/grime/food mess on those commonly used surfaces will really make a difference!

Ladies, you just cleaned your WHOLE home in just 30 minutes!

Gilding the Lily

If you have a few extra minutes, here are some other quick jobs to take your home to an even cleaner state.

Sweep the Kitchen- 4 minutes

Sweep up the crumbs, dust, toys, etc that tend to accumulate like crazy on the kitchen floor. This simple task will make a huge difference!

Spray Common Windows – 4 minutes

Windex and wipe down the windows in your main living area. I don’t know about you, but the windows in my bedroom don’t get the fingerprint (okay..tongue print) stains that the windows downstairs do. Quickly rid your windows of those charming sticky handprints/dog prints, etc. and make yourself feel a bit better.

Steam Mop- 8 minutes

I am still desperately wishing for a steam mop (contact me if you’d like to donate one! J/K!) However, run your steam mop or wet-jet/swiffer type mop over your kitchen floor, entry way, bathrooms, etc. Make that floor sparkle!

Upkeep

I do the 30 minute system twice a week. I spend one other day doing my laundry system. There are a few chores that I do every day during the week. I make the beds every morning. I vacuum as needed throughout the week, and of course wipe down my kitchen counters daily. I also have a firm handle on clutter.

Non-included Chores

I do not count doing dishes as part of this system. Dishes is not a chore that is hard for me to keep up with. I firmly believe in cleaning up the kitchen as you cook, and immediately placing something into the dishwasher once you have dirtied it. Dishes do NOT belong in the sink at our house. I unload/load the dishwasher once or twice daily, and this is just part of my routine.

I do not count picking up toys as part of this system. I firmly believe that this is NOT my job. This is the job of my children. They are to clean up their toys at naptime and at bedtime each day. They do NOT go to bed with any type of mess in their room, and are not allowed to get ready for bed until any toys downstairs are picked up and put away. We are pretty firm about one toy out at a time as well.

Like I mentioned, I do laundry one day a week (see the above link for more details), so laundry never really piles up around the house. (I also never take it to the couch or kitchen table etc. so it is never anywhere but the hamper or the laundry room.)

This is an overview cleaning system. Of course, your home will need a deep clean at times. However, this is a great way to keep a clean house for a busy mom. It is quick, doable and really makes your house look, feel, and smell cleaner!

I hope you will give this little system a try! It sounds silly, but this really has changed my outlook. Knowing that I can get all of this done in just half an hour, really washes away my stress. We are having company tonight, and I am not even worried about picking up, since I know I can do it SUPER fast. It works, and I hope you love it!!!