16 Cleaning Tasks That Only Take Under 10 Minutes To Complete
No matter how stuffed your closets, drawers and cabinets are currently, if you do little things everyday, these little tasks will make a huge impact on your home. After being a mom for 20 years, I’m just figuring out these tasks.... 20 years later. Better late than never right!
My hopes for this post is to help you get a head start on your home, no matter what the current state of your home is. Taming clutter doesn’t happen over night, do what you can do, little by little. It may take days, weeks or even months to completely organize your, even the smallest progress is way better then wishing you had started.
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16 Cleaning Tasks That Only Take Under 10 Minutes To Accomplish.
1. Do Quick Pick Up’s Multiple Times A Day.
This is a big one for me being we are a household of 6. There is always dirty socks, clothes, toys and other things scattered along the floors, especially the main floor. It only takes minutes to pick up dirty clothes and put them in the dirty laundry and throw out trash. Another nemesis is my four year olds Lego’s. I swear I’m constantly stepping on them.
2. Load And Run The Dishwasher.
Recently, I have been being mindful of the dishes because they pile up like nothing else. I have been emptying and putting the dishes away so it’s easier to just load anything dirty. Again this takes 5-10 minutes depending on the severity of the dishes. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and just ignore it, though it only makes this much worse on me.
3. Wipe Down Kitchen Countertops.
This is something I do every time I load my dishwasher or put dirty dishes in the sink. When my counters are clean and clutter free my kitchen looks more put together. Recently I’ve found that the best granite and marble cleaner made by my favorite widow cleaner brand, Sprayway. The sprayway marble and granite cleaner is also super reasonable and is a cleaner/polish in one!
4. Vacuum Rugs And Hard Flooring.
I usually have to vacuum mostly everyday being there’s always play doh crumbs, food crumbs or dirt. In my entry and dining areas I have laminate flooring, my living room is carpeted. Vacuuming after picking things up make so much of a difference in your home. My go to vacuum is the Shark Duo clean. This vacuum is super powerful and really easy to clean. The Duo Clean has a microfiber roller infront of the motorized roller to give a little extra love to hard flooring.
5. Make The Beds.
Not only does making the beds take minutes, also if you do this everyday it will soon establish habit. Even if there is clothes all over the place or my planner area a mess, making the beds make the rooms look way more put together.
6. Tidy Up Bedrooms.
This is something I try and do with all rooms after making the beds, though still a work in progress. I’m not taking about a full cleaning, I mean pickup towels or clothes and putting them on a chair, or throw any trash out. It makes that much of a difference.
7. Windex Glass And Windows.
My front storm door has a glass window in it. My boys constantly put there hands on the glass going in and out. The handle is more closer but they must like to smudge the glass instead. This is something that drives me absolutely crazy , dirty finger marks all over the front glass. Most importantly, this is the place people see first walking into your home. This task makes a huge difference and only takes minutes. My absolute favorite window cleaner is Spray Away. Not only is it super reasonably priced but works better then any other window cleaner I’ve had used before!
8. Wipe Down Doors In High Traffic Areas.
Doors are always dirty in high traffic areas of the home and the bathroom. Maybe it’s just my home but I am pretty sure I’m not alone. Wiping down the doors always make the room look so much cleaner, stains come off fairly quickly. My main go to is a Magic Eraser, if I don’t have any left I’ll opt for my window cleaner and a microfiber cloth. I feel Spray Away works best if I’m out of Magic Erasers.
9. Use A Bona Spray Mop For Quick Spills Or Dirty Areas Of Floors.
Oh how I love my Bona Spray Mop for spills in my kitchen or dirt and dust on my laminate. It’s so fast and easy and you can get a cleaner fit for any type of flooring. All you do is spray and mop over. This is great for in between floor cleaning.
10. Fold A Load Of Laundry Right Out Of The Dryer.
I have been trying to do this now for awhile, another thing that’s still a work in progress. But folding laundry from the dryer insures that your clothes don’t pile up ( like mine are now ) and makes it faster to not only fold but put away.
11. Collect And Take Kitchen Trash Out.
I’m guilty of this as I’m typing this blog post. It only takes a minute to collect trash and take it outside rather then letting the trash piling up, spilling out while trash is on the kitchen counter. What I try and do is take out the trash bag and replace can with a new trash bag, then fininish collecting straggling trash off counters. Because god forbid someone other then me puts a new trash bag in, the result is trash in a can without a bag.
12. Pick Up Any Shoes Coats Or Backpacks.
I don’t have a mud room but I do have the area behind my front door where I hung a wood 5 hook coat hanger to hand hoodies and coats. Next to that is a basket for hats and another for gloves. The last thing after the baskets for the coats and hats is a decent sized shoe holder. My kids can’t grab a coat of hoodie without knocking all the others over. By picking these items up , my entry area doesn’t look like a tornado ran through.
13. Use A Diffuser With Essential Oils Or Light A Candle.
This isn’t necessarily a task but I love using a diffuser with essential oils to make my home smell good.
14. Put Things Back Right When Your Done Using Them.
Another thing I struggle with but have been getting better implementing, putting stuff away immediately after using it. Something as simple as the bread after making lunches, sandwich baggies, make up and so on.
15. If Something Only Takes Seconds To Do, Do It Right Then And There.
Something I’ve been working on since reading the book, The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. It can be anything from answering a email, signing one of my kids tests or putting laundry in to the dryer. I’ve been telling myself if I just do it now, I won’t end up forgetting. Let’s be honest, usually when we put something so simple off most of the time we never get back to the simple things we say we will do later. Am I right?
16. Clear Off Countertops And Surfaces Within Your Home.
This sounds simple but it will make a big impact on the way your home appears. By tables and counters being maintained daily and free of clutter, your home appears more tidy. I have been working on doing this daily to try and maintain simplicity. Because you absolutely know, if you suffer from anxiety, clutter is a big trigger.
I have to say that if it wasn’t for my Erin Condren Life Planner along with writing down every task daily, I wouldn’t accomplish nearly what I do now.
If you are not currently using a planner or maybe even you have a planner that doesn’t quite work for you, I highly suggest get a planner that works. Definitely check out the Erin Condren Vertical Neutral Layout. This is the planner I finally found peace with 5 years later.
What do you think of this list, is there anything you do I may of left out? Lastly, do you currently use a Paper Planner and/or Bullet Journal?
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.