Since having kids, things seem to mysteriously appear throughout my house.  No matter how many times I clean and tidy up the house, there seem to be things out of place.  To make up for some of the extra time I spend mothering and tidying up the house, I’ve had to figure out some quick cleaning tips.  Here’s a few to try:

1)  Clean your bathroom while your kids are taking a bath.  Be sure to use safe cleaning products such as vinegar.  You can also take this time to clean out a bathroom drawer.

2)  Keep a few extra trash bags in the bottom of your trash cans.  When you take out the trash, there will be a clean bag waiting.

3)  Do a quick 10-15 minute family clean-up.  Set the timer for 10 minutes and have everyone participate in cleaning up the house.  At first you may have some resistance but if you make this a daily routine, the kids will know what’s expected and participate.

4)  Grab a basket for a quick pick up of out of place things.  Put items into the basket and it will be easy to put them away as you walk through each room.

5)  Before leaving a room, make sure you take something with you.  This goes for your car too.  Each time I get out of my car, I usually pick up a few pieces of trash or grab a few things that need to go into the house.

6)  Do a load of laundry each day.  This will avoid laundry piling up and will make it easier to put away each load as it’s completed.

7)  Unload your dishwasher as soon as the load is complete.  It’s easier to keep dirty dishes out of the sink if the dishwasher is ready to be loaded.

8)  Keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom and in the kitchen.  Using an all purpose cleaner such as vinegar will cut down on the supplies you need.

9)  Assign daily chores to each person in the house.  Each person needs to contribute and if each person has a regular job, they will know what’s expected of them.  The chores need to be age-appropriate.

10)  Do a quick vacuuming in common areas once during the week.  Save the time consuming vacuuming and furniture moving for cleaning days.  Having clean floors makes a home more attractive.

What time saving cleaning tips can you share?

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