I seriously envy those people who can put the blinkers on and settle down to work surrounded by the chaos of every day life. Unfortunately I’m a neat freak and that’s just not how I roll.

Whether you need to speed clean before your parents pop by for an unexpected visit or just want to quickly eliminate the distraction of untidyness, in today’s post I’ll be showing you how to whip your apartment into shape in record time. 

Now that I’m working from home it’s more important than ever that I keep things tidy because too much clutter stresses me out and, more importantly, it’s way too tempting to procrastinate by cleaning the place to within an inch of it’s life.

In the past month or so I travelled or had visitors for more days than I was home, including staying in places with very limited internet. Once I stopped running around like a headless chook I had a fair bit of work to catch up on, an exploding inbox, and a chaotic house to sort out.

This time, I didn’t actually want to hide behind a four-hour deep clean, I had too much to do! But at the same time, the mess was making me twitchy. So I pulled my hair into a top knot and got stuck in. Here’s how I tackled it, room by room.

Kitchen

∼ put away clean dishes.

∼ load dishwasher.

∼ any dishes that won’t go in the dishwasher? Stack ’em up so they take up as little space as possible.

∼ wipe over benches.

Save for later:

∼ washing up.

∼ cleaning the stove, microwave, etc. All those things that take more than a minute or two can wait.

Optional:

∼ empty bins. But if they’re inside a cupboard, ignore them for a bit longer!

Living/Dining

∼ quickly put away things that don’t belong, like shoes that have been kicked off in the corner.

∼ gather all the miscellaneous stuff that lives there into a neat stack.

∼ wipe over the obvious surfaces only — think coffee table, not bookcase.

Save for later:

∼ dusting all surfaces and knick-knacks properly.

∼ processing what’s in the stack.

∼ vacuuming.

Bedroom

∼ make the bed. It makes a huge difference in the appearance of the room.

∼ throw dirty clothes in the hamper.

Save for later:

∼ dusting and vacuuming.

∼ tidying up books and other junk on the bedside tables.

∼ changing bed linen.

Optional:

∼ putting away clean clothes if you can do it fast. Otherwise (you guessed it) just make a neat
pile for later.

Bathroom

∼ put clothes in the hamper.

∼ pop in a toilet cleaner that will keep your loo fresh and clean with no further effort, win! (Plus it makes the room smell nice).

∼ wipe over all the surfaces (try this great bathroom product that does double duty, no need to spray/wait/wipe when you’re short on time).

Save for later:

∼ washing the floors.

∼ clean the shower and bath.

Office/Workspace

∼ chuck out any useless bits of paper.

∼ move anything that doesn’t belong — I know my desk is often a dumping ground!

∼ put away anything that doesn’t need to be on your desk (staplers, extra pens, that kind of thing).

∼ tidy everything that’s left into a neat pile.

Save for later:

∼ actually sorting and filing everything that’s in that pile.

Optional:

∼ dust, but only if you really need to — just a quick swipe with a microfibre cloth to get the worst off. Save a proper dusting for later.

And you’re done! Grab yourself a cuppa and settle down for a productive day (or lovely visit with family).

The key thing here is you want to make a superficial difference so it doesn’t bug you while you’re working. For this you just need to tidy, not thoroughly clean.

What’s your tip for getting things done in record time? Let me know in the comments!

Header image. Image 1. Image 2. Image 3.

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