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How to Clean Your House like a Pro

My friend Lisa owns a housekeeping business in another city. While I still do all of the cleaning in my home, it occurred to me recently that I’m probably doing lots of things the hard way—and the slow way. Lisa knows how to clean thoroughly, but efficiently so that more homes can be cleaned per day. I decided to go to the master for wisdom.

It turns out there is a methodology most pros use to whip a home into shape in minimum time. Much of it relies on just doing tasks in the proper sequence! Less time cleaning means more time for your family and the things you enjoy, so it’s a code worth cracking.

We’ve put together some great tips from Lisa and others so you can Clean Your House Like a Pro.

1. Assemble all needed supplies before you begin.

Lots of time can be wasted if you have to make repeated trips to the kitchen or laundry room to grab the cleaning solution or tool you plan to use next. Lisa says that she loads all the essentials into a caddy which can be easily carried from room to room, plus the vacuum and dust mop, and has everything at hand to move from task to task easily.

2. Use one big trash bag to collect trash from every room.

Make a quick sweep through to house to empty all trash receptacles, replacing bags as you go. (Some pros leave a stash of new bags in the bottom of the can underneath the liner to make the switch super fast.) At the end of the cleaning spree, you just have one bag—and one trip—to the trash bin.

3. Decide if you’re a “vacuum first” person or a “vacuum last” person.

Some cleaning gurus swear by the top-down approach to cleaning a room: move from the ceiling (ceiling fans, etc.) to tabletops and furniture – saving floors for last so that any dust and dirt knocked off the other things in the room is picked up by the vacuum. My friend Lisa feels that every vacuum, no matter how good, stirs up a bit of dust, so she dusts last to get the best result. Your decision will probably hinge on the quality of your vacuum.

4. Have a few secret weapons.

You don’t have to purchase every speciality cleaning product on the market to get great results. Lisa swears by Windex and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for kitchens and bathrooms. The Windex gives her a great shine on faucets and glass, and the magic erasers remove tough soap scum in the bathroom and stains in the kitchen sink.

5. Do a few daily maintenance items to keep things manageable.

Professional housekeepers say that clients who do a couple of quick tidy ups every few days enjoy a cleaner home and make the deep cleaning more manageable. By wiping down counters and furniture tops every couple of days and routinely keeping clutter picked up, they make the deep clean day faster and more thorough. Tip: These are great tasks to delegate to the kids!

Is your house in need of a serious deep cleaning? Try our guide to How to Spring Clean in a Weekend for a plan of attack.

Dana Hall McCain writes about marriage, parenting, faith and wellness. She is a mom of two, and has been married to a wonderful guy for over 18 years.

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