13 Easy Cleaning Habits That Actually Keep Your Home Spotless

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I used to waste entire weekends scrubbing my house, but I have learned these cleaning habits that cut my cleaning time in half (yes, really!). As a mom, I know exactly how you feel. It seems there are always toys everywhere, sticky counters, and a mountain of laundry to do.

After years of struggling to keep a clean home, I discovered a secret. It was cleaning smarter. I developed these 13 cleaning habits that take minutes per day, work with having kids, and consistently keep your home clean. Seriously, habit #5 will change how you clean forever!

You can try just one cleaning habit today for a visible result by bedtime. No more feeling like you are drowning in the mess of your house. Let’s get into these easy cleaning habits for a spotless home!

Cleaning Habits

1. Make Your Bed

Start your day off right by making your bed. This is one of the easiest habits to adopt for cleaning, as it takes just 30 seconds to implement. Instantly, your room looks cleaner. It feels really good to accomplish one small task at the beginning of your day.

Hack: If you have a partner who sleeps in longer than you, make your side of the bed when you wake up. They will often finish the job when they wake up!

2. Dishwasher Routine

Keeping a dishwasher routine is a game-changer for the dish pile. I recommend running your dishwasher daily to prevent odor and bacteria from growing. YUCK! Here is my simple and easy daily dishwasher routine. I load after meals, but run at the end of the day.

AM: Unload dishes while making coffee

PM: Load dishes after dinner and run them overnight

Pro Tip: If you feel your dishwasher doesn’t have enough space for all your dishes. Hand wash larger-sized items immediately after use. This keeps the dishwasher from filling up too quickly. This is the sponge I have used for years; it is affordable, lasts a long time, and is excellent on cooked-on food

3. 5 Minute Floors

A daily, quick 5-minute floor sweep and Swiffer Wet is one of the cleaning habits you should try this week. For five minutes, focus on your high-traffic areas, such as the entryway and kitchen. This keeps you from having to vacuum every day and has your floors looking great!

4. Organize Mail & Papers

One thing to do every day is to organize your mail, packages, and papers. As soon as you check your mailbox, open your letters and decide what to save and what to discard. If you have receipts or miscellaneous papers lying about, do this as well.

If you’re a parent and your child is creating art or bringing home papers from school, try these picture frame displays. Not only do they showcase the art, but there is storage behind the frame for more papers. You can not only organize all their papers, but also display what beautiful things they have created!

Shop Kids Storage Frames

5. Declutter Autopilot

Does it feel like there is stuff everywhere all the time? My top cleaning habit from the entire list is this: set yourself to declutter autopilot. How do you do that? Every time you are going anywhere in your home, take something with you that is out of place. This prevents the buildup of items with ZERO time required.

Coffee cup in the living room? Bring it to the kitchen as you go. Developing an easy cleaning habit like this can have a significant impact on the overall cleanliness of your home.

Tip: Keep a donation bin in a storage closet for ongoing use. Toss items in as you notice they are no longer getting used.

6. Vacuum Like a Pro

How do you vacuum like a pro? First, remove everything from the floor. I mean everything except large items. You can pile everything onto a couch or a bed, but make sure you can vacuum the entire floor. You want no obstructions during your vacuuming.

Vacuum in a grid, working in small sections. Once you have vacuumed the area, take the hose and run it along the corners and baseboards. I also like to do my window sills.

Must Have: You need a vacuum that works! My vacuum is the absolute best, and I love it. I prefer a corded vacuum that has a lot of power. I don’t like the cordless ones that quickly run out of battery. Also, I find the suction to be relatively weak.

7. Clean as You Cook

Does it look like a bomb went off after you made a meal in the kitchen? A cleaning habit you need to try is to clean as you cook. Keep one item, such as a large glass or bowl, filled with water in the sink. Drop utensils and cooking tools into it as you cook. This keeps your cooking tools organized and ready for washing.

Hack: Put a paper towel underneath your cooking spoon on the counter. Use a single paper towel and save your counter from the mess.

8. Trash Out Every Other Day

Every other night, the trash and recycling need to go out. This keeps your home smelling fresh and deters pests. In my opinion, this is a non-negotiable cleaning habit to learn!

Hack: Keep new trash bags at the bottom of your bin so you can quickly replace the old ones. You can also use these to keep your home smelling fresh longer!

9. Wash Your Linens

Pick a day of the week that works for you and wash your linens. Every Sunday, we wash our sheets. Weekly sheet washing is essential because a significant amount of sweat, skin cells, and body oils accumulate in them. This cleaning habit will not only make your room smell great but also make your bedroom an inviting place to relax.

Hack: Adding a scent booster to your linens can keep that fresh smell longer. Who doesn’t love fresh-smelling sheets?

10. Wipe Down Counters After Meals

Always wipe down your counters after meals. This reduces buildup and sanitizes the counter. I love using a microfiber cloth to wipe down my kitchen counters. They really do the best cleaning.

11. Organize the Fridge

Once a week, organize the fridge. We clean ours out on Monday after the weekend of takeout and big family meals. This is the perfect time to determine what groceries you need to add to your weekly list.

I always write my grocery list on my notes app. That way, I never forget the list and can check off as I go at the store.

Hack: For fridge organization, avoid buying plastic containers or those that require transferring one product to another. (IE- buying an egg holder, when the eggs already come in a package). Here’s a quick hack to make your things easily accessible: cut off the top of the containers they came in. For example, eggs or berries, chop the top off so you can easily grab them when you open the fridge.

12. Bathroom Sink Reset

A quick cleaning habit that can transform your bathroom is a sink reset. Put everything on the bathroom counter away after you brush your teeth at night. Store these under your counter and use one to quickly wipe down the sink and counter, taking 30 seconds or less. Maintaining a clean bathroom counter is a great cleaning habit to establish.

13. Nightly Round Up

Before sitting down after dinner for the evening, do your nightly roundup. This is a quick 10 minutes for you to clean before you relax for the evening. Ensure everything is in its proper place, the trash is out, and the counters are clean, then relax. You can even set a timer, if that works for you!

This is an excellent cleaning habit to adopt because it creates a clean and organized space for you to wake up to. Your future self will thank you!

A Few Helpful Tips for Cleaning Motivation

Tip Number One: Try not to sit down or procrastinate before starting to clean.
Tip Number Two: Set a timer and see what you can accomplish. If you only have 10 minutes, aim to improve your home, but don’t worry about it being perfect.
Tip Number Three: Play some upbeat music to lift your mood.
Tip Number Four: Use a checklist to mark off cleaning tasks. Here is my post featuring a free printable household chores checklist.