How to Clean Your House Really Fast (step by step!)

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Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

You know how it goes – you’re relaxing at home…then someone calls to say they’re gonna stop by.

You look around, and your house is totally NOT company ready.

It’s one thing to live comfortably in your own mess. It’s quite another for your tidy friend to see it.

On the verge of panic, you wonder “how I can clean my house in like 30 minutes?!”

Well my dear, I’m here to share exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. In well under an hour!

So if you’re trying to get ready for guests in a hurry, (or your husband called to say he’s coming home early from his work trip) consider this your speed cleaning checklist to set things right.

It may not be on par with a top to bottom, professionally-done deep clean, but your houseguests will be none the wiser!

Today we’re just tackling what’s in plain sight. So they think your house always looks this good.

For more awesome clean house tips, check out:

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How to Clean Your House Really Fast

1. Set a timer

One of my favorite fast cleaning hacks is simply to set a timer.

You’ll be shocked to see how much quicker you get everything done when the time is ticking down.

Set your phone or oven timer for just shy of how much time you actually have. That’ll give you some cushion if your guests are early, or something takes longer than you expected.

🎶 Bonus tip: Be sure to turn up your favorite ‘get pumped’ playlist!

2. Make it smell fresh

Light a candle, spritz a room spray, or turn on your wax melt warmer or essential oil diffuser.

People absolutely LOVE walking into a house that smells good. They won’t even notice any remaining mess if they’re busy enjoying the fresh scent.

Check out my post on 23 Hacks to Make Your House Smell Amazing for even more ideas!

Related: 10 Pretty Essential Oil Diffusers (that actually add to your home decor)

Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

3. Hide the stuff

Grab an empty laundry basket and walk around any area your guest will see.

Toss in anything that belongs in another room. That will eliminate a bunch of clutter right away.

Just put it in the laundry basket to deal with later.

Concentrate on only the areas your guests will actually be (ie. foyer, living room, kitchen, bathroom).

Now hide the basket. Just kidding! (Sort of.) 

If you get done cleaning early, you can start putting the stuff where it belongs. Otherwise, just worry about it tonight. Or tomorrow.

4. Tackle the kitchen

  1. Wash the dirty dishes, or put them into the dishwasher. If there’s REALLY no time, at least rinse them. Then stack them neatly in the sink, so it looks like there’s fewer of them.
  2. Sweep the floor. If there are any obvious spills or stains on the floor, spot clean them with a wet paper towel or cloth.
  3. Clear off the kitchen table. If your table is covered with mail and other assorted randomness, clear it off. Or at least arrange it neatly.
  4. Empty the trash. Especially if it’s full or stinky.

Related: 10 Things You Need to Organize Your Messy Kitchen

Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

5. Move onto the living room

Hopefully you removed any unnecessary items from the living room during the laundry basket blitz.

Now let’s tidy it further:

  1. Dust any major surfaces. Specifically, anywhere that you can easily see dust (ie. coffee table, sofa table, tv stand).
  2. Vacuum the carpet or rug. Those lines your vacuum makes in the carpet look super clean, so definitely vacuum if time allows. However, in a pinch, I just use my carpet sweeper.
  3. Straighten and fluff the pillows. And fold any throw blankets laying around.

Related reading: 10 Easy Tricks to Make Your Living Room More Cozy

6. Attack the bathroom

You never know if your guest is going to use the bathroom, so it’s just best to make sure it’s clean.

  1. Wipe down the counters and sink. I love having some anti-bacterial wipes on hand to make quick work of this.
  2. Clean the toilet. Those wipes also come in handy when cleaning the toilet fast.
  3. Empty the trash. This is a must!
  4. Windex the mirror. Is Windex a verb? No. Just clean the mirror with whatever you like to use.
  5. Change the hand towel. Your guests (and your future self) will appreciate a clean, dry hand towel.
  6. Close the shower curtain. A bathroom just never looks clean with a gaping open shower curtain. Plus, maybe it’ll deter your guests from sneaking a peak. (Unless they’re super nosy.)

Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

7. Take a final gander

Do a quick look-around to make sure there are no glaring dirty areas you may have missed.

In a final hail mary, close any doors to rooms you don’t want your guests to see.

If you’ve got a minute, sit down and rest so that your guests don’t realize you were just running around like a crazy person.

Ready to clean your house fast?

As you can see, speed cleaning isn’t that scary when you break it down.

Whether you have 30 minutes or 2 hours, you can whip your home into shape pretty darn fast.

Your guests (or your husband) will probably be super impressed by what a good housekeeper you are.

They might even think you woke up like this. It’ll be our little secret.

Be sure to also check out:

Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

Exactly how to clean your house fast and efficiently. Speed cleaning hacks to get your house tidy in 30 minutes. Perfect when you have unexpected company!

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