Handy Speed Cleaning Checklist for Your Home

Everyone loves that clean house feeling, and a Speed Cleaning Checklist helps you make it happen in record time.  You’ll notice that it’s a little different than other house cleaning checklists, though. This is because it focuses mainly on the more visible aspects of your house.  This allows you to enjoy and maintain that clean look and feel in less time.

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The Speed Cleaning Trend

Speed cleaning has actually been a “thing” since the 1980s, and it’s current popularity shows no signs of slowing down.

It’s widely used by professional cleaning companies, to train their employees and increase maximize their productivity (and profits).

But moms are also taking advantage of the benefits too!

As lifestyles have become busier and busier, the idea of spending less time cleaning has become more and more attractive.

Also, the practice of breaking house cleaning up into smaller, frequest chunks better fits many modern schedules.

If you’re new to it, you may get the idea that it’s just about cleaning faster and more efficiently.

And it is.  But it’s more than that.

It’s also about a shift in how you think about cleaning your home. 

Speed Cleaning at home is not “fast deep cleaning”.  But it certainly can reduce the amount of time you need to spend on your regular deep house cleaning checklist of chores.

The Speed Cleaning Method

The goal of Speed Cleaning at home is to keep your house at a consistent level of cleanliness and order, as quickly and efficiently as possible.  There are actually Speed Cleaning Rules from the original book that started the trend, and they help us understand the method.

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You can still get a copy of the book that started it all in 1981.  And the information is just as relevant today.

Here’s my quick overview of 3 main ideas behind this cleaning style.

1. Fast and Efficient

Primarily its a race against the clock.

Any advantage that saves time and effort to get the job done is used.

  • Multitasking is a big part of being more efficient.
  • Hacks that improve results with less effort are key.
  • Complete focus on what you’re doing is highly recommended.
  • Using optimal tools and supplies, and having them within reach at all times significantly reduces overall time spent.

Being faster and more efficient is a must. 

But Speed Cleaning also requires a different approach than what you may be used to.

2. Good Enough is Good Enough

Speed Cleaning is not a substitute for deep cleaning.  It’s more frequent but less intense.

When we’re deep cleaning, the idea is really to get something as clean as possible, including nooks, crannies, and even unseen areas.

Speed Cleaning focuses on getting visible areas “clean enough” on a consistent basis.

There’s no emphasis on perfection, for example:

  • If something isn’t dirty, don’t clean it.  
  • If there’s a spot on the kitchen floor, sponge it clean but don’t mop the entire floor.
  • A light dusting when necessary will do, without moving items to dust around them.

This may take a bit of getting used to, but doing “good enough” cleaning on a regular basis will make deep cleaning easier. 

Pulling all of this together into a system is at the heart of Speed Cleaning.

3. There’s a System

A system allows you to continually improve your results.

It’s not so much about being strict as it’s about taking advantage of the time and effort benefits you will gain.

Here are some aspects of a speed cleaning system:

  • Repetition, or doing tasks the same way each time.  This will increase your speed and efficiency the longer you do it.
  • Organization, or fitting Speed Cleaning tasks into your schedule on a regular basis.
  • Being very intentional about selecting cleaning products and supplies.  Your house cleaning supplies list will evolve over time as you learn what works best, but having the right tools for the job can make a world of difference.

Speed Cleaning Tips

There are lots of speed cleaning tips out there, but here are 3 to get you started!

  • For quick decluttering, carry a laundry basket to each room as you’re cleaning  As you go, put put things that obviously belong elsewhere in the basket.  Then you’ll have one basket full of items to relocate.  Divide by destination and replace.  You’ll get a cleaner house immediately and save time putting things back where they belong.
  • Try a cleaning apron.  It may feel a little strange at first, but experienced speed cleaners swear by them.  Your supplies travel with you and are always handy, even more so than with a cleaning caddy.
  • Narrow down your cleaning supplies, but have a plan for tough cleaning tasks.  Ideally you’ll have a small selection of cleaners that can handle most of your cleaning tasks.  But in the interest of time, when you come to a tough cleaning job, don’t spend too much time on it before you move to a stronger cleaner that will do the job faster.

Speed Cleaning Tools

One of the fundamental rules of Speed Cleaning is to have the tools and supplies you need at hand when you need them.   Two ways to do this are with an apron or a caddy.

Speed Cleaning Apron
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This Speed Cleaning Apron is lightweight, waterproof, and gets great reviews from pro cleaners.
Cleaning Caddy
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A Cleaning Caddy keeps everything you need at your fingertips, saving you time *and* energy.

Speed Cleaning Your House Checklist

So how do you develop a system for your own house?

Here’s a list of Speed Cleaning tasks to work from.

Remember, not everything needs to be cleaned every time.  And any obviously dirty visible areas should be addressed even it they’re not on the list.

Kitchen

Bathrooms

Bedrooms

Living Areas

Wrap Up

There’s more to speed cleaning than just doing things faster, although that’s a big part of it.  It’s a way of approaching house cleaning that works well with busy modern lifestyles. Following the Speed Cleaning Rules may take some time to get used to, but there’s no doubt that it works.