Speed-Cleaning: How to Clean Your House in 2 Hours or Less

What Is the Fastest Way to Clean a House?

How to clean your house in 2 hours is our quick guide to getting your house clean and tidy FAST.

And because this is a time-sensitive topic, we’re not going to add loads of unnecessary info.

We’re getting straight to the point with just two things you need to do to ensure you’re being as efficient as possible.

What do we mean by that?

Cleaning your house quickly isn’t about how you’re doing the jobs themselves.

We’re not going to bore you with ‘the fastest way to clean a toilet’.

That’s because we don’t want you to compromise on the quality of a clean, as you’ll end up doing the job again sooner than if it’s done well.

Speed usually comes down to the efficiency of your cleaning.

What we mean by this is in order to clean your house fast, you’ve got to do it in the most efficient way possible.

And don’t worry, they’re easy switches to your usual routine.

So, since we said we’re going to get straight to the point – we should probably get around to that!

In this post we’ll cover:

Our easy steps to cleaning your house in two hours
Bonus speed-cleaning tips
And some time-saving FAQs

How to Clean Your House in 2 Hours

These are our top two tips for cleaning your house in two hours, so if you’ve only got a couple of minutes to read this post, then the next two sections are all you need to read.

Our crucial bit of advice for getting your house clean and tidy in two hours is to clean high to low, and by task rather than by room.

Confused? We’ll explain.

Clean High to Low

High-to-low cleaning just means starting with your chores closest to ceiling height, and working your way to the floor.

This lets all the dirt drop down as you go, which is all cleaned away when you vacuum and mop the floors.

We also find that if you don’t manage to get the whole house done in one day, it’s super easy to blast the house with the vacuum and mop the next day.

Of course, if cleaning high to low doesn’t work for you, then cleaning the way you prefer is always going to be the most efficient method.

And realistically, not that much dirt is going to drop down onto the floor unless it’s been a while since your last deep clean.

Cleaning from top to bottom works well because it’s a methodical approach to cleaning that ensures every job gets done.

Plus, it works hand in hand with our second favorite tip for speedy cleaning, which we’ll get into now!

How to Clean your house in 2 hours - Clean and Tidy Living

Clean by Task; Not by Room

Cleaning your house one room at a time might seem like you make progress quicker, but switching between chores and products actually slows you down.

Sticking with the method above of cleaning high to low, an example would be:

Grab your duster and furniture polish and go to town on anything that uses this product all around the home.

These might be your drawers, mirrors, tables, window ledges, cupboard doors, stainless steel, etc.

One exception to this rule is the bathrooms, as it’s usually easier to just get the job done in one go.

Similar to what we said about cleaning high to low, cleaning by task also makes it easier to pick up where you left off.

If you don’t manage to get the whole house done in one day, then the next day you’ll probably just need to vacuum the house or mop.

We think we’re much more likely to finish the cleaning if we just have to get the motivation to hoover the house, instead of cleaning an entire room.

Enjoying these cleaning tips? Check out our Top 21 Time Saver Tips And Best Time Saving Habits.

Extra Tips for Cleaning Your Home Quickly

Here are our favorite quick-fire tips to speed-cleaning your home.

Leave Cleaning Products Where You Need Them

Keeping small cleaning caddies in each room with the relevant products makes cleaning way quicker and easier.

Be sure to keep your caddy fully stocked with clean cloths and sponges, so when you get the urge to clean it’s all ready to go.

Cleaning products to help Clean your house in 2 hours - Clean and Tidy Living

Choose Products You Love

Make cleaning more enjoyable by using products and fragrances you genuinely like.

If you don’t like the smell of cleaning or the way a product works, then you won’t enjoy it.

Using great products will make it more enjoyable as you clean, but you’ll also associate chores with a happier feeling than if you dread the whole experience.

Allow Yourself a Messy Zone

We’re human, and things get messy.

Trying to keep your house clean and tidy all the time is pretty much impossible, and therefore an unreasonable standard to keep yourself to.

Allowing yourself a messy zone where you can keep things cluttered and chuck stuff that doesn’t have a home takes so much of the pressure off.

It keeps your main living spaces free from clutter and makes them much more relaxing to be in.

And since all your clutter is tucked away, cleaning is so much quicker as you aren’t constantly picking up items and finding them a home!

Go Cordless

Wherever possible, buy a cordless version of your household cleaning gadgets.

Not having to deal with wires getting caught under doors or wrapped around chairs makes cleaning easier and much less frustrating.

Cordless gadgets also tend to be more lightweight, which is perfect for going in between floors and rooms.

Race Against the Washing Machine (or dryer.. or oven…)

This one works great for those of you with a competitive side.

Set your washing machine cycle, press start, and see how much you can get done before the cycle is finished.

The competition element makes cleaning more fun and gives you a finishing time so it doesn’t seem like an endless task.

If you’ve enjoyed this guide to cleaning your house in two hours and would like some more detailed tips from the Clean and Tidy Living team take a look at How To Get A Clean And Tidy Home: A Step-By-Step Guide.

Speed-Cleaning FAQs

How do I motivate myself to clean?

Make cleaning more enjoyable by using products you like the smell of, play your favorite music, let the fresh air in, and make your favorite drink.
Give yourself a time limit and stop when the time runs out, you’ll be surprised how much you can get done in a short amount of time.
Start with your favorite chore.
Give yourself a small reward once you’ve finished a room or a chore.
Think about how good it feels to relax knowing everything is clean and tidy.
Watch youtube videos of people cleaning their homes.

What is the fastest way to clean and declutter?

The fastest way to clean and declutter your home is the way that makes you your most efficient. If you aren’t sure what this is yet, time yourself cleaning your house by the room, and then time yourself cleaning by task.
See which one was quicker and use that method when you clean your house in the future.
This is just one example, but you can make efficiencies in every aspect of your chores. This is a Japanese method of Kaizen – ‘to make continuous improvements’.

What do you clean first in a messy house?

In a messy house, tackle the biggest problem area first. This means that if you get tired, the hardest part is already done and you’re more likely to start again the next day.
The biggest problem area might be a room or a task like decluttering. Make a list of all the jobs you need to do, and put them in the order of most difficult to easiest.
Start at the top of the list and work your way down so you’re finishing with the easiest jobs when you have the least energy. Plus, seeing your progress straight away motivates you to keep going.

Summary of How to Clean Your House in 2 Hours

We hope we’ve covered the question ‘How to Clean Your House in 2 Hours’ well enough.

Thank you for reading this guide to speed-cleaning from Clean and Tidy Living.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tips and will be putting some of them into practice next time your house is due a clean.

We try to give realistic house cleaning tips and tricks that make sense in people’s everyday lives so that we can hopefully make a difference.

Some of our tips may seem obvious and not the ‘house cleaning secrets’ people are searching for.

But, we’re trying to help as many people as possible and what’s obvious to one person might not be so obvious to others.

So if you came here wondering how to clean a messy house in one day, or looking for advice on how to clean a house professionally, we hope this guide has been useful.

Let us know in the comments if you use any of our cleaning the house tips – we’d love to hear from you!

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