11 Tips for Cleaning Your Apartment Efficiently

By Kailey Walters on July 18, 2018

Depending on who you are, when you hear the words “clean your apartment” you may feel one of two ways: either a sense of delight and giddiness at the chance to do one of your favorite things (like Monica from “Friends”) or an overwhelming, abject sense of horror coupled with laziness.

Cleaning, in most cases, is one of those either/or things: either you love it or you hate it. Maybe you love it because you can feel accomplished once you’re done, knowing you’ll be coming home to a tidy space at least for the next few days. Or maybe you hate it because you tend to let things go after a long period of time – there are dishes piling in the sink, the floor needs to be vacuumed, and you don’t even want to think about picking up a feather duster. Starting just sounds too hard, and cleaning the whole apartment from top to bottom seems way too time-consuming.

Thankfully, cleaning doesn’t always have to be a grueling, long process. In fact, there are many ways you can clean your apartment efficiently without it breaking your back or taking up your entire day. Read on for some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your apartment-cleaning efforts.

via Pexels.com

1. Clean on a regular basis.

While it may be tempting to wait until the last minute to embark on a giant cleaning spree once every few months, doing so will only cause you more stress and take up more of your precious time in the long run. Instead, cleaning your apartment regularly will help you be more efficient and ensure that your living space doesn’t slowly devolve into a pigsty. If you take the time to clean on a regular basis – perhaps once every week – you will be able to get things done more quickly in general, instead of letting all your chores pile up over several weeks and then feeling completely overwhelmed.

What’s more, reminding yourself to clean regularly will allow you to develop good housekeeping habits for the rest of your life. See an errant sock lying on the floor next to your bed? Pick it up and toss it in the hamper – it only takes a second. Got some crumbs on the sofa cushions while you were snacking and watching Netflix last night? Quickly brush them off and throw them away.

To take it one step further, do your best to prevent messes from even happening in the first place. If you’re getting dressed for a night out and can’t decide on which outfit to wear, refrain from tossing clothes all over your bedroom floor. Instead, put them back in your dresser drawers or hang them up in your closet right after you’ve tried them on. It may feel like a longer process in the moment, but taking just a few seconds to put things away will save you more time in the grand scheme of things.

2. Have a game plan.

To hold yourself to a cleaning routine, come up with a schedule and a plan of action to remind and motivate yourself to get your chores done. Writing down a list might be helpful. In that case, you may want to put up a whiteboard in your kitchen (or wherever you’re most likely to see it) and write out what you need to accomplish and when, so that you can have a visual to help you out. And if it helps, be extra specific: which days of the week you will complete a certain chore, what time of day it will be done, and even how long you expect it to take you (so that you’ll have a time limit set in place and will be motivated to not go over that limit).

For some, the main objective of cleaning is just that: to clean. But if you want your apartment to look a certain way when you’re done, having a vision in mind could be helpful. Imagine what you want your space to look like. Take a picture of that space as it is, whether the living room, kitchen, bedroom, etc., and compare the picture to your mental image. What can you see in the picture in front of you that doesn’t belong in your mind’s eye? Maybe there’s a pile of papers sitting smack dab in the middle of your coffee table that shouldn’t be there. Or maybe the dishes piling up in the sink are kinda ruining your vision of what a sparkling, squeaky clean kitchen should look like. Whatever the situation, having at least a somewhat concrete idea of how you want your apartment to look will help you target that specific area and tackle your chores more effectively overall.

clean, apartment, efficiently

Infographic by Kailey Walters

3. Focus on the areas of your apartment that are most visible and that you use most often.

Sometimes if you’re in a rush and simply don’t have enough time or energy, the last thing you want to do is clean everything in your apartment. The good news is that you don’t have to (at least, not all the time). Rather, focus on certain spaces in your apartment that you think need the most attention and/or are most prominent when guests come over. Making sure your kitchen counter is clean and presentable is pretty important, considering that’s where you prepare food and it’s a space that guests will have a clear view of when they come over.

However, the slight mess in your bedroom is probably not quite as important at this very moment, because you most likely won’t be entertaining your guests in there. Simply close the door and attend to those matters later when everyone else is gone, so that you can target other areas that need to be cleaned right now and avoid stressing yourself out unnecessarily.

4. Keep all your cleaning supplies in one place.

The number one way to waste time is to search for all of your cleaning supplies in various places around your apartment. Think about it: if you have no idea where your vacuum cleaner is, you’re going to end up tearing the house apart and making even more of a mess just looking for the darn thing. Instead, you can be much more efficient by knowing exactly where all of your cleaning supplies are located.

Dedicate a specific place to keep your cleaning materials – say, the hall closet or a certain cabinet in your bathroom. Then within that space, organize your supplies according to a system you come up with. For example, you may want to group the materials by functionality or based on which rooms in your apartment they would be used for. That way, if you want to clean only your kitchen at the moment, you’ll be able to easily access everything you need all in one convenient spot. To that end, it may be a good idea to place your supplies in a caddy or basket of some sort and label each one. Then it becomes as simple as grab and go.

5. Get storage containers and/or storage furniture.

Going along with the abovementioned idea, having designated places to store your belongings will certainly save you a great deal of time and energy. One option is to invest in some storage bins, label them, and put in some of your random belongings – e.g. the ones you’re not quite sure where to put otherwise. Another option is to get some kind of furniture meant for storing extra items, such as a bookshelf, an ottoman, or a shoe rack. If you have a specific place to throw some of your belongings, you won’t have to waste time thinking about where to put them, and in turn, you won’t have to waste time searching in the nooks and crannies of your apartment to find them later.

6. Pick things up off the floor.

If you’re trying to clean up in a hurry, the first thing you should probably do is scan the floor for any stray objects that need to be picked up. After all, the floor is probably one of the first things people notice upon entering a space. The good news here is that it’s fairly easy to pick up after yourself. Quickly look over the floor and scout out anything that immediately looks like it doesn’t belong, like a random slipper in the middle of the room. Pick it up and return it to its proper place — or at least temporarily hide it away where no one can see it.

Which leads to the next point …

7. Remember: you don’t have to put away every little thing right this minute.

For those of you neat freaks out there, it may be tempting to organize everything exactly as you want it, all at once. However, trying to wash every last one of your dishes without moving on to something else is just too time-consuming. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind that some tasks can be saved for later. Maybe it is bothering you that your laundry basket is starting to overflow, but if there are other things that need to be taken care of first, make sure you have your priorities straight. That way you’ll get done what needs to be done first, and you’ll be able to accomplish your tasks more efficiently overall.

8. Multitask.

Your greatest friend when it comes to cleaning is multitasking. Doing so allows you to do multiple things at once without stressing yourself out, as you’ll be able to accomplish your tasks more quickly and efficiently. Switching from one chore to another can also help free up your movements so that you’re not constantly working on the same thing.

via Pexels.com

9. Use a smaller vacuum.

Vacuuming can become a little cumbersome at times, especially if you have a giant dinosaur of a vacuum that weighs half your body weight. However, opting for a smaller, thinner, sleeker vacuum means that you won’t have to struggle to drag a giant vacuum all over your apartment.

10. Have a pet? Use a damp rubber glove to pick up pet hair.

In many situations, having a pet only heightens the difficulty of cleaning up your apartment. After all, pets — such as cats and dogs — tend to make a mess. It’s what they do. While you can’t prevent them from simply being animals, you can find ways to effectively deal with their messes. One way to deal with pet hair, which may be left on various furniture, is to use a damp rubber glove to clean it up. Since the glove is wet, the hair will cling to the glove more easily. Then you can simply wash off the gloves in the sink with minimal mess and minimal effort.

11. Take care of your microwave with just two simple ingredients.

Okay, so maybe the microwave isn’t one of your priorities on your cleaning list. However, cleaning the inside of your microwave is still pretty important; you wouldn’t want the space where you heat up your food to be contaminated and dirty.

That being said, there is a super easy and convenient way to handle the inside of your microwave, which is especially useful when you find yourself short on time (and aren’t we all?). Simply fill a bowl with water and vinegar, place it inside the microwave, and heat on high for ten minutes or until the water evaporates. Once it’s done, easily wipe off the stains on the microwave walls with a paper towel — practically no effort needed. Plus, while the microwave is running, you are free to do other things with your time (like cleaning other parts of your apartment).

When it comes to cleaning your apartment, don’t waste time getting stressed out. There are many ways you can go about tackling your apartment chores in an efficient and hopefully fun manner!

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format