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30 Things You Can Clean in 15 Minutes or Less

One of the worst times of the week (or month for those of us who love to procrastinate) is cleaning your house. It takes at least an hour or more, and you have to bust your butt to get everything done at once. It’s even worse when you know a guest is coming. How can you possibly clean your house in the half hour notice they gave you?! It’s just not possible.

Actually, it’s a little possible. There are tons of things you can clean in just 15 minutes or less all around your home. It’s the perfect amount of time to get a little something done that improves the overall look of your home without requiring a deep cleaning.

We’ve made a list of 15 things you can clean in as little as 15 minutes, although some tasks take even less time! The best thing about this list is that it’s the perfect amount of time to put aside each day to clean. Instead of spending hours, you can spend a few minutes tidying up here and there. When you finally get to deep cleaning, your work is already half finished – or more depending on how fast you are!

Go Through the Junk Drawer

Go Through the Junk Drawer

We all have a junk drawer that’s overflowing with stuff we don’t need. Did you know that sauce packets are good for eight months? You can also spend 15 minutes organizing the junk drawer to make it easier to find what you need when you need it.

 

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Clear the Fridge

Clear the Fridge

When was the last time you cleared out your fridge of old food? Chances are, your fridge needs a good clearing, including all of the stuff on the shelves inside of the door. Just look at the expiration date and toss anything that’s overdue.

 

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Clean out the Pantry

Clean out the Pantry

If there are cans and nonperishables in your pantry you haven’t used in a while, consider getting rid of them. Instead of throwing these items away, consider donating them to a pantry. Not only are you making more space for stuff you’ll actually use, but you may also be giving the food to someone that will eat it.

 

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Spritz the Windows

Spritz the Windows

No one likes cleaning their windows, but you can get it finished in less than 15 minutes. If you have a lot of windows, consider doing one room at a time. Work on the inside and then take on the outside with a bit of glass cleaner and newspaper. Newspaper won’t leave streaks like towels or washcloths.

Clean the Outside of Kitchen Appliances

Clean the Outside of Kitchen Appliances

The outside of your kitchen appliances can get just as dirty as the inside. Food may splash up, or grease might pop and splatter on the side. Grab a disinfecting wipe or your kitchen sponge and give all of your kitchen appliances a good wipe-down.

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Do Some Dusting

Do Some Dusting

Dusting is the worst, but it can seriously help allergies and make your house look just a little more put-together. Swifter dusters are fantastic for grabbing dust without having to use too much elbow grease. As a tip, the store brand works just as well at a fraction of the cost.

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Scrub the Toilet

Scrub the Toilet

Some people say you should clean your toilet every day. If you feel like that’s overkill, you can take a scrubby brush to it twice a week or so.  It only takes fifteen minutes to give it a good wipe down and then it’s glistening like new.

Wash the Bathtub

Wash the Bathtub

The bathtub is one of the most neglected areas of the bathroom. Dried soap can be gross and dangerous. It can create a slippery environment that could cause someone to fall. You can take a magic eraser or a sponge and give it a good cleaning in 15 minutes or less.

Sweep the Floor

Sweep the Floor

You may be surprised how much stuff can end up on the floor after only a week – especially if you have kids or pets. Chances are, you can give your floor a good sweeping. If most of your house is flooring rather than carpet, go room by room when you’re free for 15 minutes here and there.

Wipe Down the Backsplash

Wipe Down the Backsplash

When was the last time the backsplash was cleaned? This is the area that’s on the walls of your kitchen behind your stove, countertops, and sink. You can clean your backsplash with a disinfectant wipe or a kitchen sponge. 

Pick up Laundry

Pick up Laundry

Laundry that’s strewn across the house can make rooms look dirty, even if they aren’t. Most of the time, it can take less than 15 minutes to pick up stray socks and toss them in the hamper. At least, if you don’t have sons that throw them everywhere.

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Go Through Mail

Go Through Mail

No one likes going through the mail, but it’s a necessary evil. A stack of mail can make a place look untidy, but it only takes minutes to rifle through. Even if you can’t handle bills and other important letters at the moment, it only takes minutes to toss out advertisements and other sales envelopes.

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Declutter Living Room

Declutter Living Room

Decluttering can mean different things to everyone. Since your living room is usually the first thing, people see when they enter your house. If you have kids, you might have books and toys sitting around. It’s time to move them to their room. Some other things you can do is straighten your bookshelves, pick up pet toys, and make sure tables are free and clear of unnecessary items.

Vacuum One Room

Vacuum One Room

There’s no way you’ll be able to vacuum your entire home in 15 minutes, even if you live in a studio apartment. Instead, tackle it one room at a time. Pull out your vacuum and get as much done in one room as you can. For places like your living room, you may need to tackle it one-half at a time.

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Toss Away Trash

Toss Away Trash

Rubbish has a way of piling up quickly. Go room by room and start throwing away anything that hadn’t made it to the trash. If your kids have trash cans in the rooms, make sure to toss out anything that may be lingering.

Clean the Oven

Clean the Oven

Ovens tend to build up grease and residue over time. You can spray the oven with an oven cleaner and come back to it a couple hours later and wipe out the residue.

Load the Dishwasher

Load the Dishwasher

You ever notice how the dishes pile up and when it’s time to wash them, no one is around? Well, never fear, it only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to fully load a dishwasher.

Organize Shoes

Organize Shoes

If you’re anything like this blogger, you have shoes somewhere in your house, just sitting in a mismatched pile. Take a few moments to match up the pairs and toss them in the rooms that they belong to.

Sanitize High Traffic Areas

Sanitize High Traffic Areas

Believe it or not, things like doorknobs and light switches can get pretty gunky over time, so take Lysol wipe or two—or three, and wipe all the high-traffic, highly-handled areas to sanitize them.

Wipe Down the Trashcan

Wipe Down the Trashcan

The trashcan gets pretty gross after a while and it can be a bacterial playground. Take a few minutes to wipe down the outside of the trashcan, and wash the lid for good measure, too.

Declutter and Clean the Kitchen Counter

Declutter and Clean the Kitchen Counter

The kitchen counter can fall into the catch-all category since it’s accessible to everyone in the home and it’s easy to set something down and leave it there for someone else to pick up. It only takes a few minutes to pick everything up and drop it on the owners’ beds to put away when they get home.

Sweep Front Porch

Sweep Front Porch

The front porch can get pretty dirty, especially if you live on a moderately busy street. Sweeping it off won’t take you very much time and it will show the neighborhood how much pride you have in your home.

Vacuum the Couch

Vacuum the Couch

If you have pets and kids, the couch can also get pretty shaggy from pet hair or dirty from the elements kids bring in on their clothes from the yard or school. Vacuuming the couch will get rid of all that extra hair or debris and make the living room look extra nice.

Clean Mirrors

Clean Mirrors

If you don’t feel like spending the whole day cleaning and you choose to do some spot cleaning, instead, the bathroom mirrors throughout the house could probably use your tender, loving, care and won’t take you much time at all.

Empty the Dishwasher

Empty the Dishwasher

Taking the dishes out of the dishwasher and putting them away isn’t exactly the most exciting thing you can do in 15 minutes, but somebody’s gotta do it. And if you still have some extra time, wipe around the edge of the door of the dishwasher, as that can build up grime over time, too.

Wipe Down Walls

Wipe Down Walls

We don’t mean from ceiling to floor, here. We mean walk around the house and spot clean your walls and doors. Animals and kids are notorious for leaving trails wherever they go. The walls, doors, and floorboards are no exception. It usually just takes a quick wipe to get rid of residue from these surfaces.

Clean Out the Car

Clean Out the Car

Generally speaking, we leave a lot of junk laying around in our cars, and if you have kids and/or animals—forget about it! But the happy news is that it should take you less than 15 minutes to do a quick run through to get rid of the trash in the car.

Clean out Purse or Diaper Bag

Clean out Purse or Diaper Bag

We know you’ve been meaning to. It’s just that it’s not on your list of priorities. Luckily, this is also a quick task that doesn’t take a lot of energy or to-do. However, once you do it, you’ll be so pleased that everything is so much easier to find when you need it!

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Start a Load of Laundry

Start a Load of Laundry

You’ve already done the hard part and picked all the dirty clothes up off the floor and whipped the dirty sheets off of the beds, so why not toss a load into the washer? It only takes a few minutes and leaves room for the next pile of laundry your kids decide to toss on the floor.

Change Bed Sheets

Change Bed Sheets

Often one of the most overlooked items to clean in the home can be your bed sheets. Go ahead and whip those dirty sheets and pillowcases off the beds and throw some fresh, clean sheets on them. Your family will thank you in the morning.