How to Clean a Room Fast – The Five Best Tips for a 10 Minute Tidy Up

You don’t always have time for deep cleaning – sometimes all you have is 10 minutes. Here are our BEST tips for a quick and efficient 10 minute tidy up that will have your house looking tidier FAST.

How to Clean Room Faster

We have all been there.

You get a call or a text message from a neighbor or family member asking if they can stop by in a few minutes. You either look around your house, notice how sparklingly clean it is and pat yourself on the back. Visitors stopping by? No problem.

Or, more likely than not, you look around your house in a panic and wonder how you can quickly make it look more presentable. Am I right?

Over the years I have discovered a few tips and tricks to easily make your home look clean and sparkling in a jiffy. Especially for those unexpected guests.

But if you don’t like living on the edge and want to be ready for guests at a moment’s notice, check out this course — she really simplifies organization in a way that allowed me to relax more, and know where all the important stuff is. You can save 10% with the code CLARKS – click here to signup now. 

I would like to share my top five house cleaning chores that are really quite simple that can be done quickly to help beautify your home.

Are you ready? You have ten minutes to clean up. Turn on your favorite Pandora station, tell Alexa to set a timer for 10 minutes, and GO!

How to Tidy a House Quickly

Dust

Nothing says “clean” better than a dust-free bookshelf or side table.

Someone may not notice that thin layer of dust accumulating on your entryway table, but I bet they will notice if it is shiny and clean.

Quickly hit the spots in your living space where you may have dust.

It really won’t take long.  I would recommend using a product to help ensure you get everything.

I love using a multi-surface dusting spray. You just spray a thin layer on a surface and wipe clean with a dust rag.

It always leaves my surfaces clean and dust-free. You will never go back to just using a damp rag once you’ve tried it.

I have heard AMAZING things about these types of cloths for all types of cleaning and dusting – so that’s another option!

Empty the trash cans

I don’t know about anyone else, but having an empty trash can, especially if it is not hidden behind a pantry door or under a sink, just makes everything look more put together.

Grab the trash cans that are most visible to others, empty their bags and refill with an empty one. Trust me on this one, and try it out.

See how much better your space looks with an empty trash can.

If you get one of these bad boys, it makes clean up even faster!

Fluff Those Pillows

If you have pillows or throw blankets on your couches, quickly fluff them up. Give them a good punch to help them regain their shape.

Make sure the cushions are tucked and straightened into the couch.

Take the blanket and fold it nicely, and place it over the back of the couch or in a basket.

Your room will instantly look more pulled together and not look as if someone was just asleep on the couch.

Vacuum

For some, vacuuming may seem like a daunting task that takes a lot of time. If you are having guests over, focus on the room you will be entertaining others in first, but if you are cleaning up for your own sanity go ahead and do all the rooms at one time.

Who doesn’t love the look of fresh vacuum lines?

Even if you have to vacuum around toys or chairs, if there are vacuum lines, it will give the illusion that your home is clean and tidy.

We absolutely LOVE our Shark Navigator…but we also discovered recently how amazing Robo-vacs are. It really helps keep your home clean without really any effort – we’ve had one from this company for several years.

Pick up

Okay, this one might seem overwhelming if you have toys strewn about, or laundry piles everywhere.

A tip I love is to keep an empty laundry basket in a hall closet or wherever you have room.

Quickly grab the laundry basket and toss whatever you can into it. This is not to be used as a long-term storing space for these items, but rather a quick fix for when you’re in a pinch and need thing picked up.

When you have more time later in the day, you can carry the laundry basket throughout the house and put items away where they belong. It makes it so much easier to do!

Hopefully, when our friends or family stop by, they will understand that our homes are lived in and they don’t look presentable all the time.

Most people won’t judge us for a sink full of dishes or a kitchen table that may still have cereal bowls from breakfast on it.

I hope these easy tips might help the person who has a few minutes to spare before guests stop by, or for someone who is short on time during the day but wants to get a few chores done.

Again, don’t forget to check out the Organized Home course – it really will help your home feel a little more manageable – especially when those unexpected guests come around. It’s pretty affordable – especially when you use the code CLARKS to get 10% off.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

• 14 Tips for Effective Speed Cleaning
• 25+ Awesome Vinegar Uses You May Not Know About
• The Best Dollar Tree Cleaning and Organization Supplies

originally written in 2016; updated in 2019.