Ever since we told people in Speed Cleaning that our teams can clean a typical house in 42 minutes, we’ve received letters from readers about how to prepare a house before Speed Cleaning it. For example: “We’ve moved into a country home that I don’t think has been cleaned in years. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dirt and grime everywhere. I know I can’t just take a feather duster to this mess!”
Or: “A reasonable person wouldn’t even try to clean the bathroom in our new apartment in the 12 minutes you talk about in Speed Cleaning. At this point it’s beyond belief – or description.”
As usual, our highly intelligent readers are correct. Learning Speed Cleaning techniques and then whipping through your basically clean house in an hour or so on a weekly or biweekly basis can be very different from cleaning it the first time around. This is especially so if the house hasn’t been really cleaned in some time. (Let’s not dwell on the amount of time…or why.)
The difference is that Speed Cleaning methods are for cleaning on an ongoing (maintenance) basis. But often a variety of tasks have to be accomplished before you can even begin to maintain a clean home. If you’ve been keeping a perfectly clean house or move into one, you can dive right into the time savings offered by Speed Cleaning without tackling the tasks required otherwise.
If not, and you are dealing with “old dirt” instead of “new dirt” then yes, it will take longer to cut through the build up. Just don’t give up before you start. Tackle one room at a time, and “deep clean” it or “spring clean it”. Once all the build up has been cleaned, the job of maintenance cleaning is easy when you follow all 13 rules of Speed Cleaning!
- Pick a day and a time each week and schedule your weekly (or every other week) cleanings. Treat it like any other appointment on your calendar, and keep it. Making the mental commitment is half the battle.
- Enlist the help of willing family members. A two hour cleaning becomes an hour when there are two!
- Dress for success. Don’t even think of cleaning in a bathrobe and slippers. It’s serious business to Speed Clean your way to freedom. If you want to get the job done fast put on some comfy clothes, sneakers, and of course the Speed Cleaning Apron.
- Pick up and tidy the night before, if you plan to clean first thing in the morning. Tidying is fast and easy and if done daily is very manageable.
- Gather up all of your cleaning tools and supplies. Make sure you have plenty of clean towels, full bottles of Red Juice and Blue Juice, shower cleaner, floor cleaner, clean sh-mop covers, and more. Once you start you don’t want to have to stop.
- Keep track of your time. Stay focused, play some upbeat music, but keep the TV off. You’ll be done before you know it!
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