My friends often comment that my home is so neat and clean. They accuse me of spending hours cleaning everyday, but yall know I don’t have time for that. I’m in graduate school full time, I work a day job as Legislative Assistant to a busy Councilwoman, I run a consulting firm that serves the needs of non-profits, I coach at least 2 women at a time, and I have a bright toddler who requires lots of interaction and attention. So, in this post, I want to share some tips that I have used to clean up regularly without having to commit full days to cleaning. In this room by room guide, I hope that you find time-saving strategies that can lead you to a more pleasant home in half the time.

Entry Way
Rugs: I have a rug at each entrance to my home, even the garage door. It helps to remove some dust from shoes before entering the house.

Foyer
Keys: I never lose my keys, because I have a key rack hanging near my door. This also helps me keep my purse and my son’s baby bag away from counter tops and off of the floor.

Kitchen
Refrigerator: I use place mats inside the refrigerator on the shelves so that the shelves stay clean. When I wash dishes, I rub a hot wash cloth over the mats to keep them free from sticky residue.

Living Room
Ceiling Fans: To keep my fans from collecting dust, I regularly take an old t-shirt and place the blades between the shirt to wipe the fan blades while catching the dust. I shake the shirt out in the trash can and toss it into the washing machine.

Baby’s Room
Baby Clothes & Shoes: I take my baby’s clothes off and toss them into a laundry basket with 2 sides so that they are pre-sorted. His clean clothes go in separate cubbies in his closet so that he can’t open drawers to play with them. Since each cubbie allows me to sort clothes, socks, and shoes, I never really have to toss things around to look for his belongings. He never loses a shoe, because I place them in the cubbie when I take them off. This is a major time saver.

Bathroom
Hair Styling Supplies: I have clear boxes from the Dollar Store in my cabinets that contain my hair supplies. Based on what I am doing to my hair that day, I have a box that contains what I need. I pull it out, do my hair and put all the tools back in the same box then place it back under the cabinet.

Closet
Shelves: In my office closet, I store random items that I don’t use on a daily basis. Party supplies, old notebooks, and even picnic gear can be found in my closet. To keep it all separate, neat, and manageable, I have set up inexpensive, plastic storage shelves and placed clear boxes from the Dollar Store with home made labels on them. Now I don’t have to look through piles of junk to find things. My yoga mat and even old internet router now have a home, neatly out of sight.

Please share your time-saving cleaning tips in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you!

Happy Mothering!

-Tyra Banks