What's the most efficient way to clean your home?
MINNEAPOLIS — The gorgeous weekend we had was more than just a great time to get outside. For many, it was a chance to get their hands dirty whether they wanted to or not.
We wanted to know: How can we efficiently clean our homes? Good Question.
There's something about cleaning that just rubs people the wrong way — whether it's in the house or outside. It's tiring, time-consuming and sometimes gross.
Becky Rapinchuck is here to help. She created the website Clean Mama, which includes schedules and checklists for how to clean your home.
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"My mission is to help busy families figure out how to keep their homes clean, in the simplest easiest way in the least amount of time," Rapinchuck said. "(A schedule is) going to take the guesswork, out of it and it's going to save you time because you're not having to look at like what's the worst place that I need to start with."
When asked how to be more efficient about cleaning our homes, Rapinchuck said she cleans in an assembly line method.
"If you have one tool out, use that tool," she said.
For example, if you're going to vacuum one room, vacuum them all. If you're wiping down baseboards, wipe them all. Streamline one job house-wide versus adding it to other tasks in each room. Rapinchuck also suggests timing each task to help you plan for it later.
"It felt like it would take forever to do it but when I actually timed myself doing it, it did not take that long," Rapinchuck said.
No matter the room, a cleaning plan should include daily, weekly and periodic jobs to do monthly or a few times a year.
For the bathroom, that means daily decluttering by cleaning the sink area.
"If there's toothpaste on the counters, you're wiping it up," Rapinchuck said.
Clean the shower and toilet weekly and do a full deep clean periodically.
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In the kitchen, clean the dishes, counter and stove top daily. Clean your fridge weekly — right before grocery runs. And periodically clean out the oven.
Washing windows along with carpet cleaning are two jobs where hiring a professional makes sense. Otherwise, lean on the helping hands around you.
"It's always best when kids grow up understanding we're all in this together, we all have responsibilities," Rapinchuck said.
