Inside: Is your messy house driving you crazy? Is it causing you to be short-tempered and frustrated? Use these 4 expert cleaning tips to learn how to clean your house fast without the fuss.

Heat crept up my neck and spilled into my cheeks as I tripped over the piles of laundry on the floor to answer the door. The conversation was lost in my mind as panic coursed through my body.

My house was a disgusting mess.

Toys engulfed the living room floor, spaghetti clung to the wall, piles of laundry found their home spilling off the couch onto the floor, and dust bunny colonies formed in every corner.

The conversation was lost in my head as the embarrassing state of my house consumed my mind. 

  • My house is a disaster. What if they ask to come in?
  • Dust is literally raining like confetti from my ceiling fan. Please don’t judge me.
  • I wonder how much an all-inclusive in Mexico would cost this time of year…

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I’m Not The Only One

On top of causing me to be short-tempered, our messy house was causing me to feel isolated, be unproductive, struggle to focus, and was triggering allergies. 

With our house being such a disaster, I rarely – if ever – invited guests over because I was embarrassed. 

And, I didn’t go out often because I felt guilty for going out and doing something “fun” when I knew I should be at home cleaning up the pigsty. 

It turns out, I’m not the only one who feels like this when her house is a disgusting mess.

A study done in 2010 concluded that women who viewed their homes as cluttered and needing work had increased levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), were fatigued, and were more likely to be depressed.

The study also found that women with messy, cluttered homes had cortisol levels that rose throughout the day, whereas those who weren’t feeling stressed by the state of their house had cortisol levels that dropped during the day.

As a bonus for joining my newsletter, get the free checklist that has helped tens of thousands of families clean their homes: the Whole House Deep Cleaning Checklist

How to Deep Clean Your House

If you’re looking for a way to deep clean your house fast, without hiring a professional cleaner and without spending the next three weeks of your life cleaning… you’re going to have to learn how to deep clean your house efficiently.

But there’s a catch. 

The biggest difference between a basic clean and a deep clean, other than the fact that deep cleaning does a much deeper clean than a basic, or weekly, clean, is the amount of prep work that goes into it.

To successfully deep clean your house without spending your whole days cleaning is to have a rock-solid pre-cleaning-plan in place. 

There are four steps to follow to prep for your deep clean that will make all the difference in how fast and well your deep clean goes:

  1. Your Game Plan. Your game plan includes everything from the order you’ll clean your house in, to the cleaning supplies needed and everything in between. This is a vital step in the deep cleaning process and one that should not be skipped over.
  2. The shallow Clean. A shallow clean is getting rid of obvious trash and out-of-place items in the rooms of your house. A deep clean will take longer the more items you have to clean around.
  3. Focusing on Zones. You’ll work through your entire house one zone at a time to ensure no nook or cranny gets missed.
  4. Following The List. Using a deep cleaning checklist will ensure nothing gets forgotten and everything is done in the right order. 

Before You Begin Your Deep Clean

Before you begin deep cleaning your house you’ll want to take a few minutes to get everything in order. 

It’s easier to take 10 minutes now to get everything organized and ready to go than to start cleaning only to realize you need to chase down your gloves and the toilet cleaner and that you have no idea where to start or even what you need to be doing.

There are 5 things you’re going to want to get in order before you begin deep cleaning your house.

Let’s go over them.

  1. Game Plan & Time Block

Before you dive headfirst into an epic housecleaning battle that leaves you crying into your cleaning bucket out of sheer frustration (or is that just me?), you need to sit down and create a plan of attack.

Working towards something when you don’t have a roadmap of how you’re going to get there is like setting off on a 3-day road trip with nothing more than the clothes on your back.

At first, you’re excited and motivated and feeling ready to take on the world. 

But after two hours have passed, your stomach is grumbling, you don’t have your wallet, and you have no idea where you are.

Stress and chaos.

Those are the exact feelings you will encounter if you set out to deep clean your house with no plan in place.

At first, you’re going to be excited. You’re going to feel extremely motivated. You’re going to be raring to go.

But after an hour or two, you’re going to be worn down, frustrated, and confused why it feels like you’ve been cleaning for a lifetime and you have nothing to show for it.

You know where you want to be.

That’s not the problem. You know what your destination looks like. You can already smell the aroma of the cleaners mingling in the air. You can already feel how good it will be when you sit down on the couch, kick your feet up, and sigh a sigh of relief because you did it. 

You’ve got your end goal in mind. The problem is getting from A – Z. It’s all the steps in between.

A game plan is all those steps.

Having a game plan before you start cleaning will drastically decrease the amount of time it takes to clean your house. 

It’s a proven roadmap that will get you to your destination faster by helping you avoid all the closed roads and you’ll be able to take shortcuts that you wouldn’t have thought of if you didn’t have a plan in place before starting.

In other words, if you want to be able to deep clean your house fast while doing a spectacular job, you need a game plan.

Here’s house to create your deep cleaning game plan:

  • Rooms. Write down every area and room in your house that you will be cleaning. Don’t put “the whole house”. Name each area specifically.
  • Supplies. Write down the supplies needed for each room/area/. Not sure what you’ll need? Keep reading to find out.
  • Why. Write down why you’re doing this deep clean. Get deep. How will having a clean – I mean really clean – house make you feel? How will it change your day-to-day life? What’s the benefit?
  • Date. Put the start date on your game plan. This is the day you will start cleaning.
  • Deadline. Write down when you want to be completely finished cleaning your house.
  • Order. Finally, write down the order in which you will clean your house. Also note whether you’ll be task cleaning or zone cleaning. Not sure what these are? Keep reading to find out and learn which one’s the best one to use for deep cleaning your house.
  1. Shallow Clean

Jumping right into cleaning without doing a shallow clean first is one of the most common mistakes I see people make when it comes to house cleaning.

A shallow clean is as simple as grabbing a trash bag and a basket (or an empty laundry hamper) and quickly walking around your house placing trash in the trash bag and out-of-place items in the basket.

It is important because if you don’t do this, you’ll be creating more work for yourself in the long run.

It may feel like a waste of time right now, but once you start cleaning and you have less stuff to clean around and are able to clean faster because of it, you’ll be so glad you took the 5 minutes it takes to do a shallow clean and prep your house for the deep clean.

Attempting to clean a messy house will take you much longer than spending a few minutes prior to starting to tidy the house.

It all boils down to one simple thing:

The less stuff you have in your house, the easier – and quicker – it is to clean.

Doing a shallow clean doesn’t mean completely decluttering your house. All it is is throwing away anything that is obvious trash (anything broken, anything worn out, any garbage) and gathering out-of-place items and putting them away where they belong.

Here’s a quick-start guide to shallow cleaning:

  • Set a 10-minute timer. The goal of this clean is to be fast.
  • Grab a trash bag and basket.
  • Go into each room and area of your house. Place any garbage items in the trash bag and any out-of-place items in the basket.
  • Put the items in the basket back where they belong.
  • Bring the trash bag out to the garbage.

* If you find shoes scattered around your house, bring them back to the door and organize them nicely. Consider purchasing a 3-tier shoe rack to keep the shoes organized and out of the house.

  1. Zone Clean

There are two different ways to clean a house: 

  • By zone
  • By task

Zone cleaning is when you pick one particular area or room in your house to clean from start to finish. 

If you chose to start with the kitchen, this would mean you would do everything from empty and wipe out drawers to disinfect the sink and scrub the floors before moving on to cleaning a different area of your house.

Task cleaning is when you pick one particular cleaning task to do around your whole house before moving on to the next.

For example, if you picked dusting to start with, you would dust every surface in every room of the house before moving on to the next task. 

There’s no doubt that task cleaning is faster than zone cleaning.

“You can either clean your kitchen in four hours, or clean your entire house top to bottom in four hours,” – Woman’s Day

However, zone cleaning is a much more thorough and deep way of cleaning than task cleaning.

Task cleaning is the perfect choice for completing basic or weekly cleans. But I do not recommend it for a deep clean.

When you deep clean, you want to touch every surface, nook, and cranny in your house. You want to leave no place untouched. 

With task cleaning, it’s easy to lose track of what has been cleaned and what hasn’t been cleaned, which makes it easy to miss stuff without realizing it.

When you clean by zones, you’re able to focus on one room at a time and ensure everything in that particular room gets addressed and cleaned – even the 2-inch crevice between the desk and the wall.

With zone cleaning, when you’re done in a particular room you can close the door behind you and you don’t have to worry about going back in there again. You can rest assured knowing everything in that room is done and it’s clean. 

This is why I always choose to zone clean when I’m completing a deep clean.

However, if you believe that you can do just as deep of a clean with task cleaning as you can do with zone cleaning and would really like to give it a shot, even though I believe in zone cleaning for deep cleans, I will be including a “task cleaning chart” further down in this post as well for those of you that would like to try task deep cleaning.

  1. Use a List

Following a checklist is key to your success. When you can enter a room, look at a piece of paper and see everything that needs to be done it gives structure and efficiency to your work.

You won’t waste time standing around wondering what to start with.

Using a deep cleaning checklist allows you to start cleaning right away while ensure everything gets done. And, if you get interrupted while you’re in the middle of cleaning a room, you can pick up right where you left off without skipping a beat.

Download: Free Printable Room-By-Room Deep Cleaning Checklist

  1. Supplies

We’re almost at the fun part. 

First, grab some supplies so you don’t have to run around the house frantically searching for your rubber cleaning gloves when you’re in the zone and motivated to clean.

What do I need to clean my house?

Here are the basics that you’ll want to have on hand. Depending on your preferences, you may want additional cleaning supplies:

What’s Included in a Deep Clean & How to Deep Clean Your House in 2 Hours or Less

On average, hiring a professional to deep clean your house can cost you anywhere from $200 – $400, depending on the size of your house. (Source)

By doing your own deep clean, you’ll be saving a lot of money. You still want your house to look like it was professionally cleaned, but you don’t want to spend the next 3 weeks of your life scrubbing grout and you certainly don’t want to dish out that kind of money to have someone come do it for you.

Following these deep cleaning tips will help you deep clean your house like a professional and do it fast. 

If you want to deep clean your house fast, you’re going to need:

Included in a deep clean is everything you would typically clean in your basic or weekly cleans, as well as putting special focus on all the “forgotten” places in the home and paying special attention to the trouble-spots and buildup.

Although deep cleaning a house is hard work, the good news is that it typically only needs to be done once or twice a year. 

If you want to deep clean your house in 2 hours or less, I strongly recommend following the task deep cleaning guide and checklist below. Task cleaning is much quicker, but not quite as thorough.

If you have more time and want to do a more thorough job, I recommend going with the zone deep cleaning guide and checklist.

A successful deep clean leaves no place untouched.

>> Download the Free Deep Cleaning House Checklist, Here <<

Deep Cleaning House Tips

Before we get to the step-by-step guide, here are 7 tips you’re going to want to use when deep cleaning your house to ensure it goes as quickly and smoothly as possible.

  1. Top to bottom, left to right

When cleaning your house – especially during a deep clean – work from the top of the room down to the bottom, and from the left to the right. 

Cleaning from top to bottom ensures you don’t knock dust or dirt from a higher surface onto a lower, already cleaned, surface.

Working across a room from left to right ensures every surface gets touched – and only once.

  1. Squeegee windows

A glass squeegee is about to become your new best friend. Rather than spending 15 minutes cleaning a window and using your window cloth to shine it and remove streaks, wash the window with a clean rag then use your window squeegee to dry to and remove streaks with no wiping or wasted time. This is my recommended window squeegee.

  1. Lint-roll lampshades

Don’t try to use a dusting rag to clean lampshades, you’ll just be adding to the mess. 

Instead, use a lint roller to roll the lampshades and quickly remove pesky dust that is impossible to get off otherwise.

  1. Furniture gliders

If you don’t already have furniture gliders on your furniture, you’ll want to install them while you deep clean. There’s going to be a lot of moving furniture (remember, a deep clean leaves no place untouched – not even behind the couch that hasn’t moved in the last 5 years).

Furniture gliders make moving furniture easy and stop the furniture from scratching up the floor. In the future you’ll be so glad you did this now.

  1. Switch out your cloths regularly

As soon as you notice your cleaning cloth becoming gunked up, switch it out immediately. Don’t try to clean with a dirty cloth. It never works.

  1. Replace lightbulbs

While you’re dusting light fixtures, spend a few minutes replacing any burnt-out bulbs in your house.

  1. Use the right tools

Using the right tools versus just making something work is the difference between completely deep cleaning your house in 2 hours, and deep cleaning your house over the course of 3 weeks.

You may not think you need to go out and buy that extendable duster when you can instead save the money and just haul out the ladder to dust the hard-to-reach places, but trust me, when you’ve been vigorously attacking your house for the past couple of hours, the last thing you want to do is lug a ladder around with you. 

Using the right tools makes every job easier.

How to Deep Clean Your House Like a Professional

(Step-By-Step Instructions)

Below you will find instructions for how to deep clean your house by task, and by zone. 

To quickly recap, zone cleaning is when you pick one particular room or area in your house and clean it from start to finish, cleaning everything in that room.

Task cleaning is when you pick a particular cleaning task, and complete that task throughout the entire house (for example, you would dust every surface/ledge throughout the entire house before moving on to the next task).

Task cleaning involves more time walking around the house which can cause it to get tiring after a while. Zone cleaning keeps you confined in one area until it is completely cleaned.

Task cleaning is faster.

Zone cleaning is more thorough.

The one that you use is completely up to you. If you are having a hard time deciding whether to clean your house by task or by zone, visit this section to read more on the two different types of cleaning.

Task Deep Cleaning Guide

  1. Dust: light fixtures, ceiling fans, picture frames, window frames, window sills, blinds, electronics, knick-knacks, lamps, lampshades, desks, night tables, dressers, bed frames, baseboards, etc.
  2. Wipe: windows, tops of cupboards, top of fridge, backsplash, tile, grout, light switches, tables, interior and exterior of cabinets and drawers, handles, appliances, tub/shower, mirrors, countertops, faucets, sinks, toilets, garbage cans, etc.
  3. Floors: Vacuum, mop.
  4. Wash: Bedding, kitchen linens, bathroom linens, floor mats, curtains, shower curtains, etc.

Zone Deep Cleaning Guide

Bathrooms

  • Spray cleaning solution on the shower/tub, sink, countertop, and toilet
    • Spraying cleaning solution on first thing allows it to have a few minutes to clean before getting wiped off.
  • Remove and wash shower curtain, towels, floor mat
    • Wash even plastic shower curtains in the washing machine. Throw two bath towels in with the plastic shower while washing.
  • Dust light fixtures
  • Remove fan cover and dust fan blades
    • Wash the fan cover in the sink with warm, soapy water.
  • Wipe windows and windowsills
  • Wipe mirrors
    • Use a special glass cloth to get the mirror streak-free.
  • Scrub grout
  • Wash backsplash/tile
  • Wipe countertop
  • Clean toothbrush and soap holders
  • Descale faucets (place baggie full of vinegar over the faucet to remove hard water stains and mineral buildup) 
  • Clean sink
  • Wipe cupboard/drawer doors and handles
  • Empty cupboards/drawers, and under the sink, wipe out
  • Light switches
  • Doorknobs
  • Wipe and squeegee shower door
  • Descale showerhead if necessary
  • Scrub shower/tub
  • Clean toilet
  • Remove garbage
  • Disinfect garbage can
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum out heat registers
  • Vacuum and mop floors

Remove toilet bowl rings and stains by pouring a full can of Coca Cola into the toilet bowl. Allow it to sit for an hour before scrubbing clean.

Kitchen

  • Dust light fixtures
  • Dust tops of cabinets and fridge
  • Wipe exterior of cupboard and drawer doors
  • Wipe handles
  • Empty cupboards and drawers, wipe out
  • Wash backsplash
  • Clean grout
  • Remove range hood filter, clean
  • Clean range hood fan
  • Wipe windows
  • Windowsills
  • Dust blinds
  • Remove and wash linens
  • Vacuum fridge coils
  • Vacuum and mop floor behind fridge
  • Remove food from fridge, wipe shelves
  • Toss expired food
  • Remove food from pantry, wipe shelves
  • Clean microwave, inside and out
  • Wipe exterior of fridge
  • Clean oven, inside and out
  • Clean oven glass
  • Scrub stovetop
  • Clean dishwasher, inside and out
    • Put a cup of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe container on the top rack of the dishwasher and run it through a hot-water cycle to clean the inside of the dishwasher
  • Wipe down toaster, empty crumb tray
  • Descale coffee maker and kettle, wipe down exterior
    • Place one part water to one part white vinegar in the coffee maker and kettle and run through to descale lines
  • Wipe countertops
  • Descale kitchen faucet, wipe handles
  • Disinfect kitchen sink
  • Wipe out under kitchen sink, organize
  • Take out trash
  • Disinfect garbage can
  • Sprinkle baking soda in the garbage can to remove odors
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum out heat registers
  • Vacuum and mop floors

Scrub the bottom of burnt and greasy pots and pans with Barkeeper’s Friend to make them shine like new again.

Bedrooms

  • Strip beds
  • Wash bedding
    • Including duvet cover, mattress pad, pillows, and bed skirts
  • Flip mattress around for even wear and tear
  • Sprinkle baking soda on mattress to freshen it up and remove odors/moisture
    • Let the baking soda sit for at least one hour, vacuum off
  • Wipe ceiling fan
  • Dust light fixtures
  • Dust blinds
  • Remove and wash curtains
  • Wipe windowsills
  • Wash windows
  • Dust picture frames
  • Dust knick-knacks
  • Wipe headboard and bed frame
  • Dust night table, dresser
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum out heat registers
  • Vacuum and mop floors
    • Move furniture away from the wall to clean behind and beneath it

Freshen up your bedroom by spraying your sheets and bedding with a mixture of water and your favorite essential oils (lavender EO will help you sleep better).

Living and Dining Room

  • Dust ceiling fan
    • Use a pillowcase to dust ceiling fan blades and eliminate dust from falling on you as you dust
  • Dust light fixtures
  • Wipe blinds
  • Remove and wash curtains
  • Wipe windowsills
  • Wash windows
  • Wipe picture frames and knick-knacks
  • Dust electronics
  • Wipe coffee table and drawers
  • Launder throw blankets and pillow covers
    • According to the care instructions indicated on the tags
  • Vacuum upholstery furniture
  • Steam clean upholstery furniture
  • Polish leather and wooden furniture
  • Steam clean carpets and rugs
  • Vacuum out heat registers
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum and mop floors
    • Move furniture out of the way

Freshen upholstery furniture by combining white vinegar, water, and rose essential oil (or your scent of choice). Spray on a small, hidden piece of the furniture to test that it won’t alter the color (different materials will react differently). Allow to dry, then if all is well, spray the rest of the furniture for a fresh, cozy aroma.

Mud/Laundry Room

  • Dust light fixtures
  • Dust windowsills
  • Wash windows
  • Wash curtains
  • Dust blinds
  • Wipe cupboards and drawers
    • Interior and exterior
  • Dust shelving
  • Dispose of empty detergent containers
  • Dust washing machine and dryer
  • Clean interior of washing machine
  • Clean out washing machine filter
  • Wipe interior of dryer with a damp cloth
  • Clean out dryer lint trap
  • Wash floor mats and shoe mats
  • Use a shoe rack to keep messes from entering the house
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum out heat registers
  • Vacuum and mop floors

Keep your laundry room supplies organized with hanging basket organizers.

Closets

  • Dust light fixtures
  • Remove everything from closet shelves
  • Wipe shelves
  • Get rid of items no longer needed
  • Organize everything by category as you put it away

Place an over the door pocket organizer on the inside of your closet door to keep shoes, socks, and other small gadgets organized.

Everything Else

  • Dust all light fixtures that got missed
  • Wipe down all doors, door handles, and hinges
  • Empty all drawers and cupboards, wipe out
  • Wipe all light switches
  • Spot wash walls
  • Wash all windows
  • Dust baseboards
  • Vacuum out all heat registers
  • Vacuum and mop all floors

Use old dryer sheets to dust surfaces in your home. The residue that gets left behind helps prevent dust from building up again as fast.

How to Keep Your House Clean After a Major Deep Clean

After you’ve just spent all your energy deep cleaning your house, the last thing you want is for it to get dirty again.

Unfortunately, that’s a given. 

But, if you can keep up with your weekly basic cleans and keep on top of messes on a daily basis, you’ll be able to maintain your clean house for a longer period of time.

Here are a few things you can do to keep your house clean every day after your major deep clean:

  1. Use a shoe rack

Think about it – do you really want everything that you step on outside to be tracked inside your house? 

Wearing shoes in the house not only wrecks your floors faster, but it also makes your floors become dirtier faster – which means more cleaning for you.

Set up a 3-Tier shoe rack by the door along with a floor mat to keep the mess and dirt contained. Then, get your family into the habit of removing their shoes at the door to lessen the mess that is brought into the house.

  1. Clean hot spots daily

Find the hot spots in your house (these are the areas that tend to get dirtiest fastest and collect clutter faster than anywhere else) and clean them daily.

These areas are ones that often get touched and used multiple times a day, like doorknobs and toilets and are a prime location for storing items, like the kitchen island or coffee table.

By keeping these clean, you’ll be keeping your whole house looking cleaner for longer.

  1. Store disposable disinfectant wipes in the bathroom

Toilets are notorious for collecting dust, dirt, and dribbles. Keeping disposable disinfectant wipes stored near the toilet allows you to quickly and easily give the toilet a wipe every evening to whip them into shape.

  1. Never leave a room empty-handed

As you walk around your house during the day, get into the habit of always moving stuff to where it belongs. 

Walking from the kitchen to the bathroom? Drop that stack of papers collecting on the kitchen island off in the office on your way by. Heading from the bedroom to the kitchen? Bring any dishes that have collected in the bedroom to the kitchen with you.

  1. Make the beds

When your bed is made, you’re much more likely to want to keep other areas of your home clean and organized, too. 

It also doesn’t hurt that studies have found that people who make their beds every morning are happier and more productive than those who don’t. (Source) 

  1. Keep up on laundry

If your family goes through a lot of laundry, stop letting it pile up into an overwhelming task. Do a load a day to keep the laundry at bay.

  1. Prioritize tasks

Prioritize your cleaning tasks – think of the two to three most important cleaning tasks that need to get done today, then leave everything else until those ones get done.

  1. Delegate

Include the whole family in the housework. Delegate age-appropriate tasks to your children.

  1. Nightly clean up

Do a quick speed clean 15 minutes before going to bed. This is a great way to get everyone in the family involved in the housework. Before the kid’s bedtime, set a timer for 15 minutes and give everyone a task to do. 

The 15-minute clean up isn’t a deep clean, it’s a quick clean. 

In your nightly clean up you may want to include things like:

  • Sweep kitchen floor
  • Disinfect toilet
  • Wipe kitchen table and countertop
  • Wipe bathroom counters
  • Put away laundry/toys/pick stuff up off the floor
  • Clean up dishes and turn on dishwasher
  1. Keep cleaning supplies handy

If possible, store your cleaning supplies where they get used. Keep the toilet and bathroom cleaner under the bathroom sink, store kitchen cleaners under the kitchen sink, etc. 

  1. Focus on high traffic areas

Keep the high traffic areas of the house tidy throughout the day. This includes the entryway, kitchen, bathroom, and living areas. 

What’s Next

Now that you know how to deep clean your house like an expert… there’s no need to dish out money to have a professional clean for you.

After you’re finished deep cleaning your house, it’s time to kick your feet up and dig into your secret chocolate stash because you did it! 

Now that you know how to deep clean your house, it’s time to move on to the next step: learning how to get motivated to start cleaning.

Download Your Free Printable: Whole House Printable Deep Cleaning Checklist

Ready to start deep cleaning your house like an expert? Grab your free printable room-by-room deep cleaning checklist to get started. Here’s how to get it for free:

  1. Download the printable deep cleaning checklist. As a bonus for joining my newsletter, you’ll get the free printable deep cleaning checklist. You can click here to download and subscribe.
  2. Print it off. Print the checklist off. Any type of printer paper works, though I suggest using card stock to keep the checklist from bending or ripping. Don’t skip this step. You’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down. (Source)
  3. Use it. Put the printable house cleaning checklist to work by using it in your home today.