4 Things I Do Every Night to Make My House Look Clean in Minutes
Inside: The 4 simple tricks that done every night will make your house look clean in minutes.
There’s one thing I like less than cleaning: waking up to a messy house!
Fortunately, I can make my house look clean in just a few minutes (good thing, because sometimes I don’t have much more time than that!)
Though I love a spotless house, realistically, I just do the best I can! You won’t see me swooping in with a rag as soon as a speck of dust lands on the counter or vacuuming patterns into my carpet.
However, I find a clean-ish house to be very relaxing, so there are a few simple things that I do every night before I go to bed to make it so.
It only takes a few minutes, and when I wake up in the morning, I’m always pleasantly surprised: “Oh yea! I forgot the house looked that good!”
Related: 10 Household Items You’re Not Cleaning Often Enough
The Four Things I Do Every Night to Make My House Look Clean in Minutes
These simple daily habits will keep the mess from ever getting out of hand!
Wash any dishes left in the sink
It’s a total bummer to wake up in the morning, stroll into the kitchen to make that first cup of coffee, and see a pile of dishes waiting for me in the sink. I make a point to load and run the dishwasher every night (somehow we go through enough to fill it every day!) My not-so-morning-person self is very grateful when I see an empty sink the next day!


Toss worn clothes in hamper
Laundry might be my least favorite chore of all, though I try to commit to one load a day so I can keep from getting behind. I also pick up any clothes that ended up on the bedroom or bathroom floor and toss them in the hamper. If the floor is clear, then the house just feels cleaner.
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Pick up kids toys
It looks like a bomb full of toys went off in our living room by the end of each day — it’s an unavoidable part of life with two young girls. (Though I’m glad they have so much fun together!) I bought a large canvas basket that I keep in the corner of the room so we can quickly toss all of the girls’ things in it before bedtime. Voila! Clean!
This is a chore that the girls can actually handle themselves…even better!
Sweep food in kitchen
I just can’t go to sleep if there is food on the kitchen floor at night. However, it used to be such a pain to drag out my clunky old vacuum, find a plug, and keep my toddler from getting tangled in the cord…just for a quick sweep. But I wasn’t satisfied with a hand broom — I knew I was missing bits and crumbs!
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I recently got a Hoover Air Cordless Lift Vacuum and I can’t rave enough about it! I LOVE this vacuum!! (Yes, I am proudly excited about a vacuum!) It’s lightweight and incredibly maneuverable so I can get into every corner — I never got stuck!
New LithiumLife batteries (it comes with two so there’s no downtime) have double the capacity of standard 18-volt lithium Ion batteries.
I’ve owned Hoovers before, so I’m familiar with their Windtunnel technology, but they have actually improved upon it since my last vacuum with the even more powerful Windtunnel 3. This is how much dirt I picked up the first time I tried out my new Hoover Air Cordless Lift (after I had hand-swept AND mopped the day before!) That is some serious suction:
The Hoover Air Cordless Lift also features a full set of attachments for spot cleaning, furniture, and hard to reach areas. There’s even a button which allows you to “lift” out a smaller, portable canister vacuum.
The Hoover Cordless line features 3 vacuums and a wet floor cleaner (which is on my Christmas wish list!) The cordless line features a convenient interchangeable battery system so you can use the same batteries for each product.
UPDATE 2019: I’ve owned this vacuum for almost 4 years now, and I love it just as much as when I first got it! Amazon usually has it listed at an awesome price: so now is the perfect time to snag the Hoover Air Cordless!
One final word…
Don’t stress too much about your house looking perfect – it never will with kids!
And interestingly, there is evidence out there that shows that a messy house may be a sign of intelligence and creativity! Who knew?
**For more cleaning tips & tricks, follow my all-things-organizing Pinterest Board:
Follow Stacey @ The Soccer Mom Blog’s board Organize Your Life on Pinterest.
Be sure to pin these tricks to make your house look clean on Pinterest:
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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Here’s a nugget of wisdom that will help you: if your kids can take toys out of a basket, they can put them back in.
Very true, my oldest has to help me tidy every night 🙂
I like this blog and I would love to share your post on my blog. Thank you in advance.
This takes you minutes? We try to keep up with these daily tasks out of necessity and spend about an hour cleaning per day. On top of that, laundry and prep for the next day. Not sure how many kids you have! All good suggestions, but this isn’t a quick daily job in our house!
Hi Pete, I definitely try to keep up as best I can throughout the day so I only have to spend a few minutes at the end of the night doing my final tidy-up.
Awesome content and cleaning tips that everyone can follow through it.