​A kitchen can be a breeding ground for millions of toxic bacteria and viruses. It often gets dirty impossibly quickly, filling with grimy dishes and misplaced plates seconds after a deep clean is finished. We understand that you simply don’t have enough hours in the day to keep up with a kitchen that acts as the meeting ground for an entire family. Sustained quick cleaning can be more manageable than sporadic deep cleaning for a kitchen, leading to a constantly clean and organized kitchen without the hassle or time investment of weekly deep cleans. Quick cleaning sessions can become super effective with this cleaning schedule.
 
Ready?
 
Gather all your supplies! For an effective quick clean, you’ll need disposable gloves, a reliable all-purpose cleaner, a microfiber cloth, a toothbrush that can get dirty, dish soap, a sponge, plus any other specific tools for special surfaces, such as stainless steel or glass cleaner. Having all your tools gathered together and ready for use will cut down on needlessly wasted time.
 
Set?
 
We recommend setting a stopwatch before you clean. Setting a stopwatch will help you from becoming absorbed in cleaning and forgetting your time limit, as well as proving how quickly you can clean without the distractions of phones, televisions, or family members.
 
Go!
 
1. Put away food items that may be left out.
By putting away food, you clear up valuable counter space that can be cleaned or used as a surface to clean dishes and kitchen tools. Putting away food first also helps you begin the process of organizing with a simple, quick task to boost motivation.
 
2. Pick up all the garbage.
Sort through the counter clutter to find empty containers, plastic wrappers, and any other assorted trash. Recycle what you can and trash what you can’t. The search for renegade trash might also help you find any hidden spills or trouble areas that are hidden from view behind a coffee maker or toaster.
 
3. Move anything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen.
As the Grand Central Station of your home, many misplaced items may end up on kitchen counters. Don’t take the time to return everything to where it belongs, but gather up all the wayward items cluttering your kitchen and set them aside to put away later.
 
4. Do a quick surface clean.
Do a quick wipe down of countertops, the front of the fridge, the microwave, the front of the dishwasher, and any other surfaces in your kitchen. Move from one side of the kitchen to the other rather than jumping around to prevent getting flustered and losing track of what has been wiped down and what hasn’t. Don’t worry with the sink; we’ll get there in a bit.
 
5. Unload the dishwasher.
Though this task might seem to take forever when your phone is buzzing and the television is blaring, unloading the dishwasher is a breeze without distractions. Gather and put away all the dishes at once to avoid making multiple trips to the same cabinet. The same goes for bowls, cookware, utensils, cups, mugs, and anything else in your dishwasher.
 
6. Wash off the dirty dishes and load the dishwasher.
This is the most tiresome part of the speed clean, but will be well worth it when the sink is empty and the kitchen is sparkling clean. Gently and quickly hand wash any stuck-on food from the dishes and utensils and load up the dishwasher. This task will go easier with an assistant, but be wary of conversations and distractions getting in your way. Wipe off the sink and faucets when you’re finished.
 
7. Quick sweep and you’re done!
Gather up any lost crumbs or trash that fallen onto the floor, then stand back and admire your clean kitchen!

​Cleaning a dirty home from scratch can be an unimaginably difficult task. Between vacuuming, dusting, organizing, and polishing, cleaning a dirty home can be a nightmare of time and effort. The best and quickest way to get a clean home is through small, daily tasks designed for quick completion yet thorough cleaning. Maintaining a clean home leads to better overall health and sanitation, greater organization and ease of finding misplaced objects around the house, and a boosted prolonged enjoyment thanks to your clean space.
 
We understand the struggles of having a home that seems to be constantly getting more and more grimy and the feeling of hopelessness from watching your clean home fade into a dirty chaos. These five daily cleaning tasks can lead to fewer days wasted in total home overhaul, leading to less overall stress and a cleaner, prettier space to come home to every day.
 
1. Clean Your Shower While You Shower
If you have glass doors on your shower, you know how easily water droplets can create unsightly stains. This is one of the quickest daily to-dos on our list: each time you shower, use a shower squeegee or dry towel to quickly wipe down the door to prevent water droplets from accumulating into dirty stains that take lots of time, elbow grease, and special products to clean.
 
2. Make an “Extras” Basket
An Extras basket is a neat basket in a centralized living room, family room, or kitchen where you can toss items that aren’t where they belong but you don’t have the time (or energy) to put them back at the moment. This prevents items from being scattered throughout a home with no trace or way to easily find them—if they’re not where they’re supposed to be, they should be in the Extras basket. Either at the end of the week or whenever the basket is full, take the time to return each item to its designated space to maintain an organized home.
 
3. Put Away the Dishes
The dishwasher doesn’t only have to be filled when it’s about to be washed. Each day (or preferably, after each meal), all dishes sitting in the sink should be quickly washed out then put into the dishwasher to sit until it’s full. A dishwasher can double as a storage container, and can make a kitchen cleaner and more organized. Whenever the dishwasher is out of space to store more plates and utensils, quickly run the dishwasher and replace the newly cleaned dishes with the dirty dishes.
 
4. Sweep
While sweeping every day may seem laborious, quickly sweeping up any dirt, hair, or wrappers left on the floor can be a quick way to prevent a needlessly time-consuming task in the future. A quick sweep in main rooms can prevent grime build up and keep floors looking and feeling clean.
 
5. Put Away Clothes
Don’t leave spare socks lying by the foot of the bed, even after a long day. Being sure to quickly throw all dirty clothes into a laundry hamper rather than leaving them scattered around leads to a cleaner room, less lost clothes, and a better-looking space. This doubly applies to putting away clean clothes after they’re washed; don’t leave them to sit in the hamper rather than being organized neatly into drawers and closets. Putting away clothes creates a cleaner and more open bedroom to enjoy.
 
BONUS: Make Your Bed
While making your bed doesn’t necessarily correlate to cleanliness, it certainly makes a bedroom seem more neat and organized. Even if you don’t make the sheets, preparing your comforter to lay neatly over the mattress will pull together an otherwise messy looking room. Plus, there’s no greater comfort on cold nights after long days of work than slipping into a tucked in bed.

While window blinds are a commonplace installation in almost every home, cleaning blinds is often an ignored task set aside for another day. Even though the grime build up isn’t too easily noticeable over time, the accumulation of dirt, skin cells, hair, and dust can tint white blinds to a murky grey and lead to an unhealthy home. Though the job is time consuming and tedious with little return in visual appeal for the work, cleaning window blinds is still a crucial part of home cleaning to remove dust, dirt, and allergens from the space.
 
Every time you clean your home, we recommend vacuuming the accumulated dust and dirt off the blinds. With this repeated quick clean, blinds should only need a deeper clean about twice a year. Be sure to completely clean each of the strips of the blinds (called slats) to prevent dust from hiding in crevices while cleaning, and go in the direction of the slats or honeycombs. Though this deep cleaning chore may not need to be done all too often, these biannual cleanings should be thorough and done properly based on the type of blinds. We’ve accumulated a list of ways to best clean specific types of window blinds to help turn this dreaded chore into a job well done.
 
Wood Blinds
Wood blinds are often too frail for traditional wood cleaners, and the harsh chemicals may cause stains and streaks. These blinds can be wiped down with a rag dipped in warm water and wrung out. If the blinds need an especially deep clean, vinegar can be used instead of water. Individually wipe down each of the slats in the blind on each side, adding a circular motion to get out any noticeable stains. Be sure to wipe all the crevices between the slats! Dry them with a dry rag or paper towel. After they’re dry, a wood conditioner can be used to protect the blinds from sun damage.
 
Faux-Wood Blinds
Faux-wood blinds are a bit more sturdy than wooden blinds, so they can handle a water and detergent mix. The strategy for cleaning these faux-wood blinds are the same as the wood blinds—dampen a paper towel with the water and detergent mix and wipe down the blinds on each side, paying special attention to areas with visible stains. A fabric softener sheet can be rubbed on the slats to prevent dust build up after the blinds have been wiped down to make future cleaning easier.
 
Venetian Blinds
A deep clean for venetian blinds takes a bit more work than wood or faux-wood blinds. Venetian blinds can be most effectively cleaned by removing them from the window and let them soak in a bath with warm soapy water. After they’ve soaked for about 15 minutes, use a rag to gently scrub each side of the slabs to free any dirt and remove stains. Drain the soapy water, then use the shower to wash off any soap left on the blinds. Once the blinds have hung dry, they can be rehung.
 
Fabric Blinds
For fabric blinds, a low-setting vacuum is usually enough to provide a full cleaning. If dirt is lodged in a hard to reach corner of the blinds where a vacuum can’t reach, a blow dryer can be used on cool to blow off the dirt. Stains can be treated with a standard microfiber cloth or a bit of fabric detergent.
 
Vertical Blinds
The cleaning method for vertical blinds depends on the blinds themselves. Usually, they can be washed just like the faux-wood blinds; if they’re fabric blinds, wash them the same way as horizontal fabric blinds. Vertical blinds might pick up cobwebs and dust more than horizontal blinds, which can be easily taken care of using a lint roller up and down the blinds.
 

Today’s day and age it has become a necessity for most homeowners to need help with house cleaning. With that said, you probably don’t know where to start when looking for the most reliable service. It can be hard to judge a book by its cover, so before making any decisions we have the answer to finding the most reliable house cleaning services for residences in Colorado Springs.
 
Individual Cleaner or A Company?
 
When it comes to house cleaning services it can be provided by an individual or a company. This is the first step; weigh out the pros and cons of an individual cleaner or company. Hiring an individual can be more cost effective and customized to meet your needs, but their availability would be more limited. As for hiring a cleaning company, whether it’s a housekeeping or maid service, it can become extremely costly. However, there are many benefits to it, such as flexible scheduling and a backup team if no one shows up.
 
Do the Homework
Finding the best cleaning service will require your own effort of looking up reviews, or asking friends and family. Once you have narrowed down all your options, the next step is to send an email or call the service providers to schedule a (hopefully) free estimate. This will be your opportunity to assess their responsiveness and reliability. Although, before finalizing a decision here are some questions that help give you more insight into their reliability.
​
 
Ask the Right Questions
 
The following are some of the questions you should ask to ensure the service you are hiring is a trustworthy one:
 
1. How do they set their rates?
 
Every cleaning service is different, whether it's an hourly rate or per visit. A reliable service will give you a flat rate for each visit, and will avoid unwanted costs by providing a cap on how long the cleaners will be in the home.
 
2. Do they conduct a background check on their employees?
 
This is a very important question because letting strangers into your home, when most of the time you won’t be there, can be frightening. Reliable services will perform background checks on their employees to ensure the safety of your home and valuables.
 
3. Are they insured?
 
This question often gets forgotten about or looked over. A professional and reliable cleaning service will carry liability insurance and bond. This is important to have protection if anything gets damaged or broken in your home.
 
4. Do they bring their own cleaning supplies?
 
It is usually expected for reliable cleaning companies to bring their supplies, although some only bring the equipment and you are responsible for the cleaning supplies. For the money you're paying them, you shouldn’t have to provide the supplies.
 
5. Do they have satisfaction guarantee?
 
This is a huge deal breaker, companies should allow for suggestions and feedback. Most importantly, they should be open to providing you with a satisfaction guarantee in an event where you are unhappy with their service. This requires the company to have an open line of communication where they respond promptly and make sure your needs are being met.
​