How to clean your bedroom in 10 minutes seems like an impossible task.
We’re all against the clock, especially when it comes to keeping our homes tidy. But there are some quick wins you can employ to cut your cleaning time in half when it comes to where you lay your head at night.
Be warned: if you’re going to be fast, you have to be dedicated. We’re aiming for efficiency above all else here. Hopefully, if you can get these principles incorporated into your cleaning routine, you can expand outwards to other rooms in the house. After all, who doesn't want to be able to spruce their entire home in just an hour?
Now, we’re going to address the obvious caveat first: we don’t know how big your bedroom is. You may have a palatial space to recline in, where the opposite wall is so far away it’s shrouded in fog. Lucky you.
Or you could be sitting reading this with your back against one side of your room even, as your knees press painfully up against another.
If it’s the latter, we’ve got 7 hacks to make a small bedroom seem bigger. But regardless of what you're working with, the points below should be broadly applicable. So, here are some key actions to take in a hurry to make sure your room looks slightly more presentable in just 10 minutes.
If time is very tight, we've also covered 7 quick cleaning jobs to make your home look better.
1. Set a timer
The first step is, quite obviously, setting a timer on your phone to lock you to our self-imposed deadline. If possible, make sure the timer is visible, rather than stashed in a pocket, so you can keep an eye on your progress.
From there, the first ten seconds of time should all be about prioritization. Look around the room and quickly assess what you need to tackle first. For example, there may be streaks on your window or mirror. But if there’s also leftover bowls or coffee-stained mugs on the side table, they go first.
Stack them up and deliver them to the sink or dishwasher and worry about the window or mirror another day.
Finally, don’t worry about nailing it first time. If you overrun the timer then take note of what took longer than expected and factor that in for next time.
2. Pick up everything off the floor for a quick declutter
You’re not going to be able to do much if you can’t move about. So the first thing to do is to pick everything up off the floor and spend a couple of minutes sorting them appropriately. Any dirty clothes should go into the laundry basket to be washed up later while clean clothes can be put back into their respective drawers or closet. If you’ve taken time in the past to organize your wardrobe properly then this saves time here as everything should have its place.
Obvious trash, like old tissues or discarded packaging, should be tossed in the garbage straight away. But don’t worry about things like magazines or worn-down trainers you may still get some use out of. Those can go into a drawer or another room to be sorted later. Save the deliberation over whether to throw stuff out for when you have a bit more time.
Ideally, you can get round the entire floor and get everything squared away in a minute or more.
3. Make your bed
If we’re in the bedroom then there’s a good chance your bed is the single biggest item in there, so taking time to make it will go a long way to making your room look clean.
Whether or not you can fully make the bed or just fold it back is up to you and how much time it takes you. The latter is faster, so we’ll concentrate on that. Over the course of the night moisture and heat will accumulate under the comforter and you need to give the mattress a chance to air. Fold back the comforter and smooth it down to let the bed breathe while you go about the rest of your day. It may not be the prettiest sight, but it looks better than a crumpled heap.
It’s also a good idea to plump your pillows to facilitate airflow as they will have been compressed throughout the night as well. If you haven’t invested in one of the best mattress protectors yet, it may be a good idea to add these to your shopping list.
4. Open a window
This should take all of thirty seconds to do but will have a huge benefit when it comes to making your room feel (and smell) cleaner. Obviously, if it’s the middle of winter then proceed with caution and perhaps only keep the windows open for a few minutes. But if it’s a good temperature and clear conditions, getting some air into the room will serve you well.
Having a good airflow will help to deoderize the room and knock away any lingering smells. If you don’t have a window, it may be an idea to invest in one of the best air purifiers that can mimic the effect.
Leave your window open the whole time you’re cleaning and, if you can, spray a quick burst of air freshener. This will both give your room a nice smell and can help kill any lingering bacteria that may be settling on your surfaces.
5. Dust
Wet a microfiber cloth with water and wipe across any exposed surfaces in your bedroom. Because we’re on the clock, simply focus on the most visible surfaces like your desk or nightstand and worry about other areas (like the tops of cupboards) another day.
A neat trick is using a pair of old socks on each hand, one wet and one dry, to quickly wipe down and dry surfaces as you move around the room. Target any sticky stains or coffee rings and you’ll feel a whole lot better about your room after just a couple of minutes.
Don't tackle items that will take you too much time to clean, such as window blinds. Although these will almost certainly harbor plenty of dust, cleaning blinds properly will take time. If you really want to tackle them, it could be an idea to invest in a blind cleaner to make the job a bit easier.
6. Use a robot vacuum
This is an obvious win-win because employing the best robot vacuums mean your floor will get cleaned with no additional time required from you.
While the autonomous little cleaners won’t entirely replace your upright vacuum just yet, they’re a great time saver. If your bedroom has a hard floor, you can get a helping hand with the mopping as well by buying one of the best robot mops, or a hybrid version between the two.
Some robot vacuums boast self-emptying bases, so you don’t even need to spend time emptying the dustbin. Object recognition means they should be able to navigate your newly-cleaned floor with ease while you get on with the dusting. Time taken = 0 minutes.
7. Plan time to do it properly
If you’ve got guests coming or just want to feel better about your bedroom then the 10 minute clean outlined here will go a long way to helping you out.
But it can’t replace a deep-clean that you should be undertaking at least every couple of weeks to stay on top of dirt and bacteria. An in-depth clean will also make smaller, quicker cleans easier to slot into your day because you’ll know even the stuff you can’t see has been recently attended to.
Check out our guide on how to clean every room of your home, for step-by-step guidance on every cleaning task imaginable. With the right tools and method, you will clean in the most efficient manner possible, with the best results to show for it.
So, spend the last few seconds or so before your timer goes off to look at your calendar and identify an optimal time to set aside an hour to do a full scale bedroom clean without interruption.
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