11 Professional Cleaning Tips and Tricks That Save Time

A Mess Free Life may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.

With over 14 years of experience cleaning homes, I know and understand the value of time. That’s why I’m excited to share with you my professional cleaning tips and tricks that save time.

Over the years, I’ve perfected some of the best time-saving cleaning tips and tricks that you can use in your home too!

Cleaning doesn’t have to take all day and these hacks can cut your cleaning down significantly. Try them all and see for yourself!

Table of Contents

Professional Cleaning Tips and Tricks That Save Time

1. Schedule Cleaning

Professional cleaners schedule all of their cleaning time down to the minute. We don’t show up on Monday to clean the shower and return Tuesday to clean the toilet. We do it in one swoop and you should too.

Cleaning a little here and there actually take you more time than if you just commit to getting all done in one day.

2. Prepare Before You Vacuum

When vacuuming, make sure the room has been prepared. Pick up everything from the floor, move furniture and pick up area rugs. Doing this will help you move through the room faster and reduce starts and stops.

3. Dust BEFORE You Vacuum

When you dust, bits of dirt and dust fall to the floor. If you vacuum before you dust, you’ll end up having to do it all over again. Waste of time!

4. Clean As You Go

Pretend for a moment that you’ve hired me to come and clean your home. The cost is high, and you want to make sure you get the most for your money.

It’s almost impossible for me to do an adequate job cleaning if every horizontal space in the house is filled with clutter, papers, dirty dishes and the like.

Do yourself a favor and pick up as you go so that when it comes time to clean your home you’ll do so without the distraction caused by out of place items.

Cleaning will fly!

5. Invest In The Proper Tools

As a professional, I don’t use gadgets. Instead, I use tools that are tried and tested and proven to do the job.

Cheap tools will have you replacing them more frequently costing more in the long run. Invest in sturdy, well-made cleaning tools and chuck the old rickety sponge mop you bought at the Dollar Store and replace it with a well-made terry covered mop for easy and efficient floor cleaning.

White terry cleaning cloths (or “detailing towels”) are durable enough to stand up to walls, counters, and floors, and are easy to launder in hot water and bleach.

6. Tote Your Supplies

Professional cleaners always carry their supplies. ALWAYS.

We have our cleaning buckets everywhere we go so that we have what we need when we need it.

By the time it takes you to look for the bathroom cleaner, I could have your entire bathroom cleaned.

Create a cleaning bucket and tote it with you when you clean your home.

Related: Creating Your Cleaning Bucket

7. Shut Out Distractions

I once had an employee that would answer her phone all day long. What do you think happened?

Well, naturally I fired here, but more importantly, the amount of time it took her to complete her cleaning tasks were four times longer than her peers.

If you answer the phone, check your emails, watch tv, or do anything else besides paying attention to the job at hand which is cleaning, it’s going to take you far longer than if you cut out all the distractions and focus on the job.

8. Skip Some Chores All Together

For most households, an every other week cleaning schedule is enough. If you maintain your home daily, then some chores need only be done monthly.

When my team cleans a home, they divide less frequent tasks between the first and second clean of the month. Baseboards and ceilings might be done on the first clean and seldom used rooms like second guest bedrooms and formal living rooms in the other.

You can apply this method to your home too!

9. Tune Up Your Vacuum

Often people toss their perfectly good vacuum because it’s not picking up like it once did. There is a simple fix. The belt gets loose causing the rotating brush not to spin as fast as it once did. For a few bucks and a repair visit, the belt can be replaced, and the vacuum will perform like it once did.

10. Vacuum In Half The Time

Plug your vacuum into the center of the house so you’re not always plugging and unplugging the machine. This way you can clean without interruption.

If your vacuum has a short cord, use an extension cord to achieve the same result.

11. Fall In Love With Magic Erasers

You know what’s so magical about the magic eraser? It cleans almost any surface from floor to ceiling. Magic erasers can be used on laminate, tile, and wood and they get rid of everything from stains to grime to crayon and ink. Use on bathtubs, sinks, countertops, and dirty walls too. Using magic erasers will slash your cleaning time in half, if not more.

Cleaning doesn’t have to take all day, not when you use these professional cleaning tips and tricks that save you time.

Start using them today and see how much time you can save cleaning!

Maureen Campaiola

I’m a professional cleaner with over 13 years of hands-on experience cleaning homes, a published writer, certified money specialist, and the founder of A Mess Free Life. After paying off over $50,000 in debt, I dedicated myself to helping others master their homes and their money — proving that a clean, organized, stress-free life is possible no matter where you’re starting from. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me cooking, playing bocce, sipping an extra dirty martini, or enjoying the ocean with my cats nearby. I’m also a proud mom and grandma who cares deeply for my mother at home.