Tips for tackling household chores

Here are some tips to make more efficient use of your time when tackling common household chores.

• Double your time by having your machines work at the same time you do. Start your cleaning session by loading and running the dishwasher or starting a load of laundry.
• By getting a jump on this, some of your cleaning will be done for you while you turn your attention to other chores.
• Make sure the timers are set to their loudest settings to alert you to change loads right away to keep the machines moving.
• By the time you are finished cleaning up, your laundry will be ready to fold and your dishes ready for stacking in the cabinet.
• This is far more efficient than leaving machines until the end of your chore time, when you will have to wait around while they run.

• Before trying to clean your home, you need to straighten up any clutter. Instead of aimlessly shuffling around items, first make a bed or clear off the biggest table in the room.
• Then use this surface as a holding area for any items that are out of place.
• You don't need to think about where things belong at first: just gather misplaced items and put them in your holding area.
• Now pick up just one item from your holding area and put it where it belongs before moving on to another one.
• Keep yourself on track by forcing yourself to deal with an item once you pick it up, and you will work your way through every item as quickly as possible.

• Now that you have uncluttered rooms, you'll be able to clean your house more effectively.
• The most efficient order of operations to follow is dusting, sweeping, then vacuuming.
• Dusting first pushes any extra debris onto the floor, where you will then sweep or vacuum it up.
• If you have a combination of hard floors and area rugs, sweep the floors before vacuuming the rugs.
• You can use the vacuum to pick up the little piles of dirt that you swept up, eliminating the need to use a dust pan and saving you a step.
• It's even faster to do all the dusting in your house at once, then all the sweeping, and finally all the vacuuming, so you won't have to switch tools as you work your way from room to room.