Use the five-minute rule

How often do you spend five minutes waiting for something? Think: boiling pasta water, preheating the oven, toasting bread, rebooting the internet. Use that time for five-minute bursts of home beautification.

For maximum efficiency, proceed with intention. Plan ahead. With a mental or written list of tasks at the ready—throw in a load of laundry, wipe down the counters, load the dishwasher—you’ll avoid using precious time deciding what to do.

Set a timer and stop after five minutes. Even if you don’t finish, that’s five fewer minutes you’ll spend during your next cleaning session.

Do one task at a time

Shift your focus from one room to one chore. Complete that one task throughout your home. Dust in every room. Run a quick vacuum all around. And, for maximum shine power, clean every glass surface with method’s refreshing mint glass cleaner.

Store chore-specific tools and supplies together.

Condense clutter

A huge body of evidence links clutter to increased production of cortisol (the “stress hormone”), lack of sleep, and even depression. Take command over clutter through consolidation.

Use a box or basket to collect out-of-place items. Now, rather than being spread all over, you’ve isolated clutter to one location. This thought alone can help make decluttering less daunting.

Add “empty basket” to your list of five-minute cleaning hack tasks.

Turn chores into habits

Complete the same task at the same time every day, and your chores will soon feel more like fuss-free habits. For example, wash and dry the pots and pans soaking in the sink before you head to the office (outside or in the home). Wipe down kitchen counters every morning after dropping the kids at school. Refill cleaning products and hand soaps on Sunday afternoons.

We love the convenient thrill of method’s refills. Set yourself up for sudsy success by stocking up on refill tubs of pink grapefruit all purpose surface cleaner and sweet water gel hand wash. Then pat yourself on the back for doing your future self a favor.

You may sleep better if you condense clutter every evening before bed (see above!).

Focus on fresh

Products don’t have to leave chemical smells to be effective. Any house-cleaning hack becomes more bearable, even rewarding, when you’re bathed in amazing, feel-good fragrances.

method, a company built on a foundation of outrageous optimism, is changing the future of cleaning. Not only are their cleaning products made using powerful plant-based cleaners and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients, but they are also biodegradable, are cruelty-free, and contain no parabens or phthalates.

Peruse method’s super fun scent selection to find products that
are sure to score big on your cleaning hack happiness scale.