The secret to getting your dusting, vacuuming, and washing done as fast as possible is to take care of the "Not Me Fives" first. Don't even read this page unless you have done that. Put on some high-energy music, grab any family members that are handy and tackle the Not Me Five. I bet it will go faster than you thought! Then come back to this page.
How often do I dust, vacuum, and wash the floors? Either on Thursday or Friday. This gets the house ready for the weekend. Occasionally, life happens, and the family has to tackle this on Saturday morning. But I try to avoid this. Saturdays are much more fun spent at the Farmer's Market or discovering a new hiking trail. Sometimes we have a "full contact" weekend filled with tons of family activities that completely wipe out the previous week's dusting, vaccuuming, and washing efforts. So I usually do it again on Monday. Then the house is ready for the week.
Dusting
Dust isn't so bad. Without dust, where could your children find a medium to display their "dust me" poetry and other comments? Without dust multiplying into dust bunnies, what would your cats play with? Without dust glittering in the sun, how would you see sparkles in the air? Dusting is one of those activities that you will do many, many times in your life. I don't make a big deal of it. I grab my rag, some cleaner, and go to it. Start at the front door and work your way through the home. Done. I can dust my house in less than 5 minutes (and that includes cleaning the soggy nose prints off the windows, and the splatters off the mirrors).
Here's a hint: while I dust, I also carry a spray bottle with all-purpose cleaner and an extra rag. I use this to quickly wipe off any fingerprints that have been left on walls, corners, and doorknobs. Also, I quickly wipe off the counters in the bathrooms. This is not a deep clean, just a quick daily catch up on any splatters left over from the morning.
When I am done dusting, the rags go into the laundry pile to be washed in the next load.
Vacuuming
Our home has carpets in the living room, family room, up the stairs, and into the bedrooms. I can vacuum all of it in just over 10 minutes. Again, the secret is dealing with those "not me fives" first. When the laundry, dishes, trash, paper, and other stuff has been picked up, vacuuming is a breeze (actually a suction... LOL). Start at the front door and vacuum in and around the furniture. No, I do not move the furniture (unless I am looking for a missing library book). I just go room by room as fast as I can. Then I put the vacuum away. No more leaving the vacuum cleaner out just in case someone drops in and I can say "Excuse the mess, I am in the middle of cleaning up". Been there, done that.
Washing
OK, I admit it. Washing the kitchen and bathroom floors is one of my least favorite activities to do. It is not even something I can do while talking on the phone (I once dropped the headset phone right into the pail of hot soapy water - it still worked after it had dried out). So, I dig out the big guns for this project... either Katrina and the Waves (Walking on Sunshine), or the Best of Blondie (yeah, I know, I am dating myself LOL). I also haul out the kitchen chairs and set them into the family room (I have bonked my head too many times on these chairs). First, I sweep the floor to get rid of the crunchies. Then it is time to wash. Regardless of what tools or products you use, just go as fast as you can. Remember to wipe down the edge around the baseboards and the lower cabinets. When the floor is dry I put the chairs back. I can usually get this job done in four or five songs. Quickly do the bathroom floors, drain the wash bucket, put away your tools, and voila! you are done!
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DVW (dust, vacuum, wash) - as fast as you can!