Keeping your apartment or home clean is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But with summer bringing about schedules that are more hectic than ever, we know how easy it is to become a little negligent towards our cleaning duties. Fortunately, cleaning your apartment doesn’t have to be a chore that takes up an entire day or weekend. Whether you’re preparing for an impromptu visit from friends or family, or simply wish to organize and tidy up your living space, below you’ll find a few tips and shortcuts to clean your apartment quickly and efficiently.

Cut Out Clutter

One of the first steps in cleaning any space is to cut out clutter. Do a walk through of the apartment and gather in a bin any items that have been thrown on the ground or aren’t in their proper place. Cleaning the space will take much less time when you aren’t constantly stepping over clothes or other items that have been strewn on the ground.

Clean Similar Surfaces Together

Since you most likely use different cleaning products for different areas of the apartment, clean all areas that use the same product at one time. This prevents you from constantly running back and forth to the same area to exchange one cleaning product for another.

Fluff The Living Room

Since the living room is most likely where you’ll be spending most of your time when entertaining, it’s important to make sure this area is looking clean. Fortunately, making the living room look clean and tidy when you’re short on time is actually quite easy. Simply run through the room with a vacuum to eliminate crumbs and dirt on the ground, fluff up the couch pillows, and fold your throw blanket. Lastly, light a scented candle to create an extra aura of coziness.

Tackle The Bathroom

Not only do you not want to use a dirty bathroom, but you especially don’t want to make your guests do so. To tidy up the bathroom in a hurry, simply wipe down the counters and sinks, swish a little Clorox in the toilet bowl, straighten up any rugs, and pull the shower curtain shut. All of this will make the bathroom appear freshly cleaned without you having to perform a complete ceiling-to floor scrub down.

Clean As You Go

One of the easiest ways to maintain cleanliness in your apartment is to tidy up with everyday tasks. For example, wipe out the sinks right after you brush your teeth or throw dishes in the dishwasher right after you finish eating. By cleaning areas as you go, you’ll prevent dirtiness from building up and save yourself time when you do need to tidy up the place in a hurry.

Cleaning the apartment doesn’t have to be a weekend-long task that you dread for days prior. Keep your place neat and orderly by cleaning as you go and following these tips for the times that you need to tackle a quick tidy-up.