If you’re anything like me, with three kids underfoot, the house isn’t usually in tip-top shape. And if you’re anything like me, this can easily bother you on a daily basis… okay sometimes an hourly basis. I’ve learned when to fight my battles, meaning when I can expect a clean home, and when I can lay off the Type-A for a bit and enjoy life with the three beautiful children and husband I’m blessed with that can tend to leave said messes. While I’ve always worked with my children about picking up after themselves, and they do a decent job of it, living life just means messes will happen. So what do you do when you want a clean home but you’ve only got 20 minutes to get your house in shape? Or you get the call that someone is on their way over, and you’ve got 10 minutes to pick up? Here are a few tips to fake a clean home: Full disclosure, this is really less about faking it, and more about a few quick things you can do (that cleans up your home a bit) and makes a really big impact so you don’t notice the rest… making your house look even cleaner than it is.
Table of Contents
Make the beds.
Yep, taking just a few minutes to straighten those sheets, blankets and pillows makes a huge difference in your room, probably since it’s actually the largest item and focal point of the room. To start the day off on a clean slate, it’s the first thing I tackle in my room and once that big hurdle is done, the rest of the room doesn’t look as messy. Even if the sheets aren’t straightened underneath, get the covers up and on the bed and straighten your throw pillows. Seriously, making this a habit for everyone in the family will make your house seem much cleaner! 
Time it.
Set a timer and run through the house (this is also a fun way to get kids to help and more hands means less work for everyone, win-win!) picking up items and objects that don’t belong. If you know you’re going to have a lot of stuff to pick up, grab a laundry basket to corral it all, but hopefully you won’t have that much stuff out of place. Then as you go through each room, drop off the items where they belong. Really, this doesn’t take that long to do and the majority of your home really will be cleaned up in a jiffy. If you’re having company over in the next few minutes, stash the basket of odds out of sight… but don’t forget to get back to it and put that stuff away. I usually set a timer for 10 minutes and with the help of my kids, we pretty much get everything back in order in that time.
Wipe down.
Even when there are dishes in the sink, the house can still seem clean-ish when countertops are fairly cleaned off and wiped down. After you’ve had your run through your house grabbing up misplaced odds and ends, grab a wipe and get to shinin’. You can use pre-soaked cleaning wipes (you can also make your own natural version), a cleaning solution spray (2 cups water, 2 cups vinegar and 15 drops Lemon essential oil is a great one!) and paper towel, sponge or rag, and do a quick swipe of all of your countertops. Give one to each of the kids and send them to the bathrooms to wipe down the counters (and maybe the toilet seat as well), while you tackle the kitchen and dining room table. Voila, spick and span surfaces… and it didn’t take more than a few short minutes! 
Vacuum up.
So this is something that I love to do anyway. To be completely honest and vulnerable, when I feel like I don’t have control or a handle on a situation, I like to vacuum. Maybe it’s because if I can’t control something else, at least I can control what my floors look like… or maybe it’s the white noise. (Random side note, when Aliyah had a bout with colic as an infant, I would run the vacuum to get her to sleep. Even if I didn’t move it, I would turn it on just to quiet her down sometimes!) No matter what the reason, doing a quick sweep through the house and getting the dirt off of those floors will make a difference in the overall look of the home!
Scent it.
Have you heard that tip realtors use when they need to sell a house? They bake cookies! I’m not saying you need to bake a batch of cookies, although that wouldn’t hurt… But make the house smell great with your favorite candle or diffuser. My all time favorite candle scent is the Capri Blue from Anthro (which also makes a gorgeous vase or container when used up and is not pictured below, ironically), and of course, I use my essential oil diffuser on a daily basis. The plus with diffusing essential oils, on top of making your home smell amazing, is that the properties of the oils actually purify the air and the aromatherapy benefits are great!! 
Happy (easier) homemaking friends! And side note, if you come to my home, please don’t look for the piles of junk hidden away 😉
xo
Think this post is worth a read? Please share… I’d greatly appreciate it![tweetthis]5 Easy Tips to Fake a Really Clean Home![/tweetthis]
Sabrina says
Love this! Simple, fast and successful. Thanks for sharing!!
Tabitha Blue says
Thanks so much Sabrina!! 🙂
Alyson says
Great tips! I think we do these. I especially like the make your beds & scent it.
Tabitha Blue says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Holly says
Yes, making the beds is a huge way to make the house or bedroom look much less cluttered. Loved these tips!
Tabitha Blue says
Right, crazy how big of a difference making the beds makes 🙂
DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Great tips! I too have three little ones and if I can at least get the beds made and the kitchen relatively decent before leaving for the day, I don’t feel as crazed upon returning. I also vacuuming like a mad woman all.the.time between the kids and the dog! Visiting from The Pretty Pintastic party.
Tabitha Blue says
Girl, I think vacuuming is the number one thing that happens in our house!!!! Haha. Totally agree with you! 🙂 Thanks so much for coming by!
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padhma says
A nice article here, i think that people who have grown up with the idea of using computers are showing more responsibility towards writing posts that are thoughtful, do not have grammar mistakes and pertinent to the post..
Mattie says
Thank you so much for these perfect tips especially when you have like a couple of minutes to clean up because your in-laws are on their way to check on their grandkids. Hahaha!
Jessica Bane says
Really Impressive blog this is, all tips are highly useful and recommended for precise cleaning. Thank you so much and I really appreciate your efforts.
Monika S. says
Thank you so much for sharing all these helpful hints. My mom used to fold towels to perfection because she said “it’s the only thing I have control over.” Much like your vacuuming! Now as a mommy myself I completely get it! I love the idea of setting a timer…going to try that one out this week.
Thanks again 🙂
Azoay Cleaning says
That’s a great schedule! We try to do a little bit each say; being a homeschooling mom I’ve got the help of three boys so we stop and clean different areas of the house each day. Our goal is to get the whole house cleaned by the end of the week. A schedule like this would really help!
Namita says
It is a quite good article,thank you for sharing with us.
Mani says
The Fast & Easy way to keep things clean. thanks for sharing.10 out of 10.
Martin says
I am always expert in fast cleaning usually due to my hostel instinct. Your blog remind me of my days. It is always good to make daily cleaning routine. I am working on that now.
Mackenzie Ross says
Thank you very much for sharing this nice post. Do dishwasher duty. Once a week, shake baking soda on a damp sponge and wipe around the machine’s edges to remove stuck-on food or stains. To clean the inside, run an empty cycle with Dishwasher Magic, a product designed to kill bacteria like E.coli.
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Karan Sharma says
If you’ve got a lot of clutter in the living room, grab a basket, bin, or even a structured tote or shopping bag and stash as much as you can inside.
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Hi-Care Hygiene Solutions says
Easy Natural Cleaning Tips for Your Home
Here are a few easy and inexpensive natural cleaning recipes to get started around the house:
Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner – Four ingredients and thirty seconds to mix it up is all it takes! Customize the scent with essential oils.
Glass Cleaner – No need for that bright blue, highly scented stuff … vinegar + water cuts through dirt and leaves glass streak-free.
Tile Grout Cleaner – Mix 1 part water and 3 parts baking soda mixed into a paste. Apply to grout and let sit, scrub with toothbrush, remove with sponge.
Cookware – Use sea salt or coarse salt mixed with a little lemon juice and scrub. Also, try baking soda and water made into a paste. This also works well on stained tea cups or coffee mugs, and even the cutting board.
Fabric Softener – Mix 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water together. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup to the final rinse cycle.
Toilet Cleaner – Use undiluted white vinegar, pour around the top of the toilet bowl, scrub until clean.
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Sometimes, particularly on windy days, the house smells a bit dusty so as an emergency measure I spray a couple of puffs of furniture polish in the air – not too much, just enough to make it smell as if you’ve been polishing recently. I’ve just joined and it looks like an interesting site. Thank you!
Mattie Keyes says
I appreciate my mother for her cleaning expertise. She doesn’t leave any place unturned and clean it very professionally.
Richard Learner says
This article is really what I need in my life right now! Thanks so much for these tips and I will try these after I write this comment! This is an amazing blog. Post some more! I like it!
Deborah Hill says
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