10 Cleaning Tasks You Can Totally Tackle in 5 Minutes

Because that's really all the extra time you have anyway, right?

1. Fill your dishwasher with everything but dishes.
Plastic toys, soap dishes, plastic hairbrushes, and more can get clean in dishwasher — zero effort required. Take a lap around your house and gather the stuff you rarely (err, never?) clean and run an everything-but-plates load.

2. Sprinkle and suck up.
Toss a bit of baking soda onto carpeting, upholstered furniture, and even your mattress, and let the stuff work its de-stinking magic for 15 minutes. Then, vacuum it away for an instantly fresher space.

3. Walk around with a lint roller.
This portable, versatile closet staple is a master at lifting dirt, crumbs, and dust from all of those spots you've let languish. Run it over a lampshade, the bottom of your purse, stuffed animals, and other hard-to-reach spots to spiff them up.

4. Pick up pet hair quickly.
A pair of damp rubber dish gloves is all you need to finally get Fido's fur off your favorite pillow or armchair.

5. Banish dust from baseboards.
You can tackle dingy spots without stooping. Lightly spray an old sock with some cleaning solution and run your foot over the baseboards to whisk debris away in a flash.

6. Give your gadgets some attention.
Your cell phone probably harbors more germs than your toilet seat (um, ick), and you probably never clean it. Run an alcohol wipe over the surface of your often-handled electronics (that includes your TV remote).

7. Wipe down your purse.
It's kind of remarkable how some things we touch daily are the ones we rarely clean — your purse is another one of those spots. About half all women's bags have fecal bacteria on them, so give it a swipe with a disinfectant wipe.

8. Freshen your garbage disposal.
Got kitchen stink you just can't kick? Try running a couple of lemon rinds through your garbage disposal, and follow with cold water to dispel the smell.

9. Clear dust from ceiling fans.
Before the first hot day makes you flip your fan's switch, make sure it won't fling dust all over the room. An old pillow case makes quick and tidy work of making your fan blades sparkle again.

10. For goodness sake, just toss that pile of catalogs.
There are certain things you just don't need to think about before you get rid of them. Recycle that stack cluttering your nightstand, no questions asked, and feel the lightness of free space in seconds.

TELL US: How do you make cleaning speedier?

More Cleaning Tips:
9 Clever Ways to Use Cotton Balls8 Housekeeping Secrets Every Mom Should Teach Her Kids3 Cleaning Products That Won't Make a Mess

Photos: Getty

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