6 Low-Lift Cleaning Tasks You Can Do Once That Freshen Your Home for Weeks

It’s important for our spaces to feel clean, but sometimes the feeling is just not worth the effort. Thankfully, there are small things you can do infrequently that will leave your home feeling fresh as new—without spending the time or effort.

Here are six cleaning tasks experts say take almost no time or effort, but will leave you and your home feeling fresher than ever.

Declutter Countertops

The first thing that overwhelms our senses upon entering an untidy home is not dust or dirty windows; it’s all the visual clutter of things strewn about and out of place. That’s why cleaning expert Kadi Dulude says this is the first place you should start.

“The less things you have out in the open, the quicker daily cleanup will be and cleaner the house will feel,” she says.

This is always true for a refresh, but if you want to really show clutter who’s boss, stop it at the door.

“Never start piling your mail on the table: sort it immediately and keep a tray on your office table for mail that you need to deal with, recycle everything else right away when you get it,” Dulude says.

If your mail room has a trash can, she also recommends sorting through and sifting the junk before it even enters your apartment.

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Give Everything a Good Wipe

It might seem too low-lift, but wiping down countertops and appliances does a lot more for a space than people realize. Appliances lose their shine easily with the slightest layer of dust, and grease builds up in a kitchen faster than we can visually notice.

As you’re doing this, think back on your decluttering process and take another critical lens to the space.

“Think through what items you really have to have on kitchen counters—they get greasy and sticky easily and make the entire kitchen feel dirty,” Dulude says. “Instead, take an hour to reconsider what you keep out in the open, and this way save yourself a lot of time to keep the kitchen clean daily.”

This not only applies to the kitchen, but to the bathroom counters, toilet, and shelves as well.

Refresh Heavy-Use Furniture

Whether it’s vacuuming the couch (and specifically the spot your pet has taken as their own), wiping down coffee tables, or fluffing cushions, giving your everyday use furniture a spruce up will leave your whole home feeling lighter.

These are tasks you might intend to do as part of your regular routine, but keep getting swept under the rug for higher priority tasks like vacuuming the floors. Dulude says something as simple as a wet wipe to coffee and end tables makes all the difference, and it takes zero time.

3 Other Cleaning Tasks for Seasonal Changes

The good thing about these tasks is that they can happen on occasion, leave your home feeling so much lighter, and take no time at all. You can substitute them for regular cleaning tasks when you don’t have it in you to do every single thing on your chore chart.

In addition, our expert has some more detailed tasks you should aim to do on a seasonal basis.

• Clean tops of cabinets and under appliances.
• Detail ACs and fans. “They function better, and cleaning filters also saves on how much electricity the AC uses,” Dulude says.
• Wash windows. Dulude mentions how grime builds up slowly over time, and this will make you realize how much brighter and happier the space can be.

The Laziest DIY Cleaner

If you’ve finally found yourself in the mood to clean after a slump, but don’t have what you need on hand, rest assured, there are things in your home that will suffice; namely, water and vinegar in a one to one ratio.

“It can be used on pretty much all surfaces for a quick streak-free wipe, and works magic on removing all bad odors,” Dulude says. “I also like to go around the house and spray soft surfaces (rugs, couch, curtains) with it occasionally to remove any lingering smells and freshen up.”