Bare Minimum Housework: From Pigsty to Presentable in Six Steps

Okay, so you had a busy week. You worked late every night and left your take-out food cartons around, tossed mail aside after opening it, dropped newspapers and magazines after reading them, and abandoned several items of clothing where you stepped out of them. And you haven’t vacuumed, dusted, or cleaned the bathroom in two weeks. The place looks more like a frat house after a party than the abode of a hardworking, career-minded adult—whose friend suddenly calls from the airport and says she’s coming by in five minutes.

1. Close the door! The whole point of bare minimum housework is to do only what’s immediately necessary. Decide which rooms and areas of your home will be on view and focus your energy and attention there. Don’t forget the bathroom—and any rooms leading to it. In a true housework emergency, any door that shuts and won’t be opened can be your best friend.

2. Attack clutter. Make a rapid circuit, picking up newspapers, tennis shoes, books, vases of dead flowers, soccer balls, pizza cartons—anything that doesn’t belong. It’s a good idea to do this with a trash bag in one hand and a box or laundry basket in the other. Fill the trash bag as you go and pile miscellaneous items into the basket for tossing behind those closed doors.

3. Dust. After tidying, dusting gives you the biggest bang for your cleaning buck. Grab a soft cloth, or feather or lamb’s wool duster, and start at the top, working down. The job will go much faster if you move lamps, telephones, framed pictures, etc., off tables and other surfaces before you start. When surfaces are clean, dust and wipe smudges off lamps and decorative items before replacing them.

4. Fluff and straighten. Now that your furniture is visible, with clutter and dust cleared, make the room look inviting. Fluff throw pillows, straighten slipcovers, arrange knick-knacks, and stack books and magazines attractively.

5. Vacuum or nitpick. If there’s time, run the vacuum. If not, pick up smaller throw rugs and shake them outside, then pick any obvious lint, threads, dead plant leaves, etc., off the carpet. If you have hardwood floors, go to the areas where dust bunnies collect (in corners, under tables, behind doors), and scoop them up with a damp paper towel.

6. Speed-scrub the bathroom. Cleaning a bathroom can be done quickly, no matter how grim the room looks when you begin. First, stow everything you can in a cabinet or medicine chest: move the toothpaste, makeup, shaving cream, and last week’s mail out of sight. If you can get away with it, close the shower curtain or close the tub door and ignore the bathtub. Arm yourself with a pair of latex gloves, a bottle of liquid cleaner with bleach, a roll of paper towels, and a sponge. Douse the sink with liquid cleaner and pour about a quarter cup into the toilet. After the cleanser has steeped for a minute or two, wash the sink quickly, rinse it, and polish faucets, handles, and the medicine cabinet mirror with a damp paper towel. Scrub the toilet with a bowl brush, and use a wet sponge or paper towels to wipe dust and hair from the floor and base of the toilet. Keep wiping the floor as you back out of the room.