30 Habits of People With Really Clean Houses

We all have that friend whose house is always impossibly clean. If you’ve ever wondered how they do it, here’s your chance to find out. We asked people with spotless homes to spill their best tips and tricks for tidying up. Turns out, the key to keeping a consistently clean house is staying on top of chores a little bit at a time. Rather than attempting to clean the entire house all at once, try tackling small tasks — like wiping down counters, starting a load of laundry or putting away stray items — when you have a few minutes to spare. (You’d be surprised what you can clean in just five minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes.) People with well-kept homes also invest in quality cleaning products that make the job easier, and they don't let clutter get out of control. Ready to revamp your routine? Read on for more clean-house habits you should adopt today.

There’s no denying that wet wipes make disinfecting surfaces easy (and satisfying). Keep a container handy, and use wet wipes once a week (or daily during flu season) for attacks on light switches, remote controls, drawer pulls, banisters and doorknobs.

Cleaning and removing your shoes when you enter your home (and requesting guests do the same) not only reduces the amount of actual dirt trekked into your home, but also limits your exposure to the "other stuff" you walk through. A comfortable, livable home starts with clean floors, and floors paced with dirty shoes require extra maintenance.

A daily sweep of the home collects and keeps the dirt at bay, and if you have furry pets or are a family who wears shoes indoors, any efforts to clean the floors can make a huge difference in the cleanliness of your home. Regular brooms may be fine, but buying my 24" microfiber dry mop was a life-changing experience. Its width makes it easy to wipe down the floors in our entire hallway in one swift back and forth, and it articulates easily to reach under beds and around dining room chairs.