What to Clean if You Only Have 15 Minutes

You might find it easy to get area rugs vacuumed in shorter cleaning sessions, but cleaning the stairs typically demands more time and muscle. The stairs also seem to collect more dust and fibers and dog fur than any other area in the home, but maintaining them shouldn't feel like a tough chore. Find a really powerful lightweight vacuum, bust it out for 15 minutes every week, and commit to cleaning this high-traffic part of your home.

A bubble bath alone isn’t enough to clean your children’s tub toys, especially those water-absorbing squirt toys. (They’re the perfect breeding ground for mold.) Make it a practice to keep these toys clean, and remove residues inside and out by following these simple processes.

It's hard to believe how many crumbs collect beneath the couch cushions, so next time you have the vacuum available, dedicate a few extra minutes to pulling back the cushions and cleaning up the mess.

Among the easiest-to-use products in the floor mopping category, I find that I use my steam mop in cleaning sprints, rather than during a deep clean. The reservoir of the machine typically runs for about 15 minutes, and in my house, it’s just enough to pass over all hardwood and tile surfaces.