20 spring cleaning tasks you can do in 1 minute or less

Another fast way to tidy up a messy space is to clean one central item in each room, such as your coffee table. You can stash remotes in a drawer, gather small items into a classy bowl, and neatly arrange the other decor.

Check out these morning habits of highly organised people. 

Bad news: Your toilet isn’t the germiest thing in your house – your smartphone is. In fact, a 2013 study found that tablets have up to 600 units per swab of staphylococcus (commonly known as staph) and phones have up to 140 units, on average. The typical toilet seat, by comparison, has less than 20 units. All the more reason to spend a minute scrubbing your gadgets with an alcohol wipe. And if you have a few more seconds, wipe down other electronics like your TV remote and computer mouse, too.

Don’t miss 11 more items that are dirtier than a toilet seat.

Spring cleaning calls for tidying up every aspect of your life, including your electronic one. Between meetings at work, quickly unsubscribe to any newsletters or junk mail that you have ignored for months. You will be way more productive once your inbox isn’t cluttered with spam.

You probably wash your forks and spoons every day. As for the tray that holds them? Not so much. That little bin can get grimy, so take out the cutlery and give it a scrub. If you’re really short on time, simply toss it in the dishwasher and run a hot, soapy cycle.

Check out all of the surprising things you never knew you could clean in the dishwasher.

Let’s be honest: No amount of fancy decor can hide that ugly, tangled ball of wires behind your TV or computer. Plus, it makes your space look sloppy. Take a minute to organise the cords, using some Velcro, zip-ties, or rubber bands to neatly wrap them up.

It’s time to face that funky odour coming from your kitchen sink. To banish the smell in seconds, simply place a few lemon peels into the drain, turn on the garbage disposal, and run cold water from the tap. Voila! No pricey plumber required.

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Your fan is a dust magnet – but don’t wait until you flip the switch to find out. Do a favour for your allergies by cleaning your fans before the weather gets too hot. And for a more efficient way to trap falling lint, try dusting each blade inside an old pillowcase.

You should never, ever skip these spots when spring cleaning, either.

Think about how many grubby hands have touched your home’s door handles and light switches. Like it or not, the spots that we clean the least can carry thousands of germs. Spend a minute wiping down the door handles and light switches in one room. For a particularly greasy spot, a damp rag dipped in dishwashing soap should do the trick.

These are the things you should be cleaning every day from now on. 

Tidying up a cluttered space doesn’t need to break the bank. Find a decorative tray at your local secondhand store, place it in a central area of your space, and fill it with random items that don’t already have a home, such as keys, sunglasses or even mail.

Learn more genius tips to make your home look more expensive.

Because your bed is the focal point of your bedroom, it will set the tone for the rest of the space, minimalist Joshua Becker writes in The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. So take one minute to make your bed; your mum would be proud.

Learn the secrets of people who always have a clean house.