Today I want to share how I tackled the spring cleaning of our back entryway / mudroom space. With speed. This Spring speed cleaning means that we are now set up for the warmer weather ahead. Bring it on!

 

SPRING SPEED CLEANING

It’s that time of year. When transitioning from one season to the next, you are never quite sure which items to keep out. Will snow boots be necessary, or will flip flops suffice? How heavy of a coat will be needed? This questioning creates a major clutter problem, at least at our house. Essentially, everything is left out, ‘just in case’ it might be needed.

I finally got tired of tripping over all the excess left out by our five children, and set to work on cleaning up our back entryway / mudroom space.

This is quite possibly the most awkward space I have ever been tasked to organize. It is small, and filled with stairs. The one little bit of flat floor space that it has just happens to be in the path of the door swing. Not a great setup for a functional mudroom; But we are renting this house, and there isn’t much we can do about it.

 

Thankfully, this should be the last season change we make here, and come next winter we will be able to utilize the mudroom at Arrow Hill Cottage!

 

MUDROOM SPACE BEFORE THE SPEED CLEANING

We have done our best to maximize what little space the mudroom has to offer, by putting up coat hooks and using a shelf as a shoe organizer. It seems to never fail though, after a few weeks, this space needs to be organized yet again.

Because have five small children who use this mudroom on a daily basis, I know full well that my efforts to clean and organize it will only last a limited amount of time. That is simply the nature of this type of space. Thankfully, it isn’t an area that guests typically see.

Instead of using an entire day to deep clean, as I have done in other rooms, I opted to practice speed cleaning. I set my timer for sixty minutes, and got to work.

 

SPEED CLEANING TIPS

For a successful speed cleaning in your own house, consider these valuable tips.

 

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WALKING INTO

Survey the space you want to clean, and think about all of the tasks needed to get the job done. It might be helpful to write out a list, which you can reference while cleaning.

Understand that during a speed cleaning session, you may not be able to cross off every item that is on your list. Prioritize which are most important, and start with those first.

 

SET A TIME LIMIT

More importantly, be sure to stick to it! I recommend no more than one hour of efforts in any one space. It is quite motivating to know that once the timer rings, you can put away the cleaning supplies and be done. Having a time limit is also likely to keep you moving at a good pace. You may subconsciously try to ‘beat the clock’, so to speak.

 

STAY FOCUSED

Speed cleaning should aim to improve the overall appearance of the space, without fussing over minor issues and unnecessary details. For example, organizing shoes in a mudroom might be a good use of time. Removing dirt from the bottom of shoes, on the other hand, could stall your progress.

 

DON’T BE A PERFECTIONIST

Just as you can’t buy everything you might desire when you are living on a tight budget, you won’t be able to perfect a space that is cleaned in a short amount of time. Again, the point of speed cleaning is to do something, not everything. Even small improvements matter when it comes to cleaning, decluttering and organizing a space.

 

 

WATCH ME SPEED CLEANING

I recorded the process of changing our mudroom over for the season. Notice how important it is to make quick decisions. While cleaning and organizing the mudroom, I was also thinking about decluttering. There were plenty of items that I was able to toss or donate!

I came across rain boots with giant holes, gloves that looked like they had gone through a shredder, and outgrown snow pants.

 

 

Following my own advice, I stopped after my pre-determined hour had expired. That meant that I wasn’t able to get to everything I had hoped. The items that are left-over can be tackled easily on another day.

 

THE RESULTS (AFTER)

Considering only sixty minutes were invested in this space, I am quite pleased with the end results. My main objective was to free the steps of clutter. Gone are the boots that we constantly tripped on, as well as the box of snacks. Success!

 

The second priority I had was to switch out seasonal items. Winter snow pants, boots, hats, gloves, and ice skates were all cleaned quickly and packed away. The summer towels and swimming suits were brought out of storage, and each child’s rain boots were given a specific spot.

 

Shoes are now neatly placed on the shelf. As mentioned before, I am not fooled into thinking it will stay looking like this for long. I will, however, surely enjoy the clutter free space while I can!

Of course, I also did a quick sweep, and mopped the entire floor. In addition, the muddy parts of the walls got a spray down. The room has a nice, bright feeling to it now.

There was not enough time to tackle the shelf closest to the door. This shelf houses many partially used cans of paint. I have a feeling that most of them will need to be disposed of, when we move. And so, I feel comfortable leaving the task for later.

 

 

ADDITIONAL CLEANING RESOURCES

Do you need more motivation to get started on your own speed cleaning? These resources might be helpful.

 

11 speed cleaning tools for epic results | show me suburban

How to spring clean your home | shannon torrens

7 daily habits for a tidy house | arrow hill cottage

Speed cleaning checklist | living well spending less

The secret to speed cleaning like a pro | practically perfect meg

 

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