Two photos of a modern home interior with text overlay that reads "10 Tips to Keeping a Clean House"

The secret to keeping a clean house is doing these simple tasks daily, so messes and clutter never get out of control.

Modern, clean living room

10 Tips to Keep a Clean House

If you're tired of spending Saturdays cleaning, only to find on Monday that your home looks like you did nothing, here's help. From what you should tidy first thing in the morning to a 2-minute task to do before bed, these tips to keep a clean house will have your place looking tidy all week.

1. Make Your Bed

As the most visible surface in the bedroom, an unmade bed makes the whole room look messy. If tucking in sheets isn't your thing, switch to a duvet with a removable cover that you can launder each week — you have to pull it up and, boom, your bed's tidy. Need more of an incentive? Find out how making your bed can change your life.

2. Empty the Dishwasher Every Morning

Emptying the dishwasher makes keeping a clean house easier because dirty dishes won't have to sit in the sink or on your counters. If you've ever timed yourself doing this, you know it only takes 5 minutes. Do it while the coffee brews, or while you wait for the kids to get ready for school.

3. Clean Up Every Time You Cook

Dirty countertops attract household pests and make your kitchen look awful. Since you already emptied your dishwasher, you can quickly load dishes after meals or snacks and then wipe your counters. This task doesn't involve moving everything. Put any food away, then spray and clean around the rest.

4. Do a Load of Laundry Daily

A daily laundry habit is life-changing. Pop a load in before heading to work. Or, if your washing machine has a delayed start cycle, set it to run right before you get home. Transfer damp clothes to the dryer after dinner, then fold them while during commercial breaks on TV. Putting away one load of laundry takes almost no time. Do it on your way to bed. Can't decide what to wash? Use a laundry sorting hamper and grab the one that has the most clothes. (Here's the one I use.*)

5. Wipe Sinks and Faucets

Toothpaste splatters and hairs in the bathroom sink look nasty. Keep a container of disinfecting wipes under your sink, so they're handy. Wipe the sink basin and faucet after you're done getting ready for the day. Hate the thought of spending money using so many wipes? Here's how to make your own how to make disinfecting wipes with an old t-shirt or paper towels.

6. Sort and Recycle Paper ASAP

Mail, bills, store flyers, catalogs, and school papers arrive constantly. Setting them aside leads to a pile taking over the dining table or kitchen counter. Then we look at that stack and feel too overwhelmed to deal with it, so it continues to grow. Deal with the mail daily when you bring it into your house. Having a shredder in the kitchen or somewhere equally accessible makes handling junk mail simple. Put bills in a sorter where you can grab them on payday, and toss the flyers into your recycle bin. Job done.

7. Use Doormats

The less soil tracked indoors, the less often you'll need to clean your floor. Keep it out of your home with doormats at each exterior door. Vacuum or shake them outside every few days. Additional mats outside the door leading from your garage will trap even more debris.

8. Take Your Mess With You

Don't leave yourself extra work to do with the next day. After an evening of Netflix and snacks, straighten the throw blankets on the sofa. Take your popcorn bowl and empty glass to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher, not the sink. Have family members do the same with their things. Two minutes spent resetting your family room gets it ready for you to enjoy the next day.

9. Have a Kitchen Shutdown Routine

Straightening up the kitchen at the end of the day leads to a more pleasant start the following day. Set up your coffee maker, put away food and clutter on the counters, and take out the kitchen trash. Doing these things helps prevent household pests, too. Need a reminder? Print this Nightly Kitchen Routine and hang it on your fridge.

10. Keep a House Cleaning Schedule

Imagine how hard it is to clean up a spilled cup of coffee on the kitchen floor if you've let it sit there all night. Mopping it up right away, on the other hand, only a few seconds. The same thing goes for the rest of your house. Whether you decide to clean it all one day a week, or one room a day, following a consistent schedule is one of the most important secrets to keeping a clean house. So, don't wait for your home to look messy before you do chores.