One of the best parts about having a small home is that there’s less to clean. That doesn’t mean my home is always spotless. In fact, I make a mess most days. And in a small space, small messes can look BIG.

But keeping a clean, tidy space is important for my mental health & over the last 10 years of living in small spaces I’ve learned a few tips and tricks. Here’s some of my best tricks to keep my small space clean and sparkly: 

1. Have less stuff
   Having less stuff means less stuff to clean around, dust and take care of. Be ruthless with your decluttering and do it often.
2. Hidden storage
   I know having open shelving and everything on display is on trend. But hidden storage is a BLESSING. Feeling too tired to put away a bunch of crap? Throw it in a basket. You can sort it later. For now, you at least have the illusion of a clean space.
3. Set a timer
   Overwhelmed by mess? Me too. Set a timer and see what you can get done in 5 minutes. 5 minutes is better than nothing and after that 5 minutes, you may even want to clean more. And if not, that’s A-OK!
4. Similarly, clean while you’re waiting
   Waiting for your water to boil? Don’t walk away! Use that waiting time as an opportunity to wash a few dishes, wipe down the counter top or run the vacuum.
5. Clean at whatever time of day works best for you
   A lot of people recommend cleaning before bed, but before bed I’m tired and grumpy. Cleaning is the last thing I want to do. So instead, I leave the mess until the morning when I have a fresh attitude and much more patience.
6. Have a designated deep cleaning day
   Sunday is cleaning day for me. This helps me to remember what day I need to wash my sheets, clean my bathroom and mop the floors. It also helps me from getting too far behind with chores.
7. Get some help
   I used to think because I had a small space, I could do it all by myself. But story of my life, I can’t do everything by myself. There’s no shame in asking for help from loved ones and/or hiring a cleaning service. No space is too small for a lil’ extra help.
   

I’d love to hear about your small space (or large space!) cleaning tricks in the comments.