Have you ever visited a home that always appeared clean? Do you want to know their secrets? Before you blame yourself or call in a cleaning service, let’s learn how to remedy the mess before it gets out of hand. Check out this post for ten things people with clean homes do every day. Plus, read more below to find deep cleaning checklists for every room. Let’s get started!

Check out my original post here and then check out this post for ten more things people with clean homes do every day.

10 Things People With Clean Homes Do Every Day

In my original post here we covered these areas that need a quick clean daily:

• Dishes
• Laundry
• Trash
• Making beds
• Floors
• Straightening rooms
• Bathroom wipe-downs
• Kitchen counters/sink
• Restocking toilet paper
• Odor control

Now, let’s look at 10 more things to stay on top of to keep your home clean and tidy.

1. Put Things Away Immediately (The “Don’t Set It Down” Rule)

Instead of setting items down “for now,” clean-home people put things away right away. This prevents clutter from ever forming.

👉 Example:
Shoes → closet
Mail → file or trash
Keys → designated spot

This one habit alone can eliminate most daily mess. I try to do this as soon as I walk in the door, so it becomes a habit.

2. Do a 5–10 Minute Reset During the Day

Not just at night—clean homes often get a midday reset too.

👉 Think:

• After lunch → quick kitchen tidy
• Before dinner → pick up living room

Short bursts prevent buildup and make evenings easier. If you are home during the day, give this one a try.

3. Keep Surfaces Clear on Purpose

Clean homes aren’t just cleaned—they’re designed to stay clean.

That means:

• Minimal decor on counters
• Clear coffee tables
• Nightstands with only essentials

Less stuff = faster cleaning + less visual clutter. This applies especially to the kitchen. The kitchen counter is one area that accumulate clutter daily if I don’t stay on top of it.

4. Handle Mail and Paper Immediately

Paper clutter sneaks up fast.

Instead of piling it:

• Toss junk mail immediately
• File important papers right away
• Digitize when possible

This prevents one of the biggest clutter categories in most homes, my house included. If you cannot file papers daily, create one big file folder to collect things to be filed and sort it every six months.When you get ready to declutter papers check out this post.

5. Wipe Spills the Second They Happen

Not “later.” Not “after dinner.”
Immediately.

This keeps:

• Floors from getting sticky
• Counters from staining
• Messes from spreading

It’s a tiny habit that saves major scrubbing later. It takes only seconds to wipe a spill but minutes to scrub it later, so do it now. Your future self will thank you.

6. Do a Quick Fridge Check Daily

This is one people overlook—but it makes a HUGE difference.

👉 Daily habit:

• Toss expired food
• Wipe obvious spills
• Keep items visible

This prevents odors AND deep-clean disasters later. Check out my post here on How To Organize Your Refrigerator. This post shows you how to prevent food waste, too.

7. Limit What Comes Into the House

Clean homes stay clean because less clutter enters in the first place.

Try:

• “One in, one out” rule
• Being picky with purchases
• Avoiding impulse buys

Less stuff = less to clean, organize, and manage. This tip is huge. Don’t underestimate the power of decluttering.

8. Assign Everything a “Home”

If something doesn’t have a place, it becomes clutter.

Clean homes:

• Use bins, baskets, and drawers
• Label when needed
• Keep items near where they’re used

If everything has a home, cleanup becomes automatic. Start with areas that collect the most clutter. For me, it is one kitchen countertop. Address this are first for the biggest win. Check out my post here on How to Declutter Kitchen Counters in 6 easy steps.

9. Do One Small “Extra” Task Daily

Clean homes don’t wait for deep cleaning days.

Each day, do ONE extra thing:

• Wipe baseboards in one room
• Clean microwave
• Dust a shelf

These tiny extras prevent overwhelming cleaning days later. What Belongs on a Daily Housekeeping Schedule? Get my free ebook here on crafting your own cleaning schedule.

10. Do a Nighttime “Closing Routine”

👉 Think of it like “closing a store”:

• Lights reset
• Pillows fluffed
• Blankets folded
• Kitchen fully reset
• Doors locked

This creates a fresh start every morning, which is a big psychological win.

While this is not an exhaustive list, these are my top ten priorities I do daily to keep our home looking clean and our lives running smoother. I hope you have found this information on 10 THINGS PEOPLE WITH CLEAN HOMES DO EVERY DAY beneficial. If you like reading this type of material, subscribe to my blog for more ideas and tips on cleaning and organizing everything in your home. You can also find my deep cleaning tips and my cleaning schedule below.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get.

Emergency Clean: If you have company coming over and you have been given little notice, you are going to want to just do an emergency sweep of your home. This is just a surface clean, and it will make your home “guest ready” in a short time.

To do that quick sweep, grab an empty laundry basket or a large box and go throughout the living area grabbing anything that is out of place and tossing that into you basket. This is just a temporary fix, but it is intended to give you some immediate satisfaction just by clearing the room of clutter. When you have time to deep clean, I have checklists below.

Next, grab some multi-surface spray and wipe every counter top and toilet seat from the kitchen to the bathrooms. Then, make each bed. Don’t have time to make beds? Just close the bedroom doors. If you have time, focus on the floors.

If you have guests coming over for a visit, just focus on the main living area floors. Don’t do a “full sweep, vacuum, and mop job” if you are in a time crunch. Instead, just sweep and spot clean.

Again, this is just a quick fix. When you have the time, I have some deep cleaning checklists below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price. Better yet, get it free when you subscribe.

Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.

Need some Inspiration to Declutter? Join us for the Year Long Through Declutter Series by subscribing by email below. To subscribe, just leave a comment below. You can sign up here.

First, I though it might be thought provoking to look at some statistics on clutter.

1. US consumers buy 40% of the world’s toys, but bear only 3% of the world’s children.
2. Most people wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time. (source )
3. 9.4% of U.S. households rent a storage unit. (source)
4. People do not look at 80% of the papers and information they keep.(source)
5. The average American house is double the size it was in the 1950s–and getting bigger. (source.)

• The U.S. Department of Energy reports that one-quarter of people with two-car garages have so much stuff in there that they can’t park a car. (https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)
• According to the National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40 percent of housework in the average home.(https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)

Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item.

How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.

Happy Decluttering!

To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time. You can find that here.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email.

It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here. You can see sample pages below.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.

If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3:   How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered. 

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.

Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com: 

14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered

How to Do A 1 Day Declutter

How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule

How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter

What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?

Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.

For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.