Work top to bottom, dry to wet

Dust and vacuum first, then wipe surfaces, then clean floors last. Working the other way means everything you loosened from above lands on what you have already cleaned.

Give a product a minute of dwell time before scrubbing. Most surface cleaners do the work chemically if you let them sit, which saves far more effort than scrubbing harder.

The tools worth owning

Microfibre cloths in a few colours — one per zone, so the bathroom cloth never touches the kitchen. A spin or flat mop with a washable head. A squeegee for glass and shower screens. A small detail brush set for grout, taps and the edges of appliances, which is where visible dirt actually lives.

Colour-coding is not fussiness: it is how cross-contamination between the bathroom and the kitchen is prevented.

Maintain the tools

Wash microfibre separately, without fabric softener, which clogs the fibres and stops them absorbing. Replace mop heads and sponges regularly — a dirty tool spreads what you are trying to remove, and it is the most common reason cleaning takes longer than it should.