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Oh heyyyy!

If you’ve been to my site before you probably know that I’m all about helping people manage their homes in today’s hectic world in the most efficient, practical, and sustainable ways possible. I want you to spend less time doing the boring (but important!) parts of maintaining your home so you can spend more time doing what you enjoy!

And in my opinion, making use of the time when you are asleep at night is one of the best, yet underrated, ways to save yourself time on necessary tasks when you are awake. Here are my tips on how to clean while you sleep:

1-) Dry the Dishes

Many families are in the habit of running the dishwasher after dinner because,well, it makes sense! To take that concept to the next level, open the dishwasher once it finishes at let the dishes dry in the dishwasher overnight. This will save you time in the morning from having to dry the dishes by hand and it will allow the dishwasher itself to dry out (which will help mold and mildew from building up)!

2-) Do the laundry

I mentioned this tip in practical laundry management tips when you have kids, but it deserves to be repeated: if you have a delay setting on your washing machine, use it! Y’all, this is one of my biggest secrets to keeping up with laundry! In fact, most of my laundry gets washed overnight! Before bed I simply throw a load in, and set it with an appropriate delay that makes the wash finish within a few hours of waking up. I throw it in the dryer in the morning, and poof! One load of laundry done before 8am!

3-) Make your coffee

OK, technically this isn’t a chore, but coffee makes most of us happy so it deserves to be noticed! Most people know that you can set your coffee to brew at a specific time in the morning, but for some reason not that many people actually do it! Take the time in the evening to set up your coffee for the morning, and you’ll be much happier when kiddos go crazy and you’re already appropriately caffeinated 😉

4-) Clean the oven

Cleaning the oven is just one of those chores that no one likes doing. However, getting all the grime out becomes easier if your scrub the oven with baking soda and let it sit overnight. Wipe it out in the morning and you should have a much cleaner oven than you started with the night before.

Note: Do not keep the oven on overnight or use the self-cleaning cycle when you’re sleeping! It’s dangerous, yo!

5-) Vacuum

Thanks to technology, you can even vacuum in your sleep. Now, I have allergies so I only use my Dyson to vacuum (which, unfortunately I have to use manually), but my best friend swears by her roomba. If you’re in the market for a new vacuum and want to spend less time cleaning, the roomba is definitely a vacuum to consider!

6-) Feed the pets

As much as we love our pets, feeding them can sometimes be a hassle. If you have cats, you may be able to consider free feeding. However, if you can’t free feed your cats or if you have a dog, you can buy automatic dispensers that will feed your pets at specific times. Some (such as this one) are very inexpensive, but more advanced feeders will cost more. Nonetheless, letting the dog eat before you get up to shower (or deal with the kids) in the morning will definitely save you time!

7-) Remove grime from stove grates

If you have a gas stove you probably already know that the grates can get really grimy. Clean them with minimal effort but soaking them in ammonia overnight and then rinsing them clean. Voila! Clean grates!

8- ) Clean your shower head

Cleaning your shower head by soaking it in vinegar is a popular tip on Pinterest these days. If your shower head has built up mineral deposits, fill a bag with vinegar and let the shower head soak in in it over night. Your shower head should be good as new in the morning!

And for more great home management tips, check out 10 home management tasks you can do in 15 minutes or less and power cleaning:how to clean your living room efficiently.