Finding time to clean is tough for anyone, especially when you’re living or working out of a temporary residence. Whether you’re a parent, an executive, a medical professional, or any kind of traveling employee trying to maintain a short-term rental, it’s easy to skip a good cleaning when you’re tied up with other things.

If you don’t find a way to make your apartment presentable, you will quickly grow tired of the dirty floors, spotty bathroom mirror, and accumulation of dirty dishes in the sink. You may constantly wonder how to clean an apartment when life is so chaotic.

We have a solution to your problem. Follow these tips for cleaning an apartment quickly and you’ll have your rental in great condition in no time flat.

1. Be Prepared

Preventative measures will go a long way toward reducing your tidying time. No need to clean something if it’s already clean, right? Get a doormat. Remove shoes before coming all the way in. Brush your pets often. Consider using rubber or plastic bathroom mats instead of rugs, which collect germs, dust, and hair. If you spill something, clean it up right away to prevent stains.

In addition, keep the essentials in stock at all times. Below is a list of cleaning supplies you should always keep on hand:

• Duster or dust rag
• Disinfectant wipes (Clorox or Lysol)
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• Rags or washcloths for mirrors (water works well)
• All-purpose cleaner (eliminates kitchen and bathroom sprays)
• Sponges
• Paper towels
• Broom and dustpan
• Dry and wet mop
• Small, portable vacuum

With these supplies, you have everything you need to clean an apartment quickly.

2. Organize, Organize, Organize!

Before you begin a major cleaning session, organize your apartment. The results don’t have to be perfect, but you should get everything out of your way so you can clean more quickly. Pick up the floors and put toys, garbage, and dishes in their proper places. Clear all surfaces so you can zoom through cleaning without a pause. Also, take out the garbage before you start cleaning so you’ll have room for discarded wipes and paper towels.

3. Find Your Jam

Cleaning is easier with a morale boost. What makes you feel full of energy? Put on some upbeat music. Turn on the TV. Make cleaning a game, race, or activity with your kids or partner. For some, lists work well—if you’re achievement-oriented (you feel satisfaction from checking items off a list), sometimes it even makes a difference to hand-write a to-do list and mark a line through every task you complete. Whatever works for you, give it a shot.

4. Prioritize

Deep cleans are for people who have time, get paid to do it, or find enjoyment in doing it on their off days. For the people who don’t, prioritization is key. Not everything needs to be cleaned every week. If the mirror is still clear, for example, don’t waste time wiping it down—you can wait till a few smudges start to show. Your priorities will also depend on your lifestyle. You may need to sweep or run a vacuum through the living room to remove pet hair every few days. Most likely, though, you don’t have to move the furniture. So don’t.

5. Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Follow the same pattern every time. This will allow you to become accustomed to a series of motions and actions and get faster at cleaning. Whether you’re working room by room or going by surface, do what suits you best and stick to it. Regardless, it’s a good idea to clean from top to bottom—dust first, then do counters and mid-level surfaces, and finally clean floors and vacuum. This allows any dust you knock off to fall on the surface you’ll clean next.

6. Multitask

You may be used to doing multiple tasks at a time at work, so do the same when cleaning your apartment. Let those time management skills take over. While floors are drying, shake the rugs. Spray the sinks while cleaning the counters. Put toilet cleaner in the toilet and spray the shower while cleaning the rest of the bathroom. This tactic saves time while still allowing you to do what you need to do.

7. Make It A Habit

The key to making these apartment cleaning tips stick is habit. If you do something enough, it becomes automatic. Your muscles can literally get used to cleaning your apartment under certain conditions. To make a habit stick, you usually have to do it often enough, in the same place, and in the same way—that’s also why it’s recommended that you clean things in the same order. Set aside a certain time during the week to clean, and do it every time. You’ll soon get faster, it will become an integrated part of your routine, and you can sit back and relax when it’s done and view with satisfaction the clean apartment you now live in.