1. Keep your cleaning tools where you intend to use them. “Not just the cleaning products, which everyone has under every sink, but the rags too!” said Dougherty, author of "The Lost Art of Housecleaning." “Can’t do much with the product if you don't have the rags to finish the job!”

2. Simplify your products. If you need a different product for every item in every room, it’s not efficient, said Dougherty, who only uses three products to remove dirt and grease from almost every surface.

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3. Stock up on rubber gloves and microfiber cloths. “Rubber gloves help you move through your icky cleaning tasks uninhibited,” said McGee, author of "Get Your House Clean Now: The Home Cleaning Method Anyone Can Master." “Microfiber cloths work for the majority of tasks from kitchen and bath to dusting.”

4. Turn on the music — loud! Even cleaning ladies want to have fun while they clean. “Put on something that makes you want to move, something that gets your pulse racing,” Dougherty said. “It needs to be loud enough to hear above the vacuum.”

5. Don’t put off cleaning showers and bathtubs. “Do this task at a minimum every other week to make it less painful,” McGee said. “Use a product you know will work best on your surfaces and a microfiber cloth. It covers more area, more efficiently, in less time.”

6. Only clean when it’s super light. “Open all the drapes, blinds and shades or turn on all the lights,” Dougherty said. “All cleaning should be finished by 3 p.m. because after that time, the light starts to fade and you don’t see the dirt with the same clarity as you did at 10 a.m.”

7. Don’t get bogged down with picking up clutter. “Until you can spend a day getting your clutter under control, work around it,” McGee said. “Pick up light piles of mail, magazines, etc., and wipe under and all around. Then move on. Plan a separate time to tackle your clutter and devise a practice of keeping it under control.”