There are few things that waste more time in a cleaning account than WALKING BACK AND FORTH for things you should have had with you to begin with.
I’m talking about going back for paper towels, spray bottles, liners, restroom supplies, dust cloths, a putty knife, a toilet bowl mop or whatever else you forgot the first time around.
Those little trips may not seem like much. But let me tell you something… they ADD UP in a hurry.
When I was younger and first getting going, I did a lot of things the hard way. One of them was not thinking far enough ahead before starting the job. I’d go into a building and just “start cleaning”. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong.
Before long I’d be walking all the way back to the janitor’s closet because I forgot something. Then I’d get to another section of the building and realize I needed something else. Before you know it, I’m taking extra trips all night long and burning up time for no good reason.
That is when I finally got smarter about it.
I started making sure my cleaning caddy or supply setup was stocked PROPERLY before I even got going. Not halfway stocked. Not “good enough”. STOCKED. Glass cleaner, disinfectant, rags, scrub pads, extra liners, restroom items… whatever I was going to need for that account I wanted it with me or very close by.
I also got in the habit of thinking through the account BEFORE starting. That was huge.
Where am I starting?
What restrooms need attention first?
Do I have enough liners?
Are the dispensers low?
Will I need extra paper products tonight?
Is there anything special I may run into?
Just that little bit of thinking ahead saved me more time than you can imagine.
Another thing that helped was setting up supplies in a way that made sense. Don’t just throw things into a caddy any old way. Put your most used items where they are easiest to grab. Keep things neat. Keep backup liners folded and ready. Keep your cloths where you don’t have to fish around for them. Every little motion matters when you’re cleaning night after night.
And if you have larger accounts, it can pay to stage supplies in more than one area if possible. Why walk from one end of the building to the other just to grab liners or paper products if you can have some ready near the work area? That’s just wasting steps, energy and time.
The truth is, a lot of cleaners are slower than they need to be not because they are lazy, but because they are DISORGANIZED.
There’s a difference.
A cleaner can work hard all night and still waste a ton of time by being unprepared. On the other hand, a cleaner who thinks ahead and stays organized can move much faster without feeling rushed.
That’s what you want. You want to work SMARTER, not just harder.
So if you want to get your accounts done faster, stop making so many unnecessary trips. Think ahead. Stock better. Organize your supplies. Map out the job in your mind before diving in.
Do that and you’ll save time, save steps and make the whole job go smoother. And smoother almost always means MORE PROFIT.
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