The quick and easy cleaning tasks I do before bed to set myself up for the next day (and a good night's sleep)

Most pre-sleep routines include skin care, brushing teeth and relaxation (and for some, a bit of cheeky phone scrolling time), but I like to include some light cleaning before bed.

These quick and easy tasks are done before and after I brush my teeth and moisturise my face. Most take one to two minutes each but a couple are done in seconds.

They make a huge difference not only for my sleep and how I wake up the next day, but also in preventing bigger messes and jobs later.

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Change my pillowcase

The one piece of bedding I swap over religiously is my pillowcase, because it accumulates the most bacteria of all bedding – more than a toilet seat, according to studies. And my face is on it for eight hours!

Changing to a fresh pillowcase takes seconds, but making it into a pre-bed habit I do every few days means the most important bedding item is clean and super soft.

Putting away laundry

One thing I like to do before brushing my teeth is put clothes and towels I've washed and folded earlier in the day away.

Sometimes I do this straight after getting them off the line, but I find it is a light enough chore to be relaxing and mindless before bed. It also gives a slightly longer screen break before sleep after watching TV.

This task means everything is neat and tidy for the next day, making it easier to get a fresh towel or piece of clothing.

If I don't have to do this and I plan to do a load or loads of laundry the next day, I will instead sort laundry into one or two baskets.

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Sorting laundry

Having two baskets makes it easier to put on another load of washing right after the first has finished, and means I can also prepare two loads the night before.

I'll separate washing into general clothes, towels, delicate clothes and sheets and pillowcases.

My kitchen cloths and tea towels and bathroom cleaning cloths are already sorted in two piles in the laundry so I just leave an empty basket out to remind myself to put a load on the next morning.

With this set up before bed, I can simply grab a basket on my way down the stairs and put it straight in the machine so it's finished by the time I'm done with breakfast. Then the next load can go on before I hang up the first.

If I don't pre-prepare and wake up feeling tired and unmotivated I usually can't be bothered sorting any laundry so this makes sure it gets done.

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Change the bathroom hand towel

Another item I like to refresh before bed is the hand towel in my bathroom. After using it the night before and during the day, it's either damp, dirty or both.

To do this quickly I have a small cupboard next to the hand towel holder where I keep my clean hand towels.

So I take the old one off and – this is important – hang the used hand towel over something, usually the towel rail on the back of the shower, to completely dry to prevent it getting mouldy. After that, it goes into a box to wait for enough towels for a full load.

Wipe the bathroom vanity and sink

This is the final cleaning task I do before bed, and it probably has the most impact.

After brushing my teeth and doing any skin care I grab a cloth from my bathroom cupboard and wipe the vanity surface, including the sink.

If there are marks on the mirror I'll wipe those too and if the space is really dusty and grimy I'll add a bit of dishwashing liquid to a damp cloth and wipe it with that before going over it with a dry cloth.

This removes daily dust buildup as well as any moisture that collects around the tap handles, which makes giving it a weekly clean much easier.

Plus, the sink is much more pleasant to use each night and wake up to the next day knowing that it's clean with no visible mess.

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