Speed cleaned and re-arranged bureau
When I was a kid, I was pretty good at housecleaning. I helped my mother clean weekly and I kept my room neat. (You vouch for that, don't you, Mom?) But as an adult I've struggled with house cleaning. It's such a chore! I'm so disorganized! I'd rather do something fun! I'd rather poke a hot stick in my eye!
Lately, though, I've come up with this trick to help me clean house when the whole house needs, like today, a good once over.
For each room, I set the timer for 15 minutes. This helps me keep in a "head down a** up" state of mind. This little trick helps me see quickly what needs to be done and to get busy doing it. Otherwise, when I'm faced with a messy room to clean, I am likely to quickly stray. I'll begin cleaning out a drawer, or reorganizing a bookshelf, or deep cleaning behind some door somewhere -- any minute task that is not part of the big picture.
If I feel I must take a break -- and, truth be known, it's not uncommon for me to feel that way -- I again set the timer for 15 minutes. When it rings, time to get back to cleaning. This $6 Ikea timer, for whatever reason, works wonders for me.
Rrrring. Break's over!
7 comments:
We, or at least I, will be trying this! Great tip!
I'll be trying this too, for during the week when I am tired and the house starts getting messy. I can spend 15 minutes out of my day for this. Great idea!
p.s. I do remember what a neat girl you were and also how much help you were to me.
I am the proud owner of a shelf full of organizing and cleaning books, vacuum cleaners of all sizes and shapes, every single item created by Swiffer and their dollar-store equivalents, countless Method magic cleaning potions and endless lists.
My house still looks like crap every single day.
Love those lemons though - and the blue vases are very fabulous.
Thanks for vouching for me, Mom. I'm sure some people (my girls) would never believe I used to be neat. Oh, and I'm sorry to say this is a 15 minute per ROOM method. However, your house is so neat, just 15 minutes of HDAU (Head Down A** Up) might do the trick.
LOL Rima. I know what you mean. I have a couple of really good books on how to clean and stop being a messy...um, give me a day or so and I can find them.
And one more thing -- don't hate me, ok? -- the blue vases and the little yellow bowl are all thrift store/garage sale finds! So is the platter. The three little white vases though I really splurged on: $2 each at Ikea. ha
Dave, I hope it works for you. Let me know.
P.S. It works better and better each time you do it. 1)You get smarter and know what works best for you and each room, and 2)There's less crap to clean up if you do it often enough. Magic!
What a great idea - I time myself marking so that I can bear to continue
- I can see that I'm getting through the work and how much I'm earning - but I don't set a timer for breaks - what a great idea.
The weirdest thing was that I was intending to blog about chores today - maybe I still will. Just looking for a non-shocking view of some of the mess.
Debi, a girl after my own heart. We have too many things in common. But I'd rather clean and organize ANYTHING than cook and do the dishes....
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