A Clean & Tidy Home - Only 15 Minutes A Day

 

Is it really possible to keep a home clean and tidy spending only fifteen minutes per day cleaning?  Yes it is and I've proven that concept over and over for several years now.  No matter the size of my house or my family the house stays clean.  I don't do spring cleaning anymore either.

 

You can make a bed in less than a minute

It involves some teamwork, but it can be done.  Outside of bed making, cooking, washing dishes, "the general wipe down" and doing laundry I spend a concentrated fifteen minutes per day on housekeeping.  When my children were still living at home they too spent fifteen minutes per day on housekeeping chores as well.

 

It begins with a seven day schedule where I assigned a room or rooms to be cleaned each day.  On the assigned day I set a timer and get to work.  When the timer goes off I am done, end of story.  The following week I pick up where I left off.

 

Regular decluttering helps to better manage our stuff

Once a week, usually on Saturday, I do a thirty minute to one hour "project".  This can be anything that needs extra attention, typically decluttering or deep cleaning an area in my home.  Again, I set a timer and get to work.  Now that I've been doing this process for so long I find I don't need to do "projects" every week and when I do they don't take nearly as long as they used to.  You get into a routine and a rhythm and over time you develop new habits, things just fall into place.

 

Key habits that I have developed include making sure everyone picks up after themselves and puts their things away.  Employing the "nightly walk-thru" to make sure we have picked up after ourselves.  Making sure everyone in the household participates with the housekeeping.  Getting into the habit of tidying up the bathroom and kitchen and doing a "general wipe down" before we leave the room.  Making sure everything we own has a home and practicing regular purging and decluttering of items within our home.

 

I don't let dishes and laundry pile up

I consider the time I spend making my bed, washing dishes and doing the laundry completely separate of my regular housekeeping tasks.  Staying on top of dirty dishes and laundry is also very important in maintaining the home.  I am always amazed, even still, just how much can be accomplished in fifteen minutes.  Consistency and dedication to the process really works.  I encourage you to give it a try as well.  Click here to learn more about the checklists I use to help me along.