Quite simply the
reason I do not do 15 minute chores
anymore is because I don’t need to. I
can do them in about 10 minutes or less now.
I attribute it, in large part, to the all of the decluttering I have
done over the last couple of years, especially last year. Being an empty nester helps a lot too.
I’ve also
streamlined my processes and habits over the years to the point that I am now
in the habit of picking up after myself and just keeping things tidy. If I get something out I put it away when I
am done using it. I don’t leave the
bathroom until I’ve checked everything over and made sure I’ve wiped up any
water spills, put things away, gathered up any dirty laundry and all trash is
thrown away. I do enough deep cleaning
on a regular quarterly basis that I don’t need to spring clean anymore. With that being said I’ve also stopped
cleaning things that really don’t need to be cleaned.
The nice thing
about having a weekly cleaning list/schedule and a quarterly checklist is that I’m able to keep tabs on what I have
cleaned and what needs to be cleaned so I’m not losing track and either miss
something or forgetting and cleaning something again. It happens.
Checklists help a lot. But if I
don’t get to something, like the dusting, I also know it will come back around
and I’ll hit it next week and be right back on track.
I do not include
laundry or cooking and washing dishes as part of my regular housekeeping,
however I have also streamlined those processes to the point that I can get my
laundry done once a week and it hardly takes me any time at all. I cook and meal prep once a week as well so I’m
only cooking on one day and then reheating those meals the rest of the
week. Because of this I find that I only
need to wash a small sink full of dishes once a day and it only takes me about
two minutes to wash them and then I let them air dry. I also find I can put the dishes away in less
than the time it takes to reheat a cup of coffee or heat water for a cup tea.
Having fewer
chores to do saves me a ton of time. I
have far less to manage or clean and so much more time for fun and activities. I also save a ton of $$! I use so much less dish soap, cleaners,
water, and electricity. Over the past
couple of years I’ve seen my utility bills go down substantially even though
the power, water and sewer rates have increased. I also create a whole lot less trash so I
only need to walk my trash bin to the curb every other week and my recycle bin
once every month to month and a half. I
feel like I no longer work my guts out trying to keep up and maintain a clean
and tidy home. I think it is fabulous!
I’m about ready to start decluttering.
ReplyDeleteYou will not regret it.
DeleteGee I wish I could do laundry once a week & quickly too. My husband is gone for work most weeks. He used to bring his dirty laundry home to do on weekends but realized he wasn't doing much at night during the week other than watch tv so he does his laundry before returning home. Which means I'm only doing my laundry plus towels & linens. I use a lot of hand towels in the kitchen & bathroom! I don't even wash everything I wear unless it's really dirty or I wore it a few times. I feel like I have as much laundry as when I was doing it for the whole family! I need to figure this out!
ReplyDeleteI think it helps that I have such a huge washing machine. If I ever have to replace it that may change things for me. I'm sure I'll need to run two loads then, easily.
DeleteI do a little bit of chores every day, mostly to keep the house looking neat and clean. But truly, its not like it was when I had a house full of people and much coming and going. It stays clean now and smells pretty nice, too!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, yes. I just realized the other day, my house smells better too. LOL
Delete