« Cardstock Gone Wild | Main | No Animals Were Harmed in the Posting of this Blog »

January 07, 2008

Comments

Katie

I love this idea! I think I'm going to try it too! :)

Lani

I would try this - but I get distracted WAY too easily. I see something shiny, and BAAM...attention span disabled.

So...I shall live vicariously through you! Good luck :D

RA

Is it correct to assume that loading in the laundry and putting it away is on two separate cleaning days? Because if not, I want the washer and dryer that you have.

Nicole

What a fantastic idea!!

Gretchen

Ooo! This is genius! I may just try it. I usually try to do all of my cleaning during commercial breaks. (I'm always so surprised that I can empty the dishwasher during 1 commercial break!) But since TV is miserable right now, I think I'll try your idea. Thanks!!

Kenzie

OH wow! This is genius. I think I'm going to try this. But maybe like.. a load of a laundry a day. Because believe it or not thats more laundry I do ever! Basically I do landry 2 a month.

OH thats terrible! Anyways, good idea!

Malia

this sounds like the flylady way. She has us do things in 15 minute increments.

Malia

janet

wow, i really think I need to try this!

kathryn

i do that too.
but like 100 times a day.
and still my house isnt even that CLEAN!
grr.

kathryn

and I LOVE THE NEW BANNER.
LOVE.

Laurie

Awesome idea! I think I'm going to use it at my house! Thanks for sharing!

Rachael

THIS TOOOOOTALLY worked at our house... for like the two whole weeks I actually enforced the rule... :0)

XOXO
Rachael

Amanda

I like this plan. =)

Marriage-101

Fab idea! I should do this.

Unnaturally Blonde

That's a great idea. I wish I could get myself to do that every night. Usually on Thursdays before the guys come over for poker we clean the crap out of the apartment...I guess it's better than nothing right?

Oh I think the new banner looks great, I heart pink!

Chris Cactus

I really like that idea. Although I suspect that 10 minutes would be somewhat short given a toddler and the explosion of toys that happens on a daily basis. Still, awesome idea.

Pamela

You would think I could afford 10 minutes a day to clean but to me it is much more affordable to hire a cleaning lady.

Love the new masthead!

Sarah

That is a great plan! I love it!

Larissa

Okay, this might be the best idea that I've heard in a long time. Good luck with your cleaning plan!

Lesli

I heart this idea. It sounds like something from Real Simple magazine. Maybe I could apply it to my closet!!

Lissa

Oh I'm loving the new banner!

Neo

Doesn't anyone else see a problem in overcoming household entropy in ten minutes a day? I can't see how it would work. Ten minutes a day can't even keep the dishes clean at my house! Good luck, Mary Poppins.

Janet

As Mary would say, "well begun is half done."

Janet

I thought I should add a few notes about how we actually get this done:

Our apartment is generally pretty tidy. When we are done with a dish or glass, we put it right in the dishwasher. We'll generally put away items after we use them and put our dirty clothes straight into the washer when we take them off.

This clean-as-you-go method means that when it comes time for the ten-minute clean up, there is not really any stuff to put away. The ten-minute cleaning is really just for things like dusting, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning mirrors, wiping counters, and the like.

In ten minutes, I can quickly vacuum the house and maybe windex all the mirrors. In that same ten minutes, will can mop the kitchen floor and sanitize kitchen surfaces. The next day, I might dust surfaces for ten minutes while Will wipes down cabinets and scrubs down the bathroom fixtures.

It's actually two of us, of course, so it is technically 20 minutes a day--and our apartment is only 1100 square feet, so we aren't talking a big house with lots of kids and pets and messy projects.

Cleaning on a regular basis helps keep things moderately clean, most of the time. This is not to say that I don't have to spend a little extra time on Saturday throwing the sheets in the washer or cleaning one of those infrequent items--the tops of the ceiling fans, for instance--but for the most part the ten minute timer is working pretty well.

Say you have a family of four and everyone participates (moving quickly) for 15 minutes a day (a bit longer for a larger home). That would be an HOUR of cleaning a day, all wrapped up in a fast 15.

Give it a try!

The comments to this entry are closed.

BlogHer

I Write Here, Too

Just Saying:

  • The ballet people are champagne drinkers; a younger, more exciting crowd than the opera people. --Walter Nurena

Soapy

  • use code sopink
    Buy Home Essentials at Soap.comBuy Home Essentials at Soap.com