20 minute daily speed clean

Time for a fun post that doesn't involve any talk of MRI's or the word hiccup! 

My house is by NO means a "clean house", I am very aware of it's constant state of "messiness". However! I sometimes feel like I am just randomly cleaning up all day long. No real intention or goal and at the end of the day it still is a disaster. I hate doing that, I would so much rather just spend 1 hour cleaning in the morning and then enjoy my day! But that's not a reality, mornings are busy around here. 

This is no new idea but here is my 20 minute speed cleaning method. 

The key to why this is so effective is really one main thing -- 

1. You just START. 

Instead of spending time walking around looking at the mess, "making a list", or figuring out where to begin -- all of which could have already taken 20 minutes-- just start. 

By diving in you don't waste any time sorting or lets be honest, pouting about what the disaster that no magic fairy seems to be coming to the rescue to do for you. 

Bummer I know. 

2. Clean/organize/sort ONLY.

This 20 minute period is for cleaning only! No phone (ahem, scrolling), dilly dallying or distractions! It's harder to do this 20 minute speed clean with kids around because you can't just say "sorry no distractions!" when a little one is yelling "wipe meeeeeeeee please". Oh the joys. This is best done first thing while daddy is still around or if he leaves before little ones are up it's a good end of the day thing before crashing on the couch for the rest of the evening :) 

3. Work fast. 

This one's important. You know you only have 20 minutes so you just bust it out. Set a timer if it helps you or challenge yourself to how much you can get done--I know it sounds dumb and you might feel stupid, but A. you probably already feel silly at some point in your day between playing make believe or pulling a wagon of kids down the street and B. We all respond well to some sort of challenge. At work or school there is an expectation to meet and I think that does help. So whether it's tackling one room or just the counters push yourself lol! 

4. Keep organizing for later. 

This one is obviously up to you, but I've found that organizing sucks me in. It's a whole other aspect of cleaning altogether! Use your 20 minute speed clean for trying to find the floor again. Or the sink lol. 

5. Be smart. 

This goes along with #4. Don't spend the first 15 minutes of your speed cleaning filing the mail. Go for big things that will make you feel a lot more sane like vacuuming up the dumped out cereal or starting a load of laundry. Also don't spend time putting away things like all the blocks which in 10 seconds your child will just dump out again! Save that for an end of the day job. Scrub the toilets, dust or do something they can't immediately undo. Immediately being the key word. 

6. Become friends with the trashcan. 

I know that I toss things out almost to a fault, my husband likes to keep things a lot more than I do, BUT I feel like so much of the stuff around our house that makes it feel messy is actually trash. That random toy they got in a Valentine's day card, the in n out hat from yesterday, and OHHHHHHH the papers! The papers from church, preschool, speech therapy it seems to multiply everywhere! Save the special ones and toss the rest out or put in a drawer for scratch paper. 

7. Keep going if time allows.

 Ok this is where the 20 minute speed cleaning evolves into the hour speed clean. If I know I have an hour before someone comes over -- even with kids awake this works -- I clean in a particular order and it works super well every time! I start in one room and designate 10 or so minutes to each room. The key is that room is the focus, getting that room cleaned up. For some rooms this is a greater challenge and 10 minutes may not make a dent in one laundry basket let alone the whole room. But for the most part this works. What I do is I run around like a crazy person to get that one room cleaned up lol. If I find something that goes in a different room I just throw it in that room I do NOT PUT IT AWAY completely. That wastes time and distracts you because while unloading the dishwasher you see a hair tie on the ground and take it to the bathroom where you find toothpaste all over the counter and towels on the ground and suddenly you've switched rooms. I know this method sounds a little crazy and I don't know why but it works at least for me! So if while cleaning up the kids room you find a couple toys go dump them in the play room and run back to the kids room. Once you that room is "clean" move onto the next one! You should see how quickly our house gets cleaned up when my husband and I do this. Maybe next time you have plans to come over just show up and hour early you can see it in full effect lol! 

My last point--which ties into my philosophy of why you should make your bed everyday, anyways another post for another day--this really does kick start or end your day well. Have you ever noticed how getting started is actually the hardest part? Once going I feel like I could clean and organize for hours. And maybe you're not that way, you may hate every second, but once you get into it you realize how refreshed you feel and ready to tackle other things. I also really do believe you're most successful during your day with a clean(ISH) house! Knowing you're not coming home to a BOMB makes it easier to do more. Lastly, you are less likely to spend money elsewhere when you're house is clean -- really! I can spend all day at home when it's clean and organized but when things are a mess and sticky (a word that seems to encompass our house sometimes lol) I feel more like getting out or are discontent with what I do have!! 

There's your 20 minute daily speed cleaning tip from me! Happy cleaning!