15 minutes of cleaning? - How to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 2)

 

Ok...I have lots of friends who are seriously skeptical but I'm telling you, it's TOTALLY possible to keep your house clean with just 15 minutes a day of cleaning!  Really!  I did it for years....when my kids were babies.  It was not possible for me to spend an entire day cleaning.  I must tell you, this doesn't mean if your house is right now a complete pig-stye mess that you can get it cleaned up in 15 minutes.  NOPE!  Nice try....this is a way of MAINTAINING your home with just 15 minutes of CLEANING each day - not picking up or putting away, CLEANING!

 A basket of cleaning products is great 

to have to cart around and get the job done quickly!

Years ago, I was inspired by Emilie Barnes,the author of MANY organizing books.  I can't even tell you exactly which book it was that inspired me.  It may have been Simply Organized or another one I can't even find now!  Anyway...I set up a schedule for myself based on reading something of hers. Here is how I did it {I actually found this schedule from years ago on my computer}:

You see...it's not much.  If you timed yourself, you can clean a bathroom in minutes - REALLY!  You do not have to sit there with a toothbrush and scrub the floors absolutely, perfectly clean!  Just wipe down everything and get it sanitized!  Depending on your house, you can vacuum it in 15-20 minutes.  Our old house was smaller than our current one - it was about 1800 square feet, but it was also two story, meaning I had to drag a vacuum cleaner up and down stairs AND vacuum stairs!  This would also make a difference if you have more or less bathrooms {my absolute most-hated room to clean}. 

 Time yourself...how long does it really take to do that?

If you need to vacuum daily....you may have to give that up - let it go!  If you have a dog {which we have} you need to keep that dog OFF your furniture {yep, it's possible} and assign him/her a spot to sleep in so the fur stays in one place.  This doesn't mean you now ONLY have to do 15 minutes a day of anything for keeping your household up, either.  This is just to maintain the cleaning!

Now, let me tell you, there will be days you won't even have time to get to your assigned "chore" - potty training, baby crying all day, having your period, whatever!  Just skip that chore and do it the next week.  It won't hurt your house for one week to skip it, really!

Now, get to it...sit down and make up your weekly schedule and put it on your frig!

Just as a quick side note...I no longer do just fifteen minutes of cleaning a day.  For one, we have a bigger house {THREE bathrooms - blessing and curse} and for another, as my kids are both in school I have a "cleaning day" {since I now teach piano lessons two days a week} but still only spend about 15 minutes (give or take 5-10 minutes) per chore for the day.  Remember, as your kids grow, your schedule will need to change and be more flexible.  For example, my summer schedule can be seen here.

15 Minutes a Day Cleaning Schedule

 

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Part 1 - Introduction

Part 2 - 15 minutes a day of Cleaning

Part 3 - Finish what you start

Part 4 - Don't Walk Away

Part 5 - Don't Do Everything Yourself

Part 6 - Clean As You Go

Part 7 - Let It Go

Part 8 - Put it Back

Part 9 - Schedule, Schedule, Schedule, Routine, Routine, Routine