Today was the day.
The day that something must be done about the house.
I don't mean spring cleaning kinds of projects. Or a hoarders kind of cluttery mess. (Heaven forbid!) Or even general housecleaning. But just too many untidy and I'll-get-to-you-later kinds of zones.
So I declared it to be a ONE HOUR TIDY! (I'm harsh.)
The instructions were simple. I'd set the timer for 60 minutes, and the three of us would do a ten minute tidy. But we wouldn't stop after ten minutes. We'd just keep going for an hour, tackling anything that needed doing to spruce up the house. Just keep going. If anyone ran out of ideas, just ask me...I am full of them.
One hour later, we had
- Sorted through the week's mail
- Cleaned the French door windows, inside and out
- Organized and cleaned the kitchen counter
- Cleaned the kitchen sink
- Cleaned out the newspaper/magazine basket; bagged up recycles
- Sorted out a book shelf; reshelved out-of-place books
- Cleared kitchen table
- Straightened up basket of Wii remotes/games
- Washed two kitchen windows
- Cleaned and freshened microwave (boil a cup of water and lemon for three minutes; wipe down)
- Cleaned stove top
- Vacuumed around wood stove
- Vacuumed rug under kitchen table
- Put away shoes and boots that had accumulated near the back door
- Took down display of Valentine cards
- Put away craft supplies used to make Valentine cards
- Put away old math book; got out new math book (yay for Bekah!)
Oh, it feels soooo much better!
Tomorrow we will do the regular dusting, mopping, and vacuuming. But in the meantime, the house thanks me, and I have more peace. I am always amazed at what can be done with a bit of concerted effort.
Tomorrow we will do the regular dusting, mopping, and vacuuming. But in the meantime, the house thanks me, and I have more peace. I am always amazed at what can be done with a bit of concerted effort.
As always, I remind you that our ten minutes (or one hour in this case) is multiplied by 3. If you're working alone, it obviously takes longer to accomplish the same amount. Although we are three slow-ish girls, so you might not really have to multiply it by 3...maybe just 2.5...or 2?
One hour later, we proceeded with our day. I turned on my beautiful new candle warmer (a sweet gift from Deanna) to make our spruced up house smell lovely too. I made some tea. And order was restored.
What a good idea. Once you are focussed on a job it is best to keep going.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about cleaning the microwave. I shall try that.
I love this, and I am going to try 10 minutes x 1, and try to go for one hour straight! You have inspired me. xo
ReplyDeleteDo your girls love to clean other people's homes as much as I used to? I always thought a trade could be worked out with my friends and no one would have to clean her own place. Your system sounds a lot like the one I use. Making it as fun as possible is very helpful! And to end it all with tea...perfect!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, You did great. Hop on over to my house if you have an extra hour to burn. wink-wink I've done a bit of cleaning but it was all done on the computer, nothing real.
ReplyDeleteWe do this too!
ReplyDeleteI say "Let's all get to work" and it will be done so quickly! I am thankful!
The candle warmer looks right at home in your house!
Deanna
Oh, Cheryl! I'm so jealous! When I get over it, I'm going to make MY list and do my best to tackle some of those kind of projects here at The Gatescroft!
ReplyDeleteI do this, too - see how much I can get done in an allotted amount of time. A little reward at the end is a great carrot.
ReplyDeleteLast week on the morning that Kati and Bekah were coming over, I realized that I had not cleaned the house in about a week and there were lots of piles of clutters sitting about. I declared it cleaning time and with all 7 of us pitching in (really only 5 good workers), we had the house cleaned from top to bottom in 2 hours! So refreshing. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood morning Cheryl, since I am very competitive,I do this all the time, ~smile~. Read some of your previous posts, enjoyed them so much especially the spa day with the girls. It reminds me of when our daughter and granddaughters visit, we always have a spa day, BTW I am so in need of one.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day.
Hugs,
Sue