When my apartment is OUT OF CONTROL messy, I like to do a 15 minute marathon. Let me explain.
Flylady has a whole list of things to do to save your house, 15 minutes at a time. I choose to do mine differently.
Basically, I set the timer for 15 minutes and go to town cleaning in one room. Then, when the timer goes off, I finish up the small task I was working on and move to another room, set the timer again, and start over. Does each room get the deep cleaning I ultimately want to give it? No. But it ends up WAY better than it started.
Today I’m doing my 15-minute marathon. And to inspire you, I’m tracking what I did in each 15 minutes.
Kitchen:
- cleaned out the fridge (threw out food I’m never going to eat)
- emptied the dish dryer
- washed all of the dishes beside the sink, filled the dishwasher
- started the dishwasher
- wiped down all of the counters with 409
Is it perfectly clean? No. Did I get to swiffer the floor? No. But is it better? Much!
Bathroom:
- put everything away… including medicine from when I was sick about a month ago.
- Wipe down counters and edges of the tub with a wet washcloth just to get the dust off.
- Cleaned the mirrors
- Refilled the soap dispenser
- Threw away old razors
- Decluttered hair things
- Swished the toilet
- Lysol-wiped the toilet seat and counters
Hmm… I didn’t get to swiffer this room either. Maybe after I do 15 minutes in each room, I’ll do another 15 to take out trash and swiffer.
Bedroom/Office area:
- Put dirty laundry in hamper
- Went through a stack of mail, threw out trash
- Filed bills and paystubs
- Decluttered purse contents
- Made bed nicely
- Put books away (they pile up on the nightstands… do yours?)
Whew, MUCH better! Maybe T (the man) will vacuum for me when he gets here.
Living room (Currently the craft area):
- When through another stack of mail (how does it sneak in??), threw out trash
- Decluttered some more items, including fabric scraps and some things from teaching this year
- Put away a bunch of shoes
- Made a stack of papers to go through later… not usually a good plan, but it’s Kosher during a 15-minute marathon!
- Some other general tidying-up
It’s no where near “done”… but it’s a vast improvement.
It’s 2:30 and my stomach is growling, so I’m taking a lunch break! The dining room is an extension of the craft area right now, so it can stay how it is…
After lunch, I’ll do a quick trash-can round-up and take out the trash, swiffer the kitchen and bathroom, and empty the dishwasher. The apartment feels SO much better.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
I don’t think it’s stupid at all! Definitely seems like the same sort of mentality… beat the clock.
That 15 minute cleanup is a really good idea!
I, personally, like to “time” myself when I’m doing something.. like I’ll look at the clock and say, “Ok, I’ll get done with the dishes when the clock says 4:07″, then try to hurry up and beat the time I set for myself. It’s kind of stupid, but gives me incentive to hurry up so I can get lots of stuff done!