Day 12: Speed Cleaning 101

Most days, my house is a mess.  In fact, the days that my house is clean are very special because they are so rare.  I don't mind cleaning, but I do it all day long, it seems.  There usually is no rhyme or reason to it.  I start to clean up a mess, then as I'm cleaning up that mess, three more messes are made.  Troy's friend once said to him that cleaning a house with kids is like shoveling snow in a snow storm.  How true that is!

When the house gets unbearably messy, I like to have a plan to tackle the house, or at least the cleaning of the front rooms.  It helps me focus.  I've tried many quick house clean "plans," over the last few months, but the one that works for me every time is the one over at somewhatsimple.com.  It is called "Speed Cleaning 101."  The idea is you have ten steps, some of which you repeat, and do each step in ten minute increments, with a break every thirty minutes.  I don't know about you, but I love racing against the clock.  It makes a mundane task such as washing dishes a little more interesting.  A little.

More importantly to me, the "Speed Cleaning 101" method really makes the HUGE mess that my house is a bit less overwhelming.  I can do it if I take one step at a time.  And, if I have to change a diaper, get a sippy cup, or break up a fight in between those ten minute increments, I can do just that.  You will be surprised how much you can do in just ten minutes!  My messy living room (pictured above), complete with Trader Joe's O's sprinkled from wall to wall, sippy cups from the morning, pajamas, books, toys, a pink tricycle, and much, much more took ten minutes of speed cleaning to get it looking clean.  Of course, this didn't include dusting.  I guess that's for another day!

You will find all of the cleaning speed methods/plans I have tried on my 30 Days of Pinterest board, so feel free to take a gander!  Happy cleaning!