Cleaning just isn’t my thing. Not at all. Piles of trash, dust, and things sticking to my heels can accumulate around me, and I’ll feel fine, without a guilty conscience. The only thing that occasionally crosses my mind is, “Well, damn, that could be harmful.” A month ago, I came across several different articles. I tried it all month, and here’s a quick summary…
The 2-Minute Rule
Set a timer for two minutes and pick up the trash, clear the table, and so on. Do whatever needs cleaning. And if the timer goes off and you haven’t finished, it doesn’t matter; you stop. You’ve met your quota, you’ll feel better, and you won’t feel overwhelmed. You can come back a little later if you want, or even start tomorrow. It seems like a no-brainer, but it actually works for me. Little by little, the mountains of trash began to dwindle into small piles.
The 7-Minute Rule
Instead of cleaning once a week (who am I kidding – once a year), spending 1-2 hours cleaning and getting completely tired, it is better to spend exactly 7 minutes at the end of each day on the places that get dirty most often. For example
- We wiped down the stove. The grease from cooking hasn’t hardened yet, so it can be easily wiped away with a damp cloth or even just a damp paper towel. It’s easier than scrubbing it off later in the week.
- The table was wiped clean of crumbs, even if it fell on the floor – it was a bummer.
- Got time left? Sweep it up.
- Got time left? Wipe down the sink and fill the toilet with liquid.
- Got time left? We went over the house with a damp mop.
- Got some time left? Did you do some other minor things?
The idea behind this rule is that you’ll usually always have a little time left over for those tasks that would otherwise take up a lot of time. And most importantly, the fatigue from the process is minimal, meaning you’ll be less and less inclined to put them off. Over time, it will become part of your regular daily routine, like eating, having a snack, and watching DTF.
The “Wash the dishes right away” rule
A dishwasher is great. But not everyone has one. So the simplest rule is : WASH IT RIGHT AWAY. That is, if you’ve cooked something to eat, wash the dirty dishes right away! While they’re easy to clean, while you’re still in the mood. Because after eating, you’ll be incredibly lazy. You’re already full and want to lie around and digest it, or sit and play at the end of the workday.
Before these rules, I tried everything—nothing worked. Now, I’m really good at doing the 2-minute routine and washing the dishes right away. I don’t do the 7-minute routine every day, but when I’m in the mood. But let’s just say I now wipe down the stove and counter every time I cook; at least now I don’t have to scrub the stove.
It all seems so obvious and obvious, but somehow putting off all thoughts about cleaning didn’t even allow me to think about it on my own. Now, at least, I’m not ashamed to invite friends over. Although, what friends…
