Do you have the spring cleaning bug? Do you want things clean, but are feeling a little overwhelmed? Well guess what, I don’t need to spring clean. Yes, you heard it right, I don’t need to spring clean! I’d like to share my little secret or plan of what I do all year long. As a result, I never have the need to spring clean because the deep cleaning that I do on a regular basis, in small increments. In fact, it only takes 10 minutes a day, five days a week. Are you curious? Do you want to learn a little more about it? Then by all means, take 5 minutes to read more about my method of 10 Minutes a Day to a Deep Clean Home. You will be glad you did!
My inspiration for this 10 minutes a day came from a book I read many years ago called, Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley. Not only is this book a great read, but it made me look at keeping an organized and clean home in an entirely different way.
Marla helped me realize that by keeping an organized home I was blessing my family. Wow, have you ever thought of a clean and organized home as a blessing for your family?
I began to look at the upkeep of my home in a whole new light, indeed having order and cleanliness did bless the lives of my family, as well as me. It helps me create a peaceful home where my family wants to be, like a sanctuary from the world.
Weekly I have always been one who vacuums, dusts and cleans the bathrooms, but when it came to deep cleaning the entire house, that was a real CHORE and I didn’t look forward to it. 😩
The idea of short bursts of deep cleaning daily became a real game changer for me.
Daily Routine
To begin with let me share my DAILY routine.
- Make my bed! I do this every day. Why go to the expense and work of making your bedroom beautiful if you don’t make your bed? I also believe that all children are capable and should make their bed too. The little ones may need a little help and it may not be perfect, but that’s ok. There is a real sense of accomplishment for children when they learn to do hard things. (If this is challenging in your family, try a reward system.) BTW, I read an article recently that stated that if you are a bed maker you will be more successful in life.
- After I shower, I ALWAYS squeegee! I know that it may seem like a pain in the butt, however it saves so much time in the long run. Who likes to scrub off soap scum and hard water spots? Not me, I’ve been there and done that! It takes less than 1 minute to squeegee the shower and it is so worth it! If, I take a bath, I wipe it down afterwards with a cloth. Once again, no soap scum which makes it’s so much easier to keep clean. BTW, I’ve trained my hubby to squeegee too, he doesn’t enjoy scrubbing off hard water spots or soap scum either.
- I wipe down the countertop, sink and mirror in the bathroom after I do my hair and makeup. Keeping a cleaning cloth in the bathroom makes it convenient to keep the bathroom tidy. I keep one hanging in my shower, that way it’s always easy to grab and use. This takes less than 30 seconds to do this and my bathroom always looks clean. All items I use to get ready in the morning are always put away in the cabinet right after I use them.
- To make my mornings run smoothly, I make lunches the night before, then it’s easy to grab and go in the morning. I also make sure that all dishes are put in the dishwasher after breakfast and wipe the sink and counters with a cloth. Training your family to put their own dishes in the dishwasher after they are finished eating will really lighten your load, then there will never be a pile of dishes in the sink.
That is it! Pretty simple, and I follow the same routine after lunch and dinner. I never leave dishes in the sink. It really only takes a couple of minutes to load the dishwasher and wipe down the counters, but if I were to leave dishes in the sink and let them pile up then it is a real chore! I usually try to unload the dishwasher as I am preparing a meal, then it’s ready to load after the meal.
Weekly Routine
Once a week I dust, vacuum, sweep and clean the bathrooms. This can all be done rather quickly if I am not picking up clutter. Getting in the habit of putting things away when finished also saves time and energy!
10 Minutes a Day to a Deep Clean Home
Deep cleaning can be quite a chore, especially if you are trying to do it all in a day or a weekend!
After all, weekends should be filled with fun family time, not trying to catch up on household chores. By setting aside 10 minutes a day weekends can be first and foremost for family time.
I follow this method daily, or almost. If I have a crazy busy or stressful week I may miss a day or two or even a whole week, but if I get right back on my schedule, it all works out. 😃
Lets look at this method . . .
When I talk about deep cleaning, I am talking about baseboards, doors, walls, blinds, draperies, kitchen cabinets etc. the items, that generally get cleaned only in the spring or once a year.
Now this method of 10 minutes a day to a deep clean home was a game changer for me. These short burst of cleaning, which only last 10 minutes go by so quickly, however you will be surprised what can be accomplished in 10 minutes. And you can do anything for 10 minutes! Even if it is a chore you hate.
This 10 minutes can be in the morning, afternoon or evening. It really doesn’t matter, what matters is that you do it.
The Plan
I have divided up the chores in the house into 5 zones or areas. That corresponds with 5 weeks in a month.
As you look at the calendar, you will notice that I have assigned one zone for each week of the month. The 1st week and the 5th week may not always have a full 5 day work week, but that doesn’t matter. Zones 1 and 5 will have less items to clean or items that don’t take as long and it all works out in the end.
This is how it works, if it’s the first week of the month, I look at my schedule for zone 1, I then choose something on the list to clean.
Next, I grab the cleaning supplies needed, turn on some energizing music, set a timer for 10 minutes and clean.
Usually, I can clean a couple of items from the list in the 10 minute time. I mark them off my list, then on the following day, I will choose another couple of items to clean in that zone.
Continue this 10 minutes for each day of the week for the particular zone you are working on. Then on the next week move on to zone 2.
Each item to be cleaned should take less than 10 minutes. I break it down into small jobs that can be done quickly.
I keep a HOME binder, which you can learn more about at Conquering Paper Clutter. In this home binder I keep the zone cleaning schedules along with other important items for keeping my home running smoothly.
Finally, I keep the zone charts in sheet protectors and mark off the jobs when completed with a dry erase marker. When the entire zone is completed, simply erase and start again.
As you look at zone 2 which is the kitchen, you will notice that there are less items on the list. This is because with all the cooking, surfaces get greasy and need to be cleaned more frequently. Therefore, the chores on the kitchen list will be repeated more often.
Generally, I do not use chemical cleaners, I use Norwex cloths for all my general cleaning. I’m not promoting them, I don’t work for them or receive any compensation. It is just what I prefer to use.
They are a micro fiber cloth with a silver thread woven into them that disinfects them. This makes it super fast to clean without having to get a separate cleaner.
For the kitchen cabinets for instance, one day I will wipe down all the outside surfaces of the cabinets. On day 2, I may wipe down the inside of a section of cabinets.
Previously, using my old method of spring cleaning, I would empty out a cabinet then clean it and put the dishes back in. NOT now, I remove items from one side of the shelf, wipe, slide the items over, wipe, then put the dishes back.
This method is much less time consuming, which means accomplishing more in my 10 minutes. The idea here is to accomplish as much as you can in 10 minutes time and still get the job done. 😃
My Method
The pendant lights in the kitchen can get a greasy film on them. Once again, I use my Norwex cloth to clean and a polishing cloth to dry. This method leaves no streaking or lint.
To clean the plantation shutters, I use my damp Norwex cloth and quickly wipe each shutter. Usually I will clean the inside of the window and window sill at the same time, since I will need to slide out the furniture.
Using an upholstery brush attachment on my vacuum, I can clean my draperies and rods. Usually once a year I will toss them in the dryer on low heat with a damp bath towel for about 20 minutes. Using this method, the dust attaches to the damp towel and I will not have to have the expense of having them dry cleaned.
For blinds, I tilt them all the way up, and with a damp cloth, reach behind (the side facing the window) and wipe them down. This gets the top edge of the blind clean.
Then I flip them all the way down and wipe the front side. I find this method to be pretty quick. I have tried other methods and products cleaning each slat. I find this to be time consuming and no better than the method I use. Once again I will usually clean the inside of the window and sill at the same time.
Upholstered furniture should be vacuumed on a regular basis. Think about all the dust that gets on your hard surfaces and floors. All that dust is also getting into the fibers of the upholstery too. Definitely a regular vacuuming will extend the life of the upholstered furnishings.
Using a wall duster, go around the edge of the ceiling, wiping down cobwebs. I also use this to dust the entire wall. A telescoping dust mop also works great for this.
I only use a damp cloth around door knobs, light switches and in the hallway where the kids drag their hands.
Remove the dust under and behind furniture using the attachments on the vacuum and a dusting wand. If you struggle with allergies, you might be surprised at how much dust is hiding behind and under furniture.
Once again, using the brush attachment on the vacuum I clean the cold air returns. For the cold air return in the kitchen I will remove it from the wall and clean it in the sink with a little Dawn. This vent tends to have a greasy film on it.
My vacuum will lay flat and slide under my bed to quickly clean under there. If you do not have that much space under your bed you can use your hose attachment to clean under the bed.
Don’t forget to vacuum your mattress regularly too. Dust mites are lurking in your mattress.
I keep a protector on my mattress, when I am washing the protector I will place my vacuum on top of the mattress and vacuum it from side to side.
Once you start this method of 10 Minutes a day to a Deep Clean Home, and you complete every job in a zone, and it’s time to start over again, you may think it’s clean I don’t need to clean this again.
However, if you keep it up, it takes even less time the next go around, then your home really never gets really dirty, indeed it’s always clean! And that feels GOOD!
For a FREE copy of my cleaning zones and how to implement this method of 10 Minutes a Day to a Deep Clean Home, click the button below.
Not only can this method of 10 Minutes a Day to a Deep Clean home be a game changer for you, but also for your family.
Enlist your family to help with the 10 minutes of cleaning a day, just divide up the time among all family members. Consequently, will always have a clean home with minimal effort on your part.
Has this inspired you to give this method a try? Please let us know how it is working for you.
Do you have areas in your home that you need help with and are struggling to know how to keep it clean and orderly, please comment below. We would love to hear from you! We would love to help you come up with solutions.
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Brown
6 Feb 2020Thanks so much for the inspiration. I live in a log home and have wood heat for most of the winter. I find a log home much harder to maintain than a regular home, but I’m going to give your method a good go. I followed Fly Lady many years ago but I find your method simpler and organized so it’s not overwhelming.
Michelle Dickson
6 Feb 2020I am happy that you found this post helpful. Please let us know how it works for you.
Heather
30 Apr 2019I just read this post an loved it! It’s very inspiring.. we are definitely in that spring cleaning phase and it is so much work! We are working to get to this point. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
Michelle Dickson
2 May 2019Thank you Heather. Happy Cleaning!