House Keeper's Guide: Time Management

Okay, we know how to clean, we get the basics, but what if I simply don't have the time?

For me, there is always time in our days. Maybe you work a full day and are exhausted or perhaps you just haven't been feeling 100% for a few weeks and you have no energy to clean. But even 5 minutes is time to accomplish 1 cleaning task.

Daily Tasks have been crucial for me to keep on top of house cleaning but what about the use of Time Management?

If it's not a matter of when to clean, maybe we should look at how much time do you have?

If, like in the scenarios above, you really truly only have 5-10 minutes to clean then utilize that time. Have realistic expectations with it too. In 10 minutes you simply cannot clean your entire house, but you can run your duster along furniture and surfaces. You can vacuum the floor. Or wipe the kitchen counters. You could take out the trash. These are all quick and simple and by week's end your house may not be polished to perfection, but it will be cleaner than it was.

Let's say you have 20-30 minutes in a day. Set a timer and go around the house doing as much as you can in that time: switch laundry/fold laundry, wash the windows, organize loose papers, clean the bathroom. When the timer ends, stop for the day and feel proud of your accomplishments.

Maybe you only have time 3 days a week to accomplish cleaning tasks. This is where I would chunk up cleaning tasks by levels or rooms in your residence. For example I have 3 levels in our house. Let's say I will be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday for cleaning. On Monday I would tackle the upstairs; trashes, dusting, bathrooms, tidying, vacuuming. On Wednesday I would clean the main floor; dusting, tidying, vacuuming, kitchen, trashes, bathroom and mopping. And on Friday I would focus on the basement; bathroom, tidying, trashes, dusting. This could be chunked up into rooms of the house/apartment too. (ie: bedroom (Monday) bathroom (Wednesday) living room/kitchen (Friday)).

If you have more time in the week I encourage you to try chunking your tasks daily like I listed in this post: "House Keeper's Guide to a Clean Home" or this post: "A Weekly Dive: Keeping My Home Clean"