Saturdays for me are clean-a-thons. I am yet to find a balance between keeping my house neat, cooking and reaching work at 10 AM. It’s mostly a toss-up between straightening my sofa cushions and reaching work before my boss does. Come Saturday and you’ll find me knee-deep in my weekday mess, messaging friends and cancelling plans because I need to clean.
However, I really can’t explain this to my mother. She is probably one of those very, very few people on earth who you’ll never find cleaning. The reason, her home is so neat generally that she doesn’t really need to devote too much time to tidying up, unlike moi. And no, she doesn’t have Cinderella at home to scrub the dishes while she curls up with a book. Her spend-10-minutes-a-day-with-your-home-everyday plan is working out quite well, and I thought of giving it a try too.
Have an untidy corner: Yes, you read that right. While it’s a great idea to be able to put away your clothes each night, that’s really not possible. Dedicate a corner in your home (one that is not too in your face visible) and dump in all your unfolded clothes, accessories, and everything in between. This way you will only have to clean the untidy corner on the weekend as opposed to picking up things from all the rooms.
Have a rag in every room: Coffee mug rings are the worst thing to deal with on a Saturday. Keep a pretty looking rag handy in every room and wipe down every surface immediately. It’s way easier than dealing with the grime build-up at the end of the week.
Keep your bed accessories to a minimum: Sure a bed with a pretty quilt and three sets of pillows, all fluffed up looks fancy and inviting but ask yourself if you really will dedicate 10 minutes of your morning time making your bed. Cleaning science: The fewer steps it takes to make your bed every morning, the more likely you’ll actually do it.
Keep your laundry basket near the washing machine: Trust me, the difference it will make to your laundry when you have it right next to the machine is BIG. So each time you go to drop your clothes just do some quick calculation. If it isn’t dry-clean only, or doesn’t have to be washed seperately, just toss it in the machine. Once you have a decent load – say mid-week – just run it and get it done with. The clothes that need special attention can go in the laundry basket to be dealt with on Saturday.
Put it back: There are certain things that can go in the untidy corner but things like your shoes, DVDs and books can go back to the place they came from, right after you finish using them. This will save you from sorting through huge piles on weekends.
Go by the 5-minute rule: Right before you go to sleep or just after you’ve woken up, take a five minute tour of your home and put right whatever seems to be out of place, and won’t take more than five minutes of your time. I am talking about straightening sofa cushions, putting the newspapers away, wiping the kitchen counters. This small exercise will give you a whole lot of me-time during the weekends.
Designate an important corner: We no longer have that many bills coming in thanks to the Internet but there will always be that important mail that comes in the letter box. And if you are anything like me, you’ll keep it in a super important corner and then forget which corner it was. The best thing to do is have a small area by the front door that acts as a landing strip. Keep all your unread mails, bills and important must-remember-to-deal-with items here. Sort through this pile every Saturday morning, keeping things in their rightful place and paying the bills, of course!
Supervise your maid: On most weekdays, if you are out at work, your maid might finish her work in 10 minutes flat. However, ensure that you keep aside one day in a week and supervise her work, ensuring that she really is putting in that effort to keep your home clean. Set aside two days each month when she helps you with cleaning the windows, the fans and those hard-to-reach kitchen shelves.
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