If cleaning is overwhelming for you, creating and sticking to a schedule is one of the best ways to slowly, efficiently get it all done. But even if you’re doing it that way, just starting can be tough. There’s no shame in needing to work slowly toward a larger goal. Here’s a way to gradually build up your cleaning schedule.
The one-hour method of cleaning up
I’ve been a proponent of cleaning in small chunks of time for a while. In most cases, 15 minutes per day is all you need to make an impact on your home’s cleanliness over time. When there’s a major mess at hand, though, you might need longer, which is why CleanTok influencer @MommyHasntShowered suggests the “one-hour” rule. It’s what it sounds like: You clean for an uninterrupted hour, focusing only on tidying up, and then stop when the hour is done, rewarding yourself with something you enjoy, like ice cream or a favorite show.
That methodology is similar to a lot of others I advocate for, like the Pomodoro technique or time blocking. In general, whenever you’re doing a task, whether it’s studying, cleaning, answering emails, or something else that’s tedious and resource-heavy, you should block out a span of time, commit to only doing the task for that period, and stop when the time is up, then give yourself a reward. No matter what amount of time you’re giving yourself to do the task, having a hard stop and a reprieve at the end is extremely important for staying motivated.
What I like about the Mommy Hasn’t Showered technique, though, is that it combines those rigid rules with something a little more flexible. The cleaning influencer doesn’t expect you to just start with an hour on the first day you try this. Instead, she says you can work your way up to that amount, starting with five minutes. Even though the goal of using timed bursts is to stay motivated and focused, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to just dive into an hour of work, especially on a task that you don’t love. If cleaning is really a struggle for you, don’t try to bang out an hour right off the bat.
How to work your way up to an hour of cleaning a day
My personal preference is cleaning in 15-minute blocks every day, but that’s not always realistic. The hour is a necessary evil from time to time. To start working your way up to it, schedule your cleaning blocks about three days in advance at first. On the first three days, schedule five minutes. After that, check in with yourself. Was five minutes easy and are you ready to move on to 10 minutes at a time, or was it a struggle? If it was a struggle, just admit that to yourself and stick with the five minutes. If it wasn’t so bad, graduate to 10. Repeat the three-day process, moving from five to 10, then 15, 20, 30, and 45 as you go. Eventually, you’ll be ready to schedule out hour-long blocks of pure cleaning, but you’ll get there at your own pace.
Make sure you’re picking times to do this when you have nothing else going on. I usually suggest picking a time right after work, so you haven’t had time to wind down or get distracted, but you also don’t have other responsibilities, like work calls, to deal with. Your goal should be to focus on cleaning and only cleaning during however long you allot yourself. If you are distraction-free, you’ll be more motivated and focused. Seeing the gradual improvement of your space over time will motivate you more, as will the knowledge that, when the time is up, you’re done and can relax for the day. Slowly, you’ll grow into cleaning for longer periods of time and will have more time to utilize other cleaning techniques. Every day, pick one area to focus on, ideally something small. Your countertop, nightstand, or medicine cabinet are great examples of small spaces that can be tackled in bite-sized blocks of time.
Don’t feel bad if five or 10 minutes are daunting for you, either. Some people enjoy cleaning, but not everyone does. I write about it all day, but I hate it, too, and on days when I’m not motivated and 10 minutes seems like an eternity, I give myself some grace about it. It’s better to do a little of something than nothing, so you’ll feel more positive after a quick 10-minute tidying and that positivity will motivate you for the next day.