10 Minute Summer-Cleaning Goals

Summer is a time to relax and take vacations, slowing down to enjoy family and friends. But sometimes it feels more busy than ever. Do you want to be inside cleaning while the sun is shining and the pool is calling your name? May I suggest a summer-friendly goal? Besides laundry and dishes, what if you cleaned for 10 minutes a day or less?

To make it simple, I take Sunday evening to choose the items that bother me most and map the week out. Here’s what I chose this week:

SWEEP FLOORS – M/W/F
I’m not sure who your enemy is, but white dust is mine. Opening my front door, I become keenly aware of how dusty my wood floors have become.  It seems like I could sweep our floor every 30 minutes and still have more to do. It’s ridiculous! Our door opens, and the tornado of dirt devils rush in, competing to see which can hide from me the longest. Even when we are careful to close the door and take our shoes off, the problem remains.

I want the Cat in the Hat to bring his “moss-covered, three-handled, family Credenza” and sweep up all the mess we’ve made from having so much fun!  But since I haven’t met him yet, I am getting that Swiffer out at the end of the day and then I click “start” on my timer!

KID’S TOILET-T/Th

When a guest comes over, I always direct them to ‘”my” bathroom, which tells you something. That kid bathroom, let’s just say I have three boys, one in potty training. Can you picture/smell that? I like to keep their bathroom door closed at all times because of their little sister, crawling, exploring and ready to unintentionally be disgusting. But mostly, I keep it closed so I don’t have to think about it.

Now, this week we’ll have a clean bathroom, twice! If you want to visit me, and demand to use the kid’s bathroom, I recommend Wednesday or Friday morning!

DINING ROOM TABLE – M/T/Th/F
Everyone has one. No, not a table, but a drop off  for things without a home. You know the drill; it’s the, “I’ll get to it later,” pile.

For some it’s a drawer, others an end table. For me it’s our dining room table. One side is perpetually stacked up a foot. These items are usually papers. Excitedly, these papers await their taxi to pull up and take them to their filing home or the recycle bin. No one cares enough to call such a  transportation service and so they must endure, meal after meal, watching my family eat and waiting to be important enough to be remembered.

I took off Wednesday for this task because I like one easy day (besides Saturday & Sunday)!

Melissa here – we 100% have this drop off location Lana is talking about and it’s the end of our kitchen island. We try to clear it before bed, but it doesn’t always happen! If we take two days off in a row, it’s all over for us. The piles get out of control!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR 10 MINUTES WORK FOR YOU
Why don’t dishes and laundry count for me? I prefer a list that is likely to get done so I feel really productive. But if the laundry pile is the thing that bugs you, see how fast you can do it!

Set the stopwatch and make it a game.

If you’ve got pets or kids it will be hilarious to them. Run in-between all the rooms, or speed-walk (you know your limits). The point is to make all 10 minutes count.

I use a timer so I don’t feel bad if something isn’t finished. I know that I busted it and I don’t guilt myself into having to finish. It’s not like school, needing to complete the worksheet for a grade. Just do your best and make adjustments when you realize your threshold.

Oh, and didn’t I tell you? I said it was my one goal, but I’ve actually accomplished 2 goals for the summer: a clean house, AND if I speed-walk/jog the whole time,  a workout!

So what items do you want to put on your 10-minute-summer-routine for next week? Make every minute count this summer!