My version of the minimalist lifestyle is rooted in one thing: saying no so that you can say yes. My momma always told me, “saying yes to one thing is saying no to another.” Man, she’s a wise woman. Whether you acknowledge it or not, you’re constantly minimizing something in your life. Time with kids, time cooking, the amount of laundry you wash, the amount of laundry you fold (we know those are two different things)… we’re constantly making choices to minimize one thing and maximize another. Whether we like to admit it or not, these choices reflect our priorities.
I believe that by doing household chores effectively and efficiently you can minimize the time spent on the house and maximize time with family. This is what I’d love to do: help you maintain a clean & tidy home while minimizing time cleaning and maximizing time with family. Now I’ve got to be honest with you: sometimes I wish it was the other way around. I know that’s awful to say. But you see, the vacuum cleaner doesn’t talk back. The duster never makes a mess or spits up on freshly mopped floors. And the dishwasher never hurts my feelings or tracks mud in after I just vacuumed. We’re instructed to “pick up [our] cross daily and follow [Jesus].” Sometimes that means we clean and tidy, even when we don’t want to. Sometimes it means we stop obsessing over cleaning and tidying and be present in this moment with our family. Whichever one you’re struggling with today - wanting to clean too much or too little - here’s a little list to help you minimize the time spent on common household chores.
1. Dusting: keep a maximum of three things on any one surface. Any more than that and you’ll spend too much time moving items around for such a relatively quick task as dusting. What should you keep on side tables? The
answer is usually a coaster or two, a tissue box, and a lamp. I’m not saying don’t have things! Have the things. Just get them off the side tables. Hang pictures and use decorative shelving to get knick-knacks off side tables.
2. Vacuuming: find the most efficient places to plug in the vacuum. The less you have to plug and unplug the quicker you’ll get the job done. Also, vacuum away from the plug. Start vacuuming by where the vacuum cleaner is plugged in and vacuum away from there. You won’t have to fight with the cord to avoid vacuuming over it.
3. Counters: kitchen or bathroom, the rule is the same. Move all the countertop items to one side, then clean towards the sink. Reset as much of the countertop as you can, then clean the part that was previously covered, again towards the sink. All the crummy junk will end up in the sink, so you can just rinse the sink out and give it a good scrub down. The less you move stuff around the quicker you’ll go. Don’t waste time trying to pick up and wipe under every little item. If you can, put as many countertop items as you can in drawers, medicine cabinets, or even open shelving. Having as little as possible on counters will make cleaning quicker and easier.
4. Tubs & showers: give your cleaner time to work. Then, clean from the top down and towards the drain. Or just ask your husband to do this one. (It’s my least favorite.)
5. Clean it like ya mean it! Use your muscles when you clean- even when you dust. You’ll clean faster and more thoroughly.
Let me know how I can best serve you! What part of your house is really struggling? Any questions I can answer, or ways I can serve you as you serve your family? Just let me know!
Comments
Post a Comment