As promised, here is the 30-minute way to keep your house “Spring Clean” at all times. Well, almost—so close that eventually you are going to love your house and love this method, okay? Here we go:
- Commit one-half hour per day to this method. (This truly is all it takes. Use a timer. More about the time aspect in a few minutes.)
- Before you begin, gather what you need for that day’s job. (The half hour is for cleaning, not fetching.)
- Start at the front door. (First impressions mean a lot to you and to all who pass your way.)
- Hurry. You get more done that way. (You can blitz for 30 minutes—sweat never hurt anyone.)
- Scrub, scrub, scrub. Clean, clean, clean. Conquer all mold, dirt buildup, dead bugs, cobwebs, and anything else you find that you don’t like. Accept nothing less than squeaky clean. (Make it like new.)
- Repair. Fix that nagging thing that bothers you every time you look at it, if you can. Make note of anything you need to buy or get help with fixing. Don’t let this step slow you down! (You’ll need a notepad in your cleaning supplies.)
- If you finish before the half-hour is up, great! Move to the right or left and begin another area. (When the timer stops, you stop.)
- Repeat, tomorrow, beginning where you left off. (Rest from all this busyness, one day per week.)
Get it? I hope so. This is all there is to it.
Just pick a starting place, go around the circumference of your house (except the kitchen, which we will discuss next week), and clean like lightning for ½ hour per day. If you will faithfully quit after 30 minutes, you will begin again the next day.
After about a month, you will have a new and wonderful habit. After about a year, you will have a house that has been thoroughly Spring Cleaned.
I know, it is not the conventional Spring Cleaning, but I also know, if you are like me, you will hardly know what to do with such a clean house. And if your house is so big, or your arm is so slow, or your interruptions are so abundant, that it takes you two years to make the rounds, tell me: Did your house ever get Spring Cleaned every two years, before? Hmm? This method is not conventional, but is so much more do-able, that it works.
I’ll have company this weekend, so won’t have time to research famous sayings. What I will do, instead, is take you on a visual tour of a couple days of Spring Cleaning at my house, so you can see exactly what it takes.
See you tomorrow!
Home's Cool! 
Absolutely fabulous!! I think this idea is so terrific that perhaps you could have a separate blog with your cleaning/repair ideas copied and pasted over and a separate one with the canning/freezing and recipe ideas….you can cross list them and folks can find them either way. You are a continual inspiration and font of knowledge….
Kate–what a kind thing to say. And I will tell you, I am working on a new blog site, one more organized and more directed. I wish I could grab some time, like a week away, just to work on it!!! 🙂