Housework and I haven't always been friends. It's been
a struggle over the past twenty-three years of married life
to learn the habit of keeping a neat and orderly home.
Some days I'm more successful at it than others, but
I'm learning and growing in this area constantly.
I've often found that reading assorted books by housework
"experts" are more depressing than they are inspiring for
those of us who are a bit domestically challenged. Yes,
these experts know what they're doing. But so often I
don't feel like they have even a glimpse of how difficult
basic housekeeping can be for someone who just doesn't
seem to have it in their genes to do it naturally.
One of the most helpful and simplest things my children
and I do to maintain our home is something we've dubbed
the Ten Minute Tidy. What it invovles is this: Everyone
runs around the house picking up clutter and putting it
away as fast as they can for ten minutes.
Whenever I notice that the main living areas of the house
are getting that well lived-in look, I call for a Ten Minute
Tidy. Everyone drops whatever they're doing and then
flies into "pick-up-the-stuff" mode. I actually set a kitchen
timer for ten minutes and when it goes off, we're done.
Usually I tidy the kitchen and main bathroom myself
while the kids tidy the living room, family room, and if
there's still time left, their bedrooms. It's amazing how
quickly the house can go from looking messy to looking
neat when everyone works fast, works together, and
works smart.
The purpose of the Ten Minute Tidy isn't to actually deep
clean the house, but to tidy up the rooms so our home
looks neat and livable again. The cleaning and regular
maintenance is done during a scheduled "Upkeep" time
each day. I always focus the Ten Minute Tidy on the
areas that make a first impression when people enter
my home. In our case, that's the entry/hallway, living
room, kitchen/family area, and main bath.
**This article excerpted and adapted from "A Simple Choice:
A practical guide for saving your time, money and sanity"
(Champion Press, 2000).**
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Deborah Taylor-Hough (wife and mother of three) is the
author of the bestselling book, 'Frozen Assets: How to
cook for a day and eat for a month,' and the new book,
'Frugal Living For Dummies(r)' (Wiley, 2003). You can
subscribe to her newest free newsletter by sending an
email to: tips-and-quips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Visit Debi at: http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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