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The Ten Minute Tidy
by Deborah Taylor-Hough
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
involves 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 (free-lance writer, wife, and mother of three) is
the author of 'Frozen
Assets: How to cook for a day and eat for a month' and 'Frugal
Living for Dummies®' For further ideas on simplifying life, subscribe to
her free e-newsletter.
subscribe-simple-times@ds.xc.org Visit Debi online at:
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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