Just 10 Minutes A Day
I recently ordered a copy of the new home organisation book Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuk, founder of Clean Mama. It was the sub-title that grabbed me. “The Proven Method for Keeping Your Home Organized, Clean and Beautiful In Just 10 Minutes A Day”. Especially those last 5 words!
I have shared previously how I don’t like to tidy up, and about how often I clean my home. So I wanted to know if there really is a proven way, to make organising and cleaning my home easier and faster.
Well, the answer is… yes and no!
The Simply Clean Method
Becky Rapinchuk describes her Simply Clean method as “the secret to cleaning less, yet having a cleaner home.”
Following this flexible cleaning and organising method means anything can happen in your life and you would still be able to keep your home clean. How? In essence by having a plan and leaving Friday as a catch-up day for any tasks that got missed during the week.
Daily Cleaning Tasks
The foundation of the Simply Clean plan is a few simple actions completed every day, referred to as daily cleaning tasks. It is suggested by repeatedly doing these tasks they will become a habit. Cleaning will then feel almost effortless!
Most of the 5 daily tasks described are based on common sense and many of us would already complete them regularly. I did like how quick tips are included underneath each section. Helpful for completing the tasks more easily and quickly. Time wise; the daily tasks are said to take about 10 minutes a day.
Weekly Cleaning Tasks
The second part of the Simply Clean method is the weekly tasks. These will take 10 to 15 minutes a day to complete. If you are feeling overwhelmed by them you are given permission at this stage of the book to skip going onto the monthly, quarterly, semi-yearly and yearly tasks. Instead you are encouraged to focus on the daily and weekly tasks. Make those routines a regular part of your life first. Really sensible advice I thought!
Take A Challenge!
I love how the book includes the tools to get started with these routines too. There is a section detailing a 7 Day Simply Clean Kick Start which aims to quickly get you into the habit of cleaning your home. Then when you are comfortable with that, you can move onto completing the 28 Day Simply Clean Challenge. This is designed as a catch up challenge done alongside the weekly and daily tasks. Apparently it takes only 10 to 15 minutes a day to complete and there are checklists galore to tick off your progress.
Rapinchuk does suggest starting with a 2 to 7 day decluttering challenge before tackling the cleaning tasks. However if you are someone like me who is dealing with years of accumulated stuff, I don’t think that would work. I believe decluttering is better as a once in a life time event. That way you learn to know what you love and don’t love etc. and clutter is less likely to accumulate in the future. Instead the Simply Clean method includes decluttering as a task that needs to be completed on a daily basis. No thanks!
A Little Bit Every Day
I really do like the encouraging tone of Simply Clean. You are reminded throughout the book to work where you are at. That a little every day is better than lots of effort and then bombing out. That’s my kind of work pace! Though from experience I am probably more than a “do a mad, crazy clean and then crash” kind of person! I am improving.
I do think this book is great for you, if you don’t want to come up with a cleaning routine for yourself. You might as well follow a cleaning plan that has been proven to work and save time.
You may also find it helpful, if you have had to put off regular cleaning for a while. It would be great for catching up or getting your home in order again.
Simply Clean also includes detailed cleaning lists and organising tips for every area of the home. There are recipes for home made cleaning products, as well as instructions on how to speed clean. Also ideas for difficult to clean areas or surfaces. You could use those chapters to solve problem areas in your home one by one.
Anyone Can Use It In Their Home
Can the Simply Clean method really apply no matter what your situation? Well there is even a section included on how to adjust the cleaning routines when working from home, stay at home, work away from home, have a cleaner come in etc. I did think it was a bit brief though in describing how to get family members on board to help out with cleaning the house. More ideas needed there please!
So in conclusion, will following the Simply Clean method help keep your home organised, clean and beautiful? Yes definitely clean!
Will it take just 10 minutes a day? Unlikely!! Probably more like 30 to 45 minutes a day. Though some of that time is including tasks you could possibly be already doing.
I do appreciate the work that Rapinchuk has put in, to make it simple for any person to establish a cleaning routine in their home. I will be using some of her checklists to work on being more consistent with my own routines. AND it has helped me change my mind about how I have been doing my laundry. I’m no longer putting away clean clothing on a different day to when it is washed and hang out to dry. Instead I am now trialing doing one load of washing from start to finish on the same day.
Have you read Simply Clean and/ or tried the Simply Clean Method?
What did you think?
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