Are you that person who puts off all cleaning tasks till the weekend? Then till another weekend and finally an entire month passes by. Doing everything at the last minute is quite a marathon. But when you’re done with it, you feel exhausted and stressed. This way of dealing with cleaning won’t help you get organized and somehow do all everyday chores on time so you don’t have to face up a mess in the long run. Did you know about the 20/10 method?
Rachel Hoffman in her book ‘Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess’ has shared cleaning hacks that will change your attitude to tidying up forever. It’s not about boring time-management and long to-do lists. Don’t worry. It’s about caring about yourself and having 10-minute breaks after cleaning up for 20 minutes. To warn you in advance, the 20/10 method doesn’t require running around to clean the house as fast as possible. It helps you accomplish set tasks by tackling them one by one. For example, washing the dishes, then sprucing up the bathroom and ironing bedclothes.
This set of cleaning tips will allow you to keep your house neat for a longer period of time. As for us, we have prepared a trick for you to forget about annoying furniture cleaning and save a ton of time. Without further ado, let’s get started!
What is the 20/10 method?
This method invented by Rachel Hoffman is based on a simple rule: make a 10-minute break after cleaning for 20 minutes. It doesn’t mean that you can clean only 20 minutes a day. But it’s necessary to take such a short break to stay productive. Because you know how even one hour you could have used to finish all chores can turn into staring at something or getting coat up by nostalgia.
It may be hard to put yourself together at once, but knowing about a little reward you will get if you clean up the bathroom in 20 minutes speeds the process. Hoffman herself finds cleaning boring so no wonder how she came up with such a wonderful idea! You can say that the 45/15 rule already exists, but you know it’s 45 minutes.
The 20/10 method also helps when you are overwhelmed with the amount of work you need to do. So breaking a huge workload into small and manageable tasks facilitates the house cleaning. If you worry that you won’t have time for other things while cleaning, spend your break on completing other tasks. Whether it be your job, kids, making marinade for roasted meat for dinner or ordering a slipcover on Mamma Mia Covers to skip furniture cleaning.
But remember Hoffman’s words that, “The break is not optional. Breaks are important to show that you can stop when you need or want to, and also because they interrupt the part of your thought process that wants to turn a cleaning session into a marathon.”
How to use it?
Consistency is the key. Spending 20 minutes a day cleaning will help you keep your house neat and tidy all the time. Who knows, maybe cleaning itself will become a breeze for you instead of a burden.
Designate specific time for work and rest. After a 10-minute break, go for another round and tackle further tasks, or you can do them another day.
Here are cleaning hacks to incorporate into your daily routine:
- Take before and after photos to make the result tangible and know exactly why you have deserved a break.
- Ventilate every room. Bring some air inside to eliminate unpleasant odors and bacteria. Fresh air clears the mind. Moreover, after spending 20 minutes with cleansers in a closed bathroom you’ll definitely need some air.
- Pick up everything lying on the floor. Don’t leave cleansers, mops, cloths and anything you use for cleaning on the floor. They create a mess too.
- Wash dishes right after you finish eating. Thus you’ll avoid piles of plates in the sink you don’t even want to look at.
- Replace furniture cleaning with slipcovers. They protect furniture from dust, stains, dirt and clawing. It takes only 2 minutes to put them on, but their durable Made in Italy fabric speaks for itself. Save time and freshen up the interior with new colors.
- Make the bed every day. Include this habit to your morning routine. It feels great to return home to a finely made bed.
The main point of the 20/10 method is that doing something is always better than not doing anything. Less is ok, save being a perfectionist for someone else. For us and our slipcovers, for example.
Why do you need it?
Every person who hates cleaning needs to start using this method. Hoffman didn’t design it for some special audience, but for big families, singles, roommates, couples - just anyone who finds tidying up the houses difficult.
Just try it once to fall in love with the 20/10 forever! It’s going to be love from the first sight like with our slipcovers. You just pull them on the furniture in one move and forget about cleaning. Variety of shapes and colors makes the process of choosing exciting. We recommend doing it during your 10-minute break. They are easy to care and very pleasant to lie on. Eco-friendly fabric saves the environment and your furniture from damages. You definitely deserved such a present!
To emphasize the usefulness of the method, remember Rachel Hoffman’s words, “You can incorporate twenty minutes a day into the rest of your life without feeling like you’re spending all of your limited and precious free time cleaning your damn house.”
Are you already eager to apply fast cleaning tips to life? No more anxiousness about another marathon around the house, only positive vibes and saving your time. Our slipcovers are ready to help you with furniture cleaning and pampering yourself with new interior deco. Keep in touch!
