So... remember when I was talking about my 5-minute plan, and how I was hoping to keep it up for a month, or at least 2 days in a row. Well, I clearly didn't account for this weekend when I had 5 major cake orders, a wedding to attend and the bridal shower of my best friend, for whom I am the matron of honour. Yeah, so that whole 2-days-in-a-row thing didn't quite work out as planned. However, being the ever-positive soul that I am, I will focus on the fact that I did manage 2 rooms. Yippee!
My front hall:
Note the Man's sandals, artfully posed as if walking out the door, the papers that are seemingly thrown out of backpacks with disgust. Half a bathing suit. (?!?!?!) The 50lb box of kitty litter. *shudder*
After 5 minutes:
Yes, the kitty litter was still there (it has since been removed) but only because I could not carry that thing down the stairs. I can carry a 50lb kid up to bed, but this box did not elicit the same feeling of love from me.
I feel a little queasy looking at this! |
After 5 minutes:
Not a terrible job. |
Cringe-worthy:
I want to say it looks worse that it really is, but it really is worse than it looks! |
Is it sad that I couldn't find a clear place to put my "Before" text?
After 5 minutes:
Hey! There's a floor! |
I think the most important success factor here was two-fold: First off, I set the timer for only 5 minutes. Secondly, I gave myself permission to stop once that timer rang. I knew that once it went off, I could move on to the next project, or if I wanted to sweep (which, crazily enough, I did!) I could. That truly is the key. Normally I think that if I'm going to do it, then I better do it perfectly, or why bother with it at all. But even a little bit can make a huge difference, and perfection can come later [read: never]. It's pretty amazing how much I can do in just 5 minutes!
What can you do in 5 minutes? Have any cleaning tips for me?
I love your idea! I think if each of us did 10 minutes of cleaning a bathroom, picking up a room or putting laundry away...it would become so much easier. Thanks for such a great tip! :)
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