This Week

So this Monday was exactly the opposite of last week.  I didn't get to clean the upstairs until 4pm in the afternoon.  Plus, I almost didn't do it.  That, and I not no headstart during the weekend due to it being very busy with Halloween festivities and a wonderful BBQ with some friends. I was feeling a bit tired from such an active weekend.I got some of the things done early, which were changing bed sheets in Siri's room and our room, followed by starting the laundry.  Then I had to go off to get Siri to school, run an errand, and then I called my wonderful sister, and before I new it, I had to go pick Siri up.  Siri too was showing the effects of a very full weekend and  was barely able to lift fork to mouth, she was so groggy, so off to nap time we went.  (We both needed it).  After a nap and some tea, I finally just reminded myself that if I did it now, I didn't have to look at the mess or do it later, so I jumped right in and finished up the upstairs.Today (Tuesday) was the exact opposite of yesterday.  I finished cleaning the entire downstairs before I had to take Siri to school at 9.  Then I ran several errands that cleared some boxes out of a couple of rooms.Deep cleaning doesn't take me too long for these reasons_

1.  I commit 5 minutes each day to each room to pick it up.
2. I keep the kitchen clear of unwanted items on the counter.
3. I have a basket of stuff to go elsewhere, that when I am picking up, I carry with me to gather up and distribute things to where they belong.  I usually fill it picking up in the evenings, then distribute (some things have to wait until morning, because Siri is sleeping or on her way to sleep)
4. I have made a place for everything (or most everything -- I'm working on the rest(closets in our new house need some help))

I find that doing 5 minutes a room each day to keep the clutter down, significantly reduces the time I have to spend putting stuff away just to clean.  With the idea of being able to speed clean, that is spending 10 - 20 min per room(master takes 20-25 just to clean the bathroom and bedroom combined), based on size.  I also find that doing it each week keeps things to a dull roar, so that I don't have so much dirt to contend with, thus making it faster to clean.Good Luck with all your Cleaning Endeavors!Later this week I'll have a list of my quick cleaning tips.Liz