Have you ever cleaned up a room only to return an hour later and wonder what exactly has happened to it? It is probably one of the most disheartening things that someone can experience in their home.  You go through all of that work only to find it forgotten so quickly.

What if I told you there is a way to take back a bit of that peace that came with the cleaned room? This is week six of our “Take Back Your Time” challenge and today’s goals are very simple.

First you will learn the five minute frenzy. This is an extremely simple task and children of all ages can use it and even find it FUN!

And secondly you will learn to benefit of creating and keeping a simple cleaning routine. Most of you probably already have a cleaning routine but do not call it that-this is perfect!  So let’s get started!

The Five Minute Frenzy

I love cleaning this way! This ladies and gentlemen is cleaning at its’ simplest form! The best part is, everyone can help no matter what their age may be-keep the task within the age ability of the person though.

Here’s how it works and I assure you this is NOT complicated at all. Get a timer set on any device that you can hear easily throughout your home.  Set it for five minutes.  During those five minutes everyone will focus on cleaning up as much as possible on that one room.  Once that room is finished with its five minutes, move on to the next one and so on and so forth.

Easy right! The best part is that in thirty minutes you will be amazed at how much cleaning you can get done!

One key thing that I have found with my three year old son, Tractor Man, is to make it fun! So when we do our five minute frenzy it is a race.  We all race around as fast as we can.  He is almost always in charge of putting away his toys and dirty clothes to the hamper.  He loves this and it helps him burn up some of that stored energy.

So as I said the five minute frenzy is very simple. Get ready to get your heart rate up with this one!

Cleaning Routines

Establishing a cleaning routine is a task that can be a bit more challenging. Let’s face it, we like to have a clean home but often enough we lack the motivation to make it that way.  After all our lives are exhausting and coming home to clean just isn’t on the top of our list after a long day.

My mother suffers from depression very badly this time of year. My dad passed away very suddenly three years ago now.  One of the hardest things for her to do is keep her house up when she is feeling low.

It takes all of her energy to simply get through the day at work so cleaning is truly a challenging thing for her right now. One thing we were able to do to help her was to establish a minimal cleaning routine for her.

Here’s how it works. On her chart for the week she writes down several different things.  Mind you this chart for the week is simple the days of the week listed out with blank space next to them-you often find these same notebooks in Target in the dollar section and they are magnetic to stick to your refrigerator.

On this chart she plans what she will make for food during the week, you completed this early so yeah you! She also puts any appointments that she has to be at and finally she added just the most basic of cleaning things that need to get done so she isn’t so overwhelmed.

My mom’s list includes the following:

Monday: laundry and table

Tuesday: kitchen counters

Wednesday: bathroom

Thursday: living room

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: no schedule

You will note that she does not schedule for the weekend as she is often visiting us or simply trying to get things done outside of the home. Breaking things up and only having one thing to focus on just makes it more manageable for her to accomplish.  This not only helps her but it helps me to know what she is in need of when I’m in her home.

So take the time now to go add a few simple things to your family schedule. Hopefully this will help you to simplify the process and take back a bit more of your time.

That’s all there is to it! Simple enough right.  Doing the five minute frenzy will really bring your spirits up and having the cleaning schedule establishes a goal for the entire household.

Take back your time by following these simple tasks. I assure you, you will not regret having a cleaner more manageable home and time to enjoy it with those that you love.

Basic Steps of the Five Minute Frenzy:

• Set timer for 5 minutes
• Clean one room for that five minutes getting as much done as you can.
• Repeat this process for every room in your home.
• Enjoy at cleaner home with minimal effort.