True confession of Kim Anderson, I hate cleaning. Don’t get me wrong, I like to have a tidy home but cleaning is one of those things that I have to do so I do it. So I thought it would be highly beneficial for me to crate post about spring cleaning shortcuts for people who hate cleaning.
Did you ever watch that old show on TLC, Jon and Kate Plus 8? You know, before things fell apart? I distinctly remember watching early on when the babies were still babies, how Kate used to basically get on her hands and knees and disinfect the whole kitchen after meals.
Now given that it’s reality TV I realize that could have been just for show but I’m gonna guess it actually wasn’t. What it showed me (in my pre-baby days) was that there were women in the world who are seriously OCD about cleaning. White glove kind of cleaning.
And I wondered if that would be me one day…
Fast forward and now I have a 5-year-old boy and twin baby girls. I can honestly say that’s not me and it never will be me.
This is my reality-
- My brain is so easily distracted that most of the time I have to wash my clothes twice because I forget that I started a load and the clothes soured from sitting in the machine overnight.
- I’m taking something out of the fridge like a pitcher of tea and some plops on the floor while I’m walking, and my kid will instantly bust into the kitchen to ask me a question, so I deal with that and then I finish making whatever I was cooking and I’ll literally forget about the little spill.
- I can make a big family meal, serve everyone dinner and completely forget there is a sink full of dishes to tackle as I go work on something else less important but something that at the time I’m far more interesting to me!
My brain is just not wired the same way those women’s brains are. If I could change it I would but I can’t so I just work with my strengths rather than fighting to change weaknesses that just can’t be tweaked. No more feeling bad about how we manage life ladies. It’s time to do what we do best- find cleaning shortcuts and loopholes.
If you are like me I hope you find these Shortcut Spring Cleaning techniques helpful in your goals to clean areas of your house that you probably, like me, forget exist. That’s what spring cleaning is REALLY about. Cleaning the spaces around our house at least once a year that we can’t or don’t make a priority on a daily, weekly or monthly basis!
The Shortcut Spring Cleaning Plan:
- Print out my Shortcut Spring Cleaning Check List.
- Pick 5- Go through the list and pick out 5 items that appeal to you most when you read them.
- If none appeal to you, then pick the ones that you think would make the most impact in the overall clean “feeling” of your home (even if it’s just for a few weeks).
- Pick What’s Most Interesting- If you’re brain is wired like mine, choosing to do activities that appeal to you mean that you are more likely to follow through and finish them. If they seem appealing when you think about them, it means it’s something you are interested in and will find more rewarding than any other task.
- One at a Time or Marathon- Tackle one of the specific tasks you chose each day this week when you have time or marathon all 5 items over the weekend.
- Get your kids to help. If you kids are capable helping- put them to work too and then take everyone out for ice cream or burgers later.
- Feel good that you did a few solid tasks to make your home look and feel cleaner!
When you are done with those 5 tasks you can always take on more if you want. If not, just feel really great about what you did get done!
Life is hectic. Life gets crazy sometimes. With small wins like these we can feel more confident in our home and more successful in our Spring Cleaning Quest. Now you can tell your friends, “Yep did some spring cleaning this week!” but no body has to know it wasn’t a floor to ceiling clean.
It was just the right clean for you and nobody else! Embrace your cleaning style and enjoy more of the good things in life that matter most rather than beating yourself up for not being a cleaning machine! If you find this style of cleaning right up your ally, I’d love for you to join my weekly email list and I’ll send you my free Conquer Your To-Do List Mini-Course.
Kim’s is the party planning, cupcake loving, celebration catalyst behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. Kim was a pro event planner for over 7 years before she became a full-time blogger. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day and more! Kim aims to inspire you to create parties, celebrations and gatherings that everyone loves!