Ten Minute Family Clean-Ups

I don't know about you, but in our house we have the best of intentions when it comes to picking up and cleaning. I've never been able to pinpoint the exact time, but somewhere along the way, our good intentions get sidetracked, which quickly spirals to laziness, blame and complete and utter lack of motivation.

We live in a bi-level home that doesn't have much storage. To be exact, we have roughly one square inch of storage, give or take. That said, our kids' rooms can quickly get overrun and all encompassing, making them seem like daunting tasks to tackle.

In a midst of genius and desperation, I came up with a stroke of genius - the 10 minute family clean-up. Let me say that when I announced this concept I was sure it would immediately crash and burn. Much to my surprise and joy, the kids were excited and even motivated! The only way this works is because all four of us were doing our 10 minute clean-up at the exact same time. No one can say "boo" if we're all working together at the same time. We make it enjoyable by playing upbeat music - sometimes we take requests prior to the start of the 10 minutes.

Now I know 10 minutes is not much time. But, when four people are all working at the same time, 40 minutes worth of work is accomplished each night in 10 minute increments giving us 70 minutes each week per person. In that short amount of time, we get close to 5 hours worth of cleaning done between the four of us. What does that equate to? One weekend worth of cleaning by your average mom. Since we are accomplishing this task in 10 minutes each day, we are able to fully enjoy the weekend instead of spending it dusting, cleaning and arguing about chores.

Admittedly, some times we go over our time. This is strictly by choice. When the timer goes off, we are done. And yes, to make it fair we use a timer. Since we have started our 10 minute clean-ups we have noticed an increase in family time, more relaxed weekends and a tidier home. What's not to love, right?

If this works for you, please let me know! Did you have any tweaks to make it a success for your family. Please share your experiences! I always love to hear what works for you and your family!

I came up with a stroke of genius - the 10 minute family clean-up. Let me say that when I announced this concept I was sure it would immediately crash and burn. Much to my surprise and joy, the kids were excited and even motivated...

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