15 minutes is a looong time

Have you ever noticed how time is one of those "relative" things?  Five minutes spent doing your favorite activity seems to go by so quickly, but 5 minutes spent waiting for test results or the phone to ring seems like an eternity.  Ten minutes of snuggle time with your spouse or kids cannot last long enough, but 10 minutes being stuck in traffic seems to take hours.  Well, then what does 15 minutes of doing something you really don't like to do feel like?

A very looong time.  But what I've also realized in the last week is that it's also longer than you think.  Now when you read that back, I know it won't make sense but hopefully, I can help with that.  One goal that I haven't mentioned on here is that I plan on spending just 15 minutes each day in a room to tidy it up.  That 15 minutes will be uninterrupted and dedicated to just that room.  So if it's the kitchen, I will only stay in the kitchen and do only kitchen things like unloading the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, washing the table, cleaning the counter off, etc.  When you say "I'm only going to spend 15 minutes" it doesn't sound like very long.  But then when you spend that dedicated time limit, it seems like forever until the timer goes off and you get so much more accomplished than what you originally thought.  So does that help explain how it's both longer than you think and yet still forever?

I used to scoff at people who did this.  I have 3 children, I take care of other peoples' kids, I don't have 15 minutes to spend in one time chunk.  But you know what?  I do.  If I'm working on the kitchen, I set the kids at the table for snack or with coloring books.  If I'm doing another room, I wait until nap-time.  I make myself spend that 15 minutes, but then I do what I want during the rest of the nap--check FaceBook, blogs, e-mail, read my book.  It's a compromise.  And I hate to admit it (because it was originally my husband's idea) but it does work. 

So if you're looking for a way to find time to clean but not take forever, try this plan.  Fifteen minutes isn't a long time when you do it after the kids are in bed, or while they do their homework.  But that 15 minutes will do wonders around your house to help keep it looking presentable and neat between the big, deep cleanings.  Good luck!

*FYI My schedule is Monday: kitchen, Tuesday: family room, Wednesday: bathrooms, Thursday: kitchen, Friday: living room, Saturday or Sunday: kitchen.  I do a load of dishes every day and still do some daily tidying, but this is really helping me to keep things neater around the house.