There are very few people in this world who enjoy cleaning their homes, even though it’s a well-known fact that a clean home is good for both mental and physical health. More often than not, cleaning is an arduous process, especially when you haven’t done anything to cut out the clutter in a long while. So, is there any way to make cleaning a more efficient process?
In her 2017 book, Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess, author Rachel Hoffman shared her unique take on cleaning with the world. She talked at length about a cleaning method that she called the 20/10, which involves cleaning a particular area for 20 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break. In this post, we’ll take you through all the reasons why you should consider adopting the 20/10 cleaning method, along with some tips to help you do it well.
Why consider the 20/10 cleaning method?
• You won’t be overwhelmed: If you don’t give much attention to cleaning your home regularly, sooner or later, you’re bound to experience problems. All your rooms, along with the furniture in them, may be covered in dust and your appliances are likely to be at risk as well. Living in a dirty and dusty indoor environment isn’t really a good thing, especially if you and/or anyone else in your family have allergies.
In such a situation, you’re likely to engage in what is known as ‘marathon cleaning’, i.e., cleaning continuously for hours. This is sure to overwhelm you after some point and when you reach that breaking point, in all probability, you’ll give up. However, the 20/10 method ensures that you don’t stress yourself out, as there will be a 10-minute break for your mind and body to recover from the monotony of cleaning.
• You’ll get more done: 20 minutes may seem like too little time to make any noticeable difference as far as cleaning is concerned. However, in reality, it’s a lot of time and you’ll be surprised by how much you can get done within that period. Of course, you’ll have to commit yourself entirely to cleaning during that 20-minute period. But if you do, you’re guaranteed results.
The 10-minute break will also give you the time needed to take your mind off cleaning. Once you start cleaning again, you can do it with the same energy that you had during the first 20 minutes. This just isn’t possible when you’re cleaning everything in one go, which is sure to make you progressively more fatigued.
• You get time to balance cleaning with other activities: If you’ve got more responsibilities than merely cleaning on your shoulders, you simply can’t afford to just spend all your time cleaning. This is where the 20/10 method comes in and really manages to make a striking difference.
The 10 minutes that you have following the first 20 minutes can be used to make some progress in some other work that you may have pending. Even if you don’t have any serious work to do, you can simply switch on the TV and take a look at the latest news before returning to cleaning.
Tips to make the 20/10 method work
For the 20/10 method to truly work out, you’ve got to practice a few things whenever you’re cleaning. In this section, we’ve compiled a list of some handy tips that you should keep in mind to make the most out of the method.
• Use a timer: The 20/10 method is a timed method and if you aren’t using a timer, it’s very likely to fail. You’ll either devote more than 20 minutes towards cleaning or take a break that’s longer than 10 minutes. Either way, you’ll be breaking the flow of the method, which is why you must use a timer.
• Do away with distractions: If you’re someone who frequently turns to the smartphone to check the latest social media notifications, keep it away during the 20 minutes of cleaning. The point is to eliminate all potential distractions so that you can focus solely on cleaning for those 20 minutes.
• Practice the method regularly: The most important thing to do to make the 20/10 method work is to do it regularly. Don’t expect to see much in terms of results if you do it only once or twice a week. Develop consistency and the results will start to show sooner or later.
• Focus on cleaning one area at a time: If you only have 20 minutes to spare every day for cleaning, you may not be able to clean an entire room thoroughly. In such a scenario, you should focus on one area, no matter how small it is, and get it cleaned before moving on to another area.So, now that you know what the 20/10 cleaning method is all about, we hope you adopt it and do it consistently for a cleaner and healthier home.