“Complete the Cycle” to Make Your Home Cleaner
There are many different methods for cleaning and organizing things. You’ll have to try a few before you figure out what works best for you, but they all have some things in common. It’s generally recommended to stick to a cleaning schedule and work in small increments , but what if you try something completely different? But if sticking to a cleaning schedule doesn’t work for you, try “ending the cycle,” which asks you to think of cleaning as part of the process of completing the task that created the mess in the first place.
What completes the cycle?
This concept of cleaning has been around in the housekeeping blogosphere for a few years now and stands in stark contrast to the way we typically think about cleaning. I generally say that you should dedicate a small portion of time each day to cleaning, keeping a consistent schedule. When you do this, you pick up and organize everything that is not appropriate at that time of day. Once you complete the cycle, nothing will be out of place because you will rethink the way you see your daily tasks. Think of everything you do as a cycle, with cleaning up afterward being the final step.
How to start ending the cycle
As an example of how this works, think about your morning commute or the time you spend getting ready for work. Perhaps you brush your teeth and shower, then make breakfast or drink coffee on the way to the office. Getting to the office or sitting down to work may seem like the last step in this cycle, but you can think of cleaning up after your commute as the final step. In some ways, you’re probably already doing this. If you stop by Starbucks on the way to work, you won’t be able to hold your cup when you’re done. You throw it away. Finishing your coffee does not end the coffee cycle, throwing away the cup does. So, the end of your work routine actually comes after you finish work, when you put away your travel bag, put your clothes in the hamper, and rinse out your lunchbox before putting it in the closet.
Using the standard cleaning method, you’ll get it all done in the time you’ve planned into your schedule, but by ending each cycle by cleaning what you were doing, you eliminate unnecessary costs. do it. The dinner cycle ends not when you’ve eaten, but when you clear the plates. The training cycle ends not when you finish lifting, but when you wipe down your equipment and put it back. The game night cycle with your family ends not when someone is declared a winner and the kids fall asleep, but when you put the board away and wash the popcorn bowl.
If setting a specific cleaning time hasn’t worked for you or you just want to try something new, this might be the answer. Cleaning everything in real time as the job is completed prevents messes and eliminates the need for scheduled cleaning altogether. Before you start, make sure you’re already following an organizational method and, ideally, everything you own has a dedicated storage space so you can put everything back in its place right away. Some things, like unloading the dishwasher or putting away laundry, may still require some planning since you can’t do it when you’re done with dishes or clothes, but overall this method will reduce the amount of time you waste. cleaning—and how much time you spend living in the cluttered spaces in between.