This CleanTok Hack Will Make You Clean in Circles
The thing about CleanTok —or any other social media content service—is that the video stream must keep flowing for the creators to get paid. It’s a likes-based economy, which means the people who conceptualize and film all of this have to keep turning even the simplest advice into three-minute videos that don’t really tell you anything other than a very simple idea.
For this reason, I tend to ignore most TikTok cleanup videos, so when there’s a trend or hack that repeats and spreads so much that it becomes harder to ignore, I pay attention. The latest example is an April video by Sindell Kimbrough, a former professional cleaner, in which she explains her method for quickly and efficiently cleaning a messy home.
Her straightforward explanation of how she used it to quickly clean her clients’ spaces includes plenty of helpful tips, and it was written about and shared between this week and next (the original clip has been viewed nearly 7 million times). Here are my favorite takeout dishes.
Be careful when cleaning
The first tip Kimbrough shares is very important: don’t start cleaning too much of an area because you won’t get far. Overall, no matter what cleaning method or technique you use, this is great advice: focusing on one room, or even a specific closet or area within a room, will always yield better results than trying to “declutter the house.”
Ideally, choose an area that requires the most attention; be it the kitchen, children’s room or living room, the dirtiest place should get the highest bills. This is a departure from some other methods, such as the FlyLady method , which requires you to follow a set cleaning schedule every month. Keeping a schedule that dictates which rooms you clean is great, but if you’re not there yet or a particular room is particularly messy, it’s okay to start where you need to.
The best order to clean everything
Once you’ve identified the room you want to start with, Kimbrough says the flow should look like this:
-
Pick up any visible clutter on the floor and clean it up immediately. If there is something unnecessary in the room, put it behind the door.
-
Once everything is cleared from the floor, choose a corner of the room and begin cleaning, moving in a circle. Do the obvious and expensive tasks, such as making the bed, removing clutter from surfaces, and so on. Move around the room literally like clockwork.
-
Once larger items have been tidied up, repeat the circle , starting at the same corner, but this time dust and wipe down surfaces. Wipe down surfaces, walls and baseboards using the same route as before.
-
Complete floor cleaning by vacuuming, sweeping and/or mopping the floors.
When you’re done with a room, take care of the things you put behind the door by moving them to the rooms where they belong. (If you try to do this before you’ve finished the first room, you might get distracted and start cleaning the second room before you’ve finished what you started, which could burn you out and reduce the effectiveness of your routine.) You can decide when you get to this. in the second room, do you have the opportunity to start repeating the process there, or do you need a break.
Why does this viral method work?
This method is time-saving, simple and effective, making it a welcome addition to any cleaning routine bogged down by other methods that cause too much weed clogging. Sometimes a complex approach can be really helpful, but when you just want to tidy up a messy room, following a complex plan can be too difficult. (I say this as someone who loves complicated and intricate plans.)
Kimbrough advocates a circular approach—as opposed to the top-down and zig-zag methods that have proven popular lately—because you’ll see immediate results, and during the cleansing process, moving in a circle is much easier than trying. to map out the ski slope route in your mind.
Keep in mind that this method is best if you have time to devote to the task. Although it should be simple and quick, it does not require a time frame. Generally, cleaning in 15-minute chunks works best for staying motivated and productive, but this is usually only possible if you’ve developed a fairly solid daily routine and your home is only getting a little cluttered. If something is really out of place, the best option may be to move forward without worrying about the clock. This is why choosing small spaces is so important—to avoid burnout, stick to one room at a time, prioritizing clutter.
By following this simple route, you’ll see a big difference in your now tidy room, which may motivate you to continue working on other rooms. Being able to see tangible progress in your cleaning is key to staying motivated, so try the circle method when you really need a boost of motivation.