TikTok’s 5×5 Cleaning Method Is Great If You’re Short on Time
Cleaning is a task that’s best done in short bursts , but even if you stick to a schedule and only work for a short period of time, you still need some structure to determine what to focus on. Enter the 5×5 method, which has been gaining traction on social media lately. It offers a way to structure your cleaning sessions while keeping them quick, reducing the likelihood that you’ll end up overwhelmed or burnt out.
What is the 5×5 cleaning method?
Think of it as the Pomodoro productivity method : You’ll need a timer, which you set in five-minute increments, and a list of five areas in your home that need attention. You’ll work on each zone for five minutes before moving on to the next. As with the Pomodoro technique, you should not continue moving in a certain area after the timer has gone off.
This approach is gaining popularity online, where CleanTokk members praise it for simplifying cleaning routines and helping them achieve small results that add up over time.
What to Consider When Using the 5×5 Cleaning Method
I’m a well-established proponent of cleaning for 15 minutes to reduce stress and feelings of overwhelm, so the 5×5 approach with 25-minute cleaning is a little outside the scope of what I typically recommend. However, since the chunks of time allocated to each zone are so small, it doesn’t end up feeling that tedious at all.
When you set out to do this, you have two options: you can choose five standard zones to be treated every day, or dedicate each day to five unique zones that most seriously need attention. The goal here is to select small, workable spaces rather than entire rooms, which sets this method apart from other zone-based cleaning approaches such as the FlyLady method . For example, instead of trying to devote five minutes to the “bathroom,” break the bathroom into five smaller areas: medicine cabinet, bathtub, toilet, etc.
Experiment with this approach for a few weeks to see what works for you. For me personally, this routine usually includes quite different zones. Spending 25 minutes straight in the bathroom would demotivate me, but if I spent five minutes at the kitchen sink, then the shower, then the dinner table, I would be busy and in the spotlight.
It is also important not to exceed the allotted time to the best of your ability. No, you shouldn’t drop your vacuum cleaner in the middle of the room unless you’ve covered the entire floor when the timer goes off, but ideally, after doing it for a while, you’ll get the hang of what you can and can’t do in five minutes, so you don’t end up in such a situation. If you stick to a five-minute window, you’ll be able to focus, work harder, and be more determined knowing that your alarm is about to go off.
Of course, there are larger tasks that can’t be accomplished in five-minute breaks, so 5×5 may not be right for you as a daily approach. When creating your weekly cleaning schedule, consider setting aside three or four 5×5 days and setting aside one or two days for larger projects.
Overall, you need to develop the habit of always keeping your space tidy and not allowing clutter to accumulate until it becomes overwhelming. Five minutes may not seem like a lot of time (because it isn’t!), but committing to it every day will ultimately result in a much cleaner home.