Use the Elimination Method to Make Cleaning More Efficient
Cleaning the house is one of those never-ending tasks that can feel overwhelming, so I recommend creating a schedule (and sticking to it). No matter what, you’ll have to clean up after yourself when you eat, wash dirty laundry, deal with the ever-accumulating dust, and declutter things you no longer need. Yes, many of these tasks are repetitive and unavoidable, but you don’t have to do all the cleaning. It’s easy to get so caught up in a routine that you stop thinking critically and just give in to repetition. I suggest spending some time eliminating or adjusting the things that are causing you to work too hard. Let me explain.
When you clean, think about “eliminating”
This idea came to me while I was browsing Reddit. A few months ago, in a thread about finding motivation to clean, one user suggested , “Eliminate workspaces wherever you can.” The examples they gave expanded on this idea: If you find debris accumulating on your surfaces, consider that your trash can is not accessible enough. If laundry is piling up around the house, the problem may be inaccessible hampers.
When you get into the habit of always picking up trash or laundry, you eventually stop even thinking about why it’s there. The trash is on the counter because there is always trash on the counter and you pick it up because sooner or later you will always have to pick it up. After all, humans are creatures of habit. But doing extra work for no reason just doesn’t make sense, so it’s okay to make some changes.
Eliminate unnecessary cleaning tasks
This will look different for everyone, but essentially you need to identify what is creating this clutter and then implement a system to address the root cause. For me, there’s a ton of unnecessary clutter around, but two jump out at me that I can easily point out without thinking too hard: There always seems to be a pile of junk mail on my kitchen table, and there’s always a stack of claw clips next to my bed. Every few days I throw the mail in the trash, go up the stairs to the attic, collect the paper clips and bring them back to the bathroom where they belong.
To solve these problems there are a few things I could do. Of course, throwing away a bunch of mail is not such a big problem, but it would be better if this problem did not exist at all. So, I might (and by that I mean should and will ) go through the stack next time, pulling out anything that can be discarded. I don’t need a paper bank statement – that information is available on my phone. I don’t need catalogs; who the hell needs catalogs? It will take me 15 minutes tops to unfollow them and finally clear my kitchen table.
Not so with claw clips. I usually pin my hair up at night when I treat my skin and then let it down when I go to bed and put on my sleeping cap. I could put a small basket at the bottom of the attic stairs and try to remember to undo the hair before going up, but that still creates a pile that I have to clean up (although it does save the hassle of going up and down to get the hair). clips). This is where I need to develop a new habit: letting my hair down after I’ve finished my skin care routine and never taking my hair clips out of the bathroom at all. Solution? I also start storing the cap in the bathroom so that I can put it on as soon as I finish moisturizing.
As I said, there are more such cases, but they are difficult to remember right away. This is why an important part of the elimination strategy is long-term thinking and identification. Over the course of a month or so, while maintaining your existing cleaning routine, be proactive about what you clean. For the most part, these will be unavoidable, repetitive tasks, but by paying attention, you can begin to identify patterns. Then you can start finding solutions.
Some of them are easy. If clutter accumulates on your flat surfaces, invest in some decorative trays . If you have a pile of shoes by your door, invest in a better quality shoe rack. Others will be more subtle and involve creating new habits. If you find that you have to throw out a bunch of old food every few weeks, you may need to cut back on food portions or try new recipes that will still tempt you with leftovers. It will take some time to determine which cleaning tasks require modification and elimination and which are unavoidable, but going through this process methodically will save you a lot of time in the long run.