My Twenty Minute Trick

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twenty minute trick

My Twenty Minute Trick

I HATE cleaning.  No, I LOATHE it.  Which is worse hate or loathe?  Whichever one it is that’s how I feel about cleaning.  I love the outcome of cleaning.  I do like a clean house.  But, the act of cleaning makes me was to throw a four-year-old tantrum.  And if you have a four-year-old then you KNOW I’m serious.

After having my first son I found that it was nearly impossible to actually clean.  I felt like the entire house was a disaster and I didn’t even know where to begin.  So, I wouldn’t do anything.  I would get so overwhelmed that I didn’t try.

If I couldn’t clean it all NOTHING would get cleaned!

This attitude didn’t really bode well for a house with a baby.  Then, add two more kids and well, things got pretty real.  That’s when I saw an episode of Sex and the City where Miranda talks about limits.  She needed time limits to know how much longer she needed to cuddle before she could go about her day.  I wasn’t too concerned with cuddling, but the time limit thing seemed like a great idea!

While my kids aren’t the best sleepers in the world, there is usually a little bit of almost every day that I have some downtime.  Now, in the past I would have sat on the couch, scrolling through my phone and possibly watching some Fixer Upper. {Which I still LOVE to do}  However, I found that if I gave myself a limit, say 20 minutes, to be productive; sitting on the couch got a whole lot sweeter.

I set the timer, put twenty minutes on the clock, and began to get my task done.  {which is exactly what I have to do for my four-year-old so apparently I AM just like him} I cleaned the bathroom, but for only twenty minutes.  I wrote thank you cards, but for only twenty minutes.  And on and on, you get the picture.

Slowly, but surely I found that I was able to get a lot more accomplished if I did them in little twenty minute increments.

I’m definitely not able to do this every single day, but when I start to feel like the walls are closing in I remember to not tackle the whole house – only twenty minutes worth and it definitely seems possible.

What are some of your tips and tricks for being productive while managing a brood of vipers I mean children?

twenty minute trick