This photo is not staged.
Do you ever feel like your house can spiral out of control faster than you can pick it back up again? You look away for a moment and everything is suddenly a disaster? Yeah. Me too.
But many years ago we stumbled upon a trick that works like a charm to get the house cleaned up in just five minutes. Not spotless, not perfect, not free of clutter, not ready for a white glove test or a magazine photo shoot. But it does look cleaner and tidier in just five minutes. And sometimes, that is all I hope for. A cleaner looking house in five minutes. Before I have a breakdown.
When our kids were younger, we had to come up with a very simple system to get our house in order in a hurry. We were overwhelmed by cleaning days, we failed on chore charts, and it was a constant battle to keep the house tidy. While we weren’t aiming for perfection, we did want the house to feel like there was some sense of reasonable and attainable order and cleanliness.
When all of our attempts failed, my husband came up with one simple cleaning rule, our “plan of attack” — nothing could be left on the floor that didn’t belong there. Every night, he gave the “floor check” warning and everyone scurried around for five minutes picking things up off the floor.
Clean floors = cleaner house
I had NO IDEA what a difference that would make in how our house felt.
You assume that cleaning off the tables will make a difference, but if your floor is still covered in clothes, toys, backpacks, paper and junk, it didn’t really matter if our other surfaces were clear. The messy floor cluttered with stuff made the whole room look and feel out of control.
And the side benefit of this simple system? Once the floor was picked up, the idea of cleaning the rest of the room was no longer as overwhelming.
For us, the floor was the easiest and most manageable place to start.
It didn’t even matter if our girls piled everything up on a desk or chair. If that bothered us, then we could take another few minutes to do a “cleaning frenzy” and put everything away that was on the chair. Breaking the room up into those smaller zones, with the floor being the priority, is what worked for us!
Even today, if I’m ever overwhelmed by the mess, it helps me to start by picking stuff up off the floors. It really helps to have a place to start!
Do you keep your floor free of clutter?
related post: How I Keep My Home Clean Enough
Twitter: se7en_hoods
says:
I don’t want to state the obvious but their appears to be a large giraffe tripping down the stairs in your home… the very funny things that happen to parents I guess!!!
LOL! You are so right!
First, that picture makes me feel better. To know that I’m not the only one that battles that sort of thing is oddly comforting
We did a floor pickup today even before I read this post and it really does make a difference. Some things are still overwhelming but the floor being more or less clear of debris does seem to have a major, positive, impact on our attitudes toward all sorts of things, including each other.
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Loved the giraffe on its head. We have a horse that we find in that position quite regularly – about the same size too. Loved the photo.
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My dad used to say to us kids growing up that even if your room is a bit messy, having a clean floor would make a big difference(he was the vacuum-er in our family). He also said that the kitchen would look cleaner (and of course be cleaner, but we’re talking appearance here) if the counters were wiped clean of crumbs even if the counters are a little cluttered.
I know lots of people who insist on making the bed each morning – but my mom insisted on a clean bedroom floor. She was fine if we kids just threw the bedcover over the rumpled sheets instead of actually making the bed – but she wanted those floors clean.
I think it was a “pick your battles” thing.
that is a great tip! I’ll be linking!
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You are so right on! When my children were young that was one of our “house rules”. I also read a book once, 401 Ways To Get You Kids To Work At Home, that had lots of good tips to get kids to do chores. The kids didn’t always know what was happening, like the time the “House Fairy” visited their rooms. The gist is the house fairy pay a visit and if their room is messy she leaves a note (I made mine a little poem) on the bed saying she came by and the room needed a little pick me up and that she would be back. If the room was clean she would leave a little surprise, somes times a snack size candy bar or crayons and one time a sticker book. You get the idea. I have to say that they always wanted to be neat to see what the surprise would be. Another tip was wind them up like a little robot and set the stove timer and do as much as they can until the timer goes off. They loved it. My kids are 26 and 28 but we still talk about those times. It was a long time before they figured out that I was the “House Fairy”. The thing is it was fun but we still created some good cleaning habits.
I LOVE this! what a great idea:) and i love that is has become a special memory for you and your children to share. Im thinking my “please go clean your room!” will NOT!!!
GREAT idea…I am most definitely going to “borrow” this from you!!
I do keep them clutter free! For this exact reason! Although with two little boys and a dog (and a husband)it isn’t easy.
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Twitter: ArtbyKarena
says:
Melissa, Perfect advice as I look around at my floors, especially the office/den and my bedroom! Wow!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
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I so agree with you on the floors. I’m obsessed with vacuuming or sweeping at least every other day!
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I’ve read that if you clean the largest open space in the room (which may be the floors in many rooms), that this makes the whole room look cleaner. For example, the beds are typically the largest horizontal space in bedrooms, so making the bed makes the whole room look cleaner.
Do you think this is true?
I totally agree with keeping clean floors and the difference it makes.. This is my one biggie rule in the main rooms of the house. When my kids were growing up, I dont care what their bedroom floor looked like.. it was theirs as long as it didnt find its way coming out the door or smelling bad.. but the rest of the house was MINE and it was going to stay straight & tidy.. period! And it did.
I also used to threaten them after they were older teens that someday I was gonna come to their house someday and do to them what they did in my house if they were being slobbish. LOL That scared em cuz I think they believe me.
This is great! Many years ago I devised a similar plan, Vacuum, this created the same effect. Once I got the vacuum out I had to pick the floor as I went or have one of my kids do it. Great idea!
Love this practical easy advice!
So helpful. I’m a new wife and I always feel like I’m not getting things as perfectly as I want. Thanks for breaking it down.
I just found your blog and really like this idea! It definitely is something that works at my house. I’ve been calling it the “ten minute tidy-up” but the gist is that I don’t want to sit down after the kids are in bed and see a bunch of toys all over the floor (I also cannot stand to have extra stuff all over the counters/flat surfaces).
This is refreshing totally looks like my house after the Christmas rush. I now have tons of toys and just stuff all over the floors. I really have to say laundry baskets or just boxes I keep for just getting the stuff off the floors and picking up.
I love love love this advice!! I have found that having baskets (at the bottom of the stairs for toys that need to go back to rooms, under the end table for books/magazines, next to the front door for hats/mittens/shoes) helps with places to put all the items scooped up during those floor sweeps. your tips are always so practical and make those tasks that seem unmanageable so much for Doable!! Thank you!
ooops should say so much MORE doable!!!
and love the giraffe too!
Twitter: wicklesswow
says:
I LOVE this idea. I usually go around at night after everyone else is in bed and tidy up a bit, I can’t stand waking up to a messy house. I think I will try this idea so that everyone can get involved and I’ll have more time at night to unwind. Thanks!
Twitter: joannajg
says:
This is so very smart! I’ve never thought of the floors as a starting place. I don’t have a clutter problem being a neat freak without kids but this would be really good for some of my friends & clients. I will be sharing this post on my facebook wall!
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Love this idea and will definitely implement it immediately. I have some anxiety issues and easily get overwhelmed. It’s not easy for me to figure out a starting place when there is so much to do. Having everyone “help” by doing a 5 minute floor tidy will help tremendously. Thanks for the tip!!
thinking about it – this is the first thing to start with as well – hoover and mop, whatever the mess above! alike thinking feels good! thanks Melissa!