The 15-Minute Rule.

Holy crap, people, that 15 minute rule I started about 2 weeks ago? It has lasted, and it is WORKING!

To catch you up, I decided a couple weeks ago that I would start picking things up/organizing every day for 15 minutes, and cleaning every day for 15 minutes. That way I'm only giving up 30 minutes of relaxing after work, and at the same time I don't have to spend hours on the weekends cleaning. I have actually stuck to this with a few exceptions (on belly dancing nights, since I'm only home for an hour or so, I skip the cleaning, for example), and I decided that on Saturdays I would do each for 30 minutes. I've just finished the Saturday workload, and I'm feeling good! The house is clean, things are getting neater each day... it's amazing! There's still a long way to go, because Bryan and I have not been good at organizing since he bought this house at all, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

One of the things that has made this, dare I say, fun for me is using a kitchen timer. It's set for 15 minutes and I clip it onto myself and go at it. I am amazed how much you can actually accomplish in 15 minutes. On my second 15 minute cleaning stint today, I dusted the den, vacuumed the den, vacuumed the living room, vacuumed the dining room, cleaned the toilet and counter in one bathroom and dusted that bathroom's door. Had you asked me before timer how long all that would take, I would have said a good 30 minutes or more.

I know they say that it takes 6 weeks for something to become a habit, so that's my goal now. 6 weeks of a clean-becoming-cleaner house. Of course, if I keep this up, Bryan's NEVER going to buy into the idea of getting a housekeeper...