# speed cleaning - experiences?



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Anybody else do it? When I was a young mom of 5 kids, ages 7,6,5,2 and newborn, it saved my life! 
http://www.thecleanteam.com/FAQ_f.cfm
http://www.thecleanteam.com/FAQ_f.cfm
http://www.thecleanteam.com/FAQ_f.cfm

OK that posted as the same url 3 times but it is supposed to be 3 different things, the cleaning rules, the clutter rules, and the maintenance rules. 

I quit doing it for a while, but just taught my children how to do it. We can pick up clutter in our house in 17 and a half min a day, and we can clean our house once a week (everything from dusting, to mopping, to sinks, stoves, toilets and floors) in under 2 hours. Once the kids get used to it, it will be more like an hour. But there are also 6 of us working. 

SO... just wondered if anyone else had experience with this, and also, I wanted to pass this on to people who might be where I was a few years ago, in desparate NEED of a way to do cleaning in very little time. 

Oh, I read the book, btw, but I never bought any of their supplies or tools or etc... I just bought something comperable at the local hardware store. You can get something very similar to an S mop at the home depot now.

FWIW,

Cindyc.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Seems like I was way more efficient when my kids were little too. I didn't use the internet, and probably only read one book on organization, but I had it down. Every week the house got cleaned, sheets changed, towels changed, etc. Now it's pretty haphazard, but then again I'm working part time and have a bigger yard and garden and chickens and dogs...! I swear the dogs are the cause of a lot of the dirt...


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I used to clean house on a weekly basis, just about everything had its place, most extra stuff was stored in drawers, closets, bins, etc... We had hundreds of books, so 4 large bookshelves. I could clean house by myself in 3 hours, 2,100 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, but that was due to how I kept up house during the week. Since I got older, kids moved out, and we are now into homesteading, weekly housecleaning went by the wayside. Recently, after we cleaned house together, I have decided to do some re-organizing around here, and start back up the weekly housecleaning. We are self-employed, working from home, have 15 chickens (1 a rooster), 2 outdoor cats, 1 outdoor dog, 3 piglets, soon some ducks, and I also intend to get 2 pygmy goats (for milking). We have 3,000 sq ft in garden area and a 5,000 sq ft Orchard of 22 fruit trees. Since we don't watch tv, seldom watch movies, that frees up our time to get more accomplished. Just looking around my office, I am so pleased it is clean again!

Only thing I'd add about cleaning? Puttingh all your supplies in a 5 gallon bucket, can make something w/pockets for tools around the outside of it. Makes dusting, cleaning bathrooms, and mirrors faster for me. Also, when I dust, clean off areas, tables, nightstands, dressers, etc..., always do that before I vacuum. I prefer to vacuum before I mop, so nothing gets tracked onto the clean floors. I start cleaning with "de-cluttering," putting everything back where it belongs, mags in the recycle, all the books away, etc...

Our current home is 2,000 sq ft, with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, a dining rm, a formal dining rm, a separate attached office w/an enclosed porch.


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## tinytippytoes (Aug 7, 2011)

Hi there my 1st post and this thread caught my eye. Since I live in a tiny studio and I'm a clean freak I should be done in a half hour. You think? I'm going to give it shot.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> Seems like I was way more efficient when my kids were little too.


Me too. 
I've always had this idea it's because they kids were forever getting into thing so I had to keep the house picked up and out of reach!

cindy, your site uses frames, that's why it won't link like you want. But that's OK, I'm sure we can all figure it out. Thanks for sharing!


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Have any of you watched the video on the site? He walks into a completely clean, decluttered kitchen and says he's going to clean it. :huh: He needs to come to my house to see a room that needs cleaning.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Belfrybat said:


> Have any of you watched the video on the site? He walks into a completely clean, decluttered kitchen and says he's going to clean it. :huh: He needs to come to my house to see a room that needs cleaning.


L! Yea, he assumes you keep it picked up. So before the system will work you have to sort of declutter everything and make sure everything has a place. Although he knows he is teaching people who clean for a living too, so he suggests if that doesn't work for you just to put the stuff you generally leave out on the counters just outside the door of the room, and then put it back when you are done. the point is cleaning- washing floors, windows, dusting... not putting things away and decluttering. that's a seperate issue, though he does have some good ideas on how to go about that too. 

We just have pick up times a couple of times a day to make sure it never gets too bad clutter wise. There are enough of us that it only takes 15 min or half an hour if it is really bad to do that (each time). It works for us. =0) That means realistically, if you add it all up, we spend 3 1/3 to 5 hours per week on cleaning. That's pretty good I think. The house is pretty big, and there are 7 of us making messes, plus we eat (and most often cook) in the house 3 times a day since we homeschool. 

It works for us =0)
Cindyc.


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## Merit (Jul 15, 2009)

I've read his books......and use those techniques (and others) every weekday of my life now. As a professional cleaner, it IS all about efficiency of movement. You can deviate off of his plan, but his plan is followed by bazillions of professional house cleaners. If it works for us all, it's worth your trying it too! In this industry, time is money and it all has to be done to perfection. In a timely fashion. I clean my own house the same way. It's too irritating and inefficient not to.


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

Oh a site for mee YIPPY I clean I like to clean, ya probablyt think I am a wacko..ok maybe a little but i found what works cleaning products and fast fixes to do the job.. like a cup of water with about 4 tbl spoons vinegar and zap it til it boils let it sit for a few minutes all crusted food wipes off. Milk left in the baby bottle from a late night up..milk all gunky and smelly ( I found them turning to cheese in the car) a few cubes of ice and a tsp salt..sswishh it around and shake it, dump rinse with a lot of hot water and wash....easy and nothing gross on the bottle brush. magic eraser are great on glass stove tops...seconds to make it look like you scoured for hours, great on shower doors too, and floors. coffee pots with stains? Ice and salt swish it around...cleans it like new, waitressess do it in the restruants...I can go on and on, hey hope it saves ya some time you can have your house sparkeling in no time


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## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

my kids do 5 at 5 (5 hard min of clean at five o clock, if they dont give it 100% they do 8 at 8 als., borax and a little dawn dish soap on hard to wash pan leave sit a couple min and they clean up with ease


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## nancy237 (May 29, 2008)

I live alone now mostly (kids are home some from college).
I dislike cleaning so I have wondered about having a quick task everyday to keep from having to spend hours on any one day.

I go back and forth between a task per day (dusting, glass, vacuum,mop ect)
or doing a room per day.

Its nice to see a clean room but that means dragging out the vacuum & supplies each day.

Anyone have luck doing one of these schedules.


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