"I remember watching The Oprah Winfrey Show many moons ago when Oprah revealed that her housekeeper washes her sheets every two days so she can always enjoy crisp, clean bedding. To me, that’s a luxury that is way more exciting than any designer handbag or fancy car. Having a clean home helps keep me calm and focused, but I won’t go as far as saying I enjoy cleaning. I get no cathartic release from spending hours on a Sunday doing a deep clean. I also don’t want to only enjoy my home for a day or two a week, but I doubt a daily housekeeper will ever be in my budget like Oprah’s.
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Recently, my life got even messier. I had a baby six months ago and was determined not to let my home fall into disarray during the week like during other busy periods of my life. I thought long and hard about how I could keep my home clean day-to-day so my husband and I could enjoy family time on the weekend without a pile of chores. Sure, we still do some deep-cleaning projects over the weekend, but by applying some trusty productivity hacks I use to be productive at work, I’m able to stay on top of the mess during the week.
These are my tried and true productivity hacks (many of which I’ve shared with The Everygirl readers over the years in the context of workday productivity) that work as well in my home as they do in my business.
1. The “Touch It Once” Principle
As a self-employed person, I use this productivity hack all the time in my work. The way it works is when you approach a task, you simply touch it once and get it done right away. This can mean answering an email as soon as you open it instead of marking it as unread and spending extra time circling back to it later. However, I find it works in my home, too, especially when it comes to clutter. For example, when I collect the mail, instead of leaving it on the kitchen counter, I sort it immediately and deal with as much of it in the moment as I can. If I receive a bill, I pop over to the computer and pay it then and there instead of leaving it on my desk. If I get a package, I open it, break down the box, and put it in the recycling right away.
This tip helps me avoid the procrastination that is so easy to do with boring chores and helps keep my home clutter-free, which makes it so much easier to quickly wipe down counters or freshen up my space. I also find my mind is less cluttered when it’s not full of half-completed tasks I need to return to.
2. Time Blocking
I am a huge proponent of time blocking when it comes to managing my workload, and I find this productivity method helps me stay on top of all my household chores as well. When I plan to tackle cleaning projects, I like to carve out specific time blocks in my schedule to clean. This can be for 30 minutes before work while my husband takes care of the baby or during nap time. It’s so motivating to see how much cleaning you can get done in a specific period of time, and it feels less overwhelming when you only have to commit to that time block.
3. The Two-Minute Rule
The two-minute rule lives rent-free in my head at all times and makes a surprisingly big impact on my household management. It’s pretty simple: If you see a mess that can be cleaned up in two minutes, you do it no matter what. For instance, I no longer leave clothes on the floor or draped over a chair after trying them on. I always put clothes away immediately since it takes less than two minutes to do so. The same goes for putting away makeup and hair tools after getting ready. I always used to come home to a huge mess after getting ready for a meeting or a night out with friends. By sticking to the two-minute rule, I can avoid messes piling up in the first place and don’t spend nearly as much time cleaning up after myself.
4. Modified Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves breaking work into 25-minute focused intervals, called “Pomodoros,” followed by short breaks to improve productivity and focus. With household chores, my husband and I follow a modified version of this that we call “power hour.” When it’s time to do some serious cleaning, we choose an amount of time to tackle cleaning together (it doesn’t necessarily need to be for an hour). This helps us avoid feeling like one person takes on more chores than the other and makes cleaning up surprisingly efficient since we accomplish twice as much at once with teamwork. Having that time crunch and knowing a break coming is also very motivating.
5. Creating Systems
There’s no cute name for this productivity hack, but it’s one I rely on regardless in all areas of my life. As my business grew, I found the only way to keep it manageable was by creating systems that helped me stay on top of everything in a really consistent way. Once my non-work time also became limited thanks to the arrival of our bundle of joy, I knew I needed some new systems in place to keep up with household tasks.
My morning routine was the first place I implemented a new system. Every day, my first order of business is making a cup of tea. Pre-baby, I would plop down on the couch and start scrolling while I waited for the water to boil, then repeat the process while the tea brewed. Now, I know I have a solid 10 minutes each day that I can’t afford to waste. Since I’m already in the kitchen, which is right next to our laundry room, I quickly start a load of laundry. By doing a single load every day (a must with a messy baby), I’m able to easily stay on top of all our laundry since the loads aren’t too large. I never have a giant pile waiting for me to fold after work, which is a major win and helps me avoid procrastinating the most annoying part of the laundry process.
And thanks to this system, my husband knows to collect any errant pieces of laundry in the morning and toss them into the machine. Having clear cleaning systems is so helpful when you live with someone else and need to share the cleaning burden.
Jacqueline DeMarco, Contributing Writer
Jacqueline DeMarco is a freelance writer based in Southern California who graduated from the University of California Irvine with a degree in Literary Journalism. She has written on a wide range of topics including finance, travel, and wellness for publications such as Coveteur, Girlboss, and Apartment Therapy. When not whipping up articles, she works with consumer brands like Gorjana, Voluspa, Underclub, The Well, and St. John to help tell their brand stories.