Properly clean up clockwise!

I admit it: that's not the most exciting blog post, but those things also have to be done. How can we save the world if our booth looks like hell? I need time to work, but have to get my apartment done, particularly because I work at home. I can not concentrate with all this stuff lying around.


Stephen King told us in his book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" that he likes to write sitting with his face to the wall. But even if I heed this advice, I can not let go of this nagging feeling that I still have to do something and when the children come home, I can not hold a relaxed family afternoon when we sit in the dirt...

Usually my morning started like this: after the children fled the house, the shack looked like hell and I did not know where to start. I always used run arount like crazy back and forth through the apartment, lift up something here, put away something there.

Now I do it differently: I clean with a system. This saves me time running around and above all it saves me nerves: I got inspired by this video of Melissa and I've just tried it out.

Here's how: You you 're looking for a corner of the room from where you start. Arm yourself with a damp cloth and a box or a garbage bag. Now you go from the room clockwise, taking everything that does not belong in this part of the room. Throw it in the box that you have with you, you clear up everything and then wipe clean the surfaces with the damp cloth.

We have an open kitchen and a large living room. I often use the dining table as a clipboard for all the things that are not in their proper place. After I went through the room with the new system, I sort the collected items and bring them to their rightful place. Therefore, it is very important that every object in the apartment has a fixed set of storage.

That's it. It really works: within a flash everything looks neat. Just vacuum clean. Done: -) Maybe it only saves me five minutes compared to the chaotic cleanup system I used before, but considered psychologically, I find it much better now because I practically see the results immediately. Corner after corner the room turns spotless...


Photo credit: Robert Scarth via photopin cc