What Is The 10-20 Method Of House Organization And How To Apply It?

If you are one of those people who don’t like to clean or leave house cleaning for the weekend, then this article is for you. Let’s tell you what the 20/10 method of home organization is, how it works, and why it is such a success around the world.

Rachel Hoffman created this cleaning system for everyone who wants their home to look tidy and clean. It encompasses students, singles, couples and families, as we all deserve a clean place to live without exhausting ourselves in the attempt.

In this sense, it differs from other more traditional disciplines that include only typical families in which the woman is responsible for maintaining order. Hoffman says these outdated, perfectionistic methods aren’t suitable for people with disabilities, physical or mental illness, or people who work outside the home all day.

There are many people who cannot organize cleaning due to different circumstances, and this method is useful as they can apply it without inconvenience.

What is the 20/10 method?

Hoffman’s proposal is simple: abandon the endless days of cleaning and exchange them for short periods of work alternating with breaks. Your indication is to clean for 20 minutes and rest for 10.

For this, we have to use a stopwatch, to make sure we strictly comply with the minutes set aside for work and rest.

During the well-deserved 10 minutes of “recess” we can read emails, surf social networks, have tea or walk the dog. Time belongs to us and we have to make the most of it in any way we want. When the alarm goes off, get back to work.

Rachel, the creator of this system, invites us to keep an eye on the little things and not the general clutter we have at home. For example, instead of focusing on the mess in the kitchen, we’ll wash the dirty dishes.

If we take one thing at a time instead of thinking about the big picture, the results will be more rewarding.

How can we apply the 20/10 method in household cleaning?

Hoffman published a book called “Unf*ck your habitat: you’re better than your mess” (there is no official Portuguese translation but it would go something like this: “Take all the crap out of your house, you’re better than your mess ”). In the book, the author gives us some tips that we will review below.

1. Take a picture of before and after

When you are done, you will be able to clearly see that your effort was worth it and it will motivate you to continue with this cleaning system. Plus, you’ll see which parts of your house are the most troublesome and you forgot to fix something.

2. Make the bed daily

It will take less than a minute and the benefits are many. The overall image of your room will change completely just with the bed made. It’s much more comforting to go back to sleep in a tidy house than in one that isn’t.

3. Open windows

Ventilate your home to purify the air, eliminate odors and bacteria. Do this especially in winter, when we are used to keeping the house closed due to low temperatures.

4. Wash the dishes

When we finish eating, it is normal that laziness invades us and we want to leave the washing up for later or for the next day. Wrong!

No matter how much you do anything else, the thought that you will have to do it at some point will haunt you. Also, dirt from the dishes will be more difficult to remove and the kitchen will smell bad.

5. Clean the refrigerator

Start by throwing away anything that is bad, out of date, and that smells bad. Look at all containers, even those hidden at the bottom, that seem forgotten.

Then clean the shelves and compartments thoroughly. Finally, put things back in place by leaving those you use the most in easy-to-access places.

6. Start with the biggest rooms

If you start with the smaller rooms, you run the risk of getting tired quickly and not end up with the larger spaces you use the most. On the other hand, if you finish with the biggest one first, you ‘ll be excited knowing that the others will be easier to clean and sort.

7. Start from top to bottom

This rule applies to everything from tall cabinets with shelves to homes with more than one floor. Cleaning always starts in the highest compartments for furniture and on the upper floors for homes.

8. Pick up everything that is lying on the ground

We shouldn’t leave anything on the floor except rugs or decorations like vases. When starting the cleaning, keep everything that is “thrown” in their respective places and not leaning anywhere.

9. Complete the laundry cycle

Hoffman emphasizes a very common mistake that many of us make. We wash the clothes, lay them out to dry, and when we take them off the clothesline, we leave them in the basket instead of putting them away.

In this way, the circuit is unfinished and the clothes are piling up until they form a pile that seems impossible to organize. Remember to wash, dry, take off the clothesline and store.

10. Clean the floor

Finally, we can clean the floor with a damp cloth or a vacuum. Ready! Your house is just the way you wanted it and you still have energy to enjoy the day.

What are the benefits of the 20/10 method?

There are other methods of tidying up the house, such as the so-called marathon cleaning . It consists of starting and not stopping until everything is in order. This can take an entire day.

The worst thing is that this is usually done on weekends, because from Monday to Friday we have other obligations. That’s how we spend our rest days cleaning and start the week exhausted.

The tiredness that remains after a cleansing marathon creates a negative feeling about the task. As much as we think about keeping order going forward, as the days go by, history repeats itself.

Among the advantages of the 10-20 method we can mention the following:

• We can keep the house clean by doing a little every day instead of letting the mess and dirt build up.
• As an all-inclusive cleansing system, it is suitable for people who suffer from physical pain or disability.

• We will create a good cleaning habit if we do a little bit every day. Remember, we need 21 days to build a habit that we can maintain on a daily basis.

Why should you try to apply the 20/10 method?

The proposal to clean according to time intervals is very tempting and we think it is worth trying. As you may have seen, this is not about being an expert in cleaning or being obsessed with organization.

With small daily actions we can keep our house clean and tidy and still have time to enjoy it. Now that you know what the 20/10 method is, are you ready to get started with the first task?