Cleaning Strategy Week 5: Make Cleaning a Habit

In the past weeks you've worked on surface and deep cleaning your home. You probably achieved positive results and you probably hit a few roadblocks. Right? (Hopefully you touched base with our Spring Greening Challenge board for support!)

For most of us, time is the number-one hurdle. Remember: You can only do with what you have.

Writing down your thoughts will help you understand how much you've accomplished so far. You'll be surprised at how aware you are of the specific state of your houseâ€"even if you're not exactly where you want to be. By simply following this program for the past few weeks, you're already in a better place than you were before you began.

Take out your notebook and do this exercise:

• You only have 20 minutes to clean. What would you clean first? How about second and third? Is it the grime on the oven? The dishes in the sink? Or the magazines and baby books scattered around the family room?
• What have you managed to take care of well during the past few weeks? Make the bed? Straighten up the bathroom sink? Write down five areas you're proud of.

Also, don't be afraid to take on small tasks while you're cooking dinner or waiting for Baby's bottle to heat up. "If you have 15 minutes while dinner is cooking, clean out a junk drawer," says Linda Cobb, the Queen of Clean®. "You're keeping ahead by multitasking. No one knows more about multitasking than a mom does."