Welcome back! Are you starting to get excited about the idea of cleaning?
If you aren't smiling yet, you will be soon.
If you are just joining us in our
Speed Cleaning series, welcome! You're not too late. Be sure to read over the previous
Speed Cleaning rules before you move on to Rule #4.
Speed Cleaning teaches new skills. Learning how to clean (or do anything else) the very best possible way can change how you feel about the activity. As you get better and better at a task, you move closer to the cutting edge of your attention. Just watch a kid play a video game if you don't believe me.
As you get closer to that edge, it's nearly impossible to dislike what you're doing. When you learn how to shave off unnecessary steps, motions, and repetitions, you â„¢ll move closer and closer to full attention. Full attention, here we come!
Speed Cleaning Rule #4: If it isn’t dirty, don’t clean it.
For example, vertical surfaces are almost never as dirty as horizontal surfaces. Upper shelves and molding have less dust than lower ones.
Often all that’s dirty about a surface is a few fingerprints, so don’t clean the whole area. About those pesky fingerprints ¦ Cleaning fingerprints is a task where we are careful to apply Rule #4. If all you need to do is remove a fingerprint or two from an otherwise clean cabinet door, just spray the prints and wipe dry. Takes about five seconds. Don't haphazardly spray a large area of the cabinet door (which takes longer) and then have to wipe this larger area dry (which takes longer still). You â„¢ve forgotten all you wanted was that fingerprint and now you're cleaning the entire door.
Stay focused on what you're doing, which is only the five-second job of a quick spray-and-wipe of a few fingerprints. After the fingerprints on the cabinet door, wipe the wall between the cabinets only if it has splatters. Otherwise it's not dirty, so don't clean it.
Let's move over to the refrigerator. Wipe the top first. Once you are cleaning the kitchen on a regular basis, you may be able just to feather-dust the top, which takes only a second or two. If the top of the refrigerator is used as a storage area, then just dust around all the items up there. Clean the fingerprints from the outside of the fridge “ and there are always some! Don't spray and wipe the entire refrigerator unless it needs it. Clean around the hinges and the nameplate of the refrigerator “ your toothbrush is the best tool. Open the refrigerator door to wipe and clean the rubber gasket. If it is dirty, make sure to use your toothbrush here also. Once you get many areas like this clean, you won't have to do them again for a long time: e.g., the refrigerator hinges, nameplate, and rubber gasket. Check for easy or obvious little wipes that are needed on the visible areas of the interior shelves. Don't get carried away “ it could take forever.
Ahh ¦ doesn't it feel nice to be able to not clean areas that don't need it? I ™ll be back next week to teach you some more time savers. Happy cleaning!
Question of the week: Where do you find the most fingerprints in your house?
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