2.5 Hours to a Clean Home with a Movie, Meditation, & Love!

Housework does not take forever; and today I found out that in less than three hours I was able to do the bulk of my Thursday cleaning schedule. 

This morning I put on the 1968 Dick Van Dyke musical ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ while doing housework; it’s a favorite feel-good movie of mine.

The movie runs 2hrs 25min, and when it was ending I was finishing up with my Thursday morning routine; it was perfect timing.

I didn’t rush, but moved at a good pace; I stopped when needed and had sips from my morning drink (a superfood powder drink mix I have every morning). 

This is what I got done in 2.5 hours today:

• Descaled tea kettle
• Washed morning dishes (by hand)
• Refilled Berkey water filter
• Emptied household wastebaskets (three)
• Pet the cats & put food/water out
• Made bed & refreshed blanket in dryer
• Vacuumed entire house (1,000 square feet)
• Refreshed bathmats & toilet toppers in dryer + lint rolled
• Deep-cleaned bathrooms (2 bathrooms: one full, one half)
• Mopped bathrooms & kitchen
• Changed towels in bathrooms & kitchen (+ dish cloth & sponge)
• Wiped down hand steamer, steam mop & vacuum

I know from experience that hourly housekeepers who have a schedule to keep can get more done than I did in the same amount of time, but I’m not competing with an hourly housekeeper at a job and the only thing on my schedule is taking care of my home.

• Since I’m in my home, I believe in taking my time within reason and being as comfortable as possible while doing housework; being comfortable and taking time actually helps me move faster than being uncomfortable and running against a clock in my head.

Since I have all week to clean my home, I manage my time throughout the week with my daily housework schedule by doing certain tasks each day; that way I'm not loaded down with too much housework at a time, nor am I burning myself out; I want time to relax in my clean home, not just clean all day, and my housework schedule affords me time for what I want.

• Another thing that has helped me with housework over the years along with my schedule is viewing it as a form of meditation, which means I don't rush like I'm out of control; I take time to focus on what I do with controlled thoughtful movements, so that I move smoothly between tasks and pay attention to the finer details so that little things aren’t overlooked. 

I also put love into what I do, and when I rush I don’t like it because it makes me feel as if I’m brushing over my special housework ingredient that only I can add as a housewife -- love!