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Book recommendation

Book Recommendation

Book recommendation

Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuk

Text by Morgan Hardy (The BCT Co-Chair)

Book Recommendation

My first apartment was a tiny one-bedroom.  

Indeed, in most rooms, you could touch both walls at the same time. It seems laughable now, but it felt like such a chore to keep it clean at the time. It probably took about 2 hours to clean the whole place from top to bottom.

I wish I could clean for only 2 hours a week nowadays. Our current home in Basel has a few extra bedrooms. Also, our family now includes two kids.

After my family grew in number and we moved into our current apartment, I realised that leaving all the cleaning until Saturday was no longer practical. For one, it was n0t how I wanted to spend my weekend. Additionally, I figured that if I was going to be cleaning my house for the rest of my life, I might as well get good at it.

Enter Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuk.

This practical book outlines specific methods to break up the cleaning into smaller weekly tasks that can be distributed and completed throughout the week.

The author claims you can clean your home in just 10-15 minutes daily. I have never achieved this, and I doubt whether this is possible. Regardless, with this method, I can say that I spend less time cleaning and achieve better results.

This book helped me set my weekly routine that works for my schedule.

It suggests that household tasks like cleaning the floor, bathrooms, laundry, etc., be spread out throughout the week. I love this idea mainly because I’m now only concerned with weekly tasks.

For example, previously, I felt pressured to have an immaculate home all the time. Now, if the floor looks a little scuffed, I don’t feel the nagging feeling that I should clean it immediately. I know it will get taken care of on Wednesday. Also, if there is soap scum in the tub, I don’t waste any energy feeling guilty about it. It will get cleaned on Friday.

The content also provides step-by-step instructions for the technical side of cleaning.

The author answers questions like what’s the quickest way to clean a bathroom? Or how can you remove scum from the shower? And how on earth do you get streak-free windows?

Book Recommendation

If you aren’t sure if reading an entire book about cleaning is for you, don’t worry. It’s available as an audiobook.

Alternatively, you can follow the author on Instagram: cleanmama. You can sample her tips and tutorials before committing to the book.

As you may know from my previous article, I see routines as frameworks which can eliminate extra work and allow for more flexibility.

Taking up the book’s suggestions has enabled me clean in a much less time-consuming manner. Moreover, I am also feeling less overwhelmed by chores. This is because I have labelled Saturdays as my “flex day”. This is when I can complete any skipped tasks. I  also can miss a specific job as I will still have time blocked off for it the following week.

 

Book Recommendation

If you want to change your cleaning routine, I hope this book can give you the framework and flexibility you need.

“Simply Clean” is available in English at Book Depository and OrellFüssli.

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