Give It a Clean Sweep

About a year ago, I realized I was spending my entire day straightening the house. As soon as one mess was cleaned up, there was another one that needed my attention. As any mother of young children knows, you can easily clean up the same toys over and over all day long. Well, I decided I wanted to spend more time playing and less time cleaning so I instituted the 10 Minute Clean Sweep. At the end of the day, I set the timer for ten minutes and turn on some upbeat music. Then my little one (or little ones, depending on the day) and I spend ten minutes putting toys away like crazy. If anyone stops cleaning during that time, another minute is added to the time. It seems to work well so far and I am amazed how much we can get done in just ten minutes!