CNN is always so helpful! Today's tip: Clean your house in 20 minutes.

Although, truth be told, I didn't even need 20 minutes. No, as tempting as it may be, I did not use a bomb, pray for a tornado, or commit arson.

Instead, I simply followed the article's advice!

For example:

Family room, living room, foyer, 6 minutes daily
Start with the sofa -- as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway home. If you pop in a CD while you dust, you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.

• Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute).
• Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes).
• Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute).
• Straighten coffee-table books and magazines, throw out newspapers, put away CDs and videos (two minutes.)

I don't have any throw pillows. I gave them up the 1,000th time a small child stomped on them as they slid to the floor.

Fold throws after use? Around here we don't bother with that. The throws go straight to laundry after being used as a giant napkin for early morning kid crud - milk moustache removing, nose wiping, diaper changing pad. If the throw manages to survive meal time unscathed, it is used as a fort - again, no folding necessary. Efficiency is the name of the game!

The wiping of the fingerprints was the easiest. I didn't see any, possibly because they were camouflaged by my clever decorating scheme of NewlyWedNewlyPoor/Fisher Price. A stable of My Little Ponies battling Bionicles, until crushed underfoot by the DadTroll, is a great disguise for peanut butter smears. Plus it helps the Bionicles stick to the floor and remain upright. An all natural solution!

The newspaper was already thrown away, since the baby gummed it and pretty much ruined it for everyone else. There were no CD's to put away, since there is never a moment's peace and quiet to listen to them. No videos either, after the unfortunate VCR-as-Piggy Bank incident. So, to be fair, I did start out ahead of the game.

I didn't even have to vacuum, preferring instead to gather up the area rug, toss on the back deck while simultaneously slamming the door to avoid the dust cloud. I think I'll tape a Swiffer pad to the baby and let him loose to finish the job - it's important for children to help around the house.

Labels: homemaking