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”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Real Simple: 19-minute daily cleanup

Real Simple | Cleaning | The Keep-It-Clean Plan

As the far less tidy half of the two vertebrates on our lease, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find this article printed out and gently wedged into the single clear spot on my office desk. It outlines a straightforward daily cleaning regimen that beats back the squalor on an economical 19 minutes a day.

Here’s the Family Room/Living Room/Foyer daily routine (clocking in at a manageable 6 minutes)

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’ll also use this as the opportunity to reluctantly confess that I love (and currently subscribe to) Real Simple. It really appeals to the productivity pr0n nerd in me (plus I enjoy the Martha-riffic pastels and airy layouts). There. I’ve said it. You happy now?

[Link via the very subtle (and tidy) Ms. Madeline Stiness]

Merlin's picture

These are all great points,...

These are all great points, Judine, and I take no offense at all.

I've never intended this site to be for "everybody," and thank God we all have the prerogative to like one thing over another. If everyone did like 43F I'd know for sure I was doing any number of things wrong.

I think you're on to something with the gender thing. I disagree that men think they "invented" anything, but I do think men (or at least this one here) tend to digest anything better when it's presented in the context of some kind of framework (a/k/a "squirrely system"). That's why so many of my male friends love "Home Comforts"--it presents dishwashing and making the bed in the context similar to reading a computer manual or Popular Science article.

FWIW, I've been telling people this site is basically "'Hints from Heloise' for Geeks" for months now. :)

 
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