Clean Your House in Just 19 Minutes!

That's what the article said! "With a plan of attack, you can maintain a sparkling house in just 19 minutes a day." I've often thought that these Yahoo News articles have been written by clueless recent college exiles and this no exception. They went through the kitchen, the bathroom, bedroom, and a combined family room, living room, and foyer (the last three can be cleaned in a combined six minutes).

Here's what was listed for just the kitchen:

Kitchen, 4 1/2 minutes daily
* Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
* Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
* Wipe down the counters (one minute).
* Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).


Here's how it would go in most homes in America:

* Empty the dishwasher from last night or two days ago (4 minutes)
* Load the dishwasher from the pile of dishes in the sink (9 minutes)
* Hand wash any pots or pans or the overflow of dishes that won't fit into the dishwasher (5 minutes)
* - or if you do not have a dishwasher do 'em by hand, dry and put away - (18 minutes, um, where is the time savings?)
* Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
* Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
* Clear clutter and various children art projects off the counter (3 minutes)
* Put food away that was left on the counter by children (1.5 minutes)
* Put food away that was left on the counter by spouse (1 minute)
* Wipe down the counters (one minute).
* Pick up toys on the kitchen floor left by children (2 minutes)
* Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (three minutes).
* Clean up mess made by children in the other room during the 31 minutes you spent cleaning the kitchen (31 minutes)
* Repeat above step over and over again until children leave for college (18 years)