Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
Right now, my house is in a state of limbo.
At least, not until wereoutof limbo.
What Is the 5x5 Method?
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
If the 5x5 method is as new to you as it was to me, allow me to explain.
Coined by Steph ofThe Secret Slob, this technique requires nothing but a timer and twenty-five free minutes.
Pick five rooms or zones and dedicate five minutes per area.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
In twenty-five minutes, Steph promises a cleaner, less cluttered home.
Want more cleaning and organizing tips?
In a word: chaos.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
I set my timer for five minutes and got to work.
Five minutes later,voila!
Everything was back in its place or had a new home.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
That nagging feeling was already lifting.
There are coat hooks and rain gear down by the front door.
Finally, theres a small landing area that has become anotherdrop point-turned-living junk drawer.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
Ive made my peace with it, but lately, its been getting more hectic.
But its also an incredibly small area, so five minutes should be a breeze, right?
Heres where I learned that the 5x5 method works best if you have absolutely no wildcards.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
I opened up our small junk drawer to find my pinboard tacks had spilledeverywhere.
Face up, of course, with hair bands caught in the fray.
Basically, I had booby-trapped myself.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
My timer went off and I wasnt finished, but it wasnt exactly a project I could abandon.
There were pushpins everywhere.
Instead, I saw it through…and lost an additional three minutes in the end.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
I figured this area would be easy after the pushpin fiasco.
I set my timer, reset my optimism, and got to work.
Everything was going great until I decided to clear off the top before tackling the right side.
Ashley Chalmers / The Spruce
Here, I found a bunch of random items that had made it into our sunglass basket.
For some reason, they haveso many bags.
I’m talking backpacks and book bags and PE bags and guitar bags and swim bags and ballet bags.
Of course, as soon as I pulled one out, they all came tumbling off.
It was at this exact moment that my timer went off.
In the end, I used the rest of my twenty-five minutes hereand then some.
The Final Verdict?
In theory, I love the 5x5 cleaning method.
I think if its just a matter of clearing off surfaces, its genius.
It reminded me of a productivity technique I also love called thePomodoro Method.
For that reason alone, Im sure Ill use it again.
