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It seems that time is shorter than ever, doesn't it? From the time we wake up to the time we go to bed, it seems we have far less time in which to finish all of those important tasks on our To Do lists. And when all is busy and frantic, cleaning is the one thing that tends to be overlooked – until you have company. Since you already have enough stress in your life, maybe it's time to learn how to manage your mess in just a few minutes a day. This way, your home can be distraction free as the rest of your life is simply racing by.

Zero to Five Minutes

In the first five minute segment of your cleaning time, walk around your house and put anything back that might not belong in the place where it is being stored. This way, you will begin to reassemble your life and you will start to organize the clutter that has accumulated in your home. Move from room to room until you have moved everything back where it needs to go. Once you're done with that, if you have items that don’t seem to have a final destination, put them into a final pile on your countertop or a table in order to be sorted out quickly and placed into areas where they can be easily found in the future – or toss them out if it seems you have simply accumulated them for no other reason.

Five Minutes to 10 Minutes

The next chunk of time will be devoted to removing the actual dirt from the home. Each day, choose one room or two in which to focus your efforts so that you've not overwhelmed, but you're still keeping things clean and neat. Run the vacuum first in order to clean the floors. If there is no carpet, start by sweeping or mopping quickly. Then move onto cleaning the surfaces of the room – tables, shelves, etc. Once this is done, you will want to pay any extra attention to other surfaces – i.e. glass cleaning, wood polishing, etc. It will also be a good idea to take this time to remove any dirty dishes or anything else that might need to be cleaned at a later time – towels, slipcovers, etc. Throw these items into the dishwasher or into the laundry to be completed during the rest of the day.

10 Minutes to 15 Minutes

At this time, you have straightened up your home and cleaned it, so now it's time to water any plants you might have and to run the dishwasher and the laundry. Wrapping up any loose ends at this point will help you see what else might need to be done during the day or you can add those chores to the next day's 15 minutes of cleaning. While this seems simplistic, this is a 15 minute method that really works. After all, you have better things to do than to clean up your home, don’t you? The more you stick to this plan, the easier you will find it is to keep your home ready for that surprise visitor.