The 6/10 Method of Keeping Your Home Spotless

When we work full-time and have numerous other responsibilities to juggle, cleaning often ends up low on our priority list. However, trying to squeeze in a small amount of daily cleaning can make things far more manageable.

A good way to do this is with the 6/10 method. In this article, we’ll look at what this means and how you can adapt it to your own home. Even if you clean commercial properties, such as school cleaning, you can use some of the methodology to adapt it to any situation.

What is the 6/10 Method?

The 6/10 method consists of 6 daily cleaning chores and 10 weekly cleaning chores. This might sound like a lot, but the point is to break down larger jobs into more manageable chunks.

In the original method, the 6 daily tasks are:

·  Make beds

·  Wash dishes

·  Scrub sink

·  Wipe counters

·  Hoover floors

·  Do a load of washing

The 10 weekly jobs are:

·  Wipe the fridge

·  Tidy the larder

·  Mop floors

·  Clean microwave

·  Clean the bathroom

·  Dust furniture

·  Clean the sink drain

·  Wash bedding

·  Tidy car

·  Clean any pet bowls

There are also monthly and quarterly tasks that include deep cleaning jobs, but we won’t examine those here. Our focus is on manageable daily and weekly cleaning instead.

Does the 6/10 Method Work?

Looking at the daily jobs above, you might notice that some are far more involved than others. Hoovering floors, for example, could take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your home. Similarly, washing dishes is pointless if you have a dishwasher.

If these jobs don’t look like they’ll suit your cleaning style, spare time, and home life, swap them out for more suitable options. You could move hoovering to be a weekly job and do something like decluttering a surface or room daily.

The point of the 6/10 method is to break down large tasks (such as cleaning the bathroom or kitchen) into smaller chunks that can be easily fitted into spare time every day. As such, it makes sense to adapt the tasks to jobs you think are higher priority or are easier to manage.

How to Use the 6/10 Method

Now that you’ve got an idea of what the method looks like, let’s consider some ways you can use it to best effect in your home.

1. List All Your Cleaning Jobs

A good place to start is by listing all your regular cleaning jobs, i.e., those you do daily and weekly. Start with general things like “dusting the house” and “cleaning the kitchen”, and then break these down into their jobs.

The list will be fairly long, but that’s fine. You’ll want the clearest idea possible of all the jobs involved in cleaning your home so you can make the method work for you.

2. Prioritise Jobs

Look at your list. What are six things that should be done every day to maintain a clean and hygienic home? Making beds is a good example, as is wiping down kitchen surfaces. You could also include cleaning the toilet or bathroom sink.

List your six most essential jobs for daily tasks, and then do the same for your 10 weekly jobs. Again, these should be things that’ll have a noticeable impact on your home and will maintain a good level of cleanliness.

3. Fit Them into Your Calendar

If you’re a busy person, make sure your 6 daily jobs are fairly quick. Also, think about when you can do them alongside other jobs. Giving the toilet a daily clean could be done while you’re running a bath or just after you’ve got ready for bed in the evening.

Weekly tasks don’t all need to be done at the weekend. You could dust while your kids are doing homework, for example, or clean your microwave and fridge while cooking dinner one evening.

4. Feel Free to Experiment

Although the original method had a specific list of jobs, it’s important to make this work for you. If you think it’s unnecessary to do a job daily, take it off your list. Play around with your schedule and cleaning to see what delivers the most impact for the least time and effort.

Final Thoughts

The 6/10 method is all about breaking big jobs up into manageable chunks. Having six daily cleaning jobs might sound like a lot, but you probably already do a few of them.

Keeping everything segmented in this way should make it more manageable, too, so prioritise your most important jobs to help you stay on top of household cleaning.

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Our writers like to blog about interiors. We launched the award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2015 and the luxury property and interior decor blog www.alltheprettyhomes.com in 2024 to cover all your interior design, travel and lifestyle inspiration needs. Download our free bathroom renovation guide here.