How to Keep On Top of Your Cleaning

the organised mum method
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Ready to start cleaning smarter not harder? Welcome to TeamTOMM!

Gemma Bray believes that there’s more to life than housework. But knows that we still have to do it (unless you are Simon Cowell, who I’m sure has someone to do it for him!) For everyone else Gemma can show you how to get it done fast so you can concentrate on getting on with the fun stuff.

TOMM (The Organised Mum Method) is a realistic and fun way to keep on top of your home. If you want to have a home that looks great, have weekends that are free of housework AND still have time in the week to get on with the stuff that you actually enjoy . . . then you are in the right place.

So How Does it Work?

There are 3 levels of jobs and if you want a handy tick-list with suggested jobs for each room then you can download all the printables for free on Gemma’s website www.theorganisedmum.blog. Think of list of jobs as suggestions. A bit like a pick and mix of things that you can do. If you want to truly customise TOMM then you can download the app and make TOMM fit you and your home to a T!

Level 1: Daily Jobs

These never change and are the same every day. This is the minimum that needs to be done in order to maintain an orderly home. This is supposed to be a quick top-level tidy – Aim for them to take no longer than 15 minutes. These are not included in your 30 mins because it is assumed that you are doing some (if not all of them) already. This isn’t a prescriptive list, each and every one of you will have different homes (we have 3 boys and a dog so a quick daily hoover is necessary!) so feel free to tweak to suit! With regards to beds don’t forget to encourage the kids to do it the mini Team TOMM way – super fast!

  • Quick floor clean of main living areas. This obviously depends on what floors you have (carpets, tiles or wood floors). If you have hard flooring mop at least once a week.
  • 1 load of laundry
  • Quick clean of bathrooms, this includes a mop of the floors at least once a week.
  • Make beds

A little word on bathrooms… bathrooms are included in your level 1 jobs but you don’t have to do the same thing in there every day. Make sure you change it up so that all areas of the bathroom are getting attention. So, for example, one day you might tackle the floors and another day you might do the mirror and sink (I do clean the toilet daily though).

Level 2: Day Specific Tasks – THE 30 MINUTES!

Each day is assigned specific jobs. These won’t change so you will always know that Thursday is kitchen day and Monday is living room day (I have been using this method for 12 years – That makes me feel old! And I know the days off by heart now). This will allow you to move your focus around the home, making sure that everywhere gets dealt with every week. Spend no more than 30 minutes on these – it doesn’t matter if you don’t get everything done, you will be back in the same area on the same day next week! And remember the longer you follow the method, the cleaner your house will become and it will be easier and quicker to clean! When you first start, look at the list of jobs as a pick and mix and start with the most urgent first, then work your way through. Pretty soon you’ll be smashing through it!

Monday: Living Room

Tuesday: Bedrooms

Wednesday: Hall & Stairs

Thursday: Kitchen

Friday: Focus day – see next tier.

Level 3: Friday Focus – THE SECRET BEHIND TOMM

In order to make sure your home gets a deep clean in all areas on a regular basis there is Friday Focus.

Each Friday we concentrate on a different area of the home making sure that the jobs that need doing less frequently, such as cleaning the oven (hate that job!), get done regularly too. There is an 8-week cycle for this. Again only spend 30 minutes on this.

Week 1: Kids’ Bedrooms

Week 2: Living Room

Week 3: Kitchen

Week 4: Bathrooms

Week 5: Master Bedroom

Week 6: Hall & Stairs

Week 7: Room of Your Choice

Week 8: Garden/Outside Space

So there you have it The Organised Mum Method. I hope it helps you to keep your home organised and a pleasure to live in!

Don’t forget to follow along with TeamTOMM on Instagram and Facebook, where Gemma posts daily and is around to answer any questions you might have AND for those of you who like to have a good old dance when you do your housework (I mean, who doesn’t?!) then Gemma uploads a new playlist every day on Spotify. 

What are you waiting for? Go and Rock The Housework!