I Tried the 20/10 Cleaning Method on Our Bookshelves, and I'll Use It Forever

When it comes to my own productivity, I find I do best when I break tasks down into pieces. It’s one reason I’m such a huge fan of using the closing shift method to end each day. When I have a dedicated plan during a specific window of time, I get so much more done to tidy up my space.

That’s why, when I heard about the 20/10 cleaning method, I was instantly on board. Read on to find out how this method works, so you can try it out in your own home.

Work for Twenty, Rest for Ten

Created by Rachel Hoffman, a professional organizer and author, the 20/10 method could truly not be more straightforward. 

Basically, you clean, declutter, or organize for twenty minutes and then you reward yourself with a ten minute break.

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Name Your Task

One of the main rules of this method is that you don’t have to complete your task within twenty minutes. You can simply see your ten minute break as a pause to rest and reset. But I also know how my brain works, and I tend to struggle with leaving things unfinished once I’ve started.

So, with this in mind, I looked around and tried to decide which task I could do for twenty minutes. I settled on dusting our bookshelves.

Name Your Reward

With that part sorted, I also decided to pick my reward first, too. I knew without a plan, if I got to the end of twenty minutes, I was likely to just crash on the sofa and scroll on my phone. This, of course, can be its own sort of reward, but I wanted something a bit more relaxing and disconnected.

Instead, I decided on something that worked well with a book-themed cleaning task. I decided to dedicate ten minutes to my current read, which was a roundup of essays by Nora Ephron, since ten minutes would be the perfect amount of time to breeze through at least one. 

Tackling My Task

One of the reasons I love our current home so much is the fact we have plenty of shelves to spare. We have two huge built-in columns lining our television and fireplace, and two standalone bookshelves pushed up against the back wall of the same room. 

It works well for our whole family that we’re surrounded by books and memories whenever we’re in this much-loved, communal room. However, they become challenging to dust over time.

They get a weekly surface dusting which works fine enough for keeping things tidy, but if you’ve ever tried to dust the tops of books—meaning the pages themselves—you know it’s not the easiest task.

You can’t use any spray, and even a microfiber cloth doesn’t do much, so I tend to use the brush attachment on our handheld vacuum and attack them accordingly. 

Completing the Task

I set my timer for twenty minutes, grabbed the vacuum, and set to it. As it turns out, twenty minutes was exactly how long I needed. By the time the bell rang, every particle had been hoovered up and I clicked my handheld vacuum right back into place.

It was both a reminder that cleaning doesn’t have to be an all-day affair, and that oftentimes, the tasks I put off the most are the easiest to complete.

Enjoying the Reward

After everything was tidied up, I grabbed a coffee, sunk into the sofa, and turned off my brain to the outside world for ten minutes.

I have to admit, it did feel indulgent—especially on a weekday. But it also felt genuinely earned, and I do think it’s nice to remember that it’s okay to reward yourself for a job well done.

When I was finished, this method also reframed how I work with my kids to get them to tidy up and get organized. I already know they love the wheel of chores, and I actually think it could be fun to combine these two methods. So, next time I need them to tackle their own space, that’s my plan.

They’ll spin the wheel of chores for twenty minutes, accomplish whatever they can, and take a little break to play and relax for ten. In no time, the whole house will be sparkling.