The 30-minute cleaning schedule that will free up your weekends (2024)

I spent last year renovating and while it was satisfying and transformative, cleaning and tidying fell by the wayside (it’s hard to care about dusting when you don’t currently have a toilet and your bedroom is covered in rubble). But once the renovations were done, this devil-may-care attitude to cleaning continued and my lovely new house soon felt like an unmanageable mess.

After months of renovating, it’s safe to say I was out of practice. And while I loved having more space, I felt like if I started cleaning, I’d never stop.

The search

So, I headed to the Internet in search of cleaning plans. Over the next few months I tried everything from batching tasks to doing a marathon cleaning session on Saturday, but nothing felt quite right. They might well have worked, but they didn’t feel sustainable to me. And so, the search continued until I stumbled across The Organised Mum Method.

The Organised Mum Method

Promising to help you 'clean smarter not harder', Gemma Bray devised the plan after having her son, in order to stay on top of the housework without sacrificing all her time. The basic idea is to spend 30 minutes cleaning a different room each day of the week, allowing you to have the weekends free of housework. It’s split into three levels:

And it has obviously struck a chord. At the time of writing, Gemma has over 160k Instagram followers and is currently writing a book on the topic, which is out on 5^th September 2019.

So why has this method proved so popular? 'I think the way it is accessible for everyone has a massive appeal. It doesn’t cost anything to follow along – all the printouts are free to download – and as long as you have a basic selection of cleaning products you can follow along immediately,' says Gemma.

There is also a huge sense of community, with Gemma posting encouragement most weekdays and the hashtag #TeamTOMM filled with other people cracking on with the cleaning. 'To know that tens of thousands of people are cleaning their living room on a Monday takes the monotony out of the cleaning because we are all in it together,' she adds.

My experience

I loved the sound of spending a mere 30 minutes on cleaning, but realised that my house needed some help getting there. So I took Gemma’s advice and decided to do the Messy House Bootcamp first.

Warning: This is not for the faint-hearted.

It’s essentially the aforementioned plan but there is no timer involved. You just keep going until everything that needs to be done is done (here’s a handy checklist). I started in the living room full of vigour on the Monday and by Friday I was an exhausted husk. But it worked and by the end of the week the house was satisfyingly spic and span.

Then came the challenge of trying to keep on top of it, which is where I usually go off the rails. The next week I headed back to the living room, tentatively set the timer for 30 minutes and put some 90s classics on. To my genuine shock and delight, the time whizzed by and I got so much done in just half an hour. I carried on and by the end of the week the house was still clean and tidy and I hadn’t noticed any real impact on my leisure time.

I think that’s what it boils down to: most of us have a spare 30 minutes a day and once you get used to spending half an hour cleaning it really doesn’t feel like much effort at all. In my experience, the house is now always a pleasant place to be and better yet my weekends are totally free.

Keen to get going? We asked Gemma for her top tips:

Split it up

'If you find it tricky to fit in the 30 minutes my top tip is to split your 30 minutes into 2 x 15 minute chunks, or if that is still too challenging to fit in then try 3 x 10 minute chunks,' says Gemma. Another way to split it up is to mix the days around or double up. For example, if you’re working late on a Thursday you probably won’t want to come home and tackle the kitchen, so either swap it for an easy day (I’m looking at you, hallway) or tack it on to a previous day and let yourself have the day off.

Take it one step at a time

It might be tempting to carry on after the first 30 minutes, but try and stick to the limits. 'I know that you will be filled with enthusiasm but if you start at too fast a pace then you will soon burn out and this means that you will be less likely to carry on because your motivation will drop,' Gemma explains.

Prioritise

Before I set the timer, I work out the most important jobs and grab the relevant cleaning supplies. 'Start with the most urgent jobs first and then when the 30 minutes are up, stop. Your home will get cleaner each week and pretty soon you will be getting through all the jobs in 30 minutes,' says Gemma.

Don’t aim for perfection

This plan has taught me that perfection really is the enemy of done. Before I would put off cleaning because it felt too overwhelming, but now I know I can stop after 30 minutes, so I just do my best. 'TOMM is not about perfection, it is a realistic cleaning method that will enable you to get all the jobs done in an efficient way – leaving you more time for the fun stuff. Don’t get caught up on the details,' says Gemma.

Stick with it

'Stick to the lists and have faith in TOMM – the longer you follow along, the cleaner your house will get,' Gemma explains. And remember – if you feel like you’re barely making a dent in the 30 minutes, you can always start with the bootcamp like me.

Get support

'If you have any questions or feel you need an extra boost of motivation then the Facebook Group (search TeamTOMM) is a fab place to hang out,' Gemma suggests. I also love following Gemma on Instagram as she’s full of useful tricks and tips. Did you know your cooker hood filters can go in the dishwashers? Mind. Blown.

To find out more you can access Gemma’s totally free cleaning plans and follow her on Instagram for daily inspiration (and her epic Spotify cleaning playlists)! She’s even put together a video series of #teamTOMM transformations to get you motivated.

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