TOMM method - does it really change your life?

[tryingtosortmylifeout]

As mentioned in another thread, I moved into my new house a year ago and never deep-cleaned. There's dust, dirt, grime and piles of disorganised crap everywhere that needs sorting, as well as pictures that need to be hung, walls that need painting and lots more.

I'm really keen to start using the TOMM method in the new year as a way to keep on top of my cleaning. I'm sick of having to "panic clean" when guests come round - or worse, feeling embarrassed because I haven't even had time to do that.

I'm currently in bootcamp stage and have given my kitchen a thorough deep clean which took several days. I'm now about to move onto the next room.

To all those who are past bootcamp stage and are TOMMing properly - in what ways has it changed your life for the better (or not made much of a difference, as the case may be?)

Yes. It has changed my life in the sense that the house is always about 10 minutes from being tidy and another 10 mins from being clean (Level 1 Jobs). We no longer have to plough through laundry mountain every weekend and feel resentful that the whole weekend has been wasted in cleaning and tidying.

The other day we were supposed to go to a party and the host came down with a migraine - with 10 mins notice we were able to host instead because the house was presentable with a minimal clean sweep of surfaces.

I think however you approach it, doing 45 minutes a day of housework will have a big impact on your house. That’s basically the key to TOMM, it’s just a way of prompting you to spend more time on housework.

The biggest difference for me was just realizing how much more time I had to spend on housework than I was doing.
45 minutes minimum a day was a lot more than I was doing and it does make a difference.
You do need a certain level of discipline to keep plugging away though.

I can't stick to TOMM but as a family we have stuck to doing a joint 10 minute tidy most days. Like PPs say the extra 40 mins' tidying a day has made a big impact on how presentable it is. And it only takes 10 mins :)

It’s given me permission to not worry if I don’t get everything done on the same day. So today I’ve literally wiped some skirting boards, emptied the dishwasher and had a snooze. I could have wiped all the walls, cleaned the hard floors and window sills, all the dooors, the banister and it’s spindle things, vacuumed the stairs, the lounge rug and all the bedrooms and then cleaned the kitchen. We’ve had a ceiling pulled down, eventually replaced and today the coving was fitted.

But I was fecking knackered after a long day in London yesterday and a disastrous journey home, and tomorrow we’re taking DD’s friend to the airport. So cleaning this place properly can wait until Friday.
And now I know that it’s okay, because all the basics were done before yesterday, so I’m not stressed about it.

I haven’t read your other threads, but a year really isn’t a long time to have a home immaculate after moving in.

We no longer have to plough through laundry mountain every weekend and feel resentful that the whole weekend has been wasted in cleaning and tidying.

The other day we were supposed to go to a party and the host came down with a migraine - with 10 mins notice we were able to host instead because the house was presentable with a minimal clean sweep of surfaces.

This sounds completely amazing Xiao - I would be so happy if I could invite people round at a moment’s notice and not be mortified by the state of the house. It’s definitely the motivation I need to continue with bootcamp.

Last night I pulled out all the bits of cat litter, dust and dirt that had accumulated in the cracks in the dining room wooden floor, vacuumed and mopped. I swear the floor looks at least a shade lighter!

I also put some old stuff that’s been taking up precious space in the cupboard under the stairs on Freecycle - hopefully it’ll be gone shortly.

I had a mass of wires connecting my printer, router etc that took up one corner of the room, which I’ve now managed to conceal almost entirely out of view. This has also freed up a bit of floor space - very satisfying.

I’ve also begun tackling the mountain of papers, magazines, brochures and other stuff piled in another corner, sorting it all out and filing or chucking. I found an important letter from the bank that I’d lost in among all the crap - again, very pleasing!

It’s certainly a long process...

This part of the process does indeed take a long time. But now you've cleaned that dining room floor properly, it will never be that bad again - why? Because you'll be sweeping/hoovering that floor every day from now on with Level 1 (I have a handheld cordless and can do the kitchen and dining room daily in 3 mins flat) and mopping it once a week (I do my dining room as part of the entryway day) and it will be so much quicker, and it will never build up again.

And once you've sorted that pile, it won't build up again because once a week you'll get round to that room and you'll only have a week's worth, not a year's worth, to look at and make a decision whether to chuck or keep. And once every 8 weeks, every room will get an extra half hour on a Friday which will really nail any creeping mess.

You have to put in the time though to keep on top of it. If you do the boot camp and then don't get into the habit of Level 1 plus your usual half hour, the house will return to its previous state. But on the flip side, I find I can do Level 1 before we leave the house in the mornings and then the half hour gets done in the evening or whenever I have time. And if you miss a day, or don't get everything done, no matter - if you're putting in the time that room will already be in a pretty good state, you'll do Level 1 again tomorrow and get back round to your bedroom or whatever next week. And nothing on weekends!

Anyone else having trouble with the printable? I can't get them to print to size at all. On a Mac .

That all sounds good - thanks Xiao.

I chucked out a lot of old paperwork that I no longer need today, but have diarised some time in February (January is an exceptionally busy work month) to go through what is there and sort it out properly.

I'm halfway through the dining room deep clean now and it's looking so much better and less cluttered already. Sadly I don't think I'll have time to fit in the conservatory before Christmas, but I'm hoping to have the rest of the downstairs sorted and the upstairs not deep cleaned, but tidy and dust-free.

I think the most annoying aspect of bootcamp is that if I'd done it when I moved in and had been TOMMing regularly since, I'd actually have a week off now to enjoy some down time and relaxation before Christmas. As it is, because the house is such a mess, I'm having to spend a week that should be holiday doing bootcamp instead - otherwise I'll just never get on top of it.

Does anyone’s partner help with this? Presumably two people doing this takes half the time.