The 80/20 Rule for House Cleaning: Get An 80% Cleaning Result With 20% Effort

The 80/20 rule or the Pareto principle was developed by economist Vilfredo Pareto. It's considered a rule of thumb where you can get an 80% result from 20% of effort. So how can this rule of thumb be used in your home organization and house cleaning effort?

First, it's in planing your work and working your plan. I'm talking about having a maintenance plan. Yes, you do the work, but your effort will eventually be reduced as long as you continuously work your maintenance plan.

Second, give cleaning assignments to others who live and breathe in the same space you do everyday. Teach one to do the cleaning job well then they can teach others in the home to do it well. After a while you no longer have to worry about it.

Become a minimalist. Establish you and your family's own level of minimalism and get to work on getting there. Get rid of stuff you don't love, use, or need. This leaves you with less stuff to clean, organize and worry about. Read more about minimalism here...

Establish a cleaning routine. You know, specific days when a particular task gets done and who does it. For instance, The bathroom gets clean on Saturdays by Jimmy. The laundry by you on Tuesdays and Thursdays and so on. You can get this done with a house cleaning schedule or a house cleaning plan.

Much of the frustration that comes from house cleaning and organizing comes from not knowing where or how to start. So once you get to work you feel like it will never end. With a plan and routine you won't have this problem. You will automatically move through your home getting things done without wasting time and effort.

The cleaning action guide, How to Keep It Clean! will help you get there...

I'm sure you realize by know that the 80/20 rule starts of being 80/80. However, after a while when your systems are in place and you're using them consistently you should begin to reap the benefits of the 80/20 rule.


: : The 89-20 Rule


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  • The exact practices used for household management back in 1914 -- you'll be shocked to know that we still use some of these today.

  • The best methods of removing dust, cleaning paint, woodwork and glass.

  • Instructions on how and why you should make an inventory of household goods in a card file -- e.g., "Keep bed linen and towels, piled preferably on shelves, near bedrooms and bathrooms, marked and numbered. Put the clean underneath when they come from the laundry."

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