Recently, after a little pushing from friends, I signed up for Twitter. I had been hesitant before because I didn’t really get it. And it seemed kind of dumb. But I signed up. Sometimes I follow the crowd.

To my surprise, Twitter is much cooler than I thought it would be, and it’s a great networking tool. Kelleigh has a great beginner post about how Twitter works if you’re not sure about it, as I was.

So one day I started seeing “tweets” from my blogging buddy Kelleigh inviting  everyone to join her in a #speedclean. I was curious, and my house needed some attention, so I said I’d participate and logged into Twitter at the specified time. 

What is a #speedclean?

A super motivating way to get your house clean in a short amount of time. Kelleigh started the group as a fun way to do those not-so-fun tasks quickly so we can have more time in the day to do the other things we need or want to do. And really, it is fun! Here’s how it goes:

We log into Twitter at the specified time. Kelleigh, our group “leader” calls out the task and we set our timers for the time she says. Then we do that task quickly as to beat the timer and get back to Twitter to see what task is next.

For example: We’re starting with the kitchen. Take 12 minutes to do the dishes (load/unload dishwasher) and wipe the counters. Ready go…

Here’s why it’s so motivating:

• Peer Pressure.LOL. But no, really. Isn’t it sometimes nice to have other people pushing you? In a good way of course. I love that other people are cleaning with me…errr…kind of. At their houses anyway.
• It’s fast.I am extremely busy with three kids and all my commitments, so sometimes it’s hard for me to feel like I have time to clean. But I can take 12 minutes to do the dishes I’ve been dreading all morning. And I always feel more productive in my other tasks when my house is clean. We usually speed clean for an hour each day. But you can pop in for as long as you are able. Sometimes I have to duck out early to feed the babe or redirect sibling rivalry.
• It’s a game to beat that timer. I get my kids involved. The other day we pretended an evil monster was going to come and eat all our treats if we didn’t get our jobs done before the timer beeped. You know? I learned that a four-year old and a two-year old are capable of helping with a lot more than I thought! They were so proud to beat the timer and that they got a gummy worm instead of the “monster.”
• It’s exercise calorie-burning activity. When I am working so quickly to get my floors clean or the toilets scrubbed (or whatever), my heart rate goes up. And back to that time issue. With my three kids and all my commitments, it’s hard for me to feel like I have time to exercise. But I’m working on losing my pregnancy weight from recent baby #3, so activity–of any kind–to help me burn calories is important. I mentioned speed cleaning in my Weight Watchers meeting the other day and everyone loved the idea.

Want to join us?

Log into Twitter and follow the hashtag: #speedclean. I recommend following with Tweet Grid or Tweet Chat. Kelleigh will be hosting MWF at 9am PST, and Jennifer will be hosting MWF at 10am EST, and I will be hosting at 10am EST on Tuesday and Thursday.

If you aren’t able to join us via Twitter or the times don’t work for you, I’ll come back and report so you can do it on your own time.

Here’s to cleaner homes!!

And  psssttt…Look for the adorable felties soon at a digistore near you!