Using the Fitbit to Keep My House Clean

Learn a simple trick that will get your house tidy and clean in small, 10 minute increments. Read about how I use the Fitbit to keep my house clean.

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I asked for a Fitbit a couple of years ago for Mother’s Day. I wanted it to help me lose some baby weight and to just keep me more active. Little did I know that I would also be using the Fitbit to keep my house clean!

Like many of you, my job keeps me in front of my computer for 8 hours a day. My Fitbit brought me a wake up call when I realized that without intentional exercise, I often would not clear 3,000 steps on a work day. I wanted to use my new fitness tracker to lose some weight that I had gained during my pregnancies. But could it also do more?

I quickly found a method for using the Fitbit to keep my house clean. It is a small time commitment every day, allows me to tidy or clean an area of my house and gets me off the couch. A perfect way to make the most of your fitness tracker!

My Fitbit Routine For A Clean House

You know that vibrating buzz you get on your wrist 10 minutes before the hour is up urging you to get in some steps?I have developed a simple routine for using the Fitbit to keep my house clean using that ten minute reminder feature.

When you are at home and the buzzer goes off, find a small cleaning task that you can start and complete in that ten minutes.

Cleaning Time

If you are home from 6 pm until 10 pm when you go to bed, that is 40 minutes of cleaning time every day. Even if you do nothing else, that is more than 3 hours of cleaning that you can get done during the week in small increments. 40 minutes a day may seem unreasonable but when you break it up into those small 10 minute segments, it is much more achievable.

These small increments of cleaning really add up when it is time to do a thorough cleaning on the weekend. If you spent time keeping up with small tasks all throughout the week, your weekend cleaning will be much easier and faster.

I also like to make the 10 minute increments that I create with the Fitbit to keep my house clean as productive as possible. With this I mean that I want to extend my cleaning time without having to do more work.

Here are a few examples:

– start a load of laundry so that clothes are washing after your cleaning time has ended, you can fold it in your next 10 minute increment.

-Start the Roomba to get your floors clean while you are cooking or bathing your kids.

-Start the dishwasher, unload it in another 10 minute segment

-Soak stove burners or grates, pour cleaner in toilets, spray cleaner in showers or sinks. Any task that you do that needs to start and then sit for a while.

What Can I Really Do in 10 Minutes?

A lot! I have been using my Fitbit to keep my house clean for months and love it. You will be shocked at all that you can do in just ten minutes.

Kitchen

• load or unload the dishwasher
• wipe down countertops and kitchen tables
• sweep or mop the floor
• remove any items that don’t belong (homework, shoes, toys and jackets are some things that end up in my kitchen)
• Clean out the coffee pot or Keurig and refill the water
• Sanitize the kitchen sink

Living Room

• remove items that don’t belong (shoes always show up in mine)
• organize toys (if your kids are young and you allow toys in the living room, tidy those up)
• vacuum carpet
• sweep hard surfaces
• dust the furniture

Bedroom 

• Make the Bed
• Put dirty clothes in hamper 
• Remove any cups and place in kitchen
• Dust furniture
• Sweep
• Mop
• Tidy bedside table

Bathroom

• put toiletries and makeup in cabinets
• wipe down countertops
• empty waste bins
• sanitize the toilet
• clean the shower
• sweep/mop the floors
• remove any toiletries that are old, expired or not being used
• place dirty clothes/towels into the hamper

Playroom

• pick up toys and put them in their proper place
• put broken toys or toys with missing pieces in the trash
• start a donation bag for toys that are not being used
• dust furniture
• vacuum carpet

Office

• remove papers or mail that you no longer need
• organize or tidy any office supplies
• wipe down or dust desk, keyboard and mouse
• sweep/mop/vacuum floors

Garage

• tidy anything that doesn’t belong (am I the only one that sets backpacks and other things in the garage when getting kids out of the car and then forget to go back for them?)
• sweep out leaves and dirt that have accumulated

Car

• remove things that don’t belong – I often joke that I could live for weeks in my car between all of the kid’s clothing for warmth, snacks, reading material, and toys. You can get everything out of your car in 10 minutes. Try it!
• wipe down the dashboard and other hard surfaces to remove dust/debris
• vacuum carpets

Try Using Your Fitbit To Keep A Tidy Home

I encourage you to use these tips like I do using my Fitbit to keep my house clean. I use the Fitbit Alta and really like the slim design of it. I have owned mine for a little over two years and haven’t had any problems.

I really like the fitbit app which allows you to join in with friends and family for challenges to keep you engaged and encouraged. It also tracks your progress so that you can see the weight that you have lost and your activity over days and weeks.

And if you prefer a larger face than the Alta, there are lots of different Fitbit models to fit your individual preferences. Let me know how using the Fitbit works to get your home cleaner!