HOLY COW, now *this* is how to do a Home Cure!!! I need those three exclamation marks, because I'm all excited about this and the video is *absolutely great*. It takes curing to a *completely different, much much cooler* level. Seriously. This is the best thing that has happened to my home. Ever. And I'm jealous of your Dyson (I secretly hate my enormous Miele as the only thing I love about is its red, cheerful colour). Thank you thank you thank you! Now I don't mind curing both kitchen and home elsewhere at the same time. Have a wonderful week everyone!

The thing I like about this cure, is that I may just keep on doing it all year long. I tend to have spring and fall-cleaning fever, but 20 minutes a day to take care of my home sounds great. Well, on to the living / dining room !

I tend to just put things on my dining table, so the plan is to add 10 minutes to put everything back where it belongs.

I usually sweep and mop our living room floor when I get home because we have three cats and there's always a trail of dust or litter dust (litter box is in the guest bathroom right by the living room) but I don't usually dust as much. I will definitely do this as soon as I get home. Oh, and great to know about the beeswax can't wait to use it on my butcher block! It's been looking a bit sad of late. Great tips! Thanks so much!

I would suggest dusting first so that any dust that falls on the floor is swept up when you vacuum.

I'm doing my room later today.

who doesn't already do this? I guess I am looking for more than watching someone vacuum and dust.....

Love the trash bin as a bucket for moping-great space saving and multi-use tip! Will be doing that in the future. Thanks!

I do this everyday to every room. Well, I guess I'll clean the molding and lampshades as well.

Wax looked like hummus, BTW.

does the fact that I did this yesterday count?

You are so great Maxwell. Thanks for sharing! I full clean 1/2 the home every 2-3 days. Bathroom and kitchen gets cleaned every day.

Hey, people, chill. It's a MINI cure. And some of us DON'T vacuum and dust every day. I'm a single parent with a 1400 sqft home with a HUGE yard and two car garage that I maintain along with twin toddlers to look after and a full time job. This is actually the PERFECT assignment for some of us. I can't do it all every day.

...Although, I'm tempted to skip it as I dusted the living and dining rooms yesterday as well as shampooing the rugs in both of those rooms...

But my bedroom needs to be vacuumed, so that's the one I'll take on today. :-)

Cheer up, folks, don't complain so much. Life is too short!

"Who doesn't already do this?"
*cough*
I'm too embarrassed to tell when was the last time I vacuumed and dusted...

This seems perfect for me, thank you Maxwell :))

I was actually cleaning the dining-room windows (something I only do every two months or so) when the book was delivered and I signed in. So today was more of a 2h deep-clean than a 20mins stint, but other, busier days will follow, I'm sure. And it's not really about having the cleanest home in the street, isn't it? I'm looking forward to relax now and read a bit in the book and enjoy the clear view out of my windows.

We're joining you Maxwell on the cure! We love our Oreck XL vacuum. Easy to operate and picks up everything.

Maxwell - where do you buy the beeswax for the Ikea island? I just bought that island last month and I'm loving it but using plain ole mineral oil. Would love it if you could pass on the resource for the brand you use.

Also, got the book this weekend and i'm really enjoying it. Reading about how the student's home environment effected their performance was really a lightbulb moment for me.

I did it, I did it! Feels great and looks great!

I think a good little video is really motivating. So thanks!

I'm not "curing", but have felt that my living room was in an annoying rut for awhile now. Yesterday I couldn't stand it another minute and spent all day re-arranging some bookshelves and moving all of my electronics to the same side of the room (massive pain w/all of the cable/cord nightmares). The misery was worth it; the room has a fresher and upgraded energy flow. I'm a clean freak, so I did some major vacuuming in difficult places as well. Feeling much better now.

Best of luck to all of those doing a real cure!

This is great! Total inspiration! Thanks Maxwell.

I also love the trash can as bucket - never thought of that. There's no good place to store my bucket in my place, so this may work.

My husband and I just purchased our first house this summer (we're in our mid-20s) but the house has already been neglected since we started new jobs! Downloaded the book for my BN nook, can't wait to get started when I get home this evening.

Are there any good wax alternatives to the beeswax (I'm allergic)? I have been using mineral oil for years now and keeping things from turning gray is a constant challenge.

Also - I think this format is a great one. I have always done the cures, for the most part, alone. The goal of 20 minutes for 20 days is something that my husband is willing to try too; I'm looking forward to his participation.

I LOVE how bite-sized this cure is. And, I LOVE the videos. Thanks AT!!

To respond to some earlier stuff, yeah, vacuuming is basic. And, maybe some people vacuum each and every day, but not everyone does. And, the idea is to engage with our home to beautify it in little bites ... love this!

I think Maxwell said if people are hungry for more, there is always the original cure in the AT book.

And, there IS the Kitchen Cure which is hardcore and not-at-all bite-sized — I spent most of my weekend doing the week 1 assignment! And, I'm still not done :-)

Mostly just sending up a big, giant YAY for the new format :-)

I agree, not all of us have such good cleaning habits (due to time or motivation, or both if you're like me). I think doing a smaller cure really helps to bring us up to speed a bit; learning to love your space and motivating you to keep going after the cure is done.

I'm definitely doing this when I get home tonight. I did vacuum a bit yesterday, but my living room still needs some help. There are some clothes waiting to be put in drawers sitting on a chair, craft supplies spilling from under the end table, it hasn't been dusted in a while...

For those with the butcher block counters- a good cleaning will help it tremendously. Get some baking soda & make a paste with water. Scrub it clean & make sure to get it all off. Then put on mineral oil (or that beeswax stuff) in a good thin coat for a couple of days in a row. Then clean it well after each use with a soapy sponge or towel. The grey really is just dirt that gets trapped in the unsealed wood.

I decided last week that I'd spend 10 minutes every day cleaning something in my apartment, after living in squalor since college.
*shrugs*
I guess I can up it to 20 for a month or so. No big.

I get home so late that 20 mins a day seemed impossible for someone that always did cure tasks on weekends. However, this vid. is inspiring and my new efficiency apt is smaller than Maxwell's one room. I also no longer have to wonder how to care for the butcher block on the kitchen cart I'm likely buying :)

Tonight I'll remop kitchen floor before putting my rugs back down and will swiffer the walls as well. I'll also be using a lint roller on my microsuede futon that got super dusty while I stored it at my office.

This is doable. The last two cures I never managed to make it to the medicine cabinet so when I saw that was one of the tasks, I immediately signed up.

Is that an Emily Payne drawing on your wall? I love her work, she lives near me in Berkeley. http://www.emilypayne.net/paper_pages/shadowpainting_1.html

Well, it started as a 20 minutes vacuuming and dusting assignment. Four hours later, both living and dining rooms have undergone a deep cleaning. I have thrown away old vases I don't use and like anymore, tiny objects that haven't seen daylight since they were given to me (clutter, hello), sorted out candles (and put one of them on my coffee table to use tonight while watching a movie with my husband) and found a way to hide my rat's nest of cable as well as possible.

Well, if I have the same energy tomorrow, the kitchen's going to me next !

I can't believe I had already started this in my kitchen before I opened my e-mail.

I have a question about how to cut down dust collection. We have lots of dark furniture and black leather couches and dining room chairs and I swear, I can dust and then two minutes later, there's dust again. I use a swiffer wand thingy, maybe this isn't the best tool?
Our dark furniture isn't real wood (aside from our dining room table), so I'm not sure I can use furniture polish or anything like that.
Any tips?!?

ps. very excited to do my first cure! yippee!

I just vacuumed and then opened my email too. I will go back now for a quick dust and mop. Thanks for the inspiration! Does anyone else find this a little like mid-life porn? I mean, watching a cute guy clean? Does it for me!!

All done! And I agree, having a vacuum you love makes all the difference. I have the Dyson Slim and I love it. I try to vacuum two times a week because I have 3 dogs and a toddler.

I managed to get my 20 minutes in while the toddler napped and I was wearing the 10 month old while I dusted and vacuumed. 20 minutes is a luxury for me with two little ones, I hope this will help get my house back in shape.

Great little motivator; I like the new format.

It is easy to get caught up in the everyday routine of life and stop "seeing" your home.

Do you know the Alice B. Toklas quote about dusting paintings?

"I always say that you cannot tell what a picture really is or what an object really is until you dust it every day..."

(In her case, the "pictures" included works by Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, etc...)

In the Home Cure book, I think the first step is to run your hands over the walls in your home. I love that. It's all about re-acquainting yourself with the space.

And for those who don't clean this often (myself included)... if you spend 20 minutes every day making your bed, putting things away, and dealing with clutter, your house will always LOOK clean.

That and low lighting are my housekeeping secrets.

Max!!
Remember, Grampa said ALWAYS follow the grain!

I can do 20 minutes a day. The big picture can be overwhelming, but small tasks each day; no problem. Just vacuumed the living room, now I am on my way to dust.
I agree about low lighting. It makes all the difference. Now, I will try running my hands over the walls. Haven't tried that yet.

Ahhh!!!! I just did it! I cleaned the kitchen, as my livingroom is now full with moving boxes and I feel very sad to try to clean it. It needs a much-longer-than-20-minutes clean right now. But not the kitchen! It is clean now and there are open clean surfaces there! My goal is to have one just like your island one day. I need lots of training for this.

This was a great and well-done video! I really liked the tips and it motivated me a lot.

I just completed my survey in the book and will go through the questions with my husband too, for us to seat down and talk about what do we want with our living room that needs to be a relaxing, dinning, writing, and working space... Let's see what we come up with and then I will start the CURE!

Thanks for this 20/20 great start!

Since I dusted and vacuumed the living and family rooms just yesterday, I went for the kitchen today. Spent closer to 40 minutes, but that included cleaning the sink, and wiping down appliances. It's great to have fresh, clean surfaces and floors again!

erldecorates-

I'm making my own paste wax right now, and in addition to beeswax I'm using pure Candelilla wax (which is food-safe and okay for a counter). Carnauba wax is also food safe. They are both harder than beeswax, so you might want to use more oil in your mixture. I bought them at a store that sells beeswax and other items to use for making skin care products.

A few other food-safe ingredients that could be used in a home-made paste wax are: Pure Tung oil, Raw Linseed oil (not boiled--it has metallic additives), Mineral oil, Walnut oil (it doesn't go rancid as much as other oils), cocoa butter or coconut oil (both have high levels of antioxidants that help prevent rancidity). You can also add food-safe essential oils if you would like a certain fragrance. Good luck, and have fun!

I too have the Dyson Slim (for about four years now)... Love it. So glad there wasn't the expected Dyson bashing here!

i use my trash bin as a mop bucket too.

Agreeing with everyone - so glad this broken down. My fiancee and I just moved and are trying to do so many things at once. Projects to restore the house (1950's bungalow bought from the original owners). Unpacking. Trying to figure out what stays and what goes. Trying to prepare for upcoming family visits in two and four weeks... (Yes, there's a prioritized project list. Let's hope we get that much done.)

This will at least allow me to make a little bit of headway in getting and keeping the house feeling like a home instead of a bunch of half-finished rooms.

I have this Monday off. I started cleaning just one room and ended up cleaning my not-messy-to-begin-with for over 3 hours. I think I'll take off of major cleaning until this Thursday at least, my tummy hearts from bleach inhalation.

Never noticed until now when I need it that AT doesn't let you edit comments...

My 20 minutes turned in to about an hour, but that's okay since I ended up doing all the surfaces and floors in our living room/dining room and kitchen (most highly trafficked part of our home).

I second all the dust before you do the floor people--also, it was a good reminder to watch Max do his window sills and tops of paintings!

I'm excited about this cure--esp. all the commands to buy flowers.

One suggestion--would be GREAT if there was a downloadable checklist. As it is, I'll make my own, but would be even more fun to have online!

Good luck everyone!

Love the video! Woke up this morning to find the 'commune' quiet and the shared laundry room empty. I've just washed all my bedding, vacuumed the mattress and swiffered under the bed. Time to make the bed and rearrange items on the dresser for a fresh look.

Only downside: The mini blinds need a good cleaning. Normally I'd pass them by but I might have to give in to them today to finish this one room.

Have fun and good luck all :)

I can't imagine any of my rooms being done in 20 minutes. :( I don't get around very well and have some items cluttering the place up that I can't figure out what to do with. I know I need it but am intimidated! But the temptation to buy flowers...:)

Dude! I love your orange (mango?) backsplash. I bought a can of orange paint to use as an accent color but I have not used it yet. It takes serious restraint to not start painting right now (7pm on a monday...)

I do that level of cleaning a couple of times each week. I'm thinking with kids and/or pets this 20 minute per day thing is probably less than most people have to do just to keep things from getting worse. But I'll try adding this to my routine this month and see.

I like the video! I completed today's room, but it took two hours instead of 20 minutes because I chose the kitchen. I took everything off of the open shelves and wiped those down. I cleared off the top of the fridge and wiped that down, too. I deep cleaned the ceramic stove top, window sills, base boards, counter tops and appliance fronts. I even wiped down my light fixtures! I can't believe how kitchen grease mixed with dust accumulates!

I'm pretty happy with the results and am really going to try to stick to the 20 minutes tomorrow so I don't get burned out. I've started the Cures in the past and have never finished them because I get overwhelmed.

I did quite a bit of cleaning this weekend - everywhere except the bathroom - and had rationalized that all of that work counted for today's 20 - until I watched the video ... great motivation!
Now the tub, toilet and sink have been scrubbed and everything else has been wiped down and it feels like a pretty good accomplishment.
One day down, 19 to go. Good luck everyone!

love that we're using Vimeo!

Wow, well, that took 50 minutes instead of the recommended 20...

I guess that's what happens when the first 20 minutes are spent tidying everything up :P

@erldecorates, I don't own a butcher's block so please research this suggestion, but I've heard that olive oil is a good product to use.

@Maxwell, your head bopping was pretty funny. Thanks for leaving that in there. :)

done! it took the whole 20 minutes to dust and sweep our kitchen-dining-living room (while parenting two preschoolers). another 10 minutes to steam mop during bath time, and i'm feeling pretty fantastic about day 1!

@amandakbw

There's a downloadable calendar on the front page of the 20/20 cure.

So I didn't let my weekend carpet shampooing and vacuuming count. I decided to focus on MY bedroom. The neglected room. The room where stuff comes to sit. Most of my clutter ended up in a bag, to be gone through at a later date, but I got rid of some stuff, even managed to throw a pair of shoes into my Donate bag. And vacuuming my bedroom led to vacuuming my office, then the hallway, bathroom, and kids' room. The second floor is relatively clean!

However, this was the perfect project, because what I realized in my floor and surface clean of my bedroom, is that there IS no surface! I have an antique mini roll top desk (like 2 ft wide) without the roll top functioning as my bedside table and that's it! I used to have an antique sewing cabinet at the other end of my room sitting in a nook that was my TV stand and a place to store stuff, but that was refurbished as a mini entertainment piece and bar and moved to my dining room. So have no where to keep things may be why I have so many things sitting around on my floor! I'm starting to get some ideas of what type of piece I would like to put back in that nook. Thanks, AT!

I think I can commit to 5 minutes today. The room I choose is the bathroom. I'm going to go clean the toilet and wipe down the sink. Baby steps...

Definitely in the 'doesn't already do this' regularly category over here—great motivation for me. In order to clean the floor, one first needs to see it… Took longer than 20 minutes but I'm inspired to proceed.

I've got mixed feelings on the new cure. One one hand, what I've always really liked about the old style cure was that is motivated me to take on the bigger projects twice a year (scrubbing the insides of all my cabinets, purging my closet of useless stuff, rethinking layouts). However, what I do like about this is that it will keep me on task a bit more (especially with work + school getting in the way). This is way better for busy people, I just hope it can be adapted so it's not just a few weeks of regular cleaning.

Downloaded the book to the Kindle app on my iPad. Really getting it. Already seeing the flow issues, can't wait to get further into it. Started with my bedroom, but also had to do the kitchen because the maintenance man was in today and left half the cleaning products under the sink out on the counter, so actually spent about an hour, but it's all good.

I love the video as it is really motivating for me. I did the cleaning session after work and it was really good. I hadn't mopped the bedroom floor for a week or so as I had a hard time at work and when I begun I was like "Well, this is nothing special, I will be ready soon" but I discovered some dust bunnies I never thought of like the ones under the bed and sitting on top of the mirror...
Your video finally made me to order a Dyson, too. Will arrive in a few days so I am looking forward to some more floor cleaning in the cure.

So the 20 minute surface clean turned into about 8 hours of deep cleaning the bedroom, den, and laundry/woodshop/storage room. Exhausting but I couldn't stop! I'm more in need of a full Cure rather than mini right now, but it's still great motivation to get started. I'll follow along with the book.

My 20 minutes turned into 3.5 hours of frenzied cleaning in 3 separate rooms. I had to work around a broken kitchen sink drain, which made it much harder, and I washed some things in the bathtub just to get the kitchen presentable. When I got up this morning it was 55 degrees inside (heater is broken, too) but the impact of last night's cleaning binge made the whole place seem so much better. Someone could live here. I could live here.

Totally sweet...I love the simplicity and human element! It's not Martha or some excessively designed video or home and I relate to that, as I am sure so many others do as well. Thanks for being real!!!

Thanks, all, for the butcher block advice! I will be scrubbing and oiling tonight for sure.

I really love the idea of this cure. Also for the advice of the butcher block, I have a large chopping board which definitely needs to be reoiled (and possibly sanded back beforehand) which I've been ignoring for a while.

Also, will give me an excuse to attack my loungeroom with the vacuum.

I love my Dyson slim too! The challenge for me is not to get all ocd on this and have 20 minutes turn into 2 hours. So this is the perfect bite to practice moderation. Thanks Maxwell!!!

i used my 20 minutes on the bathroom, or beauty central as its know as in my flat

i normally do housework in 15-30 minute spurts so this is right up my alley!

I really like the idea of doing this with other people. It's a team effort!

Maxwell-----
Only yesterday I was researching domestic practices of Victorian England and now
I just watched the Day 1 video(on the 19th).

Not only do you have great energy but just watching you clean gave me a little thrill to think that I can do this too.
And believe me.....I never get excited at the thought of cleaning.

And now to get into action. Just 20 mins.

Merci! beaucoup!......

PS I was happy to see that the day bed I love
so much is in your living room!!!

Just a little note......it is common to dust before
running the vacuum so as to pick up the dust that fell to the floor.
Thanks again!!!

Doing this reminded me of all the little things I need to get done since moving in... we didn't clean when we moved in since everything looked great and it is a brand new building, and could not tell how incredibly dirty our window sills were! All clean now though. Thinking I should start a punch list with all the unfinished tasks I'm finding...

My mother would LOVE you.

If that's not your idea of a deep clean, then I'm a little bit scared. But I'm jumping in, anyway, and catching up today. :)

I'm in and cleaned the kitchen!

I did it! I'm always pretty much on top of things, but wanted to join just for the competition and see if i could keep up. Last night I did the Kitchen and living room. I vacuumed, dusted and mopped. Didn't have time to do the wood conditioning, but will tackle that soon. I already had some roses from my 10th aniversary so I am good to go!

Just watched the video. Thoroughly vacuuming my kitchen, living room & dining room takes me an hour or more, never mind mopping and dusting. Now I'm depressed. And what's a "deep clean," as opposed to a "good top clean?"

Don't give up! What's happening is that those of you who have never really done a real deep clean (every inch all the nooks and crannies) are finding that 20 mins. doesn't quite cut it. But, if you get it all clean once and keep at it afterwards you'll only need 20 mins. each day. I hope AT presses that point.

I'm in! Cleaned my dorm room, ran a rag over the walls to clean dust, and rearranged my storage boxes. There were cobwebs already. lol. I didn't go through my roommate's stuff though. It's a small room but took all of 20-30 minutes!

I cleaned my whole house!!!! it was fun. Time to move from Missouri to Florida. My son found me and wanted to share his house with his mama. So I pulled everything Out. washed, polished, everything, including closet doors, and pantry door, drawers in kitchen, washed and waxed kitchen floor. Last, took a Bath, got me clean, then cleaned every surface, except ceiling. Last thing mopped and waxed floor. Sold or gave away all furniture, (kept my computer) bought an air bed, blew it up, with help from my son in law John (wonderful man). Then ate last of food before leaving, cleaned refrigerator. When I left, it was beautiful. I didn't say but I had carpets professionally cleaned, and I washed windows and vacuumed floors. Unusual, but thrilling. Especially when I get damage deposit...sincerely, mary

I am only now started the assignment (better late than never huh!). So glad that this assigment was the 1st .. I choose my home office to be 'the room' ... and oooh boy did it have dust bunnies galore, I cheated not used a vacuum (we don't get along :) But I sweeped and added to the clean ... dusting all the base molding in the room. Also .. and eye opener viewing my cow hide rug ... it looked like it had dandruff (eeeewwww) and now it's back to being happy :) THANK YOU for this assignment. I'll post pics in Flickr group.

sigh, i think this video is great but it had the opposite effect on me... 20 mins a day doesn't go quite as far in 4000 sq ft.

i'm feeling overwhelmed.... but still going to trudge through this home cure, 20 minutes on top of the normal hour or so...

and i totally thought that wax was hummus as well :P

For butcherblocks, condition them with Tung Oil. It's FDA approved for food contact and it's a natural product (no petro-chemicals). You can get it at a variety of places on the internet, or sometimes a local (not big box) hardware store will carry it. I use the Real Milk Paint Co's - it comes in natural or dark. I'm using it to refinish my wood floors as well!

I just started. I know a little late, but life was just too hectic until now when I can finally find a little time. The video is super cute btw! totally motivating. Day one down, 19 more to go :)

I got lucky I guess; I just came up from my kitchen where a bottle of liquid left in the freezer too long kind of exploded all over the kitchen. So now the kitchen has clean walls, clean cabinet fronts, clean floor. Day One-check!

I'm excited to get started today! However, I also looked into your recommendation for the Dyson Slim, and it looks like it is no longer available. Was it replaced by the Digital Slim? Any thoughts or reviews on that model, or is there another model I should be looking at?

First, regarding suggestion to get a vacuum you like. GET A ROOMBA. It is the best invention in the world. It gets the floor cleaner than a person ever could, or at least this person. I used to vacuum and swiffer everyday. Now, the Roomba does it for me. Now I have to only keep the Roomba clean. I clean the filter with a Can of Air, and today I changed the filter for the first time, on the occasion of The CUre. They say you can always tell when a Roomba gets a new filter, so I can't wait to see if that's true for me.

My clean room today will be the kitchen. I'm off.

Great! I've been waiting for this. If I knew then what I know now, I would have found myself a man who waxes the butcher block...for FUN. You are a wonderful man. sigh.

I haven't received my book yet. I think everyone can benefit from the book and videos, even though we may have to modify our own methods. I have some physical problems and can no longer deep clean my house. I have a person who comes in every three weeks. I can do light cleaning, like counter tops, dusting tops of things, running a dust mop, cleaning sink/toilet etc. It's amazing how a regular routine of doing little things, plus keeping clutter picked up, can keep a home looking neat and presentable, even though it's only surface clean. I can't live in a messy, dirty place, so I will keep working. I've even sat in a chair and vacuumed or dust-mopped. If I can do it, you can too.

I wish this would work for us but we have way too much in even the smallest room.

However, I totally agree about the vacuum, and just ordered a Miele Medicaire one which takes all the stuff out of the air for sensitive people....as my best friend is severely allergic and has respiratory problems. Can't wait to get it.

I also personally wax the Mad Men Scandinavian Rosewood furniture, I find it really relaxing to do....I will watch this series with pleasure though I don't do the majority of the cleaning. Thank you so much.

Hmmm. I can do the vacuum and mop in 20 minutes but how long will it take me to remove all the accumulated papers and assorted boxes of stuff off the various surfaces (including the floor) in my kitchen? :/

I am here to say that Maxwell sure is cute! He is the Mister Rogers of home management and makes me think I can do it, almost. I have loved reading about the cure, but so far I have not totally embraced it. I am looking forward to maybe hearing more about the "flow" thing and furniture arrangement. I can't quite wrap my head around that. If we can't have a Maxwell show, this is the next best thing. Dust on!

Gosh. I really hope this doesn't mean AT will stop the full cure. That would suck. I hope you guys will do the mini cure thing in the Fall and the whole cure in the Spring.

You can make your own butcher block wax by melting a chunk of beeswax (from a heath food or vitamin store) in a double boiler, then stirring in mineral oil. The ratio doesn't matter, since either is fine on its own. Mixing them together just makes the beeswax easier to use. You get the fragrance and durability from the beeswax, and the mineral oil makes it softer and easier to use. Also, you can melt beeswax and use it alone. Rub it into the wood while it's softened from the heat, and then buff off the excess with a clean rag. Following the grain only matters when you are sanding or staining butcher block, which you can do with strong coffee, tea or food coloring mixed with water.

I chose my kitchen as the room to clean today. I think I would have managed to do the floors, baseboards AND window sills if I didn't have to wash the dishes that were in the sink.

So here's what I did in the 20 minutes (plus about 20 extra seconds)

Vacuum with my Bissell "Power Edge Pet"- the BEST vacuum for pet hair. Only flaw is that it doesn't have attachments. It's sold at Target but they are usually out of stock. Check out the Bissell website if you want to buy it, I think they have free shipping.

Then I used the attachments on my other Vacuum to do the baseboards.

Washed dishes.

Mopped the floor, used the mop to get some of the baseboard crud off that the vacuum didn't get.

I like this project! Thank you and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Maxwell. Oh, and for anyone who's done this in the past, is it imperative to get the book? Thank you.

I'm usually pretty on top of things, but I wanted to join in to help keep me motivated. I am reading this at work, so when I go home tonight I will get my 20 minutes in.

PLEASE please tell me where you got your wine rack? And if you made, how? I will make one but I need instructions. I love it and have just the right wall space waiting for it!

I cleaned the kitchen, stacked the dishwasher, and mopped the floor. I also cleaned the counter in the bath. It took me a little over a half hour. That was two hours ago. The Roomba is still going! I love that thing. It has been vacuuming my 696 sq ft condo for TWO hours. There won't be a dust bunny left anywhere.

The last time Maxwell ran The Cure on AT, I adopted the 20 minute habit. For quite a long time, I spent 20 minutes a day cleaning in a different room. Somewhere I got off track, but I want to get back into the habit again. It's a great way to keep a house clean, rather than waiting for it to get visually dirty. My mother used to say it's easier to keep a house clean that to get a house clean. Turns out, she was right.

I know this is supposed to be a 20 min cure, but I feel like I need to spend at least an hour on the floor alone, moving furniture etc.

Great tip on the beeswax. I tried to sign up, but I keep getting sent right to this page instead so I am letting you know I want to sign up, but can't seem to find it. Going now to clean my first room!

I'm in! Yihaa! This house is going to get really clean in just a few weeks. Thanks!

Good attempt, but cleaning in the WRONG order. When I was in college, I worked for a maid service, where we were taught to clean a room from top to bottom, and move clockwise around the room. For example, dust first and start at the top - dust off all ceiling fixtures, lampshades, picture frames and any hanging items over furniture. Second, dust wood furniture. Third, dust baseboards. By dusting clockwise, from top to bottom, you allow any dust that your dustcloth made airborne to settle on the soft furnishings (sofa, chairs) and carpets. Fourth, vacuum the upholstry and any curtains and soft furnishings. Fifth, sweep any hardwood floors in the room/vacuum carpets; moving furniture once a month for a deep sweep/vacuum. Sixth, damp mop any uncarpeted floors. Remember, top to bottom, clockwise in the room for each pass (type of cleaning). It is a really efficient way to clean.

sumocat: I was just about to ask about this! Honestly, I was going to say - not to be picky, but wouldn't it behoove you to dust before you vacuum? It's what I have been taught, but I wasn't taught well, so I thought "hmm, maybe it doesn't apply?" it's good to know that, even if my parents didn't really prepare me for living on my own, at least they taught me that part well!

I was hoping this would be a new series...is this cure going to be the same videos as last year?

I'm kind of excited about this home cure. I've been out of my house for almost four months with contractors repairing smoke damage (I live in a rowhouse and someone burnt down the neighbor's house. Joy of joys). We've got word that the house is almost done, so I might not have any rooms to clean (I'm at least hoping it's clean when the contractors are out and I'm in), but hey.

Ordered the book today, and spent 30 mins cleaning my bedroom. I hope I can keep up with it. I just moved into my new house about about 2 mos. ago, and still haven't gotten quite set up. Hoping this will motivate me to get some things done.

I'm a big fan of AT and a newbie poster too, so I am eager to participate in the 20/20 cure. I'm going to work on the bathroom floor, kitchen floor and counter top in the next 20 minutes.

I'm in! Very excited for the 20 minute cure. Just finished dusting the fan, sweeping, and wet swiffer-ing the living and dining room.

I just home from work and quite tired, so I will have to spend 40 mins tomorrow.

Whew! I think this 20min thing is something of a ruse. I got going on my 20min and next thing I knew I'd tacked on an extra 15 and finished cleaning the bathroom.

I decided to start with my bedroom. I can't remember the last time I actually dusted all of the surfaces at once. What a great start! Thanks!

I have had my Dyson for 5 years. I have always hated it because of how difficult it was to switch to the wand attachment. I laughed out loud when i saw this video. Maybe I'll like it more now that i see how easy it is to just pull out the wand attachment. Thanks

Alright, I'm in. But seeing as it's midnight as I log into AT, I'm only going to do the entrance hall tonight. ;)

I would suggest to go from top to bottom, first dust then vacuum. And now you'll excuse me but I have a room to clean!

Anyone else have trouble viewing the video? I've tried multiple times, and it still keeps doing the stop and go.

I didn't have the energy to clean last night, but I got up early this morning and did my dusting/swiffering/vacuuming and now I have a nice clean slate! I usually clean every week or so, so a light surface clean was pretty effective.

I ordered my book, am jotting down tips from the daily posts (LOVE the idea about using a trashcan as a bucket!) and ready for Day 2!

Just in time. I needed this. I've been feeling quite daunted about my not particularly dirty, but not particularly orderly apartment lately.

My problem with cleaning is that I get sidetracked so I decided to stick to 20 minutes+see what I could do. In 20 minutes, I surface cleaned my bedroom, I dusted a little+I vacuumed. I didn't get to do the baseboards+clean the windows, but my bedroom felt ... lighter ... with the cleaning that I did.

Funny - both my daughter+BF asked if I was ok cus I was shuttling back+forth between the room+rubbish bin in the kitchen. Daughter noticed immediately how clean it was.

Day One - partial success. Because I stuck to 20 minutes (otherwise, I woulda got distracted+started doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom or bleaching the rubbish bin...) I didn't get a chance to get under the bed+in the closet.

But, I feel accomplished.

It's funny how the "20 minute" aspect really motivated me. How much of the Rangers game am I REALLY going to miss in 20 minutes? I did the 20/20 home cure last fall and had already forgotten how effective 20 minutes can be. I had NOT forgotten what a great idea using a trash can as a pail is!

Another unexpected aspect was the conversation it started with my fiance about the home. Just one of those lingering "division of domestic labor" maintenance conversations we'd put off. It felt doubly good knowing that the living room was clean and other chores would be taken care of! A cure indeed!

I like this twenty minute thing a lot! I got home a little late last night, but I did the kitchen, wiping off counters and windowsills, the top of the stove, but mainly did the floors by sweeping and then mopping with Murphy's Oil Soap. I even cleaned the kitty's mat under the food and water bowls. I know that it needs a deeper cleaning, but this is good for now.

My challenge is that I will be out of town for the weekend and have company coming from out of town after that, but I am going to try and consolidate and press forward!

I cleaned my bedroom which is also adjacent to my home office. Both needed a cleaning. I am so glad I signed up for this. It's like we are all cleaning together. I treated myself to a Pumpkin latte as a thank you. My room looks so clean and nice. I am going to put the flowers from today's task in my room.

Starting a day late but I'm in. To do after work: surface clean one room and buy flowers!

Saw the video on Monday and watched the vacuum go around the room. Like the tip about the Beeswax Paste for resealing butcher block finish. Did start on the kitchen, but need more than one day to get through.

I wiped down the bath with vinegar and the vinegar smell should fade soon. The bath is much shinier and was well worth the :55. I may not be clear on what surface-cleaning is, or I may just require more than :20.

I had every intention of spending twenty minutes...two hours later my office is fresh and clean and bright.

I'm going to stick to 20 minutes the rest of the time - I want progress, not burnout!

@Florida Joyce, Thanks for your encouraging comment!

I love it! Great idea! But dude, clean top to bottom. Ceiling fans (if any) and tops of pictures first, furniture next, floor last. That way when the dust from the picture frames falls on the floor, it won't spoil your fresh cleaning.

Dear AT--I miss the old Cure! Can't you do a combo? Or do the old one in the spring? I know I can do it by myself but it's less fun that way.

Also...are you just reusing all the same videos as last year?

I loved your excitement about the beeswax.. :)

seriously, 20 mins? it will take me longer just to put away the junk on the table - and what you call a "surface clean" is like spring cleaning for me!

i may keep watching for motivation, but if the first vid is any example, it's really for places that are pretty neat already...