December can feel like a marathon of holiday prep, social plans, and endless cleanup. At the end of what has already been a series of busy months, I was feeling the strain and was quickly reverting back into low-power mode. The result? Tasks piling up and constant procrastination.
That's when I decided to try to Power-Hour Split method for chores. This one-hour cleaning and decluttering tactic breaks 60 minutes into four 15-minute chunks, each designated to one task that will completely reset a room.
What Is the Power-Hour Split Method?
Tidying a home when you feel overwhelmed is difficult at the best of times, but add the demands of the holidays (whether you are hosting or not), and making any progress towards making a to-do list less overwhelming sounds like a new circle of hell.
However, my home was a mess, with packaging from Christmas deliveries piling up, only adding to the regular mess accumulated from day-to-day life, making my home borderline unlivable. I couldn't find anything, and just walking through the front door was stressful. That is where the power-hour split came in to save the day.
For this decluttering method, you break 60 minutes of chores into four 15-minute chunks:
- 0-15 minutes: Trash and cleaning
- 15-30 minutes: Sorting and categorizing
- 30-45 minutes: Resetting
- 45-60 minutes: Tidying and details
Breaking the individual items of the task down into chunks is a great way to reset a home to uplift mood, ensuring that each essential is covered within the manageable timespan of one hour.
Plus, by setting a timer (I use a digital timer from Walmart to avoid picking up my phone constantly and getting distracted), you have the promise that it will all be over soon.
To make the most of the method, I paired it with the one-tool cleaning method, working around my open-plan living-dining space with a trash bag, then a damp duster from Target, then the vacuum, so I could clean the most space possible in just 15 minutes.
With that portion over, I then used the ski-slope method and my trusty folding laundry basket, similar to the Joseph Joseph basket from Wayfair, to collect up and categorize clutter.
The final half an hour is dedicated to me returning the items from the basket to their rightful homes, and dealing with the details, such as neatening up shelving or resetting the dining table to look pretty for Christmas.
Don't get me wrong, I was still hardly happy that I was having to complete chores, but the promise of it only taking an hour, plus the breakdown of the job into four distinct tasks, made it feel a lot less monotonous. It genuinely motivated me to clean, even if that motivation was still accompanied by a few grumbles and complaints.
The Expert Tips
This trick is great if you are running short on time before guests arrive, too.
The Power-Hour Split is loved by the experts, too, for its simplicity. For instance, Olivia Parks, owner and lead organizer at Professional Organizers Baton Rouge, loves the clear plan of action it offers. 'Breaking the hour into four little steps keeps things moving and makes the whole process feel lighter and more manageable,' she explains.
To ace it and stay on track, however, she offers four key pieves of advice:
- Use a separate 15-minute timer for each part, so you don't spend too long on one area.
- Keep an empty box, trash bag, and empty bin handy for any donations, trash, and any items that are out of place, so you can put them back where they belong at the end.
- Start with the easiest area. When you begin with something small and simple, you see progress right away, which gives you momentum and makes it easier to keep going.
- Have a podcast or music playing in the background. Having something enjoyable playing in the background keeps you moving and makes decluttering and organizing feel like less of a chore. It is one of the easiest ways to hack your brain to make chores easier. Body doubling can also help.
What to Shop
You can use a timer on your phone, but opting for a digital timer or a timer on a home voice assistant reduces the distracting pull of doom scrolling when you have to reset the 15 minutes.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has certified Attitude products as non-toxic, meaning they contain no harsh chemicals or artificial compounds. It is ideal for quickly cleaning several spots without toxicity or damage to surfaces.
The Damp Duster is great for allergy sufferers as it removes all dust, pollen, pet hair, and more. Better yet, it is easy to clean – simply rinse the sponge with water to remove dust and grime and reuse.
Microfiber cloths are machine washable, meaning you can reuse them for years with proper care. Simply wash after use on a warm water cycle and gentle detergent (skip the softener) to sanitize.
Measuring 8x10x11 inches, these handwoven water hyacinth baskets are ideal for drop zones, shelves, and cabinets, making maintaining a tidy home a lot easier in the mid-week bustle.
These under-bed storage bags on wheels are easy to pull out and maintain good ventilation to prevent mold or musty bedroom smells. I love them for helping me to fake clean a house before guests, offering space to hide away items for sorting later.
Meet the Experts
Based in New Orleans, Oliva is a home organizing expert and founder of Professional Organizer, a home organizing service and blog.
Need to tackle a larger area and need more time? Try the Pomodoro technique instead to break larger periods of work up into manageable chunks with break times so you do not burn out.
