The idea is this: Instead of dragging your child away from his toys so that you can take him upstairs to keep an eye on him while you get some cleaning done, you clean the room he's playing in. Because the thing is, if you take him away from whatever is interesting to him, he'll then rely on you to entertain him wherever you take him. Thus, if he is playing in the living room, you clean some aspect of the living room. If he wants to play in the bathroom, you put the waste paper basket on the counter and you clean the bathroom.
Here's a case in point: The other day I decided I was tired of trying to clean with a baby pulling on my trouser leg. So I waited until he was busy with some toys, and then I started cleaning the living room around him. Granted, he had to have some toys out so I couldn't clean everything, but I got more done than I would have if I'd tried to clean the kitchen. He would have come looking for me and not have rested until I picked him up.
When he grew tired of his living room toys, he headed for the stairs which I'd left purposely unblocked. I followed him up and he settled on playing with his bath toys on the bathroom floor. So I cleaned the mirrors, wiped down the toilet, and tidied the countertops.
Of course, this method doesn't always work. There are some rooms that can't be baby-proofed enough to enable you to take your eyes off the baby long enough to let you get something done. Then there will be some days (or some weeks) when your baby feels extra insecure or clingy and won't let you get anything done no matter what method you try. Those weeks you must become reconciled with some level of messiness and enjoy holding and playing with your baby while he needs you. Because he (or she) won't need you forever.
