When we’re in the middle of work, kids, and a mile-a-minute pace, we may discount the relevance of advice offered from those a generation ahead of us. But years ago, a sweet older lady gave me one of the best organizational tips for keeping a tidy home I’ve ever received. Ready for it?
“If you can do something in 1 minute or less, do it now. Don’t wait and put it on a to-do list, just get it done.”
Sounds easy, right? It is!! Let’s hash out how this works in the real world.
DON’T SEARCH FOR 1-minute TASKS
First of all, do not wander around your house looking for tasks that you can do in a minute or less! You could spend hours doing one task after another and still not accomplish what you intended to do today. You will feel frustrated and unproductive if you use “tidy your home in 1 minute or less” as your complete organizational system.
DO IT WHEN YOU SEE IT
When you see something you can do to quickly improve the overall tidiness or cleanliness of the space…just do it. When you notice that the bathroom counter has toothpaste on it from the before-school rush, you can run a cleaning wipe over the counter in about 10 seconds. It takes almost as much time to add “wipe bathroom counter” to your to-do list as it does to grab the wipe or cloth and clean it off when you notice it. Don’t get bogged down in cleaning the whole bathroom. Only do something that provides a significant “clean and shiny” benefit without requiring more than a minute of your time.
BIG IMPACT, SMALL INVESTMENT
You’re looking for a big visual impact for a small time investment. There are many things that can accomplish this goal. So here are just a few ideas of things you can do in one minute or less to keep your house tidy. Remember that you’re not aiming to do all of these every day…you want maximum impact with minimal disruption to the flow of your day.
EXAMPLES OF 1-MINUTE OR LESS TASKS
- Wipe a counter
- Clean a mirror
- Wipe a smudge off a cabinet
- Wash a dish or two
- Pick shoes or clothes up off the floor
- Empty a small garbage can into the main garbage
- Scrub a stained item of clothing
- Fold a throw blanket and place it in a basket
- Stack a pile of papers neatly
- Wipe down a table
- Vacuum a rug
DO IT…DON’T DWELL ON IT
Don’t get caught up in doing every single task you see. This is not an exercise in adding umpteen-million things to your already hectic day. But often it takes much less mental energy to do a small task when you notice it rather than have it weigh on your mind all day. If you notice the smudgy bathroom counter three times in one day, and each time you feel a nagging reminder that you need to clean the bathroom, you are wasting valuable mental energy.
IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE
When I use a pan to cook eggs in the morning, I know I can wash the pan in less than a minute. If I see that the kids left a pile of hair accessories on the bathroom counter, I know I can put them away in less than a minute. Or, if I notice that something dripped down the front of a cabinet, it takes just a few seconds to wipe it clean. A dish left on the stove top, a pile of hair ties on a counter, or a mark on the front of a white cabinet are all immediately observable. Taking 1 minute or less to tidy these things makes an enormous difference in your visual perception of the space.
Start to pay attention to things that bother you when you walk into a room and ask yourself how long it would take to tidy it up. If the answer is a minute or less, ask yourself whether it would noticeably improve the look of the area. If the answer is yes…don’t wait…do it in a minute or less.
You might be surprised by how little time it can take to keep your home looking spiffy. There are so many ways to tidy your home in 1 minute or less!
If you’re ready to dive deep into cleaning systems, Fly Lady has some helpful tools and resources to guide you through setting up a cleaning routine.
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