Do you ever feel like you clean so often but the mess piles up faster than you could possibly keep up with? It can be such a mystery, especially if you have small children. The one minute or less rule can change everything.
Here is the rule: If something takes a minute or less, do it immediately.
It's that simple. You finish your coffee and instead of leaving it on the coffee table to wash later, you pick it up and wash it or load it in the dishwasher. You walk in the door and you hang up your coat, put your shoes away, and put your purse away. You wake up in the morning and you make your bed.
This rule will help you go from living in a state of constant chaos to having a perpetually tidy home. This is because all those little things that add up, turn into big things over time. When you prevent the build up, it can give you back larger chunks of time. For instance, you now spend 20 minutes Saturday washing your floors without having to spend an extra hour tidying first. You will find yourself less overwhelmed and able to spend more time doing things you actually care about.
Let's talk for a second about that feeling of overwhelm. It can be completely debilitating for some people. This is serious stuff. In some cases, it can lead to anxiety, depression, feelings of worthlessness, and procrastination in other areas of life. Not to mention, it can have a huge impact on your social life. You may hesitate to invite people over and feel shame when people come by unexpectedly. You may have to miss social events because you have to catch up on chores on weekends.
Be assured, you are not worthless. Many people struggle with this problem and it doesn't say anything about what you do, who you help, how you treat people, or even how hard you work. You're simply stuck in the same pattern. You may just need a little encouragement and a reminder that you deserve to be happy. Change your mindset from big things to small tasks repeated (the one minute or less rule) and you will have better results.
People who have consistently tidy homes swear by this rule. Even if they have never heard of it, I bet they are doing it. For those of us who don't have that habit passed down to us and completely ingrained in our mind, it takes effort.
I challenge you to try this for 7 days. Live your life doing things right away. You see something, pick it up. The garbage is full, take it out right away. Challenge all the members of your household to try for one week with you.
At the end of the day, notice the difference that it makes. How does your home look, how do you feel, are you less stressed, etc. It is my hope that this will help you see and get a taste of what it is like and hopefully it can encourage you to take this and have it as one of your many tools in your toolbox to help you be more successful.
We are in this together. This is not my family's first time doing this challenge. We loved it so much that we are going to be doing this again. Post your results and tag a friend to join you. Then don't forget to share with us how it went!
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