It seems like the “spring cleaning” bug has bitten a number of my friends. Clutter can be a big culprit to Adultitis. With the busy pace of life, piles accumulate and before you know it, you are feeling overwhelmed and unenergized by all of the “stuff” in your life — whether at work, at home, or in your mind. That’s quite a winning combination for the Deadly A.
I like the idea of having things all fresh and organized, but I am still waiting for that internal motivation. Once again, one of my sister-in-laws came to the rescue. Connie is the household manager of a family of five — no easy feat in this busy society! We were emailing back and forth about spring projects and she shared an ingeniously simple small rebellion that challenges me to think about clutter management in a refreshingly new way.
“Recently I implemented the family half-hour clean up time. We take half an hour each weekday evening to clean as a family. This is helping weed out some of the daily clutter. These little changes can make a big difference.”
Wow. With five people de-cluttering/cleaning for half an hour each, that’s 2.5 hours of work being done each day, which is 17.5 hours a week. I am in awe at the effectiveness of such a simple concept. And what a great way to model to your kids the importance of managing your “stuff” and keeping things clean!
The secret to success is follow-through. It’s so easy to have excuses of why NOT to make time each day, but the rewards are astounding. You could pick certain rooms each evening, so that by the end of the week every area in your home is cleaned, giving you back your weekend for having fun instead of doing chores.
Everyone is looking for more time. Connie’s small rebellion not only buys you time, but it allows for an opportunity to bring your family together each day to work towards a common goal. Now THAT’s one awesome Adultitis-fighting tip, Connie!
I just moved into my own apartment at the beginning of this month… then my sister moved in with me… then another sister and her baby came to visit. Needless to say, my place needs some work. So at the beginning of this week I decided to choose one task a day to complete to get everything unpacked and organized. Monday my huge walk-in closet got organized, last night I organized my bookshelf in the living room, tonight I’ll go to work on the bookshelf in my bedroom. I don’t have any little helpers, but I think that setting aside a little bit of time certainly does make the clutter go away and the typically overwhelming task of “cleaning” seem lighter.
Amy, thank you for your comment!! I’m a new at home mom-to-be and that’s just the tip I needed for solo motivation!