Taking back the house (and your life) 15 minutes at a time!

Life can be overwhelming. Toss in a spouse and some kids and anyone could find themselves buried to their eyeballs fast. It doesn't take long for little things to start adding up; a holiday, an illness, an unexpected guest.

Pretty soon the laundry is behind, you've run out of "heat and eat" meals, the bills haven't been paid, you forgot your sister's birthday, the car needs an oil change, you haven't put the groceries away from shopping two days ago...

you get the picture.

Here's how it works:

Step One- start your engine: Find a timer (you can find timer widgets for your homepage if you don't have a timer at home). Set it for 15 minutes. Feel free to play music if you need something to get you moving, but you probably won't hear it. Then, as fast as you can do as much as you can. When your 15 minutes are up, make a list of what you did-everything you did. Starting with the little things helps your first list be really long, it's GREAT for motivation!

For example:

• started a load of laundry
• swept the kitchen floor
• gathered all the dirty dishes
• emptied bathroom trash can
• fed the dog
• changed the babies diaper

Then look at your list. Doesn't it make you feel better? Look at all you did! Have a cup of coffee, or tea, and a cookie because you did a great job! If you feel up to it, reset the timer and try again. Feeling ambitious? Then move onto step two.

Step Two-Tackle something big: Pick a room, any room. There are a lot of theories about which room to clean first. Pick whichever one you feel needs you the most and set your timer. Now do all you can in that room for those 15 minutes. When the timer buzzes just decide to rejoice in what you have accomplished and let the rest go. At least let it go for now.

That's all the steps... hey, it's like a 'two-step'! (ok, my friends in Texas got it)

If you are still feeling overwhelmed, start out with just one 15 minute run. If that's all your up for today then stop. Try again tomorrow. The ultimate goal would be to plan a 15 minute set in each room of your house, everyday. Keep in mind, once things get settled again you won't actually NEED all 15 minutes to get things back in order. Our house has a total of 8 rooms (4 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 living room/den, 1 kitchen, 1 laundry room) for a total of two hours each day. It almost NEVER takes that long, even when I add an extra run in the kitchen to help tidy up from supper.

Are you thinking that 15 minutes is a long time? Let's do some comparisons. In ONE episode of Grey's Anatomy you've wasted FOUR 15 minute opportunities. I'm not trying to make you feel bad for watching television. Just showing you how easily we waste time. You could do two 15 minute runs while you wait for Domino's Pizza to deliver! You could even cheat a bit and do 15 minutes in the living room while you watch your favorite tv show and do your time in the kitchen while dinner is cooking!

Need some more inspiration? Click here