Don't put off anything that takes less than a minute.
Which sounds easy in theory but turns out to be harder to consistently execute. Do we all have an extra minute? Probably. Do we always want to take care of all those little nagging tasks? Probably not.
Where this pops up for me the most is taking things down to the basement. We have our extra pantry items down there as well as a lot of other storage and laundry. It's VERY easy to just pile things next to the basement door and tell myself I'll take them down whenever I next go down.
But then things can pile up, usually not more than 24 hours because I work out in the basement on weekday mornings, but still. I would constantly notice a few things sitting next to the basement door. Like having a tiny pebble stuck in your shoe. Annoying.
Our pantry and deep freeze are at the bottom of the stairs. I can drop things off and be back upstairs in less than 20 seconds and then those things aren't constantly annoying me every time I glance that way or walk past. Or even drop things off on the pantry shelves, throw an extra dirty rag in the laundry basket, and put something in the garage sale pile shelves, all in under a minute.
I have 20 seconds to save myself a lot of brain space. I have 60 seconds to save myself even more brain space.
So now I take things down to the basement almost always immediately.
It's filing things right away instead of letting them sit on the desk. It's putting the mug in the dishwasher instead of just in the sink. It's putting the book back on the shelf or blanket away.
If it's going to take less than a minute then be like Nike, just do it. The mental space it'll save is totally worth that minute.
This week I'm sharing 5 little tips to keep your house looking clean, little things that can make a big difference in how you and others see your living space! Day 1 | Day 2
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