I don’t know about you, but around here it’s easy to get “housework overwhelm” - if I miss a few days it looks like a bomb went off. Things seem to jump off the shelves and form little piles all over the place (one obvious observation is that “we” are not very good at picking up after ourselves around here, that would be a good thing to work on)
So having focused on other things for a few days, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, when it gets to a point often I just feel like why bother? Where do I even start?
So I got the trusty timer and my dusted off my ciruit sheet and off I went aiming to do at least 5 min in any one section.
It was like magic.
5 minutes into it in my bedroom made such a big difference I spent 20 and did the whole thing - creating one oasis that I could use as my “base”. Another observation - if you can make one room in the house your base, one room that you are especially careful to keep uncluttered and nice, I call it the “calm room”, it will be like a battery recharger, a place where you can go to rejuvinate yourself.
And by the time I was finished, doing about 10 minutes in each spot on my circuit sheet (well, not all of them, but one reasonable day’s worth) the house looked good, and not so overwhelming at all.
And that gave me incentive to keep doing it.
Even on the days that normally I might just forget about it (creating the never ending cycle) I make sure to at least do something to keep from getting “housework overwhelm” again.
It also helps me to enjoy doing it more.
The difference in the pleasure principal in doing the job at all is like night and day when cleaning a house that is already quite nice, so you are “polishing” and keeping it nice, and you know it will be the same way tomorrow and the next day… and a house that looks like it should be condemned and you are praying that no one will come and visit before you get finished - and that in a few days it will be back to the same mess - no comparison.
I actually like doing it when I stick to my circuit. I feel energized and alive, not dragged out and having to make a huge effort to keep myself focused. That surely has something to do with the fact that in between cleaning I am thoroughly enjoying my house - it is “feeding me” instead of looking at all the things I need to do and wondering when I am going to do them - “draining” me.
So the first thing you need to do is to commit to 5 minutes in any room.
And keep doing it everyday. When it is clean, keep it up and use that as your Calm Room - your place of replenishment.
And then start with another one, being sure to maintain the first.
OR
Do the one room, work longer if you want but there is one caution - do not become unbalanced and neglect other things, or you will just become undone in another area instead. A little bit - 5 minutes every day - is better than nothing and better than too much “sometimes”.
When dealing with housework overwhelm - 5 minutes better than it was - is better :0)
PS: I’ve put together a program for us that will help us to keep track on at least one 5 minute task per day.
You will recieve one “mission” in your email every day, as well as a tool that I have checked out that you may want to know about too for fun.
You can see more information about it at TAKE 5Â - Everyday Solutions
All subscribers get pre launch pricing on my Queen of KAOS at Home ebook as well when it is released.

the reward.

Hi Jan,
You are so right!
1. a clean house is calmer.
2. you can do it in minutes a day.
3. making it a habit makes life a lot easier!
Carole
CommonSenseLiving.com
Comment by Carole — November 8, 2007 @ 12:23 am
Thanks Carole! For those of you who don’t know, Carole is the author of many very practical and helpful books that you have probable seen around my website, Confessions of a Clean Freak, Suicide by Diet and the Whole Life Overhaul course (which I highly recommend).
She really knows what she’s talking about and gives some really practical advice. Her books are among my favourites, I just need to use them more often!
Click on her name and check out her website, which she has also recently updated, it looks great!
Comment by queenofkaos — November 8, 2007 @ 11:33 am
Hi Jan,
You are so right about just spending 5 minutes in any room. Recently, because of friends visiting (as it is the season now) it really makes you tidy the rooms as efficiently as you can. And you’re right, when a room is tidier, you relax more!
In fact, I saw a study that showed that a room with nice feng shui makes people’s brain waves go into the more calming alpha rhythms, and a room with bad feng shui makes people stay in their beta rhythyms!
Comment by Wrinkle Creams — December 17, 2007 @ 10:56 am