Spring Cleaning Killers – Top 10 Ninja Moves to Kick the Clutter

Written by Jan Ferrante

Have you been putting off spring cleaning this year?

Do you know why?

Don’t have time.

Don’t feel like it.

It’s just going to get dirty again anyway.

Who knows where to start.

Guess what the common denominator to all of these spring cleaning killers are.

YOUR MINDSET

If you are not mentally prepared, chances are that you will either quit before you’re finished or not do it at all.

That would be a shame since spring cleaning time is a chance to really make our homes shine.

Not only that, it can set us up for the coming year to help us enjoy the summer holidays instead of dealing with clutter and mess.

How to Be a Spring Cleaning Ninja

1. Decide to do it. Sounds logical but many of us never take this first step.

2. Don’t give yourself permission to quit. The reason we don’t finish is because somewhere inside of ourselves we tell ourselves that it’s an option. It’s not if we want the peace and happiness that a clean home brings us.

3. Focus on the job at hand. Using a timer really helps with this. Once you set the timer don’t stray outside of your prepared task. If you find yourself wandering off, pull yourself back in and finish the job.

4. Use short bursts. Combined with the timer, this can be one of the most powerful ninja mind tricks that you can use. Setting boundaries of 5, 10 or 20 minute blocks of time can remove the dread that comes with any big job, spring cleaning included.

5. Decide when you will work on it. Setting aside a reoccurring time slot helps to keep us focused on the job and keeps us from planning other things instead. In short… it keeps us on track and from getting scattered and distracted.

6. Set a time limit. When we know that we have to have something finished in a set number of minutes, days or hours we tend to be more likely to do it in that amount of time. Boundaries can be an extremely effective tool to put us in the right frame of mind to get to work.

7. Track and benchmark your progress. Nothing motivates us from the inside more than seeing what we have accomplished.

8. Think about the end result not the process. Having a clear picture in your mind of what you will have when you are finished can be a powerful incentive to get to work.

9. Allow yourself break time. When the going gets tough, knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel will spur you on until your time is up. Make your break enjoyable. Do something that you like doing, eat or drink something that you like… kick back. It’s well earned.

10. Give yourself a reward for time spent on your spring cleaning sessions. Make it logical so that there is no guilt or resistance. For instance, an orderly and clean laundry room may be well suited for the shelf that you have always wanted to keep your soap and towels on. Or the new paint job. Or the replacement for the worn out laundry tub. Think when I do this, I can have that.

Use these Ninja moves and you will find yourself getting that dreaded spring cleaning done.

You might even find yourself looking forward to it.

I know, it’s hard to believe, but give it a try.

You can follow my progress as I spring clean the rooms in my house.

Start small right now with your free invitation to make it five minutes better every day. Sign up for your quick and easy daily five minute mission tasks to clean, clear or declutter.

http://www.queenofkaos.com/TAKE5/subscribe.shtml

Have a Shiney Day :0)
Jan Ferrante

http://queenofkaos.com

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