Sometimes the piles sneak up on you. One day everything is in order, and the next, there are piles all over your house. A pile of dishes in the sink. A pile of papers on your desk. Even a pile of clothes you never wear in the back of your closet.
Sound familiar? It happens to all of us. Maybe we get tired. Or lazy. Or maybe we just have better things to do. Until one day we notice the piles and we realize there has to be a better way.
There is. It’s called clean as you go.
I know. That sounds pretty elementary. And it is. It’s something that’s easy to apply in your kitchen.
If you pull out all the makings of a sandwich for lunch, take a few moments to put everything back in its proper place before you sit down to eat it. Then when you’re through, rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Wash them up and put them away. It’s much easier handling a few things at a time than it is letting it pile up. Plus it makes your kitchen that much easier to walk into when it’s time to fix dinner.
The clean as you go method works well for the kitchen, but how about the other areas of your life?
The good news is you can use it all day long, and it won’t take you very long to realize what an impact it makes.
Let’s head back to that pile in the back of your closet. Are you ever going to wear any of it again? Spend two minutes going through the pile and make quick decisions. If you’re going to wear it, feed it back into your closet or place it in a drawer. If not, put it in a bag in your car and drop it off at a donation center next time you’re running errands. Task completed. And your closet’s a little cleaner too.
Two minutes to a cleaner closet. Why stop there?
How about your email? How many unread messages do you have? Spend two minutes clearing out a batch that’s easy to go through. Archive or delete a group at a time, unsubscribing as necessary. If you do one small task a day, you’ll have it clean and up to date in no time.
How about your finances? Do you still have bills sent to your home? Spend two minutes putting them on autopay. Use an online software program to help you better track everything - Mint.com will do the trick. Have you checked your credit report lately? Many credit cards give you the opportunity to check without dinging your status. When you see an error, fix the problem right there on the spot.
How about your health? Two minutes is all it takes to put yourself on a better track. Pick yourself up off the couch and start walking. Even if it’s two minutes today, chances are it’ll morph into 20 minutes in a few days. Fitness makes you feel good, and once you start, you’ll want to continue. The same with food. Spend an extra two minutes in the grocery store planning out your evening meal. Avoid the frozen food and head to the fresh sections instead. Many stores offer meal planning cards right next to fresh ingredients; pick one up and give a new recipe a try. Or download an app and have meal planning advice right at your fingertips. And those two minutes will leave you healthier today, so you won’t have to deal with health problems later.