There is this little secret that I have learned and it has helped me out so much in my effort to stay above the constant flood of dishes, laundry, toys, and food that goes on around here. I can’t really take credit for it, I found it here years ago. I followed her advice, received her emails, and tried to implement her ideas into my life. While the emails became overwhelming (20 or so a day) and some of her schedules just didn’t work for me, one thing did and I have stuck with it for years now. Well, most of the time. I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times only to see my house crumble around me and then I must pull myself back up from under the mountain of housework. Once I get to the top it usually motivates me to get back on routine with this secret. Well, I am guessing that by now you are wondering what that secret is if it is so key in my effort to keep my house clean and neat and a retreat for my family. A house can be a home but only with effort.
Well, the secret is….
Do you see it? It is right there.
I have found that one of the best ways to set my day up to be productive is to wake up to a clean sink. That is right. An empty, shiny, sink. I can wake up fill it with water, and be ready to tackle the few dishes that come with breakfast. I usually unload the dishwasher while the kids eat breakfast and then after lunch I can load it up and be set to start dinner with a clean kitchen.
I know this sounds like something so simple and you might wonder why it would effect me in this way and I don’t know why. But her website is full of women that feel the same way.
So, here is my challenge to you. I want you to try this. For the next three days, or until Friday, try this. After dinner, get that kitchen cleaned and that sink empty and ready for the next day. After you give it a try come back tomorrow and let me know what you think? Did it bring a smile to your face? Put a bounce in your step? I will be anxious to hear about it. With one “pile” not staring back at you in the morning, you might find yourself feeling a little lighter.
So, let’s arm ourselves with shiny sinks and begin to tackle that every present “mountain” of housework that comes with raising a family.
I will say that I’ve done this for the past couple years and it’s amazing what a difference it does make. I also don’t like to let the air dry dishes sit in the sink longer than a day. So, the end of the day everything is put away and my sink and countertops are clean and clear. I love waking up to a clean kitchen. I start my day with a smile, not a sigh!
My cousin sent me a link to that website about a month ago. It’s totally helped me out! I found that if I do the dishes from the whole day while I’m making dinner and then after we eat do the dinner dishes I feel a whole lot better about the rest of the house work that I have to accomplish in the morning. But the days that I don’t do that and I wake up with that pile of dishes stareing at me I just don’t want to do anything. Like today. I didn’t get all of my dishes done last night and now I have a pile of them and Laundry to do today. So housework and dishes aren’t going to get done until this evening and I’m not going to want to do it.
I haven’t really stayed with the emails from that site because there are SO MANY. I gave up on trying to keep up with them after just 2 days. I felt like it was either do the work or read about how to do it all day. So I just read the basic principals and got to it.
What a great tip… that is something I am going to try and do tonight!
Blessings-
Amanda