Backstory: At my core, I am that woman who starts her day by making her bed. That one simple act clears space in my head and somehow helps me feel that I’ve accomplished at least one small thing.

Meanwhile, I am also that woman who still has Christmas decorations up in her house. In February. Not a lot, but they’re there, mocking me, nagging me to add de-decorating to my massive to do list and “Pull yourself together, woman!”

The idea for this nudge came from FlyLady, whom you’ve heard me talk about before. FLY stands for “Finally Loving Yourself”, and the message is about taking small steps to reclaim our lives, starting with tidying up our homes.

This isn’t crisis cleaning before guests come to stay. This isn’t deep spring cleaning, when you move the furniture and shake out all the rugs and dust and polish every corner and crevice. (I’ve never actually done that, btw. Does anyone?) The plan is to set a timer for a short period–maybe 10 to 20 minutes–and hustle at small tidying tasks. I might take out all the trash and put new bags in the cans. Or I might fold a basket of laundry, put everything away, and move the basket from the side of my bed to the laundry room. Or I might peel the paper snowflakes off the front windows, take down the Christmas wreath, take the Bing Crosby and Nancy Wilson holiday CDs out of the player in my car (for Pete’s sake!), and put everything back in storage.

For more info about how to do this, check out the “Getting Started Tips” at the FLYLady website. And if you’re inspired to do more decluttering in your life, pick up one of her books, Sink Reflections and The CHAOS Cure.

Got your timer? Ready…set…go!