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!

What Happened: I set my timer for 10 minutes and, with “Flight of the Bumblebee” playing in my head, I got to work. In three separate sessions–two yesterday and one today–I put away all the piled-up clean laundry, straightened pillows and throw blankets and picture frames in the living room, cleared all the miscellany off the dining room table and put things where they belonged (like junk mail in the recycling bin), wiped down the bathroom and put out fresh towels, and…put away the last of the Christmas decorations. Hallelujah!

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay.

The Ah-Hahs: I was astonished at how much I accomplished in just 10 minutes of buzzing around*, and impressed by what a difference just 30 minutes of this ‘n’ that made on my frame of mind. I feel calm. Clear-headed. I do not like an immaculate house, but I am finding that I like a fairly tidy environment. The dent I made this week inspires me to do a bit more–especially in my office and some day in the dumping ground that has taken over the basement–and keep it up.

*I did find, by the way, that racing the clock helped me keep my focus and motivated me to challenge myself to do as much as possible in the time allotted.