15-minute Pick-up

FlyLady always says, "You can do anything in 15 mintues." And it's true. All it takes is 15 minutes. Just set your timer and get to work. No distractions. No jumping from room to room. Only 15 minutes in one room! It's amazing.

Check out what I did in 15 minutes this morning:

This may not look like much, but we're not talking deep cleaning, just picking up and putting things away where they belong.

This was probably my biggest mess and I still need to go through all of my papers, but at least they're not scattered all over the desk.

Here, again, I put things away that shouldn't be out. I didn't have time to wash the dishes, but at least all the dirty dishes in the kitchen and living room were at the sink. Makes it easier to do if you don't have to keep refilling the sink or not getting finished because you keep finding "one more cup."

I didn't get the towels folded, but I decreased the distractions by putting the toys away, the coats and shoes in the closet.

Remember, this is a 15-minute pick-up, NOT A DEEP CLEAN. I'm not even talking about vacuuming. It's just a pick-up and put things away. My husband stopped home after lunch and was impressed by how "clean" the house was. He treasures having the house picked up and I try to honor that. It definitely doesn't happen everyday, but it happens when I set that timer.

Now, GO! Set your timer and see what you can get done in just 15 minutes.

(The dishes are now resting in the cupboards and the towels are folded and put away. Sometimes I just have to remove the other distractions so I can get some "real" work done.)