Master Your Mess (In 20 Minutes or Less)

Shaping up your house is just like a diet program. You want to be at your goal now but you know there is a lot of hard work between you and the end result. The good thing is that the difference between a diet and shaping up your house is that you will get results immediately if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Be honest with yourself

• What is your starting point?
• How much time do you have?
• What is the result you want?

2. Get a routine

• A routine is the foundation of a tidy home. Tidiness takes daily effort to maintain, but it doesn't have to take a lot of time.
• Make your bed, do the dishes, sort your mail EVERYDAY. These three simple tasks are the foundation of your program. They will keep you on track when all you can do is the basics. You can whip these out in 17 minutes if you have focus.

3. Time Trials

• I love timers! I used them on my kid and still use them today on myself when the going gets tough. I set the timer and say, "Ok Risa, let's see how much you can get done in 15 minutes." I always surprise myself how many small tasks I can do in such a short amount of time if I keep on task.
• I also use timers to time different jobs. I scrub the shower in 14 minutes, I vacuum the whole house in 35 minutes, unload the dishwasher in 4 minutes, you get the picture. I use the info to help in two ways 1 - I compete against my own time to increase my speed and efficiency (that's just the way I am) 2- I can plug in tasks to my tidying routine depending on my available time.

4. Morning and Evening Routines

• In the morning I do several things before I leave for work- breakfast dishes, makes beds, pick up towels, put clothes in hamper. When I come home, I can relax because nothing is staring me down.
• Shut Down Procedures- at night I shut down the house, phones on cradles and plugged in to charge, pillows put back on couch, blankets folded, backpacks packed, and I do a sweep of the house for any strewn miscellaneous items. I don't deal with them, just round them up and put them in each person's room to be dealt with later.

These basic little routines keep me in good tidy order. If your house is badly out of shape it will take more time and effort. This is a good foundation for you shape up program. By adding one or two small tasks to your routine each day, you'll be surprised at how manageable your home can be.

If you have any of your own helpful hints for shaping up your mess, please share it with me. I'd love to hear your feedback on how you master your mess!