We are inside our houses all day, every day. The number of tasks and chores to be done is overwhelming. It’s very tempting to just throw up your hands and quit and settle in to the comfortable life of ignoring the dirty dishes, unfolded laundry, and mountains of toys surrounding you. Which is fine. Until you look up one day and realize that you are a hoarder surrounded by sugar ants, unable to move from one room to the other without stepping over mountains of trash. 

A few years ago, I read Gretchen Rubin‘s book, The Happiness Project. She had one piece of advice that resonated with me in particular.

The One Minute Rule.

Basically, it’s this – if a task can be done in one minute or less, don’t put it off. Just do it. Carry the pile of books upstairs. Put the dishes into the dishwasher. Go ahead and put the junk mail in the recycle bin. Make your bed. Refill the water reservoir in the coffee maker. It’s amazing the amount of mental clutter this will resolve. Immediately. It’s uncanny the amount of control over your life you will feel like you have taken back. 

I worked in the restaurant industry for several years. In commercial kitchens, there is a rule of the road… Full Hands In, Full Hands Out. Basically, if you were walking into the kitchen, your hands had better before of dirty dishes to put in the dishroom. If you were leaving the kitchen, your hands should have plates to deliver to a hungry table or a drink that you have refilled. Applying this to your life can give you amazing results. Walking through the laundry room? Take the dirty washcloth and drop it in the washer. Walking up the stairs? Pick up the pair of shoes and put them in your closet. Walking towards the kitchen? Collect all the empty water glasses you pass along your way to put in the dishwasher.

Simple practices like these cuts down on the visual clutter in your house, which decreases your stress level in a dramatic way.