Time! Oh, how we wish we had more of it! There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day!
Between work, kids, housework, friends, errands, hobbies… oh, and spending time with our spouse, there just doesn’t seem like enough hours in the day. You know why?
BECAUSE THERE AREN’T ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!
Table of Contents
Priorities?
When we get busy it’s easy to let some things slide and the first thing that normally slides is our homes. After all, your boss is going to get pretty upset if you stop coming to work!
Our homes don’t complain if we don’t clean them for a month (if you didn’t cook dinner for your kids for a month… you’d know about it!). Our homes don’t fire us if we don’t have time to tidy up for a few weeks. And our homes certainly don’t divorce us if we forget their birthday!
However… our homes might not complain, we still feel the stress of a dirty and untidy home.
At the end of a busy day, coming home to a sink full of dishes is not fun. Not being able to find clean pants before work is not fun. Your kids writing their names in the layer of dust on your bookshelf is not fun…!
So we might let household chores slide when things get busy, but it’s not good for our overall well-being. A messy home will stress you out, even if you don’t realize it!
It’s called a ‘Silent Irritant’. You don’t realize that it’s annoying you, but it still makes you feel uneasy and anxious. Not a good state of mind to be in!
Windows of Time
So what’s the solution? How do you find more time in your day? Do you stop spending time with friends? Do you sacrifice sleep? Nope and nope!
Instead, you can learn to make use of those tiny pockets of time during your day. What do I mean by tiny pockets of time? What about:
- when you are waiting for your coffee or tea to finish brewing
- while your kids are in the bath
- while you’re waiting for your kids to get their school bags together
- when the commercials are on TV
- while you’re waiting for your computer to turn on
- when you are waiting for your dog to finish his ‘business’ outside
- while you are waiting for your face mask to do its thing
- when you are waiting for the bath to fill
Well, you get the idea! There are dozens of tiny moments throughout our day when we have nothing to do.
If you are anything like me, then you probably reach for your phone and start scrolling through Instagram or play a level of Angry Birds! That truly is wasted time!
In those tiny windows of time, you could be doing Minute Chores!
What Are Minute Chores?
Minute Chores are… well… chores that take less than a minute! Pretty obvious, huh?!
I hear you shouting… “But, Sasha, there’s nothing I can do in a minute that will make a dent in all the cleaning I need to do”!
Ah, but there is!
Of course, these Minute Chores aren’t going to magically keep your home spotless. But they will help you stay on top of some of the basic chores and keep the clutter away.
Even if you have no motivation to clean and hate it… I know you can manage to do something for just one minute!
Don’t believe me? Try it for a week and see what happens!
I’m ALL about quick cleaning! Check out my Quick Cleaning Hacks for Busy People.
One Minute Chores
There are tiny Minute Chores that can be done all over the house. So let’s jump in and see what we can get done in half the time it takes you to brush your teeth!
The Kitchen
The kitchen is the easiest place to find Minute Chores to do and it’s also the place where you probably have the most tiny windows of time too. Waiting for a pot to boil, your kids to finish breakfast or your coffee to brew.
- Wipe down the kitchen sink
- Grab any junk mail and trash it
- Wipe down the most used section of kitchen counter
- Wipe a shelf or two in the refrigerator
- Wipe down the appliances
- Change out the kitchen hand towels
- Wipe down the light switch or door handle
- Empty a rack of the dishwasher (both racks if you’re fast)
- Wipe out the inside of the microwave
- Wipe down the window sill in the kitchen
The Bathroom
This is probably the second place in the home where you have the most ‘free’ time! Curling iron heating up? The kids finishing up their bath? Yep, those are all perfect times to do a Minute Chore!
- Spray and wipe down the mirror
- Swish the toilet bowl
- Tidy away bottles, lotions, and potions from the counter
- Wipe down the toilet
- Rinse out the sink
- Wipe down the light switch or door handle
- Replace the towels with fresh ones
- Sweep up dust-bunnies
The Bedroom
The bedroom is a great place to find Minute Chores. Even if you just promise yourself that you will do one Minute Chore every night before bed (or every morning when you wake up).
- Make the bed
- Pick up dirty clothes
- Wipe down the window sills
- Dust the top of the dresser
- Wipe down the light switches or door handle
- Put away some laundry
- Dust a window blind
The Living Room
We spend a lot of time in our living rooms and they can get pretty messy. So why not use the commercial breaks during your TV shows to clean up a bit?
- Fold blankets
- Straighten pillows
- Dust TV and entertainment center
- Sort through magazines
- Dust coffee table or end tables
- Wipe down the TV remote
- Wipe down light switches and door handles.
- Dust picture frames
- Water plants
- Pick up toys (kids’ or pets’!)
The Kids Bedrooms
I swear that scientists need to study children’s bedrooms because they seem to always be messy, no matter how much time you spend cleaning them! These Minute Chores might help keep them just a little bit tidier!
- Make the bed
- Pick up dirty clothes
- Tidy up one type of toy (legos, books, stuffed animals, etc)
- Pick up any trash
- Wipe down light switches and door handle
- Dust horizontal surfaces
- Straighten books or piles of papers
- Hug your child (OK, this isn’t a chore, but it will make you feel better!)
The Garage
Our garages are often overlooked and forgotten about. Whenever I have something that I don’t know what to do with, I just put it in the garage to worry about another day! It has become like a black hole of stuff!
- Pick up any trash
- Clear any toys or other random items from your car
- Wipe down your steering wheel and dashboard
- Wipe down door handle and door to the garage
- Sweep the area or steps leading into the house
- Put items of donation into the truck of your car
The Entryway
Another important, but overlooked area of our homes is the Entryway. This might be by your front door, or maybe you have a laundry or mudroom that you enter the house through. Wherever it is, it takes a lot of abuse on a daily basis! Time to show it some love (for one minute anyway!).
- Pick up any shoes or boots
- Shake or vacuum the front door mat
- Wipe down the door handle
- Pick up any trash
- Put away unused coats, gloves, scarfs, etc.
- Sweep front step
- Dust light fixtures
Home Office Area
Whether you have a dedicated home office or just an area in your kitchen or living room, there are plenty of Minute Chores you can do in your home office area to keep yourself just a little bit more organized!
- Trash any junk mail or other papers that aren’t needed
- File away some papers
- Shred some papers (or empty the shredder)
- Dust your desk
- Wipe down your keyboard, mouse, and monitor
- Round up any pens and pencils and put them away
Any Other Room
These Minute Chores are ones can be done in any room in your home!
- Pick up toys or clutter
- Find 3 items to donate or sell
- Empty trash cans
- Dust picture frames
- Dust window sills or blinds
- Wipe down lampshades or light fixtures
- Water plants
- Wash pet food and water bowls
- Scoop cat litter box
- Wipe down light switches and door handles
Keeping Your Home Cleaning
So, what did I tell you? There really is a LOT you can do in your home to keep it clean and tidy, even when you don’t have much time.
Hopefully, you’ve found these ideas useful and maybe you’ll be able to think of a few of your own to add to the list!
Check out my post about Smart Cleaning Tips for other ways to keep your home clean with minimal effort.
