Kitchen Tip Tuesday - The Five Minute Rule

I recently read about the five minute rule in the newspaper. Its kind of like that rule I follow at work, "Only handle that piece of paper once".

This is how it works:

If it can be done in five minutes or less, take care of it now, rather than doing it later. By getting rid of little things immediately, you can focus on the bigger projects.

These are some things this rule could be applied to in the kitchen area:

1. Make a gallon of tea
2. Declutter the "junk" drawer
3. Unload the dishwasher
4. Plan a meal
5. File a recipe clipped from a magazine
6. Wipe off the counters
7. Clean out the coffee pot
8. Clean the kitchen sink
9. Straighten the silverware drawer and de-crumb. LOL
10. Organize the spices
11. Take out the trash
12. Wash out the pet's dish
13. Set the table for the next meal
14. Take out items for the nightly meal from the freezer
15. Fill Water pitcher for fridge
16. Straighten up cookbooks or recipe box
17. Shake the dirt out of a rug and sweep around it
18. Go ahead and freeze that meat so it won't get old! (can you tell I have failed to do this before?)LOL
19. Prep the veggies for this week's salads.
20. Start a grocery list

Some of these things can be done while waiting for someone to get dressed, or while you are chatting with your Mom on the phone. If you've got a minute (or 5) before you have to leave the house or start some other project, you can get a small job done.

You could even make a list of five minute jobs to have available for when that five minute slot of time becomes available.

We drink a gallon of tea everyday at my house and I like to get this made in the mornings before I go to work so it'll be ready and cold when I get home. This morning I brewed the tea and usually wait until the last minute as I'm walking out the door to finish it up. But this morning I applied the "five minute rule". It only took 2 or 3 minutes and it was much less stressful than waiting til the last minute.

Another 5 minute or less job I tackled this morning: I planned supper! I already have in mind what I'll make. I was passing through the kitchen and thought, it'll only take a minute to get this out of the way.

Doing these small jobs when you think of them, if they take 5 minutes or less, will help to make your life much less stressful!Take it from someone who tends to procrastinate!

For more kitchen tips, check out "Tammy's Recipes".