Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Five Minute Rule

I posted about the Five Minute rule 2 or 3 years ago, but its worth another look.
This is a good reminder to myself to get more organized!

The five minute rule is kind of like the rule I try to 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.

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!

8 comments:

Rita said...

Debbie this list is so helpful. I was attempting to clean out my kitchen cupboards after much neglect. I started cupboard by by cupboard but just could not make myself clean them. Shelf by shelf a day at a time is so much easier. Have a blessed day. Oh, and I'm going to begin swag bucks soon. :)

Granny said...

That's a great list. I unload the dishwasher while I'm cooking a meal. I also use that time to make tea or lemonade for the next day. While I'm waiting for my water for my morning cup of tea to heat in the microwave I wipe off the outside of the microwave and the front of the refrigerator.

Mary Ann said...

This is a great list! So often, we put off the little things that in reality, take so little time!

Some others I thought of were:

--Picking up toys.
--Making the bed.
--Starting a load of laundry.
--Folding a load of laundry.
--Putting clean laundry away.
--Put leftovers we're not able to use in time in freezer.
--Water the plants.

Little Penpen said...

I remember when my kids were babies and I would wake up approx. 15-20 minutes before they would awaken. It was amazing how much I could get done before they woke up. Now, my excuse is just pure laziness. :o)

Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie,
Great list. I too do little things when I have few minute pockets here and there.
Hugs,
Elizabeth

Susannah said...

Great list, Debbie!!!! I hate it when those pesky crumbs appear in the silverware drawer! I think I shall keep your list handy. Thanks.

Rhonda said...

I like your 5-minute list! That helps, and I'm going to have to make something I can keep on hand to look at.

Alexandra said...

I tend to tackle things a little at a time as well. Sometimes I just spend time upstairs when I clean, and then tackle the downstairs the next day. Even then, I can't do it all in one day, so I do different tasks every day. By the end of the week, most things have gotten my attention.

The floor gets so dirty in the kitchen/den area that I've taken to wiping down the high traffic area once daily with a giant microfiber cloth under my foot and a spray bottle! lol. It works! I get the complete cleaning done with a proper mop once a week(or more). It's worse in the summer with foot traffic from the garden.

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