Hello, friends! I had an extremely long day at work today. I ended up being at school for just over twelve hours. Typically, this wouldn't be a huge deal, however, after the day I had, it was just.... ugh, ya know?
Before I proceed, some of you may remember that on New Years Day I discovered a book in my office called The Happiness Project. It is a phenomenal book that really forces you to take a look at how you handle situations in your life. Since reading the book, I have tried to be extremely mindful of my reactions, my comments and how I deal with circumstances.
I'll also remind you that we rent our house and I hate our kitchen. ;)
That being said... I came home a mess.
Dishes were hand-washed, but not yet put away.
Both of our bookbags were just tossed onto the table.
I came home for about 15 minutes to let the dogs out before rushing back to school. Since I was in a hurry, I tossed a few things I picked up at the store before work on the counter rather than putting them away. Oh and that pack of cookies? My best-friend bought those for me to help make my day a little better. Score 56 points for her! Those marshmallows, by the way, are covering M&M's. Glorious, chocolately M&M's. I picked them up to make another batch of my S'More's Snack Mix for Ashley and the bestie.
I discovered the dishwasher hadn't been unloaded yet.
And a certain someone left the stove a hot mess when forced to fend for herself for dinner.
In the past, this would have put me in an extremely pissy mood. I probably would have made several comments about how crappy my day was and how it would have been nice to come home to a clean house, yadda yadda yadda. We all know that wouldn't have done any good, especially since some of the messes were mine. It probably would have led to a fight, me getting even more irritable and just going to bed angry.
Instead... I took a deep breath, set a timer for 10 minutes and began my evening 10 minute clean up.
It is amazing how much difference a 10 minute clean does for the house. Since reading The Happiness Project, this has become part of my nightly routine. I spend 10 minutes each night simply picking up. Most nights, Ashley joins me as well.
Today I spent 10 minutes just cleaning up these areas.
I put our bookbags away and wiped down the table.
I put the dishes on the counter away and unloaded the dishwasher. I also had time to put the few dishes that were in the sink in the dishwasher.
I cleaned off the stove, wiped down the counter tops and put away the items from my trip to the grocery store and my pumpkin cookies from the bestie.
I checked my watch.
I still owed the house a few more minutes of my time.
So all of this laundry got hung or folded...
And put away.
All in just 10 minutes.
Each night, we put away dishes or laundry, we sweep or vacuum, we pick up after ourselves and the dogs and clean up the kitchen. To say that a 10 minute clean up has changed my life might be a bit of an overstatement, however, it has definitely helped my relationship. It has made my life easier, that's for sure!