Today's lesson is...what can you do in five minutes? I've been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done around here. I've been spending a lot of time praying, asking the Lord to give me a fresh perspective and to help me get everything done. As I tried to plow through chores this morning, I found that there were many thing I was able to accomplish in five minutes time.
I live in an old house, with an old kitchen that has a lot of issues. I don't have cabinets or anything, so everything is stored in my pantry. Fortunately it's very large, but with so many things in one place, it can get hard to keep it organized. Especially with so many people going in and out of there all the time and touching everything. "Organize pantry" is something that is on my mind often, but it can potentially look like a huge job. But today I was able to do something in just five minutes time. I was going in to get something, and I stopped and took some time to quickly organize the spice shelf, and then organize the baby food. Those two things didn't take much time, and they really made a difference. A couple of days ago, I organized a different shelf. Another time it was the cereal. All these little things add up and make a difference, and don't take very many minutes.
This blog post is only taking about five minutes. I got bread going in the bread maker in just five minutes. I can spray and wipe down the bathroom mirror, sink, and toilet in just five minutes (really, you can...try it!). What else can I do that quickly? Make the bed...straighten the living room...dust a table...sweep the floor...do a quick straightening of the fridge...spray and wash a window....amazing, isn't it? I really needed this perspective today to cure the "overwhelmed" feeling, and I'm thankful to the Lord for giving it to me. It's something I knew, but it wasn't at the front of my mind, you know? I hope it blesses you today as you care for your household!
What will you accomplish in just five minutes time today??? (I'd love comments!)
That's a great way to look at it! :-) Sometimes I do what I call "Commercial Cleanup." If there's a program I've recorded or something that I really want to watch, but know that I have some housework that needs done, I will dedicate every commercial break to getting 3-5 minutes of work done, and usually, all the chores are done by the time the movie or show is over! (Not heavy duty, clean out the closet types of things, but maybe straightening up the shoes or hanging up the clean clothes, etc.) It also works with exercising - every commercial break, do some sort of exercise. I did that in college for study breaks - Every commercial break, get up and one time run in place, another do crunches, another do bicep curls with weights/bands, etc. Every few minutes counts!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt took me less than five minutes to find and read your blog post and it encouraged me greatly! Like you, I live in an older house with plenty of "issues!" But I love this old house and by golly if I broke all the stuff I have to do down to five minute chunks here and there, I bet I'd get a lot done. Thanks for a great post on dealing with being overwhelmed! I really like your site and I will definitely be back! :-)
ReplyDeleteChris
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