What chore do I hate? Cleaning out my window sill & tracks. You know why? Because until yesterday, I didn’t know you could take the sliding window out, remove the track and clean it. How simple was that? Why didn’t I know that? Because I never asked. So, the process I went thru the clean the window was not only a royal pain, but wasn’t really effective. I couldn’t clean underneath, and my gag reflex kicked in today when I saw what was under there (thank goodness for vinyl windows!).
So, what the heck does that have to do with simplifying your life? A lot! Can you imagine how much easier it would have been, how many less bumps and bruises I would have had, and how much less time I would have spent on this mundane project if I would have known there was a much easier way? Well, my knuckles are all intact, but for argument sake, let’s talk about time:
Old way: 45 minutes per window, labor intensive, hated doing it so I avoided it (being honest)
New way: 15 minutes per window, very simple and fast to do, didn’t love doing it but definately won’t avoid it in the future
What does that mean? It means I saved myself 30 minutes per window (I have 12) and I now don’t hate doing this chore, hence I will do it more often.
What does that mean for you?
Well, think about a chore you hate to do. Since one of the subjects of this blog is organizing, let’s use that one. Say you’re struggling with your home office, and good grief, it is driving you crazy. So, you cope. You stack up the papers, avoid filing and generally go day after day trying to work in an office that you basically hate. You feel hopeless because what you’ve done in the past hasn’t worked. Instead, you could….
… ask a friend for help (who happens to have a rockin’ home office)
… form a “support group”, make a commitment to each other, help each other out with organization projects
… read a book like “It’s Hard To Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys”, by Marilyn Paul
… check out flylady.net for helpful tips to get you going
… subscribe to my e-newsletter!
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So true, Brandie! Great advice and words of wisdom!
Love your new blog format, guess I better go change my link!
Melissa
Thanks Melissa! I love your blog…such great eye candy.
Brandie!
A lot of my own personal housekeeping schedule revolves around lovely housekeeper visiting every two weeks. I use that as a gauge to get projects done. I completely swipe all my desk and take care of any details that I (AND ONLY!) care about… like straightening the closet, dishes, whatever. Then, things only need to be cleaned. I also dreaded doing the windows…. the sprinklers always get them wet…. so on the Tuesdays that I have help, she cleans the inside of the windows, and I clean the outsides…..
In short, I hate housecleaning, but the housekeeper pushes me to get my home in tip-top shape, and back to normal. That’s my chore I hate, and how I resolved the problem to get it to work for me.
- John
Thanks for this helpful tip. We all need help at some point. We don’t have to waste a lot of time doing it the wrong way if someone can teach us the right and fast way of doing it.
So true. We don’t have to be ashamed to ask for help. The important thing is we simplify our lives and avoid stress.