Messy Monday: Quick Computer Breaks and Home Mis-Management?

For those who are new here, and wondering why I call these posts "Messy Monday":

Mondays are usually quite messy at my house. We're busy on the weekend and quite loose about keeping up. So each Monday, I usually have my work cut out for me. Hence, a "Messy Monday." Every Monday, in addition to trying to get caught up in my own house, I'll post some ideas to help you get caught up in yours too (or if you're already super organized, maybe you can glean some tips to help streamline home-management a bit more for you).

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As I go about my work each day, some chores require all my mental energy and stamina because I really don't enjoy them (see this post). When I get them done, I like to reward myself...with a quick 'ole trip over to the laptop to check in on various blogs, email, a price of a book I want to order on Amazon, when my library books are due, a recipe to help me use up my leftovers, etc. A few minutes--no harm done, right?

But then I get to looking around at all the things that aren't getting done each day. Do you know how many days my back door (which is glass) has held the tell-tale smudges and smears of kids and a dog? Do you know how long it would take to clean it? Probably less than a minute. Why haven't I done it? Probably because I've been hopping over to my computer instead.

So this Messy Monday, I challenge myself to use the "short" breaks of time to do something productive in my home. Sort through a pile of papers. Clean the back door. Wipe down the bathtub and sink. Sweep the sun porch. Put away a basket of laundry. Run the vacuum. Clean off the counter. A few minutes here and there throughout the day will yield big results--but only if I discipline myself to stay off the computer for those "few" minutes and get to work.

If you accept this challenge, I'd love for you to leave a comment telling us what difference you noticed in your home at the end of the day. You'll have to hop on the computer of course, but after a day of disciplined hard work, I think you've earned those "few" minutes. ;)

Linked to:
Raising Homemakers