Implementing The One Minute Rule

The one-minute rule was created by Gretchen Rubin and is a fairly new concept for making it simple to stay on top of your cleaning and organizing. If you often find yourself procrastinating your household chores this is perfect for you!

The one-minute rule is truly as simple as it sounds. The idea is to do any simple tasks that come along during your day that take one minute or less. Removing these small tasks from your to do list immediately ensures they get done and takes procrastination out of the equation. We’ve all been there- we walk in the door at the end of a busy day, drop our coats, shoes, backpacks, purses, etc. and move on to preparing dinner, bathing kids, making lunches or whatever else needs to be done. Around comes bedtime, and your coats are still in a heap, shoes are all over the porch, and the mail is piled up which are all things that you’re not going to want to do on your way to bed. Implementing the one-minute rule ensures that you’ll never be faced with this kind of situation again.

Seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? Look around the room you are currently in. Are there papers misplaced? A coat tossed aside? Dishes in the sink? Whatever you may be seeing is likely something that you could have taken care of in a minute or less, earlier. Almost every mess or disorganized space in our homes or offices has gotten that way because we procrastinate small tasks which pile up on one another and become huge tasks before we know it.

Here are some examples of how you can implement the one-minute rule into your home.

1. Wash your breakfast dishes as soon as you are done eating. Most of us have a quick breakfast before we head out which doesn’t require more than a handful of dishes. It only takes a few seconds to wash them and it’s always nice to come home to a clean kitchen.

2. Fold your small loads of laundry as soon as they’re done in the dryer. Laundry is one of the easiest things to get piled up. Folding your small loads as soon as they are done drying will ensure you don’t have a pile of laundry you have to pick through to find matching socks every day.

3. Put your shoes away in the closet as soon as you arrive at home. It only takes an extra ten seconds to open the closet and set them inside to avoid tripping over them later.

4. Hang up coats, backpacks, purses, etc. as soon as you walk in the house. Take your kid’s lunch boxes out and get them lined up and ready for the next day too!

5. After picking up your mail, open all envelopes immediately. Discard any junk mail and place items you need to take care of in a spot they won’t get lost. This will help avoid having piles of papers take over your kitchen.

Implementing the one-minute rule can be a bit of an adjustment but its well worth it and can free up your evenings and weekends so you have time to do the things you love.
Still not sold on it? We can help with that too! Book your spot with Perfection Cleaning today. ​