June 25, 2024 • 29 mins
In this episode, we're tackling a challenge many of us face: feeling like our homes are in complete chaos. With busy schedules and active households, it's easy to get overwhelmed. But here's some encouraging news—your home probably isn't as messy as it feels. Join me as I share practical tips for a quick 5-10 minute tidy that can dramatically transform your living spaces without the need for deep cleaning or vacuuming.
We’ll dive into some of my favorite tips, like setting a timer, focusing on high-impact areas, and involving the whole family in tidying up. I'll also cover those notorious "hot spots" in our homes that quickly become cluttered, like the shoes entryway, mail and paperwork, and kitchen counters, and share strategies to keep them under control.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection—it's about making small, manageable changes that make a big impact. And as we go about our daily routines, let's remember that our ultimate source of peace and order is Jesus.
Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
List of Homemaking Encouragment Posts & Podcasts
10 Tips for Beginning Homemakers @Date Night with the Woods
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to the Thankful Homemaker podcast, a podcast to be an encouragement
and blessing to each other in the role God has called us to as women.
I'm so thankful you've stopped by, so grab yourself a coffee or tea and sit
with me a bit as we talk about how God's Word impacts every area of our lives as Christian women.
Hello, friend. I'm Marci Farrell
(00:27):
from Thankful Homemaker, and I'm so glad to be here with you today.
I have a practical episode for us today, day, just a little bit of encouragement for our day.
And the idea came about for it when I was sharing on the Date Night with the
Woods podcast about 10 steps for beginning homemakers.
And one of those 10 tips was how helpful a daily tidy can be.
(00:48):
I'm going to link to their podcast and that particular episode in the show notes,
because if you haven't tuned into their podcast yet, I think you will absolutely love it.
Pastor Tony and his wife Bree are such a delight, and their podcast is truly
aimed for ordinary people like you and me, and they address so many of the struggles
we all face in our marriages and our families,
(01:10):
and I love how they deal with raising a family on biblical principles in today's challenging culture.
They focus on biblical truths to offer guidance and encouragement,
and each episode, it so beautifully underscores that God's grace and the authority
of Scripture are the foundations for a fulfilling marriage and family. So I will link to that.
And also, as I'm preparing this episode, I've also been working hard on putting
(01:34):
together our camp for our grandkids this year. We officially call it Camp.
Nana Papa, since we are Nana and Papa to our grandkiddos.
And I love the planning part, but I really can't wait to get the kiddos here for a week.
If you want to know more about it, I'll link to an episode my husband and I
did together on our first year doing it.
This is going to be our fifth annual camp this year.
(01:56):
It's been so fun as they're getting older even to plan different activities.
I'm glad they still love it.
This year we have rocket building on the schedule and my girls want to make
homemade salves and body spray and we're going to play a little bit with essential
oils, and they even want to dig into foraging.
I'm a bit nervous on that one because I'm imagining that if I don't turn up
(02:18):
here for a while again, I could have eaten a poison mushroom,
but hopefully that won't be the case.
I'm not sure we're going to eat anything, but we're going to do a little foraging.
And then we have all our regular activities we do, like Bible time.
We prepare a show for the last day to put on for their parents and great-grandpa.
We do arts and crafts we have papa's locally
(02:38):
famous obstacle course swimming nature hikes so
much more it's just really a great time to spend with
them and we love being able to make memories with them so i'm so grateful for
that so basically what i'm telling you i'm gonna i have a whole episode if this
is something you're interested in and you've not heard of it before or you're
thinking maybe it's time to do it whether you're a grandparent or an aunt or
(03:00):
a mom that would love to do this for your kids.
I will link to that show, that episode that my husband and I did together that really laid it out.
But also, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, both of those,
I'm just at Thankful Homemaker there.
I usually try to post pictures at the end of every day, usually because I'm
zonked out and super tired and just sitting in a chair.
(03:21):
And I can sit down for a few minutes and look at my phone and throw a few images
up. But so basically I had a little housekeeping there a couple things I wanted
to go through the date night woods the woods podcast and,
our Camp Nanopapa coming up. I also have a free summertime PDF planning guide.
If you'd like to, I will put that in the show notes that you can download for
(03:42):
free. It's an eight-page guide.
It kind of walks you through summertime meals, planning for your summer,
just all kinds of fun things and lots of activities listed in it.
So I will put that in the show notes too.
So I'm going to get to the episode today. So we're going to talk about something
that we all struggle with from time to time.
Maybe feeling like our homes are a little bit in chaos.
(04:04):
With busy schedules and active households, it can be so easy to get overwhelmed.
But I have some very encouraging news. Your home probably is not as messy as you might think it is.
You'd be amazed at how quickly you can change the whole feel of your home with
a quick five to 10 minute tidy.
So today we're on episode 162 and we're gonna walk through the benefits of a quick tidy.
(04:26):
And right now you're probably thinking to yourself, okay, Marci,
how can you make a whole episode on this?
Well, I did, and it's not a long one, but there was more to chat about on it
than even I thought when I first started it.
It was going to be a bite-sized one originally, but it's a little bit longer now.
But also, I want you to know that much of this episode is in a post on the blog.
(04:50):
I've been trying really hard when I can to keep most of what I share on the
podcast available on the blog in a post form, more for my readers,
but also so you can have a bit more of the complete show notes that are a little
bit more organized than trying to read the transcript on an app.
So I take my transcript, basically what I'm sharing with you here,
(05:12):
and I simplify it and put it into a blog post form.
So you're not getting all the extras and all my ums and likes and all those
extra things in there, but it's just together.
So I will link to that. That will be linked wherever you're listening to this podcast.
And also if you go to thankfulhomemaker.com and you would just put in the search
episode 162 or benefits of a quick tidy and the search, you'd find it there also.
(05:36):
So let's dig in. And before we start, I want to define what tidy means.
And it literally means to tidy is to simply bring order or make things neat.
So this is no deep cleaning, no vacuuming.
You're not dusting. It doesn't take long, but it does make a big impact.
(05:56):
And remember, always, it doesn't mean it has to be perfect. You're just tidying.
You're not preparing for company. So.
I want to start with my favorite four practical tips for a quick tidy,
and these are four rules that I like to follow.
So the first rule, and I don't do this all the time, but I do it pretty frequently,
(06:18):
is to set a timer because sometimes all you need is five minutes or maybe 10 minutes.
Set a timer, see what you can accomplish in that short amount of time.
Maybe you're picking an area of your home that you're going to work on for a
few minutes and see how far you get.
I have a timer that I use on my Apple Watch, and I use that quite frequently.
Number two is to focus on high-impact areas.
(06:39):
Pick an area of your house that either bothers you the most or will have the biggest impact.
Number three is take those few minutes to do a nighttime tidy.
A quick tidy before bed can be incredibly helpful.
It's similar to our kitchen routine cleanup that I talk about in routines and
and other areas I've shared on the podcast.
(07:00):
But when you wake up to a clean kitchen, it just sets a positive tone for the day.
And then number four, involve the whole family. Even toddlers can help pick
up their toys, and it's a great way to teach them to clean up after themselves.
And tidying's a great skill to teach with your kiddos, and honestly,
it's more fun to do together as a family at the end of the day maybe when you're
doing it or in the afternoon.
(07:21):
But again, my four things were set a timer, focus on your high-impact areas,
do a quick nighttime tidy before you head to bed, and involve the whole family.
So I want to talk about something called hot spots because we all have these
challenging areas in our homes.
Often, I like to call them hot spots. That's just a term from Fly Lady that has stuck with me.
(07:42):
I found Fly Lady, it's probably been over 25 years ago, and that she's been a help to me.
So I'm grateful for the work that she's done with this.
But hot spots are just places where clutter and disorganization and piles maybe seem to gather quickly.
I'm going to share some of the hotspots over the years in my home.
(08:02):
I don't have all of these now because I don't have kids here at home,
but I do get my grandkids over quite often.
And I was just going to offer a little more practical tips to help them keep
maybe a bit more under control.
So remember, these are areas in my home you might have different areas of hotspots.
So number one is the entryway.
And this is the entryway where your family's coming into your home.
(08:25):
Maybe it's not where the front door of our company comes in,
but for us, we come in the garage way.
And I have a mudroom area where that's the drop-off for everything.
And this entryway, it can quickly become cluttered if there's not a designated
place for things like shoes, coats, purses, and backpacks.
We need to make sure that we have a spot for our family members to place these
items when they enter the home.
(08:46):
It could be a shoe rack, coat hooks, storage bins, whatever that is.
But if the space is limited, I always say to consider rotating these items seasonally.
So for example, store away winter coats and boots during the warmer months and
swap them out for lighter jackets and your sandals and tennis shoes when the weather changes.
That's going to help to keep the area tidy and it's going to maximize your space very effectively.
(09:10):
And additionally, make it a routine to declutter this area to regularly avoid
that extra accumulation of those unused or outgrown items, right?
It's really easy with kid shoes or our shoes or coats that we are keeping things
that nobody even wears anymore.
So one of those areas to declutter on maybe a seasonal basis.
(09:31):
My second area is mail or paperwork.
They kind of go together for me. So I've learned to sort mail daily.
I recycle the junk mail immediately.
I place bills and important documents in a designated spot.
And we don't receive as much mail as we used to. Most of it seems to be junk.
I'm dealing more with email and that filing on my computer sometimes more than
(09:55):
I'm dealing with paper mail.
But however, as I sort it as it arrives, and though it doesn't always happen,
that's when those piles develop.
So when I'm ready to go through that pile though that's maybe developed on my
kitchen desk area, I already have a system in place, right?
I know that junk goes in the recycling bin, bills go on my desk where I pay
them, and maybe invitations or things that need to go on the calendar,
(10:19):
they stay on my desk until I enter the details into my Google Calendar.
I usually, for me, I pay bills on a weekly basis. So that pile on my office
desk that's building, I'll get to it. Usually on Wednesdays is my day set.
I have theme days, you know, whatever my various days are, but Wednesdays are
my bill paying day. And then from there, things get filed into their proper places.
(10:42):
So again, having a way to sort your mail and deal with your paperwork and making
sure you have a simple filing system in place.
My other area, my other hotspot is...
Is my bedroom. And it's things like my closet, my drawers, my nightstand,
because these areas can so quickly become messy with clothes and personal items
(11:03):
that aren't put away, right?
So it's key that we regularly declutter and organize our closet and drawers
and even nightstand to keep things tidy.
I try to just keep things on my nightstand that I'm using, like whatever book
I'm reading, or I make sure I have my coaster or my hand lotion,
my alarm clock. I try not to clutter my nightstand.
I also work really hard to put
(11:26):
away clothes before I go to bed or in the morning right after I get ready.
I don't always get to it before bed and that pile is there.
My husband is not a piler with his clothes. I'm a piler, but it's just an area I have to work on.
I have a chair in my bedroom and that's where things just seem to end up.
So I really work hard to do it in the evening or in the morning before it gets too out of control.
(11:50):
Role. Some people, I know they like to implement when I think of closet organization,
a one-in, one-out rule for clothes to prevent overstuffed closets.
I use something that I call, I don't do the one-out. I don't, I just don't do that.
I use a backward hanger trick from my closet, and this has been so helpful for me.
So at the start of the year or a start of a season or when I'm cleaning my closet
(12:13):
out, whatever that might be, I turn all my hangers backward in my closet.
Then when I wear an item, I put the hanger back the right way so that at the
end of the year or the end of that season, I can see all those items that I never wore.
And for me, it's just a really good visual of where to even begin decluttering my clothes.
So my other hotspot is the kitchen counter because it just becomes sometimes
(12:36):
a catch-all for all these various items that nobody knows what to do with or
they're not going to put them away right away.
So I try hard to keep Keep it clear of things that jump along there.
At least on, it's not always every day. You know, maybe we like to have our
water bottles or certain things there, but I do try to not let it get over cluttered.
So key is putting things back in their proper places and then also just establishing
(13:00):
a regular habit of clearing that kitchen counter.
And maybe you have little trays or baskets to contain items that catch there,
like keys or mail, stuff like that, that maybe needs to stay on the counter
depending on your kitchen setup.
I have a kitchen desk area, so some of that can go there where I can keep my
mail or my glasses or whatever that might be.
(13:22):
So it's not cluttering the kitchen counter necessarily.
And I try to keep that area tidy when I can so I can find things.
But it's just something we have to get in the habit of making it a point to
return non-kitchen items to their proper places, right?
So number five is doesn't, it's not so much in my life anymore,
but it's things that I know if you have kiddos at home, it's books and backpacks
(13:46):
and homeschool supplies, although I have a lot of issue with books.
So, but it's still an area that I know is hard to keep under control sometimes
because these items can begin to spread out all over.
So it helps to designate specific areas for these items to keep them organized.
So keep a specific area or areas in your home for books, right,
(14:06):
for your homeschool materials and maybe other school supplies and a designated spot for backpacks.
And then maybe you use bins or shelves or hooks or whatever that might be for
each child that you have that has a backpack or an area with their homeschool books.
And this is a key one here is when you determine what system you're going to
use to help keep that organized, teach your kiddos to return their items to
(14:30):
those areas at the end of each day. That's super helpful.
And number six, it's my last one. Again, it's toys.
It's another hot spot. I know when we have kiddos at home, I don't,
my grandkids are also getting older now, so I don't have the amount of toys
out when they're over from just, you know, a year or two ago.
But I know children's toys can so quickly spread throughout the house.
(14:51):
And storage bins have been a help for me. We have a toy closet in the basement,
and I keep some games under the family room coffee table, and I rotate them out periodically.
But I've really worked hard to teach even my grandkids to put those toys away
as they're using them in the right spot.
If you have young kiddos and you have a lot of toys, you know,
(15:12):
you can implement a toy rotation system maybe to manage the number of toys out at one time.
Clean out those toys yearly. This is a big one. For us, when I had my kids home,
birthdays always served as a good time for us to identify which toys they no
longer use or they've outgrown.
And then we were able to decide if we can give them away or there was someone
to share them with or if they needed to just be discarded.
(15:34):
Started but having a place for everything simplifies cleanup and establish a
cleanup routine where kids put their toys away before moving on to another activity or before bedtime.
Because and I know it doesn't happen all the time but it is sure helpful when
it does because they can go from toy to toy to toy to toy and have all these
things out and then it does feel a little overwhelming but if they're finished
(15:56):
playing with something to just have them teach them to put that back and then
move to the next thing and you can make it fun by setting a timer putting some fun fun music on.
And coming alongside and helping them is always key because then you're modeling
and you're teaching them how to do it.
So I always think that when we take care of those hot spots in our home,
whatever yours might be, they just bring a lot of benefits that can help us in our day-to-day life.
(16:21):
Regular tidying, as we're doing that, it cuts down on clutter because we're
continuing to work through it.
When everything has a designated place, we're going to spend a lot less time looking for things.
And with items put away and surfaces cleared off, it's amazing how much easier
it is to actually clean when you're ready to do that.
Regular tidying, it also helps to build good habits.
(16:43):
So over time, you and your family are going to naturally just put things away
and you're going to reduce the need for constant tidying.
I've heard that rule that we just touch it once, only once.
So you pick whatever you did, you took it out and you put it back where it belonged,
and then you're never dealing with having to tidy so much because you're putting
things away when you're done with them. So-
(17:06):
As we tidy up, remember that this task, it's just about bringing order.
It's not really cleaning.
So there's some tasks to focus on. And I'm going to throw just a little bullet
list of items that come to my mind here.
So laundry, if you just would consolidate laundry into a designated spot,
or if you have a few minutes, you can always start a load going in the washer to get it rolling.
(17:28):
But have a place for laundry to be captured, whether it's in the laundry room
or in their rooms, like for dirty clothes, make sure there's designated hampers
for every family member to put their dirty clothes in.
Mail, again, having a place to sort your mail and to designate where it goes,
what you're going to do with it.
(17:48):
Dishes, making sure that you, I think about this a lot after you eat a meal,
that if you're not going to wash them right away to at least rinse them and
stack them in the sink for washing later, or if you just have time after a meal,
just do them when you're done.
Shoes. This is a big one. Just straighten them up by the back door.
No shoes in that front of the door to be tripping over. And that's an easy one
(18:10):
to teach kiddos to take care of too.
Coats. Hang them up. Don't let kiddos throw coats on the floor.
Have a place for them to put them.
The family room where you all are gathering all the time. Make sure when you're
done or you leave that room that you straighten the coffee table,
fluff and arrange the pillows.
Maybe you neatly fold and stack blankets.
And then items in other room. This is a big one. collect items that are out
(18:32):
of place and carry them to their proper room or place.
If they need to go upstairs or downstairs and you're not heading there yet,
maybe you can place them somewhere near the stairs or have a basket there because
our homes can all benefit from a quick tidy.
And I just want to talk about what it might look like because you could incorporate
a quick tidy into your morning routine.
When you're doing things like emptying the dishwasher or starting a load of
(18:54):
laundry or clearing off countertops, you're tidying as you're doing that.
You could also set aside certain times a day for a quick tidy,
like in the afternoon, you all just take five to ten minutes to give the home
a quick tidy, or before or after dinner, or in the evening before getting ready for bed.
Maybe if you want to do it by yourself some days after the kiddos are tucked
in, you just take that few extra minutes to pick up toys, straighten the family
(19:17):
room, and prepare for the next day.
Even a few minutes here and there can add up and make a significant impact on
keeping your home in order.
And always be sure to involve your children, children assign them tasks that
help maintain order that they can do.
They can tidy their own rooms. They can pick up toys.
They can put their shoes, books, and backpacks away.
It's a great way to teach them responsibility.
(19:41):
I just, this is a big one. As you're doing that and teaching them,
make sure there's a place for them to put everything because if there's not
a place for them to put it, it's going to be hard to put it away, basically.
And then just when you're tidying up, here's the reality.
Kids are going to make messes, right? We're going to make messes.
But just continue to model and teach them how to clean up before they make the next mess.
(20:06):
Toys on the floor aren't a mess, right? They are a sweet reminder to us that
kiddos live here and they bring a lot of joy and laughter to our homes and lives
because our homes are never going to be perfectly clean or perfectly tidy because
they are lived in. And that is a good thing.
Perfection here is not the goal. And you need to hear that as I'm walking you through this, okay?
(20:27):
So I'm going to kind of walk through my key habits over my lifetime as a homemaker,
and now for over 38 years, that would be.
But these are have ones that have helped me to build a tidy home.
Because again, tidying brings things under control. And sometimes it spurs me
on to maybe vacuum or dust an area that I wouldn't have before because now I
(20:47):
can actually see the floor or the flat space and realize it only takes a few
minutes to run a vacuum or dust a table.
But keeping a tidy home doesn't mean that you're cleaning constantly.
It's really the opposite here. And I wish everybody could capture this.
I feel like I'm cleaning less because as I've developed habits that help me
to keep a tidy home, I find that it's so much easier to maintain order and I
(21:11):
don't get that feeling of overwhelm in my home anymore.
I want to share some items that have become habits because they have helped
me to keep a tidy home without giving it much thought. It just sort of happens.
I have a lot of podcasts that dig a bit deeper into some of these areas that I'm going to touch on.
I'll link to those in the the show notes. So you'll see those under in the main
(21:33):
show notes at the blog. You can catch them there.
So number one, start your morning off with specific tasks like unloading the
dishwasher, starting a load of laundry, making the bed.
Number two is my big one. Always try to make your bed daily because then your
room, it is instantly tidy.
Number three, keep up with the dishes if you can after every meal.
(21:55):
Then nothing really builds and it doesn't get overwhelming.
Number four, remind yourself to put things back after using them.
Number five, don't let clothes pile up. Try to put laundry away before the end
of the day. Try not to let it pile up in the bedroom.
Make it a point on a regular basis to put clothes away.
And my laundry rule, if you've listened to me enough, you know it.
(22:16):
It is to wash, dry, fold, and put away. That's key.
Number six, figure out a simple home filing system that works for you and for
your paperwork that you can do, that it's not too complicated.
Number seven, and I always say, if you're not sure and you have an accountant,
talk Talk to your accountant about what you should keep and how that all works.
(22:36):
I think that's really important.
Number seven, determine how you're going to keep kids' special art projects
or all those lovely, sweet things that they make for you, like cards and notes and stuff.
And maybe you start a memory box for each child so you have a place to put things.
Or even yourself, just a container that you can put those special notes and
(22:57):
things that you'd like to hold on to. too.
I always think that this works well for photos, too, because if you have,
you know, I know we are mostly dealing with digital photos, but I know for me,
I have a lot of old photos.
And if you can't get to organizing them yet, at least put them together all
in one place, and that helps. Then you know it's there when you're ready to get to it.
(23:18):
Number eight, have a spot in your home where family members can easily,
again, put coats, shoes, backpacks, keys, etc.
It should be an easy place, and it should be one of those things that you're
going to work on to teach your kiddos how to use it.
And then speaking of our kiddos, this is number nine, make sure you continue
to train and to teach them how to tidy.
(23:38):
Show them how to pick up their rooms, come alongside them and work with them.
If they're playing with toys in the family room, teach them how to put them away when they're done.
Teaching them responsibility, it simplifies your job too. And it's so good for them.
Like my dear mamas out there, I continue to teach my grandkids,
even when they're here, how to tidy a room after we're done in it.
From putting away the items we use, to taking cups to the kitchen,
(24:02):
to straightening the pillows on the couch, or folding the blankets,
or making sure we put our games away.
It helps them too, to develop an eye for what needs to be done.
Done that's a skill so often that needs to
be taught and it's just not always natural
for everyone number 10 clean up
as you go if there's a spill wipe it don't leave
(24:22):
a room empty-handed take that cup into the kitchen if there's crumbs on the
floor and you see them like it just happened and you can wipe them up or vacuum
them up if you can number 11 continually declutter as you're cleaning and even
tidying areas so i think about that if you come across and you're tidying and
and there's garbage or there's giveaway items,
take care of them as you're handling them. Don't do it twice.
(24:45):
Maybe giveaway items go right into your car trunk or in a container near the door.
Number 12, have some sort of cleaning system in place. Do a little bit of cleaning
every day, at least Monday through Friday if you can.
I have a whole post on how I have a very simple daily and weekly cleaning schedule. Number 13,
Complete your tasks first, at least your difficult ones, I would say.
(25:07):
Then reward yourself with that cup of coffee or to sit down with a book or to watch a TV show.
You're going to really enjoy it more if you do that difficult task first.
Number 14, have a place for everything. Because we know that clutter begins
when items don't have a home.
So for items, maybe you have something and you're not sure what to do with it yet.
Then maybe you have an area like a homeless bin or basket. And when that gets
(25:32):
full or starts to build, you sit with it and determine where these items are
going to go or if they're even needed anymore.
Number 15, think like with like as you do begin to organize items.
You know, photos with photos, books with books, homeschool items with homeschool
items. Just keep things together.
Number 16, work on having easy access to things that you use on a regular basis.
(25:55):
Things like your keys, keep them in a certain spot, your purse,
your supplements that you take, your time with the Lord materials. That's a big one, too.
Number 17, most jobs don't take as long as you think.
And that is why I love a timer. And that's why I have a whole podcast on it.
So if nothing else, you can see how long they actually take.
(26:19):
Number 18, use music for your tidy or listen to an audio book or a podcast during that time.
And number 19, and I love that I ended on this odd number.
I don't know why I couldn't come up with a number 20, but number 19 is done is better than perfect.
So you did it, you tidied an area, maybe it wasn't perfect, but you at least
got that area to have some semblance of order. And that's a good thing.
(26:42):
So our reality is we're going to be decluttering and cleaning and tidying for
for the rest of our lives here on this earth, right?
So let's continue to simplify this area of our lives.
I don't wanna spend more time than necessary cleaning my home.
So I like having systems and routines that really help me to make good use of my time.
And in sharing this episode, it doesn't mean that I follow these systems and
(27:05):
routines perfectly by any means. I have off days.
I sometimes go to bed with dishes in the sink or I didn't get to pick up the
family room before bed, but I can share when I do get to them.
It makes my cleaning and keeping orders so much easier, and it just feels like
I have more time in my day for other things.
So tonight, before bed or right after dinner, after you've done the dishes together
(27:29):
as a family, set a timer for 10 minutes or whatever that is.
Put on some fun music, get everyone involved in giving the home a quick five-minute
tidy or 10-minute or whatever you have. And as you tidy, keep a list of areas
that maybe you'd like to organize in the future.
Maybe put a little list on your phone in the notes app that you're looking at something.
(27:49):
Maybe it's your game cupboard as you're putting it away and you're like,
you know, that could use a little help.
And maybe each month you spend 10 to 15 minutes a day tackling that particular area.
First of all, when you do this with the dishes, you're going to feel better
knowing you're not waking up to a sink full of dishes or items all over the family room.
Remember, you didn't vacuum or dust. You just picked up a bit.
(28:12):
So I hope that this episode encourages you to see that the small things that
don't take up much of your time that you can do to simplify your day and bring
more order into your home can take even just five minutes.
So maybe you even took a couple of minutes to make sure you had everything you
needed in one place to meet and sit with the Lord the next morning.
(28:32):
You went to bed ready for a great start the next day.
That should be the top priority area to get in order and tidy if you haven't yet.
And as we go about our daily routines, let's remember that our ultimate source
of peace and order is Jesus, because amidst the busyness of life,
He offers us rest and comfort.
(28:53):
And I pray our homes would be a place where we serve our families with great
joy and that we continue to to honor the Lord in and through all things,
because truly Jesus is enough always.
I am so, so thankful for your time today.
My dear friend, you can find the show notes for this episode at the blog at
thankfulhomemaker.com, my little home on the web.
And before you go, if you could use a bit of motivation in putting together
(29:16):
a simple way to start your day with focus and order, I have a free mini course
that gives you three simple steps to jumpstart your days and prioritize
what is most important, and I will put the link to the free course in the show notes too.
I am so grateful for you, my friend, and I do pray you have a very blessed week.
(29:37):
Music.
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to the Thankful Homemaker podcast, a podcast to be an encouragement
and blessing to each other in the role God has called us to as women.
I'm so thankful you've stopped by, so grab yourself a coffee or tea and sit
with me a bit as we talk about how God's Word impacts every area of our lives as Christian women.
Hello, friend. I'm Marci Farrell
(00:27):
from Thankful Homemaker, and I'm so glad to be here with you today.
I have a practical episode for us today, day, just a little bit of encouragement for our day.
And the idea came about for it when I was sharing on the Date Night with the
Woods podcast about 10 steps for beginning homemakers.
And one of those 10 tips was how helpful a daily tidy can be.
(00:48):
I'm going to link to their podcast and that particular episode in the show notes,
because if you haven't tuned into their podcast yet, I think you will absolutely love it.
Pastor Tony and his wife Bree are such a delight, and their podcast is truly
aimed for ordinary people like you and me, and they address so many of the struggles
we all face in our marriages and our families,
(01:10):
and I love how they deal with raising a family on biblical principles in today's challenging culture.
They focus on biblical truths to offer guidance and encouragement,
and each episode, it so beautifully underscores that God's grace and the authority
of Scripture are the foundations for a fulfilling marriage and family. So I will link to that.
And also, as I'm preparing this episode, I've also been working hard on putting
(01:34):
together our camp for our grandkids this year. We officially call it Camp.
Nana Papa, since we are Nana and Papa to our grandkiddos.
And I love the planning part, but I really can't wait to get the kiddos here for a week.
If you want to know more about it, I'll link to an episode my husband and I
did together on our first year doing it.
This is going to be our fifth annual camp this year.
(01:56):
It's been so fun as they're getting older even to plan different activities.
I'm glad they still love it.
This year we have rocket building on the schedule and my girls want to make
homemade salves and body spray and we're going to play a little bit with essential
oils, and they even want to dig into foraging.
I'm a bit nervous on that one because I'm imagining that if I don't turn up
(02:18):
here for a while again, I could have eaten a poison mushroom,
but hopefully that won't be the case.
I'm not sure we're going to eat anything, but we're going to do a little foraging.
And then we have all our regular activities we do, like Bible time.
We prepare a show for the last day to put on for their parents and great-grandpa.
We do arts and crafts we have papa's locally
(02:38):
famous obstacle course swimming nature hikes so
much more it's just really a great time to spend with
them and we love being able to make memories with them so i'm so grateful for
that so basically what i'm telling you i'm gonna i have a whole episode if this
is something you're interested in and you've not heard of it before or you're
thinking maybe it's time to do it whether you're a grandparent or an aunt or
(03:00):
a mom that would love to do this for your kids.
I will link to that show, that episode that my husband and I did together that really laid it out.
But also, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, both of those,
I'm just at Thankful Homemaker there.
I usually try to post pictures at the end of every day, usually because I'm
zonked out and super tired and just sitting in a chair.
(03:21):
And I can sit down for a few minutes and look at my phone and throw a few images
up. But so basically I had a little housekeeping there a couple things I wanted
to go through the date night woods the woods podcast and,
our Camp Nanopapa coming up. I also have a free summertime PDF planning guide.
If you'd like to, I will put that in the show notes that you can download for
(03:42):
free. It's an eight-page guide.
It kind of walks you through summertime meals, planning for your summer,
just all kinds of fun things and lots of activities listed in it.
So I will put that in the show notes too.
So I'm going to get to the episode today. So we're going to talk about something
that we all struggle with from time to time.
Maybe feeling like our homes are a little bit in chaos.
(04:04):
With busy schedules and active households, it can be so easy to get overwhelmed.
But I have some very encouraging news. Your home probably is not as messy as you might think it is.
You'd be amazed at how quickly you can change the whole feel of your home with
a quick five to 10 minute tidy.
So today we're on episode 162 and we're gonna walk through the benefits of a quick tidy.
(04:26):
And right now you're probably thinking to yourself, okay, Marci,
how can you make a whole episode on this?
Well, I did, and it's not a long one, but there was more to chat about on it
than even I thought when I first started it.
It was going to be a bite-sized one originally, but it's a little bit longer now.
But also, I want you to know that much of this episode is in a post on the blog.
(04:50):
I've been trying really hard when I can to keep most of what I share on the
podcast available on the blog in a post form, more for my readers,
but also so you can have a bit more of the complete show notes that are a little
bit more organized than trying to read the transcript on an app.
So I take my transcript, basically what I'm sharing with you here,
(05:12):
and I simplify it and put it into a blog post form.
So you're not getting all the extras and all my ums and likes and all those
extra things in there, but it's just together.
So I will link to that. That will be linked wherever you're listening to this podcast.
And also if you go to thankfulhomemaker.com and you would just put in the search
episode 162 or benefits of a quick tidy and the search, you'd find it there also.
(05:36):
So let's dig in. And before we start, I want to define what tidy means.
And it literally means to tidy is to simply bring order or make things neat.
So this is no deep cleaning, no vacuuming.
You're not dusting. It doesn't take long, but it does make a big impact.
(05:56):
And remember, always, it doesn't mean it has to be perfect. You're just tidying.
You're not preparing for company. So.
I want to start with my favorite four practical tips for a quick tidy,
and these are four rules that I like to follow.
So the first rule, and I don't do this all the time, but I do it pretty frequently,
(06:18):
is to set a timer because sometimes all you need is five minutes or maybe 10 minutes.
Set a timer, see what you can accomplish in that short amount of time.
Maybe you're picking an area of your home that you're going to work on for a
few minutes and see how far you get.
I have a timer that I use on my Apple Watch, and I use that quite frequently.
Number two is to focus on high-impact areas.
(06:39):
Pick an area of your house that either bothers you the most or will have the biggest impact.
Number three is take those few minutes to do a nighttime tidy.
A quick tidy before bed can be incredibly helpful.
It's similar to our kitchen routine cleanup that I talk about in routines and
and other areas I've shared on the podcast.
(07:00):
But when you wake up to a clean kitchen, it just sets a positive tone for the day.
And then number four, involve the whole family. Even toddlers can help pick
up their toys, and it's a great way to teach them to clean up after themselves.
And tidying's a great skill to teach with your kiddos, and honestly,
it's more fun to do together as a family at the end of the day maybe when you're
doing it or in the afternoon.
(07:21):
But again, my four things were set a timer, focus on your high-impact areas,
do a quick nighttime tidy before you head to bed, and involve the whole family.
So I want to talk about something called hot spots because we all have these
challenging areas in our homes.
Often, I like to call them hot spots. That's just a term from Fly Lady that has stuck with me.
(07:42):
I found Fly Lady, it's probably been over 25 years ago, and that she's been a help to me.
So I'm grateful for the work that she's done with this.
But hot spots are just places where clutter and disorganization and piles maybe seem to gather quickly.
I'm going to share some of the hotspots over the years in my home.
(08:02):
I don't have all of these now because I don't have kids here at home,
but I do get my grandkids over quite often.
And I was just going to offer a little more practical tips to help them keep
maybe a bit more under control.
So remember, these are areas in my home you might have different areas of hotspots.
So number one is the entryway.
And this is the entryway where your family's coming into your home.
(08:25):
Maybe it's not where the front door of our company comes in,
but for us, we come in the garage way.
And I have a mudroom area where that's the drop-off for everything.
And this entryway, it can quickly become cluttered if there's not a designated
place for things like shoes, coats, purses, and backpacks.
We need to make sure that we have a spot for our family members to place these
items when they enter the home.
(08:46):
It could be a shoe rack, coat hooks, storage bins, whatever that is.
But if the space is limited, I always say to consider rotating these items seasonally.
So for example, store away winter coats and boots during the warmer months and
swap them out for lighter jackets and your sandals and tennis shoes when the weather changes.
That's going to help to keep the area tidy and it's going to maximize your space very effectively.
(09:10):
And additionally, make it a routine to declutter this area to regularly avoid
that extra accumulation of those unused or outgrown items, right?
It's really easy with kid shoes or our shoes or coats that we are keeping things
that nobody even wears anymore.
So one of those areas to declutter on maybe a seasonal basis.
(09:31):
My second area is mail or paperwork.
They kind of go together for me. So I've learned to sort mail daily.
I recycle the junk mail immediately.
I place bills and important documents in a designated spot.
And we don't receive as much mail as we used to. Most of it seems to be junk.
I'm dealing more with email and that filing on my computer sometimes more than
(09:55):
I'm dealing with paper mail.
But however, as I sort it as it arrives, and though it doesn't always happen,
that's when those piles develop.
So when I'm ready to go through that pile though that's maybe developed on my
kitchen desk area, I already have a system in place, right?
I know that junk goes in the recycling bin, bills go on my desk where I pay
them, and maybe invitations or things that need to go on the calendar,
(10:19):
they stay on my desk until I enter the details into my Google Calendar.
I usually, for me, I pay bills on a weekly basis. So that pile on my office
desk that's building, I'll get to it. Usually on Wednesdays is my day set.
I have theme days, you know, whatever my various days are, but Wednesdays are
my bill paying day. And then from there, things get filed into their proper places.
(10:42):
So again, having a way to sort your mail and deal with your paperwork and making
sure you have a simple filing system in place.
My other area, my other hotspot is...
Is my bedroom. And it's things like my closet, my drawers, my nightstand,
because these areas can so quickly become messy with clothes and personal items
(11:03):
that aren't put away, right?
So it's key that we regularly declutter and organize our closet and drawers
and even nightstand to keep things tidy.
I try to just keep things on my nightstand that I'm using, like whatever book
I'm reading, or I make sure I have my coaster or my hand lotion,
my alarm clock. I try not to clutter my nightstand.
I also work really hard to put
(11:26):
away clothes before I go to bed or in the morning right after I get ready.
I don't always get to it before bed and that pile is there.
My husband is not a piler with his clothes. I'm a piler, but it's just an area I have to work on.
I have a chair in my bedroom and that's where things just seem to end up.
So I really work hard to do it in the evening or in the morning before it gets too out of control.
(11:50):
Role. Some people, I know they like to implement when I think of closet organization,
a one-in, one-out rule for clothes to prevent overstuffed closets.
I use something that I call, I don't do the one-out. I don't, I just don't do that.
I use a backward hanger trick from my closet, and this has been so helpful for me.
So at the start of the year or a start of a season or when I'm cleaning my closet
(12:13):
out, whatever that might be, I turn all my hangers backward in my closet.
Then when I wear an item, I put the hanger back the right way so that at the
end of the year or the end of that season, I can see all those items that I never wore.
And for me, it's just a really good visual of where to even begin decluttering my clothes.
So my other hotspot is the kitchen counter because it just becomes sometimes
(12:36):
a catch-all for all these various items that nobody knows what to do with or
they're not going to put them away right away.
So I try hard to keep Keep it clear of things that jump along there.
At least on, it's not always every day. You know, maybe we like to have our
water bottles or certain things there, but I do try to not let it get over cluttered.
So key is putting things back in their proper places and then also just establishing
(13:00):
a regular habit of clearing that kitchen counter.
And maybe you have little trays or baskets to contain items that catch there,
like keys or mail, stuff like that, that maybe needs to stay on the counter
depending on your kitchen setup.
I have a kitchen desk area, so some of that can go there where I can keep my
mail or my glasses or whatever that might be.
(13:22):
So it's not cluttering the kitchen counter necessarily.
And I try to keep that area tidy when I can so I can find things.
But it's just something we have to get in the habit of making it a point to
return non-kitchen items to their proper places, right?
So number five is doesn't, it's not so much in my life anymore,
but it's things that I know if you have kiddos at home, it's books and backpacks
(13:46):
and homeschool supplies, although I have a lot of issue with books.
So, but it's still an area that I know is hard to keep under control sometimes
because these items can begin to spread out all over.
So it helps to designate specific areas for these items to keep them organized.
So keep a specific area or areas in your home for books, right,
(14:06):
for your homeschool materials and maybe other school supplies and a designated spot for backpacks.
And then maybe you use bins or shelves or hooks or whatever that might be for
each child that you have that has a backpack or an area with their homeschool books.
And this is a key one here is when you determine what system you're going to
use to help keep that organized, teach your kiddos to return their items to
(14:30):
those areas at the end of each day. That's super helpful.
And number six, it's my last one. Again, it's toys.
It's another hot spot. I know when we have kiddos at home, I don't,
my grandkids are also getting older now, so I don't have the amount of toys
out when they're over from just, you know, a year or two ago.
But I know children's toys can so quickly spread throughout the house.
(14:51):
And storage bins have been a help for me. We have a toy closet in the basement,
and I keep some games under the family room coffee table, and I rotate them out periodically.
But I've really worked hard to teach even my grandkids to put those toys away
as they're using them in the right spot.
If you have young kiddos and you have a lot of toys, you know,
(15:12):
you can implement a toy rotation system maybe to manage the number of toys out at one time.
Clean out those toys yearly. This is a big one. For us, when I had my kids home,
birthdays always served as a good time for us to identify which toys they no
longer use or they've outgrown.
And then we were able to decide if we can give them away or there was someone
to share them with or if they needed to just be discarded.
(15:34):
Started but having a place for everything simplifies cleanup and establish a
cleanup routine where kids put their toys away before moving on to another activity or before bedtime.
Because and I know it doesn't happen all the time but it is sure helpful when
it does because they can go from toy to toy to toy to toy and have all these
things out and then it does feel a little overwhelming but if they're finished
(15:56):
playing with something to just have them teach them to put that back and then
move to the next thing and you can make it fun by setting a timer putting some fun fun music on.
And coming alongside and helping them is always key because then you're modeling
and you're teaching them how to do it.
So I always think that when we take care of those hot spots in our home,
whatever yours might be, they just bring a lot of benefits that can help us in our day-to-day life.
(16:21):
Regular tidying, as we're doing that, it cuts down on clutter because we're
continuing to work through it.
When everything has a designated place, we're going to spend a lot less time looking for things.
And with items put away and surfaces cleared off, it's amazing how much easier
it is to actually clean when you're ready to do that.
Regular tidying, it also helps to build good habits.
(16:43):
So over time, you and your family are going to naturally just put things away
and you're going to reduce the need for constant tidying.
I've heard that rule that we just touch it once, only once.
So you pick whatever you did, you took it out and you put it back where it belonged,
and then you're never dealing with having to tidy so much because you're putting
things away when you're done with them. So-
(17:06):
As we tidy up, remember that this task, it's just about bringing order.
It's not really cleaning.
So there's some tasks to focus on. And I'm going to throw just a little bullet
list of items that come to my mind here.
So laundry, if you just would consolidate laundry into a designated spot,
or if you have a few minutes, you can always start a load going in the washer to get it rolling.
(17:28):
But have a place for laundry to be captured, whether it's in the laundry room
or in their rooms, like for dirty clothes, make sure there's designated hampers
for every family member to put their dirty clothes in.
Mail, again, having a place to sort your mail and to designate where it goes,
what you're going to do with it.
(17:48):
Dishes, making sure that you, I think about this a lot after you eat a meal,
that if you're not going to wash them right away to at least rinse them and
stack them in the sink for washing later, or if you just have time after a meal,
just do them when you're done.
Shoes. This is a big one. Just straighten them up by the back door.
No shoes in that front of the door to be tripping over. And that's an easy one
(18:10):
to teach kiddos to take care of too.
Coats. Hang them up. Don't let kiddos throw coats on the floor.
Have a place for them to put them.
The family room where you all are gathering all the time. Make sure when you're
done or you leave that room that you straighten the coffee table,
fluff and arrange the pillows.
Maybe you neatly fold and stack blankets.
And then items in other room. This is a big one. collect items that are out
(18:32):
of place and carry them to their proper room or place.
If they need to go upstairs or downstairs and you're not heading there yet,
maybe you can place them somewhere near the stairs or have a basket there because
our homes can all benefit from a quick tidy.
And I just want to talk about what it might look like because you could incorporate
a quick tidy into your morning routine.
When you're doing things like emptying the dishwasher or starting a load of
(18:54):
laundry or clearing off countertops, you're tidying as you're doing that.
You could also set aside certain times a day for a quick tidy,
like in the afternoon, you all just take five to ten minutes to give the home
a quick tidy, or before or after dinner, or in the evening before getting ready for bed.
Maybe if you want to do it by yourself some days after the kiddos are tucked
in, you just take that few extra minutes to pick up toys, straighten the family
(19:17):
room, and prepare for the next day.
Even a few minutes here and there can add up and make a significant impact on
keeping your home in order.
And always be sure to involve your children, children assign them tasks that
help maintain order that they can do.
They can tidy their own rooms. They can pick up toys.
They can put their shoes, books, and backpacks away.
It's a great way to teach them responsibility.
(19:41):
I just, this is a big one. As you're doing that and teaching them,
make sure there's a place for them to put everything because if there's not
a place for them to put it, it's going to be hard to put it away, basically.
And then just when you're tidying up, here's the reality.
Kids are going to make messes, right? We're going to make messes.
But just continue to model and teach them how to clean up before they make the next mess.
(20:06):
Toys on the floor aren't a mess, right? They are a sweet reminder to us that
kiddos live here and they bring a lot of joy and laughter to our homes and lives
because our homes are never going to be perfectly clean or perfectly tidy because
they are lived in. And that is a good thing.
Perfection here is not the goal. And you need to hear that as I'm walking you through this, okay?
(20:27):
So I'm going to kind of walk through my key habits over my lifetime as a homemaker,
and now for over 38 years, that would be.
But these are have ones that have helped me to build a tidy home.
Because again, tidying brings things under control. And sometimes it spurs me
on to maybe vacuum or dust an area that I wouldn't have before because now I
(20:47):
can actually see the floor or the flat space and realize it only takes a few
minutes to run a vacuum or dust a table.
But keeping a tidy home doesn't mean that you're cleaning constantly.
It's really the opposite here. And I wish everybody could capture this.
I feel like I'm cleaning less because as I've developed habits that help me
to keep a tidy home, I find that it's so much easier to maintain order and I
(21:11):
don't get that feeling of overwhelm in my home anymore.
I want to share some items that have become habits because they have helped
me to keep a tidy home without giving it much thought. It just sort of happens.
I have a lot of podcasts that dig a bit deeper into some of these areas that I'm going to touch on.
I'll link to those in the the show notes. So you'll see those under in the main
(21:33):
show notes at the blog. You can catch them there.
So number one, start your morning off with specific tasks like unloading the
dishwasher, starting a load of laundry, making the bed.
Number two is my big one. Always try to make your bed daily because then your
room, it is instantly tidy.
Number three, keep up with the dishes if you can after every meal.
(21:55):
Then nothing really builds and it doesn't get overwhelming.
Number four, remind yourself to put things back after using them.
Number five, don't let clothes pile up. Try to put laundry away before the end
of the day. Try not to let it pile up in the bedroom.
Make it a point on a regular basis to put clothes away.
And my laundry rule, if you've listened to me enough, you know it.
(22:16):
It is to wash, dry, fold, and put away. That's key.
Number six, figure out a simple home filing system that works for you and for
your paperwork that you can do, that it's not too complicated.
Number seven, and I always say, if you're not sure and you have an accountant,
talk Talk to your accountant about what you should keep and how that all works.
(22:36):
I think that's really important.
Number seven, determine how you're going to keep kids' special art projects
or all those lovely, sweet things that they make for you, like cards and notes and stuff.
And maybe you start a memory box for each child so you have a place to put things.
Or even yourself, just a container that you can put those special notes and
(22:57):
things that you'd like to hold on to. too.
I always think that this works well for photos, too, because if you have,
you know, I know we are mostly dealing with digital photos, but I know for me,
I have a lot of old photos.
And if you can't get to organizing them yet, at least put them together all
in one place, and that helps. Then you know it's there when you're ready to get to it.
(23:18):
Number eight, have a spot in your home where family members can easily,
again, put coats, shoes, backpacks, keys, etc.
It should be an easy place, and it should be one of those things that you're
going to work on to teach your kiddos how to use it.
And then speaking of our kiddos, this is number nine, make sure you continue
to train and to teach them how to tidy.
(23:38):
Show them how to pick up their rooms, come alongside them and work with them.
If they're playing with toys in the family room, teach them how to put them away when they're done.
Teaching them responsibility, it simplifies your job too. And it's so good for them.
Like my dear mamas out there, I continue to teach my grandkids,
even when they're here, how to tidy a room after we're done in it.
From putting away the items we use, to taking cups to the kitchen,
(24:02):
to straightening the pillows on the couch, or folding the blankets,
or making sure we put our games away.
It helps them too, to develop an eye for what needs to be done.
Done that's a skill so often that needs to
be taught and it's just not always natural
for everyone number 10 clean up
as you go if there's a spill wipe it don't leave
(24:22):
a room empty-handed take that cup into the kitchen if there's crumbs on the
floor and you see them like it just happened and you can wipe them up or vacuum
them up if you can number 11 continually declutter as you're cleaning and even
tidying areas so i think about that if you come across and you're tidying and
and there's garbage or there's giveaway items,
take care of them as you're handling them. Don't do it twice.
(24:45):
Maybe giveaway items go right into your car trunk or in a container near the door.
Number 12, have some sort of cleaning system in place. Do a little bit of cleaning
every day, at least Monday through Friday if you can.
I have a whole post on how I have a very simple daily and weekly cleaning schedule. Number 13,
Complete your tasks first, at least your difficult ones, I would say.
(25:07):
Then reward yourself with that cup of coffee or to sit down with a book or to watch a TV show.
You're going to really enjoy it more if you do that difficult task first.
Number 14, have a place for everything. Because we know that clutter begins
when items don't have a home.
So for items, maybe you have something and you're not sure what to do with it yet.
Then maybe you have an area like a homeless bin or basket. And when that gets
(25:32):
full or starts to build, you sit with it and determine where these items are
going to go or if they're even needed anymore.
Number 15, think like with like as you do begin to organize items.
You know, photos with photos, books with books, homeschool items with homeschool
items. Just keep things together.
Number 16, work on having easy access to things that you use on a regular basis.
(25:55):
Things like your keys, keep them in a certain spot, your purse,
your supplements that you take, your time with the Lord materials. That's a big one, too.
Number 17, most jobs don't take as long as you think.
And that is why I love a timer. And that's why I have a whole podcast on it.
So if nothing else, you can see how long they actually take.
(26:19):
Number 18, use music for your tidy or listen to an audio book or a podcast during that time.
And number 19, and I love that I ended on this odd number.
I don't know why I couldn't come up with a number 20, but number 19 is done is better than perfect.
So you did it, you tidied an area, maybe it wasn't perfect, but you at least
got that area to have some semblance of order. And that's a good thing.
(26:42):
So our reality is we're going to be decluttering and cleaning and tidying for
for the rest of our lives here on this earth, right?
So let's continue to simplify this area of our lives.
I don't wanna spend more time than necessary cleaning my home.
So I like having systems and routines that really help me to make good use of my time.
And in sharing this episode, it doesn't mean that I follow these systems and
(27:05):
routines perfectly by any means. I have off days.
I sometimes go to bed with dishes in the sink or I didn't get to pick up the
family room before bed, but I can share when I do get to them.
It makes my cleaning and keeping orders so much easier, and it just feels like
I have more time in my day for other things.
So tonight, before bed or right after dinner, after you've done the dishes together
(27:29):
as a family, set a timer for 10 minutes or whatever that is.
Put on some fun music, get everyone involved in giving the home a quick five-minute
tidy or 10-minute or whatever you have. And as you tidy, keep a list of areas
that maybe you'd like to organize in the future.
Maybe put a little list on your phone in the notes app that you're looking at something.
(27:49):
Maybe it's your game cupboard as you're putting it away and you're like,
you know, that could use a little help.
And maybe each month you spend 10 to 15 minutes a day tackling that particular area.
First of all, when you do this with the dishes, you're going to feel better
knowing you're not waking up to a sink full of dishes or items all over the family room.
Remember, you didn't vacuum or dust. You just picked up a bit.
(28:12):
So I hope that this episode encourages you to see that the small things that
don't take up much of your time that you can do to simplify your day and bring
more order into your home can take even just five minutes.
So maybe you even took a couple of minutes to make sure you had everything you
needed in one place to meet and sit with the Lord the next morning.
(28:32):
You went to bed ready for a great start the next day.
That should be the top priority area to get in order and tidy if you haven't yet.
And as we go about our daily routines, let's remember that our ultimate source
of peace and order is Jesus, because amidst the busyness of life,
He offers us rest and comfort.
(28:53):
And I pray our homes would be a place where we serve our families with great
joy and that we continue to to honor the Lord in and through all things,
because truly Jesus is enough always.
I am so, so thankful for your time today.
My dear friend, you can find the show notes for this episode at the blog at
thankfulhomemaker.com, my little home on the web.
And before you go, if you could use a bit of motivation in putting together
(29:16):
a simple way to start your day with focus and order, I have a free mini course
that gives you three simple steps to jumpstart your days and prioritize
what is most important, and I will put the link to the free course in the show notes too.
I am so grateful for you, my friend, and I do pray you have a very blessed week.
(29:37):
Music.
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