It isn’t uncommon for me to put off small tasks to save my ‘spoons’ – a way of describing the finite amount of energy I have as a disabled person living with fatigue and chronic pain.
But that means little chores can pile up and before I know it – the mess makes me feel fed up and overwhelmed, leading to procrastination. That’s why I was intrigued when one of the home experts in a cleaning article I edited here at Homes & Gardens mentioned their 30-Second Rule.
This easy and effective cleaning tip simply states never to put off a job around the house that you can complete in 30 seconds or less. Is there a more low-commitment tidying or cleaning tip? I gave it a whirl and loved how it banished not just the pockets of clutter and dirt around my home, but did away with my propensity for procrastination.
What is the 30-second rule for household chores?
Jenny He, home improvement pro and co-founder of Ergeon says the 30-second rule is a 'game-changer', explaining, ‘If a task takes less than 30 seconds to complete, I do it immediately. Whether it’s putting away a dish or responding to a quick email, these little tasks add up if left unattended. It’s like dealing with a small fence repair right away rather than letting it turn into a bigger issue down the line.'
Here is what happened when I gave the 30-second rule a go around my home.
1. My paperwork got sorted
I had been putting off dealing with the drop zone for our mail. That pile of appointment letters pictured above, right, had become a point of anxiety for me because managing chronic illness and pain is a full time job in itself, but one without a boss to push for overdue tasks. It's easy for these to pile up on you.
However this particular evening, instead of walking past the pile of doom to go upstairs, I stopped for 30 seconds and grabbed the appointment letters I needed to pop into my digital calendar before filing or recycling the letters.
I used my anonymizing stamp from Amazon to hide my personal details before recycling to avoid identify theft – a must when organizing paperwork. I must say, it was a relief to have a better grip on my calendar appointments as well as whittling down my paperwork pile some.
All prices correct at time of publication.
Our experts say filing letters and documentation in a desk drawer with hanging file folders like these is the best way to store them and avoid storage items that are a waste of money. Coordinate colors with categories so you can easily find it later.
Creating a drop zone for keys, letters and other vital items to get you in or out of the house can streamline your entryway. Having a small area for new letters means less chance of procrastination, leading to a big pile of paperwork for you to sort later.
Roll this wide text stamp over your confidential details, for instance: your date of birth, address, social security number and more to prevent your discarded envelopes, letters and other correspondence leaving you open to identity theft.
2. My laundry was finally done
Next, when I was putting my daughter to bed, instead of walking past my laundry bin and ignoring the compartment with black clothes that needed dealing with and emptying, I grabbed it and took it downstairs. I loaded it into the washer and wondered why on earth I’d procrastinated and put off washing my dark laundry for the past three days.
I must say, using my new 90 liter Joseph Joseph laundry organizer, available on Amazon, was a real game changer and made this task truly possible in 30 seconds as the laundry had pretty much been sorting itself out all week. With the colors already separated, I simply dumped out the items of the pull-out bag dedicated to our dark laundry, popped it in the washer with liquid detergent, and turned it on. Easy peasy!
It’s good to know that failing to separate your colors is a common laundry mistake that’s easily avoidable with a compartmentalized laundry organizer like mine.
I love my Joseph Joseph laundry organizer and the 90 liter is perfect for my family of three. Each bag holds laundry enough to fill my large 8 kg washer to the top. There is also a cheaper 60 liter version of this product on Amazon with two sections instead of three.
3. I dusted a vital area
Just before getting into bed, I grabbed my essential oil based homemade cleaning spray and wiped down my nightstand and my husband’s with microfiber cloths, available at Walmart.
For the previous few nights, I had noticed the dust on the stand, but only after I'd got into bed and was about to turn my lamp off. After using the 30-second rule to dust before I got into bed, it felt great going to sleep with a clean space where I kept my water and other essentials overnight.
I use a few drops of geranium essential oil from Amazon, a drop of dish soap such as Dawn, available at Walmart, and water to make my own cleaning spray. It makes my bathroom smell like a spa when I use it, too.
I love making my own homemade cleaning sprays and store them in refillable amber glass bottles like this. The labels are helpful if, like me, you make multiple DIY cleaning sprays yourself for use around your home.
My verdict on the 30-second rule for chores
This task rule couldn’t be simpler and the 30 second rule means even for somebody as chronically unwell as me, none of my limited spoons (energy) got zapped – meaning, it wasn’t physically labor intensive, or mentally stressful.
When Jenny said was really right, as doing these 30-second-or-less tasks didn’t snowball into bigger jobs like three loads of laundry in one day, or a massive pile of letters to anonymize and file in one go, or dusting an entire room in one turn.
Next, learn how I tried the Didn’t Know decluttering method and sorted out the messiest areas of my home, guilt-free.
