I consider myself to be a fairly organized person, and I have always viewed my home as a sanctuary. But even though maintaining order and tidiness has always been a priority for me, I had a habit of postponing chores. I always felt like my to-do list was spiraling and I didn’t have enough time to keep on top of all of the cleaning and endless sorting at home. When it comes to prioritizing an extra 30 minutes of sleep or doing another load of laundry, I know which one I’d always pick. I was guilty of spending more time watching organization and cleaning hack videos on TikTok than actually tackling the pile of clothes at the end of my bed. In the end, I decided to allocate a time slot every weekend for cleaning—but my home never looked as tidy as I would like, and it wouldn’t take long before chaos would take over again.
The division of domestic tasks can be a source of so many tensions within relationships, with women often having to do disproportionately more housework and childcare compared to men. I was feeling like my mental load was at its limit. However, I am never going to be a part of the 5 a.m. club, and so dusting or doing the dishes before sunrise was never going to work. I decided I needed to try to pick up a daily habit that would help me to complete these small household tasks without me even thinking about it or registering them as chores, instead of blocking out windows of time to do them.
What worked for me was the “one-minute rule,” which I was told about by a friend who found it had changed her attitude to small domestic tasks. According to this simple rule, the key to maintaining order is that if the task will take less than 60 seconds to execute, it must be done immediately. Wiping that stain off the kitchen counter, putting your products back into the drawers in the morning, making your bed before your first coffee—they’re all examples of tasks that can be done in less than a minute. If you deal with them instantly, you barely notice them as a task, but saving them for later in the day (or week) can quickly build to create a general feeling of chaos. Doing 20 of these tasks at once, for example, is never going to be fun.
Of course, this theory is nothing new: the old proverb “a stitch in time saves nine” was first recorded in a book in 1723. However, applying this as a strict rule has really helped minimize my mental to-do list. I have been putting this into practice for over a year now and never thought it would have such a significant impact on how my home looks on a day-to-day basis. Every time a new task arises I routinely ask myself: “Can I clean this or pick it up in less than a minute?” If the answer is yes, then I make myself do it without any exceptions. And you’ll be surprised at how many things can be fixed in less than 60 seconds and the positive impact that this approach can have, not only on the appearance of your home, but for your stress levels too.
