Five minutes a day

I've long known that massive cleaning isn't my style. Things build up...and up...and up. And then they're really big. Case in point: the 3 unpacked boxes from my  move. Which was 3 1/2 years ago. Yup. Still in the basement, still in boxes. What's in there? Papers I probably don't need and can be shredded. Do I unpack them? Nope.

About a month ago, a close friend decided to spend 45 minutes a week doing something. Cleaning, paperwork, shredding, whatever. Great idea!

So I decided 5 minutes a day. It averages out to longer than 45 minutes a week, given that I do one task until it's finished no matter how long it takes.

Sunday I finally put away some Fourth of July decorations and rearranged the living room to the way I like it pre-Fourth of July party.

Monday was a wash. I wrote then crashed.

Tuesday I went through mail. Now this was harder than it sounds, because my puppy does not like the sound of ripping paper, the letter opener on envelopes, or piles of paper. She really hates the shredder! Tries to rescue the paper from those evil shredding depths.

I ended up opening and sorting about 4 weeks worth of junk mail. I always put the bills aside and pay those immediately, so no fear of lateness. But the rest is so tedious to sort through! I now have a massive pile of shredding and have dumped my recycling into the proper bucket.

Wednesday I did shred--see Tuesday & puppy. Didn't make it far, that pile still looks slightly intimidating, but it's a start, right?

And that's my goal. No matter how long it takes me to finish a project, by doing one task a day I plan on slowly sorting through the piles and piles of stuff I normally shift from room to room. Because when you have extra room, you have to fill them with that you don't want!