Most of the time when you feel that your home is a mess, it’s because you’ve put off tasks that are quick to do, but you’ve been lazy and they’ve ended up piling up. The best solution? Apply the 2-minute rule. Laziness and tiredness are the two main culprits behind mess in the home. It’s true that when we get home after work, we’re tired from a long day and the last thing we want to do is tidy up. But think about it: isn’t it better to make this small effort every day and not have to clean and tidy the whole house at the weekend? When we put off small household chores, that “later” never comes and, in the end, we spend the whole Saturday or Sunday morning doing them because they have piled up. Obviously, we do them with stress and reluctance because it is a situation we have created for ourselves by procrastinating.But don’t worry, there is a practical, easy-to-apply and very effective solution to overcome laziness and procrastination: it’s the 2-minute rule, which will be explained in more detail by tidying and cleaning expert Laura Giraldo from @muylovelyhome4. And if you want more tips on tidying and cleaning, download our free ebook “50 cleaning tricks from the best experts”.
The 2-minute rule: the solution for a tidy and clean home without effort
The 2-minute rule is a minimalist approach that aims to help us better manage tidiness in the home so we can live in a lighter and more relaxed way. In the words of Laura Giraldo, ‘the 2-minute rule is my secret to always having a clean and tidy home’. According to the expert, ‘it’s a simple rule that encourages you not to put off small household chores if they take less than two minutes.’
Laura also adds that the key to the success of the 2-minute rule lies in ‘taking advantage of the immediacy of certain small actions that prevent the overall result from becoming bigger, not only when it is strictly necessary, but also when you are feeling lazy.’ In other words, when you have a household chore that can be done in less than two minutes, you should do it right away, so that it doesn’t pile up and become a heavy and endless burden in the future, forcing you to devote more time and effort to it.
‘I love the 2-minute rule because it can be applied to any other aspect of life and teaches us to be consistent and persistent, allowing us to easily achieve our goals,’ continues the tidying expert. In addition, Laura also points out that ‘as we carry out these small tasks, we develop a habit of tidying up that, over time, becomes a natural part of our daily routine.’
Laura also provided us with several examples of small actions that can be done at home and don’t even take two minutes:
In the living room
- Make the sofa
- Put a book back after reading it
- Put the remote controls away
In the bathroom
- Put the towels back in their place
- Clean the sink after using it
- Clean the shower stall before getting out of the shower
In the kitchen
- Wash the dishes after eating
- Clean the worktop after cooking
- Put food away after preparing a meal
In the bedroom
- Make the bed as soon as you wake up
- Put clothes in the laundry basket
- Hang up and fold clothes that you usually leave piled on the chair
In the office
- Put documents and tools away after using them
- Tidy your desk at the end of the working day
