How to Keep Your Kitchen Manageable in Just 15 Minutes a Day

We’ve talked before about how to maintain the progress you’ve made in your home. But what if the 10 things I mentioned in that post just feel like too many things – what’s the most important?

I think the most important short-term item on the list is giving your home 15 minutes a day.

On days when I can’t do much in my home, here’s where I spend my 15 minutes:

Lately, my daily housekeeping goal has been to empty the kitchen sink and start the dishwasher before bed each evening. Even on evenings when my family is tired or busy, just knowing there will be clean dishes to help pull us through the next day is very motivating!

In case you’re wondering, I’ll share that my preference is to unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning so it’ll be ready for more dishes throughout the day, then we simply have to press the “on” button after dinner.

But even when I don’t unload the dishwasher early in the day, we can still unload and reload right before bed.

I’ve been pretty amazed at how good it feels to do this even when there’s a mess around the rest of the kitchen! Having an empty sink makes me feel like I can tackle anything at home. Plus, when I am able to clean the rest of the kitchen, it’s easier because there aren’t days worth of dishes piled up everywhere!

If you’re overwhelmed at home, I encourage you to start at the kitchen sink – just get it empty before bed each night!

While I personally don’t go all out and shine my sink like the FlyLady does, there is definitely something to be said about the sense of accomplishment we get just from having an empty sink!

Even if you miss some days, having this small goal to work towards is a very simple way to begin reigning yourself back in at home. And when you get the hang of emptying your sink each evening? Choose something else from the list to add to your empty sink goal!

I’d love to hear: Do you empty your kitchen sink each night? If not, let us know in the comments what one thing makes you feel like your home is manageable!