5-Minute Miracles

March 28, 2024

Do you have five minutes to change your world?

The year my kids were 1 and 3, I remember getting fired up for spring cleaning after a winter inside with stir-crazy toddlers and lots of toys. I started on the playroom one day during their nap, cheerful and gung-ho. But then they woke up, and, darn it, wanted to play. That night I looked around at my non-progress and thought maybe there was no point. But instead of succumbing to despair, I turned to Google... and there I found the Fly Lady, Marla Cilley. On a free web site that's way more useful than it is fancy, the Fly Lady provides tips and strategies for decluttering, organizing, and streamlining your life. Among these is a method called the 5-Minute Room Rescue. 

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when all you can see is the stuff in your way, so you have to set your sights small: just five minutes in your future. I know this seems ridiculously simplistic, but I promise it works: Just set a timer, focus, and GO. Do some dishes, wipe the counter, compost your wilted vegetables, pile the papers neatly. Most important: STOP when the timer rings. Then look around, and your world will be better. Not perfect, but better. And "better" is way better than "not-better."

The Fly Lady's 5-Minute Rescue is not just good advice for home improvement; it works in almost any frustrating situation. It works when your toddler is fussing in the grocery line, when your email box is overflowing, when you're frozen in traffic, when your spouse is fuming, when your daughter is distraught over flubbing the audition. First, put on your 5-Minute Glasses. Then, identify the problem (naming it is half the job). Next, take just 10 seconds to imagine a way you can improve the situation. Then, do that for 5 minutes: Play "I Spy" with the toddler, do a manic little cleanup on the inbox, sing songs from Frozen while your car inches along, write a quick note to tell a distressed family member how much you love them. Your world won't be perfect, but it will be better than it was 5 minutes ago, and it will all be your fault. Feel good.

It's amazing what you can accomplish in the 5 minutes before that timer goes off. Why, in that time, you can even write a perfectly adequate newsletter col—

—Deb