Do you ever feel like the summer goes by so fast? Like, June ends, you may be on top of all kinds of things around the house with the kids at school or with the regular routine, then summer comes. September strolls around and you send the kids to school. When you finally have the house to yourself again you realize you can finally look around and you are no longer blinded by busy life and can plainly see evidence of all of the in and out day trips, or various bags packed for outings, or just extra clutter around!

I always feel like summer comes up too fast, and is gone before I know it. It’s also why I feel like I need to harness opportunity through the summer – which does lead to stuff building up at the front door, or in the garage, or clothes get dumped on the closet floor…stuff that gets left around is because of convenience around the house, not maintenance of the space.

All of this chaos resulting from the summer means a really overwhelming September, as extra curriculars start. Then suddenly it’s Christmas, meaning more stuff related chaos. Then it’s March, then suddenly it feels like the May long weekend! And suddenly end of June is upon us again with another threat of chaotic summers and neglect of stuff.

In my house, we seem to get through the days, but at the end of it there is rarely a big push to reset the house for the next day – so as things get out of place, or new stuff is brought into the house, or whenever we go away, if even one thing is left out each day, it all adds up to create the clutter I fight against.

This summer is the summer! This time, when September comes around, I want to already be on top of everything! Ok, well maybe not everything, but I am tired of playing catch up instead of just staying mostly caught up from the beginning.

I know that life happens. For us, it is the biggest excuse to leave a mess for another day. So, because I know me and my family well by now, I have decided to try to work consistently.

I often want to do a lot of decluttering all at once. BUT, that makes a big mess, and I often don’t follow through with taking stuff right away to get rid of the stuff we don’t want. With life moving fast and us coming and going, my “go-all-in” strategy keeps failing.

It’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency!

Every day that we are home over the summer, we are going to spend 15 minutes as a family working on one room! Literally just 15 MINUTES!!!

Not half a day to get one whole room done to the point of perfection! Just 15 minutes to quickly reset, or put a few things away where they belong, or to find or make a new home for things, or to decide to get it out of the house!

It ‘should’ be totally doable! We could do it before heading out on a day trip, or before a play date. It could be after lunch, and before some down time through the hot afternoons. It could even be split up into shorter increments between baking cookies!

Every single day that we are home, it’s a 15 minute commitment. If I can stay consistent, I am sure we will have a much more organized summer…and September!

It may seem simple, but it will make a big difference!

Thanks for coming home!