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Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing

 

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What change has made the biggest impact?

October 28, 2009 By Dana White | 9 Comments

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I’m writing this for Works for Me Wednesday. I was thinking about this last week when I wrote about something else. I asked myself what about this “coming clean” process really works for me?

What has Made the Biggest Impact - A Slob Comes Clean

 

I would generally say that the process itself does. But the one thing that makes the biggest impact would have to be getting up earlier than the rest of my family (except hubby, because that would be crazy!)

My boys’ alarm clock is set for 6:45. We have to leave the house at 7:20 in order for me to be able to get the boys to their seperate campuses on different ends of town by 7:45. I have been getting up at 6:15. This gives me time to make the bed (so much quicker when I do it everyday than it was when I did it once a year) and get dressed, empty the dishwasher, and get started on breakfast.

The kitchen was the first thing I conquered in this process. It may not be pristine by Martha Stewart’s standards, but it no longer has piles of dirty dishes covering the counters. I no longer have to declutter to be able to make a peanut butter sandwich. And, get this, it’s easy. Getting up early and emptying the dishwasher before the day starts makes it easy.

It’s so obvious to me now, but it didn’t make any sense to me before. I know that Flylady says to get up early, but I . . . just didn’t want to.

Pre-kids, I would sleep as late as I possibly could. When I had roomates who taught at the same school I did, they were so worried that I was going to oversleep for the first week we lived together. Then they realized that I was perfectly fine getting up 15 minutes before I needed to leave. I washed my hair the night before and then would take another quick non-hair-washing shower in the morning (I’m a germaphobe, remember), throw on clothes, minimal makeup and go. I didn’t eat breakfast.

After my husband and I got married, he couldn’t handle me not eating breakfast, and would fix me something. So, I would get up about 20 minutes before we had to leave.

Then came the young’uns. I’ve been blessed to be home since my oldest was born, so I thought I never needed to get up until the kids woke up, which was usually around 6:30 or 7:00 anyway.

Once my oldest started school two years ago, I would also get up when he did, so every morning was rushed. And the day would start out behind. And I stayed behind.

So, yes, waking up early has been the most significant thing in this change I’ve been making. It basically means that my kitchen never gets out of control. If the dishwasher is always emptied first thing in the morning, the dirty dishes can go straight into it all day. Therefore they never pile up.

So simple. Soooo beyond me until I actually experienced it.

Check out the other posts at Works for Me Wednesday.

Related Posts:

Read Newer Post Daily Checklist
Read Older Post Daily Checklist – Fitting in the Tasks

Filed Under: Works for me Wednesday | 9 Comments

Comments

  1. mara says

    October 28, 2009 at 10:16 pm

    Your post so made me laugh – I am the same way as you. I do every possible thing I can the night before, so I can get up 20 minutes before I have to leave to teach, and I may have laughed at people who got up early enough to put on makeup (I teach 6th grade…they don't need makeup!) 🙂

    Reply
  2. Sharon says

    October 29, 2009 at 3:12 am

    Isn't that the truth?? I'm not a morning person, but every time I get up early I think… "why don't I do this every day?!"

    Go figure!

    Reply
  3. MG says

    December 15, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    This is an old post and may be an odd question but….how the heck did you make the change? My days go SO much better when I’m up before the kids but it’s so hard for me. Part if the difficulty is that I usually go to bed late and this time of year in WI is so nasty and cold. Excuses I know. I’d love to just MAKE myself do it but it’s hard when I’ve always been a night owl. I guess um wondering how long it took you to feel natural about it? Thanks for this great blog!

    Reply
  4. Mikayla says

    January 8, 2015 at 7:03 am

    Just started reading your blog a few days ago and although I’m not doing great at keeping up with what I say I am going to do, I can definitely see a difference. I try to get up before my kids but I have a 3 year old and a 6 month old who wake before my alarm at least half of the week! I am definitely more productive when I can get up before them. I also suffer from not completing evening tasks mostly because the baby does not always go to bed on time. I’m trying though so that has to count for something right?

    Reply
    • Dana White says

      January 8, 2015 at 9:46 am

      It totally counts!!

      Reply
  5. Bonnie Carrillo says

    June 19, 2015 at 9:54 am

    I’m going to try this 🙂

    Reply
  6. Robin says

    June 26, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    I am on day 2 of emptying the dishwasher in the morning, and you are so right! It makes an incredible difference!

    Reply
  7. Wrenne says

    June 12, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    You are such a blessing, Dana. I’m kind of binge-reading your blog from the beginning. So, even though I didn’t get up before my kids this morning (because I stayed up embarrassingly late reading about why it’s really important that I get up before my kids?), I DID make my bed this morning after I pryed them out of it. It’s my first baby step on the journey, so thank you for following His directions (even if you kicked and screamed and squirmed- sounds like most of the dudes He used in the Bible to do amazing things?)!

    Reply
    • Dana White says

      June 25, 2016 at 8:42 am

      Thank you so much for this comment, Wrenne! Go you! And yes, the kicking and screaming seems to be a pretty common reaction to His plans!

      Reply

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