A Trouble Spot is a place where things just seem to accumulate… sometimes it seems like stuff accumulates even faster in Trouble Spots than in other spots. Trouble Spots in my home include the kitchen sink, the dining room table, the low wall between the dining room and the living room, the hallway (laundry!), and one of the couch tables. Since I backslid after getting a job, right now I’m only working on two Trouble Spots: the kitchen sink and the dining room table.

In the first stage of messie recovery, don’t worry about Trouble Spots until you are getting your 5/5 list done every day. Once you have conquered your 5/5, then you can start evaluating your Trouble Spots.

Start with one Trouble Spot. I suggest the kitchen sink. Make sure you clean it at least once a day. Work your way up to checking and cleaning it three times a day before adding your second Trouble Spot. I suggest the dining room table.

If you backslide, never worry, because the Trouble Spot will wait for you. Just get back to cleaning it at least once a day. Never push too far out of your comfort zone… your comfort zone will expand if you don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. A Cleanie can clean a swamped home in a matter of a day or two. We can’t. We have to accept that and work within our limitations.

The key to avoiding that fate is your minimum maintenance list. It’s easy to go gung-ho on your 5/5 and your daily list when you have the time and energy. But sometimes, the daily list and the 5/5 are just too much. Maybe you’re sick, maybe you’re injured, maybe you’re burned out, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your plans and methods. But you still have to do something every day to keep from sliding back into that “home as landfill” mode.

You need to come up with a list of chores so easy that you would definitely do them every day, but that has enough on it to make a difference if you had to limit yourself to that list for days or even weeks (such as after having a baby.)

When you’re coming up with your list, figure out what is the minimum you can tolerate as far as mess. Obviously, you need to make sure that your home wouldn’t be a health hazard, but since you’re reading this, I know that you don’t want your home to be a health hazard. We each have certain things we cannot live with. I feel edgy if there is dirty laundry piled all over the floor, and if my kitchen is dirty. Therefore, my minimum maintenance list includes laundry and the kitchen.

You can include things on your minimum maintenance list that don’t necessarily keep the house clean, but that give your spirits a lift. For example, you can have a perfectly “clean” house while having an unmade bed. An unmade bed isn’t dirty… it just looks messy. Therefore, you don’t have to have it on your minimum list if you don’t want to… BUT, an unmade bed gives an immediate boost to the room. The room looks cleaner and more organized. It’s more pleasant to get into bed at night. What you can do in minimum maintenance mode is put away the fancy bed spread and make your bed casual with comforters you can easily straighten, even while you’re in the bed. That way, after you get out, you can smooth it and you’re done.

You don’t have to do everything on your minimum maintenance list every day, but you should try to hit everything at least once every two days.

Your list can include two components: cleaning and tidying. The cleaning is essential. You shouldn’t neglect any of the minimum cleaning for more than one day or you’ll find yourself living in fear of the health department. The tidying… well, that can go for two days, but shouldn’t go for more because then it’ll get overwhelming to catch up when things are back to normal.

An essential minimum maintenance cleaning list is:

Dishes washed at least once a day. This is essential. Plan to do this at your highest-energy time of day. They do NOT have to be towel-dried and put away on this plan… it is acceptable to use them out of the drainer for a few days if you need to. (If you have a dishwasher, the dishes do need to be unloaded and put away daily.)

Counters, stove, and fridge door handle sprayed and wiped. Use paper towels or cloth diapers, whichever is easier.

Spills on the floor sprayed and wiped up.

Toilet sprayed and wiped (use toilet paper)

Bathroom Sink wiped out, counter wiped up

Rinse out tub, spray and wipe every couple of days (buildup is a pain)

Wash, dry, and put away a load of laundry

Vacuum (if you have pets, kids, and/or allergies, this is a cleaning chore, if not, this is a tidying chore.) For minimum, just vacuum the room you spend the most time in.

This looks like a lot, but it can be shortened to this: lightly clean kitchen, lightly clean bathroom, do a load of laundry, and vacuum. You can coast on this indefinitely, but not really be company-ready.

Minimum Maintenance Tidy:

Make the beds

Throw away junk mail

Put away dishes from the dish drainer

Of course, add more as you wish… the key is to work within your temporarily limited capabilities. Try to fit in one day a week of deeper cleaning. Grab a few extra minutes to declutter something. But if you are ill, injured, or running from morning until night, this list should help you get through the worst of it.

My Last Five

• Pick up toys in the living room

• Pick up books in the living room

• Pick up shoes in the living room

• Clean off dining room table

• Load and run the dishwasher

My First Five

• Unload the dishwasher

• Make the bed

• Vacuum

• Wipe down bathroom

• Groom self

The 5/5 have great potential. When used every day, they help you develop good habits. If I do my 5/5 faithfully, my house won’t be too embarrassing if someone stops by. If you’re not feeling motivated to do any major cleaning, a good 5/5 list will help keep you above water until you get motivated again.

Use the feedback form to the right to send me your 5/5. I’ll add it to this page for our fellow messies to enjoy!

This is Kim W’s 5/5. She laminated hers:

Last 5

1. Load and start dishwasher

2. Wipe down kitchen counter and bar

3. Start load of laundry

4. Straighten up living room

5. Get backpacks ready – sign papers, pay lunch money, etc.

First 5

1. Put clothes in dryer

2. Unload dishwasher

3. Wipe down bathrooms

4. Take out trash

5. Put away clean clothes

This reader 5/5 comes from Amie in Poway, California:

Last Five:

-set the automatic coffee maker

-set the table for breakfast

-prepare refrigerated beverages in sippy cups for my kids (this trick prevents my hubby and I from “over-juicing” our 2 and 4 year old. I have a sippy cup for milk, one for juice, and one for water for each child.)

-coordinate outfits to wear the next day. (this helps Dad out a lot. He could care less about dropping H. off at nursery school in her tutu dress.)

-start a load of wash

First Five:

-shower and get made-up before my kids awaken

-load clothes dryer

-prep what today’s lunch and dinner will be

-wipe up sink and bathroom floor

-fold laundry fresh from the dryer and put away ASAP. (I really dislike folding laundry more than once even though my children thoroughly enjoy watching me do it over and over again.)

You’re welcome to add your own 5/5 to this page. Just use the comments entry below.

Suggestions for your daily list:

• Run one load of laundry from sorting to putting away. You can also choose to list each step separately.

• Maintain one decluttered Trouble Spot

• Declutter a Trouble Spot

• Vacuum (if it’s not on your 5/5)

• Exercise (don’t be afraid to put some time for you on your daily list)

• Play with your kids

• Declutter or maintain a bookshelf or tabletop

• Answer letters (and MAIL THEM!)

• Room of the Day chores

• Chore of the Day

Your list will vary depending on your situation. If you work long hours, homeschool, or have a small baby, your list will necessarily be a little shorter than the one of a stay at home mom with all the kids away in school. If you have a lot of energy, add more to your list. Allow yourself flexibility in your list. You can even start with one thing each day… and add more to your list as you feel ready.