Motivate yourself to get going spring cleaning it feels impossible when faced with a mountain of dirty dishes, a pile of wrinkled clothes and other things. everywhere-especially if you already are overloaded with work, your social calendar and minimal self-care. But there’s a simple hack that can make everyone’s least favorite chores more manageable—and less time-consuming: The Five Things Method.
“No matter how cluttered, there are really only five categories of items in each room” KC Davis, LPCis a Houston therapist and author How to save the house during drowningearlier wrote to HIMSELF. There is “garbage, dishes, laundry, things that have a place and things that don’t.” By tackling these clutters separately, home renovations become much less intimidating, says Davis.
This is how the “five things” method works:
- Deal with garbage: Start by bagging all your miscellaneous trash—empty water bottles, granola bars, clothing price tags—and leave it by the front door.
- Put used dishes in the sink. Mugs on the bedside table, random forks on the kitchen table – collect and stack them.
- Throw the dirty laundry into the holder. Whether that includes sweaty gym clothesrogue socks, or the abandoned clothes piled up on the chair. (Actually, you don’t have to put them in the washing machine yet—neither the trash nor the dishes. Davis says the goal right now is to put things where they belong—because visual development can be surprisingly motivating.)
- Place the various items back in their designated locations: Once the trash, dishes, and laundry are sorted, “put away all the items in the room that have a place,” says Davis. For example, children’s toys may belong in a basket. Sneakers should be in the closet or in the trash can by the entrance on the rack. Concealer brushes left on the sink or bathroom counter can be returned to the makeup organizer.
- Finally, make a pile for the stuff that doesn’t have a “place”: This could include your partner’s spare earphones or any new purchases you want to return. “Then you can either spend time finding a permanent home for the stuff that doesn’t belong” — like a designated junk drawer or a storage box in your closet. – Or set it aside in a basket, bag or bin for another day.
