What are Daily Projects?

19Jul07

A Daily Project is something we do together each day … something little.  The 1st key is to never overwhelm ourselves with a full day of cleaning, organizing or simplifying — when we do that, it always turns out to be too much, and we end up quitting.  And you know what?  That is a normal behavior.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to quit when things get too overwhelming.  We’ve all done it, and all it means is we need a plan … a FUN plan, so that we can do a little bit each day to get our home and our lives where we want them to be.  After one or two projects, you may not see a vast improvement in your home or life, but after a week, and especially after a month, you will be amazed at what you’ve accomplished with little effort.  You will also start creating habits that help you maintain things you never thought you could.

You CAN do this!

The 2nd key to the Daily Project is to eliminate perfectionism.  Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about … it’s that compulsion to get every little nook and cranny of the house clean.  It’s when after you’ve mopped the floors (on your hands and knees, have you, because it gets everything up better, I know), you see a single dog hair that you missed, you wet your finger, and you bend over to pick it up.  Well, guess what?  You no longer have to be perfect.  I am giving you permission today to be “good enough” … perfect is not an option because, what you will soon realize, is no one else notices all those little things you notice.  And out of habit, you will stop caring about those things as much too.  I am serious, and I know you may not believe that now, but you will soon.  It’ll be like a ton of bricks lifted off your shoulders.  It will be like a breath of fresh air.

So … that is what our little Daily Project will be.  Little things we can all do together every day … we will carve little paths together to create the surroundings that dreams are made of.  Sometimes I may even throw in a weekly or monthly project, but they will be so small that you won’t even realize what just happened.  We may never be the Pottery Barn catalog, and the thing we will learn anyway is that that is not realistic … I mean, come on … no one lives on the photo shoot sets for Pottery Barn!  We have homes that real people live in.  Home.

So with me, today, you can start your journey to finally:

Let Go.  Simplify.  Be.

Filed under: cleaning, habits, simplify / minimize   |