You might want to sit down for this.
What if your kids asked to get out of bed early to happily clean and organize the house?
I’m fully aware I sound crazy.
I never thought my kids would do it. But they are (some days) and it’s rocking my world!
“How does this work?!!!” Thanks for asking – I’d love to share.
Recently, I was introduced to Paul Akers’ “2 Second Lean” book (free on YouTube) and his videos.In a tiny nutshell, he teaches that we should look for ways to save two seconds in our processes every day by doing the 3S process (Sort, Sweep, Standardize).
Originally, I fought this idea pretty hard. Saving two seconds a day couldn’t possibly make a difference (or so I thought!).
I’d rather have bang for my buck. I want house-turned-upside down Spring cleaning!! But what if that is neither sustainable nor helpful?
I heard the quote “Consistency Compounds” recently and it couldn’t be more true. This means whatever we’re doing consistently, literally writes the chapters of our life.
What ARE we doing consistently?
Unfortunately, the organization skills that I have taught my kids look a little more like manic spring cleaning rather than consistent movement in the right direction. (Enter – “2 Second Lean”)
I’m a recovering perfectionist who used to avoid a project unless I could do it perfectly. But guess what? CONSISTENCY Compounds. Not perfectionism… For me, perfectionism cripples.
So I’ll ask again – what am I doing consistently?
I started this journey in my kitchen. If Akers says two seconds matters, I got curious about the smallest “waste” of two seconds – like storing all of my protein shake ingredients on three different shelves in two different cupboards. Why not put them all on the bottom shelf of one cupboard? Just like that, I was saving way more than two seconds every single day.
Once I saved the first two seconds, I found the next two seconds in my spice cupboards. I thought I was making good use of space storing spices randomly in the little drawers in various parts of the kitchen, but then I realized it was forcing me to walk all over my (kitchen) world while cooking. Who wants to remember that the bulk cinnamon is all the way in the pantry? Two seconds wasted.
Momma – if you’re like me, you’re rolling your eyes right about now. Some crazy lady in the paper is telling you to save two seconds a day and life feels like a hurricane of chaos. I hear you. I’ve been there. And I’m telling you – this will help.
After seeing the seconds saved in my kitchen, Paul Akers challenged me by saying that the whole organization needs to be on board with this idea for best results. My organization right now just happens to be my family… which changes everything if we can be working towards the same goals.
I had no idea how it would work, but I printed off a checklist for us to track our success, introduced them to the idea of 3S (Sort, Sweep and Standardize) and got a “carrot” for my kids which is Adventures in Odyssey. If your kids don’t listen to Adventure in Odyssey radio dramas – you are missing out! My kids LOVE listening and it’s a fabulous thing to do while we’re working. (You can listen free online – just Google it!)
Here’s the deal, mom. You need a team – you aren’t meant to hold back the hurricane of chaos single handedly. It will turn you into a mom-ster. So how can you make being on your team enjoyable? I want my kids to like doing this. And no one wants a yell-y mom.
Making our 3S times fun, (Adventures in Odyssey), short (only 15 minutes a day) and trackable was the ticket for us. My kids often ask for more 3S time because they enjoy it!. If we can keep this momentum going, we’re going to be saving 50 hours a year as a family of five! (That’s just saving two seconds a day for 300 days of the year)
Are my children unicorns? Not in the least! They need to be trained just like every other kid on the planet. But CONSISTENCY compounds. We haven’t done the 3S process every day like I idealistically want to, but we’re being consistent! We’re leagues ahead of where we were just a month ago!
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She and her husband run a farm-to-table raw milk dairy. They empower moms to confidently feed their families nutrient-dense food using farm fresh milk! Visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
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