A few weeks ago, I reached my breaking point. I could tell Doug was annoyed and I want to make him happy and fix this problem, so I asked myself some questions that were inspired by our book.

*What is the least amount of work I would have to do, to get the biggest return on my investment?

*What is 1 small step I could take to improve this current problem?

*What will bring me peace, now and in the long run?

After thinking about these questions, I knew I needed to experiment to find what would work for me.

THIS IS WHAT I DID: I decided it was okay to break the RULE that “They” say, which is to NEVER start your dishwasher unless it is completely full (because you are wasting money).

I made the realistic goal that every night, before I went to bed, all I had to do is start the dishwasher. Not clean the sink. Not load the dishwasher with more dirty dishes, simply start the dish washer with whatever was in it.

GUESS WHAT? It has worked like a charm. And now, every morning while the kids eat breakfast, I can unload the clean dishes, load up the dirty dishes, and start the dishwasher again. For whatever reason, this system keeps me from getting in over my head with a huge pile of dishes. Apparently starting fresh, with a dishwasher of clean dishes each morning, was enough to keep me on track.

Now this doesn’t mean that my counters are constantly clean, but it has certainly helped 🙂 Remember, you can’t be all-or-nothing. This is a huge improvement, even though it isn’t “perfect”.

Seems like such a simple solution and it has taken me over 10 years to figure out. But the important thing is→→now I know←←and I can continue to tweak and experiment with it if needed.

What is something you are constantly fighting with every day? Could you apply some of the same questions as above? How can your pitch the all-or-nothing mindset and forget the rules set by “They”?

(I figure the extra expense of running a 1/2 full dishwasher at night is worth the investment of not feeling overwhelmed every day 😉 Would you agree? )