It is so much easier to clean in a room without clutter. Don't get overwhelmed by all the clutter; spend 15 minutes a day over what you do in your routines to get rid of it. I know you don't think this is going to work, but I promise that those 15 minutes of concentrated decluttering every day will make a difference. It is the consistency of eating the elephant one bite at a time that will slowly make the whole elephant disappear.

I have a story to tell you about my sweet darling. He is the king of the one-bite rule. Several years ago he had a British sports car; an MG. In fact the car was always being worked on. After a minor car accident the MG was totaled. So he bought a second car of the same model for parts. He is pretty good at fixing anything. It took both cars to keep just one running. He was left with only the stripped-down-parts car. Over an entire summer, he systematically cut that car (with a hack saw) into dinner plate-size parts and sent it to the landfill one plate at a time. It was his goal to do something to dismantle this car each day. At the end of the summer he was finished. It was almost therapy for my sweetie: the car had betrayed him. That car was a pain, and he got rid of it one bite at a time. His bailiff says that he never wants Robert mad at him, because you should beware of the anger of a patient man.

The reason I mention this story is because in our impatience to see our homes clean, we overdo. Then we get overwhelmed and we QUIT. I want you to do a little every day and not crash and burn: babysteps, 15 minutes of decluttering and consistency will be the keys to your clean home and your peace.

If you are not being consistent with your routines, even small ones, then you are not going to have your goal of a clean and peaceful home. This hit-and-miss attitude is what got your home in a mess. You clean like a banshee for two days because of guests, and then when they leave, you let things go because you are worn to a frazzle.

This has got to stop; I want you to enjoy your home, your family and your guests. You can't do this if you are exhausted. I want your pledge that this is going to stop, "crisis cleaning." That you will commit to doing your routines DAILY, and that you will spend 15 minutes decluttering each day.

I am not the drill sergeant that many of you think I am. I don't spend all day cleaning. Even when I was decluttering, I only did 15 minutes a day. I used the 27-fling boogie to declutter our home. It was almost as if I didn't clean at all. After three months of decluttering every day and doing my routines, our home became a paradise, instead of the pigsty that it was. Every morning I get up and and walk into a clean and shining home, and it is still a big shock and a "GO, ME!" moment. I would walk into my clean kitchen and just smile. Some of you know what I am talking about. It is a pleasure to not be greeted by mystery water and yesterday's dirty dishes and feel like you are behind before you even begin.

I want you to smile when you walk into your kitchen each morning. Visualize your clean and peaceful home. Let go of your perfectionism and impatience and take babysteps. You can do this; if you will just eat this elephant one bite at a time.

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For more help getting rid of your CHAOS; check out: www.flylady.net. Also see Cilley's book, "Sink Reflections" and her new book, "Body Clutter." Copyright 2006 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.