Nest: Day 1
April 1, 2011 
6 Comments
Day 1
Get one thing done.
Polish that place!
Today, choose a space to clear and clean. Famous organizing guru Flylady demands you shine your kitchen sink. That’s an excellent suggestion for many of us. Other pros suggest you start by decluttering your nightstand or dining table. I prefer to clear my kitchen island. Seeing an expanse of empty, sparkling granite gives me a big boost.
At Habithacker, we want you to set your own priorities.
Just make sure your special place is small and manageable enough to be kept clear every day from now on. Note that this exercise can be viral…that is, the cleanliness from this place begins to spread. On successive days, when you are told to “polish your place” you need only clear this ONE place (all others are optional).
What to do so far:
Polish your place.
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Thanks for Nest so far – I’m really enjoying the daily steps! What do you see as the difference between the “place” (where you do your twice daily polishing) and the “spot” (where you shovel the shit)?
(I chose my dresser which I use as my bedside table for my “place”, but it also fits well as the “spot”!)
Greetings pomtown.
It’s true that these all overlap a bit. The shitspot tends to be the collection dumpzone where once you put one thing down you put two, then three, and so on and so forth. Bedside table…for me….tends to be a shitspot as does the side table next to my hang-out chair. The place I’ve chosen for my shitspot, however, is the built-in desk in the kitchen. It’s a real collection place.
The place you polish doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem zone. This should be the area that is quite visible and gives you some pleasure when you see it clean and cleared. For me, it’s my kitchen island….a big granite slab that looks awfully pretty when it’s empty and shining. I could also see this being a desk or a kitchen counter or even a coffee table.
Don’t worry too much about definitions. Try something out as your place to polish or shitspot to shine…but don’t hesitate to change it when the mood suits. Good luck!