It’s important to feel a sense of productivity every day. On chaotic days — which in some life stages, is every day — it’s amazing what you can get accomplished by setting the timer for 10 minutes and powering through.

Ten minutes fly by when you’re on your phone, watching TV, or sleeping, but when you’re pro-active, you can get small tasks completed that make a big difference. You’re not going to be able to clean the whole house in ten minutes, but, you can accomplish tasks that make you feel like you’ve been productive and have the house a bit more in order. A great time to do this can be right after the kids go down for naps or bed, before you get distracted by other things.

Not sure what you could accomplish? Here are a list of ideas, and I’m sure you have a million more. You may even accomplish multiple tasks in 10 minutes! If you have kids who are old enough to help, you could even turn it into a game for them to help complete their own tasks. Read, set, go!

• Fold 3 loads of laundry

• Sweep floors and take out kitchen trash

• Purge towels from the linen closet that are old or no longer used. Put in donate bin.

• Wipe down all the counter tops and toilets

• Vacuum 2 rooms

• Sort mail and pay 3 bills

• Collect all the crayons and markers in the house, put them in one box and sort out ones that are dry or old

• Unload the dishwasher and clean out the sink

• Make lunches and write a little note to each kid to include

• Dump items out of a small junk drawer and trash items you don’t use, put back in items you do use. (You’re not fully organizing it, but purging down to manageable order)

• Clear everything off your countertop that doesn’t belong and put items in their proper place

• Clean out the fridge of expired containers and old food

• Refold all the clothes on a shelf or drawer that have fallen over and become disheveled

• Write three notes to friends or family who need encouragement. Seal and stamp for mailing (or do e-letters)]

• Sort through shoes by the back door. Find matches and put away shoes that are no longer in season. You don’t need to keep ALL your shoes on the floor when you walk in.

• Dust picture frames

• Download photos off your phone and back up on to your computer

• Put jewelry away…that you tried on, but didn’t wear

• Unpack a bag from a vacation or day trip

• Purge plastic and reusable bags. We never use as many as we think we need…

• File some papers!

• Pull everything out of one drawer (closet, kitchen, or bathroom) and purge what you no longer wear or use

So…What can you accomplish?