Day 22: Getting Help Around the House

Sometimes, the simplest trick for kick starting a new habit or gaining some relief with necessary tasks is to get some help – whether you ask a friend to lend a hand or hire someone. Just about any task you can think of can be outsourced to someone else, usually for a reasonable price. Getting some help, whether for the long-term or as temporary relief, can be a practical way to fill in the gaps during busy work times and holidays, or a productive, educational way to jumpstart you on a task you’ve been dreading.

I’m a big fan of hiring extra help when needed. I occasionally hire a cleaning service to help me clean my house before hosting events, or to help with deep cleaning in spring or fall. When I was working outside of the home full time, I hired a neighbor’s son to poop-scoop my backyard a couple of times a week, ensuring my kids had a clean place to play when the weather was nice. I recently found both a neighborhood babysitter (for nights and weekends) and a drop-in playcare (for school days) to help me with the kids so I could more freely schedule meetings and date nights. When I was having trouble writing meal plans for my family full of preservative-free, fresh foods, I turned to a service that specializes in healthy cooking, and now I have six months of meals to rotate through.

Help doesn’t always have to be bought. Think of tasks you could share and swap with friends. Cooking, child care, house cleaning, decluttering, car pooling, shopping and errands, lawn care – the options are limitless for swapping time and talent with friends. I’ve gone to friends’ homes and offices to help them declutter and organize, and I’ve offered my writing and graphic design skills in exchange for help with freezer cooking, painting rooms and extra eyes for book editing.

Take a look at your To Do List and goal sheet, and think of ways you could swap or hire for extra help. Perhaps a couple hours of babysitting could free you up to organize your home office or deep clean your kitchen. Maybe scheduling a housekeeper to come for a couple hours next weekend would motivate you to declutter your living spaces this week. Maybe inviting a professional organizer (or a super organized friend) over for a day could help with that declutter. Is there any way you could get some help to kick start your new habits?