There is a lot of work that goes into running your home and keeping your home in shape.
I keep a weekly maintenance list of these recurring tasks and use the Todoist app to stay on top of them. I’ve made my Todoist Home Maintenance template available as a free download here.
Last year, I added two new weekly tasks to that list: cleaning out our garage and cleaning the interior of our family car. Both take just a few minutes. But they provide a higher ROI when it comes to improving the everyday quality of my life.
blow up your garage
My garage is like my gym. Every afternoon around 2pm, you’ll find me downstairs swinging an iron.
However, for a long time, the garage itself was a drab place to train. Whenever the door went up, leaves would fly in. Dust would settle on everything. Cobwebs gathered in the corners. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t make the place as attractive as it could have been.
So I started cleaning the garage every Saturday. I open the door, start from the back, and blow away all the leaves, dirt, and dust in my path Ryobi Electric Leaf Blower. I can blow out some cobwebs with a blower, but others are more stubborn or collect in corners that I don’t notice. I take care of them by emptying the shop twice a year.
This work takes only 5-10 minutes. The key is to do it weekly. When I only cleaned the garage twice a year, it took months for the dirt to spread, making the cleanup a large and time-consuming task. A quick weekly blowout means things never accumulate much in the first place. Now the garage remains respectable all year round.
A clean garage has made my workouts more enjoyable. It’s easier to get into a session when I’m not stepping over leaf litter on the way to the barbell rack.
Even if you’re not using your garage for workouts, a dirty garage takes a toll on the mind in a subtle way. Your garage is usually the threshold you cross to enter your home several times a day, and keeping it clean creates the perfect environment for your return home.
clean your car
Left to its own devices, our family car turns into a rolling dustbin. I’m sure yours does too. Soda cans and protein bar wrappers pile up in cupholders and door pockets. My kids treat the back seat like an annex of their bedroom except for shoes, brushes, books, backpacks, headphones, and random articles of clothing.
Therefore the car gets cleaned once a week. First of all, I throw away all the garbage. Then I collect all the children’s trash, put it in a pile near their bedrooms, and tell them, “Sort this trash and put it in your rooms.” Finally, I emptied my shop and emptied the contents inside.
This takes about 5-10 minutes. I spend the whole week driving around in a clean car. Less chaos. Driving is more enjoyable. And I’m never embarrassed when I unexpectedly need to give someone a ride. I can say “hop in” without removing the chunks of beef jerky from the passenger seat and also say, “Sorry for the mess. Kids, am I right?”
None of these things will dramatically change your life. But with less than twenty minutes of effort a week, the two spaces I use every day remain cleaner and more pleasant. That’s some good ROI.
