There are seasons when motivation is high and energy feels abundant. And then there are seasons when everything feels heavy—when feeling overwhelmed at home creeps in and even the smallest tasks feel bigger than they should.
This post is for those seasons.
After Christmas this year, I noticed something shift in me. While I was (and still am) genuinely thankful and grateful for the gifts I received, I also felt more overwhelmed in my home than usual. More items. More things to find space for. More decisions.
It wasn’t that the gifts were unwanted—it was that they were more. And that feeling became a signal.
A signal that it might be time to reassess how manageable my home felt. A signal that some organizing and simplifying was needed to decrease the overwhelm. And maybe, down the road, it’s also a signal that our family may need to rethink how we approach Christmas and gift-giving altogether—but that’s a reflection for another blog post and another time.
What I knew for certain was this: I needed a gentle way to move forward.
Several years ago, I had faced a similar feeling while staring at the pile of mail on my kitchen island. You know the one—bills, junk mail, notes, random papers that don’t have an immediate home. It had quietly become the catch-all, and every time I looked at it, I felt behind.
I wanted it gone—but I didn’t have the energy for a full overhaul.
So I made a rule.
I call it The Rule of 5.
The rule is simple: remove five items.
That’s it.
Five pieces of mail. Five decisions. Five small actions. They could be thrown away, filed, or placed where they actually belonged. No sorting marathon. No perfection required. Just five.
At most, it took about five minutes.
There was one important addition to the rule, though. Since mail comes daily, I also had to make sure new mail didn’t undo the progress. That meant immediately throwing away junk mail or filing important pieces instead of letting them land back on the pile.
What surprised me was how quickly the stack disappeared.
Not because I tackled it all at once—but because small, consistent steps quietly did their work. Before long, the pile wasn’t an issue anymore.
That experience taught me something important:
small steps don’t just create progress—they create momentum.
Now, I use the Rule of 5 in other areas of my home.
Recently, I opened a bathroom drawer that had slowly become overwhelming. You know the kind—the one you open carefully because you’re not sure what might spill out. Instead of shutting it and walking away, I applied the same rule.
I removed five things.
A couple of items—nice hair ties—went into a box for an upcoming garage sale. The remaining three items were either thrown away or put somewhere else in the bathroom where they made more sense.
That’s it. Five things.
The drawer isn’t perfect yet. But it’s more manageable. And more importantly, I started.
That’s the beauty of the Rule of 5. It lowers the barrier to entry. It doesn’t demand motivation—it creates it. Once you see progress, five can turn into ten. Ten into fifteen. Momentum builds not because you forced it, but because progress feels good. And feeling overwhelmed at home decreases.
Over time, this rule helps:
- bring order to small pockets of your home
- reduce overwhelm
- create a sense of capability and follow-through
And maybe most importantly, it reminds us that progress doesn’t have to be loud or dramatic to be real.
If you’re feeling stuck today—overwhelmed by clutter, tasks, or life in general—consider this your permission to start small.
Five items.
Five minutes.
One small win.
Because small steps, repeated over time, really do add up.
What is quietly asking for your attention—not to be fixed all at once, but to be tended to in small, faithful steps?
