What Would Martha Do?

Like many time-poor women, I adore Martha Stewart. Yeah, I think the ideal she holds up is completely unattainable for most reasonable human beings, but I can't help but adore a woman who has redefined homekeeping and who emerged from scandal bigger and badder than before.

Besides that, it was so fun to watch her show during those first months with my first child, when we could linger in bed and take our time beginning the day, just napping and nursing and watching some tv before heading to the grocery store to buy ingredients for that day's meal, inspired by Martha. Now that I have a toddler and an infant, there is no time for Martha's show or for obsessing about anything like polished silver and an organized cupboard or a 50-ingredient dinner. But I do have time to perform Martha's big six most days a week.

In her book "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook" Martha lists six habits a homeowner would be wise to do each and every day. These include:

1. Make the bed. Because tidiness begets tidiness. You know you feel so much better walking into your room with a made bed!

2. Manage clutter. Do this every time you leave a room and insist that others do it, too. Hard with a toddler, teenager and messy husband, but I try.

3. Sort the mail. Take a few minutes to do this as you bring it inside. I don't know about you, but my mail piles up at warp speed, but if taken care of daily, we have so much less clutter that it really brightens my mood.

4. Clean as you cook. Wash or put dirty dishes in the washer as you cook. There is nothing worse than having a belly full of food and a desire to sit and watch some tv but you can't relax because of the sink full of dirties.

5. Wipe up spills when they are fresh. Less elbow grease required.

6. Sweep the kitchen floor. I mean, really, who wants to see a mix of last Tuesday night's tomato sauce and today's chips when you are preparing a meal?

So there you have it. A little slice of Martha for your day. I couldn't agree more.