In my last post, about National Novel Writing Month, I said I have no problem writing every day, or almost every day. My problem is the opposite. I can’t make myself quit writing long enough to do the house cleaning I should do. My friend Kasie suggested a better goal for us would be to have a National House Cleaning Month (NaHoCleMo) and Tricia said count her in, so—you guessed it—we’re doing it!
I’ve set my goal for 5,000 minutes of house cleaning for the month of November. If you’re a clean freak—or maybe just normal—you probably fainted at the idea that should have to be a goal. (I’ll bet you’re signed up for NaNoWriMo.) In any case, that’s a true goal for me. Feel free to set a goal that’s a challenge, but in line with your own situation. The point is to pry our fingers off these keyboards and get us clearing out the clutter and grime that in our non-fiction worlds. You know it nags you!
Through the month of November, you’ll see my little progress meter to the right, tracking my progress. To get your meter widget, just click here.
So, if you’re obsessed with writing to the point that your dust bunnies look more like dust hippos—join us!
NaHoCleMo rules:
Every minute of cleaning counts towards your goal of 5,000 for the month. In addition to the usual things like dusting, vacuuming, toilet and shower scrubbing, you may also count:
You may not include in total minutes:
If you’re in, let me know!
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
This is just what I need. I don’t know you, yet, but I love you. 🙂
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I’m glad you’ve been inspired. Obviously, I’ve fallen behind on my minute count, but right now … really … I’m stepping away from this keyboard and starting on this long-deglected office. Is there still a desk under all this clutter?
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This is a fabulous idea. I won’t set any more large goals this month, but I think I’ll track my cleaning time to get an estimate of how difficult NaHoCleMo might be in December. By the way… do you think yard pickup should count?
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Well, I had so much clutter built up, it should be a cinch to do 5,000 minutes in a month. But I wasn’t counting on actually doing the work! I hate this. I’m going to slap a bumper sticker on my back that says, “I’d rather be writing!”
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And yes, as far as I’m concerned you can count cleaning your yard too.
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Oh, Linda, I love the bar that shows your NaHoCleMo minutes! I should have joined, but for a different reason – I prefer writing to cleaning.
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Ha ha, I love writing more too, that’s why I had to do the NaHoCleMo thing.
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