This summer we had to move unexpectedly. We found a beautiful house that I really do love, but it's a lot of house. It's bigger than our last one, we had one week to pack and move, and my husband was recovering from back surgery and couldn't lift a single box.

I remember standing here in the middle of it all, completely overwhelmed. In our old, smaller house we had our habits down. Looking back, I'd also taken on more than I should have there. Standing in this new house, I thought, there's no way I can do all of this on my own. And I don't want to be the nag.

If I'm honest, it isn't only my family. Even when it's just me, I'll sit in a messy room and think about how much there is to tidy, and I won't even start. I'll scroll instead. The mess piles up, I procrastinate, and then I feel stressed because I procrastinated.

One, I wanted someone to parent me. I've said it before. I'd love to come back as my daughter. I take care of her, guide her, make her dinner and tell her when it's time for bed. Some days I'm an adult who just wants my mommy to tell me, "Okay, it's time to clean up." That isn't possible, but handing off some of the reminding and decision-making to something else helps a lot.

Two, small is enough. Ten minutes is enough to get real things done, and it's a small enough ask that everybody will say yes, me included. When I don't want to clean the kitchen, I set a timer for 10 minutes, do what I can and stop. If it isn't all done, it can wait until tomorrow. At least I didn't go to bed with a mess and wake up feeling like garbage because I walked right back into it.

Every night a reminder goes off in our house, and it gets to be the bad guy instead of me. I'm no longer the one saying, "Hey, it's time to clean up again. Can you come help me?"

What surprised me was how we all felt afterward. I'm less resentful because I don't have to ask, and I'm less resentful because I'm not doing all the work. Everyone pitches in, and we're usually done well before the timer goes off.

I love 10 minutes more than 5 for one reason. Have you heard of underpromising and overdelivering? When you ask for 10 minutes and finish in 6, everyone feels great. When you ask for 5 and the timer goes off with a minute of work left, everyone feels like they failed a little bit. Ten minutes means you'll finish most nights, and you'll make big progress every time.

The part I didn't expect was how connected we feel afterward. We have a common enemy. Now it's the team against the house, instead of me against the family who made the mess. I never thought 10 minutes of tidying would bring us closer, but I've seen it with my own eyes.

The other night my daughter was finishing homework and I was in the middle of dinner prep when the timer went off. Everybody just knows that's what we do. We paused, I put on some fun music so we'd get into a little happy dance mode, and we tidied. It took us 4 minutes and 38 seconds. I remember the exact number because it felt so good.

It also takes the pressure off during the day. I keep catch-all baskets around the house, and the tidy is when those things get put away. If my desk gets messy while I'm working, I don't worry about it, because I know the timer is coming.

If you take one thing from this, let it be this. The hardest part for me was being the one who had to remember to ask. My family was 100% on board. But when it was up to me to remember, nine nights out of ten it didn't happen. I'd forget, or we'd be busy with other things and I didn't want to interrupt the night.

Now that I don't have to remember, it actually gets done. And once the job moved to a timer, everyone could just help. Tidying the whole house never ends, so it's hard to start. Ten minutes has an end, so it's easy to start.

1. Name your reset spots. Where does clutter pile up in your house? Pick the 3 to 5 places that make the whole house feel messy, like the kitchen counter, the dining table, the entryway or the living room floor. Then ask your family which three spots they'd tidy if company were coming over. You might learn something, because what bothers them may not bother you, and the other way around. It also helps you decide who tidies where.

2. Give it a start and an end. If your evenings are pretty predictable, pick the same time every night. If your schedule changes a lot, tie the tidy to something you already do every day, like when you get home. Then set a 10-minute timer everyone can hear, and call out the time if you're spread across the house. Race the clock. You and your family will move faster than you thought possible.

3. Let something else be the reminder. It can be a phone alarm, a smart speaker or an app. The point is that the reminder comes from something other than you. Your brain doesn't have to hold this for everyone.

That's exactly why I built Tindy. I wanted something that would remind my family for me, and remind me for me. It's simple, and it works. Don't let the simplicity stop you from trying it.

Pick your spots, set a 10-minute timer, and ask your family to join you for just 10 minutes. Your home didn't get cluttered overnight, and you don't have to tidy it overnight. You'll be shocked at what 10 minutes can do.

Want the reminder and the timer done for you? Tindy gives you the nightly reminder, the 10-minute Lightning Tidy timer and ad-free episodes of this podcast, plus more ways to keep cleaning and decluttering simple.

Try Tindy free at tindy.app.

The price goes up on November 10, so this is the week to try it before the launch price goes away.

Follow along in real time on Instagram at @WannabeClutterFree. I am documenting every single day of this.

New episodes every Wednesday. Find all the show notes at wannabeclutterfree.com.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube