Mindfulness in Action

How To Keep Your House Tidy

Use these efficiency lessons I learned from waiting tables to bring order to your own home

Photo by Grass America on Unsplash

I have a very tidy house. When guests are coming over, there’s no mad dash to clean up. I may pick up a thing or two, but for the most part, my house stays presentable. I also have a young child. And a very sloppy husband.

How do I do it?

I spent six years in the service industry. I started as a hostess and then worked my way up to server and bartender. The things that made me successful in those jobs have transferred to the way I manage my household.

These tactics fall into two main strategies. The first is called “Full Hands In, Full Hands Out.” The second is to think like a head waiter in enlisting the support of other members of your household.

Full Hands In, Full Hands Out

Some servers tackle the many tasks of their job one at a time. When asked for a side of ranch, they make a direct beeline for the kitchen. Shoulders squared, eyes focused ahead, they take no notice of any other tables. A hundred percent of their brain and efforts are concentrated on obtaining and then delivering that tiny ranch dressing that they easily carry in one hand. Once delivered, they pick up one dirty plate from the table. Then they dart straight to the kitchen to deliver that plate to the dishwasher.

Servers like this run everywhere and work quite hard, but they are terribly inefficient.

A good server takes the request for ranch dressing and then grabs everything they can as they move across the dining room towards the kitchen. They also check on other tables. Can I get that plate? Do you need another drink, sir? They load up their arms with dishware and deliver it to the dishwasher. Then they move to the computer to enter any new orders they’ve taken. Next, they gather up any food that is ready to be served, as well as the ranch dressing and any other items that were requested when they were moving through the dining room.

They fit as much as they can on a tray and then move from table to table making deliveries. Here is your ranch dressing. Here is your soup…