Household Routines Improve Your Happiness

Getting organized — specifically getting into a household routine — is scientifically proven to improve your overall well-being.

According to the book The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People, it's important to establish a schedule to take your tasks from "To Do's" to "To Done."

Dr. David Niven writes: "We often feel overwhelmed by the chores that have to be done on a regular basis. We clean the kitchen, then the living room needs to be vacuumed…and 16 other things need to be done. With a routine, you will not be lost in wondering what's next." Niven stresses that the schedule be "reasonable." So if you're guilty of trying to be superhuman, trying to do too much…then throttle back a bit on your expectations!

Exactly how much will a household routine boost your level of happiness? 100 Simple Secrets explains: "In a study of families, regularity in household routines improved daily personal satisfaction by about 5%."

That's one small step toward getting organized, and one giant leap toward improving your state of mind.

Posted February 24, 2009, filed in Books, What we're reading, Living Simply, Less is More