15 minutes saves the world...or at least your home.

Ok, So I've had a few biblical based posts, and a fun recipe post, now we get to the practical. Anyone who knew my mother would probably recant the fact they have always said I was my mother's daughter, as she is about 90% practical, and 10% economical. :) Although she is definitely 100% the mother I need, praise the Lord!
So this post is for those of you who don't have a perfect home that is simply a breeze to keep neat and tidy. Do those people truly exist, or is Martha Stewart just kidding us all? Anyways, moving on. How many of you find that sometimes you spent your whole day working with rowdy or obstinate children, whom you were merely trying to keep alive? And yes, I have had those experiences in my many years with babysitting.
So your children are finally calmed, you take a deep breath, and you think. "Now I can hammer on housework before my husband returns home." But then you look at the clock, and realize that it is closing in on 5 pm. Total freakout moment!
A long list of things that you planned on getting done, and never did runs through your head. You look at the kitchen, and see a tall stack of dishes. Stacks of laundry, whether dirty or clean, are lying around the house. Supper is not even started yet. And the toy room is incredibly cluttered.
Don't let the freakout moment get to you! There is something you can do, and I call it the 15-minute life saver. Decide where your highest priority is, and hammer on it really hard for 15 minutes. Maybe that priority is the kitchen and supper. Hammer on getting something thrown in the oven, and speed washing those dishes. In 15 minutes, nothing is perfect, but everything is under control. Instead of no supper, there is something in the oven, and cheese and crackers on the table. Instead of tall stacks of dirty dishes, you just have a couple pots and pans soaking. Instead of peanut butter and jelly smeared across your counters, they are at least wiped down enough to be neat. This certainly isn't something to make into a daily routine, but in a crisis it calms the masses and the tiny war going on in your head.
Then you can spend the rest of the evening finding other golden sections of time. Maybe after your husband gets home, the kids will beg him to read them stories, and you can hammer on that laundry, leaving the actual putting away or folding for after little ones are laid down. Maybe before putting the kids to bed you can make up a 15 minute game with them to help save that crazy toy room.
I also often use the 15-minute life saver when I have plenty of time, but a large task that looks scary and doesn't seem appealing at the time. Like a really messy kitchen. I make it into a game. Even if you are female, a challenge can be fun. I'll see if I can conquer more in the kitchen in 15 minutes then I did the last time, or I'll take before and after pictures(which I rarely keep) to see how much progress I made. Many times I have spent 15 minutes in the kitchen, read a chapter of a fun novel, and then do another 15 minutes. Breaking it down will make the task easier and less of a hurtle.
Just a couple of warnings, however.
Don't get clumsy. When I first did this I was more likely to chip or break dishes.
Stay up to par. Don't let the fact that you are hammering mean the dishes are less clean, or the laundry ends up in the wrong place.
Make sure that every now and then you take your time. It can be very soothing to slowly wash the dishes when you have the time, and let your hands soak in the warm water. Or to fold the laundry in a slow and orderly fashion, so that they fit better into your closet.
So when confronted with a crazy scenario, take a deep breath, and use the 15-minute life saver. This reminds me a little of that 10 second tidy for any of you who watched the "Big Comfy Couch," on PBS. :)