Me vs. the kitchen sink: On a streak, baby!

Get ready for some riveting content about the dinner dishes.

My hubby regularly unloads and loads the dishwasher, but I have claimed pots, pans and all hand washables as my duty. Don’t touch them. They’re mine.
 
I’ve just never made a habit of doing them.
 
Some days, I did. Other evenings, I walked away like I wasn’t really a grown-up. And when the mess piled up, I would be disgusted with it and me.
 
Not anymore. I am on a streak, baby!
 
As I am writing this, it’s day 25. I know because I have made a hash mark when the kitchen sink is empty at the end of the day—for 25 DAYS in a row!!! 
 
Maybe you’ve heard it takes 21 days to form a habit. So I am good, right? Not so fast. Apparently, there’s no real research that backs that number up. Even though it’s been repeated, repeatedly. It's more about the particular habit (how hard it is) and the human. The later, well, we tend to vary, thankfully.

I’ve been reading James Clear’s new book “Atomic Habits,” and I like his take on this: It’s all in how you rebound. I really do dig this brain science stuff. 
 
Basically, it’s not about how many days you do a habit perfectly. It’s about how many you don’t when you're not perfect.

​It’s that first day after you break a streak that really matters. What you do then. That’s where the habit magic happens. Mr. Let-me-be-Clear suggests vowing to never miss two days in a row. OK, James. Good plan. I am with ya.

Everything and the kitchen sink
Is it important to have an empty sink? Does it solve real world problems?
 
No. Clearly, no. But keeping my streak alive makes an everyday chore more fun, and better yet, it helps me feel more in control of my little world. That stainless steel sink shines up at me like a symbol of my ability to take on challenges. It’s a little thing, but it has me thinking … what’s next?! I am feeling cocky like that.
 
Did I mention, 25 days!!?! I own you, kitchen sink. 

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