o there’s this rule that we have on our “Stuff Steffens Do” – that’s what we call our “house rules and habits” that extend outside our home, things we want to grow in and instill in our children. This particular rule is “Be ready 15 minutes before you have to leave”.

The idea includes:

1. Be ready to Leave: Parents you will understand, this is essentially to ensure that all of our kids leave the house with two shoes and two socks on*…(For any single person who read that last line and scoffed: write down the date and time, then make sure to email me in the future when you are a parent and feel the need to apologize…I had to!)

2. Leave it better than you found it: Just a good habit in general: take time before you leave to clean up the park after the picnic, pick up any trash found while hiking, if the gate was closed then close it behind you. Following this rule also means experiencing the simple pleasure of coming home to a clean house and getting invited back! 

The graduate level lesson for our kids surpasses the physical application and extends to the relational: Always leave some joy behind; “Thank you for having us!”; Helping with dishes in the host’s home; Take out their garbage; And even, ”Can we pray for you before we leave?”

Now, does this happen all the time? Um, no! But we know that raising our kids is more about training than getting it the first time, so we work on this each time we leave somewhere.

Part of my role as Dad is to demonstrate the benefits of this rule. So I am taking this opportunity to redeem more time, here is how:

I am going to make a list (yes, another one) of simple stuff that needs to get done:

• Write a Thank You card.
• Call that person that randomly came to mind yesterday (“I haven’t seen them in awhile…”).
• Check the oil in the car (don’t change it, just check it) and tire pressure.
• Fold and Switch the laundry.
• Empty the dishwasher/load the dishwasher.
• Make the bed/teach the kids how to properly make a bed.

Then, during those 15 minutes, I am going to knock out one item on the list. Not the whole list, just one…maybe two. So simple, so easy, but the sum total of consistently doing these individual tasks will be huge! Another nice part of this is the time restriction. 15 minutes is not enough time to get overwhelmed with any big projects…small, simple tasks with a time limit.   

Additional Benefit: This also may help with my issue of waiting around. If I am ready 15 minutes early then I go nuts waiting and subsequently may drive my wife and children crazy trying to leave early. I’m almost certain this is a trait Kelsey adores about me…almost certain indeed! She’s a saint!

What will you do with 15 additional minutes each day before you leave home? Share your list in the comments below!

* Yes, parents I know. Just because the kids (read: my boys) have two socks and two shoes 15 minutes before we are to leave has NOTHING to do with actually walking out the door wearing said socks and shoes. Like I said, we are working on it =) I, for one, thought Flint Lockwood’s invention of “spray on shoes” was brilliant and just needed the right investor.