Introducing the Double Down Dig Out Challenge

February was a genuinely rough month around my house. Home care slipped, self-care slipped, sleep slipped — pretty much everything did. Between an older dog going through some difficult end-of-life complications and a middle-aged dog recovering from surgery, there simply wasn’t bandwidth left for much else.

The best way I know how to dig myself back out of a stretch like that is to invite other people into it with me. So this month, I’m running something I’m calling the Double Down Dig Out Challenge — and if you’re reading this after the fact, don’t worry, it’s not too late to join in.

You’re Not the Only One Who Falls Behind

Three years into this podcast, the one thing I know for certain is that none of us are alone in this. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, suspect you have it, or just find your home falls apart despite your best intentions, what’s usually missing isn’t willpower — it’s friendly accountability. That’s exactly what this challenge is built to provide.

How the Challenge Works

The structure is simple: 20 days, two 20-minute timer sessions each day.

Session one: maintenance. Set a 20-minute timer and tackle whatever needs upkeep — a bathroom, a bedroom, the playroom, the kitchen. Whatever “maintenance” means for that space on that day.

Session two: the 20-item challenge. In the second 20 minutes, the goal is to throw away, donate, or put away 20 items total, in any combination. Ten things trashed and ten put away. Twenty things donated. Twenty things put back where they belong. However the mix works out is fine.

Here’s the built-in loophole worth knowing: the 20 items matter more than the 20 minutes. The timer’s there to keep decisions fast and easy, not to create pressure. If you spot a stack of magazines that are basically all recycling, do a quick keep-or-toss pass — seven gone, seven items logged. Scoop up a pile of cracker wrapper and crumbs, count it as a few items, you’re at ten. Empty a dishwasher you already know the home for, and you might hit 20 before the timer even goes off. And if the timer does go off but you’re mid-carry with two items left in your hands, finish carrying them. The item count is what actually counts.

Why 20 Days, Not 30

I deliberately didn’t frame this as a 30-day challenge for the full month, even though there were enough days available to do that. Thirty days in a row leaves zero room for grace, and I already know my own March calendar has two separate Thursday-Friday travel stretches built in. Setting myself up for a streak I already know I’ll break isn’t useful — it’s just setting up guaranteed disappointment.

Instead, 20 days out of the month means built-in flexibility. If weekdays don’t work for you, weekends are fair game to bank extra days. If you’d rather protect your weekends entirely, remember that two 20-minute sessions only add up to 40 minutes total — easy to double up on a single weekday if you need to make up for a day you missed.

So if you’re picking this up on March 5th, or even March 10th, you haven’t missed your window. Double up on sessions until you’re caught up to 20. There’s no mathematical reason this has to be all-or-nothing, and there’s no reason to treat a late start as a disqualification.

Where Should You Actually Start?

You get to decide, and there’s no wrong answer. A few ways to think about it:

• Challenge yourself with the hard thing. If your kitchen counters never stay clear, make that your maintenance target every single day. By day 15, you might discover it only takes 12 minutes to hold the line — proof of real progress.
• Start somewhere visible. Borrowing a tip from Dana K. White: tackle the spot your family walks past most, like the entryway, so the progress becomes obvious to everyone by day 5 or day 10, not just you.
• Start somewhere personal. If your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary and currently isn’t, there’s nothing wrong with spending all 20 days right there.
• Start wherever your real life actually allows. With two dogs needing close attention right now, I’m not straying far from my main floor this month. Almost all of my 20 sessions will happen in the kitchen, living room, and mudroom — spaces where I can stay within earshot. That’s still 20 real days of progress, even if I never once make it upstairs.

Two Ways to Get Accountability

Free option: Join the community Facebook group at bit.ly/joylovinghomecommunity. I’ll pop in weekly with encouragement and go live so you can work your 20 minutes alongside mine in real time — or catch the replay later if the timing doesn’t line up. Post your before-and-afters, share what you tackled, and work alongside other people in the same boat.

Membership option ($10/month, cancel anytime): Get daily live 20-minute sessions to work alongside, plus Tackle It Tuesdays — four one-hour Zoom sessions each Tuesday, spaced to cover different time zones (I’ve got members joining from Canada, Australia, and all across the U.S.), where you can actually see and talk to each other, share what’s tripping you up, and declare what you’re tackling. Some members even ask each other to check in a few hours later for extra accountability. Sign up at joylovinghome.com/membership.

The Recap

20 days. First 20-minute session: maintenance. Second 20-minute session: 20 items thrown away, donated, or put away. That’s the whole challenge — Double Down, Dig Out.

I’d love to have you join in, whichever version fits your life right now.

Until next time, continue to choose joy.