Back From Our Trip: Two Weeks Away, 20 Minute Reset

We just got back from two weeks of visiting family. Ivy (my baby) and I came home early for work and nursery school, while Marcos stayed in California with our older kids to get a bit longer for work and to spend more time with his parents.

We landed late, dumped all the bags on the floor, and immediately realized:

1. We had zero food in the house.

2. The cockroaches were back (ew). DC City life y'all.

For the first two days, we ate out, avoided eye contact with the mess, and basically pretended the kitchen didn’t exist. By last night, the house was starting to look like a bachelor pad.

I finally had to snap out of my “one child daze” (a.k.a. staying up too late and scrolling my phone after bedtime) and get the house back to functional.

The Turnaround

Here’s what I did:

• Restocked the fridge with actual food.

• Put myself on a timer system so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed.

• Watched the show Paradise on Hulu while tidying (note: it’s very intense and I later had apocalypse dreams, so maybe pick a lighter background show).

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The 20-Minute Speed Clean Process

This is the exact process I used—twice—to go from chaos to “I can breathe again.”

Step 1 – Pick Your Zone Choose one area that’s driving you the most nuts—kitchen, living room, entryway, or even just a messy countertop.

Step 2 – Set a 20-Minute Timer No distractions. No phone scrolling. Your only mission: move quickly and make visible progress. If you have a very short attention span, like me, start with just 10 minutes.

Step 3 – Clear Trash First, Grab a bag and toss anything that’s obviously trash: takeout containers, snack wrappers, old mail, broken toys.

Step 4 – Put Away the Easy Stuff Anything that has an obvious home—shoes by the door, clean laundry, kids’ toys—goes back immediately. I use these baskets.

Step 5 – Create a “Later” BasketIf you don’t know where it goes, put it in a basket to sort after your timer goes off. This keeps you moving.

Step 6 – Wipe & ResetGive the surfaces a quick wipe, fluff pillows, straighten rugs—those little finishing touches make it feel instantly calmer.

Step 7 – Take a 5-Minute Break Drink water (or coffee or wine) grab a snack, scroll if you want--but only for a few minutes.

Step 8 – Repeat if Needed-I did two rounds back-to-back for a total of 40 minutes, and the house went from post-vacation disaster to “good enough for now.”

Sometimes “done” is better than “perfect,” and a little momentum can carry you a long way. Now, the fridge is full, the floor is visible again, and I can actually think straight.

Before and after pics- yes they are blurry, sorry.

Kitchen Chaos

Entry After

Kitchen After

Welcome to my new blog!

This is my first blog post of hopefully, many to come. There is a chance, however, it might also be the only one for the next three months (I’ve got three young kids, a full-time job, and live in a pretty chaotic city…so we’ll see).

Okay, let me introduce myself.

I’m Shannon. I live in Washington, DC with my husband and our three little ones. I’ve always loved writing and design but haven’t carved out the time to share what I’m working on; until now.

This blog is about community, taking on small, doable projects, and letting go of perfection. It’s about making life slightly cooler, mostly through home design, a bit of humor, and a lot of trial and error.

You might find posts here about color-coding a bookshelf, choosing an area rug (spoiler: it will definitely be a series), or even how to de-rat a city backyard (yep, that happened...like three times so far). I may post pretty pictures or they might just be real life and messy- remember, this blog is not about perfection or a curated experience.

I hope you'll follow along, laugh a little, and maybe even get inspired to tackle something small in your own space to make things slightly cooler.

Come say hi on Instagram @slightly.cooler—I’d love to connect.

Here’s to realistic projects, fun, and maybe, slightly cooler days ahead.