Household Behavior Modification
by Monica Resinger

With this idea, you make changes in certain behaviors that you do at home to make improvements in areas that are bothering you. The question is, where do you start?

Ever hear of behavior modification? Usually it's associated with weight loss meaning you make changes to your eating behavior to produce weight loss. If applied, it usually produces pleasing results with just a little effort. I'd like to introduce another behavior modification idea and that is household behavior  modification. 

With this idea, you make changes in certain behaviors that you do at home to make improvements in areas that are bothering you. The question is, where do you start?

To figure out where to start, you need to notice what's really bothering you about your home. It could be your cluttered desk, too much clutter everywhere, not being able to see clearly through the windows, or embarrassment when people come to visit among many other things. When you notice that you are irritated about something in your home, write it down in a notebook so you can look back at it later and come up with `household behavior modifications' to help solve the problem. 

Once you are in the mood for coming up with some solutions to your household problems, bring out your notebook and a pen. For each household problem that you listed, come up with a few solutions and write them down on a new page. This can include behavior modifications and other notes such as purchasing items that will help solve the problem. It's best to focus on one problem at a time. 

I have done this many times in my own home and I'll give you some examples of what I did to solve the problems. I'm in no way finished, but at least things are always getting better. 

Here are some of my examples:

~ Note in notebook: Irritated by all the paper everywhere (junk mail, newspaper, etc.). Behavior modifications: Sort through mail right after it is retrieved, throwing away what needs to be thrown away, putting bills in bill box and coupons in coupon binder. Put daily newspaper in recycling bin to be picked up weekly by garbage service. Reminder: Make call to get recycling service for the  newspaper. 

~ Note in notebook: Embarrassed when visitors come over and the house is a mess. Behavior modifications: Since the living room is the first room visitors see, I'll be sure to tidy it first when cleaning house. Enforce the rule that everyone picks up after themselves. Get in the habit to check the living room constantly to see if it needs tidying and if it does, tidy it. 

~ Note in notebook: The front porch is ugly. Behavior modifications: Straighten, organize and sweep front porch on a weekly basis. Note: Find some cute decorations for it at a thrift store or yard sale. Cover the ugly plywood floor with outdoor rug. 

To come up with solutions, you have to get to the root of the problem. Ask yourself where is the problem coming from? My ugly front porch problem was coming from too much clutter, no decorations and lack of organization. My paper everywhere problem was coming from saying `I'll get to it later' and not having a place for what I did keep. Once you get to the root of the problem, it will be easier to see what needs to be changed. 

Writing these down has the benefits of being able to look back later and see if your behavior modifications have worked. If they haven't, then you can think up new behavior modifications or reinforce the old ones, whatever needs to be done. 

I suggest that you add your modifications to your chore schedule. This will help ensure that you stick to it. If you're not familiar with a chore schedule, you can read my article about it here: http://www.themestream.com/articles/103619.html

It's important to note that you need to come up with your own solutions to your household problems because someone else's won't work as well for you. Everyone does things differently. 

Remember, small changes add up to be big improvements!

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