What is a Hot Spot?
A Hot Spot is an area, when left unattended will gradually take over. My favorite analogy is of a hot spot in a forest fire, if left alone it will eventually get out of hand and burn up the whole forest. This is what happens in our homes. If left unattended, the hot spot will grow and take over the whole room as well as making the house look awful. When you walk into a room, the hot spot is the first thing you see. Your eyes are locked on it. Over the years my hot spot has migrated. As a child it was a chair in my bedroom. I would pile it to the ceiling. Right now I have two hot spots in my home: the dining room table and the bed in the extra bedroom. The dining room table is a staging area. We put the unopened mail there, as well as any thing that needs to go to the basement. Some times you cannot see the top of the table. This is the first thing I see when I walk into the kitchen. Granted, the pile has only been there since last night, but if I don't deal with it first thing in the morning, it will collect many more items by evening. CLUTTER ATTRACTS CLUTTER. The Bed in the extra bed room is just the same. I use it as a place to put things that don't have a home. Do you have areas like this that continue to grow if left alone? Does the rest of the family see this as a place to put things when they do not want to put them where they belong? It is our job to NIP this in the bud. Get rid of that pile, find the surface underneath, and stop the Hot Spot from becoming a raging Clutter inferno! - FlyLady

Today's Baby Step is a good one for me. The two biggest Hot Spots for me are the dining room table and the corner of the kitchen cabinet. Everything gets dropped on the dining room table, including the baby! (That's where her car seat lives!) Anyway, then my "pile" accumulates on the corner of the kitchen cabinet of things that need my immediate attention. And boy, do they get out of hand quickly! I guess Home Schooling will help with the dining room table since that is where we will work. But if I just take two minutes to clean these areas and give the immediate attention, maybe it won't be so bad. BTW- my sink still shines!!