The "S" word and the "F" word

No, I'm not going PG-13 on you.  I heard someone talking about the "F" word recently--FINISH. Finishing a task is sometimes the hardest part.  It is also the most satisfying.  This woman's take on finishing was that we would save ourselves a lot of time and trouble if we just finished.  How many times do we start folding that basket of laundry and go onto something else only to find that half-finished basket still there 2 days later?  A few minutes is all it would take to complete the chore, but for some reason we put it off thinking we don't have the time right now.  When faced with a large project I usually get the bulk of it done and then kind of let the remaining details fall into place gradually.  Take for instance painting a room.  We get the painting done, but how long does it take us to replace the furniture and put all the painting supplies away?  Days or weeks in our house.  I have made an effort lately to finish 100% the projects that I start and the satisfaction of a job well done is so much greater than when I do most of it, vowing to myself to do it later.  Try it.

So, now the "S" word--START.  I usually have several minute tasks at hand...those tasks that aren't significant enough to make it onto my to-do list.  So in consequence they get ignored and forgotten.  But every once in awhile the piles aggravate me and the missing buttons become a problem.  This morning I had a rare window of time in which everyone was at school or asleep.  I decided to tackle some of these mini to-dos.  I straightened the books on my book shelf, put new toilet paper rolls in each bathroom, processed the pile of papers under my purse, returned my reusable bags to the car from the counter where they had been sitting since my last shopping trip, stuck the pile of pins on my dresser in my pin cushion, organized my husband's dresser top, put the stuff on my closet floor away, and emptied the trash even though it wasn't overflowing yet.  Examples of things that don't stop the household from running or even make anyone notice when they're completed.  But small things often add up to a big deal, and I feel like I can start my day now a little less weighed down.  How do you motivate yourself to start and/or finish the things on or off of your to-do list?