Day 10 (sort of) - Going for Clean

I fell off the posting bandwagon. Truthfully, I enjoyed a bit of a break. I didn't take a break from cleaning, though! My dryer is drying, the dishwasher has been emptied, the kitchen is clean, Jakob is at school, and Ellie and Phoenix are napping after our walk in the chilly spring air.

My Day 10 (or something, maybe it shouldn't be days, maybe it should be tips?) suggestion is all about maximizing efficiency. There are only 24 hours in a day. No matter how much I wish, somedays, to get a few extra hours, 24 is what we've got.

I've seen plenty of suggestions on Pinterest for sorting bins. They don't really work for me. Much like the failure of our multiple laundry bin attempt (which just resulted in multiple MOUNTAINS of laundry to do), general sorting bins, and mail sorting bins seem to just make more of a problem for me.

Take mail sorting, as an example. They suggest having three bins, one for bills to pay, one for things to keep, one to shred. In our house, the mail comes in, I grab it, recycle the junk and envelopes immediately, put the bills on the laptop to be paid that day, and the shredder lives under my desk and sees frequent action. Our filing cabinet is organized, and it takes no time to put away paid bills, or other important information. Why do I need bins? To me, they just represent a place for work to accumulate!

I've also seen suggestions for placing baskets on the stairs to hold belongings to go upstairs. In the pretty, posed shots on Pinterest, they look appealing. In real life, not so much. I am pretty sure I would be annoyed by the bins sitting there, taking up space on my stair case, especially if they were empty. 


We live on two levels, and I go up and down countless times in a day. I realized that if, before I saunter up to grab something, I look around for something, or some things to bring with me, I can save myself a few trips. It may not seem like a big deal, but a round trip usually takes several minutes, especially if I get distracted, as is so often the case. Over the course of the day, I'm certain I waste a lot of time on trips that could have been consolidated.

When I'm cleaning the kitchen, I put the items that need to be stored in the china cabinet (which is in the living room) to one side. When the kitchen is clean, I put everything on a tray, make one trip to the living room, and back again.

When I'm working in the laundry room, the bathroom, any room for that matter, if there's stuff that doesn't belong, I put it in one place, finish what I'm doing, and before I leave, take the time to put that stuff in its place. If it doesn't have a place, then I question why we have it, if we need it, and you know the rest! It leaves the house if it has no benefit to us!

Maximizing efficiency, as you go through your day, allows you to reclaim a whole lot of time you didn't know you were wasting!

Edited to add:
Ooh, I forgot! There is one place where I like organized bins. My waste/recycling area! Once upon a time, we had a big Rubbermaid bin with a swing top, that took those jumbo black garbage bags. I was never a fan of taking out the garbage, what with the bags weighing a ton, and usually having some sort of disgusting stew brewing at the bottom.

Enter the RETUR bins from Ikea.

We have two, stacked just like that (camera is charging, else I'd show you our actual set up). The bottom we use for recycling of food containers, the top we use for garbage. It fits one bag, one small grocery bag. I empty it every day. I love emptying it every day! It takes barely any space at all, and helps me keep the mess under control. Some bins are good :)