Comments on: Simple steps to save you time

By: Corky

Corky — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:58:38 +0000

Clean as I go in the kitchen for sure. Also, after doing the few dishes that are left, I clean counters with a mixture of alcohol and water. Use the same on bathroom mirror, faucet and counter. Works really well.

Don’t plan meals. Go to farmers market on Saturday mornings and purchase everything I need to make a variety of meals. Then I am always ready for whatever I may be in the mood for.

I make sure to put away my laptop, books, writing tablet, pen, maps, and whatever else I have out before I go to bed.

Also don’t set closses out for morning anymore. After shower, I go to the closet and get dressed there. Keep everything withing reach on shelves anyway, no dresser.

Drink coffee at work later in the morning. Like to allow myself to wake up naturally. Then at around nine I have a coffee. Really perks me up and keeps me going till lunch. A good protein lunch will hold me till supper.

Would like to thank everyone for all of the wonderful ideas.

By: Corky

Corky — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:29:36 +0000

Great idea Trillie!

“When turning on the hot water tap in my apartment, it takes a while until the water is really hot – so I usually put my watering can there. Once a week, when I water all my plants, I can just grab the already full watering can and go.”

By: Declutter Secrets

Declutter Secrets — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:39:38 +0000

If I have a big meal to cook, I write down all the dishes I want to prepare and break it down to tasks. Then, I plan the logical order of the tasks.
All this preparation takes about 10-15 minutes but saves a lot of time later!

Very helpful when you have so much to do and not enough time.

By: Panig

Panig — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 07:36:43 +0000

In my home, towels, bedsheets, washcloths,handtowels and undergarments are in color white . My kitchen towels and table cloths are also in white. This way we accumulate a full load faster than it would be, if I had these items in many different colors. Next, most the outer wear of my husband’s and mine are of darker color (black, grey and navy blue), which together make another load. So, mostly we have two large loads per week for the two of us. If there are stains on the white items, I soak them in non-cholrine bleach (in 5 gallon buckets), until the stains are gone. I hand wash most of my delicates. I wash and rinse them in a dish pan and then put them in a little spin dryer
(laundry_alternative.com) to squeez out the water. I dry the delicates on a folding stand in the basement.

Additionaly, by washing white and colored items separately, I don’t get white lints on dark clothes and dark lints on white clothes.

By: jw

jw — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:06:05 +0000

“I know some people just wash everything together, but those are the people with dingy whites, smelly towels, and faded black shirts.”

Geez, LB, settle down!

I do not have laundry facilities at home. It is much simpler & cheaper to do 3 jumbo loads than 6 or 9 regular loads. My towels don’t smell. We don’t wear many white clothes, they are too easily soiled. Anything that needs special consideration to stay “nice” gets it.

By: LB

LB — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:25:23 +0000

We have four laundry baskets in our closet. When we undress we sort: white (to be bleached to kill dustmites and mildew on towels), colors, darks (get washed with dark wash liquid), and delicates.

When a basket is full, it goes to the laundry.

The theory is that we would be washing single loads frequently instead of multiple loads taking over our house/day, but it seems like all the baskets get full at the same time!

I know some people just wash everything together, but those are the people with dingy whites, smelly towels, and faded black shirts.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:31:30 +0000

- I have two laundry baskets: a blue one for cold wash and a white one for hot wash. They’re low and open to make it easy to get clothes into.

- Fridge management while cooking: I (try to!) get everything out of the fridge at once. I (try to!) put everything back into the fridge at once, putting on the counter next to the fridge till then.

- I, too, would knock myself out if I left cabinet doors open. I pile dishes on the counter near wherever they go, then put them away all at once.

- Have only one brand and a few sizes of “tupperware” in the kitchen. I like TellFresh for the variety of options and the fact it’s rectangular (more efficient than circular). For me the right number of sizes is five.

- Get ready for the work day on the night before. Not only am I more efficient, time at night is less “expensive” than time in the morning.

- Do tasks while watching TV. Yesterday I folded laundry, cut rags, wrapped Xmas gifts, and broke down boxes for kindling while watching football. I also fast foward through the ads but then use up all the saved time by watching key plays repeatedly and sometimes in slow motion.

- Keep shampoo and conditioner bottles lid-down in the shower. This saves me all of 15 seconds, but it means I get more out of the bottle and avoid the minor aggravation of shaking the bottle and waiting. (If there’s an award for most insignificant efficiency, I think I just won it.)

By: trillie

trillie — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:52:50 +0000

Saves water and time: When turning on the hot water tap in my apartment, it takes a while until the water is really hot – so I usually put my watering can there. Once a week, when I water all my plants, I can just grab the already full watering can and go.

I also do the little things others have mentioned: Carrying stuff back where it belongs when I’m on the way anyway, putting dried dishes away while waiting for the microwave, or letting the drain cleaner sit while cleaning the rest of the bathroom. Great suggestions, everyone – I’m going to try doing the dishes while cooking next!

By: Marie

Marie — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:43:19 +0000

This has been a most helpful list of comments. I thank you all for your suggestions. I’m a terrible clutterbug, but I’m trying to do better.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:33:42 +0000

I would second (or third or fourth) taking things home as you move from room to room. It’s a case of being aware of where you are and what you’re doing, and it makes it much easier to stay picked up.

I would add installing some sort of internet limiting software or add-on to limit your brainless internet time. I use LeechBlock for Firefox, set to monitor the time spent on all internet (.com, .net, .org, etc.) with the exception of specified work-related sites. More than 1 hour in a 6 hour period and it blocks all sites except for those white-listed sites. It was absolutely amazing how often I ran into that limit the first month of doing it. Now that I’m used to it, I don’t run into it too often, though I still trigger it a couple times a week. (It has a timer in the lower right corner of the browser to let me know how much time I have left, and it saves the address of the blocked site, so I don’t lose sites or get interrupted unless I’m really distracted.)

Being present and aware really helps me make my life extraordinary. I do need a few props to help me, but the end result is much the same.

By: Hudson

Hudson — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:06:12 +0000

Be aware of what you’re doing with your time, and you might mysteriously discover you have a lot of time.

By: J

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:15:51 +0000

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. Mine is to wash the light globe or shade whenever you’re replacing the light bulb. It doesn’t take long to do just one, and they all get their turn without having to take them all down at once.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:59:47 +0000

I always find that my salt grinder is the worst for leaving behind bits of salt in the cupboard, so I kept a small plastic dish from some hummous and put it under the salt grinder. Then it collects the bits of salt, and I don’t have to wipe the cupboard as often.

By: Seamus

Seamus — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:09:17 +0000

I am amazed at how many things only take a minute or two (making the bed, putting away my clothes at the end of the day, cleaning the kitchen, etc.)so I try to do it immediately and have the satisfaction of a tidy house.

My house has tiny closets but a large basement, so I have several laundry baskets (whites, colours/black, towels/sheets). As soon as a basket is full, it’s time to do laundry. So much easier than sorting on laundry day!

I have a small Christmas tree (pre-lit), wired the ornaments on it and store it in the original box. Takes 5 minutes to put up.

When I unload the dishwasher, I set the table for the next meal, less to put away.

Now… if I could only get my hall closet in order… thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

By: Kari

Kari — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:00:24 +0000

Glad to k ow I am not the only one who would lose an eye or something from running into the open doors. The way I save time unloading the dishwasher is that I unload the bottom rack onto the kitchen island, sorting where stuff goes as I unload, then I get it all put away, and then repeat for the top rack. I do the same thing with laundry; as I empty the baskets on the couch (I fold while watching tv), I sort into general piles–tops, socks and underwear, pants and shorts, towels, ironing. Then I fold by category, starting with shirts, then pants then socks and undies; I also put them back in the laundry baskets in that order, so putting clothes away takes much less time, since everything is pre-sorted.