apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I at least get the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, try to clear off the counters and coffee table and put away the puppy's toys before bed.

How does one go through a whole bag of garbage in a day? I take the trash and recycling out once a week, and even then the trash bag isn't totally full. I would take it out more often (as it can get stinky), but I have a serious problem with disposing of half-full garbage bags.

LOL, sounds like my house! Great tips!

My tip: Every night I wipe down the counters in the kitchen and throw the dishcloth into the laundry. Dishcloths are tiny, so it's not a lot of extra storage or laundry to have one for every day of the week.

Nice ideas, but boy do I hate lists that start with "5 (or 10 or 20!) things to do..." My list is long enough already, thank you. I'l keep trying, though.

I am notorious for changing my clothes 2-4 times a day, usually in a rush, so I leave them piled at the side of my bed. I try to get everything put where it belongs right before I climb into bed at night so the bedroom doesn't look a wreck after two days.

And I clear dog toys from the bedroom-bathroom path to avoid injuries and startling midnight squeaks.

Where can I find instructions on how to make a headboard like the one pictured?

I am a compulsive counter cleaner and I never leave anything in the sink, maybe to soak but never overnight.

I think to tie off the trash is ok to avoid a bug issue but untie the next day, I agree I try very hard not to have more than one full bag week.

I pretty much put everything away at the end of each day, I cannot stand to wake up to any clutter or things laying around. I only use my TV for movies and my TV and stereo are on a surge protector plug that gets turned off when not in use.

The list idea is good, I always start out with a list but I put it away too fast to read what is on there. This is why I should get a chalk board.

This is a great list. I can see how attending to each of these things every night would help with organization and peace of mind.

I would add to this list:
6) open and deal with the day's mail; and
7) go through your purse or bag to organize whatever you accumulated during the day (i.e., receipts, etc.).

I like to set up my coffee pot for the morning and prepare my lunch the night before. Since I'm generally comatose in the morning, pushing a button for coffee is easier.
I also try to tidy the kitchen so I don't have to come home to dirty dishes.

I agree with the trash - I stopped buying trash bags and now use the ones they give you at either the grocery stores or wherever I am shopping.

The only thing I would add is - go through mail.

These are all great things to get done before bed. I have a much easier time getting ready for my next day when things are clean and put away. I would also add laying out clothes and things for the next day.

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you have enough garbage each day to take it out every morning?

we just make sure our food waste is separate and deal with that every few days.

I have a rule "never leave a room without taking something with you".

As you move around from bedroom to living room to...etc. look around and see what needs to be taken from that room you are in, to the room you are going to (or passing by). Keeps things constantly moving instead of stuck in one room.

Where I live the city picks up the trash, but you have to buy stickers to put on the bags (showing that you paid for pickup). You can bet that no one living here puts out a half bag of trash! It's actually a pretty cool system. It encourages recycling (FREE pickup!), causes people to think about what each bag of trash really means and charges people based upon how much they use sanitation services.
For heavy users, an annual sticker is available for each standard-sized rolling bin. Not sure what it costs, since I pay by the bag.

I check the next day's weather forecast and lay out both my workout clothes (I exercise in the morning before work) and my work clothes. The former saves me time fumbling through drawers in the dark when I'm half asleep, and the latter lets me get dressed quickly and appropriately for the (frequently rainy) weather.

I also like to have my bag packed and my lunch for the next day prepped and placed front and center in the refrigerator.

I'm a little OCD about this kind of thing, though.

Oh, and it's "preparation", not "preperation".

Mmmm... My wife's grandmother told us, "Never go to sleep still angry with one another."
My grandmother told me to pray.
My kids told me to tell them stories, one for each, in two languages.
My little sister would drive us crazy in the mornings. Selecting her cloths always involved fights, tears, half an hour and missing the school bus. Unless I was home from university to save the situation. Then we started choosing before she went to bed.
My personal recomendation is never like a late TV program. It ruins your sex life. "Sex in the City" was an oxymoron.

Seriously? Don't leave dirty dishes in the sink over night? Who doesn't already do this?

ThatGrrl - that's an awesome system!

I got so excited when my condo building got "all inclusive" recycling bins instead of hoping Chicago's blue bag program was effective. Now I can dump all my plastic and metal together, have a paper bag full of paper and cardboard and they all go down together and (hopefully) get recycled. This seriously cuts down on my garbage.

I should probably have a separate bag for food scraps and take those down every couple days. I bet I wouldn't fill a trash bag in 3 weeks if I did that.

I do the following: clean cats' litter box; check cats' food and water dispensers; put my reading glasses away so they don't end up on the floor as a toy for the cats; check that doors and windows are locked; sometimes load and start dishwasher; check calendar for next day appointments; turn out light in house; plug in nightlight; draw blinds in bedroom; set clock if needed and call it a day!

I leave my dishes in the sink overnight all the time. I like washing them in the morning to help myself wake up. I always give them a quick rinse while I'm cooking so there isn't anything stuck on.

I drink a cup of tea and straighten the pillows on the couch before I go to bed.

i do open my mail when i get in. recycle what's trash and organize the rest.

otherwise, i generally just try to relax before bed, but I do kind of like the idea of doing a few specific things to minimize clutter/mess.

as for the nightly trash, i have to agree with others that it kind of sounds like making trash. especially since "tying off" sounds like you're using a plastic bag. i mean i'm probably getting on a high horse here, but if you're going to trump 5x the plastic into the landfill with your personal ick factor, then at least use paper trash bags. =)

My grandmother used to say "after dinner the dishes cry 'wash me! wash me!' and if you don't wash them right away, next morning it's you who cries".

Our biggest problem is washing. I try to always put a load of washing on over night so that its ready to hang out in the morning. Also, if theres nothing on TV you're interested in before you go to bed, its a great time to fold or iron.

first5times, I actually do keep food scraps (or potentially smelly empty food containers) separately. I've sort of designated one of my refrigerator vegetable bins as food scraps and container storage. I bring out one bag of garbage every week or sometimes every other week. I just pull out the bag with scraps/containers and toss it in when the trash goes out. Apartment still smells fine. Trash doesn't need to go out more often just because of food scraps.

I presume they take the trash out daily because they have a small trash can. I'd imagine multiple people and dogs could easily generate enough trash to fill a grocery-sized plastic bag.

Where can I get the headboard in the photo?

We have a tiny kitchen, and the only trashcan that will fit under our sink is also tiny. It's definitely full at the end of the day! Ditto the bathroom, which has a tinier sink and a really ridiculously tiny trashcan under it. It's like a Barbie trashcan.

I try to do my partner before going to bed.
oh...and clean up the coffee table.

Love moepong's answer! Beats the crap out of doing dishes.

I know that a lot of people don't, but I like these organizing-type articles.

I have a 15 year old to take out my trash every night before bed. We have a large can in the garage that we fill up with the day's trash. I have a 12 year old that does the dishes before bed each night. All I have to do is turn out the lights. This is the life!

Kathryn, like sleepingspot said, some of us prefer to do dishes in the morning as a way to wake up. Not just that but my evenings are short enough with my kids and I'd rather interact with them and help them with homework than make a lot of noise in the kitchen (we have a very small house). I just get up a half-hour before they do and do various chores then.

Clean off the coffe table.

AZkathy - That is an awesome rule!! I'm going to use that rule!!! Thank you!

taking the trash out daily seems excessive for almost anybody. granted i live alone, but i only fill a small grocery store bag with trash about every two weeks. seems like if you're taking it out everyday, you're generating too much trash and probably wasting lots of plastic bags.

Taking out the trash daily isn't so bad if you've got a very small garbage can, which often happens in tiny apartments! Besides, if you've got a small enough plastic trashcan you don't even need plastic bags unless you're throwing away something goopy like bad food. Just carry it out in the morning and give it a quick rinse.

Anyway, I completely ignore all lists that say "Never go to bed with dishes in the sink." Forget that. Work keeps me away from my husband long enough. The last thing I want to do at night before bed is being up to my elbows in dirty dishwater instead of getting quality time!

The system I prefer is the soaking overnight method. I just put the dishes in a small plastic tub, throw in some soap, and just enough water to cover everything. By the time morning rolls around, the dishes have practically cleaned themselves and just require a rinse.

Pots, though, do get washed just because they easily stink up a small apartment. That's why I use the plastic tub for the dishes - it can sit next to the sink, so the sink is still usable for other washing, getting a class of water, washing hands, etc.

we take the garbage out daily...we have 2 kids and everything from food scraps to diapers to lost toys goes in the trash. We also do the dishes at night mainly bcoz cockroaches scare us! We have a small apartment and it can stink up rather quickly and get infested even faster!
We do pick upmtoys b4 bed! that's our lifesaver!

I can't help thinking that the people who are being so judgmental about the people who take out garbage every day either use a big garbage can/bag, or eat out a lot and thus produce their garbage elsewhere, other than at home. We never eat out, other than the odd family celebration once or twice a year, and I am at home with the kids all day while working from home, so between my husband, me and our two little kids, we have quite a bit of garbage every day and prefer not to let it get smelly. I think that taking care of garbage issues every day/night is good general advice, though of course it may not be applicable to everyone.

What! Are you serious? A bag of garbage a day??

I cook and live with my partner. Almost everything we use goes in the organic/green bin or is recycled. And yes, we have a tiny garbage bin (shopping bag sized). I have never filled more than one grocery bag per week. If your garbage gets smelly, chances are it's food and can go in the compost bin. So? JUDGY JUDGERSON!

"Seriously? Don't leave dirty dishes in the sink over night? Who doesn't already do this?"

Anyone who doesn't have a dishwasher and feels washing dishes by hand is less desirable than the thought of daily root canals. Namely me.

And a bag of garbage a day!!! I'm usually taking out one every week and a half. I'm going to be judgy mcjudgerson here and suggest anyone who takes out even a grocery bag of trash a day is probably using paper towels! That's the only thing I can think of to take up that kind of space. And for the record... a roll of paper towels usually lasts me 9 months to a year.

I always try to straighten cushions (pillows) on the sofa and plump them up, take out cups, glasses or plates, newspapers and put magazines in the rack.

I need to print off this list and frame it on my fridge for the husband! :)

Having a clean kitchen DEFINITELY helps with wanting to eat at home and the likelihood of eating breakfast in the morning!

1.Set up the Coffee Pot
2.Wash Dishes and put them away
3.Quick Sweep and Mop the floor ( yeah swiffer )
4.Remind Husband to take the trash out
5.Before Bed Gin Martini on the rocks with a twist...

every thing else can either wait or is not important......