The 10 Minute Tidy. Shannon McGinnis

      Tip 17 Collect and Take Out All the Recycling

      In California it is easy to recycle because we have curbside recycling pickup. Many other states are also offering recycling services with their garbage pickups. Check with your local waste service to learn how you can participate. Often, the recycling bins are free—you only pay for the “waste” bin. Another money saving tip: recycling allows you to have a smaller waste bin, which costs less!

      It is important to recycle as much as possible so that less ends up in the landfills. There are websites, such as www.earth911.org, that assist you in finding a recycling center near you. Collecting your bottles, cans, mixed papers (junk mail, newspapers, magazines, printer paper), and cardboard allows that much more to be broken down and reused.

      Donations are also an act of recycling. Take your gently used clothes, household items, and electronics to local donation centers rather than throwing them away.

      There is also a collection return reward for many types of bottles. Sarah collects her recycling for her daughter to take to school as a fundraiser. It’s a great way for kids to learn to be environmentally responsible as well as make some extra money.

      Having recycling bins in your kitchen, garage and office allows you to easily collect all of the household recycling and take it out in less than 10 minutes. This could be an easy task to delegate to an older child (see Tip 18). When its easy, you can enjoy recycling!

      Tip 18 Collect All Trash and Empty the Shredder

      An older child can easily collect all the trash from every room in the house in less than 10 minutes. One simple solution is to start with the kitchen trash and go around to each room and dump the trash into the kitchen trash bag. Be sure every bedroom and bathroom has a trash can, as this allows no excuses for anyone to leave used tissues on the floor or under the bed.

      When in the office, be sure to empty the shredder into the trash as well. Shredded paper strips or bits can not normally be recycled. Check with your local recycling service to determine if they accept shredded paper. Shredded paper usually contains staples and other foreign matter, especially if you shred credit cards and CDs. I feel great about emptying the shredder into the trash because it is already pre-composted material.

      Speaking of compost, shredded paper is contaminated with a variety of inks so you many want to reconsider emptying the shredder into your compost bin.

      Tip 19 Create Housesitting Instructions for Your Home, Family and Pets

      You will probably have a baby-, house- or pet-sitter sometime during the year. If you have typed-up instructions with all the important phone numbers, addresses, and locations of specific items, you will save yourself lots of time and stress. Having a general document that you can easily edit and print out is a great timesaver.

      In about 10 minutes, you can compose an instruction sheet of who to call and their number. You may also want to include where to find the medicine and pet food, and what the neighbors names and numbers are for any occasion when someone is going to be staying at your home and you won’t be there.

      You can find general babysitter sheets on the Internet and then customize whatever information you need to share with your babysitter or housesitter. Be sure to include where the remote controls are, how your main electronic components work, where inside and outside light switches are, and how to contact you. An instruction sheet is an easy solution to have your home, pets and family well taken care of when you are away.

      Tip 20 Clear the Floor of the Messiest Room in Your Home

      This could be the busiest 10 minutes ever, but I encourage you to turn the music up and get busy clearing the floor of the messiest room in your home! Bring several trash bags with you and designate ones for Trash, Recycling, Donations, and Things to Keep. Your “Things to Keep” might even be separated into what belongs in different rooms.

      You will be amazed at how quickly you can tidy the messiest areas and how long 10 minutes will feel. Don’t stop for even 10 seconds until the timer goes off. When the timer rings, dump the trash in the trash can, the recycling in the recycling bin, put the donations in your car, and return the things you want to keep to their proper places.

      You can be more organized and less stressed in 10 minutes or less! Be sure to go back and admire your cleared floors. You may even be inspired to vacuum.

      Kitchen

      “If you can organize your kitchen, you can organize your life.” LOUISE PARRISH

      The kitchen is the heart of the home and everyone uses it everyday. People love to congregate in the kitchen, snacking, talking and sharing their day. It is important to have a clean, clear kitchen so that it’s easy to prepare delicious meals.

      You may be wondering how you can possibly tidy the kitchen in 10 minutes, but you actually can. Here are 14 ways that you can systematically sort, purge and tidy the kitchen in 10-minute increments. Your kitchen might have four to 20 drawers in it, but if you can sort and clear one or two drawers in 10 minutes, the task of organizing the kitchen is not overwhelming.

      Have everyone in your home help you keep the kitchen clean and tidy by doing the dishes every day. Clean-up supplies within easy reach make it easy to wipe up spills, counters, the sink and stove. You could even label drawers and shelves so that the proper items get returned to their designated places. This can be fun, are you ready? Get set. Go!

      Tip 21 Sort, Purge and Organize Your Coupons

      Almost every kitchen has a drawer or area where the coupons get stuffed. Coupons are a great way to save money. I have saved over $43 on a $112 grocery bill while using coupons, but coupons are only valuable if you use them. Most of the time they expire before they get redeemed. Now is the time to sort, purge and organize your coupons.

      I recommend a 13-pocket, half-size, accordion file folder, called a check file. These can be purchased at most office supply stores for less than $5 and are typically plastic. The check file has pockets that can be labeled according to your coupon categories. Suggested labels are: Food, Cleaning Supplies, Pet Products, Car Wash, Car Repairs, Video, Pizza, Restaurants, Menus. There will also be room for additional categories such as: Phone Numbers, Home Repair Info, and Babysitters.

      Once you decide on your categories, it’s easy to sort your coupons into each labeled section. Be sure to check the expiration date on each coupon. Any expired coupons can be recycled and the current ones can be filed.

      Some “big box” stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond¨ will accept their expired coupons so you may want to keep all of your coupons for these types of stores.

      You may want to keep your coupon holder in your car if it is more convenient for you to use them when you are out doing errands. You could also have two of these check files; one in the kitchen for pizza and take out menus, the other in your car with the grocery and car wash coupons for quick and easy use.

      How much money can you save using coupons?

      Tip 22 Sort, Organize and Clean Out a Drawer

      Every kitchen has a variety of drawers and sometimes it feels like most of them have turned into junk drawers. Now is the time to sort one drawer at a time. Since the notorious “junk drawer” can seem overwhelming, I’ve dedicated the next tip (Tip 23) to just organizing the junk drawer. This 10-Minute Tidy focuses on all the other drawers in the kitchen, one at a time.

      Perhaps you want to start with the silverware drawer since this is the one that gets used every day. Hopefully you are using a silverware holder that easily accommodates all of your daily utensils. I love the expanding silverware trays that fill the entire drawer. You can purchase these at most large household supply stores. They are also great in another drawer for your serving and cooking utensils.

      When