Use the Right Sized Garbage Can
It’s official, last week’s challenge caused the largest response ever! My inbox was flooded with wonderful emails; I appreciate all your kind words and thank you for sharing your stories. It seems the idea of ‘why did I buy that’ struck a cord with many of you and you all seemed to really like the fact that I am human too. It’s true, even I lose phone numbers, pay a bill late once in awhile and walk out of the house without my keys. If you think you have it bad imagine how difficult it is for me to call the co-chair of a conference that wants to hire me as the keynote to ask them to resend me information! Well at least we can laugh about it. So in the spirit of sharing stories from my home front here’s this week’s challenge for you. *Use the right size garbage can* No, I’m not kidding, this may seem like a very odd topic and to some of you it may appear obvious. But we have to talk about it, I’ve seen way too many tiny garbage cans in my day, in fact I have, I mean had, one in my bathroom, which is what inspired this week’s challenge. Recently I had my bathroom redone, it is now painted a fantastic color called nurture, think of a spa blue color. I needed to replace the old pink garbage can and found one the exact color of the newly painted walls. I bought it without considering the practicality of it. For months now I was enjoying the new bathroom with one major exception, garbage was being left on the countertops! By garbage I mean empty toilet paper rolls, un-recyclable packaging for items like deodorant etc. I could not understand it. How hard was it to put these things in the garbage? Were people trying to drive me nuts? Why couldn’t they do this one simple thing? And then it hit me- it was not simple, in fact far from it. The new garbage can, although the perfect shade of blue, had a tiny little opening on the top, not even large enough for the cardboard insert of the toilet paper roll. I then checked the other garbage cans and recycling containers in the house. Some passed but others failed miserably. Either they were too small or not conveniently located. This meant it was easier for people to put something on the countertop then it was to toss it. I immediately replaced the bathroom garbage can; I gave the blue one to Goodwill. I also moved others around to make them more convenient to use. It’s been about a week and there is a lot less garbage left out. It’s incredible how a little change can make such a big difference.
So this week I invite you to inspect your garbage situation. What’s working? And more importantly what’s not working? Do you need a can with a wider mouth? Does it need to be larger? Does it need to be more conveniently located? Making even one small change can save you hours of frustration and clean up! That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week with a new tip in the meantime happy organizing, Jamie PS Wondering what the right sized garbage can is for the room? Think of what you typically use it for, how much and how often. For example, garbage in the kitchen might need to be a taller container since it is used so often. To avoid having to take it out so often you might have one can for food garbage and one for other garbage. But in an office your recycling bin might need to be the large container and a small garbage can. In the garage however you might be tossing big items and need an over sized can.
New Program Dates for Jamie Just Added
View Jamie's Calendar of Events Here more dates to come be sure to check back *Featured Service of Product of the Month* This month's featured product is a sturdy replacement for the flimsy cardboard game boxes, you know the board game boxes where the side split and the pieces pour out. These plastic version come in junior, small, large and extra large sizes. View the Plastic Game Boxes *Share this email*
Who do you know that needs this tip? Send it to them now. They will thank you for it.
|
