Random Decluttering Tip

[issendai]

Put a trash can in every room. Every room. Even the room where you've never had a trash can because you can go five steps away and put it in the trash in the next room, so having a second trash can seems wasteful.

And then ask yourself, where are your recycling bins? If you're like most people, they're in the kitchen, pantry, or garage--out-of-the-

Comments

[selkiechick]

THISTHISTHIS

I have been doing better since I put a trash can in my bedroom!

I might also add- use bags in the trash cans so that they are easy to empty. I got into the bad habit of waiting to empty the small trash cans until I was emptying the big ones. I use plastic grocery bags. (We don't always use the greener reusable bags...)

[issendai]

Ooh, good tip. Small trash cans are a great way to use up carrier bags.

Though I'll add that when a friend moved out, he left me:

• a box of bread bags
• a box of tiny trash bags
• a box of small trash bags
• a huge box of medium trash bags

...and it was an awakening. I'd been using carrier bags in all my cans, including the kitchen garbage can, and once I had bags that fit the trash cans, I realized how much effort I'd subconsciously put into keeping ill-fitting bags from falling off the edge of the trash cans, not overfilling the kitchen bag, etc. When the huge box of medium bags finally runs out, I'm going to buy another, because OMG has it made kitchen garbage so much easier to deal with.

So it's not the greenest thing in the world, but if you find that carrier bags aren't quite right, try buying some bags that fit or are slightly larger than your cans.

[rennie_frog]

If you need two trash cans in a room, use two. I have two in my bedroom, one by the desk, one by the bed. And if you're generating mostly paper (like at my desk) a paper grocery bag works fine.

[issendai]

Good points! Don't get hung up on unwritten rules like "one trash can per room"; if you need more, use more.

You're right, paper grocery bags are excellent paper recycling bins. I find that the way I fill them, they fall over when they get close to full, so I've moved to cardboard boxes, but YMWV. Not filling them the way I do would probably help.

[delkytlar]

When it comes to emptying the trash, we're pretty scrupulous about it. The kitchen trash gets emptied every night (we are a family of four, and it's not a large can, so it's full or close to full after three meals). The bathroom trash cans get emptied at need. The bedroom cans get emptied the night before trash pickups; ie: Monday and Thursday nights

[jeshika_keranzu]

If you have to deal with outdoor garbage cans, do yourself a favor. Lids for these always get lost unless they are attached solidly. In the event that you've lost a lid, take a drill and drill a number of holes spaced evenly over the lowest point of the can. Instant no-soggies.