It's all a load of rubbish!

Copyright Quinn Dombrowski 2009 Creative Commons

OK, so officially this is week three of my domestic dummy makeover but last week I was getting ready for littl'un's 3rd birthday party so I gave myself the week off! (Ooops ...)

Despite my break last week, I was actually very good at putting the dishwasher on every evening - it makes such a difference! - and so this week the daily housework habit that I am focusing on is putting out the bins and the compost.  My aim is to do this absolutely every day without fail!



Big benefits
Apart from warding off norovirus, infestations of small creatures, plague etc (!) there are some other obvious benefits to putting the bins out every night, including:

• kitchen & bathrooms not stinking to high heaven!
• being able to put things in bin without shoving so hard bin bag splits
• actually being able to shut the bin lid
• stuff not gathering around the work top because there's no room in the bin
• there being room on the worktop to do what actually needs to be done now because it's not covered with stuff that ought to be in the bin
• plates & pots can be instantly scraped without need to change the bin bag so they actually get scraped straight away and go into the dishwasher straight away
• the bin bag is not so full it splits on the way outside!

These might seem blatantly obvious to most people, but as a domestic dummy I do have to remind myself of the benefits frequently to ward off that little voice that tells me to do anything but housework and to make sure I actually get the job done!

Recycling and re-use

All the recycling goes in the orange bag - very easy -
anything non-recyclable or compostable in the  white bag.

Luckily we have a really good recycling scheme where I live, in which you put all your paper, glass, cans & plastic in one orange bag without having to sort it. Even I can manage that!  I've adapted my Brabantiabin so the orange bag goes in the main section and everything else - apart from compostable food - goes in the other small section actually intended for food.

The things I am much less good at are re-using stuff and putting the compost out!  I've been totally inspired by Anne at Domesblissity's fabulous lists for ways to re-using stuff and really am going to try harder at it.

The compost I am just pathetic about, as I don't like walking down the - very short! - garden when it's dark to empty the crock. I will just have to resort to scare tactics to make sure I do it every morning - norovirus, norovirus, norovirus. and worse!

Bin cleaning
I know I really don't have any excuse for not putting the bins out - it is the easiest thing - but cleaning the bin is such a yucky thing to do that I think every normal person finds excuses for not doing it!  I'm not sure how it happens but even with bin liners in the bin, it still manages to get horrid gunk on the bottom of it.

Once I've got on top of my daily habits I know there's some monthly and every-other-monthly tasks that I am also going to have to master if I am ever to get past the domestic dummy status and unfortunately, cleaning the bins is going to have to be one of them! (Boo hoo!)

As a step on the way I've collected this starter list of tips that you might find helpful:

• Use a long arm loo brush to scrub with washing liquid
• Spray with an anti-bacterial spray designed for pet mess
• Use a rag mop to really get to the bottom of it
• Sterilise anything you use to clean it in a bucket of sterilising liquid 
• Spray it down with the garden hose & leave to dry in sun (more one for you Americans and Aussies than us Brits!)
• Put a small amount of bleach in it with some water and leave to soak before scrubbing

And if you're struggling with a mountain of rubbish you'll also find lots of ideas for organising the recycling, composting and re-using stuff on the load of rubbish pin board.  Do come and tell me how you master the trash on Facebook and Twitter.

I have shared this post at these fab blog parties:
Under the Table and Dreaming, A Bowlful of Lemons, Clean and Scentsible, Delightful Order, We Are That Family, The Gunny Sack, The Chicken Chick, Wow Me Wednesday, Domesblissity and Not Just a Housewife.