Or maybe the fact that I attribute all of my organizational "issues" to laziness is part and parcel of my problem. Well, either way, I am what I am, and after nearly 50 years of trying to force myself to adopt behaviors that I obviously don't seem to have an affinity for, I am officially giving up and going another direction.
My new motto: If you can't make yourself go to the garbage can, make the garbage can come to you... or something like that.
So here's the deal, I've had a lifelong issue with throwing things away. Now, I'm not referring to the emotional difficulty of deciding to part with this object or that, I'm talking about having difficulty getting the garbage off of whatever surface it's currently occupying and into a trash receptacle.
And since no amount of beating myself up over this tendency has ever seemed to help, I finally decided to just give in any buy more trash cans.
So, before I had garbage cans in the kitchen, bathroom & office, but recycling was just in the kitchen. Now I have garbage & recycling bins in the kitchen, bathroom, office & laundry room, and extra garbage cans in the shop and garage.
It's really rather amazing the difference this has made. No more little piles of garbage and recycling at the bottom of the stairs waiting to be hauled upstairs to the trash can. No more toilet paper tubes hanging out on the back of the commode waiting to be transported to the recycling bin. No more piles of paper on the desk waiting to be dragged to the recycling bin in the kitchen. Not sure why it took me so long to figure this one out, it really seems obvious now.
Following the same line of thinking, I decided that having a box for everything that was waiting to be shredded was just begging for trouble, and bought a dedicated shredder/trash can contraption so that anything that needs shredded gets shredded immediately.
So here's my new office "trash station"
I've also discovered that my new kitchen garbage/recycling can is pure gold.
My old kitchen "trash station" had two small cans side by side - which was problematic both because they didn't really fit into the space provided, and because they had flat lids - so I ended up piling stuff there when things got crazy and I ran out of counter space, which was just a recipe for disaster. This new can has a step out garbage section - which is wonderful because it's hands free, and the recycling compartment on top has a slightly bowed lid, so it's not conducive to having things piled on top. Yay!
OK - so this brings me to the other half of my garbage "issue" - getting the stuff out of the house to the bins in the alley.
So, garbage pickup here is once a week, and even though I seldom have more than a bag of pure garbage, there are things - kitty litter, raw meat packaging, compost, and vacuum bags (aka: breeding grounds for carpet beetles) which really need to be taken outside sooner rather than later.
Now, it's not like it's a tremendously long walk out to the alley, but it does require putting on shoes, and if the weather is bad you have to bundle up or put on rain gear, and if it's dark outside it's just a pain in the rear. Plus, since I put locks on my gates (which I am generally loving, BTW) you have to have keys to get out out to the alley, and it's just one more impediment to making it happen.
So, I finally decided to stop fighting with myself and just bought some small outdoor trash cans for the back porch.
The black one is for garbage, and the small metal can is for compost. This is another thing that made an astonishingly big difference. I'm not sure I fully appreciated the "ripple effect" that not wanting to haul things out to the alley was causing. I avoided cleaning the litter boxes because it meant a trip to the alley. I avoided vacuuming because it meant a trip to the alley, etc, etc.
So far I haven't felt the need for a recycling bin on the back porch. With all my new indoor recycling bins, there's plenty of room, and since recycling doesn't smell bad, there's really no urgency in getting that sort of thing out of the house. Time will tell on that one.
So there you have it! The garbage has been officially tamed!
So tell me, am I the only person on the planet who has struggled with these issues? What are your techniques for dealing with the garbage?
You are certainly not the only person who has struggled with those issues. When we finally added a place to collect recycling upstairs, what a difference it made. Before, we either ended up with huge piles to take to the recycling bin or threw stuff away and felt guilty. As you said, so simple. Why didn't we do it sooner?
ReplyDeleteI know, right? It makes me think that the old fashioned waste bin is obsolete. What we now need are "discarding centers" with separate compartments for everything that has a different destination.
DeleteWoo, great idea! What I don't like is having to empty a bunch of small cans into the big one on trash day, so I just bring most of my trash directly to the kitchen trash can.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's only one recycling can, although I do end up with waiting toilet paper rolls on a bathroom shelf sometimes.
I was surprised that you leave your trash and recycling bins in the alley. Ours get emptied on a street, but then we have to bring them back out of site. The snooty neighbors think they're an eyesore and always bring theirs back to their house as soon as they get home from work on trash day. Though they also bring them out super early rather than waiting until the last second on trash day morning like we sometimes do, when we hear the sound of a big truck coming down the road!
So, although I don't use your strategy for having trash cans in every room, I do use that strategy for other things like scissors and bookmarks.
And I am a big fan of working with our stupid problems rather than wishing they would magically go away. I love hearing about solutions like this!
Well, it's not entirely accurate to say that the trash and recycling bins live in the alley - they actually live in my driveway, which is connected to the alley. Our neighborhood is fortunate enough to have wide alleys, so the set out location is in the alley not on the street - makes that part much more convenient. Although, our block is right at the beginning of the garbage route, which means that the truck comes at about 7am, and there's NO WAY I'm getting up that early to take out the garbage, so most of us set it out the night before.
DeleteAnd in terms of collecting all the stuff from the small bins - I've discovered that the easiest thing to do is to take the bag out of the kitchen trash can (it's never more than half full) and carry it around to the smaller cans and empty them into the bag. Much easier than carrying all the little bins to the kitchen.
Interesting idea. However, our kitchen trash is usually pretty full at the end of the week. And if it broke or spilled in some other (carpeted) part of the house, oh, I don't want to clean that.
DeleteBut your idea has made me think that I could bring the bathroom trash can everywhere (leaving the bag in the can) and easily empty other trash cans into it. Hmmm!
I always think that the reason I like decluttering stuff is that I am basically quite lazy. I like things too be tidy, but I hate spending time keeping them tidy...so I have to make everything rreally easy to tidy up/clean otherwise I just won't do it. If there's too much stuff in a cupboard and putting things away in it is therefore hard, things don't get put away!
ReplyDeleteWe bought a new bin recently- the dog can't get into it and steal wrappers from it, which is a bonus. I also replaced the broken recycling bin- it's so nice having one with a lif that doesn't fall off!
I'm actually pretty bad at taking the rubbish out to the big bins for collection- I usually keep stuffing more in until the lid doesn't shut. So I have given the bin emptying job to my bf...delegation is the best way ;)
Now that's a plan! If only I could get the cats to take out the garbage for me. :-)
DeleteWhat a great idea! I need to put recycling and shredding bins around the house. I'll just have to figure out where, but this all makes sense. Thanks, big time!
ReplyDeleteI live to serve. Seriously, it's amazing to me that a slob like me might actually have something helpful to say to a neat person such as yourself, so I'm taking that comment as a HUGE compliment!
DeleteYup. I've adopted some of those same methods also. I have garbage cans in the kitchen, bathrooms, and basement work area, and a shredder in the office. Although what I always do is fit the shredding bit on top of the big garbage can so it goes straight into the bin.
ReplyDeleteAnd outside the back door I have a green box for rabbit litter. I only have one bag of regular garbage a week, and I empty out the rabbit litter box once there's five or six bags in it. The recycling bin is outside the exterior door to the kitchen (very handy) and it seems to take a month for us to fill it up.
Speaking of tidying up... I just started reading the Marie Kondo book yesterday. We'll see how that goes.
I used to have the kind of shredder that's separate and can fit on top of any garbage can - but it was so heavy that it would tip the can over, so I couldn't leave it there, and then having to set it up each time I needed it meant that I'd avoid the shredding until I had so much that it took days to do it all!
DeleteGood luck with the Kondo book. I haven't read it, and I'm not sure that I will. It sounds like she has some good ideas, but from what I've heard it sounds like it's geared toward someone who lived in an apartment or dorm - where their stuff is limited to clothes, books and random belongings. No mention of how to deal with things like dishes, power tools, hardware, lumber, bicycles & their equipment, etc, etc. :-)
But I hope you'll write about your impressions, I'd love to hear what you think.
I'll probably write a review on GoodReads, but first impressions... A lot of good ideas, but for every clever, rational idea she has, she says something else that sounds totally insane. I am still going to try out her weirdo method during a week off I have. And true, it is divided up into only clothes, books, "miscellany," and sentimental items.
DeleteHa! Well, I hope you'll post a link to your review. I've seen a meme going around on Facebook that sorta sums up my sarcastic attitude toward the "spark joy" stuff. It reads something like this:
DeleteI tried that Japanese decluttering method where you throw out everything that doesn't bring you joy. So far I've tossed my bra, the treadmill, my electric bill and all of the vegetables!
We have recycling and laundry bins all over the house, for many of the reasons you list above. I've become a real fan of the idea of our spaces shaping our behavior, for the very reasons you describe. What might seem like laziness might actually in fact just be that our spaces are poorly designed.
ReplyDeleteThis is not my own brilliance speaking up here: I've been pretty strongly influenced by Don Aslett's books ("Make Your House Do the Housework" and others), as well as Julia Morgenstern's "Organizing yourself from the Inside Out". The first book helped me to figure out why I was having a hard time keeping things clean (the design of my home conspired against me, in ways that I could partly fix); the second helped me set up organizational systems (like hanging a mirror over my daughter's dresser) that automatically meant for easier clean-up for my kids and husband (like having her put her hairbrush back on the dresser, instead of on the floor across the room). I recommend both books highly!
Ooooo... thanks for the tips on the books! Those do sound like they're worth reading. I love anything that tells me that the problem is something other than my own inadequacies! :-)
DeleteOh - I struggle with this so much as well. It's so true that seemingly small things like going into the alley can make the system as a whole not work. I also love the idea of making the system fit the people, rather than the other way around. I have piles for exactly the same reasons - even just having a bin with a square lid that isn't auto-opening.
DeleteI've wanted a shredder and scanner for ages and I think I just need to get one. Keep thinking it will take up too much space - but then the paper takes up the same amount! I absolutely love your outdoor bins - especially the compost being so accessible. I'm in awe of you putting rubbish out when there is *snow*!
"...making the system fit the people, rather than the other way around." You said it perfectly!
DeleteThe shredder is just WONDERFUL. I thought about getting a decent shredder for years, but it always just seemed like a waste of money. But the truth is I LOVE it. This one has an "auto" setting, so you don't even have to turn the thing on. It essentially makes shredding as easy as putting it in the right bin.
And I do think that the anticipation of winter was a big motivator for actually getting the small cans on the back porch. I totally HATE having to bundle up like I'm preparing for the iditarod or something every time I need to throw something away!
'Making the system fit the people'- love it!
DeleteGarbage has gotten really complex since the days of the burn barrels. Did you have those when you were a kid? You just burned up the trash and hauled the rest to the local dump. Very NON-eco friendly, I admit.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same set up here in Kansas City as you do with the three big receptacles...gray, blue, green.
I don't really struggle with the in-house trash because I struggle with OCD. I like everything super tidy which has me running out to the tri-colored bins multiple times a day. Which I don't mind doing because I don't want piles of clutter around my house. In really bad weather I do have 3 smaller bins in my garage to use and then dump those into the BIG bins for trash day.
I am totally on board for whatever system people incorporate though because it it a cumbersome problem sorting and assigning trash to it's proper spot these days. I am trying really hard to lessen waste here.
I know! How did garbage get to be sooo complicated?!? I do remember going to the dump with my dad as a young kid, but "bum barrel" doesn't ring a bell.
DeleteI feel like this trash can solution is, like, a metaphor for life's problems. Something about a small, logical solution placed right next to the problem...creating efficient systems rather than relying on stupid "willpower"...stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteYou might have a self-help book idea there.
Ha! If only I could figure out ways to expand this idea to other parts of my life. I'd really love to have a life where absolutely no willpower was required! :-)
DeleteToo funny! My husband just placed a recycling can in my bathroom. Beacause I throw everything in a corner and tend to leave it for way too long. Lazy bonus: I choose the bathroom based on the size of the toilet paper roll. I'll climb a flight of stairs before I change it. 😉
ReplyDeleteInteresting... I wonder what it is about changing the TP roll that makes people so crazy. One time a friend of mine was going through a difficult time, and she told me that she got up in the morning, went to the bathroom first thing and discovered that the TP roll was empty. She said she nearly had a breakdown feeling like she couldn't handle "one more thing." I had to point out that if you feel like you can't handle "one more thing" first thing in the morning, that's usually a bad sign! :-)
DeleteOh just laziness on my part. Someone else has to do it if I avoid it long enough. But have gone so far as to keep extra Kleenex in my pocket just in case. 😉
ReplyDeleteIf only I could train the cats to change the TP! :-)
DeleteI've been working recently on becoming zero waste. It's a long haul lifestyle change but I've already noticed some benefits. It does take some getting used to, but it would almost do away with your issue of putting stuff in the rubbish bin! And even the recycling.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don't know if it's the same in the US, but tp rolls can be composted here in Ireland because they're just cardboard.
Congratulations on going "zero waste." I tried to do it a few years back, but all of the stress, and extra time, the extra cost, and mostly the extra driving to get to the stores that have bulk options really made it difficult.
DeleteThe nail in my zero waste coffin came a few weeks ago actually. I made the drive out to one of the stores with a bulk section. I was pretty happy with the stuff I bought, but a few days later I started having all sorts of allergic reactions. On closer inspection, I realized that somehow, all of the things I'd purchased had sunflower seeds scattered throughout. Since I'm VERY allergic to them, it explained my reactions. After several hours of trying hopelessly to pick out all of the sunflower seeds, I gave up and threw it all out.
I still love the idea, just haven't found a way to make the reality of it work for me.