Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

When you're doing a big cleaning job, remove the lid from the trash can. It might only save a few seconds every trash trip, but over the course of a few hours of heavy cleaning, it really adds up.

(If you have a cheapo trash can that you have to open with your hand, like ours, it saves you even more time, because you can carry two-handed loads over to the trash without worrying about how you'll get it open once you get there.)

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

If you have a toddler who is always getting into the trash, try turning your trash can around so the lid opens towards the wall.

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

What do you do when you're cleaning out the fridge, and you have to dispose of items that are semi-liquid/semi-solid (like soups and stews and spoiled milk)? You can't put them in the trash, or it might leak, and you can't put them down the drain, or it might get blocked up (unless you have a garbage disposal, in which case, ignore this tip).

Put a strainer/colander in the sink, and dump all the soups, etc. into the strainer. The liquids will drip through and go down the drain, and the solids will stay behind, to be thrown in the trash. If you want to be really thorough, run some hot water over the solid gunk to dislodge any sticky liquid or jellified broth before dumping it all in the trash.

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Get a smaller trash can.

I know, I know, this seems like a backwards tip. Shouldn't I be telling you to get a bigger trash can, so you can put off taking out the trash for a few more days? That was what I thought at first, too. But I have learned something about myself: I will put off taking out the trash until I can't balance another item on the mound. Once a piece of trash tumbles off the pile for the fourth or fifth time, I will cave and take out the trash. This presents three problems when you have a big trash can: 1. You can't get the bag shut, because there's too much stuff in it, 2. The bag is too heavy to carry, and/or 3. The trash has been sitting in the bottom of the bag for far too long, and the lowest level of trash has liquefied, making a leak that much more nasty (and, proportionately, that much more likely).

So, buy a trash can that is just a little bit too small. It will make you take the trash out more often, and save you a lot of headaches in the long run. (But keep buying the bigger trash bags, for those days when you really need the extra trash space, when you can just take the bag out of the can and fill it to your heart's content.)

Bonus tip: If you live in an apartment building with a garbage chute, buy a REALLY small trash can. There's nothing worse than getting to the chute and realizing your bag won't fit, so make sure a full trash can will always fit.

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

It doesn’t matter that the trash has been overflowing for days. It doesn’t matter that taking out the trash is his job. He won’t notice. Just take the trash out yourself.



Or, alternatively, you can always reframe your laziness as righteous indignation:

"But it's been overflowing for days! Taking the trash out is his job! I'll just pile a few more things on, and he's bound to notice!!"

(When in doubt, take a picture and blog about it.)

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Hate breaking down cardboard recycling? Just give a box to your kid and let them have at it. Before you know it that box will be more than broken down!

(Submitted by Trish)