March MAIDness Day 21: Garbage Day Routines

This entry is part 21 of 22 in the series March Maidness

We have a trash problem in our home.  Seriously.  Ugh.  It is insane the amount of waste we have to throw into our garbage and recycle bins and put out on the street each week.  And at the same time, there is still SO much stuff left in the house!  I mean it is not like we are getting rid of major things each week – just the normal stuff.  

There is something about garbage day for me that feels like a restart button.  Like we get out all that junk and get to start fresh for the week.  Our garbage guy comes on Tuesdays.  So each Monday I have a list of chores I like to do before garbage day – things that make garbage day feel like a real reset button for our home.

Since we are winding up the series March MAIDness, I thought I would leave you with one last routine that makes my household run well. Here are my garbage day routines.

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Pay the bills

This is my ABSOLUTE LEAST FAVORITE chore…ever!  I truly dislike paying the bills.  But I find that doing it the day before garbage day 1) keeps me accountable to stay on top of it and 2) helps to reduce paper clutter weekly.  

The sheer quantity of paper which floods our house via the mailbox is often overwhelming.  I take Mondays to get on top of that paper clutter – most of it goes into the recycle bin – and make sure we are current on all our financial commitments.  This is also the time when I put sensitive papers through the shredder.

By the way, my kids love to help out with this chore. Shredding documents is entertaining! Who knew?

Clean out the Refrigerator

Giving the fridge a good going over on the day before garbage day helps me to get ready for the week ahead with a clean slate.  I don’t know why, but I like a fridge that is mostly empty – I prefer it to one that is full.

I take the opportunity on Mondays to go through leftovers, tossing the bad stuff and washing the dishes that held them.  I check expiration dates and toss what is past its prime.  I also try to take a moment to mentally meal plan for the week ahead, using the food we already have in our fridge and freezer.

Psst…For more detail on how I clean our stainless steel appliances, read this post – it will change your world!

chores to do the day before garbage day

Collect the trash

This may seem like a no-brainer chore to do the day before trash day.  It is. But we seem to have trash lying around in crazy places in this house.  So, it really becomes a seek-and-find kind of chore to locate and remove all the trash in the house.  

I take a big garbage bag and go to all the likely places (bathrooms, offices, bedside tables) and gather all the trash I can find. I can also have my little ones help me with this task – always good to have a helper!

Clean out the vacuum cleaner

I typically do this chore once a week when I am finished vacuuming the house. But sometimes I just don’t get around to it. So, while I have that trash bag out and am going around the house collecting trash, I quickly empty the contents of our vacuum cleaner’s dust bin into the bag. This task takes just seconds and it is so worth it for our allergies alone.

These simple chores done the day before garbage day make my home a little easier to manage throughout the week. What chores to you get done the day before your garbage man comes around?


Series Navigation<< March MAIDness Day 20: Who’s Watching Your HomemakingMarch MAIDness – Day 23 – Resources for Homemaking >>

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