Since I always seem to be running short on time, I try to get as much done as I possibly can in the least amount of time. I started "multitasking" myself about a year ago, when my ex-roommate completely stopped helping around the house. With a full time job that often requires me to work a 12 hour day, I had to figure out how to get at least the essentials done at home, and still find a few hours to get some sleep. I looked at what I needed to get done, and tried to figure out how I could get more than one thing done at once. I made a mental list of semi-passive or overlapping activities that could be going on in the background with minimal attention from me, and paired them with more active tasks that I could do at the same time.

For example, loading and running the dishwasher while you are cooking dinner. While the hamburger for the tacos is browning, get the dishwasher loaded and running. If it's going to be a really hectic week, while cooking the tacos, also make the topping for hamburger pizzas for the next night. I also have a few items that need to be washed by hand, so once the dishwasher, which is set on the "heat water" cycle, has used the cooler water out of the hot water line, I fill the kitchen sink with the now already hot water and get some of my "must wash by hand" items soaking. (Note: I also wash anything with a wooden handle, non-dishwasher safe plastics, and my pots and pans by hand). If I am cooking something that takes longer and doesn't require my constant attention (baking a casserole, for example), I get a load of laundry running in the washer.

At a minimum, I try to get at least one load of laundry done, all the dishes washed, dinner cooked, kitchen counters and stove wiped down, something planned and taken out of the freezer if needed for tomorrow's dinner, my coffee machine set up for the next morning, my laundry put away, the daily newspaper read, the kitty litter swept up off of the bathroom floor, the mail opened and sorted, and read at least a few pages of a book everyday.

I try to keep my errands and shopping limited to one day a week. Ideally I would do the shopping on the way home from work, but if it's been a real long work day, sometimes I just don't have enough energy left to handle going to the grocery store. My idea of a good way to spend my day off is spending the day in my pajamas and working on getting the house clean and organized. OK, so I admit, that is just a little strange, but it's taken me this long to get the picture in my head of how I want to have my house arranged. After spending much of my life as a packrat, it's gonna take me some time to catch up on being organized.

--- © Renee