I store plastic containers with their lids on, stacked on a shelf. If I run across a container with a missing lid, it gets a few days grace and then it goes in the recycle bin.
I love this! I’m a very listy person, so I already pack by list, but I make a new one every time. :smack:
Thanks for all the tips! This is great!
My tip is a grocery strategy (for those of us who have terribly memories and/or are constantly distracted):
I have a list and pen in the kitchen (both have magnets and are on the fridge) so when I run out of something you can write it down before I forget.
I have a spreadsheet where I write down what we are having for each meal of the week. I do not start my list until that is completed. (Checking both the freezer/pantry and the store flyer should help you decide what to make.)
I take my laptop into the kitchen and start on the list (which I type into a different spreadsheet, more on that later) by typing the items that were on the written list from the fridge. Each item gets a category (Produce, Dairy, Meat, Isle, Frozen) in the next column.
Go meal by meal and see if you have enough food to cover that meal already (so, if I am making pasta, I check the pasta, sauce and parm cheese stores). Anything you need more of, type on the list. Check off the meal as you finish putting things on the list for it.
Sort by the category which will group items according to where they are in the grocery store (aside: I am the person who everyone was talking about earlier who can have a list and STILL crisscross the store. I just don’t check often enough. Especially if I am shopping with one of my kids.)
Go shopping!
As you empty the grocery bags don’t put anything away until you see what you have to put away. Make a pile for fridge, freezer, pantry and other. My freezer and fridge are always close to capacity and solving the optimization problem that they pose is much easier to only do once.
Wow typing all that out confirms that I am incredibly anal!
I don’t drink, but then again, I don’t clean much, either. 
I would like to add libraries as well. Some of them have local history rooms.
I just got back from the store with some cleaning supplies: Hornsby’s hard cider.*
I thought of a couple motivators I use to get myself to clean. For me it’s usually not how to get the actual cleaning job done, it’s how to get myself off my butt to do it. To be fair, my particular flavor of mental illness means I become overwhelmed and paralyzed very easily. Anyway:
Set a timer - I know we’ve all heard this, but what surprised me was how much I can get done in just 5 minutes. Even if I’m exhausted, I can probably prod myself to do 5 minutes of work. Imagine my surprise when I completely clean the kitchen in that time!
Concentrate on one **small **area. I remember one time I just pledged to clean off the kitchen table. Having an island of perfect cleanliness then inspired me to clean more later.
If all else fails, promise myself ridiculously disproportionate rewards. 5 mins of cleaning earns 1 hour of playing Plants vs. Zombies, and suddenly it seems doable.
And the old standby of motivators: invite people over!
*Bonus - got carded!
Well I, for one, did NOT know that - thanks for sharing!!! There must be some useful purpose for making them so danged hard to open!
I keep a list of my medicines in a Notepad file on my computer, and update it when I get a new prescription. I keep a printout in my purse, and make a new printout for every doctor. This also has things like a list of things that I’m allergic to, and any conditions that I might have.
This also works remarkably well on husbands, IME. When we first got married, my husband was in the Air Force, and had been sending his uniforms to the laundry. As a new wife, I accepted doing his uniforms as part of my chores. But he wasn’t happy with them. So I let HIM try to iron them a few times, and he learned that commercial laundries have huge, heavy ironing machines that can put a razor crease in the heavy cotton uniforms, while a regular home iron is not capable of doing so. I hardly ever complain if my husband does household chores. Hey, he’s DOING them. Now I do complain if he does my laundry, because most of my stuff shouldn’t be washed in hot water, or dried on high heat. I do point out that I’m going to have to replace certain items if he’s ruined them. He’s old enough to know better.
Just thought of a couple:
Keep an inventory of the safety deposit box with a check in/check out section for each item.
Always put your keys (and phone, purse, other everyday important items) in the same spot, day after day. I thought of this when I lost my keys this morning because I put them somewhere else.
If you have kids in diapers, keep a diaper and small baggie of wipes wrapped in a ziploc in your purse and car and you’ll never need a diaper bag.
Again if you have kids, keep a couple of low-sugar juice boxes or bottles of water and mini granola bars and/or fruit jerky in your car. For me, this is phenomenal at cutting down on tantrums - usually by the time I arrive at preschool, it’s been long enough since snacktime that my son is hungry, but dinner’s still an hour away and he wants to play, so having a small snack on the go allows him to play for a half hour after we get home while cutting down on any screaming fits the discomfort of an empty stomach might cause.
Keep the roll of garbage bags in the trashcan, underneath the current garbage liner bag. That way, when you replace the bag, you see the roll and have a new one handy right away. Why not have a bagroll in every trashcan?
I have recurrent outlook reminders for chores that have to be done less often then weekly. For instance, I set a reminder every three months to replace the bag in the hoover, or to de-calcify the washer, or to check the heating for the winter season.
I used to wash socks with the other laundry. But as we walk around in socks, and have three cats, all our ocks were covered in pet hair and that rubbed off on the other laundry. So now, socks are a separate laundry load. I read somewhere that people who have dryers don’t need this trick, as a dryer blows out all the pet hair away from the fabric.
My husband and I both have three cardboard boxes next to our computer. One is: “incoming mail”. All mail goes in there and it is our own responsibility to check these boxes. The other box is labeled “Mail that has been taken care of, now just needs filing” . The third is “paper recycling” . It really helps not to have piles where old mail mixes with new important incoming mail that needs some action on our part.
Over the years, I’ve compiled a “master” check list of everything I’ve ever had to pack for a trip. Every trip I take invariably involves adding 2 or 3 items to the list. When I start planning a trip, based on its location and duration, I copy the “master” list and eliminate the things I won’t need . . . then print out the “trip-specific” list. Then it’s easy to check things off when I pack.
I do this too . . . especially since I go to more than one doctor. On every office visit (and ER visit) I give them the current printout, and they always say “I wish everyone did this.”
Some more:
I keep my cans and jars in a drawer, not on a shelf. As most of the cans look the same from the top, I store most of them upside down so I can see the content. If that isn’t possible, I use a Sharpie to write the contents on the top-lid of the jar.
Ditto on the idea to keep pens and scissors in every room in the house, and cleaning supplies in the bathrooms.
I have this hinged chestin the upstairs hallway, where I put stuff that is on its way to Goodwill. Besides, it is handy to have something in the hallway to put trays on while you open doors.
I have a list on the inside of the front door of things borrowed that need to return. So if I say goodbye to a visitor, I go: “oh yeah, I forgot, here are those dvd’s I borrowed from you” or " oh, before you go, I have something I meant to give you".
I also have a little list on the inside of the kitchen cabinet wher I keep my cups and glasses, where I write down the drinks, milk and sugar preference of cherished visitors. It makes a big impression if I can say casually to a visiting aunt: “Can I make you a herbal tea with honey?” Or to a valued handyman: “You drank your coffee black, right?”
This is such a great thread.
Here’s my contribution: If you have cats who seem to barf on a semi-frequent basis, keep those junk mail envelopes and magazine subscription cardboard paper in a pile somewhere instead of tossing them out. When the cat barfs, just get a small plastic grocery bag and scoop the solids up with two of the envelopes and toss it all in the bag. It’s less messy than using your hands or a mop and you can just use a few paper towels to soak up any liquids that are left over. Toss this in the bag too. Tie up the entire bag and throw it in the trash. Easy and efficient, especially if the cat barfed on the carpet or rug.
Junk mail can also be used to line the trash cans. We use grocery bags in our trash cans too, but they can sometimes have holes, which can be a pain when you’re throwing away smaller items. Put a few sheets of junk mail at the bottom of the bag and it’ll prevent leaks and give the whole bag more structure when you go to throw it away. Who knew junk mail could be useful?
I’ve scanned every Take Out menu and inserted each page as a slide background in a PowerPoint presentation. Slide 1 is a Custom Show of just the restaurant names - click the name to go to the menu. No more going through the drawer looking for menus.
Pull weeds sitting on a skateboard. Crab walk as you pull.
If you’ve stripped the wood taking a screw out of the wall too many times, cram a toothpick in there. The new wood will pick up the threads.
Leave some charcoal briquettes next to the litter box - the activated charcoal absorbs the odors.
That must be some very high-end charcoal you’re using in your grill. 
Regular charcoal briquettes are not made from activated charcoal.
I have just done a list of my elderly mother’s health history & emailed a copy to every family member who is ever likely to have to take her to hospital.
Learn to tie a decent knot. There is no reason to pick through some horrible mish-mash that slips or jams anyway. Learn to tie half hitches, a clove hitch, a slip hitch or a trucker’s hitch, a sheet bend, and maybe a bowline. And most of all, remember this: Square knots kill. Don’t tie a square knot in anything important.
When mowing my lawn I hang a plastic grocery bag between the center of the handle over the 2 knobs that attach the handle. Great for picking up twigs and trash and it’s out of the way.
I’ve found that out, too – by mistake. (After several lazy rounds of not removing the junk mail from the bottom of the trash can I noticed a lack of stank-from-decomposing-wastewater.)
-Rubbing nylons on clothing will help hide those white powdery deodorant stains.
-When I’m cooking or baking, I put ingredients away as I use them. Done with the flour? It goes back in the cupboard. Make sure you read the recipe carefully, though, to make sure you don’t need to use it again. I also try to wipe counters, etc., when I have quick breaks. This also includes having an empty dishwasher, so you can put dishes in it as you finish with them.
-I rinse or wash every dish I bring to work, and try to leave enough room in my (limited) break time to do this. That way, I don’t have as much food staining my lunch box and the dishes are near guaranteed to get clean.
-I always try to do some of the more unpleasant jobs first and get them out of the way (like the cat box), preferably before I leave for work. Then I don’t have to think about doing them after work, when I just wanna lie down and take a nap.