Do away with duplicates
Eliminate extra housework with this simple and easy step
One of the quickest ways to cut down the time spent on housework and chores is to do away with duplicates. Often, extras only create more work and take more time to maintain.
Why duplicates don't make life easier
Why would you want to do away with duplicates when on the surface they often seem so handy?
Quite simply, they're likely creating extra household work for you and your family.
Do you have two sets of silverware in your kitchen drawers? How about extra dinnerware and table linens? Sheets and towels?
How often have you found yourself putting off doing the dishes or the laundry because you weren't "out" of clean items yet?
Not only is it inefficient to think like this, in the long run, it only creates more work. If you can wash a single set of sheets and replace them on the bed immediately, you just saved yourself the step of folding and storing those same sheets—possibly as much as 15 minutes of valuable time that you can now spend doing something much more enjoyable than folding clean laundry.
As for the silver– and dinnerware, have you ever found yourself hand washing dishes because you have too many to fit into your dishwasher? Why not pack the extras away and see what happens? You might find it's easier than ever to keep your kitchen cleaned up—you won't be overwhelmed by a bulging sink full of dirty dishes!
Taking that final step
Wouldn't it be great to have extra room on your shelves and extra space in your closets and drawers? By getting rid of duplicates, you also improve your household's storage. Without extras, you'll have more places to keep things and fewer problems with clutter that has no home.
Of course, duplicates aren't the only problem most households have when it comes to storage and extra chores, but even cutting out ten minutes of work here and 15 minutes there will add up to a lot of time in the long run. Making small changes can have a big impact!
If you do decide to keep the duplicates on hand but take them out of circulation in your household, keep them packed away where you can get to them only with some effort. Don't make it easy on yourself to slip back into bad habits.
Do yourself a favor. Do away with duplicates!