5. use your accrued benefits

(#5 of 6 principles from Confessions of an Organized Homemaker to help you organize your work, your home, your family, your life...)

Accrued: growing or accumulated.

An accrued benefit is an immediate benefit that grows or increases.

To fully understand this principle, it helps to be aware of the three parts of every job:
1. Get ready
2. Do the job
3. Clean up

I. An accrued benefit happens when one get-ready and one cleanup are used to accomplish as much as possible.

Take ironing for example. If you have to go to all the trouble of pulling out the ironing board and the iron, filling the latter with water and checking the TV schedule for something to watch, you might as well do the whole basket of ironing instead of just the shirt you need for tonight, thus avoiding multiple get ready’s and cleanups.

II. Another way to accrue benefits is to combine the cleanup of one job with the get-ready of another.

Some examples:

- Set the table for breakfast while putting away the supper dishes.

- Make replenishing the bathroom supplies (liquid or bar soap, toothpaste, t-paper etc.) part of your housecleaning routine.

An aspect of this is to completely finish what you start. When vacuuming, for example, put the vacuum cleaner away when you’re done, or next time you’ll not only have to lug it to the pile of spilled Corn Flakes, but find it first!

And hey, here’s an accrued benefit suggestion for all Canadians today. Take a walk – to your local polling station and cast your vote. Not only will you get your exercise but you could be helping to change the direction of Canada!