Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This says Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to put it.
Speaker 2: In a basket. If you want to clean up quickly
Speaker 2: or make any space more inviting, stuffing the loose stuff
Speaker 2: in a basket is basically the best way to do it.
Speaker 2: I like to have a clean house, though I don't
Speaker 2: particularly like to spend a lot of time cleaning it.
Speaker 2: Given that reality, I have noticed over the years that
Speaker 2: the reason things tend to look clean is that the
Speaker 2: horizontal surfaces are clear. If the coffee table is clear,
Speaker 2: the living room looks picked up. If the kitchen counter
Speaker 2: is clear, and so is the kitchen table, then the
Speaker 2: kitchen looks like it's nice and tidy. Now, obviously stuff
Speaker 2: needs to live in both a living room and a kitchen,
Speaker 2: and things wind up there too that can be hard
Speaker 2: to corral. But here is a shortcut. Just put it
Speaker 2: all in a basket. If it's random stuff, the basket
Speaker 2: can go over in a corner somewhere. If it's stuff
Speaker 2: that makes sense, like coasters and a remote control on
Speaker 2: a coffee table, those can stay in the basket on
Speaker 2: the table. But put everything in a basket, and it
Speaker 2: instantly looks neaterer. Honestly, this trick works almost anywhere. I
Speaker 2: have a giant basket on my office desk for papers
Speaker 2: I am no longer actively using but don't want to
Speaker 2: throw away. I have a basket on my bathroom counter
Speaker 2: for my makeup and hair products. Often I just leave
Speaker 2: those things out, but if the place needs to look neat,
Speaker 2: into the basket they go. I can even imagine this
Speaker 2: working for a car. Just get a square basket of
Speaker 2: some variety and throw all the random stuff that lands
Speaker 2: in a car in there. The floor and seats will
Speaker 2: be clear, and the whole space will look more inviting. Now,
Speaker 2: obviously this won't work infinitely. Eventually you have to go
Speaker 2: through the basket and bring things where they belong or
Speaker 2: get them out of the house. If not, you'll wind
Speaker 2: up losing things in the bottom of the basket or
Speaker 2: seeing things deteriorate into crud. I suspect this is already
Speaker 2: happening in the giant bin I keep on my porch,
Speaker 2: where lots of broken sidewalk chalk pieces and broken bubble
Speaker 2: making toys tend to wind up. And if you have
Speaker 2: too many baskets that can wind up looking cluttered too.
Speaker 2: But in any case, if you need a space to
Speaker 2: look neat and you don't have a whole lot of
Speaker 2: time for achieving neatness, just grab some baskets, put whatever
Speaker 2: keeps you from having clear horizontal surfaces in there, and
Speaker 2: just like that, the problem is solved. In the meantime,
Speaker 2: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 2: the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
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Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four then Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
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