For those of you who are just naturally organized, you’ll roll your eyes and sigh, “But, of course!”.  But for the rest of us absent-minded types, perhaps these tips will start you thinking of ways to become more efficient in your daily routines.

To state the obvious;  things should be put where we use them with other things that are used for the same task.  And they should be contained so they stay together neatly.  This week I found my face toner.  Oh, yes.  I shouldn’t have had to look for it.  But, alas, I’ve been forgetting to use it because I had put it safely away.  (It’s a great wake-me-up in the morning.)   This got me to re-thinking where and how I store my makeup.  There’s my semi-stiff face massage brush for stimulating blood flow and draining sinuses that I forget to use and that toner.  How to remind myself?  I just put everything I should be using in the morning together in a plastic food container that’s easy to lift out of my drawer and use!  Yep, the little brush, the toner and something to apply it with, make-up, Q-Tips to wipe off any stray eye makeup, blush brush.  Everything is now in one container and ready for a quick morning spruce-up.  For info about my DIY homemade makeup check out my blog article here.

Which brings me to a related topic.  As long as the days are long, natural window light is perfect for applying make-up, but all too soon it will be dark in the morning when we get up.  What kind of light is best?

When I trained as a photographer I studied light- it’s direction and intensity. I was shocked at the difference in the final image when the light was harsh and directional as opposed to when the light was diffused and indirect.  Next time you’re outside on a bright mid-day notice how unflattering the light falling on your companion is.  That hard light casts dark shadows under the eyes, nose and lips making the loveliest of us unattractive.  Just for grins, take an another phone pic of your friend when the sun is setting or when your friend is lying down and the light is falling evenly across her face.  Note the softer, warmer light that is so becoming to the skin and features.

Later when I was in training to become an interior designer, the topic of light was emphasized and I took a class just on lighting design.  Would someone please tell me why lighting manufacturers sell such unflattering bathroom light fixtures?!  If the fixture has bare bulbs pointed down from above the head, it’s going to put us in the worst possible light.  It’s like standing in the noonday sun… dark shadows under the eyes, nose and lips.  No wonder we’re discouraged about our appearances!  Instead, the light should bounce off the ceiling for gentler diffused light to at least address the harsh directional light issue.  Ideally, the light should be at eye level for wrap around, nondirectional light and diffused by a semitransparent material.  Two sconces at eye level are so much more flattering than harsh overhead downward facing bare bulbs.  You’ll feel much better about yourself!  No, I’m not advocating low light levels to hide every imperfection.  I’m suggesting that the light be indirect, at eye level and bright enough to see well.

Whew!  I’ll step off the soapbox now.

In the kitchen, I’ve learned to be more efficient by organizing my kitchen by task.  All the baking tools and ingredients grouped together in one area of the kitchen; a place for food prep like peeling and chopping near the garbage receptacle;  clear counter space near the fridge and microwave for taking food out.  (A surface for hot food near the microwave saves non-heat resistant counter tops.)  Snacks together in an easily accessible place.  When our kids were young I kept the dishes and glasses in a low cupboard so they could put away the clean dishes and set the table themselves.  No one got seriously injured and as adults, they all are self-confident in the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen- I use my cast iron skillets every day.  My little cast iron skillet is perfect for three eggs in the morning and my big one cooks everything else.  They are lifetime tools and I care for them as such.  I clean them right after the meal with hot water and a greenie pad and then coat with olive oil.  I use soap on the outside, but not the inside.  However, my mother-in-law, who has used hers for sixty years, uses soap on hers inside.  I think washing it soon after using it is key.

Several weeks ago I got several bags of limes in the reduced to clear corner of the fruit stand.  I had read that you should squeeze lime juice or lemon juice into ice cube trays and freeze then release from trays when frozen and store in a Ziploc bag for future use.  Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s a great idea.  So convenient to have juice for limeade at a moment’s notice.  This past weekend, we had two parties and guess what?  Instant limeade!  I found that four cubes are about right for a gallon of limeade.

I’ve been enjoying offering snacks to whoever drops by and having homemade cookies on hand makes it easy.  So I’ve been baking double batches of cookies and freezing half of them.  I tried refrigerating the dough, but baking the cookies from refrigerated dough didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.  I’m also making double batches of cupcake batter.  I let refrigerated cupcake batter come to room temperature before baking for better loft, but if you’re in a rush, just bake the batter cold.  Refigerated homemade biscuit dough doesn’t bake as high as fresh dough, so I’ve tried mixing a double batch of the dry ingredients including the butter but adding milk only to the half of the recipe I need immediately and freezing the other half of the dry ingredients and butter.  Next time I need fresh biscuits, I’ll add milk and bake.

Years ago a very efficient neighbor taught me to spritz clothes that had wrinkled in the dryer.  She hung them on hangers, sprayed them with water from a squirt bottle and then smoothed plackets and collars with her hand. If the item was something flat, she sprayed it and then shook it quickly to make it snap, then hung it.  Later she even used a collapsing hose (pocket hose) attached to her laundry room sink faucet to spray clothing hanging on a rod above her sink.

I hope one of these tips will prove helpful to you in your daily routine!