I like to clean behind my refrigerator and under my stove every few months- its less of a mess than if you do it less frequently!

Go through your closets and drawers and get rid of old clothes and shoes. Make a pile for the trash and a pile to donate. I started that task over the weekend, boy it felt good!

Before having 3 children, I used to sort my boxes and boxes of photos during movie marathons. Now I just have boxes of kids photos. Just of one child though, my twins were are only 2 so they are all saved digitally. Of course, I don't have any actual prints of them...............can't win.

Furminate the pets and wash the dogs.

Oh no too much.

Go through my daughter's clothes to pull the ones that she has outgrown to give to charity. Also, go through her books to see the ones that she has advanced past to also donate to the local children's hospital and women's shelter...

Yes! Movie marathon! Love to plop down in front of the tube with office, clothing, or junk drawers and organize the chaos!

Scan old documents and store the digitally...minimize file space.

Throw out old magazines. Dust the bookcases and decide which paperbacks to give away or swap. Go through that pile of business cards and get rid of the outdated ones. Toss the warranties, manuals and installation CDs for computer equipment you no longer own.

Dust the room where the TV is, dust small items like tchotchkes and picture frames and books on bookshelves. Freshen up/change out arrangements and displays on shelves/tables. Clean out drawers of furniture (something I always forget to do).

Love oiling wooden utensils, cutting boards and butcher block counter tops - breaths new life and super easy to do!

Still think I'd rather watch Firefly on Hulu. Although, it would be good to do some cleaning to make things a little more...shiny.

Right now, I'm stripping the woodwork and plaster in my bedroom using a heatgun using wireless headphones and my laptop for entertainment. I watch/listen to 3 episodes (2+ hours) of whatever and then take a break. Of course, since I need to pay attention to what I'm doing, action series are out, British series are in.

It makes me wish there was a "Play Season" button on Nexflix.

If I'm not working on the walls, I do one of the following:
Mending
Evernot-ing recipes and magazine articles
Cleaning out my email inboxs

CORRECTION: using a heagun on the walls and wireless headphone...

AT: When we will be able correct/modify our posts? Pretty please?

We fold the laundry while on the couch and everyone is responsible for their own piles. It works well most of the time.

Laundry folding, and sorting through files.

ha! shiny. @tpb711. nathan fillion is my imaginary boyfriend. my husband knows, so its ok.

Find 20 items to donate!

Oil the woodwork and kitchen cabinets and recaulk bathrooms and kitchen. They've been on the list for a while.

Great tips! You guys always inspire me to get a little something extra accomplished during my day.

I second mending. I finally hit up my pile this last weekend during some down time. Another big one for me is to file all of the recipes I've printed from online in a giant binder.

Shouldn't down time be just that - no chores, no to-do list, no other agenda but a sigh of relief and a little personal mending?

@galval Isn't it sad that so often we feel guilty in regard to what we haven't accomplished that we can't even enjoy down time for what it is? I've tried to be better about allowing myself to have serious down time - no agendas - without feeling bad for it. It's harder than I realized.

clean the microwave

wipe off upper kitchen cupboards (and the top of the refridgerator)

mending clothing with rips/tears/missing buttons

make a box of items to donate

upload documents to the computer (in an effort to go paperless)

clean out the refridgerator (actually taking everything out and wiping down all surfaces)

blanche & freeze vegetables

sometimes, I will switch out artwork, as I have a large stash in my closet just waiting to be used.

good stuff. im moving next week and this will also help in the prepping and avoiding transfering junk from apt to another.

Mend/tailor clothes. Go through old magazines and tear out the pages of stuff I like (recipes, projects, inspirations, etc.) put in a binder and donate/recycle the rest of the magazine, depending on how much is left.

Oh, boy! I have tooo many things to do during down time. I wish the day were longer!

I do like to go through my closet on a regular basis to gather clothes that I never wear anymore. I give it to my parents who are always in charge of donating that kind of stuff.

You had me at "Firefly."

Great ideas and comments. I need to do plenty on that list! I also need to clean out our bonus room where we store stuff and need to sell some of it on craigslist, etc. Thanks for this post. It has inspired me!

Okay here is one that always leaves me stumped--what do I do with all my Christmas cards-I love getting them, sending them but then...what? Esp.the ones with family pictures on them--I am stumped on what to do...and yes I do have to send them.

@TPB711 Bazinga! Best comment award.

Purge, categorize, and file all your RECIPES in folders or photo type scrapbooks. Great thing to do while watching old movies.

I would have to have some sort of personality division to get all that stuff done. Though I thought people vacuumed under their cushions every time they vacuumed the rug. My solution to that was to only buy couches that don't have loose cushions on the bottom. Really makes life a lot simpler...hehe.

@curiouspink, one of my future projects is to put the photo holiday cards in a scrapbook. Nothing fancy, I'm editing it down to mainly family members and close friends and cropping them down to just pictures and making one collage per year. I think it would be fun to flip through 20 years from now and watch everyone's kids grow up.

JUst what I need is another to do list.

Haha, every time I try doing this, my boyfriend makes me feel guilty. Like "Just sit down and relax!!"

@curiouspink - if you like to keep your Christmas cards, why don't you make a Christmas card binder / scrapbook?

While you guys are all doing that, I'll actually be watching my gorram Firefly. It's called downtime for a reason.

I use old christmas cards to make recylcable gift boxes and tags for the next year. A greener options to buying wrapping paper every holiday.

I think the exterior of the home is often neglected. When I get a spare moment I like to sweep the front stoop, wipe down the front door, or even dust off the mail box.

I'd add to clean out the pantry and plan party with winter comfort foods like soup or chili.

Thanks to seven seasons of LOST on Hulu, I'll be working on scanning all the receipts for my 2011 taxes with my Neat scanner. ;)

Islet and Curious Pink, SageKitten85 - I started putting Christmas cards into albums and finished 2, but each year after that I've only been able to stash the cards into photo boxes (in hopes to get them into scrapbooks). As I attempt to clean closets, this year I finally sorted through those photo boxes and kept family cards and those of close friends, though I do hold onto the past season's entire set - and rubber band them - until next year. Why? addresses changes, new babies' names that I haven't memorized (I like to write a little note on each card, but may have to goto the form letter moving forward) - mainly because every year #15 never ever gets crossed off my list, and I don't want to have incorrectly addressed cards coming back to me after the holidays! Photo organization is always last on my list!

...and during movie marathons, I sit and sort through my kids' toys. Piles for Salvation Army; educational toys for my kids' preschool; and wish there was some "green" solution for reusing broken toys to avoid the landfill guilt.

This hasn't been a problem for me so far this year. Pregnancy kicks the nesting into high gear, so all those odd jobs become the No. 1 priority. Give me a few weeks, though, and I'll be neglecting them all over again.

thanks for this. I just wiped down all the doorknobs in the house with some Clorox wipes, tightened the screws on all the switch plates (random, I know), and wiped down the bathroom door (which gets dirtier than you realize). I sorted/cleaned out our closets and bookshelves before new year's and just dusted/swept/mopped the kitchen floor this weekend. Next up: ordering new prints for all our frames =)

I do what i call " speed trials". Two minutes of electric toothbrushing = 2 minutes of wiping down bathroom counters and getting hair off the bathroom floor. 90 seconds of heating milk in the microwave for my morning " latte" = 90 seconds of wiping down whatever needs it in the kitchen. I could go on and on, the possibilities are (almost) endless. Multitasking rules!

Curiouspink - Are you looking for ideas on how to keep your Christmas cards, or how to recycle them?

If the first, I vote for some kind of inexpensive frames that you can switch out during the holidays, putting cards in them that time of the year (but using the frames for something else during other times of the year). Saw something similar on Young House Love over the holidays.

if the latter, I vote for Freecycle: people on there will take anything and everything. Someone will undoubtedly want old Christmas cards for crafts projects at schools, senior centers, hospitals or other facilities.

Hmmmm. Imagine what we could accomplish if we didn't sit around reading blogs...

@ tpb711

Oh, how I wish there was a way to 'like' comments, that was a classic.

Another vote for Freecycle. I have gotten rid of so much, so quickly. And it always feels like it's going to a good cause and to people who actually need it. I live in the UK and the "charity shops" here don't really cater toward the needy. It seems like they take your clothes, stick them in storage for years, and then market them to vintage loving hipsters.

I thought 'downtime' meant to relax/unwind? Since when did downtime include more chores?

Downtime is ME time... crafting, catch up on sleep, phone a friend, reading a good book, watching a non-kids program, romantic dinner for two, etc.

Sharpen my knives. I usually do it while watching TV, my husband thinks I'm quite strange.

I'm with DANGAB33. It's fine to post ideas for stuff to do around the house, or to create to-do lists -- that is after all why some of us read this site -- but don't appropriate the word 'downtime'! Downtime is the reward for all the housekeeping and other life chores we all do.

Downtime means the time without to-do lists and must-dos and shoulds. The personal time, the meaningful time. It includes everything DANGAB33 mentioned and it also includes giving Firefly your focused and warranted attention, soaking in a hot bath, throwing a squeaky toy for your cat or dog, singing into your hairbrush, or whatever else floats your particular spaceship!

Clean out your medicine cabinet.

"[...]it's cold outside and you have nothing to do but watch Firefly on Hulu[...]" I love you.

It's amazing how listening to TV or movies reveals more about the dialog and sound than when you are distracted by the "shiny". Sometimes when I'm multi-tasking I'll do just that with an old classic movie, or an episode that always gets DVR'd.

There are times when downtime is just that. But other times when my mate wants to watch TV with me and I feel jumpy, it's nice to have something in my hands. Snapping beans for dinner, peeling apples for pie, folding socks, what have you. But anything that takes me out of the room sort of breaks the mood for times shared with the hubby. Who also likes Firefly. Just sayin'.

You forgot cleaning the toothbrush cup! It gets pretty nasty in there.

@TPB711: hahahah love it!! Makes me want to watch the show all over again.

Cleaning/greasing/waterproofing shoes and bags is a big one on my list. Also putting up on Gumtree/eBay DVDs and a bike I've been meaning to sell for about two years..

Sew ripped seams and lost buttons back to the clothes I love to wear and can´t because they have holes. Or missing buttons.

Also: vacuum clean under furniture, before the air from an open window blows out these dust bunnies.

And, if I can´t find anything else to divert myself with: Ironing.

My husband was hospitalized last year due to something growing in our humidifier (yeast). So I'll reiterate: clean your humidifier!

JESS13 - wish there was a 'like' on comments, that gave me the best LOL

Can i get a link to the house tour from the first photo please?

All great ideas! But seriously....This list is overwhelming unless your ocd. For those of us who are not...1. Take one task at a time 2. Recruit a friend who is ocd 3. Schedule time to do organize, you will certainly reap the benefits once its done and then put it into your routine.

Donating is great, but selling jewelry, shoes, and clothing is MUCH MORE motivating, I find! It frees up space AND funds new purchases.

I'm another person who would like to 'Like' Jess13's comment. You're not strange in a bad way!

I live in a smallish apartment with a very fluffy cat who seems to shed whenever she looks at me. The furminator has saved me in that area but vacuuming regularly helps even more but I'm not that inspired to get it out and do it everyday. I enjoy sweeping but it doesn't take care of everything as I wish it would.

I also agree with Lisavs that one task at a time is less overwhelming to undertake. There is always something to do/tidy up so do things when you can but don't stress out. I'm reminding myself of this as I type.

I use my laptop to keep me company in the kitchen. A couple of episodes will get me through baking, making tea and cleaning up after the whole thing and because it's so cozy I always have the energy to do a little extra cleaning in the kitchen. So messing up my kitchen makes it end up cleaner than when I started AND I get to eat the bakegoods afterwards -Yum!