There never seems to be enough time to get it done.  Between the carpooling around, the phone calls, and the family, your free time often comes in small bits and pieces instead of long, steady streams.  Instead of giving up, learn to use these little times to get a lot done.

1. Unload the dishwasher.  It often takes longer to complain about doing it then it does to actually do it.
2. Write and mail a birthday card of “thinking of you” note.  Keeping some note cards, postcards, and stamps on hand will make this easier.
3. Ready to a child.  For older children, read a chapter of a book.  With younger children, read a short Dr. Seuss book or another rhyming book.
4.    Check you emails. Don’t get caught up in the internet.  Stay focused on the task of emptying your email.
5.    Run a virus scan on you computer.  You don’t have to sit around while it runs.  Use this time to do something else.
6. Clean out the car.  Pick up all the trash, toys, and cloths that have accumulated.
7. Pick up the floors around the house.  Put everything in its home, but don’t try to “clean” the whole house.  This is more about straightening.
8. Change the sheets on one of the beds.  This is something that needs to be done weekly.
9. Flip through the stack of catalogues you’ve been getting all year.  Discard any that you won’t possibly use.  Mark the pages in the other catalogues for future viewing.
10. Make a “to do” list for the day, the week, and even the month.  Knowing what events you have coming up in the days ahead will help you balance your time.
11. Empty all the trashcans in the house – and put new bags in all of them.  Take the bags to the outside garbage can so they don’t cause the house to smell.
12. Change the filters in your return.  Keeping the filters clean will not only help your heating/cooling bill, but it will help your family stay healthy.
13. Empty the medicine cabinet.  Throw out all the outdated medications (but flush them down the toilet, don’t throw them out in the trash).
14. Start you Christmas list.  Who is on your nice list?  What are some ideas for surprising them?
15. Make some pudding.  Everyone loves pudding, and if you use the instant brands, it takes no time to make.
16. Throw out all the old magazines.  If you are holding on to them for just one article, cut that article out and file in a folder.
17. Set up a doctor’s appointment (eye exam, dental cleaning, etc).  It is usually making the appointment that keeps most of us from ever going.
18. Clean the tub (or sink, or toilet).  If you do each one when you have the time you will find that the process is much easier each go around.
19. Wash the mirrors in the house.  If you have some of the window cleaning wipes, this process will go even faster.
20. Go through your coupons and throw out any of the ones that have expired.
21. Compare your wallet calendar with the home calendar and make sure you haven’t missed any dates on either.
22. Sweep the front porch or back deck and the steps.  Straighten up the furniture or accessories as well.
23. Read a chapter in a book or an article in a magazine.  If you aren’t going to read them, then quit subscribing and get rid of what you have.
24. Empty the cat box.  The more often you do it, the quicker it goes.
25. Take a warm bath.  It’s a great way to use your time and relax your body.
26. Scan through the newspaper.  If you have time, come back to the articles that caught your attention.
27. Go through your makeup (or beauty supplies) and throw out all the older products or the ones you don’t or can’t use anymore.  Organize all that is left over.
28. Fix dinner (or at least get it started fixing itself) in a crock pot.  Pile in your ingredients and let it cook – low eat for all day and high heat for three or four hours.
29.  Find and read a new blog.  Leave a comment or bookmark it if it’s one you want to visit again in the future.
30.  Do the filing that has been piling up.  The longer you wait, the longer it will take.

Time is precious.  When you find yourself with a few extra minutes, it is some times tough to know what to do.  You don’t want to start something that you want be able to finish.  Instead of tackling a long term project, go after a quick job.  There are plenty of things you can do in just fifteen minutes.