Get Organized Mystery Sale! Hurry! Ends 11/7!

November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The holidays are here again and with them come more and more stuff. I know that with two boys, there are more toys coming into my house in just a month and I need a way to organize them and the rest of my house soon!

If you are having family over, getting your home organized for their arrival will be much less stressful with some of the great tools available on this site and right now is the perfect time to shop at Get Organized with this great offer,Shop the Mystery Sale and Get $10 Off Your Order of $50 or More at ShopGetOrganized.com. Use Promo Code AG110311, now through 11/7

You better hurry, because this deal only lasts through Monday and there are great savings to be had!

 

 

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Filed Under: Deals and Steals, Keeping It Clean, Organization Tagged With: , , ,
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Fall Cleaning

September 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

You’ve heard of spring cleaning. Why not try fall cleaning on for size? My family is moving in a few weeks, and the change of season has given me just the motivation and extra energy I need to sort everything before it’s time to pack.

For us, fall cleaning this year is comprised of going through every closet, drawer, and cabinet and considering: “When’s the last time we used this?” Or, “When’s the last time I wore this?” It’s an opportunity to clean out my daughter’s remaining 3T clothes and bring down all the fall and winter 4T’s from storage. It’s also just about time to pack up my summer clothes and bring down my fall and winter ones; I plan to sort them during the transition.

I’ve been doing “fall cleaning” for enough years now that I’ve actually condensed my wardrobe down to two large drawers, two small drawers, and a tiny closet-full. It’s a good discipline to ruthlessly eliminate clothes, shoes, and household items that are in good condition but are hardly used.

Fall cleaning provides a good teaching time for kids, too. Help them learn how to be generous; teach them not to be hoarders. Someone else can get a lot of good out of your gently used items. And, if you could use some extra cash, fall cleaning can be a good time to pack up the extra stuff and take it to a consignment store or have a yard-sale.

Fall cleaning doesn’t only mean sorting and eliminating either. Why not take advantage of the cool weather by conducting a deep house clean? I know I never feel up to that task in the summer—it’s just too hot around here! The fall, though, makes me want to throw open the windows, take an allergy pill, and clean every room in the house.

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Filed Under: Home & Family, Keeping It Clean, Legitimate Work from Home Jobs, Organization Tagged With: , , ,
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Simple Living for a Better Life

September 3, 2011 By 3 Comments

It only takes one episode of Hoarders to make me want to get rid of all the stuff in our house. Individuals on that show are obviously extreme examples of people with too many possessions, and perhaps throwing out all our stuff would be an extreme reaction. Nonetheless, I’m someone who believes in living simply. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t live in a commune or a convent. I live in a modest house with typical belongings, but I do try to keep our possessions to a minimum.

If you think about it, things we bring into our home cost more than just the amount on the price tag. They also cost time and energy to use and keep organized, as well as space to store. Not to mention the distress we put on ourselves by living a cluttered life and trying to “keep up with the Jones’.”

Obviously, buying fewer things will save us money, but living simply goes beyond frugality. It’s about using only the resources we need and being grateful for what we’ve been given. It’s about thoughtfulness, awareness and putting our family resources into what’s truly important to us.

My favorite singer/songwriter is a lovely woman named Sara Groves. She wrote a song called, “All I Need,” which nicely sums up how easily we can go from having everything we need to feeling like we need more and more.

“All I Need” by Sara Groves

Newly married, new apartment
All our furniture was saved from the dump
Yes dear maybe we can afford a trashcan next month

All I need is my love for you and a seat for two

New baby new life
We will teach him to speak French
We’ve got no money so we’ll make it all ourselves
I’ll make the curtains and you make the shelves

All I need is a power saw and a new sewing machine

Honey, this house needs a little something
That bare mantle doesn’t look so good
Someone told me of a man
Who makes animals from driftwood

All I need is your monthly bonus for a wooden walrus

Honey, the Colbaughs are coming over
This house needs some renovations
Just a wall or two, just a little room
And a few new decorations

All I need is a sectional and a satellite TV
and dark-wood cabinets that were custom built for me
and a painting by that guy that paints with his feet…

That’s all I need
For now

 

Photo courtesy of Nana B. Agyei.
Filed Under: Keeping Control, Living Green, Organization, Other Ways to Save, Saving Money Tagged With: , , ,
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. In most cases, products are provided to Moms Living Thrifty for review. All product reviews are written according to the writer's honest opinion, experience or beliefs. Your opinion may vary. To see more on our disclosure policy, please visit our Disclosure page

3 Tips for an Organized Kitchen

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been trying to improve the organization of my home, especially in the kitchen.

I’ll admit it – I’m not the neatest person in the world. I love seeing spaces that are beautifully and stylishly organized, but creating them myself and keeping them that way is sometimes a challenge for me. My husband would be the first person to agree: he’s the “neat” one, and I’m the “clean” one. I vacuum everyday and do a fair job of keeping the house clean with three kids under three. My husband, on the other hand, only cares if things are put away, whether or not they have two inches of dust on them. Sound familiar?

OK, back to kitchen talk. Here are few areas of kitchen organization that have been hang-ups for me and some tips on how I’m trying to overcome them:

1. Cookbooks

Cookbooks belong in the kitchen. I tried storing them a bookcase in our office once, and I never used them because I rarely saw them, and when I did, I wasn’t thinking about cooking. On that same note, I keep all my cookbooks on an open shelf, so I’ll remember to use them. Plus, I think they look pretty that way.

Cookbook addict here! I’ve imposed a rule on myself regarding cookbooks, and that is to limit them. I have a thing for buying them, and if I kept all the ones I’ve bought, there wouldn’t be any room for food in my kitchen. Therefore, if I bring a new one home, I typically choose one to sell/give away/toss that I rarely use. It’s never hard for me to find a cookbook that matches that description. Why do I keep buying them, if I don’t use them very much? Help me!

2. Location, Location, Location!

It makes sense to arrange the items in your kitchen in a specific way to make your life easier. For example, dish cloths and sponges belong near the sink, pots and pans near the stove and juice glasses near the fridge. Other things are less obvious, like when I finally realized that I was walking all the way across my kitchen and back to grab spices while cooking. Hey Randi, place the spice carousel next to the stove! Having necessary tools in just the right spot makes us work more efficiently, which means we get jobs done more quickly, and we’re a bit happier at the end. Less time spent cooking means more time with family … and eating sooner!


3. Maintain the Fridge and Pantry

Make sure all the food in the house is fresh and not wasted. Sadly, I used to be a huge food waster. I’d buy items that sounded good or were priced well with no real plan for them. So, they’d sit and sit, until it was time to throw them out. So bad! Meal planning has helped with this problem tremendously. I do my best to only buy food items that I’m actually going to use.

It also helps to keep an inventory of your refrigerator and pantry. Knowing what you have and when you bought them will ensure that unseen items aren’t wasted. I also make sure to go through my fridge and pantry on a regular basis.

What kitchen organization tips to you have?

Photo courtesy of Yortw.

 
Filed Under: Food Safety, Kitchen Care, Organization Tagged With: , ,
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Keeping a Better Medicine Cabinet

August 17, 2011 By 2 Comments

I love finding ways to do simple things better.

We all have a medicine cabinet, but do you put any thought into it? A little effort and foresight can wind up saving you time and money. It will keep your family safe and ensure you have the right medication and supplies around when you need them. A good medicine cabinet should be well stocked and regularly purged.

I thought I’d share my medicine cabinet regimen (although it’s not that involved, I promise!), which I do about every three months or so. I only started thinking about our medicine cabinet after we had our first baby. That’s when things started to overflow in there! It turned out that having to clear unnecessary items to make room for others resulted in getting rid of things that really needed to go, which leads me to my first point …

Get rid of all expired medication. We shouldn’t be taking old medicine. Even if it was prescribed to us at one time, it doesn’t mean it’s prescribed to us now, and taking it could have adverse health effects. Make sure you throw out the medication safely and properly. I once heard a pharmacist recommend that you place pills in a sealed Ziploc bag with cat litter, if you’re throwing them away. That way, children, animals and curious teenagers won’t be likely to pop them into their mouth. An even safer option would be to take old pills to a pharmacy that operates a take-back program, which will safely dispose of unused and expired medication. This is also an eco-friendly way to go, since pharmaceuticals are now present in our waterways from so many pills being thrown away. Eww! Check out Disposemymeds.org to find a location near you.

Mama tip: For safety, I don’t take any pills in front of my children, since they always want to be like Mommy and are likely to want to try them, too.


Keeping an organized medicine cabinet helps me to see what we really have, as well as what we need. I keep a list (in my head) of our most used medicines and items we may need at a moment’s notice. It makes stocking medicine so easy! Some musts for my family include: acetaminophen for fevers, in infant, child and adult varieties; ibuprofen for headaches, a necessity with three children 3 and under; and bandages and Neosporin for cuts and scrapes. I also keep Benadryl for possible allergic reactions, hydrocortisone cream for rashes and raw winter cheeks and a thermometer on hand. I personally supported the antacid industry during my pregnancy, but those are no longer a staple in the cabinet, fortunately!

Photo courtesy of e-Magine Art.
Filed Under: Family Health, Family Safety, First Aid, Home & Family, Organization Tagged With: , , ,
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. In most cases, products are provided to Moms Living Thrifty for review. All product reviews are written according to the writer's honest opinion, experience or beliefs. Your opinion may vary. To see more on our disclosure policy, please visit our Disclosure page

Menu-Making as a Lifestyle

August 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It took me years to take the plunge; I’d been talking about it forever: “Someday I’m going to plan out our meals ahead of time — I’m going to make menus!” The barriers to menu-making are many:  It takes a time commitment up front; it takes organizational skill and a focused mind; it helps to have a few tools in place. This can be a tall-order for a working mom.

Nevertheless, once the time was right, and I finally took the plunge, I haven’t regretted it in the least. I’m still learning how to not only make the menu but also to follow it! It does have to be flexible for our ever-changing schedule, but ultimately, I prefer life with menus to life without them.

Here are the tools that have helped me:

  • A large, dry-erase calendar board and markers
  • 3-4 fantastic cookbooks
  • One hour of free time
  • A pad of paper and pen in order to simultaneously make a grocery list

Once a month I sit down with those tools and take a precious hour to dream up the menu. I take several things into consideration as I do this. I try to incorporate food we already have in the freezer and items that take pre-planning, such as dried beans. I schedule crock-pot meals for days when I know I’ll get home too late or too tired to want to cook. I try to think about my three year old and her likes and dislikes; I choose my battles ahead of time!

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I consider our nutritional needs; I incorporate meat every other day or so, so on vegetarian days I need to provide other strong sources of complete proteins. I think about what’s in-season and what may be on sale at the grocery store or farmer’s market. I also rotate complicated meals with simpler meals so that I’m not in the kitchen for many hours on any given day.

Another tip is to sit down and go through your favorite cook books for some go-to recipes. What are the meals you could reasonably eat every other week or once a month? Make a list of those recipes and attach it to your menu-calendar; this can make the actual menu planning session go really fast.

Start out simple. You could start out only planning dinners, for example. If you are a cook who loves to decide the menu the day-of, then just have a list for the whole week made out ahead of time, and choose from one of the various options; that way you can plan-ahead, but still have some wiggle room. I never plan breakfasts, and I always end up switching around meals. Each family has to decide what works best for them.

Once you incorporate menu-making into your lifestyle, it becomes routine. For a family on a tight budget, menu-making is a must. Food is the one area that can revolutionize your budget—you would be amazed how much you can save if you eliminate eating out and pre-packaged foods from your lifestyle. The nice thing is that good health and frugal living can go hand-in-hand for the menu-making family.
Filed Under: Family Health, From the Kitchen, Household Budgeting, Organization, Other Ways to Save Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. In most cases, products are provided to Moms Living Thrifty for review. All product reviews are written according to the writer's honest opinion, experience or beliefs. Your opinion may vary. To see more on our disclosure policy, please visit our Disclosure page

Easy to Use Tech Tools to Keep Moms Organized

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’m on the computer all day, so I prefer to unplug from technology as much as possible when I’m not working from home. But there are some tech tools that do an amazing job of helping a busy mom like me to keep my household and work life organized.  I recommend that you check out the following tools that might help you find more time and sanity throughout your day:

Sticky Notes

No, not the ones you buy in a package.  I’m referring to the sticky notes for your desktop computer. I use Hott Notes, which allows me write down fleeting ideas and my to-do lists on what looks like a virtual post-it note. It stays on my computer screen for me to review and check off as I complete tasks. If you’re like me and think of 50 ideas all at once, then you’ll want to download this free software.


LetterMeLater

If you’ve ever needed to write an email, but send it at a later date, then you’ll love LetterMeLater.com. It’s great for personal and business emails that need to be sent at some point down the road. I’ve used it to email my husband some tasks to complete on a future date. Whether you use it for correspondence, project management or as a calendar, it’s a great alternative to saving your emails as drafts. You can also cross off emails from your to-do list without the need to wait until a certain date to arrive to send the email.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Speaking of emails, you probably get way too many per day to sift through. Reading and sorting through email can be time consuming. If you don’t approach it in an organized way, you’ll spend more time than you should with your email inbox. Thunderbird is a free alternative to Microsoft Outlook. You can create folders and allocate which emails go into each folder. You can download your email from any webmail account. I use it to keep better track of emails that would otherwise get lost in lengthy email threads in the Gmail account I use for business.

If you want more time in your life, you have to get intense about getting more organized. That doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect. Use these tools to keep your responsibilities under control and as orderly as possible.

 

 
Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: , , , , ,
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. In most cases, products are provided to Moms Living Thrifty for review. All product reviews are written according to the writer's honest opinion, experience or beliefs. Your opinion may vary. To see more on our disclosure policy, please visit our Disclosure page

Start a Holiday Gift Closet Now!

July 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever found yourself spending way too much money on holiday gift shopping, come December? What about scrambling to find a so-so gift for someone at the last minute, just so you’ll have something to give them? If so, it sounds like you could use a gift closet! If you don’t already have one, this is the time  to start one – before Christmas catches you off guard, as it always has a way of doing.

Let’s call it Christmas in July.

I don’t have a gift closet, per se. In my 1300 sq. ft. house, I don’t have a closet to spare. So, I have a gift “designated area of my basement.” Maybe you also have some space downstairs, on a shelf or underneath a bed. It doesn’t have to be an actual closet.

Once you have a spaced picked out, how do you fill your gift closet? Begin by making a list of all the people you buy for on a regular basis. I have a handy calendar book from Hallmark that’s made for just that purpose, but you could make a simple list any way you want. I include all the people I get Christmas gifts for, as well as loved ones’ birthdays throughout the year. Then comes the fun part – holiday gift shopping! An advantage of utilizing a gift closet is the ability to gather items little by little, as you find deals and great gifts on clearance throughout the year. You can add gifts to your closet with a specific person in mind, or not, but make sure you don’t buy things needlessly just to shop.

You don’t have to buy everything that makes it into your gift closet, though. Don’t forget about re-gifting! The thought might seem tacky, but if it’s done thoughtfully, it can be a resourceful and smart way of gift-giving. Be creative; think about who might appreciate an item that just didn’t work for you. Maybe you can add that item to another to make a good gift or group it with others as part of a basket.

Think outside the (gift) box.

Happy shopping!

Photo courtesy of jayneandd.
Filed Under: Frugal Gifts, Organization, Saving Money Tagged With: , , , , ,
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. In most cases, products are provided to Moms Living Thrifty for review. All product reviews are written according to the writer's honest opinion, experience or beliefs. Your opinion may vary. To see more on our disclosure policy, please visit our Disclosure page