Category Archives: Money & Organization

coffee, please.

April 7, 2011 3:28 pm \ Leave a Comment \


Being a freelance writer definitely has its advantages: you’re your own boss, you set your hours (for the most part), and you choose with whom to do business. It has it’s disadvantages, too, such as chasing after your pay. Sure, people who have book deals get cash advances. But that’s not how it works for copywriters. Another negative is something I also listed as a positive: choosing with whom to do business.

Without getting into details, suffice it to say that today I learned a valuable lesson: to trust my instincts. Another lesson? Sometimes you just have to say no, even if the project should be quick and easy, because there is no guarantee it will be. Hopefully I’ll remember this next time.

And with that, I think I need to scarf down a cup of coffee and some cookies. Chocolate therapy :-)

Posted in: Money & Organization \ Tagged:

not-so-organized

January 23, 2011 4:51 pm \ Leave a Comment \

I haven’t been doing so well on my big plans to get organized this year. The last two weeks have been crazy and I haven’t completed a single project. But I’ve got one in the works for this week: tackling my home management binder. It is in need of some serious updating. I’d love to get my hands on a velobind machine, but for now I’ll make due with my standard binder. I am going to make it a priority this week to spend some time going through my paperwork and figuring out what worked (and what didn’t) the last time I worked on this.

Check back on Friday for an update on my progress!

Read about the organizing projects of other bloggers and join in the fun at Organizing Junkie.

Posted in: House & Home, Money & Organization \ Tagged:

organization challenge: week 1

January 7, 2011 2:26 pm \ 4 Comments \

Today is a snow day. Although there wasn’t much on the ground when we woke up this morning, the snow is now coming down steadily and I’m sure the roads are slick. A snow day beats worrying about whether or not the bus will make it home safely in case of an early dismissal! Anyway, with three kids running around instead of just one, I figured I’d start with a manageable organization task: re-organizing the kitchen “desk drawer” which had become a junk drawer. Check it out:

kitchen drawer re-org

This is where we keep all the basic office supplies, but no one could ever find a pen or a pencil. And no wonder! They were hidden under all this stuff:

kitchen drawer re-org

kitchen drawer re-org

There were note cards with pretty designs of art prints that I ended up throwing away because they were dirty (from stray pencils and crayons). We had three staplers in there. Three screwdrivers. Who knows how many screws, nuts, washers, and nails? It was just so much junk that I couldn’t stand it. It probably took me about 30-40 minutes to whip it into shape. Aaah, much better:

kitchen drawer re-org

I told the boys where everything is supposed to go, and I hope they don’t just start throwing things in there. This is one “hot spot” I really need to stay on top of, but having completed this one project is a huge load off my mind!
Read about the organizing projects of other bloggers and join in the fun at Organizing Junkie.

Posted in: House & Home, Money & Organization \ Tagged:

2011 goals: organization

January 6, 2011 5:00 am \ 1 Comment \

Getting organized seems to be a continuing goal — something I’m constantly striving to achieve. And just when I have things in good order… BAM! Something (like a holiday and school vacation) comes along and throws my system all out of whack. And not that I’m blaming my little one, but a certain curious, active toddler doesn’t make things easier. At the moment I feel completely overwhelmed by all the projects I have going, so when I read about Laura’s year-long project, 52 Weeks of Organizing, I knew I had to take part in it. Small projects, manageable chunks, little by little… Yes, I can totally do this!

I’m starting by making a list of — you guessed it — the 52 organizing projects I plan to tackle in 2011. Off the top of my head I know I want to work on my craft cabinet, my bow-making supplies storage, the “junk drawer” in the kitchen, my desk, the Tupperware cabinet, and my closet. I don’t think I’ll have any problem reaching 52, LOL!

What about you? Do you have any organizing puzzles you want to solve this year?

Posted in: House & Home, Money & Organization \ Tagged:

staying organized

February 19, 2010 3:32 pm \ 3 Comments \

tulipsWhen I was waiting to register Noah for kindergarden yesterday, another mom remarked that she didn’t know how I did it with three kids. And truthfully, though there have been hurdles to overcome, generally the leap from two to three children has been easier than one to two. I do give my husband a lot of credit for being a tremendous help. Although I’m nowhere near sane, I’d be a lot crazier if he wasn’t so awesome. But I think one of the keys to keeping things together is having a good household notebook. I am sure a lot of you already have one and I think it really makes your house run smoother. I’m in the process of revamping mine. With the piles of school papers from both boys getting out of control, and having to check e-mail messages or my cell phone every time I needed someone’s number, I realized it was time. Remember: the notebook works for you. You don’t work for it.

I’ve overcome the urge to buy lots of pretty new office supplies and I’ve made due with what I’ve found around the house. I repurposed a binder that was a coupon binder in a former life (an example of something that didn’t work for me), and I’ve scrounged around for page protecters, dividers, folders, and other things I’ve needed. I always enjoy taking a peek at other homemaking binders, so maybe next week I’ll do a video entry showing you mine. Maybe someone will get a good idea from it! :-)

Posted in: Money & Organization

Week’s Eats

March 30, 2009 6:12 am \ 1 Comment \

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This month has not been an easy one so far, as far as cooking goes. It seems that since the beginning of the month, the entire family has had some form of stomach flu, cold, cough, you name it. I’m really getting tired of it! So while I was shopping yesterday I tried to be thoughtful and plan out my menu since I had the luxury of time and solitude. Here’s my plan:

Sunday
B: Oatmeal or cheesy toast
L: Hot dogs
S: Taste-test of sugar cookie cake
D: Homemade pizza (chicken and veggie for us, pepperoni pizza for the boys), salad, sugar cookie cake for dessert

Monday:
B: Bagels with cream cheese
L: Chicken quesadillas
S: Slice of ham or turkey wrapped around string cheese
D: Cube steak with mustard sauce, baked potato, broccoli

Tuesday:
B: Cereal & fruit or yogurt/granola
L: Turkey-bagel sandwich, fruit salad
S: Veggies & ranch dip
D: Tacos

Wednesday:
B: Scrambled eggs or frozen waffle & sausage, fruit
L: Grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup
S: Yogurt/cereal
D: Meatballs & sausage (Crock Pot) with spaghetti, salad

Thursday:
B: Cereal & fruit or Yogurt/Granola
L: Leftovers
S: Cheese & crackers, grapes
D: Turkey chili, cornbread, cole slaw

Friday:
B: Eggs & toast or cheesy toast
L: Tuna melts, soup
S: Yogurt & fruit
D: Baked macaroni & cheese, salad

Saturday:
B: Pumpkin waffles, bacon, fruit
L: Leftovers
S: Cheese & crackers, veggies
D: Date night (???)

These are all family favorites. I’m feeling worn out and can’t handle anyone complaining about what’s for supper. For more menu ideas, head over to Organizing Junkie.

Posted in: Food & Wine, Money & Organization

Freezer Cooking

March 19, 2009 12:07 pm \ 2 Comments \

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a goal of having at least two weeks’ worth of dinners in the freezer, ready-to-go, as well as some breads and muffins. I’d rather prepare the stuff myself rather than rely on convenience foods because, well, it’s a lot cheaper and healthier! Some of the things I plan on making  and freezing are:

- London Broil in marinade (just defrost & grill)
- chicken breasts in Italian marinade (again, just defrost & grill)
- chili
- stuffed pepper soup
- brown a couple pounds of ground turkey to save time when making tacos
- baked oatmeal
- banana bread
- raspberry muffins
- cook & freeze a couple pounds of bacon for sandwiches, salads, etc.
- beef & bean enchiladas
- Swiss chicken
- meatloaf
- twice-baked potatoes
- homemade pre-made pizza (maybe 1 pepperoni and 1 BBQ chicken)

Those ideas are just off the top of my head, but they’re tried & true recipes and things I’ve successfully frozen before so I know they’ll be eaten. I think I’m also going to steal Jess’s idea of freezing some calzones (she mentioned it in the comments section of my last entry). That’s an awesome idea! Naturally I’ll be focussing on my nutrition and trying to eat healthfully since I’ll be nursing and trying to lose the baby weight at the same time. I can guarantee I’m not going to feel like heading to the gym and jumping on any ellipticals for a while, so I need to stay away from the junk food and make sure I have plenty of nutritious, easy to prepare, yet tasty food on hand. I think that’s going to be the challenge! At least it will be summer and grilling season, so it should be easy enough to at least throw a steak or some chicken breasts on the grill and have that with a salad. (Oh, I can’t wait for our CSA to start back up!) I figure that it can’t be too bad — after all I made it through the last two times and everything worked out just fine!

Posted in: Food & Wine, Money & Organization, Oh Baby