skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Welcome!
Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you find some helpful hints for organizing your time and space. My passions are to help you make home a refuge instead of a crisis center, and to help you function in peace rather than chaos - at home or at work. I have switched my main blog to 1-2-3 ... Get Organized on WordPress, so please visit me there.
I've been working with a client who has Alzheimer's. We organized her closet and dresser a couple of days ago. Today we are going to label shelves, drawers, and closet space.
Why? Because, even though she was present when we organized, and we talked about where we had placed her things, she is already putting things away in random places.
Having the labels as prompts will help her "remember" where to put things. This system can also be used in the kitchen, bathroom and other locations where things are stored.
It's frustrating for those who cannot remember simple things as well as for those caring for them. Labeling can remove a bit of that frustration for everyone involved.
More on Alheimer's:
I have written an iPhone app called Upscale Express Dinners, recipes for one or two people that are upscale yet quick and inexpensive. Meals have an average cost of less than $5 per person.
It's four weeks of simple recipes with grocery lists and easy instructions.
You don't need to actually cook the meals, although it would be nice if you cooked a couple. What I really want is for you to get a feel for the app. Is it easy to use and maneuver? How do you like the look? Other likes and/or dislikes?
So, I need some app users to see if this app is pleasant to use. Just look it over for a few days and give me your review.
If you're interested in helping out, please comment below, or you can email me at Bev@1-2-3GetOrganized.com.
Thanks so much for your help!
Instead of letting leftovers grow green fuzz, it's fun to repurpose them into a quick meal. Not only is it efficient, but it's economical, too. And you may be able to disguise leftovers into something new for those who object to leftovers.
Last week I had some leftover bruschetta from our Christmas party, and some leftover rice from a previous meal. So I defrosted some tilapia and cooked it in a non-stick skillet with the bruschetta and heated up the rice in the microwave. With some grapes, it made a complete, very tasty and quick five-minute meal.
Whenever I cook rice, I always cook extra. Even if I don't use it in the next few days, I'll freeze it and defrost it in the microwave when I need it, saving time. Fried rice is another meal option, too.
Of course, a big pot of soup is a wonderful catch-all. It's a great meal the day before grocery shopping - a nice way to get rid of all those little bits of veggies and leftovers. Spice it boldly with pepper or some red pepper flakes to give it a zing!
We had a ham steak recently, and I put the bone and some leftover ham in split pea soup later in the week and made a butternut and ham bisque another time.
Leftover pasta goes nicely in stir fries. Or mix it with Italian dressing, your choice of veggies, meat, and cheese, and it's a pasta salad for dinner tomorrow night! I'm not too fond of pasta in soups, though, as it gets soggy if it's cooked very long.
When I cook London broil, I cook twice what we need and it morphs into a stir fry or fajitas on another day.
I always feel such a satisfaction when I can turn my leftovers into a tasty second meal, and especially so if it's a quick one. What about you?
More on leftovers:
I discovered these clever bathroom organizing and space-saving ideas from Martha Stewart. Two of them include how-to instructions. Hope you enjoy them!
"Make space for supplies over the bathroom door so that they'll be accessible when they need to be replenished without cluttering under-the-sink cabinets. Get the How-To"
"No room for a bathroom cabinet? Install a hotel-style multitiered rack on the wall next to the tub to hold bath towels and washcloths."
"Maximize usable space in a tiny medicine cabinet by making use of magnets. Get the How-To"
I especially love the magnetic medicine cabinet! What about you?
More on bathroom organizing:
In my humble opinion, one irritation in life is gathering up hangers for doing laundry. I try to hang clothing immediately upon taking them out of the dryer so I want a stash of hangers handy.
Lately, when getting dressed, I have started putting the empty hangers in the laundry hamper with the dirty clothes. Then when I take my hamper to the laundry room, the hangers go with me. No extra step of digging through the closet to find hangers.
As you may remember, I sort my laundry into whites, lights, darks, and towels with four laundry hampers. When one gets full, it's time to do a load of laundry without making a huge mess sorting.
Laundry is a never-ending decluttering chore - why not make it a little more pleasant?
More on laundry:
Here's the final installment of my Destressing Christmas 2011 series. How appropriate for December 1! I hope this month is joyous, meaningful, and destressed!
I'm hosting a Christmas party Friday night, which I love! Cleaning, shopping and getting ready today. :) On to our topic for today:
It seems that our country is drowning in clutter! Our kids have so many toys, their rooms are overflowing. We have to rent storage units to hold our excess stuff.
This Christmas and throughout the year, consider giving memories instead of clutter. Give experiences! I've talked about some of these before, but they are worth repeating. :)
One year my parents were visiting us at Christmas when we lived in the DC area. Their gift from us: tickets for them to take our daughters to the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center.
For one daughter's 16th birthday, we took her and her boyfriend (now husband) to see Stomp! in lieu of having a party. For our other daughter's birthday one year, we went to the play Little Women (one of her favorite books) followed by high tea, reminiscent of our time living in Kenya.
I have a dear friend who has four boys. Each time one graduates from high school, he gets to pick where in the country the family will go for vacation that year.
For my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, all four of us siblings typed out a tribute to them, framed them in gold frames, and presented them on a family vacation.
This year we celebrated their 60th and my brother created a video incorporating interviews he had done with mom and dad as well as photos throughout their lives. It was just a family affair - the four siblings and our children. We siblings each toasted my parents - what a wonderful memory and special time together!
Speaking of my parents, once when our girls stayed with them, my mom walked them around the neighborhood telling them about our neighbors who lived there when I was growing up. It included a trip to Midway Grocery, a tiny little grocery store where I and my siblings would go to buy candy. They still have fond memories of that experience!
When we lived in Kenya, my gift to the guys on our team was a dozen cookies every month for a year. Even though they were material objects, they didn't stay around long enough to create clutter!
When we visited one of our daughters this year, we decided to choose one five-star restaurant rather than several average places to eat. It made a fun and delicious memory!
Considering what your loved one or friend likes is the key. Here are some other ideas:
- If it is expensive, you may be able to team up with others. If Uncle Jim wants to celebrate his 80th birthday by sky diving or going for a hot-air balloon ride, have family members chip in.
- Share the experience. Accompany your friends or family to the event to make a joint memory.
- Give your time. Bring lunch over to auntie's and spend a couple of hours with her. Or babysit for a young mom who needs some time out of the house.
- One of our daughters is contemplating a ski day as one of her gifts this year, since we are so close to good skiing and she'll be here for Christmas.
Your gift experiences don't need to cost a lot. The only limit is your creativity!
More on no-clutter gifts:
A few years ago, the Ball Claw people asked me to do a review of their, at that time, new product - a new way to store athletic balls. Unfortunately, I never did the review. So now I will make up for it.
The Ball Claw is an ingenious way to store those hard-to-store athletic balls. It comes with just a few screws, grips the ball, and can be used in various places - even in your car trunk! Here are some options:
They're inexpensive ($11.99), simple to use, and make use of vertical space, rather than taking up floor space or closet space. Both of our girls are athletes - if we had only had the Ball Claw then! If you have athletes in the house, this product may be an answer to your athletic gear clutter!
More on organizing sports gear:
We got a lot of snow last weekend - it looks like a winter wonderland here. Here's a picture of our front yard. Doesn't it look like it could be a Christmas card?
Speaking of Christmas cards:
Sending out Christmas cards can seem like an overwhelming and costly task. Here are some ways to make it more doable.
- Send out digital Christmas cards or letters to as many people as possible. I know this offends some, but at least your message gets out. I like sending and receiving letters - catching up with our friends. When I receive a Christmas card with only a signature, I know my friends are alive, but that's about all!
You can email your letters or you can use an email service, like iContact.
If you have a blog, you can post your Christmas letter on your blog, too. If you want to get fancy, you could make a video Christmas greeting and put the link on your social networks.
- If you write a Christmas letter, make it no longer than one side of a page. It's cheaper to print and most people won't read more than that. It forces you to be economical with your words!
- Use your TV time or traveling time (if you're the passenger!) to address Christmas cards. You're doubling your time while enjoying yourself, too!
- Get the family involved. Your family members can help fold, stuff, seal, and stamp your cards and letters.
- In January, update your snail mail Christmas card list as you sort through your Christmas cards. Then you're set when it comes time to send out your cards next year.
However you do Christmas cards, your friends and family will love to hear from you!
More on reducing Christmas stress:
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope your day is filled with remembering your blessings. :)
Are you gearing up for holiday shopping? If you are a Black Friday shopper, the following links contain Black Friday ads for major retailers, so you can plan your strategy. Kohl's and Target are opening at 12 midnight on Thanksgiving Day, with Walmart opening at 10 pm.
Black Friday Ads
Black Friday
If however, you would rather shop from your armchair, Cyber Monday may be your preference.
Of course, the top Cyber Monday retailer is Amazon, whose sales have already started:
To find more Cyber Monday ads, go to:
Cyber Monday or Dealio.
Happy shopping!
More on shopping:
Each year I've posted ways I've gotten a jump on Christmas cookies. This year's method is different. We usually have our daughter and son-in-law over for dinner on Friday nights. So last week I started making cookies for dessert.
I'm doing it for three reasons:
- for dessert;
- I'm making double batches and freezing half;
- at least half of the cookies I bake go to our church to help with a lunch they offer every week to students from the local high school down the street.
So gradually, I'll be stocking up on frozen cookie dough. Baking will be a snap!
Here are a couple of the ways I've gotten a jump on Christmas cookies in the past:
1. My friend Pam and I came up with a great way to get a jump on Christmas cookies. We originally set aside a day in December to make Christmas cookies all day, split them and stock our freezers. But that was pretty exhausting.
2. Then one year, we couldn't find a date in December, and that changed our Christmas cookie baking from then on. We decided to get together in November and just make the dough, freeze it in small batches, and cook as needed. It's so easy to just thaw a small amount, form into cookies, and bake! All the work and mess is over with and you have fresh baked cookies in a jiffy when you need them.
Plus we got to spend the day together! I miss it. Now that we live in Montana and she lives in Maryland, it doesn't quite work! I need to mention that we did this when our children were in college or on their own. If making memories with your children is part of the equation, you may want to disregard our "mass production" mindset! :)
If you need to find a cookie recipe, my daughter Sara sent me a list (Cookies, Cookies, Cookies) of every possible cookie recipe known to man.
More on cookies:
How Coffee Filters Can Help You Declutter Holiday Baking
Making it a Priority to Create Memories
A couple of stories to learn from:
I recently heard a story of someone's house being cleaned out after their car was broken into. Their GPS and garage door opener were stolen. The GPS had "home" listed as a destination. The thieves drove to their home, opened the garage door and loaded their truck with their victims' valuables.
The moral of the story: don't put "home" on your GPS. Put a nearby location (a gas station or other store) so you can find your way home, if you need to.
The second story was of a woman whose purse was stolen. The thief texted her husband using her cell phone and asked for the pin number for their bank account. "Hubby" was listed on her phone. Her husband texted the pin number and the thief used her ATM card and cleaned out their bank account.
The moral to this story: don't put your relationship to the person on your contact list or make sure to call back if your spouse texts to get a pin number.
Pretty sneaky tricks, huh? But easy to happen if we don't pay attention.
More on safety:
Not sure what our Thanksgiving will look like this year. Our daughter and son-in-law who are here will be visiting his parents. And our other daughter will be celebrating with my parents and family. So I don't know if we'll be cooking or not. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts about holiday meals:
- Determine which special holiday meals you’ll be preparing. Will you be hosting any parties?
- Decide what you will serve for each special meal or party. Make a list for each event. Make sure to have a balance of protein, starch, something green and something red/orange/yellow. Try to avoid a lot of last-minute or time-consuming recipes. (By the way, keep your list in front of you until after your meal. Have you every looked in the fridge after a meal and realize you forgot to serve something!?! I have! LOL!)
- Do you have enough dinnerware, glasses, silverware, linens, and serving pieces?
- Are there some items you could prepare in advance - breads, desserts, cornbread for cornbread stuffing, etc.? Plan when you will cook some of these recipes and write it on your schedule, so you can space them out and avoid last-minute stress.
- If you are having guests, take them up on their offers to bring something!
- For each week during the holidays, plan your menus and make a shopping list. Try to go shopping only once a week to save those time-costly trips back to the grocery store. During such a busy time, try to piggy-back from one meal to another. Cook a roast, and use the leftovers for beef stroganoff, for example. Plan simple regular meals during the holiday season to reduce your stress level.
- Have some easy-to-prepare foods on hand if you have a disaster day: frozen ravioli, ingredients for wraps, and frozen chicken tenderloins, for example.
- Have some ideas in mind for using leftover turkey: chow mein, stir fry, pasta salads, etc. Use leftover ham in soups or pasta salads. Freeze extra turkey or ham in meal-size portions for a time when you are not weary of these meats.
Even though it takes time to plan your holiday meals and your regular meals, you’ll save yourself time and stress by organizing your menus. You won’t be making last-minute trips to the grocery store, you won’t forget ingredients, and you’ll have what you need.
You’ll be able to welcome your guests or have a special meal for your family without stressing! What a refreshing way to celebrate!
What are your favorite holiday recipes?
Leftover ideas:
Dinner in 10 - Chicken with Cranberry/Mandarin Sauce
Getting the Maximum Mileage out of Your Veggies
Cook It Once, Serve It Twice
Three Steps to Planning Dinner
Hassle Free Dinners
There are a number of must-do tasks once you have moved. There's so much to do when you move, isn't there?! Here are the essentials:
1. Register your car (need: title, former registration, mileage).
2. Get a new driver's license (need: birth certificate or passport, social security card, driver's license from your previous residence, and proof of residence - a bill with your current address, your lease or purchase papers).
3. Register to vote. This can usually be done when you get a new driver's license.
4. Change your car insurance if you have moved to another state (need: old driver's license number and new driver's license number, car registration). Notify your previous insurance carrier.
5. Change your homeowners/renters insurance. Notify your previous insurance carrier.
6. Register your business, if applicable.
7. Open bank account(s) and safe deposit box (need driver's license, deposit).
8. Restock your pantry and fridge with the basics.
9. Change your wallet list. This is a list of all your credit cards, bank cards, and other important information that is in your wallet. If your wallet or purse is stolen, you have the pertinent information at your fingertips. Do not put this list on your computer. Keep it in an "important paper" file.
10. Change automatic deposits/withdrawals from your old bank account to your new bank account before your close your old account.
We still have a couple of these yet to do, but we're making progress!
More on moving:
I'm a bit under the weather today - a nice day to stay inside and sip tea! But Christmas is looming, so here's another one in my series on destressing Christmas:
Have you ever found yourself flitting about from one holiday event to another, just because your were invited, or it seemed like a nice thing to do? Unless you plan out your holiday calendar, you may find yourself tossed about by everyone else’s agendas, priorities and events. By determining what is important to you and your family, you will be able to make sure your family's high-priority events get top-billing on your schedule.
Sit down as a family and talk about what each individual wants to have included in the holiday schedule – decorating, special outside events, baking, making gifts, reading stories, watching movies together, shopping, sending Christmas cards, hosting a party – whatever says celebration to each one.
At the same time, discuss all the holiday events from school, sports teams, church, work, friends and family. Which ones do your family members want to attend? Prioritize them, if necessary.
Take your list and schedule in those activities your family wants to include in their holiday celebration. Evaluate: Are your scheduled events going to allow everyone to get enough sleep and rest? If not, rethink things.
Create margins and boundaries. Know your own limitations as well as those of your family members. Make sure to schedule in some “breather dates” into your calendar so you don’t over-schedule. If someone invites you to do something else, you can honestly say you have something already scheduled – it’s true! Even if it's staying home and watching Christmas movies in your PJs with the fam!
Making a plan and writing it on your calendar reduces stress – it’s on paper for you and the family to see and anticipate. In addition, you are being intentional about how you are spending your holiday season and doing those things that are important and meaningful to you and your family. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
What do you like to include in your Christmas calendar?
More on reducing Christmas stress:
Posts
