Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday's Deep Thoughts
The remote is too complicated, which is why we got the ONE simple one, then it broke and we were lost!!!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Menu Planning
Menu planning is the key to making dinner work for us. It might not be for everyone, but I cannot imagine why it would not work for anyone!
Every Sunday, we plan what we are going to have for dinner each night until next Sunday. It makes the time before dinner so much less stressful. Who has not thought at 5:00PM “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?” And most of the time even if I can think of something I want for dinner, I usually don’t have all the right ingredients. (Sound familiar?) We may not make the planned meal on the planned night, but if we make a change, it is just a swap, so we have all the stuff and we know what we are having in advance still.
The other good thing about planning in advance is that it makes budgeting and spending less at the grocery store so much easier. And who does not want to spend less at the grocery store? Especially with prices what they are now? You only have to buy what you are going to need and use, rather than just what you *might* use or want. We have saved so much time and money with this method. I have been doing it for 3 years now and it makes huge difference. It makes it so much easier when you have some other issue going on. When we don’t do it (because there are some weeks where Sunday just gets insane) we can definitely see the difference. The stress and daily visits to the grocery store tell the story.
Every Sunday, we plan what we are going to have for dinner each night until next Sunday. It makes the time before dinner so much less stressful. Who has not thought at 5:00PM “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?” And most of the time even if I can think of something I want for dinner, I usually don’t have all the right ingredients. (Sound familiar?) We may not make the planned meal on the planned night, but if we make a change, it is just a swap, so we have all the stuff and we know what we are having in advance still.
The other good thing about planning in advance is that it makes budgeting and spending less at the grocery store so much easier. And who does not want to spend less at the grocery store? Especially with prices what they are now? You only have to buy what you are going to need and use, rather than just what you *might* use or want. We have saved so much time and money with this method. I have been doing it for 3 years now and it makes huge difference. It makes it so much easier when you have some other issue going on. When we don’t do it (because there are some weeks where Sunday just gets insane) we can definitely see the difference. The stress and daily visits to the grocery store tell the story.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
DVR
If there is one thing that an organized TV-watcher loves, it is organizing even that aspect of her life. And I have done it. I use my DVR so much now… For lack of a better term, I will call it Tivo, because that is what it is, but it can be any service. I just happen to have Tivo and we call it that…
I will admit now that I went into the whole Tivo thing kicking and screaming several years ago. We were definitely early adopters on this thing. My DH really wanted it and so I gave in but thought I would never need it or want it. Let me just tell you, it has completely changed the way I watch TV! I hate to admit that I love it, but I do!
First of all, we almost never watch live TV anymore. Even a show we like that we want to end at about the right time (American Idol, Survivor) we typically start about 20 minutes into it, so we can skip all the commercials and just watch the show. I am sure that I am an advertisers’ worst nightmare, but oh well. I have learned that we can watch a 30 minute show in 22 minutes and a 60 minute show in 40 minutes. This is how much non-show TV we watch every hour, folks!
Then there is the Season Pass Manager. Anyone who has one might know what I am talking about, but first of all, you can pick programs you like or want by name and never know what time or channel it is on. It is already better than a videotape or a VHS. The other thing is that it will record all or new episodes that you want, not just a single episode. The best part is that you can then prioritize the shows that you want. My husband and I still do not agree on how you prioritize items (and we are not going to go over that argument again…) The worst part is that when you change the order or anything on the season pass, there is a 10 minute wait.
Having this DVR has completely changed the way I watch TV and I like it a lot! When I first got it, I was all excited about maybe being able to pause live TV, since we had young kids. But what I had planned to do and what I actually do is much different.
I will admit now that I went into the whole Tivo thing kicking and screaming several years ago. We were definitely early adopters on this thing. My DH really wanted it and so I gave in but thought I would never need it or want it. Let me just tell you, it has completely changed the way I watch TV! I hate to admit that I love it, but I do!
First of all, we almost never watch live TV anymore. Even a show we like that we want to end at about the right time (American Idol, Survivor) we typically start about 20 minutes into it, so we can skip all the commercials and just watch the show. I am sure that I am an advertisers’ worst nightmare, but oh well. I have learned that we can watch a 30 minute show in 22 minutes and a 60 minute show in 40 minutes. This is how much non-show TV we watch every hour, folks!
Then there is the Season Pass Manager. Anyone who has one might know what I am talking about, but first of all, you can pick programs you like or want by name and never know what time or channel it is on. It is already better than a videotape or a VHS. The other thing is that it will record all or new episodes that you want, not just a single episode. The best part is that you can then prioritize the shows that you want. My husband and I still do not agree on how you prioritize items (and we are not going to go over that argument again…) The worst part is that when you change the order or anything on the season pass, there is a 10 minute wait.
Having this DVR has completely changed the way I watch TV and I like it a lot! When I first got it, I was all excited about maybe being able to pause live TV, since we had young kids. But what I had planned to do and what I actually do is much different.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Mystery of Pee
I know it doesn’t seem like it should be a mystery, but I have been toilet training my youngest forever now. It has been 18 months, which is way too long. He has been pretty good for the last 12 months or so, but still makes me wipe him (GROSS!) and does not have perfect aim yet when it comes to using the toilet for #1. (I am trying to be politically correct, but it is so hard!)
Anyway, he hits is more often than not now, but there are times when our half bath off the kitchen smells like a truck stop. Or a frat house. Or a gas station. You can insert your own worst experience in a bathroom here. But I know that when it comes out it is just barely yellow and after a few days, or sometimes even a few hours, there is a dried on bit of DARK YELLOW gunk on the bottom ledge of the toilet, near the floor, but not on it. I could not figure this out for the longest time. You may be in the same place as I am. So after a few weeks, I asked my husband, somewhat rhetorically, what this could be. Lo and behold, he actually had an answer.
When the kid pees and misses, it goes to that spot. And this is the part that eluded me. THEN THE WATER IN IT EVAPORATES, leaving the darker yellow gunk. Who knew?
All I know is that I will be so excited when everyone pees in the toilet and makes it and I don’t have to sit in pee. And since the older ones are too lazy to always lift the seat, that might be when they all move out of the house! (I have actually sat on a wet seat twice in the last month. EWWWWWW!)
Anyway, he hits is more often than not now, but there are times when our half bath off the kitchen smells like a truck stop. Or a frat house. Or a gas station. You can insert your own worst experience in a bathroom here. But I know that when it comes out it is just barely yellow and after a few days, or sometimes even a few hours, there is a dried on bit of DARK YELLOW gunk on the bottom ledge of the toilet, near the floor, but not on it. I could not figure this out for the longest time. You may be in the same place as I am. So after a few weeks, I asked my husband, somewhat rhetorically, what this could be. Lo and behold, he actually had an answer.
When the kid pees and misses, it goes to that spot. And this is the part that eluded me. THEN THE WATER IN IT EVAPORATES, leaving the darker yellow gunk. Who knew?
All I know is that I will be so excited when everyone pees in the toilet and makes it and I don’t have to sit in pee. And since the older ones are too lazy to always lift the seat, that might be when they all move out of the house! (I have actually sat on a wet seat twice in the last month. EWWWWWW!)
Monday, January 26, 2009
Beverage Center
Do you love coffee in the morning? Well, really, this works for just about any beverage, but coffee sounds so much better, doesn’t it? And lately I have been really into iced coffee and this is perfect for that!
Many of you have probably done this already and do not really think of it as organizing, but it is! I did not do it for years and am now kicking myself for not thinking of it earlier! (Or reading about it somewhere and just doing it!)
I keep all my items for beverages together in the same cabinet. (Picture here)
That sounds rather obvious, but for so many people it is a matter of “do what I say and not as I do” here. I keep the coffee maker just under that same cabinet. I also pre-set the coffee maker the night before to start at 6:15AM so that it is done when I get up at 6:30. That is such a cool feature. Washing it out and refilling it for the next day is part of my dinner routine. It works so well. I keep the dry coffee, the artificial sweetener (in a cute crock!), the non-dairy creamer, and the coffee cups that I use in the cabinet just above the coffee maker. It is so easy to find everything, even when I am dead-tired in the morning!
And since that is my “beverage cabinet” I also keep all the tea bags there, as well as the dry Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, and anything else that does not need to be refrigerated that is associated with drinking. (Not THAT kind of drinking, but I am sure you could put that there too. Should I be worried if mine will not all fit there?)
Many of you have probably done this already and do not really think of it as organizing, but it is! I did not do it for years and am now kicking myself for not thinking of it earlier! (Or reading about it somewhere and just doing it!)
I keep all my items for beverages together in the same cabinet. (Picture here)
That sounds rather obvious, but for so many people it is a matter of “do what I say and not as I do” here. I keep the coffee maker just under that same cabinet. I also pre-set the coffee maker the night before to start at 6:15AM so that it is done when I get up at 6:30. That is such a cool feature. Washing it out and refilling it for the next day is part of my dinner routine. It works so well. I keep the dry coffee, the artificial sweetener (in a cute crock!), the non-dairy creamer, and the coffee cups that I use in the cabinet just above the coffee maker. It is so easy to find everything, even when I am dead-tired in the morning!
And since that is my “beverage cabinet” I also keep all the tea bags there, as well as the dry Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, and anything else that does not need to be refrigerated that is associated with drinking. (Not THAT kind of drinking, but I am sure you could put that there too. Should I be worried if mine will not all fit there?)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday's Deep Thoughts
It seems as if the people who love self-help books the most need them the least. Is that because they have read a lot of them and made themselves better or is it because those kinds of people want to be just a little bit better and those who really need them know that it is a lost cause?
Thrift Stores
Volunteering at the thrift store, which I do for 2 hours a week, is the best thing ever for someone like me. It is like perpetually organizing someone else’s closet! I am sure I am the only one who loves being a “sorter” in the back room. It never seems to end and people keep bringing stuff in, but I love it! If I can do it while listening to my ipod, all the better!
I originally started to do it because it would make me go in there and I wanted to get cheap jeans for the kids, who get holes in the knees, even as pre-teens. I don’t get it. But I digress. Anyway, I originally just wanted to get jeans, but I ended up finding so much more, mostly name brand stuff, for like $2 each. I could not beat it. I am now wishing I had been doing this for years now because I could have saved a lot of money!
Anyway, back to the volunteering thing. I just finished my third stint there and I am still loving it. I would think if the novelty was going to wear off, it would have done it last week or this week and it has not! So if you really like organizing your own closet and that of others, like kids or other family or whatever, then I highly recommend spending just a little time working at a thrift store. The management there will be so grateful and it will fill, at least partially, your need to organize someone else!
I originally started to do it because it would make me go in there and I wanted to get cheap jeans for the kids, who get holes in the knees, even as pre-teens. I don’t get it. But I digress. Anyway, I originally just wanted to get jeans, but I ended up finding so much more, mostly name brand stuff, for like $2 each. I could not beat it. I am now wishing I had been doing this for years now because I could have saved a lot of money!
Anyway, back to the volunteering thing. I just finished my third stint there and I am still loving it. I would think if the novelty was going to wear off, it would have done it last week or this week and it has not! So if you really like organizing your own closet and that of others, like kids or other family or whatever, then I highly recommend spending just a little time working at a thrift store. The management there will be so grateful and it will fill, at least partially, your need to organize someone else!
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