Get Organized! Tip of the Day: Friday

Clean out your drawers or cabinets regularly. You just might find "new" items. This helps you to be frugal too, as you will not buy duplicates of items you have already!! Thank you for the inspiration for this one Latasha Wilson Lane!!

I have personally done this and found food items I didn't remember I had, luckily they were non-perishables. Its always nice finding things you can use, no matter what they are. 

Get Organized! Tip of the Day: Thursday

"Not sure where your day went? Do a Time Study!! Every hour, write down everything you do during the day. Try it for a week, then see what you did with your time. This will help you manage your time better in the future!!"

 

I am going to start this first thing Monday! I would love to do it today, because, I like most people always wonder where the time went and I'm not even half way finished with what I originally set out to do.  I'm thinking of making up an excel file that I will of course share here as well. 

 

Get Organized! Tip of the Day: Wednesday

Have a project "too overwhelming" to begin? Break it up into smaller portions, prioritize and get to work. It helps eliminate the stress of it.

I have had to do this with my daughter's party. I could never be an event's planner, although I have done in the past. I have tons of ideas, but there is just way too much work involved. 

Get Organized! Tip of the Day: Tuesday

"Be realistic about deadlines!! Work diligently, but don't over commit!! When you do something, you want it done right, not halfway because of so many other things to do!!"

Lord is this one speaking to me today. I have so many people who depend on me for so many things. I sometimes just say "I am everything to everybody" and deal with it. 

Get Organized! Tip of the Day: Monday

This is the beginning of a daily tip, borrowed from my friend Latisha, featured in the post below. I an going to call this daily segment "Tish's Tips".

"Go Green, be organized and be efficient by printing on both sides of the paper. Save the Earth and your time!! No need to look for Page 2, just flip it over."

I personally always print on scrap paper whenever possible, and I also have a stack of recycled paper on the shelf behind my desk at work.

Get Organized! Tip of the Day:

I borrowed this from a lovely frugal friend of mine, owner of Unique Wirez, the place for the most unique jewelry you'll ever own, Actress, Model, Mom, Writer, and all around great person, Latisha Williams! I loved this saying so much I had to "steal" it.

While working on a project, schedule time for distractions like checking email, returning calls or visiting others. Once refreshed, get back to work.

I am thinking about having her do a daily tip for me, because I love her so much and the tips are extremely helpful too.

Menu Planning Monday...Week of September 20th

I copied this format from another organizer, Laura, author of I'm an organizing junkie!

Monday

Meatloaf Sandwiches
Munchos

Tuesday

Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Wednesday

Something vegetarian
(haven't decided yet)

Thursday

Tacozagna (what a way to sneak veggies into my kid)
Tortilla chips

Friday

Fried Tilapia
French Fries

Saturday

Make your own pizza

Sunday

Southern Fried Chicken (Ala Paula Deen)
Mac and Cheese
Corn

Borrowed from another organizing junkie!

Do you love it?

Do you use it?

Do you have the room to store it?

Those are some of the questions you need to ask about your stuff on a regular basis.  If the answer is no to any one of those questions then it's time to share that stuff with someone else or trash it.  Otherwise  it's just going to pile up in your home, you are going to trip over it, you aren't going to be able to find what you need, the pile is only going to continue to grow and you are going to get frustrated and overwhelmed when the weight of it becomes more than you can bearphysically and mentally.

Be on alertI'm on pile patrol.

source: Keith Williamson

My mission?  To eliminate piles everywhere and in the process create organizing junkies all around the world.  Yahoo!  I want you to take back your counter tops, your floors, your guest room beds, your dressers, your nightstands, your closets, your bookshelves and any other surface you can no longer see.   It's time!  Let's get excited about this.

Are you an organizing junkie wanna be?

About once a month I'd like to honor a deserving reader by presenting them with a special "I'm an Org Junkie too!" badge and perhaps a prize or two.  I want you at any time to email me with your before and after pictures.  I want you to be proud of your accomplishments and want to show them off.  I'll be particularly interested in stories of struggle and then triumph, of the organizational journey that led you to becoming addicted to all that living a life of simplicity and order has to offer.  These stories then become inspiration to others that are struggling and perhaps need to hear a success story or two to encourage them along on their own journeys. It's a beautiful organizational cycle you see :)

Note:  You don't need to have a blog to participate but please know that by sharing your pictures with me through email you are giving me permission to share them with others through my blog (although anonymously is fine).  Only one entry a month will be selected to be featured.

In other news:

Two weekends ago I offered up a last minute challenge to encourage some weekend purging.  Occasionally I will continue to do this.  Thanks to all of you lovely ladies who were purging machines and emailed me with your purge pile pictures.  I selected a winner at random and that person is reader Denise!  She did a great job!  Denise I'll be sending you your Peter Walsh DVD as soon as I get your address.  Thanks!

Do you want to be an Organizing Junkie too? is a post from: Im an Organizing Junkie

Plan to Eat ~ making menu planning easier
Dine Without Whine ~ a menu planning service designed for busy families
Frugal Mom's Guide to Once a Month Cooking

http://orgjunkie.com/2010/09/do-you-want-to-be-an-organizing-junkie-too.html

My Menu for the Week for the Week of September 13

A week of re-purposed meals

Monday

Leftovers from last Sunday

Tuesday

Baked Tilapia
Orzo
Veggies

Wednesday

Fish Tacos
Tortilla Chips
Spanish Rice

Thursday

Corned Beef
Cabbage

Friday

Corned Beef Eggrolls
Noodles

Saturday

Red Beans and Rice with Sausage
Cornbread

Sunday

Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

Make one meal...make another

I hate leftovers as much as the next girl, but a re-purposed meal can be just as good the second time around.  Some examples are...

Southern fried chicken (ala Paula Dean) one day turns into chicken caesar salad or a pita wrap with your favorite veggies the next.

One of my favorite meals is baked tilapia, orzo, and grilled veggies. I can eat the veggies alone, but the orzo takes on a new life when you add some pesto, mushrooms, and a little italian cheese for a great vegetarian dinner.  The tilapia makes a whole new meal too as excellent fish tacos, just dont forget the avocado.  Speaking of tacos, taco meat can be re-purposed for taco salad or make it yourself calzones. All you need is some store bought biscuits and extra salsa for dipping!

Corned beef and cabbage can get boring after a few days, so, lets use the leftovers to make some corned beef eggrolls. This is a new one I'm going to try later in the week. Another great eggroll is one made with leftover turkey or chicken. Mix with some stuffing, leftover or made fresh, of course some cranberries, and dipped in what else but gravy!

If any of you can think of other meals to make use of leftovers, please let me know.

Borrowed Tip

I came across this link while searching for something else and this definitely fits in here.

http://completeorganizingsolutions.com/2010/09/6-frugal-containers-you-may-already-own.html

Salad Week!

Menu for the week of September 6...Happy Labor Day!


Monday


Taco Salad
Tortilla Chips


Tuesday


Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad


Wednesday


Eggplant Parmesan
Spinach Salad with mandarin oranges and cranberries


Thursday


Greek salad with Chicken
Pita bread


Friday


Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Munchos


Saturday


Pizza Pasta Salad
(an experiment by Raja)


Sunday


Crescent dogs
Potato Salad
Corn

Organizing the Closet

I always put my clothes in order by type, then by color. For instance all my skirts are together, jean, dressy, and colorful. All my white shirts together, then sheer, and all others. I don't actually have a closet, I guess whomever built our house didn't expect for people to live in it, so instead, I use this clothes rack I bought at amazon. I actually bought two and will use the other as a drying rack in my basement once I move.

I have tons of shoes, so many that I sometimes don't even know where they all are. However, the ones that do get the pleasure of residing in my room are all organized neatly under the clothes rack.  Flip flops in order by color, style and height. Tennis shoes have their own space, mostly in the back for now since they don't get much wear.  Flats are stacked on top of each other with the lightest colors on top.  I have many wedges and heels which sadly do not fit well in this small space, so along with the extra clothes rack, I bought this shoe rack, that holds 50 pair, although I have waaaay more than that, but thank goodness for the changing of seasons. It was cheapest at lakeside.com, where I also got most of the things for my house from.

My jewelry is another source of clutter in my room.  I try to keep them in their place, which is hard sometimes because I probably have more jewelry than I do shoes. I put similar sets and colors together. I love butterflies so all the butterfly jewelry gets its own row in my jewelry organizer, which has separate clear pockets on front and front and back and a hanger on top to be hung in the closet or on the back of a door. I got mine from Avon years ago and it was a very welcome edition to my growing collection of organizers. I would have posted a pic of mine, but it doesn't look too "organized" right now :-).

Once I do move into my own house, most of these things will change, but only the space in which they are. I will finally know where all my shoes are and my clothes will have room to groove. Maybe I wont even have to pack them away when the season changes, wouldn't that be lovely.

Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!

The best way to save the most money is by using coupons, but even they have to be organized too! I have mine in order by category, and then by expiration date, with the most recent expiring ones in the front.







I got this lovely coupon holder from ebay and I just can't live without it.

Sharing coupons is also a great way to help someone else out. So, if you have a coupon that you know you wont use before its expiration, give it to a friend or while in the store, leave it near the product the coupon is for. Someone did this at Walmart on my last visit and I was most appreciative.

My Menu for the Week of August 23rd

I start my weeks with Monday, just because it looks better on my board...


Monday
Meatballs
Rice
Black Eyed Peas
French Style Green Beans


Tuesday
Tacos
Tortilla Chips
Mexican Rice


Wednesday
Do-It-Yourself Pizza


Thursday
Leftovers of the week


Friday
Fried Tilapia
French Fries


Saturday
Out for Dinner


Sunday
Spaghetti 
Garlic Toast

7 Ways to Organize Your Kitchen

Welcome to the first edition of the Frugal Organizer. I am an organization freak, or so I've been told, so I hope some of the things I post here will help someone else become more organized, although not as crazy as me :-)


1. When putting groceries away in the pantry, put multiple items behind each other instead of next to, and stack cans of the same item on top of each other, this saves space and time when looking for things later.


2. Keep an inventory of things you have, which helps in planning meals later.


3. Update the inventory at least once a month. I use an application called My Pantry, available on the android market. Read more about it here.


4. Write out all the meals you can make with the items you currently have.  I keep mine on a dry erase board that is stuck on my refrigerator.


5.  Make a weekly menu (I'll post mine separately).


6.  Freeze leftovers for easy way to revisit a favorite meal.


7.  Prep and freeze any produce that will eventually be cooked.


More to come...