Planning the Challenge

Now that I've taken on this huge THING I'd better make a plan. Because I know myself. If I don't figure out a game plan I'll find a way to quickly talk myself out of it.

I just love the perspective being 45 has brought me.

Today I will plot my course.

That's almost scarier to me than the actual day by day action that this will require!

The first thing I thought about was the need to stock up a bit on easy dinners. Menu planning is hard around here. Sometimes the days turn out very differently than planned. I've learned to utilize my plan by simple having all the ingredients and at least 3 simple dinners on the plan. I grew up eating what was put in front of you. Sometimes it was really boring. Other times it was really great. Nevertheless you ate what was there. Dh has a different attitude regarding food. Being the creative soul that he is his eating is often mood driven. He'll often say, "That just doesn't sound good right now." At 4 o'clock in the afternoon!!! For years this drove me nuts. I finally figured out to always have one of his simple favorite meals always available. I also learned to say, "Do you know how much time that particular thing you want takes to make?" We're both getting better about it.

Back to the task at hand.

Another part of this planning is that I have about 5-6 days being out of town to work in to the scenario. And another time consuming financial project to deliver.

Some people would say that taking on this challenge is unrealistic. Probably. But I'm tired of waiting for a huge chunk of time to become available to get started. That simply will never happen. That's one of the reason my home is in the state that it is! So, the buck stops here.

Yes, it will be a busy month but I can do busy for 1 month in order to get some peace and order back in my home. I can rest in March.

A familiar hymn is playing in my head right now.....

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven....."

This venture is going to require sacrifice. It's going to require me to not simply sit down at 7pm. Creative projects will need to be put on hold until March. But I think if I give myself a realistic stopping point each day it will help. And I also have to remember that the kids are probably going to want to take a break before each day is done but now is the time for teaching by example.

Cross the finish line each day before sitting down.

The 29 Day Organizing Challenge

Begin date: February 1 End date: February 29

Details can be found over at orgjunkie/challenge

I am often inspired and intimidated at the same time by this idea.

Laura over at The Organizing Junkie has put out a call for entries in her new challenge. And although the whole idea kind of scares me to death I've decided to jump in and give it a go.

My house is BEYOND cluttered. I took the before pictures of several rooms this afternoon and I'm not sure I have the courage to post them. Every single room is way out of control. And it makes it hard to get anything done.

So I guess the only way to go from where I'm at is UP.

The challenge is a minimum of 1 room. My goal is to really tackle the entire house. My theory in setting such a huge goal is this: If I actually get the entire house done my life will be easier. If I only get 1/2 the house done my life will be easier. I've decided to hold at least 2 yard sales during the month. Whatever is left after each sale goes immediately to the thrift store for donation. We simply have too much stuff. And I'd like to see a little financial return on a good portion of it leaving.

Goodbye clutter! Hello peace!

When is busy bad if you're being/doing good?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately.

I have been looking for ways to cut down on my obligations and I've decided that I'm doomed. The doomed feeling came today when someone approached me (in the middle of the Bountiful Baskets delivery which I run) about being the precinct leader for our area of town. I laughed at her! I really had no right to laugh at her but I did it anyway. I've also recently been approached about being on the Planning and Zoning Commission for our town. And on the board of directors for our local library.

I have come to the conclusion that when you are semi-capable and don't pass the buck people remember that. And then when they see something that needs doing they call you.

As I've tried to come up with ways to cut down a bit I keep having this sneaking feeling that no matter what I do there will always be some worthy cause that presents itself in front of me. And it's nearly impossible to say no when I see that it REALLY needs doing.

But I have come up with one thing that will make a difference. That thing is to be super organized in my shopping trips to the grocery stores. Lately I've been spending more time than necessary doing this so this past week I challenged myself. My goal is to be in and out of a store in 15 minutes. I live in a very friendly place where you see lots of people you know at the store. That equals lots of time exercising the gift of the gab and not being home with my children. So to get around this I have decided to apply the "early bird gets the worm" theory. If I hit the stores early and only get what's on the list I can usually be in and out in the 15 minute time window.

Another thing I can do to slow my life down is to actually do something while I spend time with my husband and children in the evening. I know that sounds like it makes no sense. I like to crochet, knit, sew and embroider and rarely take the time to do those things. I have lots of supplies to work with just waiting for me to enjoy them but I seem to convince myself that I don't have time. Well, I decided to apply an idea I read about in a wonderful home management book titled, "Managers of Their Homes" by Teri Maxwell. She suggests that you actually schedule time for your productive hobbies. I've looked at my life at every possible angle and I've learned that there isn't really a time slot that I can reliably schedule this in during the day but I do have time at night that my hands are free. I'm not saying that I'm going to have the "go-go-go!" attitude regarding my hobbies but I've purposely put a project or two next to where I sit so that I actually remember to do something I really enjoy. These projects are very relaxing to me and productive at the same time. And they are a very frugal form of entertainment! Win-Win!

So, I've come to the conclusion that busy is not bad if you're being/doing good.

"Change the World" with your spare change

I just found something that I couldn't keep quiet about.

I have been donating some of my free stuff from my Walgreens trips to the local food bank here and there.

Now I am really going to strive to do this weekly.

I found a wonderful little idea at a site called http://www.savingaddiction.com/

Did you know that the average home generates about $5.00 in change each week? The ladies over at Saving Addiction have a plan for you to use that spare change to help others. You set aside that money specifically to purchase items to donate. They encourage you to make this a weekly practice and see the difference that you can make with your own eyes. They donate monthly but I like to do it weekly.

I have been very encouraged by what I've been able to give lately. It's a wonderful thing and it's a very tangible way to give a little more.

Dust off that dehydrator and dry those bananas

I recently had a huge amount of quickly ripening bananas and as I went to toss them in the freezer for fruit shakes I noticed that I probably couldn't fit one more banana in there if I tried.

As I closed the freezer door I stopped for a moment and the thought to just throw them out actually crossed my mind. Shame on me!

Then I remembered my dehydrator!

Phew! I almost did a major unfrugal thing! The dehydrator had been gathering dust and so I went and rescued it from it's sorry state. A quick rinse and it was ready to go.

Have you ever eaten dried bananas? The so called "banana chips" you find in the store are simply terrible. YUCK! But bananas dried at home are simply DIVINE! Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised at the night and day difference.

It's super simple. Here's how :

Cut your very ripe bananas in half and then cut each half lengthwise. Lay each piece on your tray and then dehydrate at a low temperature (I do mine at 95 degrees). Mine usually take about 30 hours. When they are finished they will not be rock hard but should not be the least bit squishy. If you eat one it will be delightfully chewy and super sweet. The true banana flavor isn't lost when you dehydrate them this way. In fact the flavor will be intensified. And, dare I say it, they are such a treat you might be willing to skip the cookie someone offers you.

I have a friend who runs her dehydrator most days and she has managed to build up a good supply of all kinds of things. Her reasoning is that there is no sense in paying premium prices for dehydrated fruits and veggies when with about 15 minutes of work she can have 12 trays going. I also like another part of her logic. Her dehydrated food takes up a fraction of the space to store. And she's not waiting for the world to fall apart to use what she's dried. She uses dehydrated foods at least 5 days a week. Veggies rehydrate beautifully in soups and stews. The fruit is a quick and healthy snack for her children and all their friends. The list goes on.

So get out that dehydrator and reduce the amount of food that might be wasted.

Happy dehydrating!

Go check out Jamie Cooks It Up!

Every once in a while I come across a site and immediately grab their button and post it over here.

Jamie Cooks It Up is one of those spots.

All of you who know me know that I LOVE FOOD. And when I come across a site that has great ideas that I immediately want to try I just have to do a little shouting about it. I clicked through to her site from some where else and was so totally inspired by the picture of the cake she made for her daughter's birthday/baptism that I'm thinking of pulling out my decorating tips this very minute! It was simply beautiful! And when I saw the tutorial on how she did it I almost couldn't believe it.

So go check out her site and start producing beautiful birthday cakes for you and yours at a fraction of the cost of buying them.

I love frugal fun things!

Keeping up with your coupons

I took a little break from couponing and I've now returned to it. And while I was taking a break I was careful to at least file my inserts by date. If I have the time to collate and staple the inserts on Sunday afternoon it helps with cutting later as I need them.

So...your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to get a box with a few hanging file folders. Put in a stapler, some large paper clips, a pair of scissors, and a fat tip black marker. When you receive your coupons in the Sunday paper (preferably multiple copies) take two seconds and write the insert initials SS (for Smart Source) or RP (for Red Plum) on the front of the insert and the month and date (for example 3/28). If you don't have time for the next step then file at this point. Use the large paper clips to hold it all neatly together. If you have about 5-10 minutes more lay out the inserts and collate each page. As you collate look at the pages and staple what you think you MIGHT use. Put it all back together and file it. You then only have to cut once instead of multiple times for each "like" coupon. If you don't want to cut at this point then simple file the inserts. Use a coupon site like www.pinchingyourpennies.com to see what the deals are for each week. Then you simply pull your inserts and cut only what you will use that week.

It's a simple start that will save hundreds of dollars each month and several thousand dollars each year.

How can I make this kind of promise?

I do it each and every week!

And you can too!

And it's REALLY fun to save that kind of money!