A few months ago, I was making my shopping list for groceries and household items. And I realized that I was nearly out of several things: dishwasher soap, diapers, baby wipes, stain remover spray, and tape, to name a few. I hadn't done a good job of keeping track of those things, and now I had to scramble to find the best price on those items. I managed to find a sale on the dishwasher soap, and I found a coupon for diapers, but everything else? I paid full price. photo … [Read more...]
How I Store Pantry Staples
When I'm putting things away in my pantry, function usually wins over form. I need it to work more than I need it to look pretty. But I do still enjoy seeing things lined up neat and tidy, and I try to choose containers and storage options that look nice, even if they don't all match. Here are some of the ways I store my pantry staples. Jars! Some canning jars I purchased when they were on sale. I also saved some old applesauce jars, although the best price on applesauce where we shop … [Read more...]
How To Save Produce Before It Goes Bad
We've all had it happen. You pull open the veggie drawer in your refrigerator to find a wilted, liquidy mass of spinach. Or your tomatoes are growing fuzz on the counter. Or your bananas have gone beyond ripe into fruit fly heaven. But there are ways to save that produce, even if you're not sure what you want to use it for in the future. Freeze it. This is my favorite way to save produce, because you can freeze almost anything! Most of the time, if I have something extra I'm not going … [Read more...]
Conquer Your Clutter
Today is January 25th, which means we are already almost a month into 2017. Whether you've chosen big goals for this year, or made some resolutions, or chosen a word for the year, how are those plans going? Have you made progress? Or has your initial motivation kind of fizzled out? Earlier this week, I had one of those horrible, rock bottom days. I felt like I was failing hard at pretty much every aspect of my life: mothering, being a good wife, homeschooling, running a business, keeping … [Read more...]
How To Organize Pretty Much Anything
One of the most popular New Year's Resolutions is to get organized. But what does that really mean? Does it simply mean putting things back where they belong and straightening up? Does it mean going through everything and getting rid of a bunch of it? Does it mean finding brand new containers to fit all of your stuff? Depending on the person, any of these could be right. Straightening up is a great first step. It gives you a base point to see what you have, and also shows you where … [Read more...]