Saving money at home can be difficult. With so much competition for your hard-earned cash, it can be a challenge to figure out how to manage our personal finances effectively. But I've learned a secret to saving money at home. And once you figure it out, saving money gets a lot easier. … [Read more...]
You know the drill. Keep, sell, toss. Only keep what you truly love or find to be useful. Ask yourself if your stuff sparks joy. All of these mantras to help you declutter, and yet we still struggle with getting rid of our excess stuff. … [Read more...]
One of my favorite organizing techniques is to force myself to use it or lose it. … [Read more...]
On a daily basis I try to stay on top of keeping things picked up and floor and counters clean, which keeps it from feeling chaotic, but I needed to develop some kind of schedule to do some special cleaning projects and deep clean some rooms even further than a daily clean. After a summer of the kids home, things really started to get neglected, so I made up this checklist out of necessity. … [Read more...]
This is the 14th year I have had children going to school and the first one that my oldest did not head back with the rest. (He is heading to the Air Force.) While it is weird for me to have one all done with back to school, one thing that is not changing is the list of my top 3 back-to-school organization tools. Each of these is tried and true; used each year without fail to get our (now 3) kids through another year of school and activities. And they don't cost very much money at all! … [Read more...]
One of the top questions I get asked about whenever I talk about getting rid of stuff and wax poetically about less stuff, more happiness, is "What do you do about all the kids' toys?" I don't know that I know a perfect solution. We have three boys who LOVE their stuff, and an ample supply of doting relatives who spoil them with all kinds of gifts. Keeping their rooms under control is an ongoing battle. But we did stumble across a way of dealing with kids toys that seems to be working for … [Read more...]
I used to carry tiny little purses. Then I had kids. Now I just can't leave the security of a big purse behind. It holds the necessities - like my money and my phone - but it also holds numerous niceties that make traveling with children easier. I've had more than one friend and family member hand me my purse and comment on its heft. It really is packed to the gills. And on more than one frustrating occasion, I've had to dump the whole thing out to find the one little thing I … [Read more...]