Cynthia Ewer's Blog, page 57
February 4, 2014
Challenge Day 31: Tame Floating Paper with an Action File
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on February 4, 2014Is your dining room table a magnet for stray papers?
With piles ranging from incoming mail to children's homework, the dining table can quickly become buried.
How to tame them? Try an action file!
A sort-and-drop solution to paper clutter, an action file makes it easy to store and organize stray papers.
Today's Assignment
Tame Floating Paper with an Action File
Paper piles can be pernicious--and when they start piling up on your dining room table, it's eas...
February 3, 2014
Challenge Day 30: Identify Activity Centers
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on February 3, 2014What's the state of your dining room?
While some households boast a separate room used only for formal meals, for most of us, the reality is a lot more complicated.
Today in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge, we'll consider the activities that take place in the dining room or dining area.
Identifying the room's activity centers is the first step toward an organized dining space!
Today's Assignment:
Identify Dining Room Activity Centers
When it comes to mo...
February 2, 2014
Challenge Day 29: It's Dining Room Week
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on February 2, 2014It's a new week in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge: we're diving into dining areas with Dining Room Week.
The dining room table is a busy center of family life. It's where the family eats--and does a whole lot more. This week, we'll declutter, deep-clean and organize the dining room or dining area, and tackle any associated activity centers.
Ready? Time to bring order to the dining room in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge!
Today's Assignment:
Dining We...
January 31, 2014
Chill Out! Cut Energy Use In Refrigerator And Freezer
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 31, 2014With food prices soaring and energy costs at record highs, it's time for an energy-saving tune up for your refrigerator and freezer.
Keeping food fresh--while conserving energy--can bring a helpful boost to the strained food budget.
Try these tips to minimize energy use and save money on groceries:
Fill the freezer, but give the fridge some air
The freezer works most efficiently when packed as full as possible. Need to fill in some space? Tuck extra ice f...
Challenge Day 27: The Magic of Menu Planning
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 31, 2014How to save on grocery bills, week in and week out?
Hint: the answer isn't couponing. It's not refunding. It's menu planning.
Smart shoppers know that the menu planning process keeps costs down at the supermarket--and cuts time in the kitchen each day. Today, we'll review the basics of menu planning in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge.
Ready? Set? Plan!
Today's Assignment:
Brush Up on Menu Planning Basics
During Kitchen Week, we've worked hard to declutte...
January 30, 2014
Organized Pantry: A Beginner's Guide to Pantry Pride
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 30, 2014A working pantry? It's the secret weapon of a well-organized kitchen.
A planned reserve of foodstuffs and sundries used in the home, a pantry saves time, money and stress in the kitchen.
Tap the pantry for unexpected meals and reduce trips to the supermarket.
Stock it with frugal finds to lower grocery costs.
Set aside a supply of food and sundries for a rainy day and protect your family against weather emergencies or financial dislocation.
Properly ma...
Challenge Day 26: Boost Your Pantry Power
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 30, 2014What's the difference between an organized dinner hour and chaos in the kitchen? A well-stocked pantry!
A pantry is not a place, it's an attitude--and you have one if you have stockpiled food, health and beauty aids and paper goods in your home.
Today in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge, we'll boost our pantry power with tips for starting, growing and organizing the pantry.
Today's Assignment:
Brush Up Pantry Power
Smart cooks know that a well-managed pan...
January 29, 2014
Challenge Day 25: Clean Out the Freezer
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 29, 2014Cruising into the new year during Preview Week, we cleaned out the refrigerator.
Now that it's Kitchen Week, it's time to take on the fridge's cold companion: the freezer.
Today in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge, we'll declutter, clean and organize freezer areas. Keeping tabs on frozen assets speeds meal preparation ad cuts food waste.
Today's Assignment:
Clean Out the Freezer
It's dark, it's cold, it's full of food: your freezer. Whether your household...
January 28, 2014
Challenge Day 24: Clear Kitchen Countertops
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 28, 2014What's taken up residence on your kitchen counters?
The old real estate maxim works for kitchens, too: "location, location, location!" In the kitchen, countertop space represents the room's most prestigious--and hardest-working--real estate address. Is your cooking space clean and lean--or crammed and cluttered?
Today in the Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge, we'll clear kitchen countertops, applying a simple A-B-C method to make zoning decisions for applia...
January 27, 2014
Cut Clutter in the Kitchen
Posted by Cynthia Ewer on January 27, 2014Open the kitchen cabinets ... and you can tell it's time for a kitchen declutter!
Pudding mixes perch on top of the cereal, showering down onto the head of a sleepy, squawking teen each morning.
To reach the oatmeal pan, you must shove aside a stack of pizza coupons, the bread machine pan and a glass jar of pickles.
The top of the refrigerator is a greasy, dusty jumble of unfinished crafts projects, the dog's leash, empty prescription bottles, broken t...
