Cynthia Ewer's Blog, page 63
June 11, 2013
Frugal Order: A Tightwad's Guide To Getting Organized
Getting organized! For many, that phrase is synonymous with "Buy Me!"
Savvy retailers know that "Get Organized Fever" breaks out at predictable intervals, and tailor ad campaigns to capitalize on the desire to create an organized home. Too often, professional organizers hear the cry, "But I can't afford to get organized!"
No doubt about it, there are many marvelous products on the market to help achieve better home and personal organization.
But getting organized doesn't necessarily require sp...
June 6, 2013
Make A Price Book For Supermarket Savings
Looking to save money at the supermarket? It's hard to do in this age of shifting prices and computer-generated "sales".
How do you know whether an advertised special is a bargain--or a bust? Is the warehouse mega-pack a better buy? How about those "buy one, get one free" offers--are they worth the extra price?
Supermarket pricing can be confusing. Fight back with a powerful weapon from the frugal arsenal: the price book.
A price book is a power tool for tracking prices, products and sales, so...
Menu Planning: Save Time In The Kitchen
What's for dinner? It's the question of the hour!
Too many home managers look for answers in the supermarket at 5 p.m. Harried from the day's work and harassed by by hungry children, they rack their brains for an answer to the what's-for-dinner dilemma.
Three meals a day. Seven dinners a week. From supermarket to pantry, refrigerator to table, sink to cupboard, the kitchen routine can get old, old, old.
No wonder we hide our heads like ostriches from the plain and simple fact: into each day, o...
May 9, 2013
Moving On: Tips For An Organized Move
Every year, one in five American families makes a move --- and this year, it'll be your family on the road.
No doubt about it, moving can present the organizational challenge of a lifetime.
Every habit, every routine, every tiny piece of the mosaic of your life is tossed at random into a huge, cluttered van, to be shaken out and reassembled at the other end.
It's a daunting task--but you can get organized and cut stress when the moving van arrives.
Moving on? Try these road-tested tips for an or...
May 6, 2013
Save at the Supermarket: Boost Your Price Power!
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
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On any trip to the grocery store, it's the first and simplest question: what's the price?
Time was, it was easy to know the price of any grocery item; before computers, each can, carton and bottle sported a physical price tag. Old-school physical price tags made food costs clear--and to raise prices, grocers had to re-tag food items.
This labor-intensive process discouraged wide swings in pricing. Shoppers knew what food cost, and it was easy to notic...
April 15, 2013
Start Small: Sneak Up On Freezer Cooking
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
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You've heard about bulk freezer cooking--an easy method of stockpiling prepared meals in the household freezer.
Commercial meal assembly franchises like Dream Dinners®, or Let’s Dish® have popularized the concept (at a cost), but smart home cooks know that feeding the freezer is an efficient way to feed the family. too.
Whether you know it as once-a-month cooking, freezer assets, OAMC or freezer cooking, the idea sounds intriguing. In a single day, free...
April 8, 2013
Store It! Create A Household Storage Plan
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
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How to handle household storage? It's a battle!
You, the innocent home manager, want only to find holiday decorations or seasonal clothing.
Your nemesis? Bins and bags and boxes. Crammed cabinets, bursting basements, and inaccessible attics. The Garage from The Black Lagoon. For most of us, an efficient household storage system seems like an impossible dream.
Squeezed by the storage shuffle, many home managers yearn for larger quarters. Let me burst the...
April 4, 2013
Clean Sweep? The Case Against Spring Cleaning
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
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Spring blows in with warm wind and the promise of ... spring cleaning?
With the coming of spring, even the most casual home managers feel an inexplicable urge to move furniture, clean windows and vacuum baseboards to welcome the return of sunshine and warmer weather.
Certainly, there's a lot to be said for the notion of spring cleaning. It's a good time of year to rout out the dirt, dust and disorder that's crept into the home since the holiday season....
April 1, 2013
Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge: Front Porch Week
It's the place where your home makes a first impression: the front porch.
Whether you have a small apartment landing or wrap-around farmhouse porch, this is the week to declutter, clean and organize the entry area to your home.
It's a last "cherry on the cake" assignment at the Cleaning Grand Plan: putting the finishing touch on the hard work of the last 12 weeks creating a lovely entrance area.
Ready? It's Front Porch Week in the Cleaning Grand Plan!
March 25, 2013
Cleaning Grand Plan Challenge: Garage / Storage Week
Warmer weather's coming! It's time to take to the road.
Will your garage be ready for summer travel, sports and outdoor fun?
Time to bring new order to garage storage areas with a seasonal declutter, deep-cleaning and organizing session.
Ready? We're sorting garage storage this week in the Cleaning Grand Plan!
