Just before school, when school supplies are on sale, is a good time to stock up on lots of little gifts that will be great for Christmas! [Read more…] about Turn School Supplies Into Christmas Gifts
homemaking tips
How To Get Organized
If you’re asking yourself, how to I begin to get organized, these tips will help you! Getting organized will also help you get out of debt and save money! [Read more…] about How To Get Organized
2 Recipes To Clean Burned Pots and Pans
Do your pots and pans look like they’ve been to war? It can be a challenge to clean burned pots and pans, but these easy recipes and tips make it easier! [Read more…] about 2 Recipes To Clean Burned Pots and Pans
Roast with Cranberry Sauce and Leftovers
Roast with Cranberry Sauce and Leftovers
From: Shelley
I loved your recipe for the cranberry roast (see below). It was awesome. The next day, I heated the leftover roast and gravy added about a tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2 a bag of broccoli florets. I served that over ramen noodles and it made a wonderful broccoli beef type dish.A lot cheaper than take out!
-Shelley
Cranberry Roast
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 (3lb) roast
1 can (16 oz) cranberry sauce
Pour soup mix in a crockpot. Add roast and top with cranberry sauce. Cover and cook for 8 hours. To thicken gravy, mix 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and water and add to gravy. You can add carrots and potatoes 4 hours into cooking.
Photo By: matthewreid
Teach Your Kids About Money
Here’s a real life example of a great way to teach your kids about money.
I was on welfare for a while when my kids were younger. Of course, getting only one check per month made the lack of cash flow more obvious. One day, when I said we couldn’t afford something, they asked, “Why not – you just got that big check?!”
So, I sat them down and wrote the numbers down side by side. I wrote how much the check was on one side and how much I had to pay to others on the other side. I subtracted as I went and they saw the “big” check going down faster than they realized.
They never bugged me after that quite like they had before. I derived the idea from a different idea about how to show kids the realities of cost and the dreams they have about sports cars, big houses, etc. I just adapted it for my situation. I know most parents don’t really want to tell their salaries, but sometimes it can help kids to understand when things are tight.
-Wendy
This is a great idea. I have never understood why parents won’t tell their kids their incomes and let the kids sit down with them while they are paying the bills. This is probably one the best things you could ever do with your kids.
-Tawra
Not only that, but it teaches and gives children a better idea how to use a checkbook, balance a checkbook, be responsible with credits cards and generally make better financial decisions. I am so surprised about how many adults don’t have a clue where to begin teaching their children any of these things. Once again, it shows how important it is to train your children in every area, including finances.
-Jill
Photo By: Betsssssy
Creamy Fajitas And Apple Plum Crisp Recipes
Try this creamy fajitas recipe, fajitas with a twist, along with a delicious apple plum crisp recipe and more to round out this easy and delicious menu! [Read more…] about Creamy Fajitas And Apple Plum Crisp Recipes
Fresh Christmas Tree Care
Fresh Christmas Tree Care
If you are buying a fresh tree this year, remember it needs to be watered and watered A LOT. You don’t have to buy special tree extender stuff or food. Just water it and water it.
In our area I have noticed that most real trees go on sale December 15th, so if you don’t need to have one early you might consider waiting until then.
Also I know we so often think bigger is better but be sure you get a tree that will fit into your house. This seems like an obvious thing but I once sold a nine foot tree to a lady. I kept asking her if she was sure it would fit into her house because, at that time, most people had 8 foot ceilings, but she insisted it would work. A week later she came back and wanted her money back because she couldn’t fit the tree into her living room.
Jill
Your advice on keeping a fresh Christmas tree watered reminded me of a tip I got from the lady we buy our real tree from. She always told us that when we got the tree home, to cut approximately a 1/4″ to a 1/2″ off of the bottom of the trunk. This will give you a new fresh end for the tree to “drink” from. Also, drill a small diameter hole (3/8″ to 1/2″) from the bottom of the trunk up into the center. This will insure that water will get deep inside the trunk as well. We do it every year and it works great!! From: Dave V.
photo by: chippenziedeutch
Holiday Cleaning – Preparing Now For The Holidays
Holiday Cleaning – Preparing Now For The Holidays
Halloween is over, which means it is now officially time to kick it into gear to get ready for the holidays and to get your house ready for company. It really helps to get your house in order now because if unexpected company comes you won’t get caught off guard. Then you can concentrate on baking, finding gifts and organizing activities without having to worry about deep cleaning your house again until after the New Year.
Hopefully by now you have been inspired to start getting things done a little at a time so this won’t be too big of a job. Here are a few things to work on:
- Get your closets in order. Put summer clothes away and take winter clothes out, tossing as you go.
- Don’t forget your linen closets. Get your guest towels, sheets and extra blankets aired out and put the linens in a handy spot so they are easy to grab when you need them.
- If you have a guest room, get it cleaned and prepare everything for your first guests.
- Get your holiday linens prepared. Wash them if necessary and make sure they’re ready to go.
- Hopefully you have cleaned your pantry. Now you need to make sure it is stocked with everything you need for your holiday recipes, for some quick and easy to fix snacks and dinners for unexpected company or food to take to social events.
- Make sure your fridge and freezer are in order. The refrigerator and freezer are going to work overtime for you over the next couple of months so make sure they’re cleaned, organized and prepared.
- I don’t worry about cleaning my oven at this time. I use it so much for baking that it’s silly for me to clean it right before having a baking fest. I usually wait and give it a good cleaning after the holidays. If it’s really bad or you have company coming and it looks awful you may want to go ahead and clean it anyway.
- This week and next week is the time to do any deep cleaning that you don’t want to have to mess with again until after the holidays– things like washing your windows, deep cleaning rugs and carpets and dusting mirrors, picture frames, lampshades or ceiling fans.
If you have been keeping up with your cleaning you may not have to do any of these. Basically just clean your house enough for company. Then you’ll know it’s done and you will be prepared for the unexpected.
Part of the stress that comes at the holidays is the result of not being prepared, especially for the unexpected things that always seem to come up. Think of it like being prepared for a disaster. If I have a wood burning stove, firewood, lots of candles, blankets and food prepared, I am not too stressed if we lose power from an ice storm. If I wasn’t at all prepared, I would be in a total panic if an ice storm hit.
If you are prepared, you have something you can whip up for company in just a few minutes or if the kids need treats for school, you have dough frozen and ready to be baked in the freezer. I’m not saying that I have everything prepared like Martha Stewart but I do try to have everything together enough so that I’m reasonably prepared for the unexpected. My idea of the perfect woman is a cross between Martha Stewart and Erma Bombeck! Some days I am more one than the other and on other days I totally miss the mark, but that’s okay, because I tried. 🙂
-Jill
For more easy cleaning and organizing tips, check out our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.
Time and Money Saving Tips and Ideas
Time and Money Saving Tips and Ideas
Here is an odd collection of tips that you might find useful:
This morning I went to buy eggs. I usually try to get them on sale but couldn’t find any. Since I needed the eggs right then, I had no choice but to pay full price, so I bought a carton of medium eggs.
Sometimes we automatically buy the large eggs (we do that with so many things) thinking that they are the best but for my purpose (baking), the medium eggs worked just fine and they were cheaper.
If you are having trouble with a recipe being extra sticky or not quite right in some other way, you might change your egg size and see if that helps.
Another thing I did this morning was hang my clothes out. After writing an e-book about laundry and how to hang clothes on the line I didn’t think I had missed anything. As I was hanging some T-shirts on the clothesline, I noticed that one of them was sagging in the middle, so I pinned it on the line and I re did it. You need to hang the items taut on the line, not stretched too tight but not sagging. This helps get rid of much of the wrinkling that some of us experience. Sometimes we tend to let our clothes sag in the middle to give us more clothesline space but don’t do this. It’ll only make more work for you.
Here are some more useful miscellaneous ideas:
- If you lose the plug for your bathtub, use a golf ball. If it happens to get dislodged, it just rolls right back into place.
- Rub hair conditioner on your shower curtain rod to make your shower curtain slide more smoothly.
- Wipe up those spills. I know I sound like a parrot but if you spill something on your stove top, clean it right away. If you turn on a burner or your oven, the mess bakes and hardens on the stove. I recently heard about a new way of doing finger nail polish and guess what they use to make it harden and stick more firmly? -Heat. The same principle works with your stove, so don’t wait to wipe up the mess.
I hope some of these ideas help make your day go more “smoothly”. : ) Have a super day everyone!
-Jill
Photo By: Brenda Gottsabend
Save Money On Your Water Bill Doing Dishes
Don’t Rinse Money Down the Drain
At an average of 120.00/month, our water bill is our most expensive utility (due to private ownership of the local water company, no regulatory oversight, etc.). One way I save money is to use all of the frugal settings on my dishwasher. I use the water miser, the light wash, and of course, the air dry settings (to save on electricity). All of my savings were going “down the drain”, however, when my 15 year old daughter loaded the dishwasher. She was running the water the entire time she rinsed the dishes, even though I told her how to do it a different, more frugal way. So, I assigned other chores to her and now do the dishes myself. I am happier that it gets done my way and it also saves on our water bill.
-Sharon Y.
[Read more…] about Save Money On Your Water Bill Doing Dishes