Saved by the Box
Last week my son informed me that his class was putting on a bake sale to fund a cr
oss country ski trip.
Of course he didn’t actually tell me until 7PM the night before this event! I didn’t have the energy to go shopping so I decided to check out some recipes for some quick and easy cookies.
I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of great recipes, and tips at Allrecipes.com. I ended up using a boxed lemon cake mix, a couple of eggs, and a bit of oil to whip up some of the best cookies we’ve had in awhile.
At the bake sale they went quickly. My son was trying desperately to hang on to the last cookie when one of his classmates offered him a toonie for it. It was for a ski trip afterall so he reluctantly let it go. The kids are now asking him “when will your mom make those yummy cookies again?”
I highly recommend this site to make your cooking experience fun and efficient. They offer many extras such as a virtual recipe box, nutritional information about your recipe, a printable shopping list to go along with it and many other cool features.
As a professional organizer I appreciate the well organized and simple site. Give it a try, and happy cooking.
Thanks for coming to the rescue Allrecipes.com.
How much does disorganization cost?
Help, I'm drowning!
Time and time again we’ve heard people say they can’t afford to hire professional organizers to come in and get there life back on track.
Others don’t believe that being disorganized is detrimental to their well being emotionally or financially. Take a cluttered office for example.
Almost everyone these days has an office at home from which they run their business and manage household finances. Let’s say your office is your biggest organizational challenge, and your time is worth money.
Do you know that you’re probably losing about $25.00 per week ($3.00 per day) on lost time, energy, productivity not to mention sanity due to this mess. That’s not even including the bills that are lost and not paid, interest charges, forgotten coupons and gift certificates, missed invitations and functions, important business opportunities, etc. (you get my point).
If you don’t make getting organized a priority it will end up costing you $5,000.00 over 5 years.
Think about it…… Can you afford NOT to hire a professional organizer?
Hangers
neat & tidy
To give your closet a quick makeover, we recommend using hangers that are all the same style. You’ll also want to have them face the same direction.
Wooden hangers are the best choice as they will help to keep your clothing in good shape. We also love the very thin hangers that are made with an anti slip material.These are handy for use on delicate clothing such as silk or satin blouses, and dresses with spaghetti straps.
Skirts and capri style pants are best hung on wooden hangers that come with clips, however clips can be purchased separately to use on whatever hanger you prefer. When hanging your garments, keep the front facing you,slip the hanger in and either button or zip up your piece to help keep the shape.
Wooden hangers come in different shades, (light, dark and cherry) in boxes of ten, and can be purchased in stores such as Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home Depot, and Winners. The thin style hangers come in a variety of colours such as black, beige, pink etc, and are carried at Walmart, Costco and Winners.
Purge your clothing first, keeping in mind the 80%/20% rule. You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. Try not to crowd your garments, in order to keep them wrinkle-free.
Remember the rule: One in One out.
Never Too Old to Rock!!
Rock On
Last night my thirteen year old son and I went to a rock concert featuring the band “Three Days Grace” (not that I expect anyone over 20 to know who they are).
We had purchased tickets a couple of months ago but the show was postponed due to a family emergency. Although disappointing, my son pinned a calender on the wall and meticulously crossed off each day leading up to the show. The CD was played daily in my van to and from school and I have to admit I really got into their music.
As a seasoned veteran of rock concerts myself ,I had a preconceived notion of what to expect in terms of rowdy crowds, drugs, drinking and the occasional security guard hauling off intoxicated, sick, or aggressive teens. It was because of this that I wanted to chaperon my son’s first rock show.
I must say “the times they are a changing “. Upon entering, everyone was frisked, and purses checked. Then we were led to our proper, reserved seats. Approximately 50 security men and women searched the surprisingly small crowd throughout the event with flashlights. We counted 19 bodies being dragged from the center of the floor in various stages of mental impairment who were told (or politely asked) to leave. I smelled nothing funny in the air except the propane the band used to fuel a fire/light show on the stage.
To my surprise and relief their were no bodies flying from one person to the next, no obscene girating, fighting, or any other behaviors which I had witnessed in my day.
Indeed, for a band whose repertoire of songs that night consisted of one called “Riot” the atmosphere was quite subdued. Sure the kids on the floor danced waved and screamed, but all in all it was far from what I expected.
That raw energy, passion, and rebellious nature was missing. I’m not sure if that makes me happy or sad. What I am sure of is that I can’t recreate past experiences, I have to accept change as a good thing, and remember that indeed I’m not 18 anymore.
Shapedown to Shapeup
Recently, my family had the privilege of being accepted to take part in a relatively new program offered by the YMCA. In order to qualify we were put through a lengthy assessment by a doctor, counsellor, dietician and fitness expert here in the PGRH. Only fifteen families made it into this first session, although many others showed interest.
Calls are still coming in from those who desperately would like to take advantage of this wonderful program that offers realistic solutions to achieving the healthiest lifestyle possible for the whole family.
Prince George B.C. was given the go ahead to be the first of its kind in Canada, which makes me very proud. Although I can’t tell you the exact stats I know that the program has been extremely successful in the States where the cost is fairly high to join.
This is a ten week course, where all the participants gather along with the counsellor, dietician, and fitness expert, once a week. These sessions run two hours long and are well thought out by the panel. The focus is on creating an environment that supports children who have weight issues to make better choices concerning food, and exercise.
What makes this program unique is that they take it one “important” step further. They recognize the importance of both the emotional side of eating as well as family support and dynamics, which is why the program is only successful if the entire family is on board and are willing to walk the talk.
In a typical meeting, the group meets as a whole for the first few minutes to go over last week’s adjende and answer any questions. Then the kids are taken to the gym for some fun activities and counselled appropriately according to there age and level of understanding. Meanwhile, the parents learn skills and tips on how to cope with difficult issues that come up at home, and share their experiences with the others.
The panel of experts each take a turn to focus on their area of expertise. We are encouraged by our nutritionist to implement the Canada food guide when planning our meals and snacks. We are also taught about proper portion sizes, low, med and high fat foods and how to decipher food labels in terms of their nutritional values which will help us in making better choices at the grocery store.
The YMCA trainer talks to us about how to incorporate exercise on a daily basis. Some people find that a scheduled workout perhaps at the YMCA works for them; however our coach focuses on fun, and simple ways of moving our bodies which may include doing a variety of chores around the house by adding a few extra squats or lunges.
The counsellor deals with the emotional family dynamics which can sometimes sabotage even our best efforts in making the necessary changes for success in the long run. She has the ability to speak to our kids in a simple but effective way using realistic examples that they can relate to, as well as to the adults so they can then better communicate with their children.
I was truly impressed by all the coaches. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and encouragement.
Bravo!!
Do You Know “Justin Case?”
- Do I really need this?
The “just in case“ theory is a common thread among those people who have difficulty parting with their stuff. Does this sound familiar? “I can’t get rid of it just in case my husband, kids, mother, or dog might need it later”.
O.K., lets follow through on that thought.
You might want to ask yourself these questions: how long has it been since you’ve used it, did you even know you had it, and what would happen if you got rid of it. The answer might be, a long time ago, I didn’t know I had one and I can always replace it if need be.
So, the goal here is to determine what you actually need, edit the rest and create a home for the important things so that everyone in your household will know where to look.
Besides saving money in the long run, (not having to re-purchase misplaced items) you’ll be able to free up valuable time ( by not having to tear the house apart). Now, wouldn’t you like to use that spare time for more enjoyable activities?
Most importantly your home environment will improve when your stress level comes down. It’s a win win situation.
So, isn’t it about time you say so long to “Justin Case“?
Halloween Aftermath
Sweet Child of Mine
Well we’ve survived another Halloween without any major incidents. Our tradition in the past was for dad to take son out trick or treating. Times they are a changin” fast as our little boy is growing up. To that end he still went with his dad, but this time invited two buddies to join him. Needless to say dad had to lag 100 miles behind (soooo uncool to be seen with a parent).
The evening weather was quite pleasant and after 4 hours (give or take) of serious trick or treating the 3 boys arrived back at my place with 800 pounds of goodies, (junk in parent language), and proceeded to devour about a third of their stash.
And of course what would Halloween be without an all- nighter and horror films? You guessed it. Totally revved up on sugar the 3 hoodlums sprawled out wall to wall ready to be spooked to death. Mission accomplished. A good time was had by all, and although I cringe at the amount of sugar they’ve consumed, I realize this too will be a cherished memory soon as they grown up too fast.
I hope all of you had a spooktacular time as well.
Now if only I had a creative way of recycling the rest of their loot before I gain 30 pounds…..
Cleaning or Organizing
(That is the question)
Some people seem to think that organizing and cleaning is the same thing. This is not so.
There’s no doubt that the two go hand in hand, but they are, in fact, very different from each other. To organize, decisions have to be made as to what items to keep, donate, give away, toss, recycle or store. It can be an emotional and exhausting process. To clean mean just that; to vacuum, dust, laundry, dishes, and such.
What we have found out as organizers is that there are basically two types of people. There are those who can’t stand anything out of place, but can put up with dust, fur balls in the corner or a stack of dirty dishes, or those who vacuum and wash all day long, but leave everything scattered about.
In other words, organized people are not necessarily clean, and clean people are not necessarily organized. Our services do not typically include cleaning except when dealing with a client who is ill, disabled, or a senior with mobility issues. We recommend cleaning ladies who can give the house a good going over when we’re done with the organizing project.
Professional Organizer Monica Ricci made a great comment in response to U-Haul claiming that renting a storage space would help you organize.
“Storing, containerizing and throwing things out are not organizing because you can store and containerize clutter and you can certainly get rid of stuff and still not be organized.”
Thank you for Giving
With the challenges we’ve been given in this economic downturn, it may seem difficult to give thanks. I would encourage you to take this time to discover what your true priorities are. Is it really about all the stuff that’s cluttered up your life? Has working hard accumulating all the things around you given you joy and happiness? Isn’t it instead about family, relationships, and a simpler way of living?
Cleo and I would lke to take this time to say thank you to all of our clients who gave us the priveledge of enriching their lives in some way. You have all given us special life lessons we are grateful for. We look forward to meeting and working with many more of you who need our help in moving towards a more stressfree life.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Remote Timer for Christmas Lights
As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, I’ve discovered something that will not only be convenient to use from indoors, but will save money too. How? Instead of setting your timers for a set period of time you can shut the lights off when you want to from the comfort of your bed.
For years I’ve had the kind that turn on at dusk and off at dawn. The problem is, that our street lights are too bright and tend to switch on and off at random, causing me to run around to reset all the outlets. Of course my neighbours may look at it as some form of bizarre exercise routine.
You can pick these up at Canadian Tire, for around $25.00 and are made by Noma.
