Life Simplified: Old Boots Transformed into Flower Pots
Boots transformed into a decorative Flower Pot! I love being able to creatively recycle items that have been around our house for awhile. My husband used to wear these boots! Now that they are worn out (and covered in specks of paint) I have found another use for them on my front porch….as a flower pot. The boots are a unique decoration to have on the front porch. I love seeing peoples reactions the first time they see them! I get a lot of comments like “That’s a great idea! Honey can I use your old boots once your done with them!”
Flowers Planted in Jake's Old Boots! It’s super easy to do! Find an old pair of boots, fill them with potting soil, and add a couple plants to each one and you has an inexpensive masterpiece that will be a colorful welcome to those visiting your home. I typically do seasonal flowers so I can give a fresh look to the boots in the Spring and Fall. Do you items that you recycle within your home?
Life Simplified: Set the Timer!
It has been a really busy few weeks and I don’t anticipate that it will slow down any time soon (maybe in May). The girls and I will be traveling over their Spring Break so I have a lot to get done before our fun time begins. If you are like me I want everything to be caught up before I leave on a trip – bills paid, house cleaned, emails returned, inbox empty, garden planted and weeded, etc…. however, the “to do” list is generally much longer than the hours available in the day. When I am working on a project I want to stick to it until it is completely finished. There are major benefits having this personality, however, the downside is that I may get that one project completed but there are 27 other projects that haven’t even been started.One of the ways that has helped me stay on task and be more productive (I have been using this a lot lately) is to set the timer. I have a small timer that I can take with me from room to room. My timer has been well used the past few weeks, I even lost it for a couple days while getting ready for the yard sale! I anticipate it will continue to be used in the upcoming weeks as well as I prepare to travel with the kids. I set the timer for an increment of time to help motivate me and keep me focused on getting the task done. When the timer goes off that means I am done with that project for the moment and need to move onto the next task (which can be very hard for me at times especially if I am really close to finishing the task I am currently working on). Here is an example of some of the activities I do during a day with my timer (every day is different so this just an example of activities I set the timer for throughout the day):
- 30 minutes – Exercise
- 45 minutes – Quiet Time
- 10 minutes – Prep for Dinner
- 10 minutes – Eat Breakfast
- 30 minutes – Check & Respond to Emails (sometimes I do this 2 to 3 times a day)
- 60 minutes – Blog Posts
- 60 minutes – Work Projects
- 30 minutes – Pick Up the House
- 60 minutes – Fold & Put Away All Laundry for the week on Laundry Day
- 30 minutes – Lunch
- 45 minutes – Homework with the Girls
- 45 minutes – Make Dinner
- 30 minutes – Dinner Clean Up and Wash Dishes
- 15 minutes – Packs Lunches for the Next Day
- 30 minutes – Clipping Coupons
- 30 minutes – Matching Coupons with Weekly Ads
- 30 minutes – Pay Bills & Balance Accounts
- 10 minutes – Power Clean My Desk (or on some days find my desk)
If I get to all the tasks that had on my list that day I will reward myself with 30 minutes of “free” time which usually means spending extra time with the family, reading, writing, or something else rewarding yet beneficial. A lot of times during breakfast or lunch I will spend time reading or answering emails as well. I have found that days when I work on the computer I don’t get anything done in the house and days that I spend concentrating on home projects I don’t get any work done so as in my attempt to try and balance life a little bit more the timer has become a fun trick that works well for me. Although the computer work is important I do have some moments when I get sidetracked by a great article or Facebook or something else and before I know it the time has flown by and an hour has passed (same things happens on home projects). The timer helps me track the time better and alerts me especially when I have gotten distracted from the task at hand. I do not set the timer for family time or family oriented meals and tasks because those are important for the entire family.
Now if I could only find a way to set a timer for travel time, shopping and waiting to check out, ha! Although I must say I am becoming a little more efficient in shopping too by only going directly to the items I need and not “browsing” through the entire store. Not everything works well with setting a timer but there are some tasks I noticed will consume larger amounts of time if I don’t put a time limit on them.
How do you balance it all as a Wife, Mom, Business Person, etc…? Do you have other ways that help you stay on task?
Photo by ellie
Life Simplified: Laundry Day
For those who don’t know me…….I am NOT a big fan of doing laundry. Don’t get me wrong , it gets done in our house because I don’t like wearing dirty clothes but doing laundry everyday is almost like torture to me. Before discovering a system that worked for our household I would delay doing laundry until the last possible moment (ie…someone was out of underwear) then do a huge batch. The laundry would then sit on the guest bed waiting to be folded and put away. Many times if you wanted to wear a certain shirt or were looking for clean underwear you had to dig through a massive pile in search for an item.Thankfully, we had a season in our life that forced me to get organized in the laundry department as well as other areas. Several years ago my husband took a contract position in a town an hour and half away from our home. Since the girls were young and not yet in school the entire family commuted with him on the contract. The company gave him an allowance for an apartment and we were able to find one less then the amount we were given so we could save a little bit extra. A couple of the downsides to the apartment being less expensive is that it was tiny and it didn’t have a washer and dryer hookup. Since we came “home” on the weekends it wasn’t that big of a deal, however, that meant we had to keep track of groceries in two houses plus carting laundry back and forth every week. During this season in our marriage I learned a lot about organizing and planning especially with living in two places at one time, an apartment during the week and at home on the weekends. There were several benefits to our family doing laundry only once a week:
- Less Stress for Mom because once laundry was completed on Saturday it was done for an entire week.
- More Cost Efficient as far energy, water, and laundry soap.
- Only 4 Loads of Laundry per week (on a typical week we do 4 full loads of laundry for an entire week: 1 – Sheets & Towels, 2 – Light Clothes, 3 – Dark Clothes, 4 – Whites)
- Saves Time when I do everything all from start to finish in one day. The laundry gets washed throughout the day and for about an hour in the evening I take the time to fold, hang up and put away the items.
- Happy Family – no more digging through piles of clean laundry on the bed looking for underwear or a shirt, etc…. everything is cleaned, put away and ready to be worn.
- Cleaner Home when the piles of laundry are no longer stacked on our guest room bed or in front of the washing machine our home is neater.
- Items are Pre-Treated prior to being put in the laundry basket instead of trying to remember which ones to spray when I am putting them into the wash machine.
- Organized System – having a specific day and task to accomplish enables me to get it done for the week and move onto the other tasks that demand my time and attention
On the weekend we had to get the laundry done in order to have clothes to wear for the next week so it was a great motivator. Even though that was several years I still do all our laundry in one day. I no longer have to get it done on the weekends so currently laundry days are Monday’s at our house. Everything is washed, folded and put away all in one day. Since starting this organizational task it has allowed additional freedom in my week plus it has been a blessing to my family. I no longer dread doing laundry because I know it will be done completely on “laundry day” and I will not have to think about it again until next week. My family no longer has to dig through piles of clothes looking for something to wear. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
Even though that season in our life was difficult balancing the two households looking back on it I realize how many rich blessings and memories were created during that time as well. It is during the times of stretching and change in our family when we discover new ways to make life more enjoyable for ourselves as well as those around us. Having the opportunity to look at our organizational system from a different perspective may be all it takes to make it more efficient.
Do you like doing laundry? What works for one family may not work for another. What are ways you use to help make your time doing laundry more efficient?
Photo by Jon Yu
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Recipes)
I am now wrapping up week number 5 in my No Grocery Shopping challenge! It has been a fun adventure for our family as we continue to find ways to make the food in our fridge and pantry stretch! Some of the recipes over the last few weeks have been a huge hit in our family for years while others were different. We are always looking for ways to create healthy meals that everyone enjoys without wasting the food we have in our home.For those who have been emailing me about what we’ve been eating here are a few of our low budget main dish recipes:
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
I came up with this recipe a couple years ago when I was trying to use up some leftovers in the fridge. It has since become a favorite at our house. The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. We usually have a stock pile of Wacky Mac because we use double coupons at Ingles, Bi-Lo, or Publix plus we get extra money back from Upromise eCoupons which makes most of our purchases of Wacky Mac free plus some overage. Dairy products are regular staples in our house so it makes this recipe fairly easy to make anytime.
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. It is a simple recipe that is almost impossible to mess up.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9x7 Pyrex Casserole dish
Ingredients
- 12 oz Wacky Mac Veggie Noodles (Any shape pasta can be used, but the girls love the mixed shapes and colors of Wacky Mac)
- 1-2 cups Milk (depending on how rich you want it, powder milk works too or add a touch of sour cream to increase the richness)
- 1 cup Velveeta Cheese (cubed)
- 1 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese (I use up the partial bags in our fridge so it is usually Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Colby, etc..)
- 2-3 cups Water (You want 4 cups liquid, if you add more milk, reduce the water)
- dash Salt, Pepper, and Garlic to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all the ingredients above except the water to a casserole dish.
- The water will be different based on what you add to your casserole. Add enough water to cover the noodles and stir everything together.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees. After 15 minutes of baking stir the casserole than continue baking for an additional 45 minutes. The top of the casserole will be crunchy (everyone’s favorite part) but should not burn.
Notes
I have also been known to cut of cheese slices or put in a couple spoons of cottage cheese. It really is a “use up the leftovers” type of Marconi & Cheese Casserole! If you want you can add a cup of fresh or canned tomatoes that tastes great too.Chicken Pot Pie
After several days of cooking we will often use the meat and vegetable leftovers in the fridge to make a Pot Pie. Our favorite is the Chicken Pot Pie, but we have made several variations of Beef and Ham Pot Pies as well. You can often get Store Brand Pie Crusts on sale or clearance for a great price if you them on hand use those otherwise the recipe below includes how to make your own pie crust with a few basic ingredients.
Chicken Pot Pie
A family favorite, chicken pot pie is a simple way to use up the remaining chicken that doesn't taste like a "leftovers" meal.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cups Crisco Shortening
- 1 tssp Salt
- 5 tbsp Water (cold)
Filling
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Chicken (use leftover or canned Chicken)
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Vegetables (use leftover or canned Veggies)
- 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together the ingredients for the crust until the dough is formed, split the dough in half.
- Roll out half of the pie crust (add more flour if necessary). Place half of the pie crust in the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch pie pan.
- Stir together the Chicken Pot Pie filling ingredients. Add the filling to the pie pan.
- Top with remaining pie crust. Roll the edges of the bottom and top crust together. Cut a few slices in the top of the pot pie, (I usually will do a smile face or Christmas Tree or heart just for fun. The girls are always looking to see the design on the the top prior to eating it.)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check halfway through and if the crust is getting too dark put a piece of foil over the top to keep it from burning.
Pasta Night
We will often have a “Pasta” night which is a quick and easy meal that our family enjoys. It is one of our “meatless” meals. Many times Pasta nights consists of cooking:
Poor Man's Pasta
Don't let the name fool you. This is a simple staple that is quick and easy to make, yet still a comforting favorite.Servings: 4Cost: $3Ingredients
- 4 cups Elbow Noodles
- 1/2 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- Grated Parmesan Cheese (aka. "Shaky Cheese")
Instructions
- Cook the noodles, drain and add the butter. Sprinkle Shaky Cheese over your noodles and enjoy.
Notes
I add veggies and fruit to round out the meal. It is quick, simple, and inexpensive.Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is another one of those quick recipes I threw together to use up some extra chicken we had in the fridge that was a hit with the family.
Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is a quick "throw together" meal that tastes great and feels like it should have taken more time.Servings: 6Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups Cubed Chicken (or you can use 2 to 3 frozen whole Chicken Breasts)
- 1 can Spinach
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 4 oz Sliced Mushrooms (Optional: Canned works best)
- 2 slices Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 cups Rice (uncooked)
- 2 to 4 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour the 2 cups of uncooked rice and water if necessary into a casserole dish. Add the Chicken on top of the rice.
- Mix together the Spinach and Cream of Mushroom then add it on top of the Chicken.
- Spread the sliced mushrooms over the spinach mixture.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
- Add the cheese on top 10 to 15 minutes before the casserole is done.
Veggie Beef Soup is another one we put together with items we have on hand.
Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable. We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks to make sure everyone is getting the nutritional meals they need.
I will continue to share with you the challenges and successes so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. As I extend this goal into at least the first part of February I hope to have the opportunity to share more about what we are doing to make it stretch! Let’s see if we can finish yet another week of the No Grocery Shopping challenge!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Meals)
A couple questions we have been asked several times over the last month regarding my No Grocery Shopping challenge are – What have we been eating? Do we have any recipes? I am thrilled that we were able extend this challenge into February! The quick answer is the meals have been “simple”. Thankfully my family does not have any food allergies so we can be a little more flexible on what we eat.Here are a few ways we made our pantry stretch:
- Always Eat Leftovers
- Keep it Simple
- Make Meals with Few Ingredients
- Cook 1 Main Meal a Day
- Cut back on Snacks
- Make Meatless Meals
On typical day we eat toast, cereal, eggs, oatmeal or something we have on hand for breakfast. The girls have lunch at school so they are covered for that meal. Jake and I eat left overs for lunch (the left overs are usually from dinner the night before). For dinner I fix a simple, few ingredients main dish to feed our family of four then add fruits, veggies and other sides to compliment the main dish.
The first place I noticed a dip in the pantry was with the snacks. When the kids get home form school they are HUNGRY (they eat their school lunch at 10:30 AM) and are always ready for a snack. If it has been a busy day for me a lot of times they will grab an item from our “snack basket” on the kitchen counter which contains items such as granola bars, pretzels, crackers, etc…. We have noticed a dip in our dairy products too. The girls will often have a cheese stick or yogurt for a snack after school so those have been being utilized. Another snack they enjoy after school is a half of peanut butter & jelly sandwich or peanut butter with honey and veggies which gives them an extra boost of protein.
One of the neat parts about doing this challenge is I have started noticing trends in our family. I have seen what we eat more of as well as the items that get left behind more frequently. It is important to me that we all continue to get healthy meals and snacks, however, I want to eliminate wastefulness.
Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable. We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks. I will be adding the recipes for these items in the next day or two. It is our plan to continue this challenge yet another week!
I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I have purchased so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I am thrilled that we can extend this goal and continue to use up the items we already have in our home!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: Sell, Give, Donate or Toss It?
I was listening to the radio a few weeks ago and heard the announcer telling a personal story how she had a box of knickknacks and other items. She was procrastinating on organizing the items and as she was going through it she was trying to decide what she should give away, put away or throw away……in the end she just got a bigger box.This little story stood out to me because I have been thinking about how we as a family and Americans in general need to cut back. One of my goals in 2011 is to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. I have been sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.
- First Life Simplified Goal: No Grocery Shopping
- Second Life Simplified Goal: Meal Delivery
My Third Life Simplified Goal:
- Organize & De-Clutter our Home
Explanation of the Goal: When my husband and I were first married we lived a nice but small apartment. When we had friends over to eat we had to sit on the floor or the hand-me-down love seat that I received from a client that was throwing it out. The majority of our items have been purchased second hand or given to us by family or friends. After a couple years in the apartment we moved into our home and then had kids. Recently as we were sitting together talking about life we realized how much “stuff” we had accumulated over the course of a few years. I am a sentimental person so a lot of items have a story behind them, but there a many items in our home we no longer use. The girls have baby toys that they no longer play with along with knickknacks here and there. Over the course of the year we a going to reorganize and de-clutter our home. I think it will be a continual work in progress, however, if we are not using an item we need to evaluate if we really need it.
Here are some ways we anticipate eliminating some of the clutter:
- Sell It – EBay, CraigsList, or Garage Sale
- Give It Away – to someone needing or wanting the item.
- Donate it to a charity or an organization that can give it to a person who can use it
- Throw it away – this one is hard for me! I am still learning that it is okay to not keep every single piece of paper my kids scribble on. I want to have some to put in a scrapbook for them but I don’t need every paper. I love the memories!
We have already started working on this goal. It is amazing how easy it is to post to CraigsList and Ebay which the items usually sell within a week or two. When someone is over at the house and we realize that they could use something we have but are not using we take the opportunity to give it away.
I will share with you the challenges, successes so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to have an organized and de-cluttered home by the end of the year.
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Update)
We are now well into week four of my no grocery shopping challenge for the month of January 2011. It is time for me to give you an update so you can continue to keep me accountable. Last week was an easy one for us because we were not at home, my husband and I had the privilege of going on a cruise with extended family and the girls were staying with friends. We did take food over with the girls but we didn’t have to buy any essentials or perishable items while we were away.Before leaving for vacation we ate the leftovers and most of the perishables in our refrigerator. This week was the first time this month I had to pick up several perishable items. Other than a gallon or two of milk a week we have been doing really well. So far we have purchased 5 gallons of milk for the month of January. Thankfully all the groceries I purchased this week were marked down except for the gallon of milk I paid $2.99 for at Save A Lot. Here are the groceries I bought this week at Save A Lot | Rite Aid to restock the perishables in our fridge:
- Ground Hamburger – $6.39 markdown to $3.18
- Cube Steaks – $3.14 markdown to $1.59
- 2 Yogurts – $0.50 markdown to $0.25 each
- French Onion Dip – $1.29 markdown to $0.64
- Cottage Cheese (24 oz) – $2.25 markdown to $1.12
- Flour Tortillas – $0.99 markdown to $0.49
I spent a total of $7.52 including tax. By only purchasing the markdown items I was able to save over $8 on the perishable items we needed for our family. With the exception of the french onion dip everything would meet my criteria of a necessity for our household. Every home has different perishable items they need to keep in stock; meat and diary fit into that category for us (within reason), although, I have been trying to cut down on the amount I purchase to make sure we really do use the items already in stock. Fruits and veggies are ones I would consider necessary too (in moderation), however, we are still using up the ones we had from several weeks ago as well as those we froze from the garden this summer. The french onion dip is one I felt the most “guilty” about buying but since it was $0.64 for a large container and we are going to a Super Bowl party outside our home it technically falls under my criteria of “for Someone Else outside of my household” (I may be stretching that criteria a little). Even though it was a good bargain and it is for people outside of my home I probably could have made something from scratch with the items already in my pantry.
I am hoping these will be the last items we have to purchase for the month of January (with an exception to milk) and maybe even into February if I am really lucky. These groceries should last at least a couple weeks when we put them together with the food we already have in our freezer and pantry! So far I haven’t done too bad with the challenge. I have had to pass up on a couple really great deals, but the point is to use the items in stock before buying more.
I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping
Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights and to focus on what’s really important in life. In 2011 I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.First Life Simplified Goal:
- No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.
Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread). Our freezer is full and our pantry is overflowing with all the great deals that we have received. One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them. Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home. I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks after doing Operation Christmas Child and other charities over the Holidays it really hit me that we have been blessed yet there are children and families that have nothing. Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
I have already started this goal. The only things I have purchased this month so far have been a loaf of bread and 2 gallons of milk. Last week we ate a bunch of leftovers for several days after my our family guests left since our fridge was full and we don’t want to waste the food we have. It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well. The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!
I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
