Simple Christmas

This morning Cheryl and I were honored to be invited to present a little "Simplifying Christmas" feature for the women of Trinity Baptist Church. IF YOU WERE THERE AND YOU'RE VISITING OUR BLOG FOR THE FIRST TIME, WELCOME HERE!! PLEASE LEAVE US A COMMENT! We had a great time with this crowd of 400 ladies, and here are the ideas we passed on, (plus a few we didn't have enough time for.) As we head into December, possibly the least simple month of the year, we hope this helps you save some time, energy and money so that we can all keep the focus on what matters. IF YOU HAVE IDEAS TO SHARE ABOUT SIMPLIFYING CHRISTMAS, PLEASE POST THEM IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION. Here are a few ideas to get you going...

Simplify your Schedule
It starts with keeping a good calendar. In this season there is so much going on and it’s ridiculously easy to find yourself double booked, or overbooked, so an accurate calendar can save you a lot of frustration, anytime, but especially now. Make sure that anyone who’s old enough to be making their own plans has access to your calendar and can write in their commitments too so that there in one place in the house where people can look to see what’s happening when -- think of it as one hub of information to keep things under control and guard your family time.
Cheryl made a gorgeous calendar/organizer that one lucky lady went home with.

Simplify your Spending
In a nutshell: spend less on gifts. It’s really that simple.
It seems like for many of us finances are tighter and we’re being more careful with our purchasing this year. It’s so important to figure out early in your planning what you can spend this year and stick to it. We know that the “sticking to it” is the hard part.

Simplifying and sticking to it starts with a great list. Lists are your friends. If you haven’t already done it, make your gift list now. Write down everyone that you would normally give a gift to, from immediate family to teachers to special friends and neighbours, anyone who would receive even the littlest token from you at Christmas.

Next, take a good look at those names and separate them two lists. The first is the list of those who you feel you must buy a gift for. Beside each name write a dollar amount of how much you can spend on each individual.

The second list would be the names of those who you would like to extend some gesture of thanks or friendship towards, but you have room to get creative about WHAT exactly that will be. These are people who would appreciate the gesture of a gift, but really don’t need a thing. As you consider the first list, those who you really feel you need to give something to, our next simplifying suggestion is to Give Gift Cards wherever possible. I know the argument can be made against giftcards, because they don’t require as much thought, but I know I’d rather my recipient ended up with what they really wanted, so if I’m not 100 % sure about that, a giftcard is possibly the most thoughtful thing I could give. And if you’re not sure which store they would enjoy shopping at the most, you can buy Orchard Park gift certificates that work everywhere in the mall—just visit the customer service kiosk by the Sears Home Store. It’s the ultimate one stop shopping.

Giving gift cards will help you simply Christmas by
• Helping you stick to your spending plan because you choose the amount you’ll spend.
• save you a ton of time wondering the stores and decision making, you just march up to the counter, ask for the gift certificate, and get out of there.
• create nearly zero waste with wrapping paper.
• You can avoid the post office for gifts you need to mail

You can even shop for giftcards online… it’s getting tight, but doable… especially for far away friends and family. If you have a store in mind, check their website… so many stores will let you order giftcards from their website and you can have them sent to you or to the recipient. So gift cards are a BIG ONE, if you’re looking to Simplifying you Spending.

Now, about that second list -- the people you want to acknowledge in some way at Christmas, or maybe people who really don’t need a thing? How about making a donation to a worthy cause rather than giving them a gift. You can easily give those people a Christmas card with a note that says, “In celebration of our friendship this year, we’ve made a donation to Habitat for Humanity” or any one of the endless great causes that you can be a part of.

You can even find gifts that fit with your friend in mind. World vision, for instance has an amazing catalogue, and you can access it on-line too http://https//catalogue.worldvision.ca/gifts/Forms/Home.aspx?mc=3221603&lang=en , that show you all kinds of options for donations.

For the last few years I’ve gone together with a couple of other parents in my kids classes and our teachers have been thrilled to know that a gift of school supplies were given to a teacher in Kenya. Lots of options to do with food, shelter, animals, education programs… and with World Vision you can print off a little certificate to explain the area the donation went towards.

One other idea along the same lines… is to become part of the “the Advent Conspiracy”? We want to encourage you to take a minute to check it out… there’s an amazing video explaining the concept at adventconspiracy.org. The Advent Conspiracy is a movement that is all about what we’re talking about… spend less, love more. Their big focus is solving the world water problem.



Our family is really excited about this and so what we’re doing this year for the people on our “second list”… is giving this water bottle with a message explaining that in celebration of our friendship we’ve made a donation to a water program.


If you like designing things on your computer like I do, you could do some labels for the water bottles, or you could wrap a piece of Christmassy paper around it and attach a simple tag with an explaination. This little token is just a fun way to let them know about the alternative gifts you’ve given, that they haven’t been forgotten, just celebrated in a different way.

GET THE HOUSE READY NOW
If you’re planning on doing any entertaining or having houseguests, and you like the place spic and span, do a deep clean of your home in the next week or two and keep on top of it by doing 10-15 minutes of maintanence cleaning each day. And if you’ll be needing your guestroom over the holidays, get it all ready to go now so you don’t have to think about it again. Make sure you get your family involved in the cleaning to. My motto is “one woman and two adolescent boys working together can clean as much in 20 minutes as one woman working along can clean in 25 minutes”, but hey, I’ll take that 5 minutes. Actually, my guys are pretty great little cleaners, and I’m not above using bribery and/or threats if necessary. If you do one really good cleaning now, you really can keep it that way by doing a little bit each day.

HOSPITALITY GIFTS
If you don’t want to arrive empty handed when you are invited to someone’s home, do up a handful of ready to go gifts that you can grab on your way out the door. We love to give edibles, and you can get great, inexpensive items like Chai Tea concentrate, cute tins of cookies, boxes of individually wrapped Biscotti...and just make up a little bundle of treats. Cheryl likes to grab a handful of $10 Starbucks cards to have on hand just in-case… you could always pair up a coffee card with a little bundle of biscotti, or a nice but inexpensive chocolate bar… So, you can see it’s really easy to put together a few inexpensive little gift for when you’re going to need them. The key is to do a few ahead of time so to same money and avoid last minute.

WRAP GREEN
While we’re looking at a Christmas with new eyes, think green. Rather than using wrapping paper, dress up a shopping bag with a bit of ribbon, or if you’re crafty you can go to town. These are beautiful and practical and not expensive. Have fun with stuff like this, be creative and earth-friendly in your wrapping and decorating. Cheryl made a couple of cute resusable bags as give-aways.

SIMPLIFY YOUR SWEETS
I’ll bet that most of us in this room appreciate a little Christmas baking, but we’re really trying to avoid the fuss, the expense and the calories that come along with it. If you’re going to bake, consider making less of a production out of it… do 2 or 3 types instead of 5. And if you’re at all entertaining a baking exchange, maybe consider just asking one or two friends to do a small scale exchange so that you don’t have to crank out 12 dozen of anything.

SIMPLE ENTERTAINING
If you’re hosting any get togethers, make it easy on yourself and take short-cuts. Have appy parties instead of dinner parties. If it’s a large group, take people up on their offer to bring something. You also might want to be armed with a few key ingredients for some very quick, no-fail appetizers, just incase someone comes by last minute or you haven’t had time to make anything ahead. I’m sure you have lots of great ideas for this kind of thing, and again, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to post your ideas in the comments section of this blog. We showed the ladies our two favourites… everyone loves these and they are ridiculously easy and fast to make.

The first is a hot crab and artichoke dip. You can keep all these ingredients on hand at all times, there’s nothing unusual here that will go bad if you don’t use it right away. All you need is…
a. A can of crab meat
b. A block of cream cheese
c. About half a cup of sourcream
d. Half a jar of artichokes, chopped
e. Some garlic, lemon, pepper and dill
f. And if you have parmeasan or asiago around, you can throw that in too.
You don’t have to measure, you just drain and rinse the crab, chop up the artichokes, throw it all together, use a hand mixer and bake it for about 15 minutes. You can do crackers or tortilla chips… you can not mess this up and it’s so yummy. I made this this earlier in the week and had my kids time me and from cupboard to oven it was 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Everyone can pull that dip off.

The other one we is a favourite at Cheryl’s house… she just takes a brie wheel, which she buys in a 6 pack at Costco and freezes until she needs them, top that with chopped sundried tomatoes (the ones stored in olive oil), chopped garlice and a drizzle of olive oil. Throw it under the broiler for 7-10 minutes until it gets melty, pull out and serve with hearty crackers or a baguette. If you bake it in a nice oven-safe dish you can serve it from oven to table and cut down on dishes as well.

And if this isn’t fast enough for you, there’s always M & M! (actually,we think we're faster!)

CHRISTMAS DINNER
Everyone loves Christmas dinner, but who one wants to spend all Christmas day cooking and doing dishes? Look at your menu and pick out any items that can be done a day or two ahead, like mashed potatoes or desserts…. Maybe even plan your Christmas dinner with make ahead dishes in mind, so that Christmas day gives your more time to sit down with your family and a cup of hot chocolate.

SIMPLE SUPPERS
To maximize any days off you have, put some meals in the freezer now over the next couple of weeks. Do a big batch of chilli, make a bunch of meatballs, precook some taco or fajita filling and that will make any meal prep you have to do a lot easier. Ask your girlfriends what their favourite make ahead meals are and swap some ideas… Remember, lists are your friends, so plan your menus and make great lists so you can cut down on trips to the store.

KEEP TRADITIONS MEANINGFUL AND KEEP MEANINGFUL TRADITIONS
Ask your family now what they look forward to each Christmas… and be ok with letting go of some activities that aren’t at the top of the list. And maybe that conversation is a good time to talk about starting new, meaningful traditions. Maybe it’s a family discussion about how you can all work together to give to those in need. You can take this to any level you want. Maybe it’s doing something thoughtful for a neighbour who could use a little extra love. Maybe it’s something bigger, like replacing at SOME of your gift purchases with donations to a worthy cause. Get creative, what ever that looks like for you and your family. Hopefully with the time and money you’ve saved by Simplifing your Christmas, you will feel energized to invest in meaningful traditions, whether they are old favourites or the start of something new.

SIMPLY SAVOR… Don’t aim for the perfect Christmas, just savor the people, the time, the moments, the traditions and the legacies you’re building. We wish you all a very meaningful and simple Christmas!

love,
Dawn and Cheryl

Christmas Countdown - One Month Out

Did anyone notice it's November 24 today?
That basically means that if it ain't done one month from today, it's not going to happen.

Do you need to lie down?

I (Dawn) have to admit, I'm off the hook this year as we're heading to Thailand for Christmas. Being gone for 25 days over the holidays kinda give me a pass on decorating, shopping, and a whole bunch of holiday hullabaloo! (I'll try to get in a little hullabaloo before we leave in 3 weeks!)

For those of you who are not fleeing the country and are looking forward to enjoying a white Christmas with friends and family, you know the mixed bag of the month ahead. Lots of great memories are about to be made, along with a nice thick layer of business, expense, expectation and chaos.

If you're looking for ways to keep things as simple as possible so that you can put more energy into the things that really matter, we're cheering for you!

This Saturday, Cheryl and I will be doing a little feature for the women of Trinity Baptist Church at their Women's Christmas Event! We'll post the ideas we share there in a couple of days and hope you find them practical and helpful.

As for today...

How's that Christmas card list coming?

We know a lot of our friends and blog readers like to make their own cards, which is a really special way to let the people in your lives know how much they mean to you. Just please learn from my mistake last year... I made my cards a little "too special" (read THICK) and had the privilege of spending several dollars on EACH card just to mail them!
Plan well, crafters, plan well.

Homemade or store bought, if you plan to send cards, there is no time like the present.
1) Make a list
2) Check it twice. As you look at the names, ask yourself who would really appreciate a card in the mail, and who would be just as happy with an e-mail update?
3) Aaaannnndddd.... GO! No procrastinating, just get it done before all the hullabaloo begins for you :-)

Closet Crazy

WE'RE BACK!

We had such a great 2 days at Stor-X... it is such a smart product, great look, unlimited layout options, endless accessories, great Canadian quality, really nice staff, excellent reputation and experience---we're so proud to be working with this product and have started dreaming up closet designs for our own homes! We are already having fun walking through brand new homes, talking to owners, and designing their "closet furniture"--we'll be sure to post some pics of our finished jobs.

Looking to spruce up your own closet space?

Here's a few steps to get you on your way:

1) Purge... if you haven't worn it in the last year, let it go to someone who might benefit from it. Same goes for linen closets that might have old towels you wouldn't dare use but haven't gotten rid of... an overabundance of sheet sets, games no one plays, cleaning supplies that have 1/2 inch of liquid left in them... give your self permission to say farewell!
2) Sort... get your "like items" together... hanging all your pants, long sleeve, short sleeve, jackets in sections is such a fast way to make your closet feel a lot more inviting.
3) Handy Hangers... if you're short on space, try some of the hanger options that are out there that can hold several pairs of pant/skirts with one unit--it really cuts down on the amout of rod space several pairs will take up if hung individually.

The day Dawn and Cheryl went into the closet...

Something so cool has happened for us and we're really excited to let you in on it...


We have become closet designers for Artesano Custom Cabinets... providing beautiful, custom closet planning and furniture made by Stor-X, a Canadian closet company. This is such an exciting opportunity and we have enjoyed designing our first couple of closets already. Next week we will spend 2 days in Vancouver for training and then we can give you more info about the company & the product. Unfortunately, the Stor-X website leaves a little to be desired, but in real life the product is gorgeous. These are not your everyday wire racks, but really beautiful and functional storage pieces that makes the closet oddly enjoyable to walk in to! We will post photos as soon as we have some finished product to show you!

And as for us two going into the closet, we know, you all saw it coming.
:-)

Conquer the Mountain

If you have kids in school - particularly elementary and primary - then you probably have a pile of:

artwork
memos
newsletters
fieldtrip stuff
PAC news
scholastic book orders
and
so
on......

Here are a couple of quick tips that help me keep that mountain of paper under control.

Artwork:

Please believe me when I say you DO NOT have to keep EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY piece of paper your child has scribbled/drawn/written on.

It's true!

If you did keep every single solitary piece you would soon be swimming in a mountain of paper. And while I'm sure little Johnny is a very talented artist/doodler/scholar he will not have to go to therapy when he's older because his mom chucked some of the stuff he brought home from school.

It's true! (No, really. I'm not joking!)

• Tip #1: Have a box or folder in your office or the place in your home that you keep paperwork. Every day, throw the artwork/etc in this file. At the end of the month sort through it and limit yourself to keeping one or two of the best pieces - you can have your child help you choose (or if they are a packrat, like my youngest, you might be better off doing this alone)
• Tip #2: Sometimes kids do projects at school that are LARGE - if your child has a super special something like that - take a photo of him with the project and then junk it!
• Tip #3: At the end of the school year gather up all the pieces you've chosen to keep, have another look through to see if you *must* keep them all and then put them in a file with the year on it and store them in a box labeled "Johnny's School Artwork")

Memos, Newsletters, Fieldtrip Stuff, PAC News, Scholastic Book Orders, Etc, Etc, Etc:

I found last year that my computer desk was becoming a catch-all for all the kids' school papers. So I decided to assign a binder for this task, which I keep close to my desk.

I made 3 dividers:

• general school stuff (pertaining to both my kids, stuff like the newsletters)
• and then one for each boy for stuff specific to each one of them
  

Every pertinent paper is three hole punched and put in the binder behind it's respective divider.

AND... the winner is....

Thanks everyone for participating in our Blog Launch Draw!! Great to hear from so many friends and friends of friends.

The winner of 2 hours of organizing magic with Dawn and Cheryl iiiisssss........
BARB NEWMAN!

And as a special thank you for referring friends to our site,
we've drawn
SHERRI ANN RAST,
who will receive this lovely monogram journal for list making/note taking/dreaming/doodling--whatever your heart desires :-)


THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR GOOD WISHES... we promise to keep some more contests coming your way soon!

You know the old joke about how the dryer always eats one sock?

In our house, the space in front of our dryer seems to magically make dirty laundry grow.

Sort

Wash

Fold

Put Away

Repeat

and

repeat

and....

well, you can throw in that whole Energizer Bunny thing, and so on and so on....

Hopefully some of these ideas can help you keep on top of that every growing Laundry Monster.

Get prepared

Sorting a huge pile of laundry can be a time sucker. If you purchase a few inexpensive laundry baskets you can sort as you go. Depending on how you wash your clothes, some suggestions are:

• darks
• towels
• whites

It might take a little bit of reminding, but even young children (and husbands!) are capable of putting their dirty clothes in the appropriate baskets.

If you have items that need to be dry cleaned have a separate area or bag for them.

Putting Clothes Away

This is what my family has struggled with in the past, the clothes get sorted, washed, dried and folded.

And then they sit there....

and sit there...

and, well, you get the picture.

A few tips to conquer this problem:

• keep your hangers right by or on your dryer, hang clothes up as they come out of the dryer.
• if you have space, have yet another series of baskets for each person in the house, clean, folded clothes go directly into the appropriate basket and that person is responsible for putting them away (again, this task is not beyond most younger children)
• I try to put a load of laundry in every morning when I first get up, that way it is done and ready for the dryer before I leave for the day, then that night I fold it and the next morning remind the kids to put away their clean clothes before we leave for school
• keep a small bin or basket for those stray socks that inevitably show up in the dryer
  

Purge, purge, purge

I try to go through my closet at least twice a year. Usually Spring and Autumn I will go through everything, get rid of items that are getting old/shabby, things that don't fit or that I haven't worn in a year. I also do this with my kids' closets, they grow out of things every 6 months or so and by spending an hour twice a year it's easy to make a pile of clothes to throw out, donate or consign.

Dirty laundry is not going away. And frankly, while it isn't much fun, if you keep on top of it, it becomes a whole lot less daunting.

I hope some of these ideas help you get the upper hand on the Laundry Monster.

The Old Fall Switcharoo

My kid just put on long pants for the first time since last February. Which is my veeeerrryyyy sketchy segue into the question of the day:

Still have flip-flops in your main shoe closet?

Hate to break it to you, but the time has come to switch over from summer sandles and unearth the jackets, mits, hats and, sadly, boots. Save yourself that first REALLY-cold-morning-panic of trying to find the appropriate articles for the upcoming weather.

Make it easy to do your seasonal switchovers by keeping a bin or two labeled "OFF SEASON" to store away hibernating items until their time comes again. When you're packing up this summer's stuff, look at each piece and ask yourself a few questions...

"Are these in good enough shape to keep?"

"Did these get worn this year?"

"Will these fit anyone next summer"

If the answer is no, it's time to chuck/donate/consign! See if you can't load up a box of summer items to remove from your home this week... let us know if you had sucess. There's something in it for anyone who reports back by next Monday!

Also, as you break into your fall/winter stash... make sure everyone's stuff still fits before the day comes that they really need to wear it. If things are a little more snug than they should be, make a list and check those consignment stores if you want to save a few bucks. Winter stuff is out and about and there are some great deals to be had with a little bit of snooping around.

Happy simplifying!

Not Your Grandma's Jewelry Box

From Martha Stewart's website:


Cute and stylish way to reuse and organize!

Thankful for...

family,

food and....

wrestling.

That is what my 8 year old is thankful for.

Yup, that sounds about right.

In any case, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and enjoyed the long weekend thoroughly.

Here are a few good freezer recipes for all that leftover turkey, once you're tired of sandwiches and have the time to get a few meals pre-made for those busy days you don't have time to cook.


Wild Rice Turkey Bake

To cook wild rice, combine 1-1/2 cups washed rice with 4 cups water in heavy saucepan. Cover and cook for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Drain off any excess water.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked wild rice
• 3 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 16 ox pkg frozen french cut green beans (thawed)
• 17 oz jar of Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup soft breadcrumbs

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix rice, turkey, green beans and Alfredo sauce in large bowl. Place in 12x8" glass baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until casserole bubbles at the edges and bread crumbs are browned. To freeze, under cook rice by 10 minutes. Do not thaw green beans. Mix all ingredients and place in baking dish. Wrap well and attach small freezer bag with bread crumbs. Label and freeze up to three months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Uncover, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Serves 6

Turkey Tetrazzini

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 envelopes or teaspoons instant chicken broth granules or base
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• pinch of nutmeg
• 2 cups cold water
• 3 cups cooked turkey or chicken white meat, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 6 ounces broad egg noodles, cooked until tender (14 to 20 minutes, about 3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• paprika

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in skillet; saute´ mushrooms just until tender, Combine dry milk, cornstarch, chicken broth, salt, pepper, onion powder and nutmeg with cold water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.
Arrange noodles in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Spread mushrooms in a layer over the noodles; top with a layer of chicken. Pour sauce over all then sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and paprika. paprika. Bake turkey tetrazzini at 350° for 30 minutes, or until hot bubbling.


Turkey Enchiladas

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 package reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups cooked diced turkey or chicken
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans*
• 12 6-inch flour tortillas
• 1 10 3/4-oz.can reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 or 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• cilantro or parsley
  
• chopped tomato and green sweet bell pepper

Preparation:

In a little water in a skillet, cook the chopped onion until tender.

For enchiladas, spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick coating. In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese, water, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked onion, turkey or chicken, and toasted pecans*. Heat tortilla in microwave or skillet just until soft.

Spoon about 1/4 cup turkey mixture onto each tortilla, roll up. Place seam side down, in the baking dish. For sauce, in a medium mixing bowl combine soup, sour cream, milk and chile peppers; pour over enchiladas.

Bake casserole, covered, in a 350° oven about 40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle enchiladas with cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered for about 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted. Topped with minced cilantro or parsley, chopped tomatoes, and chopped green pepper.
Serves 6 to 8.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown and aromatic.

My Fancy Drawers

I think for many people one of the hardest areas to keep under control is their hobby area.

Whether that be a garage for the mechanically inclined, sports equipment for the athletes or a craft room for the creative - this stuff seems to accumulate and take over.

I recently re-froofed up one of those kind of unattractive (in my opinion) plastic drawer units in my craft room and reorganized some of my papercraft goodies in it.

It took me 2 sheets of patterned paper, a heavy duty hole punch, 2 circle punchs, some ribbon, black and white cardstock, my computer and about an hour.

First I dumped everything in the middle of the room (because that's how I roll - one our mottos is 'ya gotta make a mess to clean it up' - which is probably not entirely true, but to me there is something very satisfying with watching a pile of stuff get purged and reorganized.)

I had figured out the categories a few years ago and they still were relevant for what I am using it for, printed them out and made the tags.
Then everything went into it's respective drawers and the purged contents were passed along to friends and the kids.
Then I adhered the paper on, punched the holes and tied on the tags.

It's still not the most beautiful of piece of furniture, but it's cuter and it's organized!

Feelin' Lucky?

To kick off our DO LIFE SIMPLIFIED blog, we're offering a little draw!

(Sadly, not for a Million bucks, but EVERY BIT as valuable!)

To enter, all you have to do is post a comment our blog sometime before the end of October. On November 1st, we will draw a name and that person will receive 2 hours of organizing assistance from the two of us!

Sound good? Invite your friends to enter too!

(We know what you're thinking... "but if I tell a friend, it'll lessen my chances of winning!" It's ok that you want us all to yourself--we're flattered :-)
As a little incentive to spread the word, we're are offering a SECOND special draw for those who refer a friend to our website--just tell them to drop your name and we'll enter you once for every friend of yours that comments. On November 1st we'll do a draw for a delightful prize that we know you'll love! ---- oohhh the suspense of it all...

Chores in 10 minute chunks.

Got a job to do that you can not get motivated to start?

Try setting your timer for 10 minutes, attack the undesirable chore and see how far you get. When the buzzer goes, set it for another 10 minutes and do something fun... like blog-stalking or painting your toenails. or a little on-line Sudoku (that's for you, Cheryl!) When the buzzer goes again, set it for 10 more and get back to that chore... lather, rinse, repeat. You get the idea.

Give it a shot next time you need to clean your stove or go through the paperwork in the office--whatever your least favorite cleaning/organizing activities are. Anything is tolerable for 10 minutes at a time.

So what's your least favorite chore around the house?
Are you willing to give it a shot?
We dare you!
Let us know how it goes!

Bye-Bye Unsightly Paper Towel Roll...

Cheryl found this... I think it's really cool.

http://www.healthyshelf.com/

I want several.

Blogging Simplified

Hello Clients, Friends and Simplicity Seekers...

As Life Simplified enters its second year, we thought we'd celebrate with the launch of our DO LIFE SIMPLIFIED blog!

What will you find here?

• Life Simplified news from Cheryl & Dawn
• Tips and Tricks to help you simplify your home and life.
• Links to cool stuff we see related to organizing, cleaning, managing home and life.
• Other fun stuff that amuses us.

We'll kick it off with a super simple meal saving idea:

MAKE MEATBALLS... BY THE HUNDREDS!

To make a batch of meatballs, you only need to dirty one big bowl and some baking pans.

Just mix up 2 large containers of lean ground beef with a couple of eggs, a cup or so of breadcrumbs, some onions soup mix, other seasoning, worchestershire sauce, whatever you like into one big meaty concoction. Rather than forming and rolling the meatballs, just use a scooper, (I like the pampered chef ones) and crank those meatballs out faster than they can be eaten.

Don't worry about fussing with the frying pan... just throw them in a glass baking dish or other pan you like, (I prefer my Pampered Chef Bar Pan---no, I'm not getting anything for this endorsement :-) and let them bake away. All you have to do is take out the last batch, set them on some paper towel, quickly wipe out the pan, and scoop the next batch out and let them bake. It's the perfect way to get several meals made while you have an evening at home doing other things... possibly things that are more fun that whipping up a dinner from scratch every night!

Just throw your baked meatballs into freezer bags and take out what you need as you need them. Throw them into spaghetti sauce, sweet & sour sauce, cream of mushroom soup-type sauce... or waram them up and serve them with bbq sauce or Tzaziki for dipping. My kids favorite dinner these days is greek salad with pita and meatballs dipped in tzaziki.

One evening of "meat-balling" can probably get me through 8-10 family meals and are great to have on hand when we've got friends coming.

Simple enough for ya?

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Best Fall Wishes to you from us!
Dawn & Cheryl