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.