How about you? Is your garage, basement, attic full of stuff you’ve already relegated to those spaces, but you hold onto it for some reason? I found some great tips for what to do with garage sale leftovers on About.com by Housekeeping expert Sarah Aquirre.

Originally posted 2009-07-10 09:21:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

1. Cut coupons – Each Sunday I look forward to receiving the newspaper, where we receive upwards of 100 coupons in our Sunday newspaper.

2. Download coupons off the internet – Check out www.coolsavings.com or www.couponcart.com for great on-line deals on your favorite items.

3. Join frequent buyer clubs at your local grocers – These no-cost programs offer club members on select products. In my last grocery trip I saved $15 as a member of my local grocer’s club and another $10 in clipped coupons.

4. Join a local warehouse club – Locally we have a Costco and Sam’s Club, as well as a Super Target and Super Walmart, where I have found significant savings over our name brand supermarkets. The wholesale clubs can save you 20

5. Purchase generic brands and/or store brands – I have often compared store brands to name brands and find that there is rarely a difference between the two. In fact, like many other products we purchase (i.e., electronics, appliances), the same manufacturer that makes the name brand often manufactures the generic product.

6. Purchase fresh products instead of processed/packaged products – It’s no surprise that fresh unprocessed foods are healthier for us, but these foods not only save in calories, but are also less expensive than packaged and processed foods.

7. Prepare a List – when you go to the store with a plan, you are less likely to succumb to impulse purchases. Check out the ‘All Out Of’ shopping list notepad that allows you to create your grocery list as you deplete household items. It has a magnet on the back so you can affix it to your frig.

8. Shop your supermarket’s weekly specials – Each week we receive our local supermarket’s brochure of advertised specials, which often include two for one sales. These circulars will also advertise double-coupon days. During double-coupon days and two for one specials, I’ve taken the opportunity to stock up on often used staples.

9. Choose products on the top and bottom shelves – It is no accident that higher priced products appear at eye-level on our grocery shelves. These are often the smaller sizes of a product, which typically have a higher per unit cost.

Originally posted 2008-08-24 09:24:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The fact is that children’s lives are much different than they were even a decade ago. Today’s children spend on average four hours per day watching TV, that was foreign to children a generation ago. Did you know that children who spend more than two hours per day in front of a screen (TV or computer) are more likely to have an unhealthy diet and are less likely to participate in physical activity? When you factor in homework time, hygiene and meals, there’s no time left for children to participate in beneficial activities like physical activity, time spent with family or in positive contributions to the good of the family.

With the rise in suburban sprawl and city living, children no longer benefit from physical activity when the space required to engage in the activities doesn’t exist. Sprawling metropolises and the conveniences within them make it harder for children to remain active in or around their homes. The simple acts of walking to school, riding a bike, or building a fort, once common activities for children, don’t factor into the modern child’s life. The absence of these activities contribute to the problem of childhood obesity, especially when one considers that it was once common for children to spend all day playing outside and contributing to the maintenance of the family property.

Children who choose to spend their extra few minutes of recreational time watching television and playing video games are at greater risk for developing a weight problem, since the minutes add up and eventually turn into hours toward a sedentary lifestyle.

Given the lifestyle changes of US children, parents must take steps to add opportunities for activity into their children’s daily lives. Simple steps can be taken to prevent and combat childhood obesity. Like many other things, it starts from within the home. In addition to changing children’s eating habits and attitudes towards physical activity, parents should incorporate vigorous exercise into their children’s daily lives in the form of chores. The benefits of requiring children to do chores doesn’t end with a clean house or even a newfound sense of responsibility – chores can also improve children’s health by keeping them fit, lean and less susceptible to medical complications associated with childhood obesity, including childhood diabetes and pre-diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, bone disorders, gastro-intestinal diseases, high cholesterol, hyperlipidemia, premature puberty and psychological problems. Keeping active by participating in household chores during childhood can also reduce a child’s risk of becoming an overweight adult and worsening pre-existing conditions.

It’s clear that scheduling household chores as part of a child’s regular routine is not only an investment in an orderly home and a well-adjusted child, but also an investment in a healthy body that can serve them well into adulthood and beyond. Children deserve every bit of a head start that parents can afford them. Contributing to a healthy lifestyle by requiring chore work is only one of the many ways that parents can condition their children, both mentally and physically, in preparation to live full, adult lives.

Originally posted 2008-10-03 06:51:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

We become attached our book collections and derive pride from a large and varied collection. So how can coveting books be a bad thing? 

As the old adage says … too much of a good thing can quickly turn into a negative. And like any other possession, more of any possession that you aren’t using or enjoying regularly is clutter.  Too often a book is purchased, put on a shelf and never touched again. Or the book is read, then put on a shelf to never be touched again. In either case, how is that book, now relegated to a book storage shelf, offering any function to your home or enjoyment to your life?

The downside to coveting books is that they take up a lot of space, they collect dust and moisture (that contributes to allergies), they can infiltrate every room and flat surface of your home, and they deprive us of open space for the possessions and activities that we use and do daily.

In my old life I wished for floor to ceiling book shelves in my living room that had vaulted ceilings, with a rolling ladder that I could climb to the top and get any one of the hundreds of books that I envisioned filling the many shelves. In this era of simple living I now view books in a different way. Now I view the habit of accumulating books and storing them on bookshelves like any other old, useless possession that doesn’t enhance my life on a daily basis. When you look at it this way, aren’t bookshelves just storage spaces for unused items to collect dust. I no longer give into the urge to purchase books that in reality I know I won’t touch anytime in the near future. And on the many storage shelves where my books were once stored, I’ve purged and narrowed it down to only my favorites.   

Here are five strategies for keeping book clutter under control:

1. Pass It On, or Swap for Titles You Want

When you’re finished reading a book, pass it on to a friend or make a trade for one of her books you’d like to read. This allows you and your friends to read many books without each of you having to purchase and keep each book in your home.  Here’s a great site where you can swap your unwanted books for titles you want – all free.  www.PaperBackSwap.com

2. Use Electronic Media (E-Readers)

To a professional organizer, E-Reader technology is the greatest thing since sliced bread. A few of the top brands are:

• Amazon Kindle
• Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition
• COOL-ER
• eSlick Digital Book Reader
  

In my next post, I compare these four popular brands.

The e-Reader allows you to download thousands of book titles from sites like Amazon.com, as well as from free sites like Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg is particularly good if you are interested in reading the classics.

E-readers are great when traveling especially. I have heard from clients that they loaded five or more books on their hand-held e-Reader that would’ve taken up half their suitcase and weighed it down too much to carry.

3. Frequent the Library

Your local library is a great option for current titles that you borrow, read, and return. No lasting book clutter. Before buying a book, always check to see if it is available from your local library. Most libraries will let you put your name on a waiting list for popular titles and new releases. Try to delay gratification by renting the book and giving it back when you’re done, instead of buying the book and adding it to your book storage shelves.

4. Buy One, Remove One

As I always suggest to my clients, if you bring one in, let one go. Make a deal with yourself that if buy a new book, an older one has to go.

5. Use Audio Books

I love Audible.com. I love the selection and quality of their audio books. Project Gutenberg also has many audio books that can be used with an MP3 player.

With my busy schedule, I now prefer audio books, which allow me to “read” while doing other activities like exercising, weeding, driving, or housework. They provide another way for me to read without any clutter.

So the next time you consider buying a book at your local bookstore, or on-line consider if you truly have time to read the book in the near future, or will the new book be relegated to your book storage shelves to collect dust along with all the other books you had good intensions of reading.

Originally posted 2009-11-22 15:44:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

“No” may be a tiny, two-letter word, but it can be your secret weapon. And you can say it. Here are some ways you can say “no” without feeling guilty about it: “Sorry, I’m taking a break.” The number one reason why you should say “no” occasionally is simply that you deserve a break. You are chef, chauffeur, dish washer, and more. Your job never ends on any given day of the week. You deserve a break. If you feel bad for saying “no”, say, “Sorry, I’m taking a break”. My schedule is full. We tend to jam-pack our schedule full of activities, leaving no time to just rest. Here are some tips for freeing up some of your time in your schedule.

• Cut back on your kids activities
• Start a car pool and share driving responsibilities
• Do whatever you can to free up some time in your schedule. I don’t have time. You’re headed out the door, rushing to the next appointment when the telephone rings. What do you do? Do you come to a screeching halt and answer the phone? Let’s say you do, and it’s a family member, calling to dump their latest woes on you. Do you stand, tapping your foot impatiently while you roll your eyes and listen to the sob story? This is a typical scene for many moms. I have another commitment that day. Say it and mean it.
• Regularly schedule in time with your family or time alone and if someone ask for your help during that time look in your planner and tell them you have another commitment.
• Instead of rushing to be everything to everyone, stop. Ask yourself if you truly have time to add more commitments to your calendar? If not, say no by walking away, turning off the ringer on the phone, or not answering the knock at your door.
• Always remember that you are a mom – not a super hero.

When you have to say no, people will understand. If they don’t at first, they will when you consistently set these boundaries and stick to them.

Learning to say no will get easier the more you say it.

Originally posted 2010-01-31 13:41:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter