Organize Your Recipes

I found this great article from a fellow organizer on a topic I haven’t written about before – organizing recipes. I like Evie’s ideas, so I wanted to share them with you.

So, what do you do with all of these clippings, or perhaps you have recipes written out on scraps of paper you got from a friend or coworker sharing her favorite recipe? Here is my current system, and I must say, it is working really well for me. Maybe it will work for you too.

Get an accordion file folder and label each pocket into categories as you would your recipe box. Here is a suggested category list:

• Appetizers and Snacks
• Beef
• Beverages
• Breads & Muffins
• Cakes & Squares
• Cookies & Desserts
• Casseroles & Pasta
• Fish & Pork
• Misc. (Pickles, Sauces, Breakfasts, etc.)
• Poultry
• Salads & Vegetables
• Soups & Stews

Get a large recipe box for your cards. I found this two-drawer holder which is perfect. I use the top drawer only for “my” recipes and family recipes. Any that are in my mother’s handwriting have been laminated to protect them.

The lower drawer is for recipes I have made from TV shows, magazines, or from friends that are “keepers.”

This system works so well, that it doesn’t take long to find my recipe, it is only in one of three places:

• Recipe Cards
• Cookbooks
• Accordion Folder

If I had a larger home, I would love to designate a whole drawer with file folders to recipes, but since I have a small house, this system works really well. The accordion folder fits in the cupboard beside my cookbooks.

The system is: once I make a recipe from a cookbook or a magazine, and it is a “ten,” then I write it onto a recipe card. The cards are proven, tried and true.

Let me know what you use to organize your recipes. I am always looking for new systems and ways to improve.

Elvie Look is an Entrepreneur, Expert Organizer, Cook and Seamstress. She provides organizing solutions, tips, menus and recipes at http://www.elviesessentials.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elvie_Look

Originally posted 2011-03-19 12:07:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Calendars and Planners for Busy Work-At-Home-Moms: Inexpensive Ways to Stay on Top of Family Activities

A new school year is almost upon us, and with it comes the barrage of back-to-school activities, projects and assignments for busy parents to manage. To help you start off the school year on the right foot, today let’s talk about calendars and planners for busy families.

If you’ve been in an office supply store lately, you’ve seen the latest gadgets and gizmos to help you stay on top of your business whether in an office or at home. Keeping ahead of the rush doesn’t have to involve spending lot of money for electronic gadgets that will only confuse you more until you get used to how to use them. Sometimes, the tried and true methods still work the best.

As a work-at-home mom (WAHM), you are saving money on childcare but also building a business that you can be proud of. To that end, you need certain equipment to make it happen. For the sake of scheduling, a PDA or Smartphone are great technologies, but there are still many folks who could not function without their paper calendar/planner. These families are visual and still need to see the week or month spread out in front of them instead of looking on a small hand-held phone screen. That’s fine and there are still many functional calendars/planners from which to choose.

Have you seen the new calendars for 2011? They aren’t just the pocket variety your mom carries around or the one that comes in the mail from the insurance company (not that there’s anything wrong with those). Calendars for busy families have taken on a functionality that is quite exciting.

Speaking of calendars, two that I’ve found that work great for busy families are BusyBodyBook and Mom’s Family Calendar by Sandra Boynton. These calendars are fun to look at and come with stickers and pens to record everyone’s schedule. The BusyBodyBook provides a space to write in every family member’s name and their activities each month. You can also use this grid-style calendar for meal planning.

Family calendars help you mesh family life and business commitments. Since the kitchen is the central meeting place for a family, the calendar can hang there for everyone to record what they are doing. Or, they can give all their information to you and you can do it. Mom, you can even list your work hours each day on the family calendar so your beloved husband and kids know when you are not to be disturbed.

Now, let’s talk about planners. A planner works best when used in conjunction with a desk calendar. In your planner, each day is broken down by hours. The time slots that you listed on the family calendar can be broken down into specific project commitments in your planner. A planner can go everywhere with you so you are never without your schedule.

Choose a planner carefully. There are many on the market and some have features you don’t need. Franklin Covey offers a line of planners for all sorts of needs. Look for:

• Removable pages
• Section for notes or notepad
• Address book
• Place for business cards
• Tabs for easy look-up
• Vinyl pouch for bills, messages, etc.

Keeping your business schedule straight is not an easy task, but that doesn’t mean it has to be an expensive one. You can still stay on top of your daily work with the ever handy, even if they are considered “old fashioned” by your kids, calendars and planners made for the job.

A word of warning from a Professional Organizer … learn to use your calendar/planner religiously! Never be tempted to jot something down on a piece of paper or sticky note. Train yourself to grab your planner/calendar no matter what, even if it is in another part of the house – stop for a moment, go get your planner and record the event. You will save yourself so much headache later on when that slip of paper gets  misplaced before getting recorded in your calendar. Trust me … I see it happen every day with my clients.

Learn more about the organizational tools and planners we carry at The Simplified Home.

Originally posted 2010-08-02 15:42:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

BLOGMANIA – Let’s Get Organized!!! Theme

********** BLOGMANIA IS NOW CLOSED  **********

Thank you to all who visited The Organizing Genie and who entered our giveaway!! Winners have been chosen and contacted.

********************************************

Oh I am so excited to be participating in BLOGMANIA! As you might imagine, here on The Organizing Genie blog our theme is … LET’S GET ORGANIZED! Our prize package is a dream come true for every busy woman, wife, daughter or mother!

Here’s what’s included in our “LET’S GET ORGANIZED” prize package valued at more than $100 from The Simplified Home …

Mom, Can I Help Around the House, A Simple Step-by-Step System for Teaching Your Children Life-Long Skills for Pitching In and Picking Up

The COUPONIZER – coupon organizing system

 

 

POCKET.DOC by Buttoned Up
 

LOC-A-SOK – sock grippers for keeping socks matched in laundry

Practical Organizing Themed Post-it Notes Set

ALL OUT OF Grocery Shopping Organizer Pad

Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms e-Book  

 

All of these great organizing products are offered courtesy of The Simplified Home!  

To Enter:

1. Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect.

2. Visit The Simplified Home and then post a comment here telling me which product you like the best.

3. Live in US or Canada

Bonus Entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter
2. Like The Simplified Home Fan Page on Facebook.
3. Join our list and receive our special report Shelf Life of 100+ Common Household Items (green sign-up box above right)
4. Subscribe to The Organizing Genie blog feed

NOTE: Your entry is not valid if entry requirements above are not followed. BLOGMANIA ends on September 16, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Good luck!!

To visit more BlogMania blogs, see the full list below:




Originally posted 2010-09-14 23:24:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms

If you’re like me, you’re anxiously awaiting warm weather fun and relaxation. It’s time to come out of winter hybernation, clear out the clutter and get organized so you and your family can fully enjoy all the season has to offer. To help you get your home in tip top shape, I’m delighted to announce my second book
“Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms“.

To keep the price low, this valuable home management resource is available in an electronic format, commonly called an E-book. This means that you can immediately download this 75+ page guide and begin benefiting from all my insider home organization tips and strategies in less than 5 minutes from now!   No shipping costs and no waiting!

To celebrate my new book, I’m giving away a ten-part home organization mini-course (based on the strategies shared in the book) for all my valued subscribers! Each day for the next ten days you will receive a practical home organization strategy that will jumpstart your organizing efforts.

Receive our FREE 10-part Home Organization Secrets mini-course!
Name:
E-mail Address:
After submitting this form, check your In-box for an e-mail requesting your confirmation.




Here’s a sneak peak at what you’ll learn from Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms:

- How to identify clutter in your life – physical and mental

- How to determine your “whys” for getting organized

- How to design your organizational goals for your home and family

- How to break through information overload and take action
- 13 must-do home organization strategies
-THE 5 essential home management systems no home should be without
- How to immediately identify where to place your stuff for efficient access

- Step-by-step “How Tos” for organizing any space
- insider tips and strategies that my personal clients learn from working side-by-side with me
- And so much more!

I’ve included two great BONUSES too!  

BONUS: Shelf-Life Guide for 100+ Common Household Items (updated & expanded)
BONUS: A Parent’s Guide to Medicine Safety

You get all this for $9.99 for a limited time!

(the regular price is $14.97)

Visit Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms to learn more.

Talk soon …

Janet Nusbaum, The Organizing Genie
(Mom since 1997, Professional Organizer since 2004)

Janet@SimplifiedSpaces.net
317-867-1540

NOTE: Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms can also be found in our on-line store: www.TheSimplifiedHome.net

Originally posted 2009-05-20 21:18:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter