A Few Random Thoughts

No theme. No words of wisdom. Just a few random ideas:

If you dry your razor blade after you use it, it will last for ages. (Clark Howard, a comsumer advocate in Atlanta, used his Bic razor for a year.)

To make strawberries last for a week, put them in a Tupperware (or plastic ware of your choice) with a paper towel lining the bottom. I have a special Tupperware "fresh mates" container that does the same thing, but at an increased price. (Thanks for the towel tip Jaye.)

If you're a minivan driver, think about removing one of the middle seats. This makes getting the kids in and out so easy. Plus, it's a great makeshift changing room when needed. This is where I always got my kids ready for swim class. Much better than the wet locker room. And best of all, this is where I put my groceries. That way, when I pull into the garage, I have a shorter trip into the house. Of course, you can back in, but if you saw how tight my garage is, you wouldn't consider this an option. Keeping a large plastic storage bin in the car is a great way to keep the grocery bags corralled.

- Finally - Another Post!

So, I guess everyone has probably given up on me by now! It's been three weeks since I've made a post but I have an excuse!

You see, I am a women who needs sleep- uninterupted, restful, sleep. With two young kids, these peaceful nights are few and far between. Lately though, they've been waking me up several times a night and I've felt like a walking zombie. So that's my excuse for not being able to string together more than two coherent sentances. These little absenses will not be uncommon. And unless someone decides they want to pay me for these little mind burps, I won't feel too bad about the breaks!


So what have you been doing lately to simplify, organize, economize and minimize? I've managed to rip apart a couple of rooms, throwing away many bags of stuff I'll never miss. However, I haven't been so great at putting these rooms back together. When I was culling through our bookshelves and deciding what I never should have bothered to move into this house in the first place, I found a book titled "600 Simple Tips to Save You Money". So of course I needed to do a quick read. Really, who writes these things? It contained such inspirational ideas (note the sarcasm) as "don't grocery shop when hungry" and "sew your own clothing." I found one idea in the whole book that I hadn't heard before and that might actually be useful: "remove screens from southern facing windows in the winter to increase solar warmth." The best book I've ever read on the topic is "The Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Daczyyn. Some of her ideas might be considered extreme, but at least they aren't the same old, same old. So here are a few ideas. I hope you find one you can use!


Rethinking Dishwasher use. I've read conflicting reports on whether or not using your dishwasher saves water and/or money. And have come to the following conclusions. 1) Contrary to what I was taught, scrape but don't rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher 2) Use smaller dishes. My large kitchen glasses filled up the top rack rather quickly. By using smaller glasses, I run the dishwasher much less often saving water, electricity, and dish detergent. 3) Don't use the "heated dry" option. I used it for years, but the plastic stuff was still wet anyway. Now I run the dishwasher in the evening, open the door and pull out the racks before I go to bed, and in the morning, everything is dry.


Buying liquid soap. Do you like foamy soap for hand washing? Most kids (and many adults) prefer it. However, a bottle is usually rather pricey, considering it's more than half water. To get foamy soap without getting soaked (little pun there) reuse a pump bottle by filling it halfway with liquid soap, and filling the remaining half with water. (It works best after the soap has had a chance to be diluted by the water.) I go to a warehouse store and buy a huge bottle of liquid soap for $6.oo and it lasts for a year. This also wastes less plastic than buying and pitching multiple bottles. Of course, traditional bar soap is still the way to go on the environmental front.


Another one for the kids. Tired of picking up bath toys? I put a plastic colondar in the tub with my kids. They use it as a toy and then when bath time is done, all toys must be returned to the bowl. This lets the toys drain and dry, and the kids know that the toys go in the colondar or in the trash (ok, I've never thrown any away, but I've never needed to either).

Be sure to send me your ideas!

- The Little Things

I don't know why, but I just haven't been inspired this past week. I've been looking for the big idea, something that would wow both of my loyal readers (thanks Mom and Dorothy). But most of the everyday stuff I do isn't amazing or earth-shattering. It's just the little things that can add up. Saving a few cents buying the store brand, which may save a few dollars a year. Replacing a much used light bulb with a compact fluorescent.
So here are a few of the baby steps I took this past week to move forward with my goals:

Simplify - As most everyone does this time of year, I really started cleaning out the cupboards and closets this week. The reason this is under "simplify" rather that "organize", is because of the mental feng shui that accompanied the extra space in my closet. I have been looking at so many items that I just don't use. Maybe I keep them because someone I care about gave it to me, or I was sure that someday it would come in handy. But every time I looked at that "widget" I would see work. One more thing that needed dealing with. So I'm paring down. And you should know, it really is OK to throw away (make that recycle, give away or donate) a pile of magazines without looking through it first.

Organize - I've admired my friend Kathleen for ages now, for the way she plans her meals so far in advance. So acting on her inspiration, I sat down and made a meal plan for the whole month (dinners only - I'm not Wonder Woman). I thought it would take ages, but it really just took a few minutes. I started filling in any dinner ideas I could think of and after I finished the first draft I was able to take a logical look at it. Which led to logical acts - so as I was cooking cubed chicken for tonight's meal, I cooked up more and put it in the freezer for next week's chicken pot pie. Yesterday I made two meatloaves, cooked one and froze one. I like this! Organizing leads to simplifying!

Economize - Do you buy store brands? Do you even try them? Why not? Can you really tell the difference? I've been buying them for years and they are so much cheaper! Once in a blue moon I think the name brand tastes better, but this is rare. Most people have already discovered that most store brands are made by the big names anyway - same stuff, different package (and no catchy jingle). Another benefit, you don't need to bother with coupons. Ahhh, another way to simplify!

Minimize - Why is it that even when bowls come with lids, we still reach for the plastic wrap? Is it laziness? Habit? Or maybe when we look for a lid we can never find it. And the draw of a ziplock bag is almost magnetic! They are just so easy! Well, I do my best to minimize the use of plastic wrap in my fridge and baggies in the lunch boxes. I've even found that the majority of glasses and bowls are a standard size - and can be sealed with a margarine, cool whip, or yogurt lid (you may have these from your pre-plastic awareness days). Setting a plate on top of a bowl works too. Here's a challenge: try and make your current roll of plastic wrap last until 2008 (I bet you're glad I wasn't talking about toilet paper!)

- Making Choices

So today was errand day. Lucky me - hubby was home with the kids so I was able to head out alone and get a few things crossed off the to do list.
So there I was at Costco economizing up the yin-yang. Comparing prices and figuring out what constituted a good deal, and when I could do better at the grocery store (I was able to do the math in my head since I was sans children). But time after time I was faced with the same dilemma how to chose between simplify, economize and minimize? Milk, orange juice, vinegar and even my all-natural laundry detergent - all in huge plastic containers. I can't stand all the plastic! I've looked into organic milk in cardboard jugs, but the cost is astronomical. I've started using all-natural laundry detergent (even though it costs more) and it works great and makes me feel really superior about saving the planet, but what about the plastic jug it comes in? It makes me feels like a hypocrite. So all we can do is prioritize according to our own conscience. Perhaps I should have bypassed the rotisserie chicken which was encased in a plastic box, but at that moment "simplify" was calling my name.
So as I deal with my plastic guilt, I'll let you think about these ideas:

Simplify - I was making cookies yesterday, and once again I was faced with the dreaded task of chopping nuts. So I just threw them in whole. I vow to not chop again! Maybe you don't mind chopping - but if you eat my banana bread, be ready for the chunks. (Hey, I never promised earth shattering ideas.)

Organize- OK, here's another little but effective idea. If you want your closets to look organized, even if they're not, use all matching hangers. I put all white hangers in my closets when we were putting our last house on the market (I read it in one of those house staging books). It looks very tidy. All the pants and shirts hang at the same level. Also, if you have round and painted closet rods, try buying those plastic covers for shower curtain rods. They come in all colors (but please buy white for aesthetic purposes). You can pop them on over the chipped paint. Clothes hangers slide smoothly and it sure looks better.

Economize -Are you buying expensive cleaners for your stainless steel appliances? Try using rubbing alcohol. Apply straight from the bottle onto a dry cloth and wipe down your appliances. It disinfects and evaporates before it can leave any streaks. It's also way cheaper, more effective, and environmentally friendly than the chemical cleaners on the market. (Thanks for this idea Mom.)

Minimize - Use powdered milk whenever you can. This is cheaper than regular milk, and it doesn't come in the dreaded plastic container. I use it in all my baking. No need to reconstitute. Just add the powder in with the dry ingredients, and the water in with the wet. This also saves trips to the store. We go through tons of milk and I like to make it last as long as possible.

That's it for today, I'll be back soon with more earth-shattering notions to change your life. P.

- A new year makes anything possible!

I can't believe I'm starting a blog. I never thought I'd want to do this - feels too much like homework. So don't look for long well composed posts. I'm much better at bullet points and lists (who doesn't love a good list!) But being that it's the start of a new year (January 2nd to be precise - January 1st is a holiday, and therefore doesn't count I'm told) I thought I'd share some of my goals for 2008:

1 - Simplify! Why do I make life more difficult than it needs to be? The quest for perfection generally leads to exhaustion and disappointment. I vow to simplify in the new year!

2 - Organize. OK, I pledge this on a regular basis, but really, I'm going to do it better than ever before!

3 - Economize. This is an ongoing goal of mine. I'm really quite good at it. However, I am always looking for new ways to save money. You may call me cheap - I prefer to think of myself as allocating my resources to more important things. So if you find that buying premium garbage bags is a good use of your money - go for it. I would rather use that $5 for a good cup of coffee and a cookie. It's all about personal priorities!

4 - Minimize my impact on the environment. I know I won't convince everyone to stop using bleach and to eliminate plastic from their lives. But, I'll share some of the simple (and rarely extreme) things I've tried to help (or simply not hurt) the planet.

So that's it- every week I'd like to share my latest ideas to simplify, organize, economize, and minimize. And I'd love suggestions, because I'll probably run out of content by week three! so wish me luck on my first, and perhaps short-lived blog!

Here are my first notes on the above subjects:

Simplify - Hooks. This week I'm all about hooks. My kids could never manage to hang their towels, coats, or school bags, so hooks are the answer! I bought some of those 3M removable hooks. The metal ones look pretty nice (this is not listed under the "economize" section since they run about $6.50 each). They are now on the back of the bathroom door. Low enough where they can reach to hang towels and robes. I've also placed them on the back of the door that leads into the garage. School bags hang here and will never again be forgotten! We also have hooks in the coat closet since the kids will be twelve before they'll be able to reach the hangers.

Organize - Against my better judgement I've started matching up socks and turning the cuff of one over both socks to make a nice little ball. This is obviously not a new idea! However, I was taught (and rightly so Mom) that this stretches out the cuff of the sock and is therefore, a no-no. But boy-oh-boy, it sure is easier for my kids to get out their own socks (simplify!) and our drawers are much neater.

Economize - I do so many cheap things it's hard to decide which one to share. This week I've been thinking about PJ's. This is the time of year I always start looking to buy for next year. Get those deals when you can! However, my kids love to sleep in old t-shirts (just like me and the hubby) so I ask myself "why buy?" Even if it's a good deal, free is better! So this is what I'll be doing. Purchasing (or acquiring by other legal means) two pairs of jammies. One pair is what I call "sleep over pj's." These are for pj day at school or when friends are over, days when a t-shirt that reaches their ankles is not appropriate. The other pair is for Christmas Eve when a new pair makes the day that much more special (I find this is too late in the season to be combined with the "sleep over pj's"). However, I find it totally unnecessary for the Christmas Eve sleepwear to be Christmas related. New is the key. And Katie is much happier with a butterfly nightgown than with a snowman (and the butterfly looks better around Valentine's Day). And let's take this a step further - If I buy Katie gender neutral or even boys themed pajamas, Josh can wear them in one or two years. As my mom always said "girls look cute in blue, but boys look stupid in pink."

Minimize - This morning I saw a bunch of those little shampoo bottles that you get from hotels sitting in my shower and I started thinking. We take those little bottles out of our hotel rooms. We hoard them in our suitcase each day so the maid will bring more (but only if we're staying at a swanky hotel with the good stuff). Or we may even go so far as to raid the maids' cart if it's left unattended in the hallway (not me of course). But for a mere two tablespoons of shampoo we're throwing away a big hunk of plastic. Most of which is never recycled. Not worth it in my opinion. So from now on, my house guests will find a big bottle of shampoo and conditioner in the shower - no more cute little liberated bottles on my counter tops. (But please, the maid will not bring more - so don't put them in your suitcase.)

These ideas are a bit tame, but I'm going to try and slowly ease you into the more radical stuff!
Thanks for visiting - check back next week to see if I keep this going! P.