- 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!)