Posted by Brandy on Nov 23, 2009 in
Holidays Before you can deck the halls and usher in the guests with cheer, your house must be made ready for the holidays.
Don’t look around at all that needs to be done and become overwhelmed by it. There are ways to get this done without stress and exhaustion.
Get a plan! I like to begin with decluttering one room at a time in fifteen minute portions. Then I dust off surfaces, clean windows and get the floors done.
If you want a more detailed list to follow in your holiday cleaning, I recommend that you cruise through the holidays with Flylady.
Don’t forget to grab your list of homemade cleaning solutions here to freshen your home without the chemicals and cost of commercial products.
Tags: cleaning solutions, organized Christmas, organized holiday
Posted by Brandy on Nov 18, 2009 in
Holidays Before I can really dive into Christmas shopping, I make a gift planner and check my gift box for little things I grabbed on sale during the year.
Gift Box-
The gift box can be a large cardboard box, a laundry basket in your closet or any other storage space. My gift box is a cardboard box in my closet. When I purchase a gift, I put it into this box so I don’t loose anything.
Gift planner-
My gift panner begins with a list of people I intend to give to with a notation for the total amount I can spend for each. At the bottom of my list is my total budget for everyone’s gifts.
My next page is for a list to follow for types of things to buy for stocking items, gifts I give to us and items for baskets I am making.
I fill our stockings with one gift, some body or hair care item, lip balm or gloss and candy. Gifts for us generally follow one large gift, one small gift, a book and a movie or art supplies. Following these lists helps me to keep the gifts equal in number and prevents over purchasing which can be a real budget buster.
Then I have gift lists for each person. On these pages I make their wish lists or things I have seen that they may like. If I have already purchased a gift for them, I add it to the page as well. I note prices so I can stick to my budgets. As I make purchases, I check the items off so I know what I have.
Remember the keys to not stressing about money over Christmas spending is to set a budget, look for great items at discounted prices and use cash. If you have not saved up the money you plan to spend on Christmas, make this your first new year’s resolution. Christmas should be merry before, during and after the season.
Tags: Christmas budget, Christmas checklist, frugal Christmas, gift buying, holiday planning, organized Christmas, organized holiday
Posted by Brandy on Nov 15, 2009 in
Holidays Inhale the fragrance of baking turkey and pumpkin pie, feel the crisp winter air and prepare to put up the tree.
And while you are it, look around and realise that you have to scrub the kitchen, dust the mantle, wrap the presents, oh wait buy the presents and bake some cookies to be ready for the holiday!
If you are thinking of rescheduling Christmas now, it’s not too late to get organised and have a happy, less stressful holiday.
Your first task is to grab a notebook, add some pages in your planner or print out some pages to make a planner in a special folder. These pages will help you to make lists and plans that you can follow to be sure you get everything done.
I have a planner with handles that I use to keep track of all my schedules, calendars and lists. I’ll be making a special section for some loose leaf pages to track my Christmas preparations.
Tags: Christmas checklist, holiday checklist, holiday planning, organized Christmas, organized holiday
Posted by Brandy on Nov 10, 2009 in
Homeschooling Check out my homeschooling blog at the Dollar Stretcher for a list of great sites that have lesson plans and online activities that teach about the original Thanksgiving, the settling of America and turkeys.
Thanksgiving Lesson Plans
Tags: Homeschooling, Thanksgiving lesson plans, Thanksgiving unit study
Posted by Brandy on Nov 9, 2009 in
The Centsible Home I like knowing that my house is clean and I love fragrance so making my own cleaners works at cleaning the surfaces in my home and freshening the air. I like to use non toxic solutions for every day cleaning. I am sharing my favorite cleaners that get used often in my home.
All purpose cleaner 1:
Uses: daily cleaning of counter tops, outside of appliances, some walls and stove hoods.
Ingredients:
- 1 part vinegar
- 1 part water
- Several drops of tea tree, lemon or pine oil
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle and shake. Spray onto surface and wipe clean with wet cleaning rag.
All purpose cleaner 2
Uses: cleaning plastics, toys and other objects and surfaces in the home.
Ingredients:
- Warm water
- 1/2 tablespoon of liquid soap
- Several drops of tea tree, lemon or pine oil
Fill spray bottle with water leaving enough room to add soap and oils then shake. Spray onto surface and wipe clean.
Tags: cleaner recipe, cleaning solutions, green cleaning, homemade cleaners, natural cleaners