The following post is from Jessica of GoodCheapEats and LifeasMOM: I am no cake expert. In fact, I prefer pie. But, my family loves cake. And since they won't let me bake them birthday pies, over the years, I've learned a few tricks to making fun cakes for family birthdays and special occasions. I've never…
Teaching children to be responsible adults should start early. Assigning age-appropriate chores for each child helps them learn responsibility. The key is to do the chore with the child, teaching them how to say make their bed, pick up their clothes and put them in the dirty clothes hamper. Start with easy chores. Make it…
A few weeks ago, Kristina emailed me to see if I would create a home maintenance log to help track warranties, repairs, etc. My awesome husband worked with me on this printable that has enough space for all of the information you need for each appliance or system in your home. You can fill out…
In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Franklin Covey talks about the idea of balancing urgent tasks with the truly important ones, an idea that Charles Hummel also wrote about in the 1960s in Tyranny of the Urgent. It is about time management. How to organize your day so that the most important projects get…
Keep track of your pet information, including pet insurance information if you have one. Great to use for your own records and for pet sitters -- with this handy printable! Although it's been a while since our family has had pets, Amy from The Finer Things in Life and Tara from Deal Seeking Mom both…
Although not all bloggers aspire to be published authors, I know many do. As I work on a book project with Tara from Deal Seeking Mom, I thought you might appreciate an inside look at the book writing process, or at least the process from my perspective. The Back Story A couple of years ago,…
Most of us agree that one of the most difficult areas to organize is paper clutter and mail. I'm working on a series to help you address paper clutter in general, but I also wanted to share these ideas for controlling your incoming mail, bills to be paid, and so on. The key to managing…
Stocking your freezer is a great way to lower your spending on convenience foods and eating out while still enjoying healthy, delicious meals, even when you don't feel like cooking. We've talked about freezer cooking quite a bit, but one thing we haven't spent a lot of time talking about is how to ensure the…
I'm sure we can all agree on the importance of clean laundry. None of us wants to walk around -- or have our children walk around -- in smelly or dingy clothes. However, if you're concerned about keeping toxic products away from your skin (the largest organ in your body that in many ways serves…
A few weeks ago, I shared the story of the struggles Sean and I went through after the birth of our third daughter. Every marriage must face some kind of conflict or uncertainty at some point to grow stronger, and I can honestly say -- looking back now -- that I'm thankful for that time…