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7 Laundry Hacks to Save You Time & Money

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

I’ve heard that there are people who enjoy doing the laundry . . . but I’ve never met a single one.

Odds are, you wish that you had a magical helper — a laundry fairy who would pick up, sort, wash, dry, iron, fold, and stow your family’s clothing without your needing to lift a finger.

But, failing that, it’s up to you to face the never-ending chore of doing the laundry.

But what if you could make doing the laundry faster and easier? [Read more…]

How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores: Secrets of Organizing Pros & Rockstar Parents

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wanted to move to a new home just to get away from the mess at the one you’ve got!

It’s hard enough when you’re single to keep your home organized and tidy. But when you mix in a spouse, kids, and maybe some pets, it can feel as though you’re fighting a losing battle.

So how do you do it??? How do you get your busy family unified and working together? How can you get everyone to conquer that never-ending chore list so that it’s actually done — without tears or screaming? And how can you get organized quickly and easily?

To find the answer, I collaborated with Citi to find the real experts — organization gurus and parents who have successfully rallied their families to maintain ship-shape homes!

I rounded up their secret strategies and recommended tools. And I’m sharing those with you today.

There’s no better time than now to get your family organized. So get ready to conquer your crew’s collective goals and manage your household responsibilities with this easy action plan.

[Read more…]

Why You Need a Food Processor: 10 Ways You’ll Save Time & Money

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Sometimes it feels as though you have to pick your poison when it comes to meal prep: save time with prepared ingredients or save money by handling the food prep yourself.

But you can save time and money on food prep with a surprisingly versatile kitchen tool — your food processor.

If yours is getting dusty on the back of a shelf — or if you haven’t made the investment to buy one — here are 10 compelling reasons to fire up a food processor to get great food ready quickly and inexpensively. [Read more…]

9 Clever Storage Solutions for Organizing Your Family’s Shoes

This post is part 2 in the series How to Organize It.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Shoes have a sneaky way of walking themselves where they don’t belong. Kids’ shoes especially wind up under beds, strewn across floors, and underfoot in doorways.

It’s messy, it’s disorganized, and it drives you crazy when you constantly hear, “MOM!!! Where are my shoes?!”

So it makes sense that the right shoe storage solution for your family must be kid-friendly. (If they don’t use it, it won’t work!) Your shoe organizer has to sit where it makes the most sense for how you live your lives. And it has to meet your mom standards for functionality, quality, and even aesthetic appeal.

I have tried a number of approaches to shoe storage over the year, and these are some of my favorite products and solutions:
[Read more…]

How to Store, Display, and Enjoy Your Kids’ Art

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Is your home slowly transforming into a kiddie art museum?

I know mine is.

My son’s day care teachers entertain him with a steady stream of cute, Pinterest-worthy art projects. He happily brings home crayon scribbles, clay molds, flung-paint abstract art, glitter-covered drawings (aah!), and animal drawings built around his footprint . . . which answers the question of why his heel was ever-so-slightly-tinted blue recently.

If your kids are anything like mine, they mass produce kiddie art. They draw pictures at home, finger paint at school, create mosaics in art class . . . you name it. You want your kids to get creative and make art. But what do you do with the thousands of masterpieces your little artists crank out day after day?

Here are some fantastic ways to display, consolidate, store, organize, and enjoy your kids’ artistic creations. [Read more…]

How to Keep Your Paper & Digital Documents Secure

One thing that’s certain in life is its innate uncertainty. Everyday living can surprise you unpleasantly with burst pipes, health problems, financial upset, tax audits, and more.

But there are things you can do now that will protect your family and your financial interests against future unknowns. In particular, you can take steps to ensure that your most important records and documents are simultaneously preserved and accessible — to you and to anyone to whom you want to grant permission.

So we’re looking today at ways you can keep your precious papers safe and your digital documents secure. [Read more…]

Here’s How to Hack Your Way to an Organized Refrigerator

This post is part 3 in the series How to Organize It.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Ahh, the fridge. That chilly black hole where perfectly good food vanishes until the stink leads you to it. Or where you mutter curses under your breath as you pull everything out in order to find that one thing you need.

As little more than a giant box with lots of oddly shaped foods, the refrigerator can be an organizing nightmare. Too often, you wind up with wasted food and even double purchases after you lose an item in the recesses of the fridge.

But getting your fridge organized — and keeping it organized — is surprisingly simple. With a few fundamental principles and the right tools, you can take your refrigerator from maddening to organized in a snap. [Read more…]

How to Organize Your Bathroom Cleaning Supplies

This post is part 4 in the series How to Organize It.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

I don’t know anyone who likes cleaning the bathroom.

You’re spraying, scrubbing, scouring, bending, and jumping . . . if you struggle to reach the top of the mirror like me. And then, before you know it, it’s time to do it all over again.

But there are ways you can make the process quicker, easier, and less stressful. Organizing your bathroom cleaning supplies is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency, move easily from bathroom to bathroom, and know that you have everything you need in one handy spot.

Plus — bonus! — it makes it that much easier for your husband or kid to clean the bathroom without asking you where every little thing is.

So here we go! Today I’m sharing my best tips for organizing your bathroom cleaning supplies and making this necessary chore a smoother project.

[Read more…]

How Micro-Actions Can Help You Conquer Your Goals

If you’re like most people, you’re probably a bit disappointed and frustrated right about now.

It’s a few months into the new year, and you’re already losing traction on at least one of your new year’s resolutions. You’re not where you hoped you’d be, or you’ve thrown in the towel already.

The problem for many of us is that we set ambitious goals that are nearly impossible to achieve. Think about it:

Are you a fast food junkie who’s now trying to eat 100% healthy foods?
Are you a compulsive spender who’s now trying to stick to a barebones budget?
Are you a clutter magnet who’s now trying to maintain a Martha Stewart home?

And once you mess up just one time, it’s tempting to get sucked into self-doubt that leads to even more mistakes.

But you can break this ugly new year’s resolutions pattern.

You can make big changes in your life. In fact, you can do it without any of the stress and self-flagellation. The trick is to realize that it’s rare that people successfully make those big changes overnight.

That’s where the magic of micro-actions comes in. [Read more…]

Christmas Cards Made Easy: How to Simplify Your Process

The holiday season is upon us again! I love heading out to my mailbox this time of year to find happy Christmas wishes from family and friends.

But sending out those cards? That’s not quite as fun. You wind up tracking down missing addresses, fumbling through drawers for extra stamps, and nursing papercuts.

But what if you could get all of your holiday cards out without the hassle? Here’s how . . . [Read more…]