I made a 2009 resolution to keep my kitchen island free of clutter. I am not a neat freak by design, so this was a huge challenge. However, 11 months later, I'm happy to report that having this one space free of clutter 99% of the time has helped reduced stress levels. Now onto the next clutter free space for 2010!”
Showing 28-36 of 146 Lifesavers
My son loves to eat Kraft Easy Mac, in the little microwave bowl. Problem is, after cooking 3 minutes in the microwave, it is way too hot for him to eat, and he is way to impatient to wait for it to cool. So I toss in an ice cube and stir it up, the cube will melt and the food will cool in no time! This saves me lots of toddler sized whining for "eat-eat".
Buy a package of clothespins at the grocery store and use them instead of twist ties on things such as bread, plastic bags etc. So much easier! I delight in ripping off the twist ties that come on things and replacing it with a clothespin. I even use them on things in the freezer.
Use kitchen shears to cut pancakes and waffles into bite-size pieces for your kids. Much easier and faster -- and less messy! -- than using a knife!
I've started planning out a few dinners a week in advance and it's really cutting down on the dinner-time anxiety level. Not a full-blown meal plan, but on Sun night I write down 3-4 things I am going to make and put the ingredients on the shopping list.
Map out the Grocery Store! I swear I save over an hour in the grocery store by using a detailed map of the grocery store to create my list! It sounds a bit over the top but it works (for me). My shopping list is an excel spreadsheet (i've even got the prices so I stay as close to budget as possible) and its set up so that I can first plan by meals, then quickly re-arrange to fit the aisle of the market. I am in and out in 30 min or less with a FULL cart of groceries. It took about 1 hour to make the list and now it takes minutes to tailor and print. Its awesome. I love technology.
If I can read for just ten minutes it helps me immensly.
My lifesaver is something easy because it's something that you have to do anyways. I'm a big fan of cooking and love finding new recipes so whenever I can I try to whip up a new recipe for the family for dinner (I try to go for budget friendly recipes). It's fun because I get have feedback from my taste testers and if it's a recipe I found online I can go back to the website and rate or tell what ingredients I switched out to make it more likeable for my family.
three words: Mother's Day Out!
Sit down take a deep breath and say to yourself that there is always somebody in a worst situation.
