Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for May 2011

Archives for May 2011

Hamburger Helper: Asian Beef Fried Rice

by


Delicious new variety

Do you enjoy the boxed Hamburger Helper mixes from Betty Crocker? I have purchased some of the varieties in the past, fixed them for quick dinners, and decided not to purchase those again. I like the convenience of the boxed meals, but the taste of the ingredients, especially the cheese, leaves an aftertaste. Not caring for the lingering sensations, I have opted to bypass sales on Hamburger Helper. Until . . .  last week when I had a $5 off any purchase of $25 or more at a local grocery store. Knowing I needed to refill one of our propane tanks with the sale of $15.99, I began scouring the Bi-Lo weekly advertisement for other great sales. I again found Hamburger Helper on sale for $.99 which I could pair with a coupon for $.75 off any 3 boxes resulting in $.74 per box.

Putting Hamburger Helper on my list means – check it out at the store. I don’t always purchase everything on my grocery list. Sometimes I am just looking and considering purchasing that item. I will indicate the deal on my grocery list, and then check out the deal with the available varieties while shopping.

At the store I browsed the Hamburger Helper section to find a new boxed item: Asian Beef Fried Rice. Since we love Japanese food, I decided to try this variety. I purchased 2 boxes of the Asian Beef Rice and another variety for the third box. On Wednesday night, I made the meal using ½ pound of hamburger rather than the suggested 1 pound. (Our family prefers a small amount of hamburger.) The entire family enjoyed the meal. I’m thankful we tried this variety, I found it tasty and filling. I will definitely purchase it again.

Having found a variety of Hamburger Helper that I like, I am ready to try other foods and varieties which is a big step for me. I get in my comfortable zone and continue to prepare and serve foods I enjoy. Breaking out to try something new keeps my family on their toes. I’m glad to find another quick option for those crazy weeks when every meal needs to be made in 5 minutes.

What about you? What new variety or new recipe have you tried recently? Please leave your answers in the comments.

Time Management: Rising Above the Unexpected

by

Do you ever have those weeks where you’re just off? Thankfully, these weeks are not often, but I had an “off” week when I hit that pot hole. The entire week I was a day off. On Tuesday, I thought it was Monday. On Wednesday, I functioned like it was Tuesday. This continued ALL week. Though I would look at my calendar and know what day it was, my brain continued to associate the day with the tasks I performed. When I hit the pot hole on Monday, I changed my normal routine. I concentrated on fixing my car and the regular schedule was moved to Tuesday. My brain finally reset on Sunday when I returned to my Sunday routine.

For some reason, I could not reset my brain during the week which had the following results:

  • Failed to prepare for church on Wednesday night.
  • Fell behind on laundry.
  • Missed a sale on business cards.

The results were not devastating losses, but there were repercussions to my “off” week. Fortunately, these “off” weeks are few and far between. When I am dealing with an unexpected situation, then another area of my life is likely to fall apart. Keeping it all together, all the time is not a possibility for me. Life will happen, and choices will need to be made. Overall, it was a very eventful week. I’m thankful it is over even though I am still working on getting my bent wheel repaired. In fact, my car is currently sporting the spare tire as the regular wheel is at the repair shop.

How do you keep it together when the unexpected arises? As you can see, I have room for improvement. Can you offer me any advice? If so, please leave me a comment. I need to know that I am not the only one who experiences these bumps in the road.

Birthday Party: Executing your Schedule

by

With the advanced planning complete and the time schedule in place, I was ready to begin executing my schedule. Keeping focused on the task at hand, I cleaned my house Monday through Wednesday. Having a clean house enabled me to continue the birthday preparations when I began again on Friday afternoon.

Since I was really tired on Friday afternoon and I was right on schedule with the birthday activities, I took a little break and rested. Feeling refreshed, I baked the cake. After dinner, I began decorating the cake until the job was finished. Then I stacked the dirty items in the sink, washed the decorating equipment, and stumbled exhausted into bed.

On Saturday morning, I awoke refreshed. Paul and I finished cleaning the kitchen, gathering items for the games, and setting up the outside for the party. After lunch, I set the table while Paul went to pick up the balloons. With the decoration complete, we took a moment to relax. All the planning helped to keep us ahead of time, and we were ready when our first guest arrived.

During the party, I followed my planned schedule. When the snow cones at the end of the 2nd inning took a little longer to make than planned, we began the next game. We finished that game in the 3rd inning after eating our snow cones. Having a time schedule to guide the flow of the party gave me options when I needed to adjust the activities.

The day was beautiful for playing outdoors. When the kids were in the sun and running around, they quickly overheated. We took a number of water breaks, but they were still hot. At the end of the 5th inning, the older boys begged for more games, but the younger ones desired rest. What to do? We adjusted our schedule again. Instead of playing the two additional games, we jumped ahead in our schedule to the 7th inning stretch. With clean hands, the kids sat around the “big table” in our dining room to sing and eat cake and ice cream. They enjoyed sitting and chatting with each other over sugared foods.

By this time we were ahead of schedule. The kids were all excited and ready for the 8th and 9th innings. We finished the rearranged schedule about 25 minutes early. With the extra time, the kids enjoyed free play outside. Those who were tired rested while most of the boys ran around and played together.

Overall, the party was a success. The kids had a great time, and the birthday boy enjoyed having his friends come celebrate with him. Having plenty of planned activities allowed me to adjust the games when needed without disrupting the theme of the party.

For a birthday party, my goal is for all the kids to have a great time celebrating together. Do you make adjustments during your events, or do you plug away and follow the prearranged schedule? Leave me a comment with your answer. I’m curious to know how you handle these obstacles at an event.

Organization: Coat Closet

by

Were you able to get that bookshelf organized? I hope you were able to follow those 10 steps and complete your project. Having a finished task brings me great joy since I can find what I need without clutter. When I cannot quickly get to my items, I waste energy and time. Digging through a mound of games in our coat closet to locate one game costs me valuable time.

Our downstairs coat closet had quite a bit of empty space. To maximize that space, my brother-in-law kindly installed white wire shelves. I love having shelves to hold our family games that we play often. The games with little pieces can be stored on top shelves out of little one’s reach. I can also easily get to a game in a stack of 5 games without disrupting an entire stack of boxes. When my children request a game, I can usually go to the closet, locate the game, and get it out. The problem comes when my children and/or husband help put the games away. After the games have been repeatedly pulled out and put back, the closet mysteriously became disheveled.

After wasting time searching for a requested game, I decided to use my time wisely and organize the coat closet. Here is a before picture showing the lovely mess in the coat closet.

BEFORE:

Disorganized Coat Closet

To organize the contents, I did the following:

  1. Took out all the games.
  2. Sorted them into piles: large, medium, and small.
  3. Placed the random game pieces found on the floor with the appropriate game. If I could not locate the game, then I put the extra pieces in a container. As I found those games, I took the extra pieces from the container and placed them in the game box. Then I placed the game in the small, medium, or large pile.
  4. Designated a home for each game. The larger games were placed on the floor whereas the smaller games were placed on the shelves.
  5. Put games in designated places. When all the games were put back into the closet, I had plenty space. The result was a clean, organized coat closet.

AFTER:

Organized Coat Closet

Entire closet neat and organized

As I open this closet door and see the neat shelves, I can easily scan the shelves and locate the game I want. Keeping this closet organized is helping me save money (refraining from purchasing a game we already own), energy (retrieving the game needed without moving items out of the way), and time (getting in and out of the closet quickly). Spending my current time organizing helps me spend my future time wisely. Though you may have organized that closet in the past, keeping it organized requires maintenance. Enjoy the process and happy organizing!

Personal: Marriage License

by

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

The fourth file slot in Box 1 of 3 of our family’s important documents holds our Important Personal Documents. After our birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and passports, I will find our marriage license. I have made 2 – 3 copies which I keep paper clipped to the envelope that holds our original certified license.

When we received our official marriage license, I made about 10 copies. To change my name on my driver’s license, social security card, bank accounts, credit accounts, and insurance policies, I had to supply a copy of our marriage license. Since changing all those accounts almost 13 years ago, I can only recall one other time I was asked for a copy of our marriage license. I sent it to the State Department along with my birth certificate when I applied for my passport.

Though I do not foresee needing a copy of our marriage license in the near future, this important document stays safe in my file for quick retrieval when needed. Having all our documents organized in one place/file system helps to save money (not purchasing additional certified copies), energy (not worrying and racking my brain trying to figure out “where I put that thing”), and time (not sorting through piles searching for a document that “must be here somewhere”).  Taking the time to organize will also help you save money, energy, and time. Keep up the great work!