Using Time Wisely

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Archives for June 2011

Summer Reading: TD Bank

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Photograph Credit: TD Bank

Now this is my kind of reading program. For those in the northeastern United States, TD Bank is offering $10 to young readers for reading 10 books. Cool, can I be a kid again? Earning money for reading is awesome. To participate, read these details from TD Bank’s web site:

  • Read 10 books this summer
  • Write down the names of the books they’ve read in the Summer Reading Form
  • Print and take the form to your nearest TD Bank to get $10
  • $10 will be deposited into a new or existing Young Saver Account

The fine print also states:

  • One coupon per Customer during promotional period.
  • Cannot be combined with any other offers.
  • Valid May 4, 2011 through September 30, 2011.
  • Bring form of ID for child for new account opening.

TD Bank suggests the following books regarding money and savings:

  • If You Made a Million by David M. Schwartz
  • Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J. Murphy
  • Willie Wins by Almira Astudillo Gilles
  • Jelly Beans for Sale by Bruce McMillan
  • Pig Pig Gets a Job by David M. McPhail
  • Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday by Stephen Manes
  • A Dollar for Penny by Julie Glass
  • Money Trouble by Bill Cosby
  • The Can Man by Laura E. Williams

For those of you who live near a participating location, I encourage you to help your children read the 10 books, visit your local branch, and instill the benefits of saving the $10 earned. If your family participates and earns prizes, please come back to share your prizes in the comments.

Menu Planning: A Week’s Worth of Cool Meals

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On the way to church Sunday evening, our family drove through a hail storm. Paul tried to find cover at a gas station, but other drivers had the same idea. Since we could not find shelter, we continued through the storm. The kids were excited at first, but then the marble-sized hail began bouncing off the car. The sound was really loud, and I asked for silence. They sat still until we passed to the other side of the storm.

Though another hail storm might occur, I am still watching and anticipating rain showers. Usually after rain showers, the temperature drops a few degrees. With temperatures in the 90s, this summer heat has s-l-o-w-e-d me down. I get tired easily and unmotivated. Thankfully, my stockpile in my pantry has kept my family fed during my drought of energy.

Other than 2 quick stops at Aldi for milk, bread, eggs, sugar, and other staples, I have not couponed or visited a grocery store or drugstore in about 3 weeks. For those of you who have been purchasing sale items at your rock bottom price and creating or updating your pricing list, please inspire me with the deals you have found.

In the meantime, here’s a week’s worth of meals to feed your family without turning on the oven and heating up your house:

  1. Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill with chips and cold pasta salad
  2. Spaghetti with green salad
  3. Breakfast items – eggs with ham, sausage, or bacon and hash browns
  4. Taco salad – my son’s favorite meal (at the moment) 🙂
  5. Quesadillas with salad and corn
  6. One dish dinners – tonight I mixed penne pasta, spaghetti sauce, and ricotta cheese together. My kids wolfed it down. Of course, they were STARVING for a snack upon returning home from church. 🙂
  7. Pork chops in the crock pot – I am planning to make the chops and allow them to cook in the crock pot outside tomorrow. I think I will place the crock pot in the garage. The heat can remain out of the house while our dinner simmers.

What about you? What meals are you making while keeping the heat out your kitchen? Please inspire me with your ideas and your great coupon deals.

Reader Survey: Blog Categories

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As a new blogger, I am still on a learning curve. I appreciate your visits and following along on this new-to-me adventure. To make this blog beneficial to you, I need your input. Embedded in this post is a two-question survey. Please give me some feedback on the categories of my daily posts.

If you have additional suggestions or feedback, please communicate by adding a comment. All constructive feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for stopping by!

Offering your Help

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When I attend an event where I know the host or hostess, I always offer to help. Some hostesses decline the help, but most take me up on the offer. Knowing how tiring it is to put on an event, I can empathize with the hostess. Just helping clean up or take a load of gifts to the vehicle can be a tremendous help.

During this summer with bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, birthday parties, lemonade stands, backyard BBQs, and other events, consider spending your time wisely in helping your host or hostess.

Maintaining: Kitchen Cleanup – Part 2 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Free Range Stock (Adamophoto)

With the first week of summer complete, my kitchen has stayed relatively clean. This past week has been busy with mornings and afternoons away from home, but I have not felt overwhelmed.

Using time wisely to keep the kitchen cleaned up, laundry washed, and a general pickup of the house each day helps me stay organized. My house may not be perfectly clean, but it is picked up and organized.

Last week in Part 1 of this series, I shared my after breakfast routine for keeping my kitchen manageable. Today, I’ll share my after lunch routine which is slightly different from my after breakfast cleanup.

Lunch Routine:

  1. Clear off the table. My two older children ask to be excused and then take their dishes to the kitchen. I have a designated spot for their dirty dishes: on the counter by the sink. My children will then help clear off chips, dips, serving dishes, etc. I will then clear off the rest of the table.
  2. Wipe down the table.
  3. Put away any leftover food.
  4. Rinse each dirty item and place it in the left-hand side of the sink.
  5. Unload the dishwasher. If the dishes are clean, then I will put away the clean dishes.
  6. Load the dishwasher. Add all the rinsed-off dirty dishes from the left-hand side of the sink into the dishwasher. If the dishwasher is full, then run the dishwasher.
  7. Clean all the countertops.
  8. Spray the kitchen sink and wipe it clean.

At the conclusion of this routine, I have a clean table, countertops, and sink. Spending time cleaning after lunch saves me time and energy. My time is saved during the late afternoon from having to cleanup from breakfast and lunch. I am able to begin dinner preparations without working around a mess. My energy is also conserved since I don’t need to scrub off dried on food. For me, this system helps me to spend my time wisely and stay organized.

Though this routine works for me, it may not work for you. If you also work outside of your home or keep other children in your home, then this routine probably won’t work for you. I share my routine to inspire you to find a system that meets your needs where you are.

By finding a routine and sticking to it, you can arrive home or enter your kitchen without being met with a To-Do pile of dirty dishes. My routine did not develop in a day. By trial and error, I found a system that works for me. If you struggle with a messy kitchen, then start by adjusting one part of your current routine until you find a system that helps you stay organized as you spend your time wisely.

Come back next week for the final post in this series as I share my after dinner routine. In the meantime, I wish you an organized routine for keeping your kitchen cleaned up.