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Archives for November 2011

Scheduling: Laundry Routine – Part 2 of 4

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Removing stains from children’s clothing is always an interesting topic. You have probably heard so many solutions on how to get clothes clean. Some have worked, and others do not.

Until a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for clothing is made, I will continue with my tried and true method for removing stains. 🙂

In this series on my organized laundry routine, I shared last week, in step one, how my family prepares throughout the week for laundry day. Towards the end of the week, I begin step two.

 STEP TWO: Pre-treating soiled clothing

The items in my toddler’s hamper that need pretreatment are taken down to the mud sink in our garage. To remove stains from our clothes, I follow this routine:

    • Turn on the hot water in our mud sink,
    • Place one or two scoops of powdered OxiClean in the water,
    • Wait for the OxiClean to dissolve,
    • Put each clothing item into the solution separately, and
    • Leave the clothes in the sink for a few hours to a few days.

By pre-treating the soiled clothing before beginning any loads of laundry, I can add these soaked items to their appropriate colored load on laundry day. The OxiClean solution usually releases all the stains from the clothing. In the event that a stain remains, I will treat the spot with Shout or Spray ‘n Wash before tossing in the washing machine.

These stain-releasing options have served my family well in our laundry routine. Next week, I will continue this series with the events on laundry day.

Question: What products do you use to release stains from your clothing? Please add your answer to the comments.

Overview: File Box 2

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With file box 1 complete, I hope the momentum keeps you moving forward. Getting the piles of paperwork removed from desks, counters, and coffee tables will lighten your load.

By ridding your home of clutter, you will be more organized. You will be able to concentrate on more important items without continuously shuffling paperwork around to find room for other projects.

In using time wisely to get documents organized, I use an accordion filing system. My important documents are housed in three blue accordion files. Having completed posts for each of the filing slots for box 1, I will move onto file box 2 which also contains 12 file openings.

Before beginning to explain the paperwork within the first file slot, here is an overview of the categories and the number of file openings dedicated to each category in file box 2:

  • Personal insurance (1)
  • Life insurance (3)
  • Major medical insurance (1)
  • Tax-Favored Programs (1)
  • Prescription coverage (1)
  • Dental and vision insurance (1)
  • Critical illness/cancer/stem cell paperwork (1)
  • Short term disability (1)
  • Long term disability (1)
  • Miscellaneous insurance items (1)

These categories are labeled for easy retrieval of these documents. Next week, I will post a show and tell of file box 2. If you are still plugging away at file box 1, then don’t give up. Keep using time wisely to do the next thing. Slowly and steadily you are making progress. Look back for some encouragement. You are not where you started. 🙂 Happy organizing!

Question: What kind of document organization filing system works for you? Please add your answer to the comments.

On-Line Shopping: Rebates – Part 5 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (ideas4Christmas2010)

The idea for this series began after the purchase of my husband’s waffle iron. After sharing how I stacked my savings and learned a new technique along the way, I hope you can increase your savings while stretching your dollars through on-line shopping.

If you have missed any of the money saving strategies in this series, you can catch up here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. In this last post of this series, I will be stacking my savings from the purchase of the waffle iron by submitting a rebate.

#5: Submit a Rebate

Some manufacturers offer rebates for items purchase through a single retailer. Around Thanksgiving, you will find a number of rebates offered on sale items on Black Friday. Before Paul and I had children, we used to camp out at Best Buy early on Friday morning waiting to gather our savings when the doors opened. Our waiting paid off since we would gain hundreds of dollars of merchandise at a huge discount after the rebates.

The waffle iron I purchased for Paul had a $10 rebate offer attached which added to our savings. We started the deal with a retail price of $59.99 which was on sale for $29.99. Then we added in the FREE SHIP TO STORE option and a $10 off promotional code which brought the cost down to $19.99. With tax, I paid $21.19. After receiving the merchandise, I submitted the $10 rebate which will be processed within the next 6-8 weeks.

To review, I paid $21.19, but will get back a check for $10 and a credit of $1.79 in my Shopathome.com account for a future disbursement. If I wanted to subtract these future savings from this order, then I got the $60 waffle iron for $9.40 by stacking my savings.

Yes, working through these five steps takes some time. But when I see these types of savings, I know I am using time wisely. Whether you use one or more strategies when shopping on-line, you can stack your savings while stretching your dollars. Keep your eyes peeled for some great deals and use your money-saving strategies to snag some inexpensive gifts on Black Friday, this upcoming Christmas season, and throughout the year. Happy savings!

Question: How often do you submit rebates for items with rebates? Curious to see your answer.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Using Time Wisely are included within this post.

Thanksgiving: Gobble Gobble Turkey Cups

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Photograph Credit: Sips Etc.

Tricia and Kirstin over at Sips Etc. share detailed instructions for making these adorable turkey cups. Besides being quick and easy, this craft can be done with your children while using time wisely.

When my children help create an inviting space for our guests, they enjoy showing and using these items that “they made.” I enjoy watching their enthusiasm while spending time with them.

If you are looking for a project to keep little ones out of the kitchen, then consider making a craft with them while the turkey is baking in the oven. Then they can use their craft at the dinner table.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving Day, remember to enjoy your family and friends.

Thanksgiving: Turkey Brine Recipe

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Photograph Credit: Fickr (Paul Townsend)

Though our family chooses to make a turkey each Thanksgiving, I know some families prefer to serve a ham or chicken. The recipe I am sharing today works great for a turkey, and I would definitely try it for a chicken as well. For the ham, I would bag it like I plan to do with our turkey next week.

For those seeking a different baking option for the bird this year, try brining. I received the below recipe from a friend, who could easily run his own restaurant. When I need help tweaking a recipe, I contact him for a solution. His recipes are always a huge hit.

With his permission to share, here is my all-time favorite recipe for that tender, moist, and delicious turkey:

Turkey Brine

 Tuesday

If preparing the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, then begin defrosting the turkey on Tuesday or 2 days prior to meal time. Though there are a number of ways to defrost the turkey, I prefer to soak it.

1. Place turkey in a large pot, tub, or tote.

2. Add enough cold water to cover it.

3. Replace the water, if needed.

4. Check the turkey to see if it is soft.

5. Put in refrigerator if the turkey is fully defrosted.

Wednesday

1. Place the defrosted turkey in the large pot, tub, or tote.

2. Fill the container by gallons with enough warm to lukewarm water to cover the turkey. Paul uses a milk jug to add the water by gallons.

3. Add these ingredients:

½ cup pickling or kosher salt per gallon

½ cup brown sugar per gallon

5 bay leaves

2-3 Tablespoons of peppercorns

6 crushed cloves of garlic (With about 20 cloves per garlic, just break apart the whole and use 6 of them)

5-7 oranges, squeezed and tossed into the mixture

Other spices that can be added are basil, poultry seasoning, and thyme

4. Allow the brine to seep the flavored water into the bird for 12-24 hours prior to baking.

Thursday

Preparing the bird

1. Remove the turkey from the sticky, slippery brine mixture.

2. Drain the mixture from the bird.

3. Be sure the giblets and other guts have been removed.

4. Place bird on roasting pan.

5. Insert meat thermometer.

6. Preheat oven to desired temperature (I follow the recommendations attached to the turkey packaging.)

7. Measure out foil to “tent” your bird to prevent burning the outside, but do not “tent” it at the beginning of the baking time. I find getting the tent ready while the pan is cool saves so much time working around a hot turkey and hot pan.

Baking the bird

1. Put the turkey in the oven.

2. Check it between ½ and ¾ of the baking time.

3. Tent the bird when the outside is golden brown.

4. Carefully, remove the turkey when the meat thermometer indicates bird is thoroughly cooked.

5. Allow bird to cool before carving.

Though this option takes a little time each day for three days, the results are definitely worth it. In using time wisely and working around your other responsibilities, this option will give you a fantastic turkey to share with your friends and family. Just remember to start early in your preparations. Happy planning!

Question: When will you begin your Thanksgiving preparations? Please add your answer to the comments.