Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

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Archives for 2012

Home Depot: Keepsake Box

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Photograph Credit: The Home Depot

On the first Saturday of every month, The Home Depot hosts a free Kids Workshop.

At the workshop, each child is given the monthly kit to build and keep, a free Kids Workshop apron, a commemorative pin for that project to pin on his apron, and a certificate of achievement.

The February project centers on Valentine’s Day with a wooden keepsake box for all those love notes. 🙂

What: Keepsake Box
When: Saturday, February 4, 2012
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Where: Your local Home Depot store

These workshops offer enjoyable family time at an unbeatable price. If you are looking for other family weekend events to using time wisely, check my Facebook event page for other options. As you prepare for the weekend, set aside some time for those you love. Happy planning!

Question: What are your weekend plans? Please add your answer to the comments.

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Part 2 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Emilian Robert Vicol)

In winding down this food series and reviewing your savings after checking your grocery list, the next step is reviewing your grocery envelopes.

I am assuming you use an envelope or binder to hold your grocery list, coupons, and rain checks. If you use a holder for these items, then organizing this space after grocery shopping is using your time wisely.

My planner of choice is an envelope with the store name written on the outside. When I return home, I will spend some time preparing my envelopes for my next shopping trip. The system I use is as follows:

1. Removing Items

When I organize my envelopes, I work on a clean desk surface with space to form piles and with only one envelope at a time. I take all the items out the envelope and then begin sorting.

2. Sorting Items

With the pile of the items in my hand, I make three piles:

    • Trash

The items in the trash pile maybe store coupons that I did not use and will expire, store advertisements that print with Catalina coupons, and my finished grocery list. I place these items in the trash can.

    • File

In this pile are my receipts and coupons that I planned to use but decided against when bypassing the deal. I will then file the receipt with my paperwork and place the unused coupons back in my binders.

    • Keep

Any items that I need to keep in the envelope stay in this pile. These items might be rain checks, coupons for the rain check items, store coupon policy, and receipt (if I need to return an item).

3. Organizing Items

The items to keep are then organized. My preferred order is as follows:

    • Receipts for returning items
    • Rain checks expiring this month
    • Coupons for those rain checks
    • Rain checks expiring after this month
    • Store’s coupon policy

4. Inserting Items

With the items organized, I place them back into my envelope for next week.

By removing, sorting, organizing, and inserting the items, you will be ready for your next trip to the grocery store. Keeping the close-to-expiring rain checks and coupons in the front of my envelope remind me of these deadlines before I miss a great deal.

Staying organized takes work, but establishing and repeating a process continues to save money, energy, and time while using time wisely.

Question: What system do you use to keep your coupons and rain checks organized? Please add your answer to the comments.

Using Time Wisely: Counting my Blessings (24-34)

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Eric E. Johnson)

Taking a moment to reflect on the blessings I enjoy each day will remove hints of discouragement, discontentment, and self-pity.

In getting back to my gratitude report which was last posted in November, I need to remember how blessed I am.

Today I am grateful for how quickly I can do daily tasks because of the great inventions I have within reach. For this grateful report, I am counting these blessings:

24. My Mr. Coffee tea maker that completes 3 quarts in less than 5 minutes

25. An automatic dishwasher that spends 30 to 40 minutes washing all the food, grease, and liquid from our dishes, pots, and pans

26. A washing machine that takes 25 minutes to wash a load of clothes

27. A dryer that warms our clothing in about an hour

28. The microwave to defrost frozen meat in about 20 minutes

29. The crock pot that slowly cooks our dinner all day long

30. Reliable vehicles to get from place to place saving valuable time from walking or riding

31. My KitchenAid that blends the mix in about 3 minutes without constant attention

32. Light bulbs that illuminate my home at night while I work

33. Electric can opener that saves me energy from using a crank-handled opener

34. Cart on wheels to move many items from one place to another in few trips

Just using time savers for these few items, I save a minimum of 2 hours each day. My heart overflows with gratitude as I realize how much time I have saved by using these inventions.

Finding ways to get the job done in the least amount of time remains a favorite game. As I shave off time from one area, I can bank those minutes to spend more time with my kids while counting my blessings.

Question: For what are you grateful today? Please add your answer to the comments.

Garage Sale: Gathering Items to Sell

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The past two years, our family has participated in our subdivision’s community garage sale. Though I do not always have items to sell, my children enjoy running their lemonade and cookie stand. 😉

This spring, I plan to actively participate in the garage sale. While in the preliminary stages, I am accumulating items from decluttering, cleaning, and organizing our home.

As I work through each room, I keep items we use and love. The other items meet one of the following fates:

  1. Trash any broken items.
  2. Reuse the items in another space/room.
  3. Give the items to a friend who needs it.
  4. Place it in the garage sale box.
  5. Donate to a needy ministry.

With the box(es) of items to sell, I place them in my garage, which is the holding place until our garage sale. These items are not placed in any particular order.

They are just packed neatly into the boxes and stored in the garage. As the date of the garage approaches, I will price and organize the items while using time wisely.

If you are planning a garage sale, designate a place to put your items to sell. If the items are out of sight, you will forget about them since you really do not need those items anyway. 😉 Happy planning!

Maintaining: Preserving your Children’s Artwork

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Paper clutter can quickly overtake a space. Without constant attention, my kitchen counter will sport a mound of paperwork by the end of each day.

On top of the normal mail items, you probably have lots of school paperwork and artwork to handle. Though I enjoy all the lovely art projects brought home, I refuse to keep paper clutter.

The Dilemma

Realizing that my son worked hard on his projects and wants to display them, how do I find space for these items when they will be forgotten by the end of the week?

My Immediate Solution

Allow my son to display his beautiful artwork on our kitchen bar. The displayed artwork is visible and accessible for a few days.

My Permanent Solution

After a few days, I will ask my son if he still needs his artwork displayed. If he wants to keep it a little longer, he will ask. But if done with the project, he responds with, “Mom, you can do whatever you want with it.”

When I get the latter answer, I will take a picture of the item and then toss it in the trash. Yes, throw the item away because I have preserved the artwork via a photograph.

The picture solution is a win-win situation in our home. In using time wisely, our family can view the item at anytime without cluttering our living space.

By reaching a solution to one part of the paper trail, I can decrease clutter while preserving my children’s artwork. With my child’s consent, I throw away without guilt the bulky poster boards, irregular shaped foam boards, and sculptures because I have a photograph of his art projects.

By keeping the paper count from my children’s artwork low, I am free to work and play at home with a preserved photograph and without a sea of clutter.

Did I step on your toes? If you tend to hoard everything, then clutter will weigh you down. Rise above the clutter, take control, and only keep your favorites. You can create a beautiful organized space only after you get rid of the clutter. Choose wisely!

Question: How do you preserve your children’s artwork? Please add your answer to the comments.