Many people don’t get organized because they have an all or nothing attitude. They have unrealistic expectations that if they’re going to get organized, then everything must be perfect. There must be no clutter and everything must have it’s place. This is almost impossible, especially if you have children. The all or nothing attitude results in piles of clutter throughout the home. The clutter and disorganization leads to feeling overwhelmed and trapped, which is definitely not good for your health. Rather than looking at organization as an all or nothing thing where you see failure try working on a compromise.  While I like a clean home, I realize that since having kids my house is never totally clean.  No matter how much... [Read more]

As the Keeper of our Castles, one of our responsibilities is to provide healthy meals for our families.  Soccer, football practice, dance, piano, science club, and all the other extracurricular activities can make us feel scattered and it may seem too much of a challenge to prepare something healthy. Here is a list of ideas to include more fruits and vegetables into our diets.  I hope this helps inspire you. 1)  Try cooked pumpkin or winter squash for dinner. 2)  Make a quiche and include chopped bell peppers, onions, and spinach. 3)  Try applesauce on pancakes instead of syrup. 4)  Add lettuce and tomato to a sandwich. 5)  Add chopped apple, mashed banana, or berries to pancakes. 6)  Use fruit when making sweets.  Instead of making... [Read more]

When it comes to holidays, Better Homes & Gardens always has great ideas. I always find myself thinking, “That looks easy. Why didn’t I think of that?”. Since their ideas are so cute, I thought you all might need some inspiration for Halloween treats this week. After all, Halloween is only a few day away. This time, I included a short description of the things needed for each of these cupcake ideas. Perhaps that will help you save some time as you scan through the list. If you’re like me, you’d rather choose a project that you already have the supplies for, rather than making another trip to the store.  Each cupcake requires icing, so I did not include it in the list. Peeking Monster – sour candy corn,... [Read more]

I’ve decided to offer up some tips to simplify your life.  One of the ways to do that is through the National Do Not Call Registry. For the first time in years, I have a home landline.  Several years ago, I decided that at that time in our lives, we did not need a landline.  We rarely used the landline, we had our cell phones, and our children were too young to use the phone anyway.  Fast forward a few years and we decided it was time to get a line for our home.  Our kids are getting older and we liked the idea of having a home phone that they could use, just in case. Now that I have a home phone again, I’m beginning to realize a benefit of not having one.  As soon as I got my landline, I began receiving multiple calls each... [Read more]

I was on a field trip today at the pumpkin patch.  They had a gift store which had a nice covered porch, complete with rocking chairs and decorations.  I’m glad I walked up to the porch because I spotted these cute planters which are simply old dresser drawers.  My husband and I enjoy antiques, rustic decorations, and repurposing old items so I really liked this idea.  Seeing these dresser drawer planters has stirred a curiosity for other things you can do with dresser drawers.  Rather than tossing your old drawers to the curb, consider one of these ideas: Underbed storage – Better Homes & Gardens suggests putting casters on drawer bottoms to use them as under the bed storage. Bookcase – Country Living shows us... [Read more]