Today, October 31, is my last day here. I have enjoyed blogging at KTC, and have gained a wealth of knowledge. But the time is ripe for me to focus on other writing projects. Online, you can still find me blogging about the royal families at Merry Royals; Philippine travel and culture at Filipina Soul; and scrapbooking at Paper Goodness.

I know that the next blogger will do a great job of bringing you more tips and resources for keeping your home. So roll out the red carpet for the next queen of Keeping the Castle, SP Bragg!

Thank you for your readership, and see you around!

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In Extreme Entertaining Made Simple, Eduardo shares his philosophy of using the five senses to create and celebrate a memorable occasion. The taste, sound, feel, smell and look of an event are given equal attention according to its chosen theme. A sixth sense, intuition, is also given its due in the book.

The parties in our large extended family usually happens somewhere other than in my home. But I’m eager to learn how to put together a well-planned gathering, for the next time that the party does happen in my house. Eduardo’s new book offers ideas that I’ve never considered before, and which I’m excited to try out. His approach of catering to the senses is new to me, yet it makes a lot of sense.

Eduardo starts by discussing the five six senses and how they should be considered in design and entertaining. The rest of the book is taken up by sections focused on six events:

• classic dinner party
• princess party
• spa party
• white party
• margarita party
• beach party

For each party, Eduardo goes through all the steps to put it together. His narratives are accompanied by beautiful colored photos, specific instructions (eg., napkin folding), gift and centerpiece suggestions, and easy recipes. There is also a CD included, with music that’s appropriate for the parties above. As I was reading through the book, I felt that I was being walked through the entire planning process for each party.

I did get the sense that the parties that Eduardo designed for this book are extreme, just as the title says. They’re not your everyday dinner parties (the spa party had a sofa topped with real grass!). But these ideas are not just for expensive gatherings. Eduardo also gives alternatives to keep costs down and allow for variations to the themes. The key is to lift inspirations, scale them down (or up!) as needed, and involve all the senses in the celebration.

Extreme Entertaining Made Simple is an exciting, do-it-yourself resource for party planning. Though you can certainly go the whole distance and copy one or two (or all) of the parties here, the value in this book is in the approach it takes in preparing for a gathering. The possibilities are endless; just apply the principles here and you’re on your way to a very special party. And if you’re not someone who usually hosts gatherings, the book makes an excellent gift for the event planner in your family.

KTC rating:

image from Amazon; affiliate links

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• Ghost Tealight Holders from Trade Associates Group and Crate & Barrel due to fire and burn hazard
• Halloween Figurines from Coyne’s & Company due to lead hazard
• Zipper-Covered Foam Core Mattresses from Serta International due to violation of Federal Mattress Flammability Standard
• Lighters from YMCA Trading due to potential burn hazard to children
• Gaming System Batteries and Recharging Station from LeapFrog due to burn hazard
• Fiesta recalls to inspect and repair Gas Grills due to fire and burn hazards
• Infant death prompts recall to repair 600,000 Drop Side Cribs By Delta Enterprise; spring peg failure can cause entrapment and suffocation hazards
• Infant Death prompts recall to repair 985,000 Delta Enterprise Drop Side Cribs; missing safety pegs can cause entrapment and suffocation hazards

image via CPSC

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Best Buy has declared October 30, 2008 as National Vampire Awareness Day to spread the word about “vampire power”.

Vampire power is the electricity that home appliances and other electronics consume while they are switched off or in a standby mode. Plasma TVs, computers, game consoles, DVRs and adapters for MP3 players and cell phones are just some of the worst offenders in terms of wasting energy. The costs of these energy suckers can go up to $1,000 per household per year.

Here are some tips to cut down on the wasted energy in your home:

• Use a power strip. Plug your chargers into a power strip and when you’re not using those chargers, turn the power strip off.
• Get unplugged: All of your chargers (cell phone, MP3, laptop, and even electric toothbrushes), continue to draw electricity even when the device is not charging. Only 5 percent of the power drawn by a cell phone charger is used to charge the phone – the other 95 percent is wasted when it is left plugged into the wall.
• Turn your computer off: Computers in sleep mode can cost an additional $70 per year. By completely shutting down your computer and printer when not in use you will not only save money, you will also help reduce the machine’s CO2 emissions 83 percent, to just 63 kg a year. If you are unable to do so, at least make sure the computer goes into a low-power sleep, standby or hibernate mode. And watch out for those screen savers; graphic intense screen savers can actually waste power.
• Look for the Star: The typical U.S. household spends about $1,300 on its home energy bills. ENERGY STAR qualified products including heating and cooling equipment can reduce that energy bill by up to 40 percent – a potential savings of hundreds of dollars each year.

To learn more, visit vampireawarenessday.com.

via MSL/Best Buy; Creative Commons image via Flickr

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Bizzia is the one-stop destination for business information, insights and news from b5media’s 30 business blogs.

Following the successful launch of b5media’s first portal, Starked.com, Bizzia covers themes such as finance, leadership, e-commerce, small business, sales and marketing. Bringing together the latest news coverage on breaking topics and popular business discussions, Bizzia makes it easy to access the specific themes a reader is interested in, as well as discover unique business perspectives around other topics.

Read the press release of the Bizzia launch.

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Martha Stewart’s celestial pumpkins are elegant and unique. And they would look great at night, without being scary to the little ones.

Making these twinkling pumpkins is fairly easy. Cut a circular opening on the bottom of the pumpkin and remove the flesh and seeds as usual. Leave about 1/4 inch thickness all around the pumpkin. Use a 1/4 inch bit and an electric drill to drill holes around the pumpkin. Put a string of small white lights inside and place one bulb in each hole. With the pumpkin right side up, the plug and wire should run out from the bottom.

via Martha Stewart

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Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer Michael Moloney recently teamed up with Domino Magazine to stage the Domino Bazaar Modern Bathroom Design class, sponsored by Oral-B’s Pulsonic electric toothbrush. The event was held at H.D. Buttercup on October 17, 2008 in California.

Anybody here who was able to attend the class – raise your hand, please.

Lucky for those of us who weren’t there, we can still learn from Michael’s bathroom design tips, straight out of the master class.

Michael’s approach in designing for the home is both eclectic and fresh. He blends the new and trendy with the practical to create a home that is both comfortable and, functional, uniquely suited to each family’s personality and needs. He applies this rule of thumb to all rooms in the home, including the bathroom.

Here are Michael’s picks as the latest fashions and trends in bathroom design:

• Surfaces – Choose natural materials like stone, bamboo, organic fibers paired with clean, metallic finishes and sleek, uncluttered surfaces.

• Form and function – From the vanity to the sink and showerhead, everything in the bathroom should be clean, sleek, functional and incorporate great design.

• Lighting – Use lighting appropriately. Plan for the type and placement of your bathroom’s lighting to bring about the greatest impact.

• Less is more. – In the bathroom, clutter is never in style. To keep your space clutter-free, throw out one item each time you go into your bathroom drawer.

• Accessories - Even in bathroom accessories, use items that are functional, look great and don’t take up a lot space on the bathroom counter.

• Clean lines - Today’s design is cleaner and more contemporary, even in limited spaces. When designing, think of function and multi-purpose items.

• YOU - Most importantly, design your bathroom for you! Start with the layout, then choose your decorating materials and accessories to fit. Design your space around what you like and what your needs are.

image and article used with permission via MSL

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It’s easy now that my kids are small, and we only have preschool to deal with. But as they get older, I know I will have to have a system in place to stay on top of everyone’s schedules.

I’m curious to know what calendar other families are using to keep track of everything. I’d love to know so here’s a poll for you:

Creative Commons image via Flickr

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As far as planners and calendars go, I’ve always been partial to paper. My planner of choice is a FranklinCovey compact binder, which I think is on its 4th or 5th year with me. Aside from FranklinCovey, there is only one other paper planner that I love. That is the Quo Vadis Trinote, which worked very well for me as a graduate student. But it’s a bound notebook, and I’ve since found more flexibility in my refillable binder.

For those who don’t have a FranklinCovey store nearby, the affordable 365 line is available exclusively at Target, which is where I got mine. My binder is divided into the following sections:

• The Calendar portion, where I keep the current month’s daily pages, the next 2 months’ monthly tabbed pages, and future planning pages for 2009-2012. A month ago, I switched to the Major Plan daily planning pages. These are made for university students (hence the future planning till 2012), and covers the academic year (August to September). I chose this format because of the way the pages are divided into three equal sections, thus:

I  use the top portion for appointments and home-related tasks, the middle one for work, and the bottom area for notes. Its one-page-a-day format gives me enough space for daily planning.

After the calendar come the following:

• Work Info has information that I refer to regularly for work.
• Work Tasks are my ongoing projects.
• Home Info contains service numbers, and things like Christmas card and gift lists, and the measurements of our windows and dining table (in case I see a sale for linens, I know exactly the sizes I need). “Home Info” also has this:

This is how I keep track of bills every month. I made it on a Word document to fit perfectly in my binder. After printing, I cut it on the lines and then punch holes. On the left side of the document, under Expense, are the utilities/companies that have to be paid. In the Notes area, I write things like whether it’s auto-pay, or for cell phones, etc. As I pay the bills, I write the amount under the corresponding month. This way, I can see which bills have been paid that month, and how our expenses change over the course of the year.

• Home Tasks comes next and it has organizing and sewing projects, packing lists for coming vacations, and the like. One thing I haven’t added in this section are grocery lists, which I might do eventually.
• Last are my Notes, for whatever random things I need to jot down and keep track of. I also keep several blank sheets of paper here.

In addition to these sections, I can fit a notepad at the back, as well as several pieces of paper in the inside pocket. I also keep a pen at all times in the binder’s pen loop.

This system has helped me keep track of most of the things I need to do, whether it’s for work or home. I evaluate my binder near the end of each year to keep what works and find alternatives for those that don’t. There are sections that are tried and tested, such as the bill tracker. Separating information and tasks for home and work is something I started early this year. I think I’ll keep it for next year as well.

It took me years to set up this system to the point that it works extremely well for me. I love that I have all the information I need in my binder, whether it’s for bills, or blogging, or birthday parties. Balancing work and home is easier with a system that both separates and keeps them together in the same place.

Major Plan image via Franklin Covey; other images from personal collection; affiliate links

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Here are three of my favorite posts from all over the web, just perfect for your weekend reading .

Top 100 Posts for Organizing Your Life

18 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess

Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things

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