michelejo.com

Category: Tending Hearth

  • Dinner Meal Plan: 10/1 through 10/7

    I don’t go out of my way to plan breakfast and lunch unless it’s a special occasion.  I keep breakfast foods (bacon, eggs, sausage, pancake/biscuit mix, etc.) on hand at all times.  Lunch tends to be sandwiches, leftovers or convenience (fishsticks, anyone?) foods.  Planning dinner is important to me since dinner tends to need the…

  • Why I’m using up my stockpiles…part 2.

    Part 1 is here. I’ll tell you why it is, for me, and for friends and acquaintances I’ve observed.  Once you have a stockpile, the mindset is that you need to keep it ramped up.  There’s this constant scouting and push-push-push to get more of those items every time they’re really cheap, or free (or…

  • Once-a-Week-Cooking

    If you’ve been a home-maker anytime over the last 15-20 years, you’ve probably heard the term Once-a-Month-Cooking, or OAMC.   Basically, this is a concept involving cooking an entire month’s worth of dinners all at once, and then freezing (or otherwise storing them) so that you can prepare them as needed. I’ve done this off…

  • Getting Organized | Kids’ Clothes & Shoes

    My two youngest share a bedroom.  It’s a nice-sized room with a great walk-in closet.  I’d been hanging some of their clothes in the closet, using the shelves and floor for toys and cramming undies, socks, pjs, leggings and the like into their cute, but very small dresser. When we recently purged a scary amount…

  • Why I’m using up my stockpiles these next couple months…Part 1

    I’ve coupon’d (in a serious way) off and on over the last 20 years.  Before Internet match-ups, I found it all very confusing and didn’t really keep it up longer than a month or two at a time.  It just took way too much time.  Once I discovered match-ups and places to buy coupons I…

  • Weight Reduction + Wardrobe Reduction = Less Laundry?

    My clothes are a little tricky as a no-spend item, because I’ve recently lost 40+ pounds and hope to continue to lose through 2012.  I DO NEED CLOTHES right now however.  My pants finally are to the point where I can’t keep them up without constantly hitching them (which looks so attractive, I’m sure) so…

  • Money Management for Dummies

    *I’m the dummy.  I’m terrible at following a budget.  Even when I think I’m doing awesome, I usually end up with some sort of shortfall.  That was taking a toll on our savings account, so T and I put our heads together and came up with a brilliant (mostly his idea!) plan. I sort of…

  • Primal Urges

    It occurred to me tonight that it’s a bit crazy that I’ve thoroughly researched healthy dog food and treat options for our new puppy, Lily, and I have purchased only natural preservative-free products for her…yet at the same time I let my children eat: corn dogs processed chicken nuggets processed waffles things like syrup soda…

  • Sell, Sell, Sell!

    A popular tip to help pay down debt and/or ramp up savings is to find things you’re not using and sell them.  It’s easy to fall into the “I don’t really have anything worth enough to justify the effort” mindset.  That’s what I often do.  I’ve held a few all-day garage sales that have yielded…

  • Challenge Update

    While I have not sewn anything for the little kids yet in 2012, I’ve refrained from buying much.  I got out their summer clothes from last year and most still fit!  Dakota had outgrown his shirts in length, so I splurged and bought him eight t-shirts (mostly Angry Birds and Nintendo) at Wal-Mart.  $6 each…