20 Minute Challenge

I'm speaking to a new moms of middleschoolers group tomorrow (very excited!) so I spent some time finishing up my remarks today. When advising my organizing clients, I love to introduce them to the 20 minute challenge. Often times we put off doing things because we dread spending an entire day of drudgery battling through whatever it is we've put off for so long. More times than not, whatever task we're dreading really won't take as long as you might think to complete (or at least to get started and make some great progress!).

In the spirit of the presentation, I've decided to log my 20 minutes each day to see what I can accomplish in little over 2 hours this week. I have little daily routines that I've built into my day which keeps me mostly on track with housework, mail & the like. Things like unloading the dishwasher each morning so I can fill it up over the course of the day, going through the mail in the mornings to keep it from piling too high on the kitchen counter, etc. I'd like to say I maintain each routine daily, but, hey, I'm human too. I can say I do them most days, how's that?

So today, after I put Charlie down for his nap, I set the timer on the microwave & got started. I managed a full hand & knee scrub of the kitchen floor (long overdue...) and wipe down the lower cabinets before time ran out. I opted to spend another 5 minutes wiping down the upper cabinets too. I didn't want them to feel left out. I spent another 10 minutes sorting the laundry so that I have some piles I can toss in when I have a free minute here or there this week too. Not bad for 35 minutes!

That's another fun trick of the 20 minute challenge. You can stop after 20 minutes and feel great about reaching your goal, but often you feel so energized about what you've done, it's easy to keep on going!

Til tomorrow...

Cure for Stinky Exercise Gear

Now that the heat and humidity of summer are upon us, I have to tell you about a wonderful product I discovered a couple of years ago. My husband and I are golfers & exercisers and we love the newer high tech fabrics that wick sweat away from the body. Only one problem. They stink! I tried everything to get rid of the smell: washing in hot water, adding bleach, you name it. Upon doing a little research, I learned that the fabrics trap bacteria (yuck) which are nearly impossible to get rid of with regular detergent. My online research revealed several testimonials about WIN detergent. I found their website & decided to give it a try. What a difference! The bottles are small, so I usually go through a couple over the course of the summer, but it's totally worth it to be able to don our workout & golf gear without worrying about a big case of the smellies!

I love the library!

This may seem painfully obvious to most of you, but do you realize how great the library is? Seriously! I'm in love with the library! Over the past several years, we've developed the devilish habit of buying books - lots of books. We love books. Funny thing is though, there are only a few cherished volumes that I refer to more than a handful of times. Most of the books sit idle on our shelves - good for decorating, perhaps, but not so much for learning. So anyway, I've recently re-taken to the idea of borrowing books instead of buying books.




And most library websites are so user-friendly these days. Just yesterday - in about 15 minutes - I was able to search for books via keyword, title, author, etc. I requested 5 books be put on hold for me (for some research I'm doing) & created a list of another 10 or so (casual reading & more research) that I'm interested in checking out, but can request for hold later. The library will send me an email when they've collected all of my requested titles and they'll be waiting at the checkout desk for me to pick up. Simple as that. Wow!


If it's been a while, go re-discover your library today. I don't think you'll be sorry.

Routine

Building routine into your life is a great way to stay on top of the small tasks that we often find to be frustrating obstacles to reaching our "big picture" goals. One of my biggest "big picture" goals is living in a warm & welcoming home environment. One of the biggest detractors to that goal, in my opinion, is a sink full of dirty dishes. To combat this, I've built dish duty into my morning routine. Each morning, right after I start the coffee pot, I empty the dishwasher from the night before. Often, I've left a pan soaking in the sink overnight, so I also quickly wash, dry & put that away as well. I even have time to run up the driveway to grab the newspaper before my coffee pot gurgles to announce it's ready.

Throughout the day, I can simply rinse any used dishes and immediately stash them into the dishwasher instead of letting them pile up in the sink and on the counter. I set the timer on the dishwasher to run in the overnight so it's ready for my dish duty routine in the morning!

Think about your day - what small routines can you build in to keep you on track towards your big picture goals?

Updated Calendar

I still use an old-fashioned wall calendar to remember appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I spent a few minutes yesterday adding names in all the right places so I'm able to send timely cards to friends & family. Of course, there are many electronic calendars that keep track of this info annually as well, but I find the wall calendar works perfectly for me.

Easy Hostess Gift

If you're like me, you often find yourself scrambling for last minute hostess gifts as you head out to myriad holiday soirees. Determined to be better prepared this year, I decided to purchase a 2 lb. box of some of the best toffee you'll ever taste from Lowrey's, a gourmet candy shop in my old hometown. The toffee keeps very well in an airtight bag & is at the ready on my kitchen counter when I need to whip up a small gift for a friend. I keep a stash of small boxes on hand in my craft drawer to make the gift giving even easier. Friends always seem to appreciate the tasty treats & I love having a plan in place for easy holiday giving.

Managing Picture Clutter

I'm sure there are many professional organizers out there who bristle at the idea of a fridge full of magnets & pictures. I'm not one of them. I love seeing pictures of friends & family smiling back at me as I reach for my coffee cream in the morning or grab dinner out of the freezer. That being said, the sheer volume & clutter can become overwhelming sometimes, so it's good to have a plan to deal with it. Every December as Christmas card season rolls around, I pull all (ok, most) of last year's pics off the fridge, clip them together and date.

I store the picture packets in the same box in which I display incoming Christmas cards. It looks great sitting under the tree & is large enough to hold pictures from seasons past for years to come. It's fun to leaf through the old packets each year when I get the decorations out. New pictures go on the door where they'll stay for most of the year!

Reusable Grocery Bags

Reusable grocery bags fall under the category of things I think are really great, but haven't ever gotten around to getting for myself. I imagine some family & friends find themselves in the same boat. With that in mind, I ordered a dozen or so of these this morning and will use them as gift bags for some of my presents this year. I'll hang on to a few for myself too.

Trusted Resources

As I contemplate my holiday menus for the coming weeks, it occurs to me that out of all the cookbooks I have (not a ton, but more than 20, plus magazines), I continually turn to these three as my most-trusted resources.

• The All New, All Purpose, Joy of Cooking



• Baking, from the Williams-Sonoma Best of the Kitchen Library



• Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Matt got me the Joy of Cooking for Christmas 2000, right after we got engaged. I guess I had already gotten to his heart through a route other than his stomach, but perhaps he was trying to lay the foundation for gastric happiness in the years ahead. Actually, I remember him being a bit sheepish about me opening the book in front of my parents. It was (and still is) one of my favorite gifts, but I think he was afraid he might look like a boor for offering a gift seeming to suggest his future wife might want to brush up on her culinary skills prior to gettin' hitched. I don't think they minded a bit.

Anyway, I usually start with it & then refer to similar recipes in both the Baking & Barefoot Contessa books. I like to see how the recipes are alike & how they differ. Sometimes I follow one of the books precisely for a particular dish. Most often, though, it is some combination of the three put together. I think of Joy as more of a textbook - a way to get the best understanding of how a dish came about or has evolved over time. Baking & Contessa provide inspiration through gorgeous photography & sumptuous descriptions of each recipe.

So, wishing you happy cooking & baking this holiday season. I'll let you know how my goodies turn out.

A Bottle in the Bag

When we brought our son home from the hospital, we were supplied with all kinds of goodies from the nursery. Formula & diaper samples, coupons, etc. At the time I had no use for these teeny tiny plastic bottles equipped with a screw-on cap that could be replaced with the pre-sterilized nipples the hospital also sent home. Now, however, I find them to be the perfect size to store an 8 oz. bottle's worth of formula powder. I keep a clean bottle & liner and one of these little jobbies at the ready in my diaper bag at all times.