Are You Prepared For A Natural Disaster?

My husband and I were recently discussing natural diseasters and emergency preparedness and both of us realized that we really are not prepared for a real emergency.

Do you have a plan? Are you and your family prepared? If not, it’s time to get prepared!

While surfing the interenet today for more information on this topic, I found a great web site that I would like to pass along to our blog readers. This web site has a FREE printable emergency preparedness checklist that you can print out and put into action NOW before a real disaster happens.

You can also purchase items that you and your family may need from this same web site (we are not affiliated with this site in any way).

The site is called Preparedness.com and I really think you should check it out. It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to a real emergency.

Shelly

Saving Time When It Comes To Making Dinner

A common misconception that many people have about those who work from home is that we have all the time in the world to make fancy dinners and to get those dinners onto the table on time every day of the week. As someone who works from home, I can honestly tell you that at times, I used to have a problem with that.

One way I solved that problem is by being prepared and here is how I do it.

I like to plan our family dinners 2 weeks in advance. I will sit down with my calendar and write down what I will be making each day for that 2 weeks time period and I plan on 5 dinners for each week.

To break that down even further, 2 of my 5 dinners will be something I make in my crock pot (slow cooker), 1 will be a meal that I pull from my freezer (I am big on making my own freezer meals) and the other 2 will be dinners I make from scratch.

When I do my grocery shopping, I use my 2-week dinner plan to steer me into the right direction of food items I need to purchase. I set aside 1 hour of my day to prepare my family’s dinnertime meal.

For crock pot meals I allow 20 minutes in the morning to assemble all ingredients into my crock pot. I then allow another 20 minutes during the day for checking on it and then the final 20 minutes is for finishing it up when its done or for preparing a side dish to go with it. Surely, most of us who work from home can spare a total hour :)

For my premade freezer meals, I will get it out of the freezer the night before and refrigerate it over night. Then 1 hour before I plan on serving dinner, I will finish thawing it in my microwave and then throw it into the oven or on the stove top to finish up its cooking time. While that is going on, I can prepare my side dishes.

For meals I make freshly from scratch….I like to make simple things such as meat loafs, grilled chicken, barbecue sandwiches and so forth.

I save all of my heavy duty cooking and baking for weekends when I have more time.

How do you like to plan out your weekday evening meals? Do you struggle with getting dinner onto the table each evening even though you work from home? Do you have any tips to share with our readers?

Shelly

Get Outdoors For A Family Picnic

Now that summer is in full swing, do you and your family enjoy outdoor picnics? I am not talking about big family reunions & gatherings, what I am specifically talking about is some family time with just your spouse and kids?

One of the things we enjoy doing as a family is going out to remote areas, public parks, etc. and planing an afternoon picnic.

Now if you have never done this for your family, here is a list of things you will need:

Picnic Blanket or Picnic Table
Picnic Table Cloth (if using a table)
Plates, Napkins, Plastic Utensils and Cups
Picnic Basket and/or a Cooler with ice
Trash Bags (for clean up)

You don’t need to get all elaborate with your food choices…you can plan simple sandwiches/subs, macaroni or potato salad, some chopped up fresh fruit, potato chips & pretzels and perhaps a few pickled eggs.

While out on your picnic, you will want to bring along a few things to keep the kids busy or activities that the entire family can enjoy such as: a ball, kites, fishing poles (if near water), bubble blowing machines, bocci ball, frisbee or any other small & portable outdoor activity that you can think of.

The most important thing is to keep it simple so that you don’t stress yourself out. Remember, this is family time so you will want to plan ahead for a stress-free afternoon outdoors!

Shelly

Home Sewing Box Essentials

When it comes to putting together a home sewing box or kit, it is important to be prepared for all of those home mending jobs.

You can store your mending items in a large metal tin, a shoe box, rubbermaid or plastic bin or go out and purchase a box that is specifically made for housing sewing supplies.

Here are the items I feel that every home sewing box needs to include.

1. Sewing Thread (Basic Colors) – white, black, brown, red, green, yellow, orange, tan
2. Needles – various lengths and tips
3. Straight Pins – one box of pins (I prefer rust-proof pins)
4. Measuring Tape
5. Scissors – I recommend a high quality pair of fabric scissors
6. Buttons – You will want to stay stocked with various colors and sizes of buttons
7. Safety Pins – I recommend various sizes in both silvertone and goldtone metals
8. Seam Ripper – Every good sewing box needs a great seam ripper tool.
9. Needle Threader – Even if you have great eye sight, a needle threader can save you precious time when you are in a hurry.
10. Iron-on Patches – I keep white, black, denim, navy, tan and brown iron-on patches in my sewing box at all times.
11. Fabric Glue – If you are in a hurry and need a quick fix, you can hem a pair of pants or fix a seam with a few dabs of fabric glue.
12. Thimble – Protect your fingertips and invest in a good thimble.

What kind of items do you like to keep in your sewing box so that you are always prepared for mending emergencies?

Shelly

Are You Prepared? 10 Wintertime Snow Emergency Tips

When it comes to nasty winter weather, are you and your family prepared? The time to think about preparedness is before the winter storm hits which for me…is at the beginning of the winter weather season.

Here are 10 wintertime snow emergency tips that I think you will find useful the next time you are preparing for a winter snow storm.

1. Have emergency supplies readily available at home. These supplies should include plenty of food (including items that don’t need to be cooked, incase you lose power), several gallons of bottled water and juice, batteries for flashlights, battery operated emergency weather radio, cell phone and a back up plan in place in case of an emergency.

2. Carry a small bag of salt or kitty litter in your automobile trunk…it will help with traction if you get stuck.

3. Carry a box of emergency supplies in the trunk of your car, such as: blankets, flares, bottled water, first aid kit, jumper cables, battery powered radio, snacks, etc.

4. If possible, bring all domestic pets indoors…if it’s too cold outside for you, it is too cold outside for them.

5. If you have to go out in cold snowy weather, dress in warm insulating layers. You want to make sure you keep your feet, hands and head protected from cold temperatures and frost bite.

6. Pre-treat your sidewalks and driveways with salt or chemical mixtures before the storm hits. Once the storm arrives, treat them again.

7. If you live in a dwelling that has a ‘fragile’ roof such as a mobile home or travel trailer, you will need to periodically go out and remove snow from your roof. If you let it pile up, you risk roof damage and cave-in.

8. When it snows…keep up on your shoveling. Go out every 2-3 hours and remove the fresh layer of snow. Don’t let it pile up to where it becomes heavy and unmanageable.

9. Shovel out all fire hydrants in your neighborhood so that emergency crews can easily find them and access them quickly.

10. If you don’t need to travel, then don’t! By going out to do things that can wait to another time, you are risking your life and those who travel with you.

When it comes to surviving bad winter weather and doing so in comfort and warmth, it is all about being prepared ahead of time and knowing what to do once the bad weather has arrived.

~ Keep Safe and Be Warm ~

Shelly

Do You Remember To Clean The Little Things?

When it comes to cleaning things around our home to prevent infections, do you remember to clean the little things?

I know as a mother and grandmother, I often get busy and just do my basic house cleaning…but part of my 2010 New Year’s Resolution was to get better cleaning the little things that harbor germs and bacteria around my home.

Here are some of the items we all need to remember to clean on a weekly basis.

Telephones and Cell Phones
Remote Controls to TV, Stereos and DVD Players
Light Switches
Door Knobs
Cabinet Knobs and Drawer Pulls
Handles on our appliances
On/Off switches on our lamps
Gaming Consoles (especially the controllers)
etc.

It is important to remember to clean and wipe down those little things in our homes that our families frequently touch.

You can go out and purchase ‘green’ cleaners or you can use those handy dis-infecting wipes…either one, just as long as you get into the weekly habit of wiping these types of little things down.

~ Shelly ~

Work at Home Office Childproofing Tips

Can be very challenging as many of us know, but depending on the age of your child here are some helpful tips to balance work life and your kids.

1. Set up a kid work station where your child can draw, colour and play.

2. Password protect your computer to avoid little hands from deleting your work.

3. Place heavy furniture or large furniture in front of outlets especially where your computer plug is or you can use outlet covers.

4. Keep the paper shredder or fax machine where youngsters can’t climb and reach to play with buttons or put their fingers in the slots.

5. If you have hard-to-open containers you can keep the small objects on your desk, otherwise keep small items like staples, paper clips, push pins etc. and sharp objects in a locked drawer.

6. Let your child play with an old calculator or computer keyboard. They’ll be fascinated to play with it.

7. Look for anything that hangs to the level of your child and move them to a higher spot or secure them. Venetian blind cords can be wound up in a child safety mechanism or tied up beyond a child’s reach.

8. Secure bookcases and other office furniture from toppling over and keep them away from anything that may encourage your child to use it as a climbing tool to reach something.

9. Use a snap on lid for garbage.

10. If there are any sharp corners in your home office protect them using corner protector cushions.

~Sophia

5 Styles of Coupon Organizers For The Frugal Shopper

I used to be one of those people who clipped coupons and I still do, but not so much anymore. The coupons I do have are the ones I find online or are delivered to my email box on a weekly basis which makes organization a piece of cake.

If you collect a lot of coupons there are five types of coupon organizers to keep your coupons ready at your fingertips.

If you don’t have a lot of coupons, you can purchase a simple wallet size accordion file holder with expandable file folders. It comes with an elastic on the flap to wrap around the file. Each coupon slot has pre-printed categories, but you can easily change them by creating your own categories using your own sticker labels. These accordion file may also include a lined notepad and a pen holder.

For under $15, you can buy a deluxe purse size coupon organizer made of durable fabric that conveniently attaches to your grocery cart while you shop. It’s open, it’s convenient and you see exactly what coupons you have and best of all your hands are free. For a bit more money, it also comes in leather.

Another compact coupon organizer you can use is a spiral bound book that includes labels, individual vertical pockets for the coupons and an elastic closure to hold everything together. It can easily fit into your purse.

You can also use a binder organizer with colour tabs and insert 4×6 photo protector sheets for your coupons. Additionally you can include other things like paper, a calendar, a weekly meal planning list and more.

If you have a lot of coupons, this is the largest coupon organizer that has over 100 pre-printed and alphabetized sections. It includes a shoulder strap and separate compartments to hold your chequebook, keys, calculator, and money etc. making it convenient for you to take to the store.

Whether you’ve just started coupon clipping or you have used coupons for many years, these simple and deluxe coupon organizers are durable, convenient and makes organizing and shopping easy.

~Sophia

How To Find The Best Post Holiday Shopping Deals

From Black Friday and right up until the Christmas Holiday, we scour the newspaper ads and the Internet shopping ads looking for the best pre-holiday shopping deals. Now that the Christmas Holiday is over, its time to grab some post-holiday shopping deals and pack them away for next year.

I like to go out and hit the retail stores the first few days after the holiday and once I am in the store, I immediately head to their seasonal section and snatch up gift wrap, gift bags, to and from tags, ribbons, bows and other gift wrapping essentials. At most retail stores, you can now purchase these items for 70% to 90% off. This is also the best time to snatch up your holiday greeting cards for next year!

If you are like me, I love buying tree ornaments and using them in gift baskets or as package toppers. You will want to hit the trim-the-tree section next and snatch up some Christmas Tree ornaments to pack away for next year. When I am purchasing the ornaments, I look for ones that have no year or date on them…no one likes getting an ornament that is dated 2009 when you are giving it in 2010.

After I am done in the seasonal section of the store, I head to the holiday gift section and look for pre-packaged gift sets. I specifically look for bath and bath gift sets and foodie gifts. You can give them as a gift next year or break them down into smaller individual gifts or stocking stuffers.

Example: When I was out earlier today, I purchased 5 bath and body gift sets and each one was marked down to $3.50 per set (originally priced at $15.00 to $18.00 per set) and contained 5-6 products in each set. You can take the gift sets apart and break them down into smaller frugal gifts.

If you received any gift cards this year from Santa, now is the time to redeem them. Yes…I know the stores are busy with everyone trying to get their post-holiday sale items…but in reality….you can get a lot more with your gift card if you redeem it now because all of the retail stores are having big after the holiday clearance sales.

Now you might be saying to yourself…where am I going to store all of my post-holiday bargains? That is easy….head on over to the house wares department and purchase some plastic under-the-bed storage containers. Last year I found some on clearance for $3.00 each and I have 8 of them laying under my queen-sized bed. These are also handy for any little gifts that you might pick up during the year to use next holiday season.

The best time to go out and snatch up the post-holiday season shopping deals is the first 3-4 days after the holiday is over. Be prepared to stand in long lines, have a hard time finding close parking spaces etc. However, going out early in the morning and taking your patience and good cheer with you…will help you get through the shopping day.

Happy Shopping!

~ Shelly ~

Giving Back During The Holidays

During the year its always important to give back to others around you…this ‘giving’ can be to friends and family members or to complete strangers who are in need.

When it comes to giving, it is even more important to give back to those in need during the holiday season.

As I sit here this morning having my bagel and coffee, I am reflecting back over the entire year and remembering everything that I have done for those through out the year.

We have donated clothing (adults and kids) to those in need. We have donated a bag of groceries every month for the past 12 months to a single mom with 4 children. I have taught crafting and cooking classes to local troubled teens in our area 6 times this past year.

We have done a lot…including volunteering to mow grass, cleaning and home maintaince for local seniors in our community who can’t afford to hire outside help.

As I sit here sipping on my coffee this morning, I am very proud of the ‘good deeds’ my husband and I have done all year long to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart.

Have you remembered to ‘pay it forward’ this year? Have you done something special for someone in need this holiday season? If not, the year isn’t over yet and there is still time for you to do something special for someone else.

~ Shelly ~

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