Search Results for: blog can a messy home make you spend more

How to Make Eating at Home Fun

Eating at home saves money. That is just a fact. I took my kids out to lunch at a family friendly restaurant for a treat, and with tip we spend half of our weekly food bill that feeds not only the kids and I but also my husband. Since we don’t often eat out, I had forgotten how much it really costs to eat out these days. Still, the kids love to do it. In fact, eight times out of ten that would normally be their choice. Well, it was that way, before I started getting more purposeful about making … Continue reading →

Fun Holiday Gifts and Crafts for Toddlers

If you are trying to navigate the holiday season on a tight budget this year, you are not alone. Many people, parents of toddlers included, are looking for ways to make merry for less. Whether your desire to cut back on spending is motivated by necessity or simply a desire to live a little more simply, here are some ideas that you might want to use this year. For your toddler, here are a few ideas. One thing that you can do is to round up any old, broken crayons that are lying around. Home made “crazy crayons”, made from pieces … Continue reading →

The Free Money Box

In the kitchen of our house, on a kitchen pantry, sits a brown nondescript box a little smaller than a standard shoebox. It is pretty plain, with the exception of a small white label on it, and a designation written in pencil. The words read, “Free Money.” This little free money box has come in handy on many occasion, and has helped us to buy things we needed or wanted without spending a dime. It is a place we go to first, before we get in the car. Our free money box contains the following types of items: Gift cards … Continue reading →

Cleaning Or Playing, Decisions, Decisions

No one wants to live in an overwhelmingly messy house. For me, it’s stressful if the house is a mess. It’s also stressful to always be nagging my daughter about picking up after herself. I did feel it was my job to teach her to clean up after herself, I just never enjoyed that particular battle. When Hailey was small I had to accept that my house was going to have that lived in look. There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything. One lesson I learned early in my single parenthood was to pick my … Continue reading →

Taming the Clutter Creature

I’m a minimalist, not in the things I do, but in the things that I have. At least I try to be. So why is it that it takes me ages to put everything away when I get home? It doesn’t matter if I’m getting home from work or from a day out doing something else. I have a full scale clutter party in my house once I return home, and that seems to be life. Unfortunately, I am also a clutter-o-phobe. While I can live happily with a dirty sink in my bathroom, visual clutter makes me want to … Continue reading →

Teaching Little Ones To Clean Up

It’s spring cleaning time and a perfect time to teach your little one ( or not so little one) to clean up after herself. Being a single mother means you need all the help you can get so the last thing you need is to spend your time picking up things your kids have set down and never put away. Teach them when they are little and it won’t be such a battle when they get older. I always felt guilty having Hailey help clean up. My guilt from the divorce spilled over onto everything but I finally had to … Continue reading →

No Computer = Clean House

! Last week I was without a computer for six long days. I didn’t realize how much of my time was spent in front of this electronic box, until it was gone. The first day I wandered the house, looking for something to do. I found myself, picking up, straightening up and before I knew it I was cleaning the house from top to bottom. To say it needed it would be an understatement and now that it’s done, I can’t believe the difference. My house wasn’t insanely dirty, but it had gotten out of control. Between working, writing and … Continue reading →

Making Playoff Parties Fun for Kids

Watching the Packers and Giants, Saints and 49ers, Texans and Ravens or the Broncos and Patriots go head-to-head in the NFL playoffs this weekend may sound like an incredibly fun time for you, but what about the littlest players in your life? Whether you are hosting a football-viewing party or attending one, if you want to be assured of a good time, then it would behoove you to have a plan in place to keep the kiddos entertained. Fortunately, there are a slew of simple and affordable kid-friendly activities you can have on hand during a football-themed party, so that … Continue reading →

That Lived In Look

I have been sick for almost three weeks. You know what happens when you are sick for that long and a major holiday falls during that time? Chaos, that’s all I can say. While I had very good intentions, and some days even managed to feel good long enough to tame the mess a bit, the house has deteriorated rapidly. Today I felt a little better, I put up all three Christmas trees, raked the front yard and put up the outside decorations. All in all, a pretty productive day. I have to tell you though, those things were done … Continue reading →

Stress-Free Preparations for the Holidays

With it already being November, you are probably starting to think about preparing your home for the upcoming holidays. My family gets a break from Thanksgiving, in that we always have it at a relative’s house. But we do host Christmas, so I am starting to think about those preparations in advance. Here is the thing about holidays and having friends and family over…we tend to get too wrapped up in the little stuff. How many people do you know (or perhaps you are one of them) that will spend hours and hours cleaning or scrubbing areas that your family … Continue reading →