I am orange.....

Great title eh? OK....I'm not REALLY orange. In this household though, my color is orange. We've had a family calendar up for years and I have decided for my sanity (and because it just looks so darn pretty) everyone would have their scheduled activities highlighted in a specific color. The kids can take a quick glance to see their commitments for the week without having to read every single entry (which on our calendar is a lot)!  It is also a good way to see who is just plain over scheduled.

Now I've taken the color coding and moved it into the fridge. I was getting tired of seeing 52,000 half-drunk bottles of water and no one knowing who they belonged to. I bought some colored stickers and told the kids to start marking their water bottles. Et voila.....less wasted water!

Not just for shoes.......

Need a great way to store your winter acoutrements? Use a plastic shoe organizer inside your closet. Everything stays neat and no one has to go digging through boxes or knocking things off shelves. In the summertime it's perfect for sunblock, bug spray, sunglasses and ball caps.

Are you moving?

The last thing anyone wants to think about when they are moving is giving the old house (or even your new house) a good cleaning.

There are so many things to think about with packing, purging (which I highly recommend) and settling into your new home.

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but I enjoy cleaning ....immensely! You need it done? I'll do it.....washing walls, scrubbing out your fridge, scouring sinks etc.

Contact me at chrissiesocd@gmail.com

Throw away your potato peeler!!

Ok....don't really throw it away....just put it in that drawer that is like a black hole where nothing is found ever again (which by the way I can help you organize).

I hate peeling potatoes, but love to eat them and there lies the problem....and now thanks to MaryAnne from Gilligan's Island there is a quick and easy solution! (Ginger NEVER would've posted something like this.....)http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7375897927147969009#

How to eat an elephant.....

Did I get your attention? Good. I'm sure you've heard the riddle about how to eat an elephant. The answer is one bite at a time. Sitting down to a whole elephant in front of you would be overwhelming. Big tasks and goals are like that elephant.....daunting.

De-cluttering/organizing is one of those projects that is difficult to start for many reasons. Maybe there is no rhyme or reason to where everything is stored and it seems impossible to tackle. Or it could be that your home doesn't lend itself to a lot of storage areas. Whatever the reason, think about that big job in smaller steps. If you have a pantry that needs to be organized start with one shelf and empty it.  Is it your bureau? Empty a drawer. As you finish each step hopefully it'll inspire you to keep going until that elephant is gone.

OK, so you've emptied your shelf/drawer/box.....whatever. Do you have outdated food? A blouse with a stain that just won't come out? Pictures that are so blurry you can't tell if it's Great Uncle Harry or Grandma? These are the easy decisions. Get rid of them.

Now that you've done a small purge, put like things together. Say you're working on your closet.....once all of your black dress pants are all together you'll realize you have 6 pair and really only need 2. Pass the other 4 pair on to someone. If you're a visual person (like me) having your closet organized makes finding an outfit MUCH easier.



What's the elephant in your life?



"Don't agonize, organize."
  ~Florynce R. Kennedy

Mmmmmm....soups and casseroles

I’m hunkered down today on this chilly Sunday afternoon with a fire going reading my book, realizing how much I’m looking forward to making soups and casseroles. Is there anything better than coming inside after shoveling snow than a great big bowl of soup with some garlic bread on the side or maybe a piping hot casserole? I don’t think so either. Here are 2 of my favorite recipes…..

Kale Soup (my Dad’s favorite)

1 Tbsp butter

2-3 onions; chopped

1 lb. linguica

½ lb chourico

6 cups chopped Kale

2 quarts hot chicken stock

4 peeled and cubed potatoes

4 sliced carrots

1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

Salt to taste

½ tsp pepper

In a deep pan sauté the onions in butter. Add meat that has been sliced and continue cooking until heated through. Slowly add hot stock. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 45 minutes.

Turkey Lasagna with Bechamel Cream Sauce

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

2 tsp minced garlic

2 large onions, chopped

3 cups of low-fat milk

¼ cup of white wine

1/3 cup of flour

¼ tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 16 oz pkg lasagna noodles, cooked

1 ½ lbs cottage cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

4 Tbsp grated parmesean cheese

In a large skillet heat olive oil…add turkey, garlic and onion and brown them. Heat milk, white wine, flour, pepper and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until flour has dissolved and the sauce thickens. Add turkey mixture. Mix well. Coat a 13x9 pan with olive oil. Preheat oven to 350. Lay cooked lasagna noodles in the pan and spoon turkey mixture on top. Place ½ cottage cheese on top and sprinkle with ½ the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another layer. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30-35 minutes.

Magazine Mayhem

I don’t know about you, but the day my new issue of Oxygen hits my mailbox I can’t wait to read it cover to cover. It’s chock full of great workouts and yummy recipes that I want to try, but there is no way I can get to them all before my next issue hits.

So here is a great idea that Pete shared with me years ago. Tear out the articles that you want to keep and file them away. It will cut down on the space you’re using for storage and you’ll know exactly where to look when you want something specific.

I have filed away workouts for specific body parts so when I get in a rut I can change up my workouts quickly and without a lot of time wasted looking for “that fantastic leg workout that I saw a few months ago and I could’ve sworn it was in the July issue”.  

I’m always looking for new ideas to stay ahead of the clutter. What works for you?