You Have TOO MUCH Stuff!

 

Do you park in the garage or in the driveway?  Do you have stuff sitting on the floor in any room of your home?  Do you have things stored in other people’s homes (Mom & Dad’s house)?  Do you have a storage shed in your yard?  Do you rent an offsite storage unit?  Are you out of space to put things away into drawers, cabinets and closets?  Do you store things in your vehicles or have things sitting outside?  Under a tarp or an awning?  If you answered yes to any of these questions YOU HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!

 

The thing about having too much stuff is that you are sitting on a pile of cash that can be reallocated toward debt repayment and building your savings account.  For starters look at anything that happens to have an engine and start there.  Vehicles, ATVS, jet skis, motorhomes, travel trailers (okay, no engine, but still), motorcycles and dirt bikes, etc.  Give them a bath, take a picture and list them for sale.  AS-IS!  Don’t waste your time or your money that you don’t have “fixing them up”.  Just get them sold.  Use every dime to pay off your debt.

 

Go to your storage unit and empty it out making three piles – SELL, DONATE & TRASH.  I am always amazed at how much money is spent to store trash and you will be too.  Empty that unit and get rid of that stuff.  Cancel your unit rental and vow never to do that again.  Go out to that storage shed in your yard and do the same thing, then do it in the garage.

 

Do it in every drawer, cupboard, cabinet and closet.  Sell shoes, bags, purses and clothing on eBay, Facebook and to consignment shops.  Get rid of extra camping equipment, workout equipment, toys your kids don’t play with, toys you don’t play with.  List as much as you can, but also be reasonable with your pricing and your expectations.  Have lots of yard sales.  Do this until you are only left with the things you actually LIKE, USE and truly WANT.  Use every dime from eBay, Facebook Marketplace and yard sales to pay off your debt!

 

At the end of the day you will not only have a lot less stuff to manage, but you will feel a lot lighter too, especially emotionally.  Our stuff has a tendency to weigh us down.  The bonus is that you won’t need to move and manage so much crap and you will save yourself a ton of money because you are able to get rid of that storage unit and pay off some of your debt.

 

Don’t Let Meal Planning Overwhelm You!

 

I have talked multiple times about how important it is to have a meal plan as a way to save tons of money on your overall food expenses.  Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to sit down and come up with that plan week after week or you simply run out of time.  In that case try simplifying the process.  This idea isn’t entirely mine as I was inspired by a Youtuber at Simple Food Simple Life and I think it is brilliant!

 

A blueberry muffin with 1/2 a large apple sliced

Breakfast – keep it super simple with toast or and English muffin and peanut butter or a toasted bagel with cream cheese plus a piece of fruit like a banana, pear, nectarine or an apple.  Some of us, and I include myself here, may not be ready to eat early in the day and if that is the case, then skip it.  Instead, opt for a mid morning snack, brunch or an early lunch when your stomach is ready for food.

 

A cup of split pea soup w/half a tuna salad sandwich & lettuce

Lunch – a cup of soup and half a sandwich.  Done!  With so many soup options and varieties of sandwiches it will take a good long while before you get tired, if you even do.  This combo allows you to hit all of the nutrition points too.  Also of note is that a serving of bread is one slice, but if you feel a half sandwich isn’t enough to keep you going, by all means make a whole sandwich.  Try it with the half sandwich first though because I found it surprisingly filling.

 

Beef stroganoff over rice w/broccoli

Dinner – a starch, a protein and a vegetable (fresh or cooked or a combination).  I try to avoid too many starches myself, but if you handle them well then select healthy options like rice or potatoes.  To make it easy try coming up with a simple meal plan for suppers that you can mix and match over a couple of weeks.

 

Small bananas & mandarins

Yogurt w/diced nectarine

Snacks – a piece of fruit, nuts, raw veggies with some salad dressing, a couple slices of cheese, half a apple sliced with a spoonful of peanut butter, a yogurt cup, etc.  Healthy snacks like these help fill in the nutritional gaps so you are sure to get all of your daily nutrients.  Stay away from ultra processed foods.

 

Chicken fried rice, egg drop soup & a green salad

Burger with lettuce & tomato plus potato salad for Diner Nite

Have themes – maybe Sunday is chicken, Monday is leftovers, Tuesday is Mexican food, Wednesday is soup and salad, Thursday is pasta, Friday is hamburgers or steaks, Saturday is pizza.  You get the idea.  Tailor it to fit your family’s particular tastes.

 

Tacos!

Meatloaf, small baked potato w/sour cream & vegetables

Your meal plans don’t need to be overly elaborate, but to save money and stay on budget you do need a plan of some sort.  Get your family involved in the meal planning so it isn’t always on you to make it happen and make sure they are helping with the cooking and clean up, especially the kids.  Life lessons they’ll need to learn for later on in life.  Keep it simple in order to keep it successful!

 

Buy Next Year’s School Supplies Now!

 

Now that school has been in session for a few weeks now might be the best time for you to stock up for next year.  Stores tend to put leftover school supplies on clearance in order to move them out and make way for holiday merchandise.  I would often stock up on paper, spiral notebooks, markers, pens and pencils, crayons, scissors, glue and water color packs.

 

I kept a bin in my hall closet to store these clearance items so that once the annual supply list was sent out by teachers at the end of summer I could go through my bin and pull out what we needed for the year.  Then I would repeat the cycle again always buying what I needed on clearance.  I rarely ever had to pay top dollar for any school supply.

 

This bin was also very handy when in the spring the kids needed extra supply as they ran out.  It also served me well if I needed to make a gift bag for a child as I almost always had an abundance of crayons and markers on hand so all I had to do was grab a coloring book or an activity book along with a favorite candy bar or a package of gummy worms and I was good to go.  Extra school supplies also make great stocking stuffers.

 

If you have an extra $20 go buy as many extra supplies as you can and squirrel them away for next time.  Your busy mom self will thank you!

 

 

Meal Planning For The Win!

 

In anything you want to be successful at, it begins with a plan, and that couldn’t be truer or more helpful when it comes to what we eat.  I like to plan my meals by first taking inventory of what I already have on hand.  Using up first what we have on hand not only saves us money, but it also curbs potential food waste.

 

My next part is to plan my meals expecting leftovers so I can cook once and eat twice so plan your meals with this in mind.  Leftovers allows for convenience so you are less likely to be tempted to order take out or run through the drive thru window on the way home because you are too tired to even think about cooking when you get home.

 

Meal prepping is also a key to meal planning success, either by preparing entire meals or components for making meals and placing them in the freezer.  I will often take a block of time and prepare several meals and tuck them away in the freezer so anyone can grab one and reheat it in the microwave.  Homemade soups or chili is another great item to keep in the freezer.

 

Making a list of favorite meals or meals you would like to be eating allows you to have ideas at your fingertips.  As a budget stretcher I include a soup, salad and bread meal at least once a week which makes for a quick and easy meal to prepare as well.  Brainstorming with your family for ideas of which meals they would like to see on the table takes a lot of the pressure off of you to come up with all of the ideas yourself.

 

Once you have taken an inventory of what you already have on hand and your list of good ideas for meal it is now time to come up with a plan.  Map out what you plan to prepare for the week and make a list of ingredients you still need to buy at the store.  Once that is done, check the store ads online, download any digital coupons that may apply and you are ready to shop.  Keep in mind as your are planning that you are using REAL food in your plan and steer clear of any overpriced and unhealthy ultra processed items.

 

Consider making a batch of muffins or scones from scratch instead of buying cereal to serve for breakfast.  Zucchini bread, banana bread or apple walnut bread made with a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour plus dried fruit and nuts is a much better option than a sugar laden cereal and much less expensive too.  Leftovers are great options for lunches.  If you have children you can make your own “lunchables” with sliced chicken or ham, sliced cheese, grapes and a homemade oatmeal cookie.

There are many ways to tailor your meal plans to meet your needs and save you money.  We’ll be exploring more ideas in the coming weeks.

 

Meal Planning & Saving Big $$ This Year

 

Even though we are down to just two of us these days with the third one showing up here and there I still find meal planning to be very relevant, even more so.  I have meal planned for ages and, quite frankly, can't imaging not doing it even after my youngest heads off to college.  I find it is really important to do now, more than ever.  As far as I can tell there is no better way to stay organized and reduce food waste with cooking and meals than to have a plan.

 

I still meal plan pretty much as I always have and whether I'm pounding out an entire month of meals or doing it a week at a time, having a plan makes sure that I am using what I already have on hand so I'm not making extra trips to the store to pick something up (we all know too that you never just go in for one thing and leave), I make sure leftovers get eaten and I am able use up all of those odds and ends that seem to accumulate.

 

With a plan I am able to implement meals that don't cost a lot to prepare and structure those meals to make sure they are all nutritionally complete.  It simply boils down to good food management.  Efficiently managing our food use saves me a lot of money and keeps food waste to a minimum.

 

My 2022 Dayplanner

 

I am still using the same mini binder and printables I did last year.  If you want to know more details about how I put it together you can click here.  I usually start preparing my dayplanner for the following year in the fall because I happen to need to schedule appointments and plan ahead already.  I print off my pages from templates I download from The Scattered Squirrel.  I had loads of planner stickers leftover from ones I had picked up at Dollar Tree a few years ago so no need to purchase anything new.  The paper came from my stash in the craft room and I reused the page protectors.  Easy peasy and super thrifty.  😃

 

Making Things Better #9

 

I have steadily been working to make things better around our home.  I keep it neat, clean and tidy.  I've been decluttering on a regular basis and I'm still always amazed at what I find to get rid of.  As I've worked in my home I've managed to pull quite a few more items out of drawers, cabinets and closets and added them to the bag we have in our garage to collect donation items in.  I've added quite a bit to our recycle bin as well.

 

I have decorated for fall and this year I decided to use fewer items and have a grocery bag of items in the storage bin that I'm probably going to donate this year.  I'm ready to let them go and make room for something new or maybe nothing at all.  At the same time I gathered up all of my spent candles and melted the leftover wax in the bottoms of the glass jars.  I had enough wax to make a "new" candle using a wood wick and a glass candle holder I already had.  The empty glass candle jars went into our glass recycle bin and then were hauled to the local collection pin at our neighborhood grocery store.

 

This area has always been a challenge to work with and keep tidy

Our garage is still very much a work in progress.  Not too long ago I added more storage shelves to our garage but I'm still working at decluttering and organizing what we keep there.  Last year I got our décor culled down and finally into labeled bins.  This year I wanted to work on the tools and DIY items I have on our metal shelving next to our chest freezer.  I went through everything and was able to corral all of my power tools along with their blades and manuals into a new bin I picked up at Wal-Mart.  I got rid of items I no longer need or use and re-organized what was left.  Each shelf has a purpose - the top shelf is for automotive, the next shelf if for my tool box, fasteners and my compound miter saw.  The next shelf houses my new power tool bin and some DIY items.  The bottom shelf is for lawn and garden supplies.  I am very pleased with how I have things now and with how much I was able to part with.

 

So far this is working much better for me
Getting rid of things I no longer need, use or want has helped a lot!

Other than the one bin I purchased everything else I used to organize this set of garage shelves were items I already had.  I love that the bins I've downsized and decluttered are now available for other organizing projects.

 

Something small that makes a huge difference was to order replacement lids for some of my Pyrex storage bowls.  They get cracked over time and it is so nice to get new ones.  I'm able to keep my favorite storage container fully functioning and they look nice too.

 

💖  Love!!!  💖

I mentioned before that I gave my laundry room a mini makeover by swapping the washer and dryer as well as re-running the vent, lines and drain.  It has made a huge difference in how this room looks and feels now simply because the appliances fit better in that room.  I never realized just how having them sticking out a few inches further than they should've would impact the function of that room.  Now that the appliances sit back it makes the room feel more spacious and everything looks so much neater.  I absolutely love it.  Now my laundry room is definitely not Pinterest worthy by any means, but I do like it to look nice and I've place the items we have and use in there in such a way to make it not only useful but also decorative.  It has been really nice and I enjoy doing our laundry even more now.

 

And another small fun project I did was to upcycle another glass peanut butter jar as well as one of my Snapple bottles.  It was super quick and involved some copper spray paint I had in the garage.  I gave the lid to the jar and the bottle a few coats of the paint and allowed them to dry overnight.  Now I have a new canister for my flavored coffee as well as a bottle for olive oil I keep in my spice cupboard.  Just that little extra touch makes such a difference in how they look and feel to me.  No extra cost for me to repurpose a couple items that most people would toss in the recycle bin or trash and I fulfilled a need I had for a couple containers.  I added some new coffee scoops to my Amazon order and I just love my new coffee canister.

From peanut butter jar to coffee cannister

It always amazes me how making simple little improvements can add so much to our lives and rejuvenate us in ways you just don't think they will.  But, any time you can improve something, your life will always be better as a result from it.  😊

 

 

 

Making Things Better #8

 

I did a weird little project the other day and I'm really glad I did.  I have a set of Pampered Chef bamboo utensils that I've had for over twenty years.  I love them and I've used them all the time when I'm cooking and baking.  They were looking a little rough with burn marks on the handles, gouges from being smacked against the edges of pans and bowls and let's just say they had developed a little more "patina" than I was comfortable with.  So I took a sander to them and gave them a makeover.  Once I had sanded them smooth and even done a little reshaping they got a bath in hot soapy water.  After they had dried they looked pretty darn good.  I bet I get another twenty years out of this set too.

 

Gross, but not as gross as I was expecting
What a mess of cords, lines & venting!

A bigger project happened a couple weeks ago when I decided to clean the laundry room, particularly underneath the washer and dryer.  I've had this set for about twelve years and when the delivery people delivered it they talked me into setting them up opposite of how I usually have them and I stupidly agreed to it.  The washer and dryer setup has been driving me nuts ever since because the hoses, drain line and dryer vent had to be extra long in order to crisscross and stretch across the room to facilitate the way they had set it up.  The added bulk from this arrangement also made them protrude away from the wall and stick out further than they should.  All so they wouldn't have to flip the dryer door.  I have been unhappy about it and put up with it this way the entire time.

 

This could be a problem

Laundromat style - this will work

I finally decided to put the washer and dryer in their proper places and plumb them the way they should have been done when the "professionals" arrived to do the original install.  I had already pulled them away from the wall so I washed the walls and scrubbed the floor.  I also gave the appliances a good wipe down.  Then I disconnected the dryer vent and pulled the plug figuring it was easier to do the dryer rather than the washer.  I moved the washer into place behind the dryer, then moved the dryer to the other side of the washer.  I shortened the dryer venting and cleaned it out (I was a little past due on this chore) before reconnecting it.

 

I cleaned out and shortened the vent hose

It may not seem like it but this setup sure fits nicer
and it makes the room seem much more spacious

After pushing the dryer into place both units fit much better and the set now sits a good two inches or so closer to the wall.  It is amazing to me how much nicer and more spacious it feels in there now and how much better it looks as well.  I flipped the dryer door, the washer door isn't able to rotate so they face each other, but I think it is still workable.  I have figured out the reason they didn't want to put them like this is in the first place is because they had brought me the wrong washer.  I never even realized it at the time.  It isn't perfect but still, I'm very pleased with the new arrangement.

 

Since I was on a roll I cleaned and reorganized the shelf unit I keep in the laundry room to store our supplies.  I have laundry detergent, softener, bleach, stain spray and scent beads on the top shelf.  Light bulbs are kept on the next shelf.  My Swiffer duster and refills are kept on the third shelf and extra kitty toys, dishes and their grooming brush is on the bottom shelf.  I found a few items that needed to go elsewhere to they were moved to their proper homes and I even tossed some things out that we no longer need or use.

 

Time to purge, too much stuff!

We keep our winter hats, ear warmers and gloves in this cute red enamelware bucket.  Most of the items in here belong to my youngest so I had her go through it to see if there was anything we could purge.  She added a few pair of gloves and a hat that was too small to the donate bag we have going in the garage.  Now everything fits inside much better.

 

Shiny, clean & organized

That is my great grandma's washboard on the wall 😊

I was actually surprised to find items in the laundry room to declutter and purge.  It just goes to show you though that we are never really done with the decluttering process.  It feels good to know now that the only items in our laundry room are what we use on a regular basis.  Keeping this room clean, neat and tidy makes it so much nicer and easier to get the laundry done.  Far more enjoyable too.  I'd say that definitely makes life better.

 

Setting Physical Limits

Decluttering, minimalizing, downsizing and organizing can be a never ending cycle.  We clear the counters, we declutter drawers and closets, bags go to the donation centers, we toss out the trash and take out the recycling and yet stuff still seems to accumulate.  We bring things in all the time.  Mail, groceries, gifts, purchases, things that are given to us, things we can't say no too, school papers, more paper, packaging (Amazon, I'm talking about you), trash accumulates.  On and on and on.

 

One of the things that has helped me out tremendously to curb that vicious cycle was to set physical limitations on what stays inside our home.  If it doesn't fit it doesn't stay and not wanting to be wasteful I'm now much more aware of the available space in our home so I'm more careful about my purchases.

 

We started with hangers.  Each of us has a certain number and different color hanger.  A reasonable amount of clothing that fits nicely and neatly inside our closets.  Now if I buy a new top or pair of pants I know that if I don't have a hanger then I need to either donate an item or return what I got to the store.  More often than not, before I even make that purchase I now know what I am replacing and that item is already gone.  And as time has gone on I find myself wanting fewer clothing options and now I need fewer hangers.

 

My office supplies used to be all over the place tucked here and there.  Once I decided on a place to store them I made sure I only have what will fit neatly into that space keeping them all together in one spot.  The same with our crafting center.  The purpose of that unit is not only to organize and contain what we have in one space but to manage the volume of it as well.

 

We have one bin of Christmas décor, one bin of fall décor, one bin of Halloween décor.  I have one area in the garage for my canning supplies, one area for tools and project supplies.  You get the idea.  Your physical limits and mine will differ.  While I prefer to confine my décor bins to one per season/holiday you may feel that you need at least six or ten bins.  That is perfectly fine as long as that is what you are comfortable with and you have the designated space to keep that many items.  I have a small house so for me to keep more than what I currently have feels crowded and uncomfortable.  I really like my stuff but I also need open spaces within our home.

 

More stuff not only requires more space, but it also requires more time to manage that stuff.  I personally don't wish to manage a lot of stuff anymore.  I find that I enjoy having less to do and manage so I have more time to do other things I find enjoyable, such as using those craft supplies I have so carefully organized and stored.  If your stuff is overwhelming you or your home consider setting up some physical limits.  It may just be the ticket you need to get some control over your stuff so it isn't controlling you.