September is National Preparedness Month. As we did last year, we’re going to take advantage of the national emphasis on disaster preparedness to look at a couple of important topics. Public health experts recommend that all households create an emergency plan and assemble a basic disaster supply kit. Though these sound like good ideas … [Read more...] about Dare to Prepare: Remaining Vigilant
Keeping the Home
Fall 2014 Menu
The official start of autumn is only a couple of weeks away. In addition to the changing leaves and pumpkin-flavored baked goods, I’m eager to start a new menu. As I’ve shared before, I periodically develop monthly menus. We use each for 3 consecutive months before moving on to a new one (read more on why and how I plan monthly menus … [Read more...] about Fall 2014 Menu
Frugal Ways to Create Variety in Your Meals
If you have a limited grocery budget, chances are you eat many of the same foods over and over again. In my household we eat a lot of chicken, ground turkey, brown rice, apples, and bananas. These are some of the most affordable foods in the grocery store, so they’re our staples. Without a little creativity, our meals would get pretty … [Read more...] about Frugal Ways to Create Variety in Your Meals
Tips for Freezing Casseroles
With our little girl due to be born in just 10 weeks, I’m starting to freeze meals to help us make it through the postpartum period. My husband and I love casseroles, so I’m assembling a number of these. I’m drawing on my previous experience and suggestions in a decades-old Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book to make sure these casseroles … [Read more...] about Tips for Freezing Casseroles
Christmas in July: Christmas Planning Printables
Lists are one of my favorite tools for planning in advance. In today’s installment of Christmas in July 2014, I’m sharing some planning worksheets that I created that are even more useful than lists! If you’ve missed the previous installments in this year’s Christmas in July, you can read them here and here. One list I usually start … [Read more...] about Christmas in July: Christmas Planning Printables
Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Cake
I’m not a huge fan of cake, but when I saw this recipe in a cookbook I desperately wanted to try it. Perhaps it was just because I was hungry. After all, I was thumbing through the cookbook while sitting in a lab waiting room during a 3 hour glucose tolerance test for which I’d been fasting! Regardless of why it sounded good, I’m glad I tried … [Read more...] about Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Cake
Line Drying Clothes Indoors
When we first got married, my husband was surprised to find that I hang some of my clothes on racks to dry them instead of using the dryer. Though he encouraged me to toss them in the dryer for convenience, I've continued line drying a significant amount of my clothing. Of course, it would be easier to line dry clothes on an outdoor … [Read more...] about Line Drying Clothes Indoors
Christmas in July 2014
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. It is only July, but I am already thinking of Christmas. As I explained in last year’s introduction to Christmas in July, I am not attempting to minimize the celebrations that occur between now and Christmas, nor am I promoting “Christmas creep” (the phenomenon of retailers exploiting the … [Read more...] about Christmas in July 2014
