Secrets of Success

Use your timer!

I set the timer to get me going on projects. It helps you get started and after the first round of 10 minutes, you usually keep up the good work.

Cereal Bags

Whenever I use up the last of a bag of dry cereal, I save the bag by folding it and putting it in the freezer. Then when I am re-packing quantity meats, the bags are right there. Freezing them kills any germs and keeps them handy. They are much better than cling-wrap for keeping the meat from having freezer burn and cheaper, too.

Perfume Samples

Whenever I find a scent sample that I like in a magazine, I tear it out and tuck it in a clothing rawer at home or in my desk drawer at work. The little bit of scent is refreshing.

Salt as a Scrubber

I sometimes use salt to scrub up a dried spill on the stove top or to clean up a hardened grease mess on baking pans.

Monthly To-do List

I make a list of major projects every month and date it. Then as the month goes by, I cheerfully cross off what I have done. I also mark little notes near the project. I keep the lists and enjoy looking back to a couple years ago and revisiting the progress I have made. It is almost a journal only without much writing...

Clean Cutting Board

I hate cleaning the cutting board so I use a paper plate on top of it to cut food. It is much easier to toss that plate than scrub the board! I eat more veg's if the cleanup is minimal.

Free Rubber Gloves

I started coloring my own hair to save money. The gloves included with each box/kit come in handy for yucky jobs, so I rinse & dry them and keep them under the sink They don't have the heft of regular gloves but they sure work fine for most small projects or for a one-shot job as they are disposable anyway.

Rainy Day Shoes

I carry a pair of plastic gardening shoes in the car - you know the kind, they are cheap and look like clogs with holes in them, and are hideous neon colors - anyway, I have been slipping them on when I have to walk in the rain and I am sure I have added to the life of my expensive sandals.

Recycling Plastic Grocery Totebags

I have so many of these that I haven't bought the cloth grocery bags yet. Every time I shop, I put the same bags all into one bag and put the one bag in the back seat of my car. Then whenever I stop at a store, I grab a few. It makes all the difference to have them in plain sight.

Stop relying on caffeine

It took a few months, but I have happily stopped using caffeinated coffee. I feel like it has helped stop the heart palpitations and jitteriness.And I am not as moody since I am not dependent on that morning cuppa joe (or four), and no more Diet Pepsi, either!