Organizing Junkie’s Book Review & Giveaway!  *closed*

Clutter Rehab by Laura Wittmann

I love Laura! I’m an Organizing Junkie was the first organizing blog I ever saw when I first started looking at blogs. Her writing is fun, easy to understand and basic. But she gets things done. She is a highly respected organizer and I think the top organizing blog (at least that I know of) out there.

She wrote a book. Yee Haw! Guess what? Her book is fun, easy to understand and basic!

She gives you “101 tips and tricks” to help you organize your home and manage your time.

Here is a page from the table of contents.

Some of them are over a page, but generally speaking they are fast and easy tips. You might have several on a page.  Considering I am working on clearing out all the winter clothes and completely going through the kids rooms right now … donation is a big word.  I like her idea of having a “donation station”.

Some of her tips are so simple, yet many people just don’t think of them.

You can find this Clutter REHAB on Amazon and it is only $10.36!  Great deal.

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to decrease some of your clutter… just by using some smart and easy ideas.  It would also make an awesome gift for a newly married couple, a messy teenager going off to college, your “messy” friend… but, there are so many neat little tips in the book, that you don’t have to even be a disorganized person, or a messy person, or have a house full of clutter to gain valuable insight and ideas from this book.

Being short little chapters geared towards one tip each, makes it a very easy read. Something you can pick up, read a few ideas and put it back down to get the kids off to school. More than likely you will pick it up and keep reading because it’s so fun to find new ideas to make your life easier.

Buy it Here!

Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!

Try and Win a Copy Here!

Required For Entry: Go to Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It! and click on the “Click To Look Inside” at the top of the picture of the book and tell me what you see in the preview of the book that interest you! Leave a comment below telling me how you think this book could help you.

**Be sure to come back here and leave me your answer in your comment. Your e-mail has to either in your comment or on your profile.

FOR EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN:

**Each of these HAS to have a separate comment to win. The winner is picked using Random.org. It just goes the number of comments….not by what you say.

1) Visit Laura’s blog I’m an Organizing Junkie and  look for something that interest you. Leave the link in the comments below of which blog post you visited. (1 entry)

2) Subscribe to my Organize with Sandy blog (1 entry)

3) Follow me on Twitter @OrganizerSandy (Leave me your twitter name) 1 entry

4) Stumble one of my posts for 5 extra chances to win. (tell me which post – please don’t stumble this post, as giveaway posts shouldn’t be stumbled.) 5 entries – be sure to leave 5 comments below for this one.

5) Tweet this out up to 3 times a day. You can use the tweet button at the top to make it easy. ( Pls leave your url link) 1 chance for each tweet.

Please keep in mind I approve my comments. So you won’t see them right away. Never fear!

This contest will run until 11:59pm est on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 *CLOSED*

Any comment that comes in after the above time will be deleted. This is open to US mailing addresses only. Must be 18+ to win. One person per mailing address only. Winner will be chosen by Random.org

You will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail if you are picked as the winner, or else I will go on to the next winning number.

I have a guest post on I’m an Organizing Junkie

Laura on I’m an Organizing Junkie is awesome. I love her blog.  She is running one of the articles I wrote on cleaning buckets right now. You can see it my guest post called Kid’s Chores – Creating a Cleaning Bucket here. Thanks Laura!!

Menu Planning

by Laura from I’m an Organizing Junkie

Laura from I’m An Organizing Junkie helped to inspire the feel of my blog. Once I discovered blogging I looked at many. I felt most comfortable with hers as I felt it was inviting and fun. I liked the colors, the feel of it and I decided that I also wanted to have a “comfortable” feel to my blog rather than “stiff or stuffy” feel.
She is by far the most recognized organizing blog and I am thrilled to have her being my guest blogger today.
I am so glad she is doing menu planning because it is something that I am not good at. I wish I was….I wish I liked to cook….I have attempted menu planning many times and never seem to stick with it. (See organizers aren’t always organized at every aspect of their lives – although I think we hate it when we aren’t!)
I am going to try her method and give it another shot. Just like I have started couponing..I am going to incorporate menu planning.

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Menu Planning Made Easy

I started menu planning three years ago when I became a stay at home mom. It literally changed my life and now I don’t know how I ever managed without it. I use to be under the impression that menu planning was too rigid and wouldn’t offer me any flexibility. Yet that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Menu planning allows me to prepare and shop for a whole week of dinner options at one time and even though I menu plan what I’m having on certain days I am by no means restricted to that. Having all the necessary ingredients on hand allows me the flexibility to switch days around if I need too without any problems. The menu planning itself takes me no time at all. Let me take you through the process of what works for me step by step:
If you can, choose a regular grocery day and stick to it. For instance I like to get groceries on Monday mornings at 8:30 am when the grocery store is less busy and I can get in and out in no time flat.
The night before grocery day sit down with a notepad and create sections for each day of the week.
Then looking through cookbooks or online start putting together a list of 5 or 6 different meals your family might enjoy that week. To make it a little easier for me when I do it, I start by figuring out which “meat” I’m going to have on which day. So on my notepad I might have chicken marked down for Monday and beef marked down for Tuesday. I also usually try to include at least one meatless dish. Once I know what meat I’m having I can do a quick search for say chicken recipes to find one that I want to use in my menu plan.
As you are doing your menu/recipe search you will certainly come across some more dishes that you’d like to try. I created a folder in my bookmarks called “recipes to try” with sub-folders listing the various food categories (ie: veggies, chicken, desserts, etc) and as I find recipes I’d like to try in the future I bookmark them for quick and easy access in subsequent weeks.
Don’t forget to create a night for leftovers. I purposely make extra on the other days so that I can afford myself a leftover day or two and that way nothing is wasted. This is especially helpful if scheduled for nights when you are busiest. I also do Simple Supper Sundays where anything goes.
Some other considerations to keep in mind when creating your weekly plan is what you might already have on hand in your freezer or pantry that might need to be used up. Select recipes around those ingredients and save money on your grocery bill that week.
Have a look at the grocery store sale flyers. If roast is on sale it is a good time to include roast in your menu plan. Also cross reference with any coupons you might have on hand.
Write a grocery list of the foods you need and post your menu where everyone can see it. No more having to answer the annoying “what’s for dinner?” question.
Join Menu Plan Monday to share and get menu plan ideas from other participants.
Smile and relax knowing that come 4 o’clock each evening you’ve got dinner covered. No panic necessary.