The Organised Housewife

Operation Garage Sale

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Put clothes on hangers, people are more likely to look throught them rather than have them all piled together. When having a good cleanout, always have a keep, sell and charity pile. Anything that you want to keep should be put away. Anything that you want to keep, but it stays in the top of the cupboard needs to be given more thought. You need to treat your belongings respectfully and if you have something in the top of the wardrobe now it will be there in 5 years. Pass it on to somebody that you know will use and really appreciate it. Signs are very important make sure they are placed in the right placed for people to see and make sure they are clear writing. Include arrows on your sign, people will not look in a street directory for your address, like like to follow the arrows. I put clothes in size group Towards the end of the day offer fill a bag for $10 to get rid of the clothes. Consider selling soft drinks for $1??

Laundry

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Do you have a huge pile of laundry? Invite a sister/friend over for a cuppa or ask hubby and ask if she doesn't mind helping you fold the washing....then let's get your new habit and routine started. If you don't get rid of the pile first you never will. Leave 1 day as a no washing day, you deserve a break. Reader Tip (Michelle) -

Here is my tip of the day for you - I have a pants/slacks holder that holds 5 pairs of pants on it - i think this could also work for a tie holder .... any way - I have this in the laundry with pegs on it.. and when the socks come out of the washing machine - I peg them onto this - so that as soon as their pair comes out they are matched together straight away and the odd ones are still there waiting for the next load to be washed to be matched up to.. Send me your mobile number and i will text you a snap of this so you see what I mean

Odd Job: Cleaning the microwave oven

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I give my microwave a wipe over each week, but I don't often enough take it off it's shelf and wipe the surface it sits on. So today that's my odd job I will complete. In my microwave manual it recommends not to use harsh chemicals or abrasives, so I usually fill my sink with warm soapy water and use this with my sponge to wipe down the microwave. HOW TO CLEAN MICROWAVE

Half fill a glass jug, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Place in microwave and turn on for 5 min. (this will loosen all the food)
Remove glass jar.
Remove the glass turntable from microwave, clean and leave to dry.
Remove the rotating element the plate sits on, clean and leave to dry. This will give you easier access to the dirt in the microwave.
Remove microwave from shelf.
Wipe shelf to remove all dust.
Wipe the microwave electrical cord, removing all dust particals and give the outside a wipe down too. Place back on shelf.
If there are any sticky or grimy parts, wring sponge slighly for a small amount of water to sit ontop of grim for a minute.

Under the sink

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://www.lifespace.com.au/products/kitchen/sink-area-organisers-1/cupboard-storage/made-smart-under-sink-expanding-shelf

Domestic Bliss: Top 10 tips for organising

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Have you realised that you have too much clutter? Is it having a draining effect on you?

Get organised to organise. To become organised you will need: masking tape, nikko pen, storage boxes, garbage bags. Use masking tape as a label and mark each box as follows: Keep, Donate, Charity. Think positive about your organising process and how liberated you will feel after you have made a start. Set yourself a list of your organising goals. Don't forget to tick off your goal list as you complete tasks.
Set the timer. Take a full day out to organise if you can, however it can be done in small amounts. Start organising 30min before your favourite TV program, reward yourself by sitting and relaxing while watching your show..or..spend 1 hour organising and reward yourself with a lovely coffee and cookie.
Educate the kids. You are teaching your children a very valuable tool of organising. If they know how to organise while young, they will hopefully continue with this skill through life.
Cut down your book collection. Do you have too many books, donate to charity or the local library 1 book to every 4. Next time you attempt this task be brave and decrease the ratio to 1 book in every 3.
XXXXXXXX. Sort through your wardrobe, donate to charity any pieces of clothing, shoes or bags that you have not used in 1 year.
Once bags for charity and tip are full place directly into your car. If you have the time run them up to the tip now. Otherwise leave in your car and next time you are out stop by the tip and drop items into charity bins. If you don't place them in your car, they will stay exactly where you left them for another month or so.
New Habit, return everything to it's hom. Everything must have a home, once you have picked it up, return it directly to it's home.

Task: Clean up kids colouring equipment

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Today's task is cleaning up the kids colour area Throw away any texta's that don't work or texta's that don't have lids. If you have double ups of any crayon's or pencils you can consider donating them to the local childcare centre or to charity.

More Kitchen tips

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

How to get butter to room temp quickly:

If you have a little time, try cutting the butter block into small cubes and leave for 10-15 min; or
If you don't have time, trying microwaving it for 5 seconds on medium, check and continue at these intervals but don't allow butter to melt

5 Kitchen Gadgets I ♥

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

tupperware spatula Slow Cooker

Recipe Selection Criteria (use another word than criteria)

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

check out link in favourites to organised junkie

Maintaining an Organised Kitchen

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Now that we have discussed about organising and cleaning your kitchen, let's talk about maintaining it.

Personal Shopping List

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Build A Personal Shopping List Planner companies, gift shops and generous desktop publishers all compete to produce cute little shopping lists for all persuasions and occasions. Bear-shaped shopping lists. Long skinny shopping lists. Shopping lists with winsome graphics. Shopping lists with colored borders. Cute little freebies with kittycats and teddy bears. Awwwwww. [We even offer some, too, in the printable planner pages library .] Only one problem: why aren't you using them? Because they don't work, that's why. Teenaged sons play stuff-the-hoop with the empty cereal box and the trash can, but have you ever known one to neatly write "Cheerios" on the list? Pre-printed lists, moreover, fit about as well as one-size-fits-all stockings from the convenience store. Solution? Build a family shopping list on the computer, listing all the foods and sundries your family consumes. Print 52 copies each year. Post them on the refrigerator. Boys who don't circle "Sugar Gaggers" on the list when they empty the box eat hot cereal for the rest of the week. Making a personal shopping list can be interesting--and revealing. When my children were hungry teenagers, cereal, milk and cookies headed the list, along with the entry "nuclear waste"--family slang for cheap, luridly-colored punch beverages sold in the dairy case. Sigh. The good old days. Now that we're back-to-two (and those two are both a touch too round) "broccoli" and "salmon" head the list. Cheat Alert: next shopping trip, grab a hand-out supermarket map as you leave. Construct your personal shopping list according to the order you shop the store. You'll speed your way out the door in record time!

Selling on ebay: 10 tips

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://www.cnet.com.au/selling-on-ebay-12-tips-to-help-you-earn-more-339287938.htm?omnRef=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.au%2Fsearch%3Fsourceid%3Die7%26q%3Debay%2Btips%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft%3Aen-au%3AIE-SearchBox%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26rlz%3D1I7ACAW_enAU394AU394%26redir_esc%3D%26ei%3Do-eRTOHHEs34cZ-omYMH

Blog is on holiday's

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Organised Housewife is going on HOLIDAY'S for the next few days! I'll be back on Monday 15th November relaxed, revitalized and inspired. I will post a Thursday Challenges because I know you all love them so much. When I return there will be loads more tips and ideas to keep your household organised. So, don’t forget about me, lol!

Christmas: Gifts

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Do you find that every year you say next year I am going to be more organised....and it just doesn't happen. Over the next few weeks I hope to help be organised this Christmas.

Christmas Cards Received

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

copy and paste so change wording. When making a card list, it is a good idea to reference cards one has received in the past. In fact, when taking down Christmas cards from the year before, note names and addresses of people who have sent one cards. This way, one can add them to the Christmas card list for the next year.

Start writing christmas cards

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

copy and paste so change wording As well, if one receives a card early in the season from an unexpected source, consider adding that person to one’s list for the same year and quickly sending out a card. Most who send Christmas cards, generally expect to get a card in return. So it is considered polite to observe this custom.

Meal Planning: Beef Korma Curry

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Baking: Chocolate Slice :!: didn't enjoy this recipe so I won't share it.

Christmas Planning: Gift ideas for the family

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Buying gifts can get so complicated. Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, what do you buy something that has everything?? I can't answer it, but here is some suggestions on what you can buy your loved ones this Christmas: GIFTS FOR MEN

Bottle openers
Beer Coolers
Cooler Boxes
Chef knives
Coffee Machine
Knife Sharpener
BBQ Tools
BBQ Apron
BBQ
Model racing car
Favourite sport memoribilla
Car seat covers
heated car seat cushion
Tyre Gauges
Cordless power tools
Camping Equipment

Auto Draft

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Blog maintenance

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

On the weekend I thought I'd make some quick changes to the blog. Hmm....that didn't happen the blog has crashed and not sur The Organised Housewife is going on HOLIDAY'S for the next few days! I'll be back on Monday 15th November relaxed, revitalized and inspired. I will post a Thursday Challenges because I know you all love them so much. When I return there will be loads more tips and ideas to keep your household organised. So, don’t forget about me, lol!

About Katrina

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:17:45 +0000

Hi I'm Katrina, The Organised Housewife. I'm also mother of 3 children DS and DD#1 7 year old twins and DD#2 5 years. A wife and a loyal friend. I live on the beautiful Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Thankfully having twins learnt me to become really organised. Everything needs to be planned and I would be lost if I didn't follow my routines. I rarely dust (not a passion of mine), but my house is always tidy and clean. I love to bake and always have my meals planned in advance. In my spare time I like to scrapbook and be crafty. I adore my husband and being a mum to my children, nothing is more important than my family. I am not an expert however, I want to share how I stay organised because I know when I first set up house I was clueless and couldn't keep ontop of my housework. Then came along the kids, chaos!! So I'm just hoping to help out somebody that is in the same state of mind I used to be. On my blog, The Organised Housewife you will find posts on a huge range of topics from organising cupboards to creating routines. Ideas about scrapbooking. Tips to get housework done. The list is endless. Every Sunday I'll post menu plans for the following week. So I look forward to you following me on this journey to get your household organised. Katrina

Menu Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:11:43 +0000

I always do my weekly shop on a Monday, so I like to prepare myself with a menu and shopping list the day before. Here is my menu for the week. Monday - Cheesy Chicken Macoroni Tuesday - Sausages, potato and veges (usually brocolli, cauliflower, carrot, peas and corn) Wednesday - Hungarian Goulash converted to the slow cooker. Thursday - Fish with pasta and vege's (crumbed fish from the frozen department) Friday - take out (I will be having a busy day will need a night off cooking) Did my grocery shopping today (sick daughter yesterday so couldn't get out) and Beef Ravioli and Spicy Tomato and Bacon sauce is on special (buy pasta get sauce free), so I will have this instead of take out (saves money), quick and easy meal ready in 10 min. Saturday - Beef hamburgers Sunday - Sesame Hoisin lamb Baking - Pumpkin Scones & Rice Bubbles and Marshmallow slice What have you got planned for dinner? Kat

Contact Me

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:18:06 +0000

Please feel free to send me an email anytime requesting topics to be discussed or send in some tips and recipes and I will publish them for you. I would love to hear from you. email: organisedhousewife@live.com.au Kat.

2010 08 02_8140 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:01:31 +0000

2010 08 02_8140 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:02:56 +0000

2010 08 02_8140 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:05:04 +0000

New Habit #1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:05:43 +0000

Each week I'm going to list a new habit for you to try and start if you don't already do. Habit #1 Every morning once you get out of bed, within the first 10 min of being up make sure you have made your bed and open the blinds/curtains. It will help make your room look fresh and clean. It is a good start to the day.

Kat

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:30:21 +0000

kat

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:31:59 +0000

While talking on phone you can

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:01:35 +0000

There are a few chores you can do while talking on the phone, a few could be:

Wipe down the bathroom counters
Sweep the floor
Clean the main area windows
Fold the clothes
Edit or upload photo's
or; bake some cookies

These are all quiet and your completing some of your tasks while chatting...multi tasking at it's best!! Do you have any more suggestions I can add to the list?

2010 08 04_8420

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:04:26 +0000

2010 08 04_8417

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:08:08 +0000

2010 08 04_8420

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:11:11 +0000

Lunchbox Ideas #1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:21:58 +0000

I hear alot from mum's that they struggle to come up with creative ideas for the kids lunchboxes. So today I'll share with you what I packed for my kids lunch today. I use the Tupperware sandwich keepers, they keep all food seperate and fresh and I love that I am not using plastic (doing my part for our enviromnent :) and saving money not having to buy the bags). The kids place their boxes in a insulated lunch bag with their icebricks. Today I packed:

Kiwi fruit and strawberries (strawberries on speical this week at Woolworths)
Homemade Choc chip cookies (made last night, there will be enough for tomorrow's lunch box as well)
Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Pretzels

Below is my 3 kids boxes and hubby's lunch too. What a colourful display. You will notice through my coming posts that I have a love for Tupperware.

2010 08 04_8428

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:51:26 +0000

Mt Junk Mail

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:00:09 +0000

Majority of mail we recieve is junk mail. It is easy to accumulate a mountain of it especially in your busy zones such as the kitchen bench, dining table or the office desk, which makes these area's look untidy. Take control of your junk mail! Use one of these examples to rid of your Mt Junk Mail:

As soon as you collect the mail from the mail box, look through your junk mail, it will only take a few minutes then when finished throw it directly into your recycle bin, you don't need to keep it. However if you have the desire to keep a catalogue put it in a designated place and don't forget to throw it out when the sale is over.
Leave today's pile next to the stove top so you can look through them while waiting for dinner to cook. Place in recycle bin as soon as you have finished.
Read through them during an ad break of a TV show. Place in recycle bin as soon as you have finished.

I keep a recycle bin in the bottom of the pantry and it get's emptied each day or so. The only catalogue I keep is from woolworths, it's kept in my intray on my office desk. The catalogue helps me to see which groceries are on special to write on my shopping list each Sunday night.

gandi

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:41:43 +0000

TaraDennisHOME

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:54:46 +0000

Better Homes & Gardens TV Tonight

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:00:07 +0000

Channel 7's Better Homes and Garden's have a great segment tonight at 7.30pm. Tara will be showing how to clutter-bust your kitchen. I'll certainly be taking a look, I love Tara and all her crafty projects, I was given her book HOME a couple of years ago, gorgeous pictures of her house inside. One of Tara's organising tips is: Organise sheets in sets for each bed in the house, rather than piles. That way it will save time in searching for the odd pillow case at bed making time. Also fast Ed is making a yummy chocolate pudding using Tupperware's great Kuglehopf. Gotta love Tupperware!!

♥ Thankyou ♥

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:00:17 +0000

The last few posts have been random topics. But in the coming weeks I am going to post about certain area's of the house and gradually make our way around organising each room. I would like to say a huge thankyou, I have quite a few people following the blog, and have receieved so many great comments from friends and 'likers' on my new The Organised Housewife facebook page. I love reading your comments, but would love to read some comments on the blog post too....please!! This way I know your reading and I'll keep blogging! I saw this quote today by Gandhi, and thought I'd share it with you. I espeically like number 5. Everybody is human - persist. This is particualry helpful to those of you that need to create some order and control in your household. It won't happen over night, it will be a challenge, but if you persist with your new habits you will (as per quote 1.) change and be in control. Hope your enjoying this beautiful weekend.

Menu Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:32:14 +0000

Hello! Did you try any of the meals from last weeks menu?? unfortunately I missed cooking the Cheesy Chicken macaroni as my DD was sick and I couldn't get to the shops, so I improvised with something from the freezer instead. I cook certain types of dinners on certain days. My children do Karate each Monday and Wednesday afternoon. We go straight from school pick up to karate and don't arrive home until 6pm, so I like to have dinner all prepared before I pick the kids up from school. On these day's I like to use my slow cooker or make a bake which is just a matter of heating in the oven before serving. During summer I'll make salad's, super quick and yummy! Here's is this weeks menu : Monday - Julie Goodwins' Spagetti Bol made in the slow cooker (recipe in her new cookbook), haven't tried before so we'll see how it turns out Tuesday - Chinese Beef Stir fry with Rice (masterfoods packet) Wednesday - Corned beef potato mash and veges (slow cooker) Thursday - Fish Curry with Rice Friday - Chicken roast from Lenards with salad Saturday - Marinated Steak cooked on BBQ with salad Sunday - Left overs from freezer Baking - still have some pumpkin scones left in the freezer and I'll make something else during the week, stay tuned and I'll share the recipe with you. Enjoy!!

2010 08 08_8432

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:14:01 +0000

Pumpkin Scones for a Lady

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:00:39 +0000

Woolworths were selling whole pumkins last week for $1.98, so cheap! I couldn't pass up a good opportunity to make some pumpkin scones and the left overs to make pumpkin and potato mash. Don't be scared by a scone recipe. My Nan used to knead and roll her scones out then cut into nice squares. Not I, I place a large heaped spoon from the bowl onto the baking sheet. They turn out exactly the same. Easy peasy :) This recipe made 24 scones. We ate some fresh for afternoon tea and then I froze the rest. I buttered them along with honey and put in containers in the freezer, using the freezer sheets inbetween. Then when it comes time to make kids/DH lunches I add them to the boxes frozen and by morning tea time they are defrosted. I do this with majority of what I bake, keeps longer and they taste fresh like the day you made them. LADY FLO'S PUMPKIN SCONES Ingredients 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup mashed pumpkin (cold) 2 cups SR flour Method

Beat together butter, sugar and salt with electric mixer.
Add egg, then pumpkin and stir in the flour.
Spoon large heaped spoons of dough onto trays, giving enough room for spreading during cooking.
Place tray on top shelf of very hot oven 225-250 degrees C for 15-20 minutes.

2010 08 09_8434

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:14:07 +0000

Odd Job #1 - Remote Controls

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:00:07 +0000

Odd jobs, things that need to be cleaned but you just wouldn't think about doing, such as.... Remote controls are touched by everybody possibly even the pet. Imagine the build up of dust, dirt and germs which can cause illness in the family needless to say over time the dirt can damage the remote control. Did your remote come with instructions on how to clean it, if so you can follow their directions. You do need to take care when cleaning your remotes as you do not want to damage the buttons or batteries. So removing the batteries before cleaning would be a good idea. Spray a lint free cloth (found in supermarkets) with rubbing alcohol or light squirt of Spray & Wipe and wipe down the remote. If there is a build up of dirt use a cotton tip or toothpick. Be careful not to break the toothpick as this may damage the remote. Regular monthly cleaning of the remotes is all that is required. Go ahead shouldn't take any more than 5 minutes, do it during an ad break of your evening TV viewing!!

2010 08 09_8435

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:20:43 +0000

Lunchbox Idea #2

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:52:18 +0000

What a day it is here on the Gold Coast. Kids have a pupil free day from school, would have been a perfect day for them to play outside with neighbours, but it's been raining all night and looks to continue. So what's on our agenda today then:

Bake some yummy peach muffins with the kids, i'll share recipe soon
I have been through the house and want to sell a few things so I might try to create listings for ebay (as well as a garage sale, ebay is a great way to make a little money from things the kids don't need anymore)
Prepare slow cooker dinner for tonight
Play a board game and do crafts with the kids, perfect weather for it
Plan my 'how to get kids organised in the morning' blog, hoping to post it tomorrow, so stay tuned!!
Do some ironing while I watch a show with the kids
Take kidlets to their karate lessons this afternoon

Here's is this weeks lunch box idea:

Pumpkin Scone with honey (from the freezer)
Cheesy Rice Crackers
Babybel cheese (on special this week at woolworths)
Vegemite sandwich
Mandarin

Morning Routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:14:16 +0000

Morning Routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:15:57 +0000

Get CHAOS out of your morning routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:00:53 +0000

Do you rush around in chaos the mornings getting the kids ready for school? Your morning routine can set your mood for the day so we need to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips and a routine chart for the kids to help organise your mornings. It may be good idea to prepare a few things the night before to reduce the amount you need to do in the morning. You could:

Lay uniforms on beds or make sure they are in their cupboards ready
Have breakfast bowls and spoon out ready for cereal to be added.
Have their lunchboxes out ready for stocking up.
Fill their drink bottles and put in the fridge. Or half fill and put in freezer for hot days.
Put clothes and detergent in washing machine, if your machine has a delay button press delay to start in morning, otherwise press start as soon as you wake up. Even better, I put my clothes on the line the evening before as I don’t have time in my mornings to be hanging washing.
Bath the kids the night before not only are they clean for their bedsheets, also eliminates precious morning time.

If your children are old enough allow them some independence making their own breakfast. Move those cereal containers/boxes from the top shelf to the bottom for them to easily access. They can be eating breakfast while you shower or prepare lunches. Click this link to view my Morning Routine chart, it will help your kids get ready each morning. Print (laminate if you can) and blu-tak to a wall for their viewing. This can help the kids recognise each day what they need to do and the order to do it in without you nagging them to hurry up. Each child has different needs therefore you may need to personalise a routine. Rewarding them for good behavior is a great idea. I don’t allow my children access to the TV until they have completed all the tasks, you could give them a special treat in their lunchbox or $1 at the end of the week to spend at tuckshop. You will soon learn what works and what changes may suit you. This is my typical morning routine: 5.30am – wake to go to gym 7.00am – arrive home, wake kids, shower for me 7.05am – kids make their own breakfast 7.15am – make my bed 7.20am – start preparing lunches for kids and hubby 7.30am – kids finish breakfast & start morning routine, hubby leaves for work 7.40am - time for me to have breakfast and relax for 5 minutes 7.45am - put away dishes washed from night before, empty dishwasher and wipe down kitchen bench 7.50am - brush and style (braids or ponytails) girls hair 8.10am - check my emails 8.15am - Time to get myself presentable for the day (hair and make-up) 8.25am - TV off time to get shoes on 8.30am - In car driving to school drop off Every household is different, what suits me may not suit you, but I do hope this may help you create a new routine to make your mornings a little less caotic...let me know how you go!

2010 08 12_8442

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:57:52 +0000

2010 08 12_8450

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:23:40 +0000

2010 08 12_8449

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:25:16 +0000

2010 08 12_8449

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:29:48 +0000

Can't believed I have waited this long

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:00:59 +0000

My kids rave about apple slinky's. You may of heard of it, I didn't know of them until my kids started school. On the rare occasion they order tuckshop they always want an apple slinky. Some of their friends have the apple slinky machine at home, they have wanted one for a long time. So when I saw one at spotlight yesterday I just had to get it. I brought it home and for afternoon tea they had apple slinky...it's a brilliant machine, I can't believe it has taken me this long to get one. I really recommend this machine to you, it will peel, core and slice the apple. Slicing it like a slinky toy. How fun for the fussy eaters. You can also peel and slice potatoes and pears. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Let's get organised, change habits & get started!!

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:00:38 +0000

I saw this quote in our school newsletter, i'd love to share it with you: “You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.” - Zig Ziglar - Motivational Speaker Often I have heard mums say, "I'd love to have a tidy house, but that will never happen". Yes it will you just have to set your mind to that's what you want and it can be done. Form new habits and create routines. You will soon get order into your household. So who's ready to get organised, change habits & get started? Tomorrow will be Menu Planning Sunday. Then Monday we are going to get organised in the Kitchen. The kitchen is the heart and centre of the home. My kitchen is not hidden so if it is untidy I feel restless and can't relax until it's clean. So I think this is the perfect place for us to start. Each post this week will be about the kitchen, tidying a cupboard, a new habit to form, an odd job, organising the pantry and fridge. Are you ready??

2010 08 09_8455

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:52:28 +0000

Menu Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:01:51 +0000

What a fantastic week we've had. My son sung at his first Choir Eisteddfod, I caught up with an old friend, enjoyed a trip to spotlight (who doesn't), loved having the kids home on a student free day, watched Miss 5 receive an award at assembly and saturday I spent the day with Miss 7 shopping. I love spending one on one time with each of the kids, makes them feel special. I've also caught a bug have a very sore throat and sounding very husky at the moment, but really happy to be blogging away for you all. Today is menu planning day. Have you attempted to start menu planning yet? Here’s is this weeks menu : Monday – Creamy chicken pasta bake (see recipe below) Tuesday - Meatballs (masterfoods packet), potato and vegetables (make double potato for tomorrows dinner as well) Wednesday – Slow Cooker Day - Sausage hotpot (masterfoods) with potato left over from last night and vegetables. This dish is just divine, gravy is really yummy....highly recommend. Thursday - Fish (frozen crumbed fish portions) pasta (continental pasta and sauce) and vegetables Friday - BBQ with family. Usually the typical meat, potato bake and salad. Saturday - Chicken filo parcels from local butcher (chicken nuggets for the kids) with potato gems and vegetables. Sunday - Freezer meal, Spaghetti Bol left over from last week meal. Baking - Choc Sprinkle Cookies (I will share recipe soon) CREAMY CHICKEN PASTA BAKE

250g dried pasta

1 tlb oil

500g chicken breast, chopped

1 leek

4 rashers bacon

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 cup chicken stock

300ml sour cream

2/3 cup frozen corn kernels

1 tlb chives, chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Cook pasta.
Heat oil in pan and brown chicken. Transfer to bowl.
Add leek, bacon and garlic to pan. Cook stirring for 3-4 min until leek has softened.
Return chicken to pan. Stir in stock, simmer gently for 5 min or until chicken is cooked through.
Stir in cream, corn and chives. Add chicken mixture to pasta. Toss.
Spoon into dish, sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 30min or until golden.

Enjoy!!

2010 08 15_8466

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:29:37 +0000

Let's make a start - Cleaning the fridge

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:00:46 +0000

This week and continuing next week ,if needed, we are going to concentrate on organising the kitchen. I thought that we start with the kitchen because it is the heart of the home. If your kitchen is like mine, it is seen by everybody that visits the house, so you want it looking it's best. Are you ready to get your kitchen organised? Organising can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you are cleaning and decluttering as you go along. So let's take small steps, these smalls steps will soon form as a new habit and long lasting change to your routine. I'd like you to try one task each day. We aren't looking for perfection, you will soon see that forming automatically once you have learnt new habits and welcomed your changing routine. STEP 1 - Clean Fridge Today we are starting with the fridge. As the fridge is the most commonly used item in the kitchen thought it was fitting to make a start here. Every so often a fridge needs to be cleaned. I clean my fridge every 2-3 months, however I give it a quick wipe over each week the night before I grocery shop. Today, let's give it a good clean.

Open fridge door and take note of what the temperature is. Now turn inside temperature control to 'off', save you electricity.
Throw away anything that is out of date or spoiled. You'll be surprised what you'll find.
Move all other items to bench.
Take all removable parts and wash in warm soapy water in the sink.
While they are drying, wipe the inside of the fridge using warm soapy water and sponge, remembering the door shelves.
If your fridge has an odour, make up 1tsp of bicarbonate soda to 500ml of warm water and use to wipe fridge then rinse. To give my fridge a fresh smell I use McLintocks Vanilla fridge wipe , smells yummy.
Return all shelves and items back into the fridge. Place like items together.
If needed place a box of bicarbonate of soda in fridge to eliminate odours.
Turn temperature control back to recommended setting. Close fridge door.
Wipe down the outside of the fridge with hot soapy water, rinse and wipe dry to prevent streaks.

Step back take a look, how do you feel? You have completed 1 step...great job!! Remember I said we are taking it slowly 1 step at a time...now go spend some time with hubby or the kids. Tomorrow we'll be organising the fridge. NEW HABIT - The day before your grocery shopping day, empty fridge of all spoiled food and quickly wipe down the shelves. This shouldn't take any longer 5 minutes. Benefit quick clean the day before grocery shopping:

all clean before a new load of food arrives.
You may not spend as much at the shops because you know what's in your fridge.
You may have some good food in there that you can use for meals during the week, eliminating the need to by too much when grocery shopping.

My fridge wiped clean ready for grocery shopping.

2010 08 16_8504

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:48:13 +0000

1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:49:34 +0000

2

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:51:07 +0000

2010 08 16_8502

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:52:41 +0000

2010 08 16_8503

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:54:05 +0000

2

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:59:00 +0000

1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:02:49 +0000

2010 08 16_8502

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:06:13 +0000

2010 08 16_8503

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:08:45 +0000

Organising the fridge

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:00:56 +0000

Your fridge should now be clean, how many bags of 'stuff' did you throw out? I had one bag full, amazing the amount of food that builds up in there. So now that the fridge is clean let's start organising it. Do you feel that you don't have enough room in your fridge? There's a possibility you do have the room you just need to organise it more efficiently. Organising your fridge won't take much time and you'll find it easy to maintain, so lets take a look at a few ideas for you. STEP 2 - ORGANISING THE FRIDGE

Designate area's in your fridge and group all like items together, such as, beverages, condiments, dairy, meat, fruit etc.
Create easy access to everyday items by placing on the top shelf.
Your fridge will stay organised if you remember to always return items to their 'home'.
Make sure everything is covered otherwise they will take on odours from food around them.
When purchasing meat from the supermarket, I grab a plastic bag from the fruit and veg section to wrap around the meat to prevent bleeding and dripping on other groceries and to keep the fridge hygienic.
Potato's and onions need to be stored in the pantry.
When returning from grocery shopping I cut all vegetables and place in Tupperware's Fridgesmart containers. I do this for two reasons, firstly it makes them last longer. With the vents at the front it allows the food to breath and the waved bases prevents food from being stored in moisture. I have found my food to last for at least 2 weeks, alot longer than stored in the crisper of my fridge in the plastic bags from the veg dept. Carrots will last up to 4 weeks. Secondly and more importantly, for convenience, we have busy afternoons and when it's time to prepare dinner it's easy to get out the containers and grab handfuls of precut vegetables rather than taking time out to chop them up. If you can't afford Tupperware consider an alternative as I just can't recommend more how this has helped our busy nights having all vege's precut.
I also store deli meats and cheese in Tupperware's Clear Mates containers, again it keeps deli meat/cheeses to last longer in the fridge. My deli meat lasts up to 1 week.
To maximise your space use square containers rather than round.
As I don't store any vegetables in the crisper that's where I keep the kids yoghurt, poppers and other snacks.
I keep my eggs in their cartons, so I use the egg compartment to store butter, open packets of chocolate buds and melts, aloe vera gel and cold packs for kids injuries.
Make sure you don't put hot food in the fridge, it needs to come down to room temperature before doing so.
If you have left overs, place in a closed container. Keep at the front of the fridge so you don't forget about it or place in the freezer.

Once your fridge is organised you'll soon see that you have more space. A well organised fridge at least 3/4 full will consume less electricity which is a bonus! Below I have taken some photo's of my fridge after I have done my grocery shop and chopped up all the vege's.

1a

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:35:48 +0000

3a

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:38:49 +0000

2a

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:43:36 +0000

4a

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:47:59 +0000

5 steps to an organised kitchen cupboard

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:06:25 +0000

Have you decluttered and organized your kitchen cupboards lately? No, than today's the day...again starting small, we will only tackle two cupboards. I have organised my crockery and Tupperware cupboards (you'll soon see I have an obsession for Tupperware, I used to be a demonstrator and I brought quite abit for myself (you'll love my pantry)). Below are 5 steps to you having beautifully organised kitchen cupboards:

Remove all items from cupboard.
Wipe shelves down with a damp sponge.
Declutter - While organising the cupboard take the opportunity to declutter, thow away cracked or chipped crockery and items that you never use, pass them onto charity.
Organising - When organising your cupboards use the: SOMETIMES, RARELY, DAILY approach. Items that are used daily need to be easily accessible at the front of the cupboards or within arms reach. Keep the rarely and sometimes items on higher or lower shelves.
Take a step back and admire your work! Great job!

Below: My crockery cupboard. I have only just recently gave away the kids character melamine plates and bowls and replaced them with some bigger sized melamine plates from Target and plastic bowls from Spotlight (also love the IKEA snack plate). Here I also store melamine sets we use for outdoor bbq's and dishes we use for pasta nights. In the basket is salad bowls and serving centre for entertaining. Below: Told you I have an obsession with Tupperware. I have stored all like items together, with items used everyday at the front. Below: I love these baskets they are great for keeping items tidy. Can you tell I like to bake. Below: I store all my lids in this system that I brought from Big W. It has 2 slide out shelves. In the bottom I store all smaller lids, with the larger on top. It's neat and compact which provides ease when searching for lids.

2010 08 15_8534

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:38:58 +0000

My little green thumbs

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:11 +0000

I have made quite a few dinners recently that required chives and spring onions and have found them quite expensive to buy at the shops. As they seem to be a regular on my shopping list I thought I will try to grow my own. On the weekend I made a trip to Bunnings (love love Bunnings) and purchased 2 gorgeous pots and some seedlings to start my own crop. I have tried a vege garden in the past, but sadly all that seemed to survive was the parsley. I gave the pots and seedlings to my kid and they planted them up for me, they love gardening. Herbs are really easy to grow, which makes for a great activity for the kids. My kids love the responsibility of watering them each day. Have you got a little vege patch or pots of herbs? This would be a great weekend activity for the kids. Meet my kiddies below the twins - DD#1 & DS (excuse DS he has no idea how to smile for the camera) and little DD#2:

2010 08 19_8538

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:53:41 +0000

Peach buttermilk muffins

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:00:54 +0000

These super yummy Peach Buttermilk Muffins were such a hit with the kids. This recipe made quite a few. 12 regular sized muffins and 18 mini muffins. Perfect for freezing for kids lunchboxes. Hope you all enjoy your weekend :)

family favourite recipes list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:25:05 +0000

Meal Planner with To-Do List

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:25:46 +0000

How to meal plan + meal planner printable

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:00:38 +0000

Each week I plan my meals for the following week, this is called meal or menu planning. It sounds intimidating, but it really is a simple task that takes 5-10 minutes to plan 1 week of meals. Do you want to try meal planning but not sure where to start? Download for FREE this Meal Planner with To-Do List I created and it will help get you started. If you do download this planner, please leave a comment below to let me know what you think of it and how it can help you....thanks! How to use the meal planner:

Laminate & use a whiteboard marker so you can re-use each week; or
Create copies and file in a binder to repeat meals each month or so.
Place on the fridge for easy access and family to see.

How to plan meals:

Download this FREE family favourite recipes and write down all your families favourite meals. This will be an easy reference when you can't think of something to cook.
Nearly every family has after school activities during the week. Organise your menu around the activities knowing you can start dinner throughout the day to have it ready in time when you get home (I love my slow cooker), or perhaps an easy meal is required on these nights.
Glance through your fridge and pantry, are there any food that may need to be cooked soon?
Have a look through the grocery junk mail and plan your meals around the meats and veg that are on special, this will help reduce your grocery bill.
Perhaps you may cook up a double batch and you have left overs for the next day, don't forget to include this in your planner.
Now complete the planner with meals you would like to cook. Don't forget you can get some great meal ideas HERE from my blog. I post my week of meals each Sunday.
Next write your grocery list then your ready to hit the grocery store!!

Benefits of Meal Planning:

Saves time & money - by creating a grocery list from your meal plan you will purchase only food required for the week, therefore having no quick trips to the store and reducing impulse spending. Also by having a look through your grocery catalogue and organising your meals around the meats and veg on special for the week, will save you money.
Eliminates waste - By glancing in the fridge/pantry and planning to use unused or left over food you are eliminating waste and again saving money. Eg. lettuce, can be used with taco's this week or pasta packets in the pantry can be a side dish to some fish.
Maintains healthy eating - planning menus for the week will allow you to choose a variety of food options. You can ensure you are eating enough fish and red meat. Not having too much pasta and eating plenty of vegetables. Also, if you have planned you are more likely not to eat out.
Include the kids - If their favourite food is on the menu they'll be happy and more likely to eat for you. Perhaps plan a meal they can help you cook.
Lower your frustrations - How many times have you stepped in front of the fridge frustrated considering what's for dinner tonight, do we have enough meat in the freezer, then having to make a quick trip to the shops. Once you have menu planned for a few weeks you can even start re-using your plans so you don't have to keep thinking of new ideas.
Busy afternoons - By planning your meals around your afternoon activities you are more likely not to eat out knowing you have dinner at home.
Helpers!! Place your menu on the fridge. If your late home from work or still out at sporting activities but hubby's home early he can make a start on dinner for you. He has no excuse really!

[caption id="attachment_275" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="family favourite recipes list"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_274" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="meal planner and to-dl list"][/caption] Happy Meal Planning!

family favourite recipes list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:01:28 +0000

meal planner and to-dl list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 07:52:55 +0000

family favourite recipes list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 07:54:03 +0000

meal planner and to-do list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 07:59:26 +0000

family favourite recipes list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:01:02 +0000

Kids morning routine chart

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:03:26 +0000

Free Printables

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:04:21 +0000

You are welcome to download these FREE printable charts. The creator, The Organised Housewife, holds copyright to each printable, this means you can print for personal use only.

If you do download a chart, I'd love to hear from you, please leave a comment letting me know how it's helping your household. If I get enough interest I'll keep creating more printables for you!

Alterations or Personalise

I can alter/personalise charts/lists for a small fee of $2.95. However, this week only I will make alterations for $1.50.
I can print, laminate and post charts/lists to you for $4.95 per chart/list. This is for postage within Australia, for overseas please email me for a quote.

If you would like any chart or list altered, please email me at organisedhousewife@live.com.au, with details. Payments can be deposited into my bank or paypal account (details given on email request). PLANNERS

ROUTINES

TEACHERS

CALENDARS

SCRAPBOOKING

morning routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:17:28 +0000

Kids Morning Routine Chart

family favourite recipes image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:18:58 +0000

Family Favourites Recipe List

Meal Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:00:52 +0000

Hi just a quick post today as I have spent some time setting up a new FREE Printables page, allowing easy access to all printables. Here is my meal plan for the week: Monday - Ham and Potato Cakes with Vegetables (easy and quick) (make double potato for tomorrows dinner) Tuesday - Family Mince Pie with left over potato from last nights dinner. Wednesday - Easy Dinner something from pantry Thursday - Chicken Chow Mein Friday - Easy BBQ dinner Saturday - Korma Chicken with Rice Sunday - Cheats Lasange with vegetables Baking - Blueberry Coconut Loaf

Kitchen Cleaning Tips

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:00:16 +0000

I enjoyed a lovely weekend with my family, the weather was just beautiful. So today's blog is just a quicky as I didn't get much time out over the weekend. This week we will continue in the kitchen, cleaning out the pantry and the dreaded under the sink cupboard. However, today's post you'll find some great tips:

When cleaning the oven place a few old towel in your bathtub (enough to prevent scratches) then place your shelves and sprinkle nappy-san over top. Fill bath with HOT water enough to cover the shelves. Leave for approx 1 1/2 hours. Gently scrub grime should easily come off. Thankyou for that great tip Lisa Braaksma from The Organised Housewife facebook page
If you have stored onions in a container and it now smells soak some newspaper in the container and soon it will remove the smell.
Do some of your containers have food stains, soak the container with a denature tablet, will be like new in no time!!
When measuring ingredients like honey spray your cup or spoon with cooking spray first, then it will slide out and easy clean up.
Your kitchen sponge needs to be cleaned regularly. When your next turning on the dishwasher, put your sponge in as well. The hot water will kill the nasty germs.
To remove limescale from your kettle element place 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water (use enough water to cover the element) and boil for 10 minutes. Wait until the water is cool, then give it a rinse.

2010 08 23_8540

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:25:58 +0000

Make your bench and sink sparkle

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:12:58 +0000

It's that time of the evening when you have just finished dinner, ready to relax and then you walk into the kitchen and see all the dirty dishes, aah they need cleaning. Do you do them at night, or the next day? Each to their own preference, I prefer to do it in the evenings straight after dinner as I love waking up to a clean kitchen....all ready to mess up again! This is how I maintain a clean kitchen:

I only do the dishes once a day. Life's to short to be washing dishes more than that, I have better things to do. They can happily pile up in the sink for the evening clean, however I do pack the dishwasher through the day as dishes are used.
Straight after dinner I start the dishes, I wash all pots, pans, cutting boards, Tupperware, lunch boxes, drink bottles etc. I also use my dishwasher daily, washing all crockery, cutlery and cups.
Next, clear away the clutter kids have dropped on the kitchen bench. Your bench will not look tidy until all clutter is removed. I have a basket where I place all their toys, books, paper...stuff they leave around the house. The kids clear the basket each night and put their belongings away. I don't do it as they need to take responsibility for their own things.
I wipe down the bench using spray and wipe (I hope to try and go green soon using water and vinegar), wiping down the stools and dining table as well.
Empty sink. One squirt spray and wipe on the sponge and wipe down the sink.
Place all sponges in the dishwasher and turn the dishwasher on.
Reality is I don't dry dishes, they drip dry overnight and I put them away in the morning when I unpack the dishwasher. I know there is alot of other people out there to tell you otherwise it should be done, but who really has the time to dry dishes...certainly not me.
All done, now my benches and sink are sparkling! Usually only takes 15 minutes, then I read the kids a book and put them to bed.
In the morning I put away all the dishes in the rack, unpack the dishwasher and then start making lunches. After lunches are made the kids have usually finished their breakfast I then put their dishes in the dishwasher as well as all the other items I used to make lunches. Then wipe down the bench and it's as good as new!

NEW HABIT - Make your benches and sink sparkle EVERY NIGHT before you go to bed so you rise to a beautiful clean kitchen, your day will be so much better for it. Below, my super sparkly sink!

2010 08 22_8545

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:28:50 +0000

2008 04 06_1215

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:05:39 +0000

2008 04 24_0078_edited-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:08:31 +0000

I tried a new tequnique!! I tore and rolled the PP, really nice effect, PP - Kaiser, fun in the Sun. Rubon's - Kaiser Stars hand cut from Kaiser fun in the sun PP. Buttons, DMC thread, dimentional magic and jornalling pen.

2008 07 22_1551_edited-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:10:20 +0000

2008 05 17_0461

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:12:30 +0000

Choc Sprinkle Cookies

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:00:42 +0000

mmmm....these cookies are so yummy CHOC SPRINKLE COOKIES 200g butter, room temp 1/3 cup caster sugar Tin Condensed Milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups SR Flour 1/2 cup Plain Flour 1/2 cup Baking Cocoa 1 1/2 cups White Choc Melts Hundreds and Thousands Method

Preheat fanforced oven to 160C, line 2 baking trays.
Use electric mixer to beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add condensed milk and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Stir in flours and cocoa.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, put in on tray.
Bake for approx 15 min.
Stand on tray for 5 min, then place on wire rack.
Melt chocolate uncovered in microwave safe bowl on medium until melted approx 2-3min.
Spoon a teaspoon chocolate onto each cookie. Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands.
Stand until chocolate is set.

These cookies won't last long...enjoy.

2010 08 24_8550

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:39:29 +0000

2010 08 24_8564

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:49:33 +0000

Lunchbox idea: Cubed meat & cheese

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:00:10 +0000

Sorry just a quick post it's been a very busy day. Here's another lunchbox idea -

Apple, cut up (does not go brown in these tupperware containers)
Banana chunks, with skin left on to keep its shape
Sandwich with Vegemite cheesybite
Scrumptious Choc Sprinkle Cookies
Cubed Devon and Tasty Cheese on toothpicks

Tomorrow's post is all about pantry organisation. Here's a sneak peak....

2010 08 24_8558

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:35:45 +0000

2010 08 24_8561

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:39:00 +0000

2010 08 24_8563

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:46:12 +0000

2010 08 24_8564

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:57:40 +0000

2010 08 24_8572

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:04:02 +0000

September 2010

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:45:50 +0000

sept 2010 image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:46:18 +0000

meal planning image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:23:10 +0000

meal planning image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:28:26 +0000

Taste.com.au

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:50:41 +0000

reasons I love taste.com.au

signature

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:50:46 +0000

10

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:24:39 +0000

Organising: Pantry

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:00:43 +0000

The pantry can be one of the most cluttered and disorganised cupboards of the home, but today I'll give you some ideas how to organise your pantry, using boxes, baskets, containers and extra shelves. Organising the pantry doesn't have to be a huge task, you have two choices:

Remove everything from pantry onto your kitchen bench and give it a complete clean, declutter and organise; or
Give it a quick 15 minute makeover.

The choice is yours depending how much time you have, but I assure you you will feel oh so good when this task is completed.

Before starting try to plan your storage needs. Visit stores such as Kmart, Big W, Target or Ikea for great storage products.
Throw out all products that have expired or past it's best before date.
Put aside anything that you have never used and probably won't. Donate to a charity or friend that you know will use them.
Make a note off all products that are close to expiry, plan to use them while meal planning the following week.
Use extra storage solutions to maximise the space in your pantry. Using baskets, small wire shelves and containers.
Consider which items are used more frequently and place them on shelves at easy reach.
Group like items together, such as: pasta, baking, cereal, spreads, cans, oils and sauces, tea and coffee etc.
Consider repacking bagged items (such as flour or pasta) into containers like recycled food jars, ice-cream containers, decor or tupperware. This will help maximise your storage by being able to stack containers onto each other. Also the decor and tupperware are airtight and will keep your foods fresh.
Label all containers using a dymo, address labels cut in half or masking tape. This will allow you to easily find items.
Utilise space on walls or door to hang a spice rack.
Step back and admire your organised pantry!

Keep it organised The most important of this task is to learn to keep your pantry organised. When returning from the grocery store make it a point to continue with your organising and place like items together. My pantry My pantry is filled with Tupperware modular mate containers. I became a Tupperware Demonstrator 2 years ago purely because I wanted modular mates for my pantry so I earned some for free and purchased the rest at discount. Apparently this is why most women start selling tupperware lol, it can become an addiction (that much so that I'm having a party soon because I want more!!). I'm no longer a demonstrator but I'm thrilled that I achieved my beautifully organised pantry. In saying that though I'm not trying to advertise tupperware to you, Decor is a great choice as well easily accessible from Kmart, Big W or even Bunnings, it comes in a wide range of sizes. I did see recently some gorgeous jars at Ikea which would be great for storing rice, flour and pastas. Below: This is my pantry Below: From bottom to top: Recycling box with Containers for storing potatoes and onions. Storage for foil, cling wrap and baking paper I purchased from homecare. In basket I store all biscuits as I find if stacked onto each other the kids knock them over. Spreads stored on top of wire rack with container of freshly made cookies and larger spread and lunch items underneath. Oils, yes I have way too many oils and a few boxes of cake mixes for emergencies (I usually like to bake cakes from scratch) . On the wall on the left side hiding away is a spice rack filled with spices, I also hang a bag of bags and my dustpan on the wall. Below: from bottom to top: baskets for storing extra food items ready to put in containers when they are emptied and storage for kids lunch cooler bags. I keep my cereal on a low shelf for easy access for the kids. I need to keep cereal in these containers otherwise I was finding they were going stale as the kids wouldn't close boxes properly. Next shelf up is crackers, dried fruit, chips, lollies and snacks...this is the shelf I look at when making kids lunches. Containers on the right side store packets of chips, muesli bars etc, all easy access for little fingers when hungry. Top shelf is all my pasta's, rice, flours, sugars...baking products. On the wall on the right I usually have hung here the kids and my aprons, and another spice rack see details below. Below: Prior to this little shelving system it was hard for little me (i'm a shortie) to reach and see what was stored in this corner. Recently I found these cute little shelves at Target and they have worked a treat organising this corner for me. This system stores all my choc chips, sprinkles, bags of nuts, choc melts, candles and muffin cases. Below: The top of my pantry stores a basket of plastic storage bags, bin liners etc. In the containers are first aide and medicines. I have 4 containers (1) for bandaides, bandages etc. (2) kids medication (3) adult medication (4) prescription repeats and medicine measuring cups. To the right you can see another spice rack hung on shelf this rack stores all my vanilla and other flavoured essences and food colouring. I just found this link of some more great storage solutions for the corner of the pantry: http://www.lifespace.com.au/products/kitchen/pantry-storage/turn-tables/rubbermaid-lazy-susan-turntable would be great for all the cans I have.

Find time for YOURSELF!!

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:00:59 +0000

I love scrapbooking being able to journal about events, feelings and perserving memories for the kids to look over in years to come. Usually I would scrap some evenings through the week, however, since I have started writing this blog I have been spending each night typing up posts for the following day, finding no time to scrap. I didn't realise how time consuming a blog was, but I am loving sharing all helpful ideas and recipes with you all. So over the weekend I MUST find some time to relax and scrap. We must remember no matter how much housework there is to be done, you need your ME time, read a book, watch a movie for an afternoon, go for a walk, scrapbook, whatever your pleaseure is find the time....you will be a much better housewife for it. Here's a snipet of a few layouts that I have done previously.

Meal Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:00:16 +0000

Hope your all enjoying the weekend, it's been a beautiful long weekend here on the Gold Coast. I have found some time to scrap and enjoy some lovely time with my hubby. Hope you have had just as a fantastic weekend too. Here's my meal plan for the week: Monday - BBQ Chicken and Salad Tuesday - Grilled Salmon Fillet, mash pot and veg (fish fingers for kids) (make double potato for tomorrow) Wednesday - Beef and Guiness Stew with potato mash, recipe converted to slow cooker Thursday - Mediterranean Tune and Rice Pie this is super super yummy, definately a recipe keeper for our family Friday - Visiting family for dinner Saturday - Date night!!! Sunday - Oven Fried Chicken with vegetables This certainly is a superb healthy and super easy alternative to KFC. Absolutely delicious, another keeper for our household. Baking - Apple and Custard Teacake

Free Printable: September 2010 Calender

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:00:35 +0000

I can't believe it is nearly September already. Here's a September 2010 calender for you to print to help you organise your month. Write down:

birthdays
events
things to do
add your goals you would like to achieve, these can be personal goal or household goals such as clean out the fridge, pantry, linen cupboard or one of the kids bedrooms.

Enjoy September, do you have any suggestions which room we can concentrate on organising during this month?? To download click the image it will open a PDF file in Adobe, then print.

sept 2010 image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:49:08 +0000

DSC_0046

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:28:27 +0000

Fathers Day Gift Guide

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:00:43 +0000

Fathers Day is soon approaching - Sunday 5th September. We love this day honouring my husband for all he does for us, he deserves to be spoilt!! We start the day with pancakes, gift giving and a day at the park with extended family celebrating with all fathers and grandfathers in our family. If you haven't purchased a gift yet here are some great gift ideas:

Corkscrew
BBQ Tools
Thongs
Digital Photo frame for his desk at work
A new wallet
CD
Slippers
Darrel Lea Fathers Day bag
Watch
Sunglasses
Alarm Clock with Ipod docking station
A great knife for cooking
Magazine Subscription
Johnnie Walker or his favourite beverage
Screwdriver Set
Boardshorts for the new swimming season
Giftcard to the local hardware store
Morning out for Buffet Breakfast
DVD
A piece of art painted by the kids on stretched canvas

Here's some links to some cute fathers day colouring pages I found: http://www.kids-fun-and-games.com/images/fathers_day_printables.gif http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/worksheets/coloring/images/bear_fathers_day.gif Greatest Dad Certificate: http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/fathersday/images/certificate.gif I hope you and your family enjoy fathers day! This is my beautiful family below

Favourite Recipes

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:16:02 +0000

Main Meals Savoury Mince Easy Chicken Lasange Oven Fried Chicken Mediterranean Tuna and Rice Pie Family Mince Pie Cheats Lasagne Muffins and Scones Pumpkin Scones Cookies Choc-chip Cookies Choc Sprinkle Cookies Chocolate Chip Cornflake Cookies

DSC_0058_edited-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:58:09 +0000

Daily Routine List

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:54:31 +0000

Daily Routine Chart_edited-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:56:05 +0000

Goodbye Clutter, Hello Organisation

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:00:19 +0000

Goodbye August, hello September! This is going to be a great month on the Organised Housewife blog. This month I will be posting about clutter, what is clutter and how to manage your clutter. So lets say GOODBYE CLUTTER, HELLO ORGANISATION!! We will revisit the kitchen during this month as there are a few areas we still need to complete. Then it's onto another room. Are you up for the journey, the challenges that lie ahead? Daily Routines: At the bottom of each post I am going to start listing daily routines. I will only list the routines after I have posted about them. Eg, we have spoken about making your bed daily or doing the dishes. But I haven't posted about maintaining a clean bathroom. That will come and will be added to the list, everything gradually. The daily routines are based around my days, eg, create meal plan on Sunday as I grocery shop on mondays etc. However, maybe you can create a master list for yourself if you like to do tasks on different days. I have attached a Daily Routine List for you to print and use. TODAY'S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

New web address

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:42 +0000

I am trying to map my blog to my new website address, I apologise if there is any inconveniences caused, this is a learning process for me. My new address is: www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au Not sure how this process works but if you have any difficulties please contact me: organisedhousewife@live.com.au

DSC_0054

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:39:34 +0000

Getting the blog organised

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:00:04 +0000

The Organised Housewife blog has a new home! Our new address is: www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au I started the blog 1 month ago wow time flies. I have been receiving alot of great feedback, so I thought I'd take the plunge and create it's own domain address and hopefully in time make a few changes to the layout. I'd like to ask a favour though:

if you have added The Organised Housewife to your favourites (bookmark), can you please update it to the new address.
if you have subscribed to the feeds or email updates,i'm not entirely sure if you have to resubscribe (sorry)??

The Organised Housewife facbook page will remain the same. However note that I have put a like button on the right side menu, this will direct you to The Organised Housewife facebook page. Please stop by and 'like' the page. Lunchbox Idea

Homemade Choc Chip Cookies
Ham, Cheese, Lettuce and mayo wrap
Kiwi fruit
Strawberries
Soy crisps

In the photo it doesn't look like much, but the kids loved it, the wrap really filled them up. TODAY’S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

What is clutter?

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:00:19 +0000

Do you have alot of clutter, do you feel overwhelmed by the mission ahead to clear it away? Do you loose things not knowing where you put them? Clutter not only makes your home look untidy it will make you feel miserable, has a negative effect on your mind and emotions. Living like this will leave you with little energy or motivation leaving you feeling stuck going nowhere. Clutter will continue to multiply if you don't create some organisation. What is clutter?

Overfilled drawers
Piles of papers, old books or magazines
Too many clothes in the wardrobe
Huge pile of washing
Broken toys
Unwanted gifts
Unfinished projects
Pile of 'stuff' in the corner
Messy handbag
Things you no longer use

sound familiar?? Keeping your area tidy and organised is possible, you will find peace, feel more relaxed and have a better outlook on life. Tomorrow I'll take you through 5 steps to clear your clutter. I promise you it will be painless and you will be impressed with your new area! TODAY’S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

meal planning image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:20:26 +0000

5 steps to clear your clutter

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:00:51 +0000

Now that we have established what clutter is in yesterday's post, it's time to make a start on clearing it away. It is highly unlikely you will become organised until the clutter is gone. Getting Started

Get organised - To start decluttering you will need. 1. 4 labeled plastic storage boxes labelled: charity, sell, rubbish, keep. 2. Garbage bags for rubbish and charity donations. Look at the room and create a to-do list before you start.
Create some time - Don't overwhelm yourself by taking a full afternoon or day dedicated to decluttering. 30 minutes a day is all it takes to make a start on decluttering. Dedicate some time each day purely to decluttering one particular area. Write down this day and time and stick to it, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.
Concentrate on one area - Start small, try starting with a drawer, wardrobe or a small room like pantry or laundry. But don't choose the most cluttered room, this would be too overwhelming. Divide your clutter amongst the labeled boxes, when each one is full transfer to a garbage bag. Place rubbish directly into the bin. Place charity bags in the garage ready for a trip to the charity store/bin. Your sell box may contain items that you would like to sell on eBay, list these items before you start the next room. Remember to finish one area before you start another. When you have finished the room unpack the keep box designating each item to its new home.
Stay motivated - Clearing the clutter will boost your mood, you will start to feel energetic and be more positive about the direction of your household. You may even find it becoming addictive. You will start to feel alot more relaxed living in an uncluttered house.
Stay in control - Keep on top of your clutter, don't allow it to take over your life again. When bringing a new object into the room/area/draw create a home for it. Always return all items back to their home. Soon it will become a habit, and you will find it alot easier to find your belongings.

Remember:

If you haven't used it within 6-12 months, more than likely you won't use it, donate to charity
If it gives you negative feeling or makes you feel sad, donate to charity
If something has sentimental value but it's in a box in the top of your wardrobe, more than likely it will stay there. You are not attached to the object you are attached to the memory of the person that gave you the object. Give it to charity or somebody you know that will cherish the item.
If it is expired, throw it out.
Do you have double of items, eg...2 toasters, give one to charity.
Out with the old, in with the new. eg. brand new bedsheets=old sheets to charity
Give yourself permission to throw out items that are rarely used.
Old toys and games can be donated to the local childcare centre.

Reward yourself for your great efforts, go to the movies with a friend or buy something nice after you have finished. I'm very proud of you making a start to decluttering your household. TODAY’S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.
Take 30 minutes to declutter (finishing one area before starting another)

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

Meal Planning Sunday

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:00:22 +0000

Happy Fathers Day to all our dad's!! I have changed the way I post my meal plan, I will be posting my meal plan that I used for the previous week. This will allow me to rate the recipes, so you then know which are worth trying. Ratings: :!: - Didn't enjoy :!: :!: - Worth a try :!: :!: :!: - Loved it Here’s is this weeks meal plan: Monday – Cheesy Chicken macaroni Was too floury, didn't enjoy at all :!: Tuesday – Frozen Pie, Chips and Vegetables (brocoli, carrot, cauliflower, peas and corn) - The kids favourite Wednesday – Left overs from the freezer Thursday – Chicken and Vegetable Nuggets with potato, brocoli and cauliflower :!: :!: Friday – Take Out - Thai (the kids had sleep over at school, we rarely do take out so this was special) Saturday – Easy Chicken Lasagne :!: :!: :!: Sunday – BBQ with potato bake and vegetables Baking – Chocolate Brownies (Recipe to come) Apologies when I was eating my last bite I remembered that I forgot to take a photo of this recipe, it is delicious and definitely worth a try!! Easy Chicken Lasagne 1 BBQ Chook, shredded 425g Latina Cabonara sauce 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes 1 packet frozen spinach, cooked to packet directions 3 Latina Lasagne Sheets (found in fridge section) 1 cup Pizza Shredded Cheese

Combine Chicken, spinach, cabonara sauce and tomatoes in bowl, stir.
Use a large rectangle casserole dish. Spread 1 tablespoon of sauce mixture and on bottom of dish, lay down 1 lasagne sheet.
Spread 1/2 mixture over sheet, lay another lasagne sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, lay last lasagne sheet.
Cover with alfoil and bake at 180C for 45 minutes.
Remove foil spread cheese over top and cook for a further 10 min until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!!

SUNDAY'S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

De-clutter the fridge, throwing away all food items and taking note of what needs to be eaten
Create meal plan for grocery shop tomorrow
Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

DSC_0007

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:13:20 +0000

DSC_0003

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:16:17 +0000

DSC_0004

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:19:07 +0000

DSC_0006

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:21:34 +0000

DSC_0066

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:24:03 +0000

DSC_0006

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:29:40 +0000

Organising: Kitchen Drawers

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:00:44 +0000

Have you been inspired to make a start on clearing your clutter? I have made a start listing some of my ‘sell box’ items on eBay. If they don’t sell i will be donating them to charity. Please let me know if you are interested in a post on how to sell on eBay. I’d love to hear from you, please leave a comment below and let me know what you have started.

Today I thought we'd keep organising the kitchen and as I recommended start a small area first, so then you don't get too overwhelmed. So let's organise the kitchen drawers, this will help make your kitchen as efficient as possible. Almost all kitchens have drawers, and the gadget draw would have to be one of the most over crowded drawers. Here's some tips to organise your drawers:

Remove items from each drawer, wipe drawer clean and re-organise. Consider using some drawer storage solutions, such as drawer dividers to keep neat and tidy.
Keep all like items together such as cutlery, baking, gadgets and teatowels.
Avoid overcrowding your drawers, remembering the rules discussed in 5 steps to clear your clutter

Sharp objects: Sharp objects such as knives are unsafe to store in drawers, especially if young children can access the drawer. Store knives in their own storage blocks. Utensil Holder: Place a utensil holder on your kitchen bench storing frequently used and large utensils. It will allow easy access while cooking and frees up space in your gadget drawer. Christmas Gadgets: Store your christmas baking items such as cookie cutters, cookbooks or baking tins with your christmas decorations so they don't take up valuable space in your drawer.

Junk Drawer: Avoid the Junk Drawer, whilst you may think it is convenient to add your 'miscellaneous stuff' to a drawer it can quickly become a disaster. Remove all non-kitchen items from the kitchen and create a home for it elsewhere.

My Cutlery Drawer - We recently got rid off all the kids character and plastic spoons now they are using teaspoons and cake forks. To the side I store my potato peeler and plastic spoons that are added to kids lunchboxes, they bring them home and I wash them. But if they go missing it's no big deal. Also my chapstick, I have chapstick in nearly every room...lol, I'm addicted.

The Gadget Drawer - These drawer dividers are from Target, they come in a range of sizes. Previously I used cereal boxes cut to size.

My Baking Drawer - again love these drawer dividers.

Teatowels are stored in the bottom drawer for easy access.

Utensil holder canister from Ikea

MONDAY'S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

Reader Questions

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:00:13 +0000

I thought I'd dedicate today's post to some questions I have been asked by readers. Some of these have been answered in comments, but I'm not sure if everybody goes back and reads comments. Q: i visit shops regularly to purchase milk and fresh bread, what do you do because you only shop weekly? A: I buy 4 x 2L milks, this should see us (5 of us) through till the end of the week. I don't take the milk from the front of the shelf I take from the back, to ensure that it will not expire before the week is over. As for bread I purchase 3-4 loaves, again enough for the week and I freeze it as soon as I arrive home. It is frozen fresh and it defrosts just as fresh. We love our bread fresh and we don't hesitate in freezing it. I recommend you give it a go, could help reduce waste and save the time it takes to shop for a loaf of bread. Q: Do you find that Tupperware/plastic does not dry itself in the dishwasher? A: This happens in my dishwasher when the rinse aide is low. Try topping your dishwasher with rinse aide and it should completely dry. Other readers have suggested when the cycle has finished to open the door overnight, then by morning it should be dry. Q: Where do you store your gladwrap/phone books? A: I don't keep my phone books, they take up too much of my valuable kitchen space. I recycle them and use the online yellow pages and white pages. Our gladwrap is kept in the pantry stored in a wire system purchased from a Homecare catalogue a few years ago. Q: Be great if the routine charts could be customisable... but that's probably a little too much right? A: Glad your loving the routine charts. I am happy to offer the following services:

alterations to charts/lists for a small fee of $2.95. However, this week only I will make alterations for $1.50.
print, laminate and post charts/lists to you for $4.95 per chart/list. This is for postage within Australia, for overseas please email me for a quote.

DSC_0057

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:52:49 +0000

choc chip cookies

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:58:36 +0000

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:00:22 +0000

I have had a few requests for my choc chip cookies recipe, here it is, these are super quick and easy to bake, enjoy!! Choc Chip Cookies Ingredients

125g butter chopped, at room temp
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup Plain Flour, sifted
¼ cup SR Flour, sifted
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
200g milk choc bits

Method

Preheat oven to 180C
Line 2 trays with baking paper.
Cream butter, brown and caster sugar
Add egg and vanilla, mix
Add flours and bicarb soda, mix
Add Choc bits. Have a little taste of the mix it is delicious
Roll into heaped tablespoons, place on trays
Bake for 12 minutes or slightly golden.

DO NOT OVER BAKE as these cookies are delicious soft.
Do not substitute butter for margarine as they won't taste as yummy.
Try white chocolate and macadamia as a substitute for milk choc chips.
Smarties or m&m's are a fun alternative

Thankyou Teacher Card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:09:53 +0000

teacher card image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:14:35 +0000

Printable: Teacher Appreciation

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:00:21 +0000

The teachers at my kids school do a remarkable job with all the time and effort they put into excursions, school activities and just recently a sleep over. Recently they did a brilliant job surviving a full day excursion, as well as a sleep over the same evening at school with their class. So to say thankyou I created this Teacher Appreciation Card, I enclosed a pad of stickers with the card, a teacher can never have too many stickers. Click on the picture to link you to the PDF which you are welcome to download and print. Give to your kids to write in, allowing them to show their apprecaite to their teacher, I'm sure he/she will appreciate the gesture. THURSDAY'S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

teacher card image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:44:53 +0000

daily routine image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:49:04 +0000

DSC_0028

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:38:51 +0000

DSC_0033

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:44:22 +0000

Share your accomplishments and be proud!!

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:26:08 +0000

You are the reason for this blog and I'd love to learn a little about you. I'd love to read about your journey to a newly organised pantry, fridge, cupboard, morning routine etc. Take pride in these efforts you are making and share it with us. Maybe you have some tips of your own?? Or maybe your just starting to consider becoming organised?? Do you have a blog, tell us a little about it. Please leave a comment letting us all know your accomplishments or where you are going to make a start, what lead you to the path of being disorganised and how The Organised Housewife has helped you. I'm sure your story will be encouraging and inspiring for others - I'm sure it will make me feel better too :P Please leave your comments, even brief ones, as your comments encourage me to continue blogging :)

DSC_0058

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:12:05 +0000

Fancy up your entry with some potted flowers

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:00:19 +0000

Spring is such a beautiful time of year, try jazzing up your front doorway with a gorgeous pot of flowers. Makes for a lovely entrance to your home. The next time we wash our cars I'm going to wash down the front door, move the pot and mat to give it a good clean. Have to make a start on some spring cleaning. I found these flowers at our local bunnings (sorry can't remember the name) but they look like little roses. Meet our cat, Millee, she's so cuddly.

blog-header.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:09:55 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header.jpg

velvet.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:18:06 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/velvet.jpg

blog-header2.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:26:36 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header2.jpg

blog-header21.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:27:45 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header21.jpg

meal planning image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:59:58 +0000

DSC_0056

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:07:24 +0000

Meal Planning Sunday: Savoury Mince

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 20:00:02 +0000

Wow this week has gone so fast, I have enjoyed some lovely catch up's with friends, old and new. t's great to be able to get together after such a long time and have a great laugh. I can't believe school holiday's are here at the end of the week. I love having the kids home for the holiday's, enjoy all the picnic in the parks, play dates, sleep overs and arts and craft activities. Last holiday's we made pet rocks, so I have to think of something just as fun for these holidays. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday - Salmon and Lemon Pasta Bake - Super Food Ideas August 2010 issue. :!: :!: (i'm not sure about the regulations, am I allowed to copy out the recipe and post???) Tuesday - Savoury Mince with Potato and Vegetables :!: :!: :!: (see recipe below) Wednesday - Left overs from the freezer (I have now run out of left overs so need to do a few big cook ups) Thursday - Honey Mustard Chicken with Rice :!: :!: Friday - Lovely friend brought over some takeaway for dinner Saturday - Dinner out with friends Sunday - Chicken and sweet corn cannelloni (yet to be rated) Baking - Chocolate Brownies (mmm these were delicious, see pic below) Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it Savoury Mince 1 tlb Oil Brown onion, diced 2 tsp garlic mince (I don't use fresh garlic, find the garlic mince more economical) 500-600g mince 1 cup beef stock 1-2 tablespoons beef gravy powder 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat oil in pan, add garlic and onion. Cook stirring until onion is soft.
Add mince, cook until browned and cooked, breaking up mince to avoid clumps
Add gravy 1 tablespoon gravy powder, stirring for 1 min.
Stir in stock. Bring to the boil.
Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 min until sauce thickens.
Add Worcestershire sauce, stir.
Add more gravy powder if need be, to suit taste

SUNDAY’S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

De-clutter the fridge, throwing away all food items and taking note of what needs to be eaten
Create meal plan for grocery shop tomorrow
Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

Challenge: Throw away 10 things cluttering your kitchen

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:00:40 +0000

Do you have way too many things cluttering up your kitchen. Do you have:

crockery that you haven't used for years
mismatched mugs or cups
Lids in the Tupperware cupboard that have no 'mates'
A few too many utensils that you haven't used for over 12 months
Appliances that are rarely used
Used batteries
Too many cookbooks
Cleaning supplies that don't get used

I put this challenge to you, throw away 10 things cluttering your kitchen. Comment below letting me know what you have thrown away. You may find that it's hard to stop at 10. Here's what I have thrown out recently, I love decluttering. Note: Throw away - give to charity, sell or put in bin.

Kids old cutlery, upgraded to big peoples forks
Old wooden skewers
Appliance - milkshake maker
Small slow cooker which I replaced with a banquet size
Containers that I haven't used for years
Old Cookbooks - I love my online sites now
Expired Medicines
Old potato masher, double up (love my Tupperware one, which I was sad to hear has been discontinued)
Tongs, I had 1 too many
Rock melon scoop which I haven't used within the last 12 months.

MONDAY’S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

Review: Kitchen and new routines

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:00:56 +0000

Are you starting to feel a little more organised and clutter free? Has it made you relaxed and calm while cooking your kitchen? Now that your organised you will find some control and be able to cook more efficiently, leaving more time to spend with your family!! I'll be ending the kitchen posts for now and starting soon on another room, but lastly let's review the new habits and routines to help maintain your organised kitchen:

Keep your kitchen clutter free
Clear fridge of all old food the night before your grocery shop
Drawers: Donate to charity or throw away all utensils that you haven't used for 6-12 months.
Meal planning saves time, eliminates waste, promotes healthy eating and will lower your frustrations
You don't need a junk Drawers in the kitchen, takes up too much valuable space
Pantry: Use food close to expiry in the pantry - Utilise space on walls - Group like items together - Label containers
Make your bench and sink sparkle each night
Creating homes for items in kitchen cupboards. Everything should be returned to it's place.

Try these ideas but remember this is what suits me to keep my kitchen organised. If after a few weeks it doesn't suit you, try an alternative system to suit your family, but don't give up. Change is hard to accept however, if you follow your new routine continually for at least 6 weeks it will soon form into a habit. TUESDAY'S DAILY ROUTINE: Morning

Shower and dress yourself
Make your bed
Prepare lunches for family
Put away clean dishes and empty dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle
Check the kids have completed their tasks.

During day

Take 30 minutes to declutter 1 area.

Evening

Wash dishes
Pack dishwasher
Make your bench and sink sparkle

Night Routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:21:37 +0000

Night Routine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:22:11 +0000

Evening Routine Chart

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:23:02 +0000

Evening Routine Chart

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:23:26 +0000

Evening Routine Chart

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:24:00 +0000

Evening Routine: Part 1 – kids evening routine printable

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:00:46 +0000

Last month I talked about getting CHAOS out of your morning routine. Many of you have been asking for my tips on an evening routine. Today I'll start with Part 1, the kids evening routine chart. I created this chart because I found myself nagging at the kids to pick up toys, pack their school bags etc. So I created this visual aide for them to refer to and it worked wonders. After dinner I asked them to go to the toy room (this is where we keep the charts) and complete the list. Now they have been doing it for years it's become predictable, they know what needs to be completed without me nagging!!! Well sometimes I still nag, one of my daughters and I differ in the standard of a tidy room. About the chart: Pack school bags - home work is their responsibility, they are to ensure it is placed in their bags each evening along with library books and show & tell. All toys away - Toys that have been left out around the house are to be picked up and put away Dirty clothes away - School clothes aren't to be left on the floor, they belong in the laundry Brush teeth - Goes without saying they need clean teeth every morning and night Tidy Bathroom - Towel is to be hung on rack and toilet paper rolls in the bin 15 min Reading - This time is quality time, I spend one on one time with one child each night, the other children will be reading to each other or themselves. Sweet Dreams - Huge kisses and cuddles every single night as they are tucked into bed. And hundreds of I love yous!!! Bedtime can be a stressful time of the evening, for the whole family with young ones being tired, throwing tantrums or just plain refusing to go to bed. But it doesn't have to be that way, all you need is a routine for the kids to learn. Tomorrow's post will help you work out a routine to help lower the tantrums and bring calm back into your evenings. Click HERE to download and print chart or click the picture. See HERE for information getting charts customised.

Evening Routine Chart

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:44:34 +0000

School Holiday Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:15:36 +0000

School holiday planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:15:59 +0000

DSC_0029

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:14:59 +0000

DSC_0033

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:17:32 +0000

Evening Routine: Part 2 – establish a routine for the kids

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:00:43 +0000

Bedtime can be a stressful time of the evening, for the whole family with young ones being tired, throwing tantrums better known as a night time meltdown. But it doesn't have to be that way, all you need is a routine for the kids to learn. Designate times: Find a time in the late afternoon/evening that suits you to, bath the children, start cooking dinner and put the kids to bed. Ensure that you stick to these times on a daily basis. Understandably weekends may differ, but stick to the same routine. Parents and children will find the evenings easier to manage when you know what's expected next. When my children were younger I started the bathing process around 4.30pm, start cooking dinner 5.00-5.15pm and they were in bed 6.30pm. Now they are older our routine has changed to: 3.30pm - Homework 4.00pm - playtime 5.15pm - Bath (they can bath themselves while I cook dinner) 5.20pm - Start cooking dinner 6.30pm - start the bedtime routine 7.00pm - lights out Allow the kids to help: 10 min before dinner is ready I call the kids to the table. They each have an allocated job DS gets the drinks ready, DD#1 sets the table and the little one DD#2 puts the salt and pepper shakers on the table. They love the responsibility of helping prepare for dinner. Perhaps ask them to get the plates out ready or take it that one step further and see if they will unpack the dishwasher for you :) Nah, that might be pushing it!! My kids enjoy unpacking the dishwasher (crazy children)!! Within a month of starting your new routine the children will begin to move from one task to the other quite easily. Soon it will become predictable for them, they will learn that once dinner is complete they need to start their bedtime routine. Try implementing a routine to suit your family, let me know how you go!

October 2010

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:06:23 +0000

oct 2010 image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:06:54 +0000

DSC_0013

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:34:33 +0000

Evening Routine: Part 3 – Tips

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:00:37 +0000

Here are a few tips to help your evening run smoothly:

Having your meals planned for the week will reduce the amount of stress during the evening.
If your child wakes during the night, don't allow her to sleep in your bed otherwise this will become a habit she will learn to love and you won't get a good nights sleep meaning you will be miserable and tired the next day. Try very hard to get yourself up straight away and walk her back to bed, once she is in her bed, settle her, give her a cuddle and kiss, say goodnight, then walk away.
If you are finding your new routine doesn't work for you change it around abit to suit family. Maybe it suits your family to bath after dinner??
If your little one is still wetting the bed, give them only half a glass of water during dinner and a quick sip while brushing teeth.
If your mornings are really busy, lay out clothes for the following day
Talk to the kids during dinner about their day, ask them what they enjoyed most about today? Ensure that everybody participates. Converssation around the dinner table is one of my favourite things.
Make the kids new routine fun by making it a game:
- Who can clean their room the fastest?
- Who has the cleanest teeth?
- My favourite is I'll race you to your bed, I bet I can beat you...they always win, but they love it :)
- Occasionally have little prizes to reward them for great work.
Allow children to take responsibility dressing themselves, brushing their own teeth, wash own dishes etc. They are great habits to learn at a young age.

DSC_0034

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:28:48 +0000

DSC_0036

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:31:36 +0000

DSC_0005 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:21:35 +0000

DSC_0004 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:37:21 +0000

blog-header23.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:44:57 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header23.jpg

blog-header24.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:23:59 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header24.jpg

cropped-blog-header25.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:24:54 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header25.jpg

cropped-blog-header26.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:16:40 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header26.jpg

blog header2

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:21:06 +0000

blog header

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:21:52 +0000

blog-header28.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:26:21 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header28.jpg

cropped-blog-header-image2.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:27:08 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header-image2.jpg

cropped-blog-header-image3.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:27:52 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header-image3.jpg

cropped-blog-header29.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:28:47 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header29.jpg

blog-header4.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:29:50 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header4.jpg

cropped-blog-header5.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:31:58 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header5.jpg

cropped-blog-header210.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:57:24 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header210.jpg

blog-header211.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:30:15 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header211.jpg

blog-header212.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:34:09 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header212.jpg

Printable: School Holiday Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:00:17 +0000

Each school holiday's I create a planner for each child to write down what they would like to do these school holiday's. Activities such as:

Go to a specific park
Movies Day
Painting at Home
Play dates
A certain craft activity
Friends sleep over
Baking

After they have made their list I take a few activities from each and create a plan for the fortnight. This plan hangs on the fridge or on the corkboard in their rooms. It's great for them to refer to knowing which activities are coming up. Also reduces the nagging from kids and can use to your advantage. If the kids are playing up say 'Sorry if you continue this behaviour we will not be going to the movies tomorrow'. I love it, trust me it will work in your favour!! Click HERE to download and print School Holiday Planner, or click image below:

blog-header213.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:01:16 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/blog-header213.jpg

cropped-blog-header-image4.jpg

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:02:05 +0000

http://theorganisedhousewife.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-blog-header-image4.jpg

Meal Planning Sunday: Chicken and Bacon Risotto

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:00:49 +0000

The school holiday's are here, I enjoy having the kids home for the holidays...I especially love the sleep ins and 2 weeks off making school lunches!!! Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday - Hearty Beef Casserole :!: :!: :!: This made up a large amount enough to freeze for another meal next week. Slow cooker Tuesday - Chicken and Bacon Risotto :!: :!: :!: Super easy and very very yummy. Rice cooker Wednesday – Scrambled eggs on toast love easy wed dinners Thursday – Frozen fish portions, pasta and vegetables Friday – Beef Nacho's Saturday – Beef ravioli with spicy tomato sauce easy dinner for hubby to cook as I'm having a night out with friends Sunday – BBQ Sausage in bread :!: :!: :!: easy dinner Baking –Banana Yoghurt Muffins :!: :!: :!: Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

20 Fun Free Holiday Activities

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:00:15 +0000

Today is 1st day of school holidays here in QLD. We are saving for an overseas holiday so these holiday is all about cutting costs and finding FREE entertainment. Here are some ideas you may like to use:

Picnic in the park
Bake some cupcakes, ice and decorate
$1 cheap DVD Movies night at home
Bunnings have fun free activities
Letter to Santa, will help you get organised for Christmas
Local council activities, check your councils website for more details.
Make a cubby house under the dining table
Local library activities, check at the library for activities schedule.
Shopping centre usually have free activities each school holiday's
Buy some butchers paper and make create your own wrapping paper for Christmas or birthdays.
Crafts at home
Create your own story book
Rearrange bedrooms
Teddy Bears picnic in the backyard
Plant some flowers in the garden
Board games are so much fun
Visit local museum
Visit a farm and feed the animals
Make and fly a kite
Write a letter to grandparents, aunty or cousins.
Spend the day in PJ's.

Hope you find these suggestions helpful!!

Evening Routine: Singing Songs

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:00:58 +0000

My children have always loved singing, especially DD#1. As far as I can remember I always sang songs as I put her to bed. DS, her twin brother didn't enjoy singing so much, he enjoys a big tickle. Now, if DD#1 can't get to sleep or wakes from a nightmare I start singing one of the songs we always sung together when she was young and it puts her straight to sleep. Here are some of the songs we sing: Hi-5's - Night Time, Sleep Time Night time, sleep time Say good night time Good night stars shimmering bright Good night moon silver and light Cuddle up with my blanket Cuddle up really tight Close my eyes and dream Dream 'til the morning light Somewhere over the Rainbow Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There's a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far Behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly Beyond the rainbow Why, oh why can't I? Do you sing to your children?? Another favourite of mine is Silent Night, I sing it all year round.

DSC_0157

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:31:13 +0000

I’m now one of the family at IKEA

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:00:33 +0000

I love IKEA, I don't live near one but I don't mind travelling the 45 min it takes to get there. They have just about every piece of furniture you can imagine, I especially love their baskets. I recently brought a new dining table from there which I love. My latest visit there I was told about the IKEA family and joined up as soon as I got home. Click HERE to join up it's free and there are great benefits: In Store:

Free bottomless coffee every visit
FAMILY discounts on meals in the IKEA Restaurant
Exclusive savings on lots of products
Weekly $250 IKEA gift card draw*
Exclusive seminars and events
10c donated to charity every time you swipe or scan your card

Home:

Free store to home insurance
Extended 12 month return policy
Free IKEA FAMILY LIVE magazine home delivered

Online:

Create and decorate your own homepage
Ask any questions you like and have experts answer them
Read advice on anything you like

These are a few of my IKEA basket collection: I love these containers they keep all my scrapbooking essentials organised. On my wish list is the EXPEDIT 8 cube shelf in white to store all my scrapbook albums and supplies. They don't have white online so I am hoping they are still continuing with that colour.

Challenge: Throw away 10 - Office Drawer

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:00:41 +0000

I received great feedback from the last challenge Throw away 10 things cluttering your kitchen and I can't believe that you are all asking for more challenges!! I'll try to put a challenge to you weekly, we'll see how well you can do!! Today's challenge, throw 10 things away from the top office drawer. The drawer that has too many rubber bands, staples that have fallen out of the box, old pens, broken pencils, one to many notepads. You can do it, and while you're at it, try organising it back into some order. Again, I would love to hear what you have thrown away in the comment below! My list of 10 items:

Little staple pieces
Old tupperware demonstrator stamp
Rubberbands
Dried up blue-tak
Broken staple removerer
Moved 2 extra sharpeners to the 'school supplies box'
Old pencil case
I have 1 x new p-touch (label machine) tape if anybody would like it.
Pieces of plastic wrapping
Dust and dirt, gave it a good clean

I struggled to get 10 but I made it!!

I ♥ Organising

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:00:51 +0000

I love to organise, a day doesn't seem complete unless I have organised something. Be it the kids closet when I put their clothes away, my inbox on the computer, my photo's for scrapbooking, the dirty laundry or the linen cupboard. I have to put something back in order before I end the day. I even find it disturbingly satisfy doing ironing just to see the bottom of the basket :? Yes I know you don't have to tell me how crazy I am....Our life just runs so much smoother when I know where everything is and when everything is in its place. But I am a normal person like you....there are occasions when I have half sorted clean laundry all over the couch, a messy kitchen and unswept floors but by the end of the day it is all sorted. I find comfort in my house being organised. Yes I'm obsessed, but I like it that way!!

DSC_0161

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:30:38 +0000

How to enter

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:03:44 +0000

Ready to enter? Here is how:

1) Go to LWhelan Designs on Etsy and browse her shop. Come back and comment with your favorite item!

2) Become a fan of LWhelan Designs on Facebook and don't forget to tell her that TomKat sent you! Leave a comment here letting us know that you did! 3) Become a fan of TomKat Studio on Facebook, or let us know that you already are!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. And, remember, if you are commenting as anonymous, please leave your contact info!

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 11:00pm (MST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Good luck & have a great weekend!

Is your home in holiday mode??

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:00:30 +0000

During the school holiday's I need to put my desire for a clean tidy house aside. Whilst I like everything in order and in place I find it impossible with 3 fun-filled, over energetic children messing up the house. Instead I declare my home in 'holiday mode'. I relax a little, not picking things up through the day, I sit back and enjoy the kids being home. Towards the end of the day before bath/dinner time I ask the kids to pick up all the cushions, toys and other belongings and put everything back into place. If I was to do it for them they wouldn't understand responsibility and would always take for granted that 'mummy will do it'.

Dear Santa

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:58:57 +0000

dear santa

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:59:28 +0000

Meal Planning Sunday: Tuna Mornay

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:00:14 +0000

Are you all enjoying the school holiday's?? It has been horrible rainy weather here. Kids have been stuck indoors. It was nice on the first few day's as they were so tired from school, sports and other activities, but now I would really love for the sun to shine so we can visit parks with friends, play outdoors and wash clothes....yes I wouldn't be me if I didn't add the last one. However while indoors we have had some fun:

I moved around DD#1's room.
Played alot of board games
Enjoyed a day with 6 children + me
Watched the kids swim in the pool, first time since winter
My girls did some great water paintings of fairies
Have done a lot of baking
Watched some movies, Nanny McPhee and the big bang is such a great movie
Sorted a pile of papers...hmmm what sort of papers you ask...you will have to wait for the post
Made something very special for my kids (another post to come)
Went to another Tupperware party and brought this gorgeous hobby organiser which I will fill with craft items for DD#2 as a Christmas gift. If anybody would like one let me know and I can put you in contact with a great demonstrator.
and...now I am feeling sick with sinus pain...ooh well, it's good to rest a little.

Here is this weeks meal plan, sorry I didn't cook anything special this week Monday - Macaroni and Cheese as requested by my kids :!: :!: Tuesday - Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry loves these super easy meals :!: :!: Wednesday –Chicken with tomato and italian herbs Slow Cooked :!: :!: Thursday – Tuna Mornay I added corn to ours :!: :!: Friday – Family night out celebrating an achievement of DD#1 Saturday – I had some BBQ chook in the fridge ready for a picnic, but it rained plans changed, so instead I made chicken & cheese muffin melts. Sunday – Dinner with extended family Baking – Choc Hazelnut Muffins Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

Printable: October 2010 Calendar

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:00:59 +0000

October is approaching way too quickly, where has September gone?? Here is October's calendar for you to print and use. I used mine last month to plan out all my blog posts, worked really well and pinned it onto my corkboard next to my laptop. Suggestions of items to write on your calendar:

Birthday's
Anniversary's
Kids Sporting Events
Kids School Events
Birthday Party's
Date nights

Click HERE to download calendar

Baking: Caramel Tarts

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:00:17 +0000

Don't these tarts look delicious: These tarts have become a requirement when I catch up with girlfriends for morning tea or dinner parties. They are extremely yummy and super easy to make. SUPER EASY CARAMEL TARTS Ingredients

1 Packet Frozen Mini Pastry Cases
Tin of Nestle Caramel Topping
A carton of double cream
1 Flake chocolate bar

Method

Cook pastry cases to packet directions.
Spoon caramel over cases, dividing tin amongst the lot.
Dollop a large spoonful of cream over the caramel.
Crumble flake over cream.
Chill until ready for serving.

Enjoy!

Kids Craft Activity: Pet rocks

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:00:28 +0000

Pet rocks are a fun and creative activity for the kids. Last school holiday's my kids made some funky pet rocks. We searched around the neighbourhood for some cute little rocks, we had just as much fun searching for them as we did painting them. It turned into a treasure hunt looking for THE perfect rock, had to be smooth, not too big and fits perfectly in their little hands. They made 4 each, keeping 2 for themselves and gave one to their teacher and a friend when they returned back to school. Supplies needed:

Rock
Paint
Wobbly eye's
Craft Glue
Wool
Scissors
Paintbrush
Newspaper to lay down

How to make it:

Wash rock with soap and water, allow to dry. This will enable the paint to bond with the rock.
Paint rock desired colour and add patterns if you like.
Glue on wobbly eyes
Paint on a nose and mouth
Gather some wool for the hair and glue onto top of rock.
Allow to dry before playing with.

textas

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:11:31 +0000

62588

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:25:50 +0000

Challenge + Giveaway: Throw out all dried kids textas

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:00:58 +0000

Congratulations to our winner Elisha, you have won 1 pack of My First Words from Kristy, Learning Ladder Independent Consultant. I'm thrilled to offer one lucky winner a prize for completing today's 'The Organised Housewife Challenge'. Our first giveaway, I'm very excited!! Don't panic though you have until Wednesday 6th October 12pm (QLD time) to complete the challenge. I received a request that the challenge be something the kids can help with as they are home for the school holidays. So today's challenge is for the kids, or if you don't have kids I have an alternative for you. I came up with the idea for this challenge as I was colouring in with the kids today and found they had quite a few dried up textas. If one doesn't work they return it to the tin, little minds don't think to put it in the bin. THE CHALLENGE: Test your coloured texta's and throw away all that have dried up. Follow the steps below to enter the challenge. ALTERNATIVE CHALLENGE: Sort through your pen collection and throw away any that don't work. Follow the steps below to enter the challenge. THE GIVEAWAY: A huge thankyou to Kristy, Learning Ladder Independent Consultant for donating 1 pack of My First Words for one lucky winner. The Learning Ladder are dedicated to the business of introducing parents to books, toys, games and puzzles that offer children of all ages wonderful opportunities for exploration, discovery, play, fun and learning. They also offer an irresistible range of family reference books and books for parents. If you are local to the Gold Coast or surrounds and interested in Hosting a get together, please contact Kristy via her Facebook page. Or if you are not close maybe consider a Catalogue Get together for chance to Shop for FREE. HOW TO ENTER:

Complete the challenge.
Take a photo to show the challenge has been completed.
Upload photo to The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
Become a fan of The Learning Ladder- Kristy mcGeechan (Independant Sales Advisor) on Facebook, don't forget to tell her The Organised Housewife sent you!!
Finally, leave one comment only below to let me know that you have completed all required to enter the giveaway. Remember, if you are commenting as anonymous please leave your contact info.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 6th October 2010 at 12:00pm (QLD time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to Australian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified via email. I will also announce winner at the top of this post.

Beef Goulash

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:09:44 +0000

Link Love ♥

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:00:49 +0000

Before I started this blog I had no real idea what blogs were. Now I can't stop blog hopping, love jumping from one blog to another reading everybody's posts, ideas, recipes and general life experiences. Here are a few blogs I found through my recent hopping experience: Eat out with Kids - Here's some great tips if your thinking of taking your kids out to eat at a restaurant Be a fun mum - Some great advise on parenting siblings Stampin Ovation - Loving these handmade cards by Bev Beautiful You - Reminded me that we mummies are beautiful no matter what size we are If you have a blog you would like to share with us, please leave the website details in the comments below.

Daily Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:21:19 +0000

day planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:21:32 +0000

Can't decide what to have for dinner?

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:00:11 +0000

Whether you love or loath to cook it is unfortunately one of those jobs that needs to be done. However to decide what to have for dinner can be just as painful. I have previously discussed about the benefits of meal planning so I won't go into that today. However, I did want to help you with some ideas to ease the 'what's for dinner' question. When I first started meal planning the kids didn't have after school commitments as they were very young. So it was quite simple, I dedicated each day as follows:

Monday - Beef
Tuesday - Stir fry
Wednesday - Chicken
Thursday - Fish
Friday - Pasta
Saturday - Family Favourite
Sunday - Something simple or from freezer

Some of my friends call me crazy, overly organised, but this works for me. I found that by having pre-planned what types of food to have on which day ensured we were eating correctly, healthily and was easier to pick a meal to cook. Now, I have to work around sporting activities, my general weekly meals are based around this:

Monday - Pasta or Slow cooker (easy to make ahead of time)
Tuesday - Meat and vege's
Wednesday - Slow cooker or Something easy or from the freezer
Thursday - Fish and vege's
Friday - random
Saturday - Family Favourite
Sunday - random

Tips:

Have a look at what you have in your freezer or pantry and use these items for dinner.
Find recipes that take less than 30 min to prepare.
Choose recipes that aren't too complicated and have only a few ingredients
Use a recipe recommended by a friend
Don't forget your shopping specials catalogue can be inspiration for dinner, choose something on special.
Once you have a months worth of weekly plans in place you can re-use them each month, therefore eliminating the thought of what to cook each week.
Some friends have said to me, 'but what if I don't feel like chicken tonight?' Meal plans don't have to be set in stone, you can alternate between days or place what was planned in the freezer for next week and shout yourself a pizza.

I hope these ideas have helped.

facebook organised housewife

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:43:57 +0000

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:45:25 +0000

Meal Planning: Beef Goulash

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 20:00:28 +0000

We have had another great week. The weather here still can't work out if it wants to rain or shine, it's hot, it's cold, it's windy, it's not. It has taken alot of fun out of the holidays, but thankfully they have still enjoyed them. They are looking forward to returning back to school tomorrow to see all their friends. My little brother got married yesterday, it was a beautiful day, I'm so happy for them both. I enjoyed the morning getting my hair done at the hairdressers with my mum and cousin, I even got a spray tan..lol, which is funny because I am very very fair. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday – out for dinner - family birthday celebration Tuesday - Chicken Schnitzel with pasta and vegetables (schnitzel purchased from butcher, I know I can make myself, but this day I prefered to be spending it with the kids rather than cooking dinner) Wednesday – Slow Cooker - Beef Goulash :!: :!: :!: Thursday – Sesame Beef Stir-fry with brown rice :!: :!: :!: Friday – Easy dinner - pie, chips and vegetables Saturday – My brother's getting married!!! Sunday – TBA Baking – Chocolate Cupcakes :!: :!: :!: Recipe to follow Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

Home Rescue: School Holidays

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:22:21 +0000

The school holiday's are drawing to a close. I am sad to see the kids return back to school, we have had a lovely time despite the rainy days bring on cabin fever, tantrums and me going slightly crazy because there were 6 children in my house at one point. We did however enjoy the swimming pool, parks, baking and fun activities at home, the smiles and giggles makes it all worthwhile and enjoyable. Since starting this blog I have posted daily, I haven't missed a day (I am proud of my efforts!!!) But today I am posting tomorrows post early as it is about 'Holiday Home Rescue'. Getting the home back into order after the school holidays. I am a big believer that the kids need to help, take responsibility of the mess they contributed to. Therefore I'm posting early so they can help you a little and then tomorrow, tonight or this afternoon you can get on top of it all. Then you can calmly continue with LIFE in a beautiful tidy home. Kids can help with: Turn on their favourite music and make it fun and enjoyable, sing along loudly to the music, you will have a ball all together.

Get your laundry basket (or find a basket for each child), ask the kids to pick up anything that belongs to them. Ask them to start at the front door, work their way to the back of the house.
Return all the contents in the basket to their rightful home. This will make a dramatic difference already.
Straighten up the books on the bookshelf.
Straighten up DVD's, console/computer games.
Recycle all the paper that they used to colour with during the break.
Pick up all linens and clothes from the bathroom, take it directly to the laundry, replace with new linen.

The morning they return to school ask the kids to:

Take sheets off their beds (yes they can do this, my 5-year-old loves doing it).
Open up the curtains/blinds.
Open the window, let the fresh air in.
Put everything that belongs on the floor (toys, bean bags, doll strollers, dolls high chairs etc) on their bed for you to easily vacuum.

Home Rescue Chores:

If weather permits (still raining here on the Gold Coast) make a start on your mountain of washing.
Replenish the pantry by doing weekly grocery shop.
Return everything on the kitchen counter to its home.
Ensure that everything is picked up off the floor.
Clean bathroom sink, wipe counters, cupboard and mirror.
Clean toilets.
Vacuum floors
Mop floor.
Replace all bed linen on kids beds.
Fold washing while catching up on recorded TV Show's (only way to do it)
Put washing away, lay on the couch, relax and finish the show, you deserve it!!!!
But don't fall asleep you need to pick up the kids from school...lol.

Take your time if this is too much to do in one day, break it up over a few days.

Baking: Apple and Custard Teacake

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:00:32 +0000

This gorgeous apple teacake is just divine. I made this for the kids for an after school snack, and they loved it. Certainly a recipe worth trying: Click HERE for recipe at taste.com.au

Challenge entries close soon

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:05:37 +0000

Have you entered last weeks Organised Housewife Challenge?? Challenge + Giveaway: Throw out all dried kids textas Entries close midday tomorrow (Wednesday 12pm QLD time). Remember to follow the 'how to enter' guidelines. Winner will be picked at random, using the comment thread left on the challenge blog post. I would really love to see more entries....please!!

Printable: Kids wish list to santa

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:00:58 +0000

Christmas is my favourite time of year, it's just so magical, the excitement it brings and the special family time together, what's not to love!! Well maybe the preparations, but now is the time that I will start organising and preparing so it isn't a mad rush. So where do we start?? Over the next few weeks I'll help you with your Christmas organising. However the best place to start is to see what are on the kids wish lists. I went to the Target and Kmart mid year sales and purchased majority of the kids gifts. But I'm struggling to come up with a gift idea for Miss 7. Yes I could probably just ask her, but here is a fun way to work it out:

Write a letter to Santa detailing exactly what she wishes for Christmas. Here is a FREE Dear Santa wish list for you to print, click HERE. Print one for each child to join in the fun.
Then scan, photocopy or take a photo of the letter. This will give you a copy to look back on for ideas.
Then post to Santa. Wish lists can be posted to: Santa, North Pole 9999

Elmo birthday card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:10:35 +0000

elmo card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:10:49 +0000

Abby sesame street Birthday card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:12:21 +0000

abby sesame street card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:12:28 +0000

Star Wars Card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:12:57 +0000

star wars card

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:13:08 +0000

random

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:02:14 +0000

Beef and Bacon Pasta Bake

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:23:26 +0000

Meal Planning: Beef & Bacon Pasta Bake

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:31:09 +0000

Kids first week back at school, I missed them, the house was very quiet. I usually have Dr Phil or Oprah on in the background, but I missed them too this week with the Commonwealth games on instead :( We have my hubby's lovely Aunty staying with us for a few day's, so we have been enjoying her company and look forward to a few coffee's and shopping next week. We are both really looking forward to visiting Kikki.k. One of my absolutle favourite stores, all about organising. There magnetic bulldog clips would have to be one of the most used items I have purchased from Kikki.k. I keep them on my fridge and clip upcoming birthday invitations, current coupons or kids permission slips. They are very very handy. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday – Beef & Bacon Pasta Bake :!: :!: Tuesday - Lamp chops and vegetables - I sprinkle my lamb shops with Season All and cook under the griller :!: :!: :!: Wednesday – Curried Chicken and potato - slow cooker :!: :!: :!: Thursday – Friday – Saturday – Homemade Pizza Sunday – Lots of family over for dinner - trying to work out if we have a BBQ with potato bake and salad or I make up the Oven Fried Chicken with vegetables??? Baking – My kids are loving my Choc Chip Cookies and I also made a quick batch of Betty Crockers Cinnamon Crumble Muffins I would LOVE to hear what on your meal plan, please leave in the comments below what you had last week for dinner. Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

Free Printable: Recipes

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:50:58 +0000

Are you liking some of the recipes I have been sharing with you?? Over the past week I have started changing the format for my recipes. I have created a easy printable page for each recipe which you can print and add to your recipe binder. A lovley friend brought me a cute folder named 'My Recipes' for my birthday last year which stores all my favourite recipes. You can use something similar like a display binder or this gorgeous Recipe Organiser from Officeworks.

Beef and Bacon Pasta Bake

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:57:42 +0000

Beef Goulash

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:59:25 +0000

DSC_0184

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:17:03 +0000

DSC_0179

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:28:49 +0000

Christmas Planner October

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:20:16 +0000

Challenge: Throw 5 from your handbag

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:00:58 +0000

Congratulations to our winner Leeanne, you have won 10 beautiful greeting cards valued at $30 from Yvette, Independent Phoenix Trader.

I cleaned out my nappy bag/handbag of almost empty tissue packets, fruit stick wrapper, 4 pens (!), woolworths receipt, extra chewing gum that was lose in the bottom, a heap of coins just thrown in, clothes for bubs that could do with a wash and an empty popper. Sorted everything into groups and put them all back in in ziplock bags or similar. Very neat and tidy now!! Likes done too

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. Handbags aren't just a fashion statement, they are perfect for carrying around all our 'stuff', but they are also 1 thing we forget to keep clean and organised. Do you store way too many extra 'things' in your handbag? Does your phone ring and you can't find it because of all the 'stuff'? Do you loose your keys?? I have more paper clutter in my handbag more than anything - shopping lists, receipts, specials brochures, to-do lists. So I thought today's challenge be as simple as throw away 5 things cluttering your handbag. But please don't stop at 5 though, if you have 8 or 10 please continue. What do we really need to keep in our handbags you ask, here is my example:

Notebook
Pen
Keys
Purse
Mobile Phone
Lipbalm
Sunglasses
Ladies product (zippered away, for emergencies)
A fold up bag for shopping at places like Target and Spotlight that are now bag free
+ all things baby if you have a nappy bag.

I keep things like nail files, hand moisturising, anti-bacterial gel, hairties, Panadol, first aide-kit in my car rather than my handbag and use them while sitting at traffic lights. THE CHALLENGE: Throw away 5 or more things cluttering up your handbag. THE GIVEAWAY: 10 beautiful greeting cards valued at $30. Thankyou to the lovely Yvette, Independent Phoenix Trader for donating this great prize. How handy would it be to have a stash of cards ready for birthday's or Christmas. Phoenix Trading offers the perfect reasons never to forget a birthday or occasion. Beautifully artistic cards and stationary sold at very reasonable prices. And better still, if you buy in bulk you save even more. We have cards for all occasions, including a fabulous new Christmas range, Family Organisers & Organiser boxes, Notepads, Gift wrap & tags, Colouring-in posters and much much more. If you would like to see a catalogue, book a party (either I come to you or I post a Party in a Bag) or learn more about becoming a trader, send me a message on my Facebook page. I look forward in hearing from you. Please visit Yvette's website to view the entire range of products availalbe. HOW TO ENTER:

Complete the challenge.
Become a fan of the The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
Become a fan of Yvette Walker: Independent Phoenix Trader on Facebook, don’t forget to tell her The Organised Housewife sent you!!
Finally, leave one comment only below listing everything that you have thrown from your handbag and confirm that you have completed all required to enter the giveaway.

Remember, if you are commenting as anonymous please leave your contact info in case you win.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 13th October 2010 at 12:00pm (QLD time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to Australian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified via email. I will also announce winner at the top of this post.

Paw-paw Salad

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:00:14 +0000

Glorious new fruits are back in season at my local supermarket. I am over the strawberries, the last few punnets I have had hidden mushy ones on the bottom, not impressed. Have you tried paw-paw? Wikipedia suggest it has a flavour somewhat similar to a banana and mango. I don't enjoy paw-paw on its own, but my Nan used to make this beautiful salad which I made for my kids and they loved it, especially after a day as it was marinating in all the fruit juices.

1 paw-paw, deseeded
2 oranges, diced
2 passionfruit

Free Printable: Birthday Cards

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:00:25 +0000

Firstly I wanted to thank everybody who has entered the Throw 5 from your handbag challenge. I'm thrilled with the great response and so happy that you are all loving the challenge, great work ladies!! We have a few kids birthday parties to go to this weekend. I always find once we purchase gifts, wrapping paper and a card it starts becoming a little expensive. We have a great cheap shop that sells $1 wrapping paper and $1 cards, but i would prefer to put that money towards the gift. So I spent a few minutes today making up a card for each of the 3 kids using Microsoft Word. I searched online for colouring page matching theme's of the birthday parties and have printed them for my kids to colour in and sticky tape to the gift. I found these pictures online so I'm not sure if I'm legally allowed to use and also add to my blog, but I guess because I am not profiting from them it should be OK, I have also acknowledged where the images were foun....I'll post for you to see. Colouring pages were found here: SesameStreet.org imagini-desene-colorat.blogspot.com Do you have a great tip for making birthday cards less expensive??

Meal Planning: Beef and Bacon Pasta Bake

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:00:13 +0000

It was the kids first week back at school, I missed them, the house was very quiet. I usually have Dr Phil or Oprah on in the background, but I missed them too this week with the Commonwealth games on instead. We have my hubby’s lovely Aunty staying with us for a few day’s, so we have been enjoying her company. I'm looking forward to a few coffee’s and lots of shopping next week. We are both really looking forward to visiting Kikki.k. One of my absolutle favourite stores, all about organising. Their magnetic bulldog clips would have to be one of the most used items I have purchased from Kikki.k. I keep them on my fridge and clip upcoming birthday invitations, current coupons or kids permission slips. They are very handy. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday – Beef & Bacon Pasta Bake :!: Tuesday - Lamp chops and vegetables – I sprinkle my lamb shops with Season All and cook under the griller :!: Wednesday – Curried Chicken and potato – slow cooker :!: :!: :!: Thursday – Fish portions with potato nuggets and vegetables. Friday – Easy dinner from the freezer Saturday – Homemade Pizza - yummo :!: :!: :!: Sunday – Visiting family for dinner Baking – My kids are loving my Choc Chip Cookies and I also made a quick batch of Betty Crockers Cinnamon Crumble Muffins and they ALL loved them. Hubby rated the Cinnamon Crumble Muffins in his top 5. Worth a try you should find them at your local supermarket. I would LOVE to hear what on your meal plan, please leave in the comments below what you had last week for dinner. Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

Odd Job: Dust Ceiling Fans

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:00:19 +0000

Despite the rainy day's here we have had some warm nights. Soon we will need to turn on the ceiling fans to circulate the air. But before we do we need to remove all the dust built up on the blades over the winter season. This is beneficial to prevent skin allergies and hay-fever, dust build up can also causes for squeaky fan noises (how annoying are they through the night). How to dust ceiling fan:

Use a step-ladder to reach the fans, or stand on the bed if underneath. But be careful please!!
If you are a shorty like me more than likely you won't be able to see the tops of the fans, perhaps where your sunglasses to prevent dust falling in your eyes.
Best idea is to use the vacuum cleaner first, use the brush attachment to pick up all clumps of dust.
Take off the brush attachment regularly and suck up the build up on the brushes with the vacuum.
If the vacuum hose isn't long enough bring a chair beside you and place vacuum on chair giving it more height.
Not all dust will have been picked up. Use a damp cloth, damp paper towel or surface wipes to wipe the top and bottom of each blade. Using a damp cloth will collect the dust easier and prevent it from falling onto the floor below.

Maintenance:

Each month use a dusters with a long handle to dust blades.
Every 3 months wipe blades with a damp cloth.
Every 6 months vacuum blades and wipe with damp cloth.

Lunchbox Ideas: Ham and Salad Wraps

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:00:44 +0000

My kids loved this lunch:

Orange Wedges
Raspberry Jam Biscuits
Arnotts Shapes mini munchers
Ham and Salad Tortilla Wrap - Mission Zesty Garlic and Herb wrap, mayo, ham, grated carrot, capsicum, cheese, mixed rocket.

Printable: Daily Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:00:13 +0000

I find comfort in planning a busy day. As you are learning, I like to plan and be organised. I plan my meals, activities, coffee's with friends, date nights with hubby, scrapbooking nights, craft tasks to finish etc. You name it I plan it out, I feel in control and calm when my day is planned. Usually I plan everything in my outlook calendar on my laptop, which is sync'd to my iphone. But we had a very special day happen recently (my little brother got married) so I wanted to put a planner on the fridge for all my family to see. I created this daily planner, please feel free to print and use as often as you need. You could even laminate it to reuse each day. Click HERE to download

random

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:44:45 +0000

Challenge: Organise old food magazine recipes

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:00:42 +0000

Congratulations to our winner Cathy, you have won a Happy Chopper from Tupperware thanks to Bec. I love that you are all enjoying these challenges!! This weeks challenge is to organise that pile of old food magazines (such as Super Food Idea's, Good Taste, Donna Hay etc) that you have in the back of your cupboard. Through the school holiday's as mentioned HERE I sorted a pile of papers. I completed this challenge and I LOVE that I finally got around to doing it. I have a great new system that makes it easy to pick new recipes to put on my meal planner. THE CHALLENGE: Read through each magazine and rip out the recipes that you would like to cook one day. You could do this either:

While watching your favourite TV Show
Talking on the phone
Waiting for the kids in the car pick up line
Waiting for the kids at the after school sporting events
On your lunch break
On the train to work
Read through one each night before you go to sleep

Tomorrow I will post on how to organise your pile. THE GIVEAWAY: 1 Happy Chopper RRP $48.45 (winner to pay postage $6) Thankyou to my friend Bec for sponsoring this weeks challenge and donating this awesome prize. I love the Happy Chopper, I can never cut an onion as finely as the Happy Chopper does. Great for chopping onion, carrot, herbs or making guacamole. Perfect for hiding vegetables into meals for fussy eaters. HOW TO ENTER:

Complete the challenge.
Become a fan of the The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
Copy this into your Facebook status - I have completed @the organised housewife challenge. Typing the @ symbol will link you to The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
If you don't have Facebook, your task is to email me organisedhousewife@live.com.au with 'I have completed The Organised Housewife challenge' in the subject. (this is specially for Lynda :))
Finally, leave one comment only below listing your top 5 recipes that you found and want to try and confirm that you have completed all required to enter the giveaway.

Remember, if you are commenting as anonymous please leave your contact info in case you win.
Please remember to one post only. Duplicate posts will be removed.
I won't reply until after the challenge so I don't muck up the random.org winner pick.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 20th October 2010 at 12:00pm (QLD time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to Australian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified via email. I will also announce winner at the top of this post. Have fun!!

challenge day

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:18:49 +0000

Recipes to try

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:06:48 +0000

recipes to try

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:07:00 +0000

DSC_0163

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:14:06 +0000

DSC_0165

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:19:51 +0000

DSC_0166

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:20:52 +0000

DSC_0167

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:27:17 +0000

Organising: Recipes you are wanting to try

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:00:01 +0000

Now that you have gathered a pile of recipes that you are wanting to cook, let's get that pile organised. This is my pile ready to organise. YOU WILL NEED:

Expanding file approx $5.99 (shown above)
Labels

I purchased my file from Kmart. You may already have a label machine at home such as a Dymo or you could use address labels cut in half or simply write on each divider with a Nikko pen. HOW TO ORGANISE: 1. Label each divider as follows, or as you please:

Baking
Dessert
Beef
Chicken
Fish
Lamb
Pasta
Soup
Easy Dinner
Salads
Entertaining
Lunchbox
Easter
Christmas

2. Divide your pile of recipes amongst each category.

If you have a recipe you would like to use on both sides just file the recipe you are wanting to cook first.
Or create a photocopy of the page behind to then place in its own category.

3. Print this cover and place on the front of folder. Click HERE to download.

Now you will have a beautifully organised system for recipes you are wanting to try.

HOW TO USE:

When your not sure what to cook for dinner or you maybe feeling creative, go to this folder and choose one of the recipes you are wanting to try.

When you have cooked a recipe from the folder you have two choices:

You or the family don't like it, throw out the recipe.
You all love it, then this recipe is a keeper. Place it into a family favourites recipe folder, which will be discussed in tomorrow's post.

Remember to always look on the back of the page, there maybe a recipe that interests you.
You could use the system above but use a ring binder folder with dividers.

Choc Chip Cookie

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:55:19 +0000

Choc Chip Cookies

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:59:29 +0000

DSC_0215

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:21:07 +0000

DSC_0237

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:24:53 +0000

Organising: Family Favourite Recipe Binder

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:00:53 +0000

In yesterday's post HERE we discussed how to organise the recipes you are wanting to try that you have found from food magazines. Today's post will be how to organise the recipes that you have tried, loved and want to keep. Let's create a family favourite Recipe Binder. YOU WILL NEED:

display binder, or ring binder folder
Plastic sleeves, to prevent food from damaging your recipe
Dividers or labels to categorize each section

A lovely friend gave me a cute folder named 'My Recipes' (below) for my birthday last year which stores my favourite recipes. I love it, it's cute and also great to have all my recipes in one handy place. When I have filled this folder I will move my recipes to a ring binder folder and place my kids favourite recipes to cook in this folder. You can use something similar like this gorgeous Recipe Organiser from Officeworks or Recipe Binder from Kikki.k. HOW TO ORGANISE: 1. Label Dividers At the moment I have kept my dividers quite simple: Baking, Dinner, Slow Cooker. Other suggested divider categories could be:

Muffins
Slices
Cookies
Cakes
Dessert
Beef
Chicken
Fish
Lamb
Pasta
BBQ
Soup
Easy Dinner
Salads
Entertaining
Lunchbox
Easter
Christmas

2. Place favourite recipes in folder If you have time, type the recipe from the page, document at the bottom the source, eg: taste.com.au or super food ideas Aug 2010 issue and place in your folder. (I'm a bit obsessed with this, I like that all my recipes look the same.) Or if you don't have the time, place the page in the folder or cut the recipe and paste onto a piece of A4 paper. Recently I have started changing the format of my recipes, creating an easy printable page which you can print and add to your recipe binder. I will still include links to recipe used from Taste.com and other great sites, however these won't be available in a printable page. PLEASE REMEMBER: DO NOT PLACE RECIPES IN THIS FOLDER IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED YET!!! It will defeat the purpose of this folder being recipes that you will love to cook time and time again. If you fill it with recipes you haven't tried your favourites will get lost amongst the 'others'. Here are a few of the recipes I have ready for your 'My Recipe' folder:

DSC_0159

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:06:39 +0000

Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:16:10 +0000

choc haz muffins image

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:16:24 +0000

odd job day

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:24:32 +0000

Meal Planning: Chicken Avocado Fettuccine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:00:02 +0000

Despite the terrible rain and lack of sunshine, I have enjoyed a lovely week spent with family visiting from NSW. I didn't achieve much around the house, however I did manage to fit in some shopping, movies and quite a few coffees. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday – I shouted the kids McDonald's (this doesn't happen often) Tuesday – Mediterranean Tuna and Rice Pie we loved this last time I made it, we had to try again :!: :!: :!: Wednesday – Chicken Avocado Fettuccine :!: :!: Thursday – Rissoles veges and pasta. Friday – Easy dinner fried eggs on toast Saturday – Spaghetti bolognaise Sunday – Chicken and Corn Filo Parcels with veges Baking – Choc Hazelnut Muffins I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. Next week you will find some great posts for organising a very special occassion.

DSC_0078 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:23:49 +0000

Odd Job: Clean the Knife Block

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 19:00:15 +0000

I store all my kitchen knives in a wooden knife block on my bench, keeping it out of reach from little fingers and easy access for while I'm cooking. Another benefit of keeping them in the knife block will minimises the risk of cutting fingers if in drawer and should help them stay sharper longer. However, have you considering how dirty knife blocks can get? Dust and small food particles can quite easily fall into the knife block making it very unhygienic. HOW TO CLEAN KNIFE BLOCK:

Remove and wash all knives.
Turn block upside down and shake out as much dirt as you can.
Use your vacuum cleaner to suck up any remaining dust and dirt. Or you could use your hairdryer to blow them out.
You may as well give it a complete clean by sterilizing inside each slot. Mix bleach cleaner and water in a spray bottle. Spray each slot with bleach mixture.
Using a garden hose or high pressure kitchen sink nozzle completely rinse bleach from block.
Leave block to dry thoroughly.
Return knifes to block, however ensure they are completely dry.

Do not soak the knife block in soapy water, the wood may swell.
You may as well sharpen your knives while you're at it.

When was the last time you wiped over your wooden knife block??

Lunchbox Ideas: Pasta Salad

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:00:36 +0000

My hubby absolutely loved lunch this day, as well as the kids:

Apple
Yoghurt Berry Clusters
Yoghurt Apricot balls
Dried Apricots
Dried Pineapple
Choc Chip cookies made with M&M's
Pasta Salad - Cooked spiral pasta (made day before) chopped shaved ham, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, diced mushroom, capsicum, grated carrot, corn and a squirt of mayo. Next time I will add some fetta cheese.

Do you have any great lunchbox ideas?

Scrapbook Spine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:10:21 +0000

Scrapbook Spine

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:12:26 +0000

DSC_0017

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:17:21 +0000

DSC_0018

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:35:25 +0000

Scrapbooking: Organising - Thickers, Rubon's & Embellishments

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:00:50 +0000

I love to scrapbook, it a real passion of mine. I enjoy journalling about events and how much love I have for my kids. I am thrilled that in years to come they will be able to read through the albums and see how well-loved they each were. To scrapbook you need papers, embellishments, albums, flowers, bling, buttons, brads, stamps, inks the list is endless. So how do you organise all this 'stuff'? The million dollar question I know you are all waiting for. Over a few weeks I'll gradually take you through how I organise my scrapbooking area. Firstly I'll show you how to organise the Thickers and some embellishments. Now your going to notice that I have ALOT of scrapbooking supplies. There was a time there that I was completely addicted and couldn't resist buying something nearly every week. You will be pleased to know thought I haven't brought much in the past 6 months. My plan is to use what I have before I buy more. I was also lucky enough a few years ago to be on a design team for an online scrapbooking site which allowed me to get many of my supplies at cost price. HOW TO ORGANISE THICKERS

Using a Bantex ring binder folder fill with page protectors or display book
Organise your thickers into colours, then each thicker set into its own page protector.
Label each colour section for easy access. I used the Avery Write On Tabs purchased from Woolworths.

HOW TO ORGANISE RUBON'S & EMBELLISHMENTS

Using a Bantex ring binder folder fill with page protectors or display book
Organise each rubon's/embellishment into Categories suggested below.
Place each category into page protectors. I use 1 protector for 2 items, front and back.
Label each category for easy access. I used the Avery Write On Tabs purchased from Woolworths.

Boy

Girl

Unisex

Mum

Dad

Family

Flourish

Love

Birthday

Easter

Christmas

Flowers

School

Symbols

Other

At the moment this is how I store my folders and paper (I will discuss paper further in another post). I labelled the spines. Click HERE to download

DSC_0019 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:37:00 +0000

DSC_0021

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:45:54 +0000

scrapbooking

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:13:45 +0000

Untitled-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:31:53 +0000

DSC_0048

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:31:59 +0000

cookies

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 06:02:03 +0000

DSC_0065

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:10:12 +0000

Challenge: Get rid of supplies you won't use.

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:00:22 +0000

Congratulations to Kylie, you have won a scrapbook pack from Danielle - Kaszazz Consultant valued at $30. Thankyou to the generous Danielle - Kaszazz Consultant, for sponsoring this weeks challenge. Danielle is giving away a surpised filled pack of scrapbooking goodies valued at $30. So I thought it fitting this weeks challnge be a scrapbooking related. If you don't scrapbook you can easily convert this to whatever your hobby maybe. Today's challenge is to go through some of your supplies. Do you have alot of scrapbooking supplies that you are keeping but know that you won't use?? I have alot, my style has changed since I started scrapbooking 5 years ago, I have quite a few old stickers, now I much prefer rub-ons. I have alot of baby themed items which I don't need to keep as I have finished my kids baby albums and my papers...that just horrifying, I have alot of awful papers that I brought which makes me wonder what I was thinking. I'm sure many of you are the same. THE CHALLENGE: Challenge No. 1 Have a look through all your supplies. What items can you find that you KNOW you won't use. Gather all these items together and consider the following:

Make an album using all these items
Give to your children to use for arts and crafts
Donate to the local school or kindy for their craft sessions
Give to a teacher as I am sure they will use them in their projects
Donate to playgroups in your local area
Sell on ebay
Sell in a garage sale
Sell in a car boot sale
Swap with a friend

I have this basket under my craft table, which I add things to regularly for my kids. They know they can have anything inside the basket. I keep the paper in an old 12" folder. or Challenge No. 2 For those that don't have any items to get rid of I have another challenge for you. Instead, challenge yourself to organise your embellishments and alphabet's as described in yesterday's post, more details HERE. You will find it so much easier when you are scrapbooking locating exactly what you are after. THE GIVEAWAY A surprise pack valued at $30.00 from Danielle Shield – Your Kaszazz Consultant. Kaszazz is 100% Australian Owned and offer you an opportunity to express your creativity with their products and enjoy creative fun with friends at one of their 3 customer events. Danielle is an Independent Kaszazz Consultant and would love to help you unleash your creativity. Check out her website at www.kaszazz.com and head over to her facebook page Danielle Shield – Your Kaszazz Consultant for photos of workshops and their products. They have monthly Host and Customer promotions including FREEbies.....be a party queen and party with your friends and Kaszazz. For more information you can contact Danielle at mattndan@optusnet.com.au or call her on 0419 475 503. HOW TO ENTER:

Complete one of the challenges, choice is yours.
Become a fan of the The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
Become a fan of Danielle Shield – Your Kaszazz Consultant on Facebook, don’t forget to tell her The Organised Housewife sent you!
If you don’t have Facebook, your task is to email me organisedhousewife@live.com.au with ‘I have completed The Organised Housewife challenge’ in the subject.
Finally, leave one comment only below listing:

what supplies you have removed from your scrapbook stash
and confirm that you are a fan of each page.

Remember:

if you are commenting as anonymous please leave your contact info in case you win.
Please remember ONE post only. Duplicate posts will be removed.
I won’t reply until after the challenge so I don’t muck up the random.org winner pick.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 27th October 2010 at 12:00pm (QLD time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to Australian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified via email. I will also announce winner at the top of this post.

Cancel phone book delivery

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:00:12 +0000

With today's technology I am finding I am looking up contrators and services online rather than using my phone book. Thankyou to reader Michelle for sharing this link. With the new Directory Select service from Sensis, you can now order more books online or cancel books that are not needed visit Directory Select for further details. Love it, thankyou Michelle for the tip. mmm.....these Chocolate Chip Cornflake cookies were so yummy and the kids had a ball making them. HERE is the link to the recipe from Allrecipes.com

How to keep up-to-date with The Organised Housewife Blog

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:00:41 +0000

I'm not sure if everybody is blog savvy, I know I'm still learning. But I thought I would mention how to make it easy for you to keep up-to-date with The Organised Housewife posts.

Add this page to your favourites, easy access each day. Click on favourites button top left, then click add to favourites.
Add to your homepage tabs so it open automatically each morning you open explorer. Go to the home icon top right, click on arrow, scroll down to Add or Change Home Page.
Subscribe via email, updates will be sent to your inbox. You will find the subscription button on the right side of the blog.

Hopefully this will help you keep up with new posts. I believe there are other ways but I am not yet familiar. This pic below is one of my favourite corners in my home. I love the pictures of the kids and the words surrounding them.

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 19:00:29 +0000

What a week I have had, I accompanied my husband to the Metallica concert (his favourite band of all time). Whilst I didn't really enjoy the support acts it was great to hear Metallica's old songs (not a fan of the new ones). Saturday saw me at a hens party all day and venturing out for dinner with friends. I haven't completely finished my post for this weeks meal planning, I will have it posted at some stage during the day. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend :)

Meal Planning Sunday: Curry Lamb Pie

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:03:06 +0000

Do you meal plan? Have you been finding it easier planning your meals for the week. I would be lost if I didn't have my plan. However, it has been a very busy week for us this week, we were out quite a few nights during the week with birthday celebrations, hens nights and concerts. I'm looking forward to a much calmer week next week. Here is this weeks meal plan: Monday – Curry Lamb Pie with potato and vegetables :!: :!: :!: I'm not a fan of lamb but this just melted in my mouth. Worth the effort. Tuesday – I went to the Metallic Concert with my husband, it was so not my scene but I had a great time with DH and enjoyed Metallica's old music, aah the things we do for our husbands :) - We had take-out. Wednesday – Easy freezer meal (bolognaise toasted sandwiches) Thursday – Shepherd's Pie :!: :!: :!: Friday – Beef Ravioli with Spicy Bacon and Tomato Sauce Saturday – Hens Night Celebration Dinner Sunday – My Dad's Birthday Dinner Baking – Chocolate Chip Cornflake Cookies :!: :!: :!: and Banana Bran Muffins :!: :!: :!: Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

christmas planning

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:06:10 +0000

DSC_0014

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:17:41 +0000

DSC_0026

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:36:37 +0000

DSC_0018

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:49:12 +0000

DSC_0019

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:52:22 +0000

DSC_0007-1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:48:48 +0000

Creating a Christmas Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:00:18 +0000

Can you believe it is 60 day's till Christmas (please ignore my side bar countdown it is counting on American Day's, I couldn't find an Aussie Countdown). I couldn't help myself and have already purchased an ornament, shops are so eager with the decorations on sale so early. Christmas is a joyous time of year. I love watching my kids faces glow as we decorate the christmas tree and turn on the outdoor lights, it's just magical. However, the planning and organising can become overwhelming leaving you unprepared. With my help, become organised and enjoy this holiday season. I have a christmas planner which can be used year after year, keeping all information together, lists and planners in one place, it will allow you to keep your sanity and prevent you from forgetting things. This week I am dedicating to the start of Christmas Planning. These are a few tasks that need to be complete over the coming weeks, they will be discussed in more detail at a later date:

Have your family photo taken to add to Christmas Cards
Start writing Christmas Cards
Make a good start on the gift shopping because we all know how busy the shops are in December
Meal Planning
Preparing the house for guests
Firstly, create a Christmas Planner

HOW TO CREATE A CHRISTMAS PLANNER

Using a Bantex ring binder folder add some Christmas paper to the front and spine and label 'Christmas Planner'.
Add a zip lock bag to front which can hold pen, pencil and any other items you will need in the next few weeks for easy access.
Add to the back a Binder Wallet to store receipts and other items. I chose clear, there are a range of colours available.
Add 6 dividers to your planner. I made my own dividers using scrapbooking themed Christmas paper cut down to A4 size, then laminated. I used the Avery Write On Tabs to categories each divider. Label each divider:

Planner
Gifts
Meal Plan
Cards
Chores
Traditions

My Christmas Planner Below I used American Craft Thickers for my title. Read tomorrow's post for your first FREE printable to add to your new Christmas Planner as shown below Create and label tabs. Here is a glimpse at the cute divider I made from scrapbook paper.

Christmas Planning: Christmas Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:59:47 +0000

As I mentioned here it is time to start preparing and organising for Christmas. I have a Christmas Planner which helps me stay organised, makes the process more enjoyable and stress free. My planner is filled with all information about Christmas, ranging from kids wish lists, gifts purchased and yet to buy, Christmas traditions, Christmas card lists, calendars etc. Between now and Christmas I will help get you organised. Please print and use the FREE printables that I will upload over the coming weeks and use them to make your own personal Christmas planner: Items you will need to create your own planner:

1 x 2 ring folder - I used the bantex brand to add cute christmas scrapbook paper to the spine and front, also handy to have a pocket in the back of the front cover. I used some scrapbook foam letters to add 'christmas planner' to my front cover.
Dividers - I made my own using laminated christmas paper. I used Avery Write-on Tabs to place down side to categorise each section.
A zippered pouch to place pen, pencil and highlighter at the front, very handy to have.

Sections in folder:

Gifts
Cards
Meal Plan
Chores
Traditions
Other

Lets start today with printing a calander of the remaining months, this will help you plan.

Christmas Planner November

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:57:58 +0000

November Christmas calendar

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:59:58 +0000

Christmas Planner December

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:02:05 +0000

December Christmas calendar

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:02:13 +0000

November 2010

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:05:23 +0000

November 2010

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:05:33 +0000

Christmas Planning: Printable: November & December 2010 calendar

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:00:08 +0000

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I have a Christmas Planner which helps me stay organised, makes the process more enjoyable and stress free. My planner is filled with all information about our Christmas, ranging from kids wish lists, gifts purchased and yet to buy, Christmas traditions, Christmas card lists, calendars etc. The calendars below are perfect to help organise your Christmas schedule to ensure you spend quality time with your family, enjoy the spirit of christmas and create beautiful memories. From now till the end of December are you may become overwhelmed by the invitations to attend parties, functions, dinners etc. Balancing family, friends and work obligations can become difficult, the solution is deciding which function is more important to you. This planner will also help with all the other preparations required for Christmas. Over the coming weeks I will assign tasks to specific days and when they need to be completed by. You will need to add these dates to your planner to help you stay organised. TODAY'S CHRISTMAS PLANNING TASKS:

Print the calendars below, add to the front of your Christmas Planner
Mark the following items on your calendar:

Christmas Parties
School Christmas Concerts
When school is finishing
When guests are arriving
When you leave for holidays
Date presents need to be posted by
When you would like Christmas Cards posted by

Click images to download Here is November's printable planner for you to put on your fridge.

Christmas Card List 2010

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:24:23 +0000

christmas card page 1

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:24:38 +0000

christmas card page 2

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:25:31 +0000

Christmas Planning: Christmas Cards

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:00:42 +0000

Today we will to start planning our Christmas Cards lists. To be honest, I haven't sent Christmas Cards every year, however this year it is on my to do list. Christmas cards are great for keeping in contact with friends and family you haven't seen or spoken to in a while. It reminds them they are on your mind and thinking of them while spreading the spirit of Christmas. TODAY’S CHRISTMAS PLANNING TASKS:

Print the Christmas Card List
Start writing names of people you want to send cards to on the list.
Organise family photo.
Print required number of family photo's.
Purchase christmas cards.
Purchase christmas stamps.

Print Christmas Card List This list will help you keep track of who you have to write cards to and who's cards you want to add family photo's to. At the bottom is a reminder of tasks that need to be done to complete this project. I typically write the same sentiment in each card. However if it is written down to refer to next year I know not to write the same sentiment, to change it up abit. The received column is for you to refer to next year. When it is time to pack away the cards after Christmas update the list with who sent you a card. You may find that somebody sent you a card that wasn't on your list, this will allow you to not forget them next year, I will talk about this in more detail in a later post. Suggestions who to send Christmas cards to:

Mum
Dad
Brothers
Sisters
Grandparents
Aunts
Uncles
Cousins
Friends
Work colleagues
Business contacts
Clients
Neighbours

Family Photo Prior to children I never sent photo's with my christmas cards, however since having kids I have always sent a photo of each of the children in the cards or gifts for great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, our brothers/sisters etc. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and family just adore seeing pictures of the kids. Family photo's don't need to be professional shots, however if you have them all the better. I usually take photo's of my kids using my camera at home with a black backdrop or amongst the plants in the garden. You could also arrange for all the family/kids to be dressed in the same colour for an effective shot, red is a great splash of colour for a christmas photo. Arrange to get the photo's printed prior to starting writing the christmas cards. Christmas Cards and postage stamps There are so many cute Christmas cards in all different shapes and sizes. Remember to think about postage when choosing which cards you will buy. Thankfully during the Christmas season Australia Post reduces the price of greeting card stamps to $0.55 if endorsed with CARD ONLY on the envelope. However this price is for standard envelopes only:

no larger than 130mm x 240mm
no thicker than 5mm
maximum weight 250g.

If you are purchasing cards that are larger than this size

rectangular in shape
no larger than 260mm x 360mm
no thicker than 20mm
does not weigh more than 125g.

postage will cost you $1.10 again when endorsed with CARD ONLY on the envelope. When sending cards to business contacts, clients and friends you don't know very well, send 'Season's Greetings' cards so you don't offend if they have a different religion. Click image below to download and print.

random

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:24:53 +0000

random

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:27:34 +0000

Hidden Christmas Gifts

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:58:03 +0000

Hidden Christmas Gifts

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:06:06 +0000

hidden christmas gift

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:06:20 +0000

christmas gift list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:17:30 +0000

christmas gift list

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:17:42 +0000

Challenge: Organising Stashed Christmas Presents

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:00:56 +0000

Are you enjoy these Christmas organising posts?? To continue the spirit of Christmas Planning we have a fabulous prize to giveaway this week. Thankyou to Bianca from Letter Belle for sponsoring this weeks challenge. This weeks winner will receive 2 Christmas letters or a $20 voucher. For many years now I have shopped up a storm at the mid year toy sales. I buy Christmas present for the kids as well as birthday present (for all their friends) to see us through the rest of the year. I place the Christmas presents in the top of my wardrobe and all gifts that aren't for my kids in a drawer dedicated to gifts for others. However, by the time christmas has come it would be easy to forget what's hiding in the top of the wardrobe. THE CHALLENGE:

Print the 'Hidden Gift List', click on image below.
While nobody is looking have a look through your hidden gift stash and write down everything you have.
Now that you have worked out what gifts you have it's time to work out what other gifts you need.
Print 'Christmas Gift List 2010'.
Write down names of each person you need to buy for.
Now write down ideas of items you would like to get them for Christmas.
Place each printable in the gift tab of your planner.

After you have purchased gifts use this list to tick the boxes that you have purchased the item, wrapped the item and mailed it. This will help you stay organised. THE GIVEAWAY Letter Belle is a one stop website for anything and everything to do with letters, documents and gifts. They create personalised Children's letters, Business letters, letters for individuals and everything in between. Letter Belle's specialty is our Personalised Character Letters. We send your little one a personalised letter from Santa or The Easter Bunny, or any of our other popular characters, complete with a colouring in sheet, stickers and more. We also offer fundraising options for our seasonal letters. Bianca from Letter Belle is kindly giving away 2 Christmas letters or a $20 voucher to one lucky winner. Visit Letter Belle website: http://www.letterbelle.com.au Visit Letter Belle on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/letterbelle HOW TO ENTER:

Complete the challenge.
Become a fan of the The Organised Housewife Facebook page.
Become a fan of Letter Belle on Facebook, don’t forget to tell her The Organised Housewife sent you!
If you don’t have Facebook, your task is to email me organisedhousewife@live.com.au with ‘I have completed The Organised Housewife challenge’ in the subject.
Finally, leave one comment only below advising you have completed the challenge - become a fan of each page - what you need help with most to be organised for Christmas.

Remember:

if you are commenting as anonymous please leave your contact info in case you win.
Please remember ONE post only. Duplicate posts will be removed.
I won’t reply until after the challenge so I don’t muck up the random.org winner pick.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 3rd November 2010 at 12:00pm (QLD time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to Australian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will be notified via email. I will also announce winner at the top of this post.

Christmas Meal Planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:31:04 +0000

christmas meal planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:31:17 +0000

Quick Beef Curry

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:23:55 +0000

christmas gifts received

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:31:00 +0000

christmas gifts received

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:31:17 +0000

Christmas Planning: Gift exchanging ideas for large families

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:00:35 +0000

I enjoy a gift giving to friends and loved ones, however I find myself asking:

What do I get Dad or Uncle, he has everything??
How am I going to find the time to buy for everybody in the family??
I have a very limited budget.

Did you answer yes? Do you have a big family and the gift giving process overwhelms you. Consider these gift exchanging ideas for mum, dad, brothers, sisters, brother in-laws, sister in-laws, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.

Gift swap - Each member of the family drawers a name from the hat. You buy one gift only for the person you picked. Dedicate an amount to spend. If you live away from each other, one family member can draw names for each person.
Secret Santa - Draw one name from hat. Leave the name you choose secret. Place the gift under the tree with only the name tag of the recipient.
Themed gifts - Dedicate each year to a different theme. Themes could be:
- For the shed
- For the kitchen
- Plant
- Perfume
- Exotic coffee
- Books
- DVD's
- CD''s
- Be creative, 5 senses, 1 for each year - Taste: something yummy, Smell: Perfume, Hear: CD, Touch: anything really and See: Artwork
- Choose a letter from the Alphabet. Has to be something starting with A
Handmade gifts - All gifts given must be handmade, ideas include:
- Cookbook of favourite recipes
- photo book of the family
- calendar
- woodwork
- artwork
- a scrapbook
- simple quilt
- craft etc
White Elephant - Set a limit say $10, find a funny gag gift. It's great to hear the laughter. You could draw names from a hat, or buy a gift for each person.
Vouchers - Dedicate an amount. Each person is to buy a gift voucher for a shop of their choosing. All vouchers go into a bowl and one at a time each is drawn. Shops can include:
- Homeware Stores
- Video Game store
- Lingerie store
- Music Stores
- Movie Theatre
- Restaurants
- Football Events
- Car wash
- Create your own voucher to mow lawns 5 times through the year or babysitting...the list is endless.
Board games - Each member to buy 1 board game, wrap and one person at a time randomly picks a gift.

There are so many different ideas you can use, I hope I have helped. We use the gift swap in our family, I love it.

gillian

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:19:52 +0000

Lunchbox Ideas:

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:34:52 +0000

I really wanted to share this lunch box with you. One of our readers Gillian has a little boy who-
Old Time Bakery GF wraps (from Mrs Flannerys) filled with creamed cheese, sliced chicken, grated carrot, & sprouts.
'Stickies' - beetroot, black olives, mushrooms, and cubed chicken.
Gluten Free pretzels.
Sliced apple

That's a super healthy lunch box!!

weekly family planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:57:36 +0000

mum's family planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:59:31 +0000

DSC_0028 copy

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 06:48:48 +0000

Christmas Planning: Planning the meal for Christmas

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:00:23 +0000

Yes I know it maybe too early to start planning the meal for Christmas but while we are planning all other aspects you may as well add this printable to your planner. I'm more than likely not seeing my family again till Christmas. However, when I saw them on the weekend we worked out who's bringing what food on Christmas Day. We are having Christmas with all the family at my house and I believe it isn't fair for one person to cook everything. This year we are sharing the cooking and hopefully the cleaning :) Place the planner on a coffee table and allow your family to look and put their names next to items they will bring. Delegate if you need to and don't forget to write down what you would like to do first.

Meal Planning: Quick Beef Curry | Christmas Decorations

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:00:58 +0000

I have a question, when do you start to decorate the christmas tree and adorn the house with decorations? We usually make a start on the weekend following 1st December, last year we took a leap from our trandition and decorated it the weekend before the 1st. But it doesn't feel like the decorations are up long enough. No sooner the tree and decorations go up that Christmas is over. I'd love to hear what do you do?? Monday – Quick Beef Curry Printable for your recipe binder :!: :!: :!: Tuesday - Chicken Satay Stir Fry :!: :!: Wednesday – Tuna Pasta Bake :!: :!: :!: Thursday – Chicken Kiev with Vegetables Friday – Hamburgers Saturday – Left overs from BBQ at lunch Sunday – Chicken Risotto Baking – Chocolate Slice :!: (bad recipe) Ratings: :!: Didn’t enjoy :!: :!: Worth a try :!: :!: :!: Loved it

Odd Job: Clean light switches

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:00:22 +0000

Today's 'odd job' task is to wipe over your light switches, remove those ooey gooey marks from fingers. When was the last time you cleaned your light switches?? CLEAN LIGHT SWITCHES

To be safe - turn off the power at the outside electricity box.
Start at the front of the house making your way round to each switch plate.
Spray cleaner (I use spray and wipe apple blossom & citrus) onto a cloth.
Wipe over switch plate, removing all dirt and grime.
If switch is dirty, use a cotton bud to into the cracks and crevices.
Use another cloth to wipe plate dry.
Turn the power back on.

Printable: Mum's weekly family planner

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:00:55 +0000

Reader Jodie sent me an email requesting a printable family planner. Jodie needed something easy to work out Dad's shift work and all the tasks she needs to fit into each of her days. Click HERE to download Mum's Weekly Family Planner. Is there a printable you are after?? Please email me at organisedhousewife@live.com.au with details.

Are you drinking enough water?

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:04 +0000

Do you drink enough water? I struggle to drink my 8 recommended cups each day. It's also easy to lose count on how many you have had. I use this great way to encourage myself to drink more water:

Fill your water bottle up
Wrap 7 hair ties or rubber bands around the bottle
Remove a hair tie each time you refill your bottle (I have a Tupperware drink bottle, I put my hairties into the base)
By the end of the day you need to have removed all hairties.

Dress Up: Book Character Parade

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:00:13 +0000

I wanted to share with you a really easy Book Character Costume. My children went as:

Thing 1
Thing 2
The Little Mermaid

Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes were super easy, I went to spotlight and found these bright blue wigs. Then I had to find a red outfit that matched, the closest I could get was jeans, long sleeve black shirt (as it was middle of winter) and the red polo shirt over the top (their school sports shirt). I then made up the signs which I sticky taped onto their tops. The Little Mermaid outfit I can't take credit for, DD#2 receieved it for Christmas a few years back, I did however have some orange hairspray in the bathroom cupboard so I sprayed her hair to be the same as Ariel.

Gifts to put in an advent calendar or Christmas Stocking

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:00:40 +0000

We have a gorgeous advent calendar that I purchased from Adairs a few years ago. I usually put little gifts in the calendar, nothing too expensive and other day's I put in a few little lollies. If the gift I want to give them is too big I write a note and place that in the drawer with a clue on where it maybe hiding, it then becomes a treasure hunt....this is loads of fun. We also hang Christmas stockings and fill this with smaller Christmas gifts. Here are some suggestions of gifts for the advent calendar or stocking stuffers:

Christmas Decoration for the tree or their room
Crayons
Hairclips, hairties
Marbles
Lip Balm
Watch
Bracelets
Christmas Earrings
Nail polish
Manicure set
Socks
Dress up accessories, eye patch, scarf etc
Underwear
Singlet
Matchbox cars
Christmas craft packs
Bubble bath
Key ring
Lollies or chocolates
Candy canes
Chocolate coins
Small toy
Action figures
Harmonica
Glow sticks
Lego
Card Games
Scratchey lottery tickets
Slinky
Backpack dangley label
Book
Bookmark
Money
Wallet/purse
Doll's clothes
Play-doh
Yo-yo
Toothbrush
Notebook
Colouring book
Stickers
Pencils
Pencil case
Erasers
Stamps and ink
Tattoo's
Cute stuffed teddy hanging out of the top of the stocking
Batteries for the toy's on Christmas Day

What have I forgotten, can you add anything to the list??

Lunchbox Idea – Gluten Free

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:00:24 +0000

I really wanted to share this lunch box with you. Thankyou to reader Gillian sending in a picture of your son's lunchbox. Gillian's son is on a strict diet, he must avoid food colours, additives & preservatives to avoid ADHD. Lunchbox contents:

Old Time Bakery Gluten Free wraps (from Mrs Flannerys) filled with creamed cheese, sliced chicken, grated carrot, & sprouts.
'Stickies' - beetroot, black olives, mushrooms, and cubed chicken.
Gluten Free pretzels.
Sliced apple

That's a super healthy lunch box!! More Foods Gillian uses:

Kumut Bread which has very low-level gluten (costs $6ish per loaf) - I buy the bread from Mrs Flannereys. Kumut is related to wheat but not an issue for him or me as we are both wheat intolerant.
A lot of the stuff I buy is Gluten Free, piklet mix, cake / muffin mix.
Bake alot using Rice flours and GF flour mixes.
All the numbers and names below can cause Hyperactivity.102 & E102 Tartazine 104 & E104 Quinoline Yellow 107 & E107 Yellow 2G 110 & E110 Sunset yellow FCF (yellow No 6) 120 & E120 Carmines or Cochineal 122 & E122 Azorubine, Carmoisine 123 & E123 Amaranth (red no 2) 124 & E124 Brilliant Scarlet, Ponceau 4R 127 & E127 Erythrosine (red No 3) E128 Red 2G 129 & E129 Allura Red AC E131 Patent Blue 132 & E132 Indigotine, Indigo Camine 133 & E133 Brilliant Blue FCF 142 & E142 Food Green S 150 & E150 Caramel 151 & E151 Brilliant Black BN, Active vegetable carbons E154 Brown FK, Kipper Brown, Food Brown 155 & E155 Brown HT, Chocolate Brown HT 160(b) & E160(b) Annatto extracts E180 Pigment Rubine, Latol rubine 200 & E200-203 Sorbic Acid and Sorbates 210 & E210 Benzoic Acid 211 & E211 Sodium benzoate 220 & E220 Sulphur Dioxide E228 Potassium hydrogen sulphite, Potassium bisulphite 250 & E250 Sodium Nitrite 251 & E251 Sodium Nitrite 252 & E252 Potassium Nitrite 280 & 281 & 282 & 283 Propionic acid & propionates 319 & E319 Tert-butlhdroquinone 320 & E320 Butylated hydroquinone 321 & E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) 421 & E421 Mannitol 620, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625 Glutamates 627 & E627 Disodium Guanylate 951 Aspartame

Christmas Planning: Gifts Received

Katrina - The Organised Housewife — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:00:54 +0000

If you are anything like me and have a terrible memory it's easy to forget who gave you some of the wonderful presents over Christmas. Here is a great list to write down your gifts...add it to your planner so you can refer to it next year.

If you receive gifts in the post, write them down and use the list to refer to write thankyou notes.
Great to refer back to after a few years to see who gave you those extra special gifts.
If you re-gift this list will help you not to give it back to the person you received it from. Re-gifting is a whole different post ;)