Now days, it seems like there is a new “green”, “natural”, “organic”, and/or “eco-friendly” alternative for every product on the market — and the main difference I see between these “green” products and the other “regular” products is the price!

“Green” products ALWAYS seem to be more expensive! 

And while I definitely AM in favor of protecting our environment, reducing the amount of chemicals we put in and on our bodies, and lowing our energy consumption… I have to wonder if this is just a marketing tactic for some companies.

Honestly, is it REALLY necessary to pay more for “organic parchment paper” when regular parchment paper is already eco-friendly? And is it REALLY necessary to pay more for “natural” body lotion when I don’t even know what “natural” means?

I think the one that makes me laugh the most is General Mills cereal — they now have more “whole grains” and are marketing Lucky Charms as “healthier”.  I have absolutely nothing against cereal or against General Mills, but if people are really willing to believe that Lucky Charms could possibly be a “healthy” breakfast… they are just buying right into these marketing tactics!

I’m sure you’ve all seen, heard, and read stories about companies using these “green” words to lure buyers into paying more for their products — and I have to believe the stories are true.

You would not believe all the junk mail and spam emails I’ve gotten since Nora was born — all trying to make me feel like a horrible mother if I don’t use only “green” baby products {for 2 to 3 times the prices}!

I do know there are certain fruits and vegetables that are important to buy “organic” {see this handy printable chart} but other than that, I honestly don’t have enough information to know when it’s just a marketing ploy or when it’s “for real”.

What are your thoughts on paying more for “green”?

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photo credit

We love eating just about any variety of soup or stew — especially on cold winter evenings. And I love making soup because we always end up with lots of leftovers for later in the week or for the freezer… so yeah, we eat a lot of soup!

I “discovered” this recipe two years ago when I was making soup to take to school for Dave’s birthday lunch. I wanted something that was a little different than all the “traditional” soups, but still really hearty and delicious. Thankfully, this recipe was a huge hit and my pot was practically licked clean!

This soup is now a regular meal in our fall and winter meal plans. It stores well in the fridge for leftovers, it freezes wonderfully, it’s a complete meal all by itself, and of course, everyone loves it!

I love the idea of using stuffed pasta in a soup as I feel it makes the recipe more filling, and the sausage is a nice change from chicken or beef.

Recipe for Hearty Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup:

{print this recipe}

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground sausage
• 1 medium onion; diced {I used 2 small ones}
• 3 garlic cloves {or 1 t. garlic powder}
• 4 – 5 c. broth or water {I used 2 c. beef broth and 2 c. veggie broth}
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 4 carrots; peeled and chopped
• 1 green pepper; chopped
• 1 15 oz. can sliced mushrooms with liquid
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes {I just used 1 quart of my home-canned tomatoes}
• 2 t. white sugar
• 1 T. parsley
• 1 T. basil
• 1 T. oregano
• 1 19 oz. package frozen tortellini {I used cheese, but beef would be good too}
• Parmesan cheese

As the name of my website suggests, I’m all about keeping things as SIMPLE as possible — especially when it comes to getting organized.

Getting {and staying} organized might not be “easy” but it IS relatively “simple”. However if you are still feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, head on over to MoneySavingMom.com to read my SIMPLE tips to get more organized!

What is your biggest organizational challenge?

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One of my favorite things about using WordPress as my blogging platform is the ability to quickly and easily customize my site with the thousands of free plugins available.

In a matter of seconds I can search for a specific plugin, read about it, check the ratings, install it, activate it, etc. Then if I decide I don’t need it, want it, or like it anymore — it takes another 2 seconds to delete the plugin.

I do know some bloggers who have 40-60 different plugins installed… and while there are a lot of good plugins available these days, I would caution against that, simply because it will slow down your blog.

I usually have around 15 plugins activated at any given time, and I love them all… here’s why!

TIME SAVERS:

And The Winner Is — Since I run a Weekend Giveaway every Friday, I use this plugin to automatically pick the winner(s) every Monday. It saves me tons of time and assures that all the giveaways are done fairly

Article Templates — this plugin allows me to create templates for different blog posts. For example, I have a recipe template, a giveaway template, etc. So every time I post a recipe or giveaway, I just insert that template and fill in the new information. Yes, this saves lots of time!

Broken Link Checker — When I first installed this plugin, it found over 80 broken links — YIKES! I took an afternoon to fix them all… and now, any time I have a broken link, it alerts me on my WordPress dashboard and I can fix it ASAP.

This plugin saves me tons of time because I don’t have to constantly monitor and check all my links. It also give me peace of mind knowing that my links won’t bring readers to a dead-end page.

Lijit Search — This plugin creates the little search box at the top of my right side bar. I know this benefits readers who are trying to search for specific content on my site — but it also saves me a ton of time because I use it when I’m searching for a specific post, or need to remember what I wrote about something!

COMMENTS:

Akimet — This plugin protects my blog from lots of SPAM comments. It usually catches a few hundred SPAM comments each week — which means I don’t have to monitor my comments as closely.

Comment Reply Notification — I absolutely love this plugin — and I think many of my readers do to! Basically, this plugin allows me to respond to someone’s comment and makes my response visible to anyone who reads the blog… but it ALSO sends that person an email with my response.

So if someone asks me a question about a recipe or a DIY project, I can answer it “publicly” on the blog, but the person who asked the question will get an email with my reply. So convenient!

Facebook Comments for WordPress — This plugin actually connects my blog comments with reader’s Facebook walls. So any time someone leaves a comment via the Facebook comment box, it puts a link to my blog post directly on their Facebook wall — which then show up to their “friends” who can then click on over to my blog! Yay for more traffic!

I actually don’t have this plugin activated on my blog right now, simply because I was running into issues with my Weekend Giveaways. Too many people were leaving Facebook comments instead of WordPress comments, and then they wouldn’t be entered in the giveaway. But it’s still one of my favorite plugins!

Subscribe to Comments — This plugin is pretty self-explanatory… it simply allows readers to subscribe to the comments of any post on my blog. If they choose to “subscribe” they will then be notified of any additional comments on that same post.

So if it’s a topic you’re interested in learning more about, subscribe to the comment section and you’ll get a bunch more information from other readers!

WordPress Thread Comments — Since comments are the best way to communicate with others on my blog, I activated this plugin to allow readers to reply and respond to other comments on my blog. So instead of just leaving a comment way at the bottom of the comment list, you can respond to specific comment right below, just by clicking “reply”.

Also, if that person happened to subscribe to the comments, your “reply” will be emailed to them — which is really helpful when people leave questions and then other readers respond to their questions. It saves me a bunch of time and I love reading your advice!!

PROMOTION:

AdRotate — This plugin allows me to create ad blocks in my sidebar and fill them with different advertising campaigns. It also allows me to easily track statistics {like impressions and click-throughs} for the different advertisers. LOVE this one!

LinkWithin — This plugin puts thumbnail links to relative/related posts at the bottom of every single post I write. It helps to bring readers to other posts I’ve written in previous months, it increases my pageviews, and it increases the amount of time readers spend on my site — all of which are very good things! It also helps to provide readers with additional information about topics they are interested in.

Really Simple Share Buttons — I actually just installed this plugin last week… and am already a huge fan. I’ve been looking for a social media share button that includes Pinterest… and this is the one I liked the best. It’s really simple to set up and offers a good number of customizable options… so far, I’m loving it!

WordPress Popular Post — As the name suggests, this plugin automatically generates a list of the most popular posts on my blog {the ones with the most views}. It displays this list in my right sidebar… making those posts easily available to anyone who visits my site. It’s also nice for me to be able to see what posts my readers are reading and sharing.

So these are a handful of my most favorite WordPress plugins. There are hundreds of fabulous plugins out there… and I’m always searching for new ones, better one, etc.

What are your favorite plugins?

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Yes, I know, it’s only the middle of February — however, if you are serious about having a successful garage sale this spring, you should start planning now!

I’ve been to hundreds of garage sales, yard sales, estate sales, second hand sales, new-to-you sales, mom-to-mom sales, etc. etc. and in my opinion, there are a few things you can do NOW to make sure your sale is a success… and it really won’t take that much time or effort!

1. Gather Boxes:

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You will most likely need lots and lots of boxes and bins to corral all the items you plan to sell {see #2 below}. There is no point in paying for boxes and bins you hopefully won’t need after your sale is over, so why not try to find them for free.

If you or your spouse work outside the home, try asking for extra paper boxes or other smaller boxes with handles. Also, you could try asking local restaurants or stores to save boxes specifically for you.

Put those boxes in a designated spot in your home or garage and then move on to #2 below!

2. Find Stuff to Sell:

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Obviously, you can’t have a great garage sale unless you have LOTS of stuff to sell. I absolutely hate pulling up to a garage sale only to see they have one small table of stuff to look at — it’s just not worth the buyer’s time to stop.

This is also an EXCELLENT opportunity to purge and organize every room in your house!!

Schedule a day or an afternoon to go through each room in your house {maybe one room every other week until the garage sale} and pull out anything you don’t need, use, want or love. Put those items in your designated “garage sale” boxes.

If you don’t think you’ll have enough stuff, start talking with a few of your friends, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, etc. and see if you can plan a combined sale. In my experience, the more stuff you have to sell, the more traffic you’ll get.

3. Decide on a Location and Approximate Date:

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Obviously, you don’t need to have every last detail nailed down at this point, but you should start thinking about an approximate date and location. If you are planning to do a combined sale, you’ll want to decide who’s house has the best location and then pick a weekend that will work for everyone involved.

Also, if you are planning to be part of any church, school, or community sales, you’ll probably want to get that information soon. I know some sales around here require participates to register several weeks and even months in advance!

4. Start Pricing Your Items:

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Again, it’s not essential to have every item priced and ready to go, but as you go through your house and start purging items for the sale, it might be smart {and very time-saving} to start pricing your items now!

Please, please, PLEASE remember that your stuff is used. You don’t want it anymore… and while I’m sure there are people out there who DO want it, you can not expect to get top dollar for your stuff!

In my opinion, the only thing worse than showing up to a garage sale that doesn’t have a lot to sell is showing up for a garage sale with ridiculously high prices. People are looking to get a great deal, so make sure your prices feel like a bargain.

5. Use Craigslist:

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If you have some big-ticket items, I would suggest trying to sell them on Craigslist before your garage sale because you can usually get a higher price that way.

If you don’t want to sell anything on Craigslist, then at least take the time to advertise your sale on Craigslist! It’s free and you’ll get tons of exposure! Another good idea is to look for other sales in your area and then plan your sales for the same weekend to ensure even more traffic.

By taking a little bit of time to plan ahead now, you’ll hopefully have a much more successful garage sale later this spring.

What are your tips for a successful garage sale?

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top image source

Congrats to Tammy (TSells@…)

I will email you shortly!

source

I’m a big fan of gift cards – especially American Express gift cards that spend like cash!

And thanks to my partnership with Apartment Guide, they have generously offered to giveaway a $100 American Express gift card to one luck Simple Organized Living reader!!

Yay!

How to Enter:

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1. Leave a comment. What would you do with your gift card?

2. Follow @LivingOrganized and/or @AptGuide on Twitter, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prize:

(1) American Express gift card as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 2/21/2012 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

Apartment Guide and owner Consumer Source, Inc. have partnered with bloggers like me as Official Apartment Guide Bloggers. As part of this program, I have received compensation. They have not told me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Dave and I recently renewed our 2-year cell phone contracts… and we both got iPhones!

Yes, it was totally against our ultra-frugal nature, but I have to say, the iPhone completely saved any shred of productivity I had left after Nora arrived!

Before we got our iPhones, we still had the old flip phones. We didn’t have any sort of data package, and we didn’t even have texting {told you we are frugal!}

It was actually a bit of an internal struggle for both of us, but especially for me, because we really didn’t NEED iPhones. Yes, we could afford to pay cash for the phones, yes we could get a great deal since we were going to renew our contract anyway, and yes, we could afford to pay the monthly data plans… but we still didn’t NEED them!

Another reason I was a bit unsure about getting iPhones was because I always hear how people “waste” so much time with their smart phones, iPads, Kindles, etc… and frankly, I do NOT have time to waste right now.

Well, it’s been 2 months, and I honestly think these iPhones are one of our best purchases. I can’t believe how much MORE productive I’ve been… or how we lived without them for so long!

Here are just a few ways the iPhone helps me be more productive:

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1. Email:

I get loads of emails every single day and it used to be overwhelming for me… but now I have instant access to all of my emails and can quickly check, delete, file, and reply to most of my emails from my phone… even when I don’t have access to my computer — or when my other arm is tied up

Obviously, there are still some emails I can’t/won’t do from my phone — especially if they require attachments or lengthy responses, but I’ve saved SO much time by tackling many of my emails from my iPhone.

2. Social Media:

Since I’ve been a little short on time lately {OK, a lot short on time} I’ve basically “banned” myself from spending any time on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. unless it’s on my phone.

I figure if we’re just driving, waiting, sitting around, etc. I’ll allow myself to play around on social media sites. Then when I’m sitting down to work, I keep those tabs closed, and am way more productive because of it!

3. Blog Comments:

I love reading all my blog comments, and I try really hard to respond to any questions or comments that require a response, but that had been getting more and more difficult to do… until I got the iPhone! Now I can keep tabs on my comments, stay caught up on responses, and I feel more connected to my readers.

4. Shopping:

As you know, I’m a big Craigslist shopper {and I’m semi-addicted to Amazon.com too!}… but I really can’t afford to “waste” my time searching for deals on the internet right now. So instead, I’ll use my phone to brows the web, inquire about sales, and even make purchases when I otherwise wouldn’t have access to my computer for one reason or another.

5. Shared Calendars:

Dave and I have a shared calendar on iCloud so we both know what the other person is doing… yes, this has been extremely helpful and I’m not really sure why I didn’t think of doing this before!

6. Productivity/Time Management Apps:

I still haven’t paid for any Apps yet, but I have found a handful of very helpful FREE productivity and time management apps that I’m having lot of fun with!

7. Photos:

I don’t naturally take many photos because I hate carrying my camera around with me all the time. But now that I have a really fantastic camera right in my iPhone, I’m taking pictures ALL the time! I can quickly edit the pictures and upload them to my blog or to any social media site with just a few taps of my finger… then I’m done.

No more lugging my camera around, plugging my camera card into the computer, waiting for it to load, then opening the photo editing program, etc. etc. I’m saving lots of time AND taking more pictures — win-win!

8. Navigation:

We don’t have any type of GPS in our cars so I’ve always just printed off Mapquest directions anytime I have to go somewhere. Seriously! Now, I can simply use a navigation app and don’t have to waste the time {or paper} printing off my Mapquest maps anymore!

Since Dave and I were still living in the ‘dark ages’ with our flip phones, we are simply amazed at how much more we can do with our iPhones — and how much time we save doing it!

I can do all these things while I’m riding in the car, waiting in line, or even when I’m feeding Nora. And obviously, I don’t spend every spare moment on my phone, but it is nice to have the option to “get stuff done” even when I’m not by my computer.

And yes, we do use our phones for playing games, listening to music, and even watching video clips every now an then

Do you have an iPhone — or any other type of smart phone?

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If so, do find that you SAVE more time or WASTE more time on fun games, etc.? Also, what are your favorite apps?

Several weeks ago we started having major issues with our refrigerator — yeah, it’s old, but we’re hoping it will last until this summer when we are planning to do a big kitchen renovation!!

The first problem was that the contents of the produce drawer kept freezing… which meant lots of unintentionally frozen fruits and veggies… which meant I made lots of soup and pie

However, in a successful attempt to fix the fridge, we some how managed to “break” the freezer… so now the freezer does NOT freeze.

At the end of this whole process, we were basically left with one big refrigerator and no freezer — which is not the most ideal situation, but at least we have our deep freezer downstairs!

Anyway, as we were trying to “unfreeze” the refrigerator and “refreeze” the freezer, I put several thermometers inside to monitor the temperature. To my surprise, I noticed that the top shelf of our refrigerator was 10-12 degrees warmer than the bottom drawers — and the same was true for the freezer!

I know that “heat rises” but I figured the temperature inside our fridge would be almost the same since it’s regulated with a thermostat. However, after doing a bit of research, I read that this is quite normal {especially for side-by-side units}.

So I decided to reorganize our fridge… by temperature!  

Here’s what I did:

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TOP/MIDDLE SHELVES = left overs that will get eaten in a day or so, items I’m defrosting from the freezer, other packaged items that won’t “go bad” as quickly

MIDDLE/BOTTOM SHELVES = milk, juice, yogurt, eggs, lettuce and other dairy items that have a shorter shelf life and need to be kept colder

TOP DRAWER = fruits and veggies

BOTTOM DRAWER = meats and cheeses

Also, since the freezer side of our refrigerator doesn’t freeze, I’m using that for storing extra gallons of milk {I usually buy 2 or 3 at a time} extra dairy items, leftovers, and anything else that won’t fit in our fridge. The only thing I won’t put in the freezer side is produce because I think it’s a little too cold for that.

Even though it was a HUGE pain to deal with a dysfunctional fridge and freezer for a couple weeks, I’m so glad we now have more fridge space AND that our food seems to be lasting longer due to storing it at the proper temperatures. 

And I’m all for less wasted food!

We can live with our crazy fridge for a few more months… but this will make it all the more exciting to get a brand new one when our kitchen renovations start this summer. I have my eye on a counter-depth unit with French doors and a double pull-out freezer drawer

Oh, and in case you’re interested — here’s how I organized our refrigerator in our old house.

Have you ever checked the temperature in your fridge?

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If you’ve noticed that some of your food isn’t staying as fresh as you’d like, you may want to rearrange your fridge by temperature too!
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I’ve had many non-glamours jobs over the course of my life…

• washing dishes for my neighbor’s catering company when I was in middle school
• cleaning offices at night for another neighbor’s company
• busing tables for a local bar/pub when I was 16
• folding clothes for American Eagle {probably the most ridiculous job ever!}
• stocking shelves and working the checkout lanes at various grocery stores
• janitorial work for Calvin College {this is how I met Dave — so it was worth it!}
• cleaning houses to make money for college

…and the list could go on!

But now that I’m a mom, I feel so blessed to finally have a job that I love, that doesn’t involve washing dishes, clearing tables, folding clothes, cleaning toilets, stocking pantry shelves, grocery shopping…. eerr well, never mind

All kidding aside, motherhood is definitely not the most glamours job in the world… and it’s probably the most difficult job I’ve ever had. There are even days when I’d rather be busing tables, cleaning offices, or doing pretty much anything else but working from home with my baby.

Yes, I’m sure some of you now think I’m the most horrible person in the world for wanting to clean offices instead of care for my baby… and that’s OK! I can’t change how I feel, and just because I’m somewhat overwhelmed by motherhood, doesn’t mean I love Nora any less.

In fact, I love her so much that it sometimes makes things worse. I’ve never felt such an overwhelming sense of responsibility before, I’ve never felt such a strong desire to do everything “right”; yet at the same time, I’ve never felt so helpless and unsure of what I’m supposed to do.

I’m sure I’m not only new mom out there who bawled the entire ride home from the hospital thinking… what in the world am I going to do with her when we get home. I have no idea how to do this! Don’t we need a manual, some instructions, a live-in nurse, or at the very least, someone to show us what to do?

Just knowing that Nora depends on me for everything is sometimes more than my independent spirit can handle. Yes, I’m willing to work hard, do unpleasant things, and make sacrifices. Yes I love a good challenge, but I also love my sleep… and eating with both hands!

I’ve never had a job that required constant 24/7 availability, I’ve never had a job that I felt so unqualified for, and I’ve never had a job that didn’t involve some type of training {or at least a small instruction manual}.

Yet, I’ve never had a job that mattered so much! 

I’m the type of person who likes to be good at everything I do. I’m a fast learner, I work really hard, I’m willing to do things I don’t want to do, make sacrifices, deal with difficult situations, push myself to be better… and I LOVE a challenge.

So I should excel at motherhood… right?

But for some reason, I feel like I’m barely staying afloat. I feel like I can’t do this.

I think it all boils down to the fact that for the very first time in my life, I don’t have FULL CONTROL! As much as I try {and believe me friends, I’ve tried} I can not control when she takes a nap, how long she sleeps, when she decides to go to bed at night, when she needs to eat, or when she decides to start screaming for no apparent reason at all.

Dave and I read the books, we followed the books, we took advice from so many people who have their kids on a schedule, we’ve tried this, we’ve tried that, we’ve tried everything again and again… but so far, nothing has worked.

And we REALLY want something to work! 

It’s been almost 3 months of desperately trying to get her to go to bed before 1:00am, trying to get her to take any sort of an afternoon nap, trying to calm her down during her lengthy screaming sessions EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT… but we can’t.

Nora is definitely still the boss over at our house… and I’m pretty sure she likes it that way!

I flop into bed every night and wonder how on earth single moms and military wives do this — and don’t even get me started on teen moms. But then, every morning when I’m changing her diaper and she’s still so sleepy, she opens her eyes and she smiles. In that brief moment, I feel like eveything is going to be OK and I realize I CAN do this for another day.

But it’s still not easy.

Especially for someone like me who thrives on productivity, being “in control”, and having all my ducks in a row. Frankly, I don’t even know where half my ducks are right now… and they definitely aren’t in any type of a row!

Everyone says that Motherhood is the greatest job in the whole world — and while they are probably right, I have to wonder if the women who say that are already well past the baby-stage and have simply pushed the overwhelming, exhausted, and over-tired memories out of their brains!

Or maybe they all had perfect babies who were never colicky at night and actually took naps during the day

Motherhood is not for the weary…

And if you are a strong Type-A person like myself, it might just be one of the most difficult jobs you’ll ever have.

Good thing she’s so darn cute!

And honestly, I don’t want you to think I’m not enjoying motherhood… because I am. It’s just A LOT different and A LOT more challenging than I thought it would be!

As you can see by all the pictures, we are definitely having lots of fun with little Nora — it’s also helpful that Dave is one of the most patient, low-key, go-with-the flow people I’ve ever met {they say opposites attract right!}. He reminds me {daily} that I AM a good mom and that I CAN do this.

I can do this!

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And to all the other type-A moms out there… you can do it too!

A couple weeks ago, I had a bunch of apples I wanted to use up because they were getting mushy and a little past their prime. I searched around for an apple bread recipe… and instead, decided on the following Apple Cake recipe.

It’s honestly the BEST apple cake/bread I’ve ever made!  It tasted absolutely delicious plain {for breakfast} and with a dollop of whipped cream {for dessert}! And even though I cut out some of the fat by replacing half the oil with my homemade applesauce, this cake was still SO moist and very dense with a grand total of FIVE chopped up apples!

Recipe for The Best Apple Cake:

{print this recipe}

Ingredients

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 T. ground cinnamon
• 1 T.  baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 5 apples — peeled, cored and sliced {I used Cortland apples, but most varieties should work}
• cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle over the top {optional}