Organization Quest

31 Days to the New Year = 31 Days Left to Use Flex Spending

A while back, I mentioned how organizing can save money.  Taking advantage of a Flex Spending Account to pay for your (and your family's) health care or dependent care with pre-tax dollars is one way to save money, but it only works if you can accurately guess how much you'll spend in any given year, and if you make sure you use every penny in your account before the deadline at the year's end.

If your flex spending account is set up like mine, at this point you still have a whole month to use up any existing funds in your account. The company who administers the flex spending account at my company recently sent out a reminder, along with a list of qualified flex spending expenses, which I found helpful and thought I would pass along to you.  Remember:  expenses must be for the NON-COSMETIC treatment of a specific medical condition in order to be eligile.  Don't forget to turn in the receipt!

(Note:  Although I believe that the IRS determines the rules governing eligible flex spending expenses, you should check with your account administrator to guard against any misunderstandings or costly mistakes.) Eligible expenses may include:

Over-the-counter purchases

• Aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil
• Antacid
• Bandages and related items
• Cold and flu medicine and prevention
• Condoms and spermicides
• Motion sickness treatments
• Cough syrup
• Pregnancy tests
• Cough drops
• Asthma medicine
• Canker and cold sore treatments
• Laxatives
• Acne treatments

Office visits

• Medical office visits
• Dental office visits
• Chiropractic office visits

Co-pays

• Medical co-payment
• Dental co-payment
• Prescription co-payment

Dental care

• Dental care for non-cosmetic purposes
• Teeth-grinding prevention devices
• Orthodontia (braces and retainers)

Vision care

• Contact lenses and cleaning solutions
• Eye examinations
• Eyeglasses
• Sunglasses (prescription only)

Therapy

• Psychoanalysis
• Psychologist fees
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Speech therapy
• Alcoholism treatment
• Drug addiction treatment

Preventative care

• Flu shots
• Vaccinations
• Immunizations

Childbirth and Fertility Related

• Childbirth classes
• Fertility monitor
• OB/GYN fees

Monitoring equipment

• Diabetic monitor
• Blood-pressure monitor

Misc.

• Mileage to receive eligible health care services
• Medical records charges
• Smoking cessation (programs, counseling, gum)
• Acupuncture
• Hearing aids and batteries

Making Time for a Family and Friendship Day

Since I got my new oven a week and a half ago, I've pretty much called off any activity that hasn't involved cookies.  ("No, I cannot possibly make dinner; I have cookies to bake.  No, you can't make dinner, either.  Salmonella Sand Cookies aren't on the list this year, sorry.  Here, have a broken Gingerbread cookie.")  With the cookies now baked and partially distributed, I thought it was time to  have a dedicated Family and Friendship Day. 

After going on a "lunch date" with Alpay for the first time in weeks, I drew up a list of things I've been wanting to do:  call up friends, look at a family blog, make plans to visit my Dad this spring, catch up on emails, visit a couple message boards I subscribe to and check in with other members, and write a few cards. It felt great to get out and do something fun, and to come back and reconnect with others in ways that didn't involve sprinkles or powdered sugar.

When You Bake 1700 Cookies, You Gotta Have A Plan

Today I baked the last of the twelve types of cookies I'm making this year for the holidays.  With the cookies baked, I was in distribution mode, whereby I decide who-gets-what and how-many-of-each, a process not unlike those analytical evaluation questions on the GRE exam:

Joe and Josh must not get any chocolate cookies.
Lynda must not get any cookies with nuts.
Mary Jo must get four times more date cookies than the person with the least number of date cookies.
Kay must get at least 20 Mexican Wedding Cakes, Spritz, and Sugar Cookies combined.
How many peanut butter cookies does Dad get?

To keep track of it all, I made a little low-tech spread sheet, with the cookie type along the top and the cookie recipient to the left, and jotted down the number of cookies I packed into each person's tin as I made my way down my list. 

 
Eight down, 20 cookie recipients to go

This is the first year I've made such a list, and I'm hoping that by doing so, I'll be able to better plan my baking schedule. While my default is always to bake 12 dozen each of the 12 types of cookies, the system breaks down when I suspect the only person who really likes the Date cookies is my sister, while on the other hand I always seem to run short on the frosted sugar cookies, because who doesn't like frosted sugar cookies? 

When I'm done with the great Distribution Extravaganza, I'll just slip my list in the holiday cookie section of my new recipe notebook, and I'll have the data on hand when it's cookie-making season next year.

Project notes:  As soon as I'm done baking and the cookies are cool, I store each type of cookie separately in a resealable bag.

Once all the cookies are baked and I'm ready to distribute the cookies into tins, I sequester the kittens, clear the table, and lay down sheets of foil, on which I arrange the cookies by type, a couple dozen per type at a time.  This helps me see the variety and makes the allocation process easy and fun.

   

 

The Best Thanksgiving Ever

We'd made plans to have Thanksgiving with our favorite "couple" friends.  Since Ingrid's due date was slated for this weekend, the big joke was along the lines of what-if-the-water-breaks-during-dinner variety. What would we do?  We didn't have a chance to find out; Dave called at 10:30 this morning.  Ingrid had just given birth to their beautiful little girl--an honest-to-God Thanksgiving baby! Happy Birthday, little Jillian!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few days ago, I got the cutest animated e-card from my friend Marie, whose closet was featured here in September. The card she sent starred a pumpkin pie being made as if by magic.  The site she got it from is jacquielawson.com, which has over a hundred animated cards, including the one below. If I hadn't already bought my all of holiday cards for this year, I think I very well may have gone with Jacquie's animated cards instead: Twelve bucks buys unlimited e-cards for a whole year.

If I could only find virtual sugar cookies that are as satisfying as the real thing, I'd be all set. 

Click on picture to see card.

Hey! How Did The Trash Bag Get Over There?

Quick Tip: Keeping Tidy While Cooking

The problem:  where to put drippy, food-goopy spoons and utensils while cooking?  There are those spoon-shaped ceramic plates, which are adorable, sure, but who cooks with onespoon, which is about all you can fit on one of those things?  And what are you supposed to do with the measuring cups, whisks, knives, strainers, peelers, graters, spatulas, and other such utensils you use while cooking?  The diminutive little spoon-shaped plate just isn't going to cut it.

While I've developed a system of constant rinsing-and-washing of utensils while cooking (the trick:  unloading the dishwasher and dish drain first, to give yourself a clean slate), I do find it useful to have a place to put utensils in when I'm in the middle of cooking.  I like to use a plain old plate, as large or small as needed for the particular dish or meal that's being made.  Easy, practical, and it works great in containing food-prep mess.

T-Day Preparation Countdown

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?

One of the things that I've always loved about T-day is all the preparations: deciding which dishes to cook and writing out the accompanying shopping list; planning what-to-do-when and allocating the all-important refrigerator real estate and Tupperware resources.

This year, we're actually thinking of going to a local restaurant instead; having started my annual Cookie Bake Off a week early has thrown off my T-Day planning. I don't have a single Tupperware container to spare, and my refrigerator and freezer are filled with pounds and pounds butter.  Still, if I was going to do The Whole T-Day Shebang, my planning would look something like this:

Menu:

• Turkey
• Gravy
• Three kinds of stuffing (my mom's, which is traditional bread stuffing; Alpay's mom's, which is basically garlic bread; and cornbread stuffing)
• Orange-cranberry sauce
• Mashed potatoes (possibly garlic mashed potatoes)
• Candied sweet potatoes
• Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
• Mornay (aka: cheese) sauce
• Parsnip casserole
• Crudities
• Ranch dressing
• Pumpkin pie

With the exception of the Ranch dressing, which I make from a mix, everything is homemade. I do use store-bought white bread for my mom's stuffing and Alpay's mom's stuffing.

After work Monday, November 24; (T-Day/Day -3)

• Complete any shopping for supplies.
• Make Ranch dressing; refrigerate.

After work Tuesday, November 25 (T-Day/Day -2)

• Make cornbread.
• Make pie crust; wrap and refrigerate.
• Make cranberry sauce; refrigerate.
• Put white bread on racks in oven to dry overnight.

After work Wednesday, November 26 (T-Day/Day -1)

• Make my mom's stuffing:  cut onions and celery, fry in butter. Break dried bread into pieces, toss with fried vegetables, seasoning, and chicken broth; refrigerate.
• Make cornbread stuffing (same as above, only omit celery); refrigerate.
• Peel and boil parsnips; mash.  Add fried onions and seasoning.  Put in casserole dish, cover and refrigerate.
• Bake pumpkins for pie.
• Combine ingredients for pumpkin pie filling.
• Make pumpkin pie.

Early morning Thursday, November 27 (T-Day)

• Prepare turkey for roasting. 
• Make Alpay's mom's stuffing.
• Stuff turkey with various stuffings.
• Roast turkey.

Mid-Day T-Day

• Cut vegetables for crudites; put out with Ranch dressing for snacking. 
• Peel sweet potatoes; boil.  Cut into slices and arrange in casserole.  Top with brown sugar, pecans, and butter.  Refrigerate until 30 or 40 minutes before turkey is done.
• Set the table.

One Hour Til Turkey's Out:

• Peel, boil and mash potatoes. 
• Make Mornay sauce.
• Put cauliflower on to steam.

Last 20 Minutes 

• Put sweet potatoes in the oven to bake.
• Put parsnip casserole in the oven to bake.
• Steam broccoli.
• Take out cranberry sauce; bring to the table.

Endgame 

• Take turkey out of oven; put stuffing into bowls.
• Make gravy.
• Put the cauliflower and broccoli on a platter and pour Mornay sauce over both.
• Take the sweet potatoes and the parsnip casserole out of the oven.
• Put mashed potatoes into serving bowl.
• Gravy goes into a gravy boat.
• Bring everything to the table and enjoy! 

7 Steps to an Organized Pantry

1. Clear a table or some counter space to temporarily put supplies from the pantry.
2. Working one shelf or two shelves at a time, take everything off the shelf; transfer to the cleared counter space or table.
3. Assess what you have.  Check expiration dates and toss anything that's expired. Get rid of anything you're unsure about--mystery packages, anything that looks funny or smells weird, bottles with broken seals.  Use your pantry-cleaning as a guilt-free excuse to get rid of things you never use or no longer like.  If you are on a diet or planning to start one, get rid of all the food not permitted as much as your life circumstances (i.e. spouse/partner and/or kids) will allow.
4. Wipe down the shelf.
5. Wipe or dust off everything going back into the pantry.
6. Put things back on the shelves, keeping like items together.  Arrange things neatly.
7. Wipe or polish the outer pantry door.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Kitchen: Small Changes You Can Make To Increase Functionality

 

Yesterday I mentioned how, after some initial tweaking, we really haven't had to do much re-organizing in the kitchen.  This got me thinking about the small projects we did do that enabled us to get so much more out of our space, and how you can get more utility out of yours.

Assess What's Working and What's Not

Are things jam-packed in the pantry?  When you can't find something, do you buy another and end up with needless multiples of the same item?  If you could change one thing about the organization of your kitchen, what would it be?

Conversely, what's working about your current system and layout?  Identifying what's working--and why--is helpful in finding solutions for your kitchen woes. I've noticed that few people identify problems with their cutlery, for example.  Why?  Because most people find it intuitive to store all their spoons together, all their forks together, and all their butter knives together, so there isn't a lot of hunting around.  Now consider your mixing bowls, canned goods, or baking supplies. If you have to hunt for things, is it because you're not keeping like items together?

Rethink the Space You've Been Given

Our kitchen has exactly three drawers:  two narrow ones and one long one.  Since the long one was the only one that could fit a standard spoon-knife-fork organizer, we assumed it had to be the cutlery drawer, never mind that it was the farthest drawer from both the living room and the stove, or that it doesn't open up all the way if the fridge--perpendicular to it--is not perfectly aligned. 

Within days of moving in, it became obvious that it was The Worst Cutlery Drawer Ever, inciting profanity and elaborate curses on the developer.  Finally--it was weeks but it felt like years--we decided to defy what seemed like common sense and we stripped the long drawer of its designated cutlery status in favor of using the narrow drawers instead. Because the inside width of the narrow drawers is less than 7" each, we've had to separate the forks and knives from the spoons and other odds and ends, but that's fine. Who says spoons have to be in the same drawer as forks, anyway?

Is there a way you can re-think your space and its presumed uses?  Maybe you have a newer kitchen with one of those cool "kitchen command centers" designed into it, including double-duty desk/counter top and file drawers.  Might one of those file drawers be a perfect place to stash the crock pot or rice maker?  Or maybe a tall cabinet without shelves--intended to be a utility closet--might be re-purposed as a butler pantry with the addition of some shelves?

Small Purchases =  Big Changes

I would love to do a serious kitchen overhaul, which would include knocking out a couple walls and installing an island, a breakfast counter, and (piece de resistance!) fabulous gel-fuel fireplace.  I'm guessing a total of $75,000 and that's a steal considering how much happiness such a kitchen would bring.  In the meantime, I'll have to satisfy myself with the small changes we've made to make our present kitchen more functional.

The clear shoe drawers I got from the Container Store ($12.99 each in today's prices) may not have the cachet of a carerra marble-top pastry island, but it sure made a difference in creating a little more (desperately needed) storage storage space. 

Because our kitchen has only three drawers, we were at a loss as to where to store dishtowels and odd items like potato mashers and turkey basters.

Emboldened by the experience with the cutlery drawer, we decided to take matters into our own hands and removed the (rather useless) middle shelf from one of the lower cabinets.  The cabinet was just wide enough for men's acrylic shoe drawers, and just tall enough to fit three drawers stacked, thus solving one of our most vexing storage problems.

Likewise, we were able to install a sliding drawer in one of the 10" lower cabinets. At 12-1/2" high, the sliding drawer keeps the cookie sheets and muffin pan, cutting boards, and the broiler pan tidy and accessible, thus saving an otherwise useless cabinet for about $30.

Even though our mini-kitchen makeover took place nearly eight years ago, I actually have before-and-after pix to share.  You have no idea how gratifying it is to finally have a justification for my lifelong documentation compulsion:

   
Before (above, left): things crammed into one of the narrow lower cabinets. After (above, right): a deep sliding drawer provides tidy and accessible pan storage.

   
Before (above, left): The cabinet, wasn't terribly organized; it just didn't suit our needs.  After (above, right): with the shelf knocked out, we could stack three arcylic drawers to store various linens and cooking utensils.

 

The Second Smallest Kitchen in the Whole World

I used to describe our kitchen as the smallest kitchen in the whole world, but then I saw a picture in a design magazine of a kitchen entirely contained--sink and all--in a closet maybe 30 inches wide, and I had to amend my claim to second smallest. 

Just how small is the Second Smallest Kitchen in the Whole World?  Let's see:  I've had cubes with more counter space. In terms of storage space, my kitchen has exactly 13 cabinets; four of them are all of 9" wide.  One is only 6" wide!  One of the three decent-sized, double-door cabinets is under the sink.  The rest of the double-door cabinets are truncated in height to accommodate the microwave, the sink light, or the refrigerator. 

When you have the Second Smallest Kitchen in the Whole World, you have no choice but to be brutal when it comes to editing your belongings.  Before we moved to our place, I gave away perhaps 20 huge boxes of appliances, dishes, cutlery, and glasses, novelty items and baking supplies, many of which I actually used but decided I could live without.  I've found that we haven't missed anything much, and the result is that after some initial tweaking, we've had very little additional culling to do since.  Because there's room enough for the supplies we have, things stay pretty much under control.  There's even (a little) room for a few more things, should we find something that really strikes us.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the lack of space in your own kitchen, the first step is to assess what you have and consider what you really use and need.  You might be surprised by the sheer volume of stuff you'd do better by doing without.

Here's my list of the things--perhaps some of them surprising--we found we didn't need. 

• Toaster: we use the oven’s broiler instead.
• Coffee Maker: it takes up room on the counter, and I find brewed coffee inferior to coffee made with a French Press.
• Electric Popcorn Popper: if we want popcorn, we fry it on the stove top, just like Mom used to do.
• Kitchen Aid: in my opinion, a total waste of space and money. The only thing I’d use a Kitchen Aid for is to knead dough, which I’d just as soon do by hand, anyway.
• George Foreman Grill: everything about this invention grosses me out. No offense, George.
• Hand Mixer: I can beat eggs or whip cream with a whisk, or use use a wooden spoon for batter.
• Large Food Processor with all the attachments: see Hand Mixers and Kitchen Aid, above.
• Electric Can Opener: takes up room, and even it it’s mounted under a cabinet, isn’t it kinda grody?
• Vegetable Peeler: the blades dull, and it’s just as easy to use a small knife.
• Electric Knife: this one isn’t so surprising. What exactly is the point of an electric knife?  Does slicing a roast really take that much energy?
• Bagel Slicer: I have a friend who LOVES her bagel slicer. I just don’t get it.
• Pastry Cutter: I use a small food processor for making pastry dough. It's bigger than a pastry cutter, but it has more uses.
• Electric Juicer: I just use a small manual one.
• Electric Frying Pan: another “what exactly is the point of this?” invention.
• Cast Iron Skillet: I don’t get the whole cast-iron thing. Weighs a ton and you’re not supposed to clean it? Ever???
• Electric Crepe Pan: a regular frying pan makes better crepes.
• Food Dehydrator:  bought with the intention of making my own trail mix.  Never mind that I don't particularly like trail mix, and had no intention of ever eating any.

On its way out:

• Crock Pot: a friend had several and so gave me one of hers. I’ve only used it once or twice in the 4 years I've had it.

Kitten Outtakes

Here's the thing about kittens:  they're shameless hams.  They can be sleeping peaceably, completely dead to the world, tummy-up, splay-legged and little kitty paws limp, but should I even approach the bag where we keep our camera equipment, they snap to attention and are ready for their close-up.

Sometimes the result is adorable; other times, it's merely strange.  You be the judge.

  

 

Setting Up Your Recipe Notebook: Choosing Categories

Okay, I know that three posts about organizing recipes is probably two posts too many, but I can't resist this last one: the categories people choose for organizing their recipes.

While typical American categories include "Meat," "Fish," Poultry," and "Vegetables," foreign cookbooks never cease to surprise and delight me with their system of organizing and distinguishing food:  the Turkish categories of "dishes made with yogurt," "things that are stuffed," and the succinctly-worded "frieds" strike me as particularly whimsical, which astonishes Alpay, who considers the classic Turkish category of "Wet Food" to be both necessary and self-evident.

In this way, recipe categories may seem obvious but actually aren't at all; instead, the categories selected reflect the unique proclivities of the individual cook. For this reason, packaged, pre-printed cards, labels, or tabs are bound to bewilder and to disappoint.  As much as I like my new Circa Recipe notebook, I don't know if I have a single recipe out of the 200+ in my collection that would go under the pre-printed "Beverages" tab.  Do people really need recipes for drinks?  And as a former vegetarian who often creates entrees from a mix of side dishes, I don't really think of many things as "Appetizers" per se; nor do I see "Eggs & Cheese" belonging to the same category.

The categories I created in my old, beat-up binder reflected how I cook, which is often informed by my favorite ethnic cuisines: French, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, and Turkish.

As I add my recipes to my new Circa Recipe notebook I'm planning on including my favorite national categories.  I've also decided to keep the 18 pre-printed tab dividers that came with the notebook.  The pre-printed tab dividers are organized not in alphabetical order but appear to be (somewhat)  organized by their appearance in courses, followed by dividers for "Specialties" and "Holiday" and ending with sections for shopping and planning.  For the curious and for those of you planning to start or update your own recipe notebook, the categories in the Circa Recipe notebook are as follows:

• Beverages
• Appetizers
• Soups
• Salads
• Breads
• Vegetables
• Pasta
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Eggs & Cheese
• Poultry
• Meats
• Seafood
• Sweets & Desserts
• Specialties
• Holiday Meals
• Shopping List
• Party Planning

Who knows?  Maybe now that I have tab dividers for "Beverages" and "Appetizers" I may even be inspired to find some recipes to go with them.

Using a Binder or Circa Notebook to Organize Recipes

While I like the idea of using cute little 3 x 5 cards stored in a box to organize recipes, I've never been able to adhere to such a system.  Either my recipes are too elaborate or I'm too long-winded to fit the ingredients and cooking instructions into such a small area. I've also never understood how recipes from newspapers, magazines, or product packaging were supposed to fit on such a card.  Likewise, printing out recipes from cooking blogs or from sites like epicurious.com is a breeze, but usually require an 8.5" x 11" format.

For these reasons, in the past I chose to use a binder to organize my recipes.  The current binder that needs to be replaced, a battered old 1.5" job, ran out of room years ago.  You'd think I would have capitulated long ago and bought a three-inch binder, but instead I mastered the stuff-and-shut strategy, whereby recipes are crammed willy-nilly in-between existing pages, the better to ensure the I-know-it's-in-here-somewhere drama that happens with great frequency.

Now that I'm determined to organize my recipes once and for all, I considered two options: getting a bigger binder, or using Levenger's Circa Notebook to bring order to the chaos.

Using a Binder to Organize Recipes: Advantages, Tricks, and Disadvantages

The advantage to using  binders is that they're cheap, they come in a variety of sizes and colors, and with the addition of a few dividers, it's easy to organize recipes according to category. Some of my friends slide their recipes into page protectors, which protect the recipe against drips and spills and are easy to wipe off.

Since I'm not big on page protectors for recipes--I have so many recipes, I'd rather avoid the excess bulk--the biggest disadvantage to using a binder is that there isn't a satisfactory way to organize recipes that are on cards or are otherwise on small-sized paper.  True, you can staple such a piece onto typing paper, which would work well enough, but then there's still the issue of binders being  noisy and annoying to open and close, especially when you are populating the binder or moving things around.   

Using a Circa Notebook to Organize Recipes: Advantages, Details, and Disadvantages

In the midst of my Circa mania last month, I picked up Levenger's Recipe Notebook while getting the rest of my Circa supplies. While the Recipe Notebook itself is being discontinued (and is currently on sale at the Levenger site as a matter of fact) it's easy enough to make your own recipe notebook by using a Circa notebook shell and some dividers. This is a little pricier than a regular binder, but if you already use Circa and have the hole punch, it's an option worth considering. Unlike with three-ring binders, even small cards are securely fastened in Levenger's equi-distant ring system, without the bulk of having to use page protectors. 

The one downside to using Levenger's system is that their brand of page protectors is prohibitively (as in ridiculously) expensive.  While you could punch regular page protectors and use those with Levenger's system, I'm not sure how pretty it would be. If you're a page protector kind of cook, best stick with a traditional binder. 

Organizing Recipes in 7 Easy Steps

After the close call with my cherished Better Homes and Gardens sugar cookie recipe, I decided to get busy organizing the myriad print-outs, photocopies, 3 x 5 cards, magazine clips, and product packaging  that comprises my recipe collection. 

Organizing recipes is one of those rare projects that is actually kind of fun. It involves the following steps:

1. Choose what format to use (i.e. 3 x 5 cards, binder, Circa notebook, etc.)
2. Buy the supplies. For a binder or Circa notebook, you'll need the binder or notebook itself and some tab dividers.  Page protectors are optional.
3. Gather up your recipes.
4. Determine the categories.
5. Make the labels for tabs/categories.  The labels can be hand- or computer-printed. 
6. Review your recipes for any duplicates; edit out any that you no longer are interested in.
7. Insert the recipes under the suitable category.

Optional fussing includes:

1. Making copies of any recipes that are torn or faded;
2. Slipping the recipes into page protectors;
3. Alphabetizing the recipes under each category, and
4. Creating an index of the recipes.

Tomorrow we'll go over choosing the right format, as well as tricks and tips for getting your recipes range-ready.

Close Call On The Cookie Front

The not-so-new Bettter Homes and Gardens Cook Book

Yesterday I posted my ambitious list of weekend organizing plans centering on getting the kitchen ready for some serious cookie baking next week.  And I did choose the lucky 12 cookies that made this year's cut:

1. Sugar Cookies
2. Spritz
3. Gingerbread People
4. Domino Refrigerator Cookies
5. Monster Cookies
6. Peanut butter Cookies
7. Mexican Wedding Cakes
8. Thumbprints
9. Chocolate Crinkles
10. Chocolate Truffles .  Maybe!  Or:  Lemon-Pecan Slices
11. Miniature Date Pies
12. Jewel-colored Jam Tarts

Exhausted by the grueling cookie-selection process, I decided to pass on organizing the kitchen cupboards today, but didn't entirely slack off:  what has actually been bothering me lately is the mound of paperwork that has gathered under my desk since last winter.  Somehow the under-the-desk-mess escaped the shred-or-file fate of the Supreme Paper Mess I confronted this summer.  I also wanted to tidy up my room some, knowing that it was now-or-never, or at least now-or-after-the-new-year.  And so I settled down and used my first-pass strategy of focusing on the toss-or-keep decision. 

Imagine my surprise when, among the old catalogs and flyers, coupons and receipts, pictures and letters and bills and manuals, I came across the sugar cookie recipe, which I hadn't even realized I was missing in the first place.  It's one of the few cookie recipes on my list that actually come from a book, in this case an ancient, binder-bound copy from Better Homes and Gardens in which the woman all have elaborate manicures and wear aprons.  While I have perhaps two dozen copies of my mother's banana bread and Mexican Wedding Cakes recipes--because God forbid I lose them, they'd be forever gone--I'd never bothered to make copies of the retro Better Homes and Gardens sugar cookie recipe, because I figured it was in a book and thus safe.  But that recipe is actually unique itself, calling for grated orange peel among other surprising ingredients.  I've never found one anything like it,  which explains in part why store-bought sugar cookies are so inedible.

The close call scared me straight.  I solemnly swear to organize my recipes--and make copies of my favorites--once and for all. 

Organizing the Kitchen in Preparation of Holiday Baking

Today I was able to track my new oven; it's been shipped and is slated for arrival on Tuesday!  While traditionally I start my annual cookie bake-off the Friday after Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of moving it up a week this year, which means if all goes according to plan, I may very well be baking next Wednesday afternoon. 

So this weekend I think I'll work on the kitchen some.  The cutlery drawers have again fallen victim to Mystery Crumbs, and there are a few cabinets that are potential avalanche-zones with small, sliding mountains of supplies.  The refrigerator is actually Not That Bad; I just need to toss a few things and wipe down the shelves. 

Cleaning and organizing the cabinets and fridge is crucial in order to make room for the supplies needed to bake 12 dozen each of a dozen types of cookies: a couple bottles of vanilla, half a dozen different types of sprinkles, several pounds of chocolate, and 10 pounds each of of flour and sugar, not to mention the sundry nuts, seeds, oats, peanut butter, cereals, dates, and jams that various recipes call for.  Oh, and 20 pounds of butter.  So you can see how it's helpful to clear the decks and get everything sparkly clean and organized beforehand.

Here's a short list of my Organization plans this weekend:

1. decide which cookies to bake this year
2. determine supplies; make a list
3. clean and organize the two food cabinets and the three pots-and-pans cabinets
4. get out cookie supplies (cookie press, cookie cutters, etc.); clean and organize
5. get out cookie tins; wash and get ready
6. write out 30 holiday cards

What about you?  Are you having people over for T-day?  This weekend is the perfect weekend to do a little kitchen organizing and determine your shopping list.  Not hosting T-day this year?  Perfect!  You can use the time to tackle project you've been putting off or to re-charge your batteries before the season mania begins.

Online Sources for Comparison Shopping

About a year ago, as chance would have it right before cookie-making season, the top element broke in our lousy, developer's-special oven that came with the place.  This was after we had already replaced one of the burners, but before the glass door cracked, at which point I gave up any notion of trying to fix something that was so determined to be broke.  In fact, I've never before seen an appliance so dead-set on being bad; I don't ever recall my mother's stove pulling an attitude, even after decades of daily use bordering on punishment. But then, the developer's-special dishwasher we also were stuck with has already been replaced, and the accompanying refrigerator has been likewise been trying my patience for years. So maybe there's more to all the choices currently available in appliances than marketing smoke-and-mirrors.

Researching a new oven has been on my dread list since August, when the oven door cracked.  It was crucial to get the oven in the fall, but the whole process just sort of overwhelmed me.  Features, specifications, warranties, price: it was a big purchase with so many variables to consider, I just kept putting it off and putting it off, until here we are, just two weeks before cookie-making season kicks off, and I still don't have an oven capable of browning ginger snaps.  Obviously, something had to be done.

So after a couple hours of research, I made my choice and ordered my dream range:  a convection double-oven, the better to support my cookie-baking mania.  The two things that most helped my research:  a subscription to Consumer Reports on line (for a monthly fee of $5.95) which provides shopping advice, photos, detailed reviews, and extensive comparison tables of product features, and pricegrabber.com, which, sure enough, ferreted out by far the best overall price (due to no taxes), even beating out the manufacturer's corporate benefits offer for which we qualified.  The delivery date is slated to be within 10 business days.  If all goes well, we should get it just in time for T-Day, followed, of course, by Cookie Friday.

Being Organized Saves Money

About 8 years ago, I got a letter from the IRS; apparently they thought they owed me money, but needed me to fill out a few forms and provide some documentation. 

At the time, such a proposition roused not excitement but dread.  I had no idea where to find the information they were asking for.  The tax year in question had been a couple years before and had been filed in another state.  I had moved two or three times in the interim, and with each move I got exponentially more disorganized, with all the packing and unpacking and repacking. 

Some time after I got the IRS notice, I came across the former Get Organized group on ivillage led by Regina Leeds, and I started taming the chaos generated by the frequent re-locations.  In the process, I found the documentation the IRS had been looking for.  I called up our accountant, who took care of the forms and correspondence for us; I think it cost $80 to have him do so.  Within a month, a check arrived from the IRS.  The amount: twenty-three hundred dollars. 

You'd think this would have been enough to scare me straight in terms of getting and keeping organized, but the memory of that astonishing check faded over the years while the paperwork again began to pile up. 

In the last month, I started to restore order with my Circa planner. I created a system for reviewing and storing receipts, and continued to go through small mountains of paperwork teetering in piles and stashed in boxes and drawers.  As I took these small steps, I again realized how very much money one stands to save with just a little organizing.  While the savings from organizing this past month don't come near to matching that IRS check, here are some of the ways organizing has saved me money recently:

1. I found the receipt for some things I'd meant to return, and finally was able to do so. Savings: $28.00
2. I found the customer service number and account number for my vendor VISA account, which enabled me to finally cancel it once and for all.  Savings:  $4.95/month + $19.95/a month for a new fee that would have started this upcoming month.
3. I found the customer service number and account number for a service I'd been using, with an eye to closing the account.  While in the end I decided to keep the account, just stating my intention to close it prompted the customer service agent to offer me a better deal on it.  Savings:  $4.95/month.
4. I found the promotional material for perks offered through Alpay's work that includes coupons, rebates, and discounts at dozens of stores.  Immediate savings:  $16.00 off of the water cooler we were planning to buy anyway.
5. Having taken the hour or so to research and buy our own water cooler, we can now get rid of the one we've been renting for the past several years.  Savings:  $11.00/month.
6. The success with finding and reading through the information for Alpay's perks encouraged me to look at those offered by my own work place, where I discovered I could have gotten 20% off a recent, rather sizable purchase, had I shown my employee badge.  I called the vendor (whose name and number I had written in my Circa); he very graciously agreed to refund me 20% of the purchase price.  Savings:  $41.00.

None of these amounts are earth-shattering; certainly I'm not going to be able to retire on the five bucks a month I save from closing my VISA account.  And yet, it really is amazing just how fast such small savings really add up.  Already this month we've saved about $116 and sacrificed nothing for it. It's got me thinking about what other savings I will find, as the Quest continues.

Because Accidents Happen: The Importance of Choosing Indelible Ink

Actually, Lickity Split is (mostly) blameless here. Having recently decided on a paper organizer/address book/calendar, I started to wonder and worry about what would happen if my planner pages got wet.

After I'd read on diyplanner.com about one person's unfortunate experience with a tea-soaked planner, I felt somewhat assured by my recent purchase of scarlett-colored Uni-Ball Vision pens, which are advertised as waterproof (on the Office Max site) or at the very least water "resistant" (on the Uni-ball site).  Still, with recent drizzly days here in Chicago and a long wet winter ahead, I thought it best to see for myself just how waterproof or water "resistant" Uni-Ball ink really is.

Assessment Method

After scribbling away with the Uni-Ball, I deliberately spilled about two teaspoons of water onto the page. Lickity Split, of course, immediately volunteered his help in creating a mess.

Results

If you catch the spill and blot it immediately--i.e. before you can count to ten really fast--there is a minimum of damage, which was sort of encouraging in that many inks don't even pass that test.  Still, I was amazed to see the ink all but disappear in the time it took to me to take four pictures, which was less than two minutes. The part that really shocked me is that my pen is included on a list on Uni-Ball's website specifying those products with ink designed to prevent "check washing," the process by which thieves remove ink from checks in the service of forgery.  After much clicking, it does appear elsewhere on the site that Uni-Ball distinguishes between the ink of some pens--such as their 207 model, and that used in Vision model I bought, but after having recently bought a dozen Vision pens, I feel disappointed if not exactly ripped off. 

What Next?

I've had great luck with Copic markers, liners, and felt-tip pens used in design projects, so I decided to see if Copic had anything that might work as an every day pen.  Indeed, it appears they do: Copic offers indelible, pigment-based ink in--yes!--refillable pens with replaceable nibs, giving a new definition of "permanent pen" in terms of both ink and the fact that the pen itself needn't ever be thrown away.  Bonus points to Copic for providing a choice of 12 colors and 10 nib sizes.  At $7.95 for the pen, $2.50 per refill, and $2.50 to $3.95 for nib replacements, I'm definitely seeing a Copic solution to my planner-pen problem.