by kathilipp | Apr 6, 2011 | Home, The Get Organized Project |
Today, as I was coming downstairs I heard the words that a woman never wants to hear.
“Kim thinks the freezer stopped running.”
Ugh – that is not what I wanted to hear from Sunnie, my ministry manager. Really? Had it really stopped running?
Well, the Skinny Cows that were now Runny Cows were the first indications that a mystery kid hadn’t just left a door open for a few minutes.
But I’m the kind of girl who turns defrosted lemon juice into lemonade. I thought, “Well, at least I can clean out the freezer from expired food and get a fresh start!” Lemonade.
So I started to go through the frozen dinners I’ve made with The Frozen Gourmet, drippy chicken breasts, and frozen yogurt containers. My only consultation? At least I was clearing out all that food that was past it’s prime.
Except? There was no expired food. Not one ice cream container, not one frozen pizza, not one icy pork roast. Nothing was expired.
Nothing.
A few years ago? Half the stuff would have been older than my kids.
So, do you have an Organizational Milestone that Martha Stewart would Never Understand?
- You found your car keys without having to pay your kids to help you.
- You went to get your allergy medicine and it was right where you expected.
- You fit your car in the garage.
- You opened up a DVD case on your shelf and the right DVD was in it.
Share with me. If you do, I will choose one commenter to win a copy of THE FROZEN GOURMET. (The winner will be announced on Monday.)
by kathilipp | Apr 3, 2011 | The Get Organized Project |
I am in the midst of writing one of my next books, The Get Yourself Organized Project, and I could use your help in the area of the kitchen…
- What is your biggest organizing challenge?
- What is something you have tried, organization-wise, that has worked for you that you would love to share with the rest of the world.
Now let me be very specific. If you want to share how to color-code your spices, please pick up a Martha Stewart magazine and leave me be. However, if you are a real person and live a real life and have some real advice, I would LOVE to hear it.
I will be asking in different areas of life over the next few weeks. Can’t wait to hear your answers…
AND, if I use your question, or your great idea in the book, you will get to be a published author (and a free copy of the book.) How cool would that be?
So please, share.
And if you were looking for one spiffy idea on organizing, I will share it in tomorrow’s post.
Past winners:
The Winner of THE ME PROJECT is : Becky and the Winner of Arlene Pellicane’s fab book is:Linda Carlblom
Email sunnie at kathilipp.com with your name, address and what you won and she will get it right out to you.
by kathilipp | Feb 22, 2011 | The Get Organized Project, Uncategorized |
My sister-in-law, Lucinda, is one of my favorite people on the planet (and not just because she is the main caretaker to the cutest kid under 18 on the planet, my niece, Elsa…) She’s a great cook, a huge encouragement to my kids, and she puts up with my baby brother on a daily basis. A saint, really.
But little did I know the secret talents that my sister-in-law possessed in the stain-removal area. (Honed to perfection by the cute girl sliding down the tube, pictured…)
My mom told me, with great admiration in her voice, that Lucinda could “Get any stain out of anything.”
And since this blog is all about getting to the good stuff in life, I thought that if we all had a sure fire stain removal system, that could free up hours every year to do more exciting things like write a book, start a non-profit, or redecorate a room. (Or perhaps I am just REALLY bad at stain removal…)
Here is Lucinda’s surefire strategy:
How to Remove Laundry Stains
- Spray with stain remover. Honestly – what kind doesn’t really matter. Pick your favorite and really douse it.
- Rub and let set for a while. Patience is important here.
- Put garment in 1/4 c of Oxi Clean and 1 gallons of water and let soak until you wash a load of clothes.
- Wash with other like clothes.
- Check the stained items before transferring them to dryer; if the stain is still visible put the garment aside and start the process over again (though the stains often come out even after going through the dryer). Sun exposure helps lighten stains.
Other note on how to remove laundry stains from Lucinda: “Peroxide with liquid laundry detergent works wonders on wine stains, and my mom even used it to clean a doggie vomit stain from her carpet. I rarely follow the advice of testing for color fastness on a section of fabric that is inconspicuous; I either try to get rid of the stain or just live with it.”
“I think it all comes down to a little elbow grease & persistence (like many things in life). Oh, and it is probably true that smarter women (and/or men) worry far less about the stains in their children’s clothes.”
I couldn’t agree with her last couple of sentences more…
Want Kathi’s Wildly popular Homemade HE Laundry Detergent Recipe?
by kathilipp | Aug 10, 2010 | Because Sometime? I'm Just All Shallow - You Know?, Shameless Self-Promotion, The "What's for dinner?" Project, The Get Organized Project, Updates |
We’re both working for Nickelodeon.
OK – so he has a major kids show and I will be a food writer for their parenting magazine, but still, I’m pretty excited.
So, for those of you who read this blog, let me tell you, a lot of it is due to you.
Here’
s how it went down:
I have the world’s best agent, Rachelle Gardner. Every time I talk to her she assures me that I, in fact, am her only client and that she spends all of her waking hours working to make sure that I am completely happy. Well, I have evidence to the contrary.
Seems that she has another client, Erin MacPherson. I will excuse this little indiscretion on Rachelle’s part because Erin is super cool and real and funny. (And since you have amazing taste – I know this because you read this blog – you should absolutely check out her super-fun blog and new book here.)
Anywho.
Erin and I started chatting by e-mail and then she checked out my blog. That’s when she discovered me and my deep abiding love for all things tomato. After doing a little digging in the blog, she saw that roughly a quarter of all my post were food related.
Little did I know that for her day job, Erin is a writer/editor for Nickelodeon Family and Kids digital and edits their weekly food newsletter. Oh, and did I want to be a food writer for them.
Um, yeah.
So thanks to all of you and your love of all things yummy, I get to do a very cool job and work with a really cool woman.
Writing about food.
These are a few of my favorite things…
Oh – and if you want to subscribe to Parent Connect Food Newsletter sign up for it here. (My first issue – coming out next week – is all about how to use fresh tomatoes. Yum…)
by kathilipp | Aug 1, 2010 | The "What's for dinner?" Project, The Get Organized Project, tips and ideas, Uncategorized |
Everyone I’m related to knows of my deep, abiding love of all office supplies. Sharpies and labels and Post-its – Oh My!
But now I have discovered a whole new obsession in life – Home Depot is the New Office Depot – on steroids.
Since I have been clocking a lot of time in the kitchen for my new book The “What’s for Dinner?” Project I have found a new, invaluable tool for all things culinary – Blue Painter Tape.
While I believe in the classic uses (check out 3M’s great website for some great decorating ideas,) here are six reasons I am now an evangelist of blue tape in the art of cooking:
1. Identification We are big believers in the green bags and storage containers that keep fruit and veggies fresh longer. The only problem? You can’t see what’s in them.
So as I wash and store my fruits and veg, I label the containers with the contents so I know what’s what. I notice that I am more prone to actually cook at home if I actually know what I have lurking in the fridge.
2. Freezer Meal Labels This is also a great technique for labeling your freezer meals. For each batch, I use a different color of tape, so I can tell right away which meals to use up.
3. Use it up or die (of food poisoning) trying My whole family is obsessed with pita pizzas (see my very loose recipe on how to make them here.) They are cheap and yummy and low in fat – a win – win – win.
The only problem? We never knew the vintage of the half-opened marinara sauce containers in our fridge. Now I label anything I open with the date that it was opened (and when you ask why I don’t just write on it with a beloved Sharpie it’s because sometimes it get’s all slippy slidey).
This is not only saving us room in the fridge, I know it’s saving us money. We are not opening up new jars of sauce just because we are unable to identify the age of the three jars that are already opened.
4. Combo Packs OK – don’t laugh. I know this problem doesn’t come up very often – combining slow moving liquids.
But, when you are can’t stand the ANTICIPATION (he he) this is a great way of not having to spend your afternoon waiting for ketchup to drip.
Plus – AGAIN – saving room in the fridge is a beautiful thing. (Obviously, this is a huge issue in my life.)
5. Seal a Meal (or a packet of crispy noodles…) Sealing up opened packages. Not very fancy, but the good thing is you can open it and close it several times and it keeps resealing for a long time.
I’m sorry if it looks tacky (no pun intended) but if it keeps my Chinese noodles nice and crisp – I don’t mind it at all…
6. Posting Recipes (but not on the internet) Finally. If you are like me, one of the main ways I find new recipes is by trolling the internet. I use to stick the recipes up on my fridge with a magnet but the only problem was that the fridge in not located near where I cook. So finally I got smart and taped up the recipes on my cabinet.
I never wanted to do it with masking tape (it can leave goo behind), or packing tape (it can peel paint) but the blue tape is a lot like a Post-it – tape-style.
So – here are my questions for you:
1. Do you have any uses for the magical blue tape that I have yet to discover?
2. Do you have any weird or odd uses for other things in the kitchen when you are cooking? I would love to consider using them in the book…
Photo credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Kitchen_g272-Refrigerator_p91061.html
Today, as I was coming downstairs I heard the words that a woman never wants to hear.
