Frugal February

January is winding down -- seems like it went by fast this time. Monday is the first day of February, and marks the beginning of the now yearly challenge my friends and I participate in: Frugal February. The excesses of the holidays are over, and the dismay of the bills is setting in. What better time than the shortest month of the year to practice some much-needed restraint?

Frugal February goes like this: don't buy what you don't absolutely need. Revolutionary, right? I know, but it's a habit a lot of people tend to forget, and ITE (ding!) it's a skill we need to work on much more vigorously. Here's a few tips for joining in on Frugal Feb:

• Before heading to the grocery store, shop your fridge, freezer and pantry. Meal plan, and buy only the items you really need. Make it a game to see how many meals you can come up with using only what you have on hand. I've been playing this game a lot recently on my other blog, Delicious in Season, so check it out if you need some inspiration.
• Put away your debit card. Set a budget, grab some cash and buy the necessities. Seeing the cash in your wallet drain is much more emotional than the obliviousness of swiping plastic.
• Take the time to work at home, decluttering. You knew that would be in here somewhere, right? See if you can find any discards that are salable, and make a little cash. Spend some time simplifying your home while simplifying your budget -- your wallet and your home will both breathe easier.
• If you DO see something you want (and you will), write it down, or take a photo with your cell phone. Give yourself some time to cool off of the shopping high before deciding whether you really want to purchase it.
• If you haven't already, spend a few minutes getting together your paperwork for filing taxes (and hope for a refund!), file all 2009 receipts and bills, and start new files for 2010 receipts and bills. You can learn how I organize bills here and receipts here.
• Finally, make the Valentine's spirit last all month long. Spend quality time with your family, make some homemade cards and a cool mixed tape/CD, and tell your sweetheart you love them enough to save some cash.

Planning for the Future

A little future planning here and there can make your brain rest a little easier. Here are a few random plans I'm working on in my free time now to avoid panic later.

• Next year's Christmas list. I'd really like to give more handmade gifts this year as opposed to store bought. Not only are they more personal, but hopefully they'll save a lot of money. But to do that, I need to plan way ahead, to make sure I budget enough time to finish them all and so I can bargain-hunt my supplies effectively. Preplanning today involved making new notes in my new favorite productivity tool Evernote, with different homemade gift ideas that fit with my skills and photo reminders from the Net. 
• This year's decluttering and decorating goals. I know, everyone wants to get "organized" right after New Year. But it's never going to happen if you don't plan it out. Each year, I like to take a few minutes to break down the projects I want to do over the course of 12 months, rather than just saying I'm going to "declutter my house" and be overwhelmed and discouraged before February. This month, I'm working on my living room/dining area. February will be my office. 
• A meal plan. I'm not good at following a set meal schedule of Monday = chicken and Tuesday = beef. However, I am pretty good at looking at a list of meals and choosing 4-5 to make this week, based on what we have in the pantry and what's on sale at the grocery. So I'm making notes now of all my family's favorite meals, so each week I can take 5 minutes to choose a few. Saves time and $$ too.  
• Some travel reminders. I'm going on a girls' retreat in March with some of my BFFs. We're already talking about it all the time, so I want to make sure I don't forget anything (like the craft supplies for a project or a book I promised someone). I've got a list started so I can jot down anything I need to remember to take that's out of the norm of my usual travel packing list. 

Got anything you want to download from your brain? No time like the present to start plotting!

A Green Oven Cleaning

A green way to clean the oven: Scrub with a mixture of baking soda and water on a Brillo pad or other scrubby thing. Then scrub with Dawn and hot water. Then spray the hell out of it with white vinegar and wipe clean (there will be a bit of baking soda volcano action). Spray again and wipe with white vinegar as a final rinse. Sit back and wish you'd used the self-cleaning feature instead.

Uppercase Living Decorative Prints

Check out Uppercase Living's new Decorative Prints! Decorative Prints are the hottest thing in vinyl décor. Featuring beautifully printed, removable and repositionable vinyl, this distinctive  product comes in easy-to-use theme packs that can be applied and reapplied to your favorite spaces. With both whimsical and classical designs to choose from, our collection enhances any room in your home and is the perfect way to showcase your individual style. 

Uppercase Living offers 14 Decorative Print theme packs to fit any style and any space. To see all the options, check out pages 6–9 of the 2010 Spring/Summer Idea Catalog. Each design comes on vinyl that is easy to apply, remove, and reposition. Whether you want to capture the elegance of your living room or bring out your child’s creative side, you’ll love what Decorative Prints can help you create!

As always, you can check my web site to see more products or to order from Uppercase Living. Contact me if you have any questions! http://sandykreps.uppercaseliving.net

Delicious (with Potatoes, in a Crockpot!)

If you liked the last potato soup recipe I posted, check out the new crockpot version, perfect for workdays! Go to my food blog Delicious in Season today for the Pantry Potato Soup v2 (Crockpot Style) I made yesterday. This one's ingredients are a bit different than the stove-top version, but the end result is a creamy potato soup just as tasty and filling. Enjoy!

Delicious (with Potatoes)

Mosey on over to my food blog Delicious in Season today for a super yummy Pantry Potato Soup recipe I concocted last night using stuff I already had in the freezer, fridge and pantry. I was honestly a little surprised at how incredibly good it turned out -- proof that experimenting in the kitchen with what you already have CAN turn into an epic win! Enjoy!

January Seems to Demand Change

It was rather difficult to come up with a topic to write about this week. It's a new year, a new decade, and the Internet is overflowing with advice on making resolutions, how to get yourself organized, how to be healthier. It's almost a requirement these days to declare something you want to change over the coming year. Given that my entire blog is pretty much about getting organized, simplifying, and living green, it felt cheesy to post about resolving to do those things. Instead, I'd like to talk about simplifying those resolutions you're making. 

It's widely known that most New Year Resolutions are abandoned soon after the champagne is gone. They sound good at the time, but then when your head clears, they sound more like work. So, instead of "resolving" to change everything (I will eat healthy and go to the gym 5 times a week!), how about just planning to do "better" (We'll have some veggies with dinner every day and I'll play soccer with my kids in the backyard a couple times a week.)

You don't need a laundry list of things to tackle right away -- that will just overwhelm you and make it that much easier to give up. Instead, think about just one or two habits you want to work on for now. Baby steps. Once you're on track with those, consider adding another one. You have all year long -- who says all the changes *have* to be made in January?

Best wishes for 2010, whatever you resolve to do.