Living like we do is no cakewalk. It is hard, and requires a level of commitment that can be unsustainable. I've come to appreciate the benefit of taking a break and regrouping. It has been a while since my last post because frankly, the rigidity of my routine was wearing me down. I created a place for everything but everything was not in its place. I was struggling to keep up with the household chores. Cooking, cleaning, care of children, and the like are tasks that were previously performed by my household help and I was finding life stateside to be rather difficult. Not being able to keep up and the resulting disorder in our home brought me to my wit's end. Of course, everyone in the home was feeding off my ill temper and it was making for a very bad situation. I challenged myself with letting a few things go, with the condition that I needed to recharge and I would get back on track as soon a possible. I couldn't turn a blind eye to the toothpaste on the mirro...

Ah ha! I have been had. I have been, for a few months now, a huge fan of Costco Same-Day (Instacart) and I still am but... Costco Same-Day (Instacart) and Costco 2-Day pricing are not the same. I was so overcome with joy about being able to get my Costco fix on the same day that I never looked closely at the 2-Day service.  You will probably get the the best bang for your buck ordering non-perishables via the 2-Day service unless there is a sale on the Same-Day side. Try to fill your Same-Day and 2-Day shopping carts at the same time and compare every single item before you checkout. I bought the following items and saved $4.30.  Unfortunately, I failed to cross check my carts and accidentally missed out on sale prices for almonds and cereal. I would have saved an additional $3.50 if I put those items in my Same-Day order. It is just a few bucks but we are penny pinching, remember? Costco 2-Day vs. Same-Day Service Kirkland Signature Minced Garlic in Wa...

Since my No Ramen Here post about grocery shopping, I have made some adjustments to the way we shop for food. I increased the frequency of our Costco orders to weekly when I realized that we were visiting the local grocery store very frequently and spending significantly more for basics - eggs, milk, juice, and fruit. I determined that it was better to order in bulk and get more bang for our buck. For example, a tray of 1 dozen eggs at our local supermarket costs about $3 but I can get 2 dozen eggs for $4.29 from Costco . We are at the end of the third week this month and still have about $60 left in our $700/month food budget. The fridge, freezer, and pantry are stocked such that we won't need to go to the store for groceries through the end of the month. Under budget months are my opportunity to stock up on baking supplies, canned goods, and bulk snacks. Here is a breakdown of our shopping trips and spending: 3 x Costco - $436.82 3 x Whole Foods - $126.52 1 x Trader...

A well organized home should also be a clean home. It is important to grasp that clearing clutter and removing dirt are not the same. For optimum results, tidy first then clean. No matter the size of your home, cleaning will overwhelm you if you approach it haphazardly. Determine what needs to be done daily, weekly, or monthly, then create a cleaning schedule. If you are fortunate to have household help, this approach makes your expectations clear. It is easy to rate the performance of a domestic employee if your housework requirements are reasonable and do not exceed that which you could do yourself. I plan for two days of heavy cleaning and three days that are less structured. Here is an abbreviated version of my weekly cleaning plan: Monday - Laundry (clothing), general tidying and dusting Tuesday - Kitchen deep cleaning Wednesday - Laundry (clothing), general tidying and dusting Thursday - Laundry (sheets and towels), Bathroom deep cleaning Friday - Laundry (clothing), g...

Even though the D.C. area is teeming with activities for children, we don't get out much. We don't cannot do a lot of events, activities, shows, play spaces and such. The reality is that many of these activities are cost prohibitive. Keep in mind that were are a family of five so a $10 admission fee translates to $50 just to get into a venue. For instance, our family recently enjoyed a movie at AMC Theatres and the tickets cost $60. A stop at TGI Fridays  for a treat for the kids, and an early dinner for the adults (one appetizer, one entree, and three desserts) was another $40. Just like that, and not including the cost of transportation, we blew $100 on a fairly ordinary outing. Thankfully, we were using AMC gift cards that we received for Christmas. When we do get out, we seek out free activities that are close to home, because we have no car. Weather permitting, we take long walks around the neighborhood or spend time at nearby playgrounds. We are new to the area and...

A measuring tape was our best friend when furnishing our 1070 sq. ft space. Any furniture we would buy had to fit well and provide storage. We learnt the hard way that measuring at floor level, instead of from wall to wall, is imperative because the thickness of baseboards cause problems when space is at a premium. We made use of every nook and cranny to the extent possible. In doing so, a number of awkward spaces became functional and we were left with a fair amount of walking space. This post focuses on what products worked best for our needs. We converted the cloak closet to a pantry as the kitchen does not offer adequate storage. Wire shelving and clear Sterilite Latch Boxes and Flip Top Boxes offer a clear view of what we have. This saves us time when making grocery lists and simplifies some mealtimes as the kids are able to point out what they want for a snack or breakfast. A narrow space in the pantry (to the right of the shelving) was ideal for a wall mounted bro...

Meal planning is a daunting task but looking at the credit card statement after weeks of mostly eating out is horrifying. We are making a huge effort to eat-in and my husband packs his lunches. We just ended our first three week period of our new meal plan. We've determined that a Costco order every three weeks ($300), a once weekly supermarket trip ($50) and one or two online orders of dry goods ($40) is adequate for our family. This works out roughly to about $700 per month or about $5 per person per day. This calculation does not include occasional, non-essential, eating out - about $60 every two weeks. Soon after the big Costco order was received, I spent an entire day prepping, cooking and freezing meals so as to minimize spoiling of fresh veggies. I split the supersize bag of spinach and froze one half for use in pasta and quiche type dishes. The other half was refrigerated for use in salads and sandwiches. Crustless Vegetable Quiche What we ate: Crustless Veget...

An overseas posting means free housing, utilities and home maintenance. A stateside posting means you are on your own and with less money because you no longer receive the allowances to which you have become accustomed. You are left to figure out where you can afford to live and what to do with all your stuff. Not just the stuff you accumulated while overseas but also all the stuff you placed in storage before you went overseas. Many of us cannot afford the square footage to accommodate all the stuff. So we purge ( click for tips on what to do with all the stuff ) or we go into debt and pay for comfort. Our 90 boxes in our old living/dining room Before making our most recent move we thought long and hard about what would work best for our family. We made the choice to forgo a house with a yard further out in favor of a small apartment with a short commute to work for my husband. It is important to us that the kids see Daddy before bed every night. We have also chosen to not o...

Our family of five recently downsized from a four bedroom townhouse to a 1070 sq. ft. apartment and we have no regrets. We are committed to keeping only the things we need and love, and letting everything else go - a simpler life beckons. Our 1070 sq. ft. space We've sold, gifted and trashed a staggering amount of stuff this last year and our journey to a well organized, uncluttered life continues. Getting rid of things is not easy. Our best efforts to get started are typically thwarted by sentimental attachment, how much the item cost when we acquired it, what we perceive the current value to be, the thought of how much work is required to dispose of the items, and so on. We move a lot. My husband's job requires that we pack up all our worldly belongings every few years and move to a different country, possibly a different continent. Necessity propels us, motivates us, to start our cleaning out with the things that weigh the most or take up the most space. The ar...