Can't believe that, until A Perfect Fit , I had not written new blog post in over a year. Time flew, life was lived, and lessons were learned. Most noteworthy is that I've assumed a more relaxed posture towards housekeeping. I found that keeping up with the standard of clean and tidy I had become used to, having household help overseas, is unmanageable. I still clean thoroughly, if not as frequently, and we still endeavor to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Still, with three young children, I spend much of my day tidying. We attempted to ease the burden of cooking by enjoying takeout out a few more times a month but quickly realized that eating out more than a handful of times per month, even at inexpensive restaurants, has a significant effect on our food budget. For a family of five, the only way to stay under budget, $5 to $7 per person, per day, is to prepare the majority of meals at home. To put things into perspective, what we can reasona...

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...

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...