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Molly's Money-Saving Digests
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Greetings!
Have you ever felt like the guy in the picture above? Whether you work from home like I do, or you work in an office outside your home, clutter can make us feel exactly like that--HELP!
This week's newsletter is all about office organization. The articles and ideas I share with you this week should help you clear the clutter and give you room for inspiration to work and do your best!
By the way, don't forget to stop by the blog and enter the new giveaway we have going on. Five winners will receive a Purposeful Planning bundle.
Are you ready to make a path through the paper and clutter? Get those cleaning aprons on and let's get organized!
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Special Announcements
Molly Gets Organized Bundle
Since our organization-focused Digests have been reader favorites hands-down, we've decided to put together a special "organization bundle" just for you. This two-part bundle includes the January 2010 Digest, with the theme, Evaluate, Organize, Prioritize. This Digest focuses on helping you prioritize and organize your time, money, and belongings. Read the description and see a sample HERE.
The second part of this special package is a compilation of ALL the organization-related articles from our 2009 Digests. You'll find articles on cleaning, gift planning, shopping, garage sales, menu planning, and much more! This volume is over 60 pages of organization help and encouragement.
Between the two E-Books, you'll have over 100 pages of information and resources to help you get organized, right at your fingertips!
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Blog Highlights
Tips and Ideas From Econobusters
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Featured Website
Ask the Decorator.com
This week's featured website is askthedecorator.com. If you need help getting your desk in order, they have a very good article entitled, "How To Find Your Desk and Keep It Clear." There is also a checklist that you can use to make sure you have the necessities on your desk and purge the ones you don't need. Go by and check out this great website! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Freebie of the Week
Free Quickbooks Simple Start
If your files are looking quite ragged, why not take this opportunity to put them on the computer using this free accounting software from Intuit? I have used Simple Start for a few years and it has been a big blessing to me and my paperwork!
You can download your free software from the Intuit website by clicking this link.
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Recipe of the Week
Chicken and Dumplings
Photo courtesy of EPerceptions @ Istockphoto.com
Where I live, the weather is still very much cold, so my family and I are taking the opportunity to eat as many soups and stews as we can. This week, I decided to try my hand at Chicken and Dumplings. I had never made them before and they turned out scrumptious, so I thought I would share the recipe with you!
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
3 pounds chicken, uncooked
2-½ quarts salted water
2 whole bay leaves
1 Tablespoon oregano, to taste
½ whole onion
10 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoons salt to taste
½ teaspoons pepper to taste
4 cups self-rising flour
½ cups shortening, like crisco
Directions:
To make dumplings:
Mix together the flour and shortening. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of the seasoned water to the flour mixture. Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/2" thick. Cut with a pizza cutter to make 1" by 1" squares. Then throw them into the seasoned broth.
While the dumplings are cooking, shred the chicken and add to the dumplings and broth. Serve with your favorite crackers.
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Weekly Tutorial
Cash System Envelope
Photo courtesy of Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs
One thing that I consider part of office organization is financial organization. Because most of my bill paying, check writing, and checkbook balancing happen in my office, it is very much a part of my office. If left to itself for too long, it can become a looming stack of receipts and bills!
I found this neat tutorial on making a cash system envelope system. I am sure that you have heard of this type of system if you have done any kind of budgeting or debt reduction system.
This tutorial teaches you how to make very pretty envelopes to keep in your wallet! I cannot wait to get started on making mine. You can find the steps to make one for yourself by visiting the website HERE.
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Idea Center
Tools to Help You Organize Your Office
- Here is a great video clip on how to organize your home office.
- Another video you might be interested in is this one on file organization.
- Since most of us are work-at-home moms, the kids are around most of the day. Here is an article on how to get them involved in your business.
- Getting our finances in order is a great way to organize our office. Here is a checklist that you can use.
- Have you ever thought about color coding your office? Smead offers some great tips on how to make your office more user-friendly.
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Molly's Money-Saving Digest
Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize
Are you squeezing 32 hours into a 24-hour day?
How often does your money do a disappearing act?
Is stuff overflowing your home and hindering your happiness?
Time, money, and belongings--everyone deals with them.
Find out how to get a grip on it all.
It's a brand new year and a perfect time to evaluate just how you're managing, reassess your life priorities, and put some worthwhile organizational tools in place. Whether it's time, money, or belongings, learn to evaluate, prioritize, and organize--everything fits into this simple management formula.
Tie on an apron, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to roll (the dough)! Take a glimpse at the features you'll find in the newest January 2010 Digest:
Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize: There are three "life currencies" that we all like to have organized--time, money, and belongings. To really organize any of these areas, you'll need to first evaluate and then prioritize. Use the tools included in this Digest!
Time: Learn to do more with the hours you have. Use a copy of the blank month-at-a-glance calendar page as a simple way to evaluate where your time is being spent. Prioritize your daily to-do list, adjust your schedule, and organize your days and hours to suit you.
Money: Use the tool provided to evaluate just where that money is being spent. Check out the wide selection of free budgeting tools and advice with the links provided. Learning to prioritize is one of the biggest keys to financial stability and progress.
Stuff: It's the perfect time to re-organize your belongings-especially with all those newly received Christmas items! Does your family have a packrat tendency? Take the month-long challenge! Do you have closets bursting with clothes? The clothing inventory chart could really help!
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We Want to Hear From You!
We are currently in the process of getting ideas for upcoming newsletters for 2010. What would you like us to write about?
If you have any ideas for future newsletters for the winter months, email them to me with "newsletter" as the subject line. Until next week!
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do you have something to share? Write to us at MollyGreen@Econobusters.com. All submissions become the property of Econobusters.com and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC ("TOS") and will not be returned. Making a submission constitutes full consent to the Econobusters' Submission Guidelines and Release, and a grant of unlimited permission and continuing, non-exclusive rights for Econobusters.com and TOS, to print, publish, broadcast and use all portions of your submission, including without limitation your full name, on Econobusters.com and other Internet websites owned or operated by TOS, in Molly's Money-Saving Digest and all other electronic, digital and print publications produced, created or published by TOS in accordance with the Econobusters' Submission Guidelines and Release posted at Econobusters. TOS will make reasonable efforts to withhold personal names if requested at the time of original submission. |
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