The Good Wife

Father's Day ~FREE PRINTABLE~

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:34:00 +0000

Just like for Mother's Day, I created a FREE PRINTABLE to celebrate all things Dad.

This is a super cute way to document all the thoughts your littles have about their dads while they are still young and funny and in the "kids say the darnedest things" stage of life. That goes away all too soon, so what better way to capture it than with this printable.

You can download this FREE PRINTABLE here.

Need something cute to give to Dad this Father's Day? How about this I Love You to Pieces craft?

Now to have The Good Daughter fill this out for The Good Husband. I wonder if she claims he is stinky, just like me.

Love You to Pieces Father's Day (or B-Day) Craft

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:58:00 +0000

So The Good Husband had a birthday recently. He is generally a sour puss when it comes to all things celebrating. I, on the other hand, LOVE LOVE FUCKING LOVE ELEVENTY!!!1!!!!11!!! all thing even slightly celebratory. I especially love birthdays when it is a day to celebrate you.

So keeping in mind TGH likes shit low key and we are on a budget this year, I decided to do a simple craft to celebrate the day he graced the universe with his presence. Break out the hot glue guns!

I have seen this floating around in the Internets, usually in a Father's Day craft round up. And don't get me wrong, this is a *perfect* Father's Day craft. It has the right amount of cheesiness.

To make it, all you have to do is cut out a collar and tie (I used printer paper glued to cardstock) and a We Love You To Pieces cut out. Then glue them on to a jar (I used a pint mason jar) and fill the jar with Reese's Pieces. We love you to {Reese's} pieces. Get it?

How cute!!

But let's face it. TGH really didn't give a shit about it. He hugged us all as thanks b/c that's his job, but he only really cared about a jar full of candy that he and only he got to fucking eat.

Dulce de Leche Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:59:00 +0000

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll already know that I tried really hard not to fuck up this recipe for Dulce de Leche sauce the other day. I guess boiling milk is a temperamental bitch and she fucked up my stove. But, after 2 hours, I had this jar of thick, glorious, sweet Dulce de Leche sauce.

Now, the original intent was to make churros but let me tell you that when you make churros and you can't find the star tip to your pastry bag, you end up with a plate of sweets that literally look like shit.

Do you know how hard it is to eat something that looks like a huge piece of shit? I was so excited to have a new recipe on the blog that I might have cried a little when it all turned to shit. I thought I might post it anyway, but let's face it, I have enough problems with my shitty photos already. No need to an actual shit photo.

But the good thing was the recipe only called for half the sauce. So what did I do with the other half? Stay tuned.

recipe from Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

Hair Accessories Organizer AKA Hair Pretty Holder

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

When The Good Daughter was a tiny little thing, I thought I didn't have to worry about hair accessories. I mean, I only have the barest few to get me by. I don't even wash my hair daily, so there's that too.

I wish now, that I had gotten a giant ass bow for her when she was a newborn but I didn't. And then she didn't grow hair for nearly 2 years. Bless her heart.

She's going on 4 now and has gotten some hair accessories along the way. She calls them hair pretties.

Look at that sweet face. A mugshot, 16 years in the making

Before I just had them all lumped in a box in her dresser, but it was messy and unorganized. I wanted a way for TGD to see all her choices but in a way that wouldn't drive me nuts or require any work on my part. Lazy parenting FTFW.

So I made this hair accessories organizer aka hair pretty holder to hang in our bathroom.

All of her hair pretties are hanging out for her to see - flower clips or headband? the eternal question - and choose in the morning.

It was a simple thing to make too - just some foam board, fabric, ribbon and pegs. I did have to fiddle with the head band holders but after some more hot glue, they are now even and can hold several more head bands.

I decided to use 4 ribbons for hair clips. Then I added two loops that attach with velcro to hold her ponytail holders and then the two pegs for head bands. I attached it to our linen closet in our bathroom using command strips. I imagine when TGD gets a little older, I can hang this in her room.

For now they keep my bathroom and her room hair pretty clutter free.

Mother's Day ~FREE PRINTABLE~

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Mother's day is this Sunday. This is a day where us moms should be able to sleep in late, have well behaved and quiet children and a self cleaning house. Sadly, the likelihood of that happening is right up there with me waking up in the middle of a Channing Tatum and Shia LaBeouf sandwich, with the body of Christina Hendricks and the hair of Kate Beckinsale and the bank account of Bill Gates. But I hope you can still have an amazing day.

One of the things I love about having children, is the simple wonder they have for everyday things. Being a cynical adult, I have lost all that magic and I get swallowed up by all the things I am doing wrong as a mom. So its nice to be able to see through the eyes of your children that you are actually a decent mom.

So I thought it would be nice for me to have something to keep forever as proof that my kids did once love me. Believe me, I am saving these babies for when The Good Daughter hits 12 and "GAWD YOU SUCK MOM!! WHATEVER!! I HATE YOU!!!"

This I Love Mom printable is a great way to capture all that cute kid stuff they have in their head. Your kids get to write their favorite memory of you, all your favorite things and what makes you special. Best of all, it's FREE!

Get your copy here, ~~give it to your husband~~ shit, you know you will just do it on your own anyway, fill it out with your kids and then get it delivered to you with your breakfast in bed on Sunday. Unless your husband is like mine, in which case, you just get a bottle of tequila b.c he can't screw that up.

And, I do hope you have a happy Mother's Day. (Fill one out for you mom too!)

P.S.: You will notice that not only is folding laundry the thing I am the best at, but I am also stinky (dirty hippy 4 LYFE!!) and look the best when I brush my hair. But the best thing about me is that I love The Good Daughter - her words.

Did you miss Mother's Day?

Don't worry. I will have one of these babies ready for Father's Day. Just check in June, um, whenever the hell Father's Day is. ;)

Etsy Shop Grand Opening Celebration!

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:41:00 +0000

I have some huge, exciting news.

I now have an Etsy Shop!!

The Good Son is still not sleeping through the night and I thought I should make better use of my free time instead of playing Candy Crush Saga. Besides, I am stuck of level 65, aka 8th circle of hell, anyway. So, I have created a shop for all my printables.

Don't worry, I still have some awesome free printables on here. And will have more to come.

In the meantime, why don't you celebrate my Etsy Shop Grand Opening with me?! You can score some sweet discounts and enter for a chance to win custom printables.

All the details are on my FB event page. (or see below)

~~Etsy Shop Grand Opening Celebration~~

Celebrate the Grand Opening of my Etsy Shop (http://etsy.me/11zxWCx) and receive discounts and a chance to win custom printables!!

My Etsy Shop officially opens on May 6.

But you can get discounts and a chance to win custom printables now.

~Attend the FB event and get a 15% discount. Invite your friends for a 20% discount. Simply have your friend leave a post on the event wall saying you invited them and you BOTH will receive a 20% discount.

~Visit my Etsy Shop (http://etsy.me/11zxWCx) during the Grand Opening Week, May 6 – May 12, and send me a convo in Etsy to get a 25% discount. Favorite my shop or any item and receive an additional 5% discount.

~Enter to win custom printables!

1^st prize is a customized Home Management Pack (http://etsy.me/100uiA2), a $30 value!

2^nd prize is a customized You Pick 3 Pack (http://etsy.me/10RVGql), a $25 value!

3^rd prize is a customized You Pick 2 Pack (http://etsy.me/17vzBgl), a $20 value!

Simply attend the FB event for an automatic chance to win.

Score more entries
~Leave me a comment on this post.

~Follow me on Twitter and tweet this. Tweet: "Etsy Shop Grand Opening Celebration from @thegoodwifeblog http://on.fb.me/11zGWaLdiscount codes and prizes"

~Follow me on Pinterest and pin my blog post or Etsy shop or favorite shop item.

The drawing ends on May 12 at midnight CST. The winner will be selected using random.org. I will contact the winner via email and they will have 24 hours to respond. If they fail to respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks for all your love and support and welcome to my Etsy Shop!

Asian Slaw with ginger peanut dressing

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:03:00 +0000

My doc recently told me that my fatass needs to cut down on meat and other shitty foods. I am not happy about that. But I am happy with I find a recipe that is meatless and tasty and somewhat healthy.

And this is all that. Plus the grocery store had bagged cole slaw on sale for a dollar and I had to do something with it.

And, of course, this is another recipe that came into my life b/c of Pinterest.

The original recipe says it makes 6 side dish servings, but I ate this as a main course and had leftovers for 2 days. The dressing is a nice balance of hot and sweet, spicy and flavorful.

Ingredients:
For the Dressing
1/4 cup honey1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
2 cups prepared shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
2 medium scallions, finely sliced
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts (or you can leave them whole)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
~To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until well combined. Set aside.

~Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Let stand 10 minutes.

recipe from: here

Chili Lime Ramen

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:49:00 +0000

I love ramen noodles.

It is probably due in part to my brokeass college days and how you could by 13 for a fucking dollar back at the local Stop and Shop. I lived on ramen, Mr. Pepper (Dr., to you regular folks) and Marlboro lights. But now that I am older and trying to live healthier, I have ditched the soda and the smokes.

But I still love me some oodles of noodles.

The problem is, is all the junk that is in regular ramen. And all that damn salt. It makes me thirsty for weeks. So I decided to turn this cheap eats into something a bit more like real food. And I wanted a flavor that I have never seen on the shelf.

This chili lime ramen would have a big "HOT AND SPICY!" label on the package and that's just the way I like it. I added a *heavy* amount of chili flakes, but you can turn it way down to give a sweet, yet spicy, tangy, yet salty flavor.

The sauce made enough for two packages of noodles, so you can either half the recipe or save the rest of the sauce for ramen the next day.

Ramen Noodles with Sweet Chili Lime Sauce
Ingredients:
1 package ramen noodles
3 tablespoons sugar (I used Splenda, since I have the 'betes)
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 3/4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 zest of lime
1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoons salt

Directions:
~Discard flavor packet from ramen noodles. Cook according to package. Drain.

~Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, whisking to combine. Pour half the sauce over noodles. Eat.

recipe adapted from: here

Is this real life? Blog living v actual living

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:49:00 +0000

There has been some conversation between some friends about how much pressure we all feel to live in a house that is magazine ready at all times. The pressure seems to be worse when you love to look at home/living/organization blogs.

I grew up in a house that was neat only b/c my folks were never home to make it messy. Same thing goes for my cousin who I adored in high school - spotless house but her family was never in it. Then I see my neighbors homes and they all seem to be spotless, except for their kids' rooms. And it makes me feel like shit. Like I don't have my shit together, that I am living in filth and that cameras from Hoarders could show up at any minute.

But then I think I have to cut myself some slack. I have a three year old that has to be asked 10000 ways from Tuesday to pick up her room. I have a baby that is *still* not sleeping through the night. I go to bed at 8:30 for christsake.

In short, I think we all need to relax a little. To know that no one is perfect and that while I might talk a big fucking game about my house being clean and organized all the time, the fact is, life gets in the way.

And like standing in my underwear in front of a crowded bus stop, I present the current state of my home:

The blog version of my dining room:

and the real world version:

The blog version of my living room:

And the current state of destruction:

Nice, huh? Lived in. Normal, I would think. A house with two kids under the age of 4. The house of *gasp* a working mom.

There is a bag of dog food in the dinning room that needs to be put away. There is a box of Christmas wrapping paper under the coffee table in the living room. There are towels and toys everywhere in the living room.

And wouldn't you know that when the house is most often in this state is when my neighbor with the magazine ready home shows up to talk about a neighborhood yard sale. Or my other neighbor with the clean house stops in to drop off the casserole dish she borrowed.

I think for the next few years this might be my life. And it might just be ok.

Want to weigh in? Tweet with me and make me feel better about the current state of my house: @thegoodwifeblog

Owl Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:51:00 +0000

It's time once again for shitty homemade Valentines!

Last year, I made cheesy candy treat bags. The year before it was handmade cards and the year before that was a Valentine Breakfast! Can you tell I like to get my craft the fuck on during a holiday?

This year is no different and so I made owl valentines.

I saved some toilet paper rolls, let The Good Daughter color some paper (I did color some too) and then I hot glued that shit together to make these owls.

And I had to cheese it the hell up by adding sayings like "Hoo's Your Valentine?" and "Owl Love You" and of course "Owl Be Your Valentine." All in all, it was an easy craft that allowed TGD and I to spend some time together, for me to get some wicked hot glue burns and for all the other 3 year olds at daycare will think are the shit.

What more could I ask for in a craft?

Homemade Valentine Coupons and a Free Printable

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:34:00 +0000

So, its Valentine's Day again and time for something special for The Good Daughter.

Now that she has a lot of responsibilities, I thought it would be a great idea to make her a coupon book to get out of some of them.

So I made her a Valentine coupon book full of coupons for things like "get out of time out." There is only one of those, for my sanity.

The rest are good for things like getting out of one chore or 15 minutes extra of tv/computer/game time.

There are also coupons for unlimited hugs and kisses and cuddles.

I simply printed out the coupons on regular paper, cut them and punched two holes on the side. I cut a piece of pink cardstock and glued the title coupon to the front and tied it all together with some heart ribbon I had left over from last year's Valentines.

If you would like to make this Valentine coupon book with 16 love coupons, just click here for a free printable.

Week 45 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:37:00 +0000

This is week 45 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on keeping a family calendar.

Keeping a family calendar is a great idea when you have kiddos you need to take all across town. Since mine are still littles, they don't yet have much in the way of a social calendar. But I imagine that soon their dance cards will be filling up with scout meetings, dance class, soccer practice and all that other junk that kids tend to do once they hit school age. The only person I really need to keep track of right now is The Good Husband and most days I barely register when he is home.

If I *were* to keep a family calendar, however, a great spot would be in the Family Command Center/Launch Pad. A great trick for keeping everyone sorted out, is to make appointments and events for a single person is a separate color. So appointments and events for me would be written on the calendar in pink {duh} while TGH's would be in green, The Good Daughter's in blue and The Good Son's in yellow and family events in black. That way, looking at the calendar at a glance would reveal a when someone needs their ass on the soccer field at 6 pm while someone else is across town at piano lessons.

Stickers are also another great option, with everyone having the same sticker next to their event on the calendar.

But the key to keeping a family calendar that won't have to leaving junior sitting outside dance class waiting to be picked up, is to keep it in a central location that all family members can see and edit if needed.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Turning my Daughter into an OCD Freak

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:49:00 +0000

I wanted to title this post "Turning my daughter into an anal (as in anal retentive) freak", but was scared of the traffic I would get. O.o

The thing about being anal retentive/OCD is that I get to raise my kids that way. I am sure they will both ~~love~~ need therapy because of it.

Like most parents, I suspect, the kiddos give me trouble listening and getting shit done. Especially in the mornings. So with advice from a friend, I made this chore chart for The Good Daughter to use.

It lives on the fridge, below our Family Command Center, so TGD can see it easily and follow it.

I included the simple chores she needs to do everyday. Some "chores" she does everyday already, so there was no fight there and it was an easy way for her to earn her stamps/rewards.

We use stamps that she got from Santa to mark off each chore. If she gets stamps for each chore for the day, she will get one sticker. If she gets 5 stickers, she will get a reward. A reward that she chooses- so far this is going to the park.

I like to start the chart on Monday to give her a chance to earn her reward by the weekend and to get her into a routine for pre-k in the fall.

So far it seems to be working. There have been no meltdowns in the mornings while trying to get dressed, even if she does still take her sweet ass time. And it is a nice way to settle down at the end of the night, by stamping the chores that she did and talking about doing them again tomorrow.

If you like this chore chart and would like one customized, just shoot me an email - majorwife at gmail dot com - and I will be happy to make one for you.

Week 44 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:23:00 +0000

This is week 44 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on crafts.

I will admit that I like to get my craft on and on.

But I don't have a lot of crafty shit just hanging out. I tend to buy what I need for a project and nothing more. So I end up with odds and ends and a whole lot of tape.

But I keep it all fairly contained within a drawer in our buffet.

If you have an entire room dedicated to crafting or just a drawer, the first rule is to contain, contain, contain. Keep all of your paints in one spot or container. Same for makers and pens and scissors and the like. Keeping everything together and grouped will make for less mess and easy retrieval when it is time to get your craft on.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Week 43 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:33:00 +0000

This is week 43 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on creating a personal home inventory.

This by far is the most intensive organization challenge but once you get in a rhythm, it will become easy. And once you get an initial home inventory in place, any time you make a big purchase - like a new couch or tv - you can just add it on.

click here to download your free copy

Why the hell do you need a home inventory?

It's a good idea to have one in case of anything happening to your house or you stuff. This way you have a record of all your stuff for insurance purposes. You will need to know the value of your stuff and just what stuff you have.

1. Start with the Home Inventory Log (above) and checklist (see below).

2. Go room to room and document everything in the room, staring with the big ticket items. Take photos or video and describe each item.

3. If you have the receipts for the large items, keep them with the log. If you are just staring the Home Inventory project, and don't have the receipts, don't worry. The next time you buy something large - like a new flat screen tv - make a copy of the receipt and include it when you are adding it to your home inventory log.

4. Make copies of your log and photos. Burn everything onto a CD or DVD and make several copies to store on your computer and external hard drives.

5. And keep a copy outside of your house, like in your safe deposit box. And remember to keep it updated.

Now, what do you need to inventory?

Below are the things you should inventory, listed by room.

Living Room
~Artwork

~Books
~Camera
~Collections
~Couches/recliners
~DVD player
~Family room furniture and contents
~Fireplace equipment
~Game systems (such as Wii, Playstation, Xbox, etc.)
~Living room furniture and contents
~Musical instruments
~Piano/organ
~Television
~Toys and games

Dining Room

~China

~Crystal/glassware

~Dining room furniture and contents

~Table linens

Bedroom

~Beds

~Bedding

~Bedroom furniture and contents (master and all additional bedrooms)

~Clothing

~Jewelry

Bathroom

~Bathroom(s) furniture and contents

Kitchen

~Appliances

~Cabinets

~Dishes and utensils

~Food in pantry, refrigerator and freezer

~Freezer

~Kitchen furniture and contents

~Pots and pans, and other kitchen equipment

~Refrigerator

~Silverware/cutlery

~Stove/oven

~Tables/chairs

Home office/craft room

~Computer/computer accessories (i.e., printer, scanner, etc.)

~Craft materials

~Electronics

~Home office furniture and contents

~Hobby items

~Sewing machine

~Stereo

~Video equipment

Laundry room

~Ironing equipment

~Laundry room furniture, appliances and contents

~Washer/dryer

Basement

~Basement furniture and contents

~Dehumidifier

Attic

~Attic furniture and contents

~Christmas (and other holiday) decorations

Outside

~Air conditioner window units / portable heaters

~Lawn furniture

~Lawn games

~Plants and landscaping

Garage

~Automobile equipment

~Bikes

~Garage furniture and contents

~Garden equipment

~Golf clubs

~Grill

~Ladders

~Lawn mower

~Tools

~Sporting goods and equipment

~Workbench

Whole House

~Carpets and rugs

~Ceiling fans

~Curtains and draperies

~Decorative items

~Fixtures

~Furniture

~Hall(s) furniture and contents

~Items in storage (within your home)

~Lamps

~Shelving

Hopefully, you can take a week - or three! - and soon have a complete home inventory system in place.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Week 42 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 20:01:00 +0000

This is week 42 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on addresses/contact information.

I got this home address book years ago. It has been a staple in our house since.

I love that it has several different sections - as you can see. Quick reference, contacts, important dates, card list and directions.

I use this several times a year - when sending invitations out for parties, sending holiday cards, etc. This contacts the addresses and contact info for almost everyone we know. It is the long form home address book.

I think it is important to have on hand the address for that aunt that you only see once a year but still need to send thank you cards to occasionally.

But I still wanted something that contained the information we use the most and that wouldn't necessarily go in a home address book.

When I first got the idea for The Brains of the Operations, aka Household Binder, addresses and contact lists were the first things I thought of and made a template for. To me, they very much are the brains behind the whole operation here. You can see when I talked about our Family Command Center, that I have both a home address book and Brains of the Operation, aka Household Binder.

I feel like all I do is talk about our contact lists but really, I just love having everything within reach and right where I need it.

Please tell me I am not totally insane. Right?

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Tiramisu

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:49:00 +0000

For Thanksgiving this year, I went Italian. So I needed a dessert that was classic Italian and with enough flavor to oust pumpkin pie as the traditional dessert.

So I made a tiramisu. And it was awesome. I might have eaten 99% of it myself. Screw the rest of my family that didn't want any. That was just more for MMMEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

I don't know why I had waited so long to make this. Lord knows it has been on my list since for-eva. I think maybe I thought it was too labor intensive. It was not. I was able to make this with half a bottle of wine under my belt and a 3 year old "helping".

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

1 cup pound mascarpone

1 cup strong brewed espresso at room temperature

1 7-ounce package dry ladyfingers

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting or 1/4 bar chocolate for chocolate shavings

Directions:
~In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 1/3 cup of sugar until light in color. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to the whites and beat until they're firm and glossy. In separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it is firm. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the mascarpone and one-third of the beaten egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

~Pour the espresso into a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of half of the ladyfingers in the espresso and line the bottom of an 8-by-10 baking dish. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and spread it in a smooth, even layer. Repeat until you have two layers of cookies and cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

~Just before serving, sift the cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu or using a vegetable peeler, shave a bar of chocolate over the top. Cut the tiramisu into squares and serve.

recipe modified from: here

Week 41 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:01:00 +0000

This is week 41 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on email and internet passwords, manuals and warranties.

For years I used a different password for every single email address, website and sign-up. And for years I would always have to use the "forgot password" thing-y on every.single.damn.site. Then someone clued my dumbass into a universal password. And it changed my life. I have not used the "forgot password" thing since.

The idea is to use one main password - for example, Pass!w0rd - but then add letters or numbers to it for each website you use. Say you use the online coupon feature for your local Stop and Shop. Your password for that becomes Pass!w0rdSNS. See how easy? I wish someone would have told me sooner about this little trick.

But what do you do if you have a bunch of different passwords already or you get hit by a bus and your significant other needs to log into your online account to pay the gas bill? Well, you use this password tracker, that's what!

Now, what about manuals and warranties? I like to keep my manuals and warranties in my Appliance Binder.

Up next - contact lists and addresses!

You can now get this printable and more in my Etsy Shop!

The List Pack includes the Website Password Tracker. It is also available in The Good Wife Home Management Pack. You can also get CUSTOMIZED printables too!

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Week 40 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +0000

This is week 40 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on filing system.

Now that we have our mail out of the way, our bills paid and the papers we need to keep in order, we need a way to store all this shit.

The obvious answer is a filing cabinet. We currently have one that lives in The Good Son's room until we can move it downstairs. Its ugly and I have plans on making it pretty, but for now, it just holds all our massive paper collection.

Don't be like me and hoard every piece of paper you get. Instead have categories that are actually useful.

Some typical home file categories to consider making files for include:

~Medical file for each family member (use these logs to help keep track)
~Home maintenance file, with receipts of major expenditures (use this log to help keep track)
~Real estate documents
~Insurance policies (for each one, noting the years it covered)
~Automobile documents (separate file for each car and use this log to help keep track)
~Credit card documents (NOTE: Not the bills. This should contain the agreement, privacy policies, etc, for each card)
~Banking records (one for each account at each bank)
~Loan documents (one for each loan)
~Investment records (one for each investment, 401(k), IRA, etc)
~Vital documents (such as birth and marriage certificates, will, etc)*
~Personal home inventory (see upcoming post)*
~Tax documents
~Warranties and manuals (see how I keep mine)

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Week 39 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +0000

This is week 39 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on receipts/tax documents.

Since I work from home and have hoarder tendencies, I tend to keep a lot of paperwork around. It's not as bad as it used to be but I could stand to let things go. I justify that I need to keep everything b/c I saw Erin Brockovich years ago and we might need something for tax purposes.

But most normal people don't need to keep a ton of paperwork. What do you need to keep or toss or shred? Unless you are keeping things for tax purposes, below is a handy guide.

Toss and/or shred
~Phone bills
~Utility bills
~Credit card statements
As soon as you are finished paying and reconciling, toss or shred. Want to keep track of monthly bills but don't want to end up a paper hoarder like me? Use this bill tracker!

Keep for one year
~Bank statements
~Pay stubs
~Medical records unless needed for insurance purposes. And hey! I have a way for you to keep track of this too!

Keep for about six years
~Tax records, including copies of returns and supporting documents
~Documents relating to the purchase or sale of a home, or payment for home improvements

Keep longer/forever
~Insurance records should be kept as long as the policy is in effect, plus five more years
~IRA and retirement contribution documents until you withdraw the money, but shred quarterly statements
~Warranty documents for the length of the warranty
~Birth, marriage, divorce, death certificates, Social Security cards, deeds, wills, car titles for as long as you own the car

At the end of the month, after all the bills have been paid and I have balanced the accounts, I toss and shred all the paperwork. You can also look for community paper shredding events near you. About 3 times a year, along with glass recycling and household hazardous waste collection, our city has a big event where you can drop off all your paper and they will shred it for you for free.

With this system, you hopefully won't end up dead under a pile of papers, like I might.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Week 38 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 20:00:00 +0000

This is week 38 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on bill paying.

There are two main ways to set up bill paying - the old fashioned way with ~~stone tablets~~ paper checks and using the internet that Al Gore invented. There are pros and cons to both.

Online
Pros - faster, usually, since accounts can be credited the same day, especially if using the account website (Capital One, for example) versus your bank's online bill pay option
Cons - for us poors, you might need a day or two to make sure you have enough cash in your account to cover the bills
Pro - some banks, like my awesome one, offer rewards for using the online bill pay
Con - it is easy to forget when a bill is due and/or record the transaction in your register

Paper checks
Pro - a paper trail is created should you ever need to verify a payment or fight an unfair charge
Con - you have to make sure you always have checks on hand and stamps
Pro - some accounts, like medical bills, still usually only accept paper checks
Con - some poor account representative will have to try and decipher your serial killer handwriting

I do about 90% of bill paying online. I have alerts set up on my computer and smartphone to remind me to pay bills on time. I also have my bill checklist to help remember as well as a daily planner. My bank offers a mobile banking app, so I can pay bills anywhere, anytime. And I get those rewards I mentioned above. All and all, it's pretty sweet.

For the other 10% of bills, ones that need actual checks in the mail, I like to sit down once a week, usually on Thursday since that's shitty TV night, and write all the checks and enter the transactions into the register. Then I stamp them bitches and put them in the outgoing mail slot for a trip to the mailbox on Friday morning.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

The Obligatory Pinterest Post

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:03:00 +0000

A crazy thing happened over the weekend. I gained over 1000k followers on Pinterest.

That seems like a lot for this little dog and pony show. I must have an eye for pretty, shiny, things.

So far the top 3 most repinned pins of mine are:

source

The top three most pinned pins from The Good Wife are:

Co wboy Sushi

Cleaning Schedules as part of the Brains of the Operation series

My Weekly Organization Challenges

~~So to celebrate, I am giving one lucky person any ONE printable in my Brains of the Operation, aka Household Binder series. I will even personalize it for you!~~

~~Choose from any of the ones found here!~~

How to score the complete customized Brains of the Operation Binder
Leave me a comment below for each entry to be counted. This is mandatory. Include your email address somewhere in your comment.

Score more entries
~Become a follower of the blog and post telling me

~Subscribe to the blog via email

~Follow me on Pinterest and pin this post.

~Follow me on Twitter and tweet this. Tweet: "Customized Household Binder Printable Giveaway from @thegoodwifeblog bit.ly/WO4ipM" Leave a comment with a link to your status.

~Like me on Facebook, The Good Wife Blog. Leave me a comment telling me you did.

~Post about this giveaway on your blog or elsewhere. Leave a comment with a link.

Good Luck!

The giveaway ends Friday, December 14 at Midnight Central. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on the blog on Monday, December 17. I will contact the winner via email and they will have 24 hours to respond. If they fail to respond, a new winner will be chosen.

If I do not have an email address for you, you cannot win.

This giveaway is sponsored by The Good Wife.

Let's pretend this never happened.

Week 37 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:59:00 +0000

This is week 37 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on mail.

I talked about what we do with our mail when I showed you our Family Mail Station. I got the mail holder at Jeffery Allens a while back.

I like to have the mail station in the dining room, since it is the first place we come into after coming home and getting the mail. I put incoming mail in the top - bills on the right, statements on the left. I put the outgoing mail, along with some stamps on the bottom.

Having the mail station in a central location allows me to do several things - I can easily sort the mail into bills, statements and junk. Like I said, I put the bills and the statements in the mail station. I recycle the junk in the recycle bin in our pantry. Having our Command Center next to the mail, allows me to add anything to our schedule - like dentist appointments and activities - when I get a notice for it. Having an outgoing mail spot allows for The Good Husband to throw his shit in there and know I will take it to the mailbox when I take The Good Daughter to daycare in the morning.

What do I do with all the bills and the paper work?

Week 38 will cover bill paying with Week 39 covering receipts/tax documents and Week 40 covering my filing system.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Holiday Farmer's Market

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:38:00 +0000

I love the idea of the Holiday Farmer's Market. You are supposed to go the Saturday before Thanksgiving and get all your shit for Thanksgiving dinner. Except nothing I ever buy makes it that long.

Pictured is the second bunch of carrots I bought, b/c The Good Daughter ate the first bunch in the car on the way home. No way will what I buy make it to Thursday.

But I still love going.

This year I bought carrots, beer, brats, broccoli, beef sticks, soap and cheese.

TGD also made a turkey. We enjoyed apple cider and turnovers while The Good Son slept and TGD colored her paper plate turkey. I got to talk to our CSA farmer's again and scored free samples of beer and cheese. I think both times they gave me extra out of pity for dealing with two, at that point, screaming kids.

The cheese stand was new this year, as was the bread stand where we got our turnovers. The cheese I bought is a Camembert style goat cheese that I ate with a spoon when I got home. I learned they are part of a cheese CSA that also offers bread made by the same baker at the HFM. I am trying to convince The Good Husband it is worth a weekly hour drive to get bread and cheese.

There should be one more farmer's market before the end of the year and I will stock up on the bread and cheese and beer then to carry me through the winter.

Antipasti

noreply@blogger.com (The Good Wife) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:29:00 +0000

This year we had Italian for Thanksgiving. I don't remember what we had last year.

Since we are broke this year and cereal isn't acceptable for Thanksgiving fare, we had pasta and salad.

But before we could stuff ourselves on salad and bread and noodles, I put out this antipasti tray.

Like any good Midwestern girl, I love me some meat and cheese trays. But instead of cheddar cheese cubes and summer sausage, I put out fine Italian meats and cheese.

I had prosciutto, coppa and salami, marinated mozzarella, green and black olives, grapes, crackers, bread sticks and goat cheese covered in fresh, chopped parsley.

Yum!!