NEAT & SIMPLE LIVING with Ariane Benefit, Organizing Coach

Do You Forget to Use Your Grocery Coupons? Hate Your Coupon Organizing System? Try these tips!

If you clip grocery coupons, but have a tendency not to use them before they expire, the tips here will help you organize AND remember to use them.  I recommend the Mrs. A's Coupon Organizer as the best tool to help you ORGANIZE your coupons AND remember to USE them, but using the tips in this article you could create your own system (if you have more time than money.)

This innovative and unique Coupon Organizer is especially helpful for people with a visual Organizing Style and for those who prefer organizing tools that super simple to use. My clients who use it are now raving fans too. 

I have used many coupon organizers in the past and abandoned them all because I hated shuffling through them. The first week I used Mrs. A's Coupon Organizer I saved $24 dollars. It paid for itself!   Even though I have stopped clipping coupons because it simply is no longer a profitable use of my time, if you are a stay-at-home mom on a limited budget, clipping coupons can save you a lot of money and this system will make it much easier!

INNOVATIVE "AT A GLANCE" DESIGN

Mrs. A's Coupon Organizer is a three-ring binder (9" x 9" x 2") that is designed to fit in the front portion of your shopping cart, so you can easily flip through the pages and see your coupons while you shop! What I love most about it is the coupon holder insert pages (See Photo Below). These pages have clear holders that allow you to easily insert the coupon on the page and let you see "at a glance" all the coupons you have, rather than fumbling with them one at a time.

There are 12 color-coded and tabbed categories to sort coupons. The tabbed categories make it incredibly easy to organize, store, and find your coupons. PLUS they are in the same order as products are arranged in the aisles of a typical supermarket.

ADD COUPON TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST

Mrs. A's Coupon Organizer also comes with shopping lists (See Photo Below) so that after you clip a coupon, you can immediately add it to your shopping list so you don't forget to use it before it expires.

ONLY CLIP COUPONS FOR ITEMS YOU NEED TO BUY - DON'T OVERSTOCK

I also recommend that you don't bother to clip any coupon you wouldn't put on your shopping list within a month or so anyway (unless it's worth over over a dollar).  That way you don't buy more than you really need or clutter up your coupon holder with things you don't need now.  Keep in mind that there will ALWAYS be more coupons!  : )

PUT COUPONS IN ONE PLACE AS YOU SHOP

While you are shopping, after you find an item and put it in your cart, you can move the coupon to a designated place (such as the slot in the back of the binder or somewhere in your cart) so you don't forget to give the coupons to the cashier.

COULD NOT BE BETTER DESIGNED

I am notorious for being very picky and pointing out details of how products could be made better, easier to customize, etc. and I swear I could not have designed this any better. There is not one thing I would change. I have recommended this organizer to so many people that Paul Stout from Mrs. A's offered my clients and colleagues a $10 off coupon!  You can see a video demo of the product too. Unfortunately, it is not yet available in stores, but like the Purseket, I suspect it soon will be!

p.s.  Don't forget to get my new free ebook "100 Surefire Ways to Organize Your Busy Life!"

Client Success Story!

Need a little inspiration?  Check this out!  One of my very creative and talented clients,  Alma Schneider has gotten so great at keeping herself, her family and her huge home reasonably organized, that she decided to start her own business, too!  She has a Social work degree and is an amazing cook, so she combined the two into a service called "Take Back the Kitchen" where she helps women overcome psychological and practical obstacles to cooking. She has a new blog called  www.takebackthekitchen.blogspot.com. 

If you have a minute, help inspire her to keep writing by stopping by and leaving her a comment!

Sugar on CBS NEWS!

One of the reasons I often discuss the ill effects of sugar on this blog is that Sugar is known to be strongly linked to worsening or even causing depression, severe PMS, arthritis, ADD, autism, asperger's, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, yeast infections and much much more.  All of which have a very serious affect on your ability to focus and get organized.

Personally - quitting sugar made dramatic improvements in my health and in my life overall.  Whenever I backslide and eat more than a teaspoon or 2 of sugar - within days I become moody and irritable, have difficulty focusing, feel overwhelmingly sad, have difficulty sleeping and feel overall joint pain. After a year and a half off sugar, I'm still amazed at the harmful effects it has.

Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C., author of Sugar Shock, and my inspiration for letting go of sugar, was recently featured on CBS News Sunday Morning during a segment in which they spent a whole 8 minutes on our skyrocketing sugar consumption and related health problems.  If you missed the CBS News Sunday Morning segment it's not too late!
You can view it online here

http://cbs2.com/health/health_story_168113516.html

According to Connie's newsletter, there was:

"one major glaring error in the piece regarding sugar consumption figures. Americans consume 142 pounds per year (or possibly as high as 170 pounds) per person of caloric sweeteners such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, etc. That figure does not include artificial sweeteners as was reported in the CBS News Sunday Morning piece.

Actually, according to the Calorie Control Council 180 million American adults (as of 2004) consume low-calorie and sugar-free sodas, other beverages and foods using five different sugar substitutes approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration--saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose and neotame.

Which, of course, begs the question: Are these sugar substitutes safe to consume? This is one of the most Frequently Asked Questions I answer in SUGAR SHOCK! (I had to cover this, because while researching my book, thousands of people kept asking me if they cut out or reduced their sugar intake, was it OK to drink or eat foods with these sugar substitutes.)

Frankly, I was shocked at what I learned! Health experts urged me to warn my readers that questions have been raised about the safety of every single artificial sweetener on the market!! - despite repeated claims of safety from the FDA and the companies creating them...

By the way, in SUGAR SHOCK!, you also can learn about what some experts call a "paradoxical weight gain" that some people experience when ingesting foods with artificial sweeteners. Yeah, consuming artificial sweeteners can actually PACK ON THE POUNDS instead of peel them off!

Shocking, eh? Anyhow, you can learn about artificial sweeteners and a whole lot more by getting SUGAR SHOCK! here now."

You can get Connie's newsletter on her blog here.

Organizing for Your Health: Fast Foods That are Surprisingly Healthy!

One of the top reasons people give for not eating healthy is that it takes too much time to prepare healthy food.  Since I stopped eating gluten 2 years ago and quit sugar in December 2005 I've been working on ways to eat healthier without spending too much time menu planning and cooking.  The criteria I used for choosing healthy fast foods are:

• Sugar Free (Not because they say so…but because there really isn’t any sugar of any kind including artificial sweeteners in the list of ingredients!)
• Gluten Free (not made with wheat products - If I list something that is healthy in every other way but has gluten - I’ll note that it is not Gluten-Free)
• Low or no Salt / Sodium
• No chemicals or preservatives or food dyes
• No transfats

Note:  MANY organic foods are loaded with Sugar - look on the label for evaporated cane juice, honey, molasses, raw sugar, etc.  It’s a myth that they are any better for you that white sugar!

Here's our list.  I wish it was longer!  But that gives you an idea just how insidious and pervasive hi salt hi sweetener foods are in our grocery stores.

FROZEN FRUIT & VEGETABLES -  This may seem obvious, but if it's that obvious, why do people say it's hard to eat healthy? We use frozen fruits to make ice creams with our Vitamix in less than 2 minutes.  Use this link to get FREE shipping ($25 value) on a Vitamix if you choose to get one. Frozen veggies are 1000 times healthier for you than canned because they don't have all the salt added.  And they taste much better.

Dried Fuit such as Just Strawberries   (Courtesy of Jeri Dansky)

Fresh Bagged Salads - I always have a bag or 2 in the fridge and I keep a little salad kit in a clear container in the fridge.  It has: Salad dressing, nuts, tofu grated pecorino cheese, tomotaoes, carrots and anything else I buy to go with the salad so I can make a salad really quickly.

Greek Yogurt by FAGE - This stuff is awesome! It tastes way better than regular plain yogurt and has no sugar.  It tastes like sour cream so I also use it as a dip for no salt sweet potato chips by Terra!

TOPPS Brand Frozen Turkey Burgers (Believe it or not, these are the ONLY turkey burgers we have found that have nothing at all added.  Just 100% Turkey - All the “seasoned” ones have sugar & salt added)

TOPPS Brand Frozen Hamburgers - Same thing.  These are the only frozen hamburgers we found without additives of some kind. 

STEAK-Umms - These are pure 100% beef.  No added chemicals, salt or sugar.  I was shocked at this one!  My husband loves them.

SWEET POTATOES - They can be microwaved in about 7 minutes.  Just wrap in microwaveable plastic. I know ...it's not very "green" but it realy does make them a lot moister and they taste way better.  The trick is to let them sit for a few minutes before unwrapping.   Larger potatoes will take longer.  If you bake sweet potatoes, they are not only delightfully naturally sweet, they are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat because they contain beta-carotene just like carrots do.  They taste so much better when you don’t add brown sugar to them.  You can also mash them. At StopNShop and some other grocery stores you can buy them pre-wrapped and you have a quick nutritious lunch or snack anytime.

From Cynthia Friedlob, I wrap sweet potatoes in a paper towel to microwave them and the are still nice and moist. I think the trick is not to overcook them. No brown sugar on top, but I like my cinnamon!

EGGS - I recommend Cage Free, Organic, No Hormones or Antibiotics used, Omega 3 eggs preferably with a vegetarian diet.  Eggs are easy to boil and easy to peel if you peel them right after rinsing with cold water.  Keep them in the fridge for a really convenient protein snack. For a quick lunch or dinner, I take a bag of frozen corn, thaw it by pouring warm water over it in a colander, then sautee it in butter and sometimes garlic or parmesan or whatever I'm in the mood for.  I set aside half and put it in the fridge for later.  Then I add eggs to the corn and scramble it.  You can also add mushroom, onions anything other leftover veggies and you have a delicious and REALLY quick healthy meal.  This was inspired by the Spanish Fritata. 

VAN's Sugar and Gluten Free Toaster Waffles - LOVE these!  Perfect for a quick snack anytime.  Instead of sugar, you can mash up a banana or other fruit and just spread it on. YUMMO!

SALAD DRESSINGS - Annie’s Naturals - What is surprising about this one is that only a few of the flavors are sugar and sweetener free.  So far these are the ONLY flavors we have found in ANY bottled dressings that are actually sugar, sweetener and gluten-free.  And they are GREAT tasting too!

• Artichoke & Parmesan
• Lemon & Chive
• Basil & Garlic
• Sea veggie & Sesame
• Red Wine and Vinegar
• Shitake & Sesame
• Organic Green Garlic

Whole Foods 365 Organic Italian Dressing (Courtesy of Jeri Dansky)

ALMONDS, NUTS, TEA!  Courtesy of TeaPartyGirl

What are your favorite healthy fast foods?  Leave a comment and I'll them to add to this list.

Organizing to Lose Weight, Setting Goals & 13 Reasons to Prepare a Weekly Meal Plan!

As part of my "Organizing to Lose Weight" focus this month, I'm working on a few goals. 

1.  Menu Planning & Tracking my progress

2.  Eating Healthier

3.  Walking More

I know how, I have the tools...but I've been slacking off! This post by Laura, the Organizing had given me renewed motivation to plan & track what I'm eating! 

My favorites of her 13 reasons are:

3. I always have the ingredients in the house for whatever I'm making because I make up my menu plan before going grocery shopping.

6. I save money by planning my weekly menu around what is on sale that particular week.

7. I save time by planning quick and easy meals (especially crockpot meals which can be prepared in the morning when I'm not rushed and have more energy). - (Ariane's Note - Though I do this on weekends or evenings. - I use my mornings for writing.)

9. Helps me to avoid last minute unhealthy desperation meals.

Read the rest here:

http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/2007/01/thursday-thirteen.html

This week, in addition to Planning & Tracking what I eat (& prepping for my speaking engagement on Monday) my healthy eating goals are to:

• Make a couple healthy "stoups" (stews / soups) ala Rachael Ray this weekend & freeze them in portions so I'll have healthy food available at all times- Split Pea & Lentil
• Eat till I'm not hungry and stop before I get full - This won't be easy
• Not use butter & get used to what food really tastes like!  - this will be the hardest part - but it will help with the above.  I've found that when food has butter on it, I eat more and crave it more. So, I've quit my sugar & the sweet tooth is at bay...now it's time to work on the "fat tooth" and let go of another clutter food - butter!! 

Wish me luck!  : )

Organizing a Kosher Kitchen - Resources

I recently worked with an Orthodox Jewish family to help them organize their Kosher kitchen.   It was so interesting and challenging that I thought I'd share some of the resources I found.  Keeping a Kosher kitchen means that food must be prepared, stored, and cooked according to Jewish religious law. A Kosher site called www.happyhomepage.com summarizes the approach as follows:

"Kosher food can be divided into three categories: meat, dairy and pareve. Meat and dairy foods are never eaten, cooked or washed together, but pareve foods may be eaten with either meat or dairy. One of the basic principles of Kosher is the total separation of meat and dairy products."

Organizing a Kosher kitchen is a significant challenge because in addition to separating the food, you have to separate EVERYTHING the food touches!  You can't just cook them in separate pots, and you cannot use a pot that has had meat in it to cook something with dairy in it.  So to maintain your kosher kitchen, you need at least 3 entire sets of dishes, pans, cooking and eating utensils - that NEVER touch each other! You can't even store them in the same drawer or cabinet. The kitchen I organized also had 2 microwave ovens and 2 sinks (you can use the same stovetop if you follow the proper procedures.)  (Learn more about keeping a Kosher kitchen here.)

Since the Meat, Dairy & Pareve cookware can't be stored in the same drawers, or washed in the same sink, it's truly like trying to fit 3 kitchens into one. 

This was not an easy task, but we made it work!  Zoning, Labeling and color coding are ESSENTIAL to organizing a Kosher kitchen. You have to simplify every task & routine and you really have to be brutal about letting go of things you don't use often.  While sorting, you need to be careful to keep meat with meat and so on. To make things easier, here a few things we did.

• Got white and black utensil holders and put dairy utensils in white on the counter next to the stove.  On the other side we put meat utensils in black.
• Labeled every cabinet and drawer.
• Created zones by putting all the meat things to the left of the stove as much as possible, including the meat Microwave, knives, cutting board, etc.  The meat sink was to the left as well.  Dairy was to the right as much as possible.  Pareve was in the center cabinets. 
• Created a lunch preparation zone with meat containers in one drawer and dairy containers in another.
• Anything not used at least weekly or monthly was put in an overflow storage cabinet in the basement or in the Dining room.  This includes all the Passover and Holiday items.  Shabbas though was giving special drawers and cabinets in the dining room.

I found some great ideas and resources online to help my clients maintain their newly organized Kosher kitchen and make it easy to keep everything separate easier.  The following sites carry items to organize a Kosher kitchen. Some use a color coded scheme; blue for dairy, green for pareve, and red for meat, which are very popular colors to use in Jewish homes. But you can't always find everything in the right colors, so labels are critical.  These sites have pre-made Kosher coded engraved signs for putting on cabinets and drawers, oven, dishwasher and microwave safe labels & coins you can attach to cookware & other items, color coded and labeled cutting boards, kitchen towels, oven mitts & more. 

http://www.milechai.com/jewishcooking/kosher1.html

http://www.happyhomepage.com/easykosher.shtml

http://www.nvo.com/1800dreidel/kosherkitchen/

http://www.jewish-life-organized.com/kosher-kitchen.html

More neat Jewish Living resources can be found on the Solutions For Busy Moms Blog

If you have any specific tips or good websites for organizing a Kosher kitchen, please be a mensch and leave me a comment below! 

Mazel Tov!  : )

Got a bit of Gadget Mania? Having Trouble Resisting the Urge to Splurge? Sometimes all it takes is the right question!

I confess.  I am a natural born enthusiast.  And, I am especially drawn to creative ideas! So when I saw this clever little gadget at the Container Store, I got all excited.  How clever!!  It holds your cooking utensils so you don't have to lay them down on your stovetop or get your spoon holder dirty!  So I showed it to my husband.  "What do you think?  do you want one?" 

He looks at me and gives me some of my own medicine with his trademark smirk...."Do we REALLY need that?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.  Looked at him and started laughing.  Just that question started me thinking about what a pain it would be to use and how quickly it would become clutter! 

• Where would I put it when it's not on the pot so that it would be handy? (I don't have drawers near my stove.) 
• Suppose I put it in the other not so handy kitchen drawer, will I really get it out of the drawer to use it every time I cook? 
• Then clean it and put it back? 
• Nah

All of a sudden, my good old fashion spoonrest that sits on my stovetop 24/7 starting looking beautiful again.  Besides, it's shaped like a cat!!!  And I do love my cats!  : )

Goes to show you - NO ONE is immune from the appeal of a clever kitchen gadget.  But one little question - the right one - can give you much needed power over your impulses! 

Do I REALLY need that???   Will I REALLY use that?  Where will I PUT that??

Thank you Alan!  Come to think of it...my own medicine didn't taste that bad.  And I still have $10 in my pocket!

This is one of a few close calls I've had this holiday season.  The bag of impulse purchases I have to return to Linens N Things is proof I'm not always that strong.   I love that store!!  And something about this time of year made me buy 10 oh-so-clever stocking stuffers for my husband (read: me) that he wouldn't really want - and I don't really need.  Too bad Alan wasn't with me then! 

The nice thing about shopping in certain stores regularly, is that I WILL actually return those impulse buys!  The bag is already sitting next to my front door waiting to go back.

So how are you holding up with the ever tempting "urge to splurge" this holiday season?  : )

p.s.  I do the same thing for him in his weaker moments!  : ) It's all about teamwork.

How can you Lose Weight, Eat Healthier, Reduce Kitchen Clutter & Give a GREAT gift? Check out the Vita-Mix!

I got my Vitamix blender / juicer / ice cream maker / veggie chopper a year ago to help me eat more whole, unprocessed foods, quit sugar and go gluten-free...and now I couldn't live without it!  I'm using it to help me lose weight AND clear clutter at the same time.  I use my Vitamix to make:

• sugar-free ice cream and sorbets
• whole fruit & vegetable juices
• smoothies
• soups
• chop vegetables & nuts
• shave / chop ice

You can also use it to grind coffee and make your own flour!It makes salsa, pesto, puree, baby food, and so much more.

The Vita-mix is a commercial quality blender that chefs in the best restaurants use to make their own ice cream and sorbet, soups etc. It's not cheap...but you'll use it often.

And it'll save space too! What better way to organize your kitchen and control clutter than to have one appliance that does the job of several others? I gave away my old blender, ice shaver, vegetable chopper & juicer.

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY ICE CREAM IN LESS THAN A MINUTE!  Keep a variety of frozen fruit on hand and you can make your own ice cream any time you feel like it!  Just put several frozen fruits and add milk almost cover the fruit.  Add a little vanilla and vita-mix it!  Add milk as needed to get the consistency you desire.

We use whole unsweetened frozen pineapple & grapes to sweeten ours and it's delicious!  You can use melon, mango, berries and mix em up creatively!

TIP: When you have bananas that are getting really ripe, peel them & break them up into chunks. Then freeze them to use as a creamy base for smoothies and ice creams.  You can also freeze grapes.  When freezing canned fruits, remove them from the can.  I use Rubbermaid TakeAlongs to freeze fruit in.

If all the ingredients are pre-frozen, you don't have to add ice or water.  That's what allows you to make really creamy ice cream from just fruit!

It's a great tool to help you lose weight and eat healthier because when you use the Vitamix to make your own homemade soups, juices, etc. you know exactly how much sugar, salt, and fat you are getting.

When I read the back of my favorite canned soups, I was stunned at how much sodium, sugar and MSG there was!  Even in Campbell's soups!  By making my own soups using the Vitamix to chop the base onion, celery, carrots & garlic it could not be easier!  No crying while chopping onions!   I get to control how much salt and sugar I have and I know I'm not getting any MSG, chemicals or preservatives that give me headaches, stomachaches & more.  Just the whole healthy foods I choose to eat.  The Vitamix includes an awesome recipe book, too.

Cleaning the Vitamix is easy too.  All you have to do is rinse it, add a drop of soap, blend for a few seconds, rise and it's done.

Everyone I know who owns a Vita-mix RAVES about it. It is fully guaranteed for 7 years, so you've got nothing to lose! With this tool, making your own soups and ice creams is almost as easy as buying them...tastes a LOT better, and are MUCH healthier!

This would make an AWESOME gift for anyone in your life who is diabetic or really trying to lose weight or quit sugar! It's not cheap...but it's been worth every penny to us.  We have used it a lot and the practically indestructible blade is sharp as ever.

Use this link to GET FREE SHIPPING from Vitamix.com!

If you get one, or have one, would love to hear how you like it and what your favorite recipes are!

Sending Neat Thoughts!

We all want to eat healthier. Poor diet can create problems with diabetes and cholesterol and we have health resources which will help. Find the best medical websites at Healthline.com.

3/18/07

Leftover Safety - Storing Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/deliriouskat/

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here are a few tips from the Rubbermaid site for how to safely store your Thanksgiving leftovers. 

1. It is unsafe to store food in large amounts that can't cool quickly enough. Immediately after your meal, remove stuffing from the turkey cavity and refrigerate stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and other vegetables in separate shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator. 
2. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods and leftovers as soon as possible after serving. 
3. Do not over-pack the refrigerator.  Cool air should circulate around the containers to keep food safe. Cut turkey into thin slices and store separately from stuffing, gravy, and vegetables in shallow containers.
4. Use refrigerated leftover turkey and stuffing within three days; gravy within one to two days.

Read more tips at: Leftover Safety - Storing Thanksgiving Leftovers.

I learned a lot and hope you do too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tackle it Tuesday - UPDATE to Sofie's Desk - Home School Organizing Project

             

Back in January, I posted Sofie's Story (fictitious name) about a family that was living in a virtual prison of clutter. I posted BEFORE and DURING photos, but never got around to actually posting the AFTER photos. So my Tackle it Tuesday project is to finally get the update on how the project turned out posted for you!  : )   Here is a BEFORE picture of her home schooling area / dining room which you can click to see larger.

Here's the original post where I posted BEFORE and DURING pictures. http://blog.neatandsimple.com/blog/2006/01/current_project.html   

NOTE: You can also see the full story with lots more photos of the project in our Neat & Simple Living PhotoGallery.  Haven't updated that yet though. That will be another Tackle it Tuesday project! : ) 

Below are several photos from the completed project which were actually taken in March!  The desk is now set up in an L-shape.  Since her desk had no filing drawers and she didn't want to buy a new desk, we