The $500 Challenge

Do you need to pay off debt or fund your emergency savings account, or save for your summer vacation?

How do you feel about big, crazy goals? Do they scare you or motivate you?

Will you join me in April with a rather big, crazy goal of finding $500…in one month?

Where, do you ask, are we going to find $500?

Oh the possibilities could be endless...

In our drawers, under our beds, in our basements and in the back corners of our closets. The neighborhood is planning the community yard sale for April and I plan to be prepared.

Or you might also be able to reduce some monthly expenses in April in categories like groceries, fuel, clothing or dinners out.

Start brainstorming and please join me on Thursday, April 1 to share some ideas so that we can all achieve The $500 Challenge.

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How To Bake A Ham

I love baked ham, but I usually only eat it at Easter. My mother always bakes the holiday ham and it is always delicious, tender, and flavorful. This year I decided to bake my own too so that we would have some awesome leftovers.

Two words...low and slow, when it comes to baking a delicious ham.

I bought a whole boneless smoked ham. It is more expensive, but there is no waste with fat or gristle and I have no need for the ham bone. The ham is already fully cooked, so essentially I am just heating it up, but that is where the low and slow and the glaze comes in.



I'm not promoting any brand, but this particular brand had a $5.00 rebate, which brought the price per pound down to $1.94 compared to the store brand of $1.99/lb.

1. Remove the ham from the packaging and discard the packaging. Make a few score marks on the top of the ham. I forgot to take a picture of the score marks before the next step, but you will be able to see the marks in later pictures after the ham was baked.

2. Wrap the entire ham tightly in foil two times. Because of the width of my foil, I wrapped once around the width of the ham and once around the length of the ham so that I covered the entire ham.

3. Place wrapped ham in a rimmed baking sheet or pan.

4. Place in a 300 degree oven and bake for 5 hours.

5. Right before the 5 hours are up, prepare the glaze. Mix together the following ingredients into a thick paste. I varied the last three ingredients, because you don't want the glaze to be too thin where it just runs off the ham. Start with the 2 tsp and add to your taste if needed.

• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 2-3 tsp mustard
• 2-3 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 tsp pineapple juice

6. After 5 hours, remove ham from oven and CAREFULLY unwrap the foil with oven mitts. Pour or slather with a spoon the thick glaze over the very hot ham.

(Take note to the three score marks. This is before I added the glaze. I forgot to take a picture of the ham with the pre-baked glaze)

7. Carefully wrap ham back up tightly with the foil, you might need oven mitts. Bake for one more hour.

That is a total of six hours for my smoked fully cooked 6.7 lb ham, about 53 minutes a pound. Adjust your total time depending on the size of your pre-cooked ham. It might seem like a lot of time, but the ham will come out very tender and flavorful and should not be dried out.

***If you are baking a fresh, raw ham, bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes per pound and when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. For more information on cooking a raw ham, click here.

8. Remove from oven and loosen the foil slightly and let the ham sit for 30-60 minutes before cutting into. That will be tough, because it will smell amazing.

9. I used an electric knife, but the ham will be like butter, very easy to cut. The ridges in the ham help guide how thick to cut the slices. There are two ways to cut the ham. (1) I cut ham in half width-wise, then cut one of the halves lengthwise, then I cut across the two quarters for smaller pieces.

Or (2) just cut across width wise for larger slices.

No matter how you cut it...Enjoy!

** Leftovers can be frozen for future dishes. Try my Ham and Asparagus Frittata.

Will you be preparing ham for the holiday? What is your favorite glaze? What type of ham do you buy? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

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This post is linked to:

• 5 Dollar Dinner Challenge at 5 Dollar Dinners
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

If You Are Spending One Cent On Bath and Beauty Products, You Are Spending TOO Much!

The products in the picture did NOT cost me a single penny. I got them all for FREE and NO I did not steal them. It is easy and you can do it too.




I have mentioned before that I save an average of $5-$10 on coupons on our food per shopping trip. I don't use very many coupons on food, because I don't see too many food coupons on products that we consume. But, that is not the case for bath and body products that we use every day, such as dental and eye products, soaps, shampoos, hair gels, feminine hygiene products, and razors.

I shop for those products at stores like Rite-Aid and CVS. Walgreens is another store that offers a similar program, but it is not in my area. With a combination of coupons and those stores' rebate programs, I am able to score all of our bath and body products at no cost to us. There might be an initial out-of-pocket expense, but I will get that back in the form of a rebate check.

Does the word rebate make you think that there is extra work involved? Rite-Aid's rebate program can be done on-line where you simply enter your receipts and at the end of every month you request your check. CVS's rebate program is called Extra Care Bucks(ECB) and the rebate is printed at the bottom of the receipt in the form of a coupon. I use those coupons to purchase other rebated items that we need and this keeps those ECBs rolling.

I really don't spend too much time organizing my purchases, because there are plenty of "Deals" bloggers that do this for me. I just keep an ongoing list of our needs and when I see that those things are FREE after rebate, I do my shopping.

Here are a few(among many) sites that post weekly store deals:

• I Am A Money Magnet
• I Heart Rite-Aid
• I Heart CVS
• Money Saving Mom

Do you spend a lot of money on bath and beauty products? Please, let us know in the comments. Also, if you are a "Deals" blogger who posts weekly store deals, let us know about it in the comments.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

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Keep Your Eyes And Ears Open For FREE Family Activities

A few years ago, we were driving along a highway and saw a big sign in front of a bank that was advertising a grand-opening event. From the road we could see tents, a moon bounce, and a lot of people. It wasn't our bank, but the sign was inviting everyone in.

The event had free food samples from local restaurants, games, prizes, face-painting, a moon bounce for the kids. A local fire department had a big engine for the kids to check out and the K-9 unit was also showing off their working dogs. When we left, our bellies were full and our daughter was exhausted. It turned out to be a fun event and it was totally free. As we were driving away, my husband said, "we need to take advantage of these free community events more often". And that began my mission to find as many free family events as possible.

Another free event that we attended last year was at a local garden nursery. They were holding a spring open house. I signed up for a "vegetable gardening for beginners" seminar and my husband took the kids to the children's activities that were being offered. The kids planted daffodil bulbs, bean plants, and a "potato hedgehog" to take home. Our oldest was so excited to have her own plants. She loves to "help" us outside; that is code for she loves to play in the dirt.

For taking the veggie seminar, I went home with a free heirloom tomato plant and a free 6 pack of vegetables of our choice. I chose broccoli. The photo below is all of the plants that we were able to take home for free. Unfortunately, the hedgehog potato was supposed to end up looking like a chia potato, but rotted before it had a chance. You win some, you lose some...

Some places to look for FREE events and activities include:

• Your local newspaper. We are 7-day a week subscribers and I always find FREE events listed in our paper. I found the gardening seminar advertised in the paper.
• Check your Local TV stations websites for community calendars on their websites.
• Weekly Shopper - this comes in our mail on Wednesdays. It looks like a newspaper and has a lot of local small business advertising and community events calendars.
• From the weekly story-times to monthly children's events, our library hosts fantastic FREE activities throughout the year. Our library also has a community events bulletin board that I always check out for ideas.
• Your township, borough, or municipality's website probably lists a calendar of community events. Our township hosts many events like Easter egg hunts, gardening exchanges, and summer Music in the Park concerts.
• Your local mall should have a community calendar. Our mall hosts children's events throughout the year.
• Stores like Toys-R-Us, Home Depot or Lowes have family/children's events through out the year. Check their websites and sign up for their newsletters.
• Local churches. I sign my oldest up for Vacation Bible School every year. This is considered a community outreach program. Most churches welcome new children to their VBS programs. There might be age restrictions. Our church accepts children 3 and older.
• The YMCA hosts a Healthy Kids Day in the spring and one again in the fall, that are FREE to the community. You usually do not have to be a member to participate. We go every year. The activities at our Y includes: Moon Bounce, Open pool, Healthy snacks, Room to Romp demonstration and community vendors. All children 12 and under are welcome to participate as long as they are accompanied by an adult. This appears to be a national event, so be sure to check out your local YMCA.
• A different bank than the one above was holding a children's fair last year and my husband won this 5 piece outdoor furniture set in a raffle. Banks are always doing open houses or children's fairs in our area. I have never felt any pressure because we don't belong to the particular bank that is holding the event.

The key is to keep your eyes and your ears open for the opportunities. You just never know where your next activity will be.

What FREE community events have you participated in recently? Where did you hear about them?

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

If you would like to receive FREE updates of FBS through your RSS Feed, please click here to sign up. Or sign up for FREE email updates, by submitting your email address in the top left side of this site.

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This post is linked to:

• Thrifty Tuesday at I Am A Money Magnet
• Thrifty Thursday at Coupon Teacher
• Making Dollars out Of Change at Madame Deals
• Frugal Friday at Life As Mom

This post is a reprint, with a few edits, of a previously published post. I brought it back out because I didn't have the following a year ago as I do now...Enjoy!

Homemade Brownies with Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade brownies and ice cream is my husband's all-time favorite dessert. I made these recently and I took this simple dessert up a notch by adding the homemade whipped cream.

This brownie recipe is from my grandmother. I found it recently, although I had never made it before, but this is the brownie recipe that I grew up with. I was surprised when I saw that it called for Crisco shortening, but who am I to mess with perfection; this recipe blows away any boxed brownie mix...in my humble opinion.

Homemade Brownies

• 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup Crisco shortening
• 2 Cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• your favorite vanilla ice cream

1. Melt together the chocolate and Crisco over low heat. (You could also microwave)

2. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 4 eggs.

4. Mix until just combined and smooth.

5. Stir 1 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp salt into the chocolate mixture.

6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix until just combined. The batter is thick.

7. Spray a 9 X 13 baking pan with non-stick spray and pour batter into pan. (Optional - sprinkle with nuts, like chopped walnuts.)

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

9. Add your favorite ice cream.

10. Be really decadent and add some Homemade Whipped Cream (recipe for homemade whipped cream is at the bottom of that link).

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

If you would like to receive FREE updates of FBS through your RSS Feed, please click here to sign up. Or sign up for FREE email updates, by submitting your email address in the top left side of this site.

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This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom

A Thrifty Mama Comes Clean

"Where did you get your daughter's shoes?

The question from another mom caught me off guard as I was in the hallway of the YMCA getting my daughter ready for her dance class. For a split second I almost said, "Target". For that is the brand of shoe that my daughter was wearing.

But that is not where I bought the shoes. "I bought them at the new thrift store on Market Street" I said shyly at first, but by the end of the sentence, very confidently.

Yes, I just admitted to another mom that I bought my daughter's shoes at a thrift store. For justification I added, "they looked brand new and I only paid $3". And the truth was they did look brand new and they were only $3. At this point another mom chimed in, "they look like Target's shoes" and I admitted that they were Target's Circo brand. And then the conversation turned back to the subject at hand, dance class.

But I couldn't stop thinking about how I just admitted to a hallway full of moms that I shop at a thrift store. And no one flinched. I'm not sure what or if any of the other mother's gave the quick conversation a second thought, but it gave me confidence and honestly I don't think I will ever hesitate again to admit that I bought something at a thrift store.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

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This post is linked to:

• Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things

Six Ways To Save Money On Organic Food

Eating organic food appeals to me on many levels. I don't like the thought of all of the pesticides, synthetic hormones and antibiotics passing through to my family, especially my two young children. And have you ever eaten an organic, local, ripe strawberry?...heaven on earth. I have found that organic, local produce has such better flavor than non-local produce found regularly at my grocery store.

But sometimes eating organically can wreck havoc on the grocery budget, so I am always looking for ways to eat organic food and not blow our budget.

1. Community Supported Agriculture or CSA.
A CSA is a commitment between local farmer/s and community members who pay the farmer for a seasonal membership. We have been a member of a CSA for 8 years now. During the harvest season, which for us is May- November, we receive a weekly share of produce. Most of the produce that we consume during those months comes from the CSA and we supplement with produce we grow ourselves. I rarely need to buy produce at the grocery store during those months.

This year's price for a half-share comes to about $13.35 a week in organic produce. This picture is an example of what a weekly share looks like. The photo was taken in August 2009 when the box is full of high summer produce.

2. Consider your grocery store's private label organic brand.
Give it a try. In some cases, I have gone back to name brand, such as Stonyfield French Vanilla organic yogurt, but that is just my preference. My good friend loves our store's private label vanilla organic yogurt. I do buy the private label organic milk.

Here is a quick price comparison on a recent grocery trip:

• Name brand 32 oz. organic yogurt $2.99 vs. store brand 32 oz organic yogurt $2.53.
• Name brand half gallon of organic milk $4.05 vs. store brand half gallon organic milk $3.49

3. Compare price per unit and if the size makes sense go for the best price per unit.

• Stonyfield Organic yogurt, 32 oz @ $2.99 = $1.50/lb, 6 oz cups @ .79 cents = $2.11/lb.
• Horizon Organic Milk - half gallon @ $4.05, gallon @ $5.99

4. Look for organic or natural meat that has been marked down.
Marked down poultry or meat is safe as long as you use it or freeze immediately after you buy it. I wrote about marked down meat a little more in depth a few weeks ago and I regularly find this type of poultry or meat marked down at my store.

5. Local Farms and Farmer's Markets.
Do a little research to find out what is available to you locally. If organic is important to you, buying it locally could save you money as opposed to the grocery store's organic selection. I am currently looking for a CSA for poultry and meat.

6. Visit the websites of companies that you enjoy.
Recently I signed up for newsletters for Stonyfield and Horizon Dairy products and I received some coupons for those companies. The site, Organic Deals and Coupons has an extensive list of organic companies.

Is it important for you and your family to eat organically? Do you have any other cost-saving tips on organic food? Please let us know in the comments.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

If you would like to receive FREE updates of FBS through your RSS Feed, please click here to sign up. Or sign up for FREE email updates, by submitting your email address in the top left side of this site.

Or follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/fambalancesheet.

This post is linked to:

• Thrifty Tip Tuesday at I Am A Money Magnet
• Thrifty Thursday at Coupon Teacher
• Making Dollars Out of Change at Madame Deals
• Thrifty Thursday at Melissa's Bargain Blog
• Frugal Friday at Life As Mom
• Money saving Monday at Money Help For Christians

Chicken Corn Soup

Chicken Corn Soup is a winter staple around our house. I think it has a PA Dutch origin; many fire halls and churches serve it during their fundraiser meals. I grew up on it with the corn coming from my grandparents' corn fields. I think of them every time I eat it. Unfortunately they don't farm anymore, so I have to buy the corn from the grocery store, but this hearty soup is still one of my favorites.

Chicken Corn Soup

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cups cooked shredded chicken - Check out my How To Roast A Chicken article for instructions to the chicken that I used in this soup.
• 2 - 1 lb. bags of frozen corn, you could also use canned, but I prefer frozen. My mom always adds a can of creamed corn for some variety.
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 - 3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock. You could also use store bought if you don't have homemade. This makes a very thick hearty soup, so use the amount of stock to suit your desired thickness.

1. Over medium heat, add olive oil to soup pot. Add the onions and celery and stir until vegetables are soft. About 5 minutes.

2. Add the cooked chicken, corn, salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

This soup goes well with a salad, homemade applesauce and homemade bread. Enjoy!

** ps: This soup freezes really well. I make this recipe and serve for dinner and then freeze what's left over in 32 oz containers. I also freeze it when it is really thick and then add some stock when I am cooking it at a later date to thin it out a bit.

Come join Soup-a-Palooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

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This post is linked to:

• 5 Dollar Dinner Challenge
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays At The Table at All the Small Stuff
• Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom

Nine Ways To Save Money On Groceries Without Using Coupons

I like coupons, but I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never be the home manager who buys $200 worth of groceries for $4.35. I know there are many people out there that can do this, but it is not me. I usually average about $5-$10 in coupons on each weekly shopping trip. Health and Beauty products are another story. I don't buy any of those products with out a coupon, but they are easier to come by. Many of the food products that we eat generally don't offer consistent coupons.

Whether you are a coupon queen, king or clutz, there are many other ways to save money on groceries and coupons are not involved.

1. Menu Plan
I wrote about this process in my Ten Simple Strategies for Easier Meal Planning. Develop your own routine, stick to it and save money.

2. Institute a 'Raid the Fridge' Night
One night a week, raid the fridge to get rid of leftovers. Set the leftovers up buffet style. Everyone's plate might look different, but you'll at least use up the leftovers and reduce the waste.

3. Utilize the Freezer
If you're not going to eat the leftovers before they spoil, then freeze them. With the exception of maybe pasta dishes, a lot of food can be frozen. Cooked chicken and veggies can be frozen and used in soups or casseroles at a later date. Raw vegetables like carrots, peppers, onions and parsley can be shredded or chopped and bagged and stored in the freezer for future dishes. What about the last hot dog or hamburger roll or unused cheese - Freeze it.

4. Don't shun the store brands.
I'll give the store version of a product a try and if I don't like it, I'll go back to the brand name. I buy store brand versions of many things from butter, flour and sugar to pretzels, bread, canned tomatoes and aluminum foil. There are a few instances where I went back to the name brand, like Heinz ketchup and Sargento Shredded Cheese.

On a recent grocery trip, I compared the prices of some store products and the name brand counterparts of some items on my list and found savings of 20% - 40%.

• Canned, diced tomatoes, 15.5 oz, store brand 59 cents vs. $1.00 for the Hunt's brand.
• Canned red kidney beans, 15.5 oz, store brand 59 cents vs. 95 cents for Hanover brand.
• Honey & nut O's cereal, 12.9 oz, store brand $1.99 vs. $2.79 for Cheerios brand.
• aluminum foil, 75 square foot, store brand $2.69 vs. $3.29 Reynolds brand.

5. Compare price per unit and if the size makes sense go for the best price per unit.
Again, on my recent shopping I compared the price per unit of a couple different products and the sizes. Unless I think the size is too big for us to consume in time, I go for the best price per unit.

• Heinz ketchup - 32 oz @ $2.29 = $1.15/lb, 64 oz @$3.49 = .87/lb
• Kosher Dill Spears - 16 oz @ $2.39 = $2.39/pint, 24 oz @ $2.49 = $1.66/pint, 32 oz @$2.69 = $1.35/pint
• Hummus (I know I can make my own hummus, but I'm proving a point here) - 8 oz @ $2.49, 16 oz @$3.98

6. Have and Know Your Buy price and Stock up.
I don't keep a price book, but there are a few items like diapers, detergent, chicken that I know the best sale price offered. When I see Perdue Oven Roaster Chickens at 79 cents a pound, I stock up my freezer, because that is a price that doesn't happen very often. I just focus on my most expensive pantry/freezer staple items. For the big ticket items on your shopping list, know the best price and stock up when you find it.

7. Buy or grow local produce in season. Freeze for later use.
We live in the northeast and we are heading into asparagus season, when we can find it at $1.49 a pound or even 99 cents a pound. We will be eating a lot of asparagus in the next month or so. After asparagus, comes strawberry season, which after Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. There is nothing better than local, fresh, ripe strawberries picked right off the vine at a U-Pick farm for $1.30 a pound. And then we head in to high summer vegetable season and, well, you get the point by now...

8. Cut out the crap, save some dough.
We rarely buy sodas or other sugary drinks. On occasion we might cave for root beer, but we mostly drink tap water. The same goes for junk food. The bags of Cool Ranch Doritos scream at me in the store, but I really try not cave in. For two reasons: I can't stop at just one and if it doesn't contribute to the nutrition of our family, I try to avoid it. I am not a purist though, I do splurge on occasion, but we try to limit the non-necessities.


9. Have an emergency back-up meal in the freezer or pantry
For those crazy evenings or maybe you forgot to thaw the main course, have a back up meal to avoid take-out. For me it is homemade soups that I keep in the freezer. They are easy to thaw in the microwave and I pair it with some fruit from the fridge and I have averted a potential meal emergency.

What are some non-coupon strategies that you use to save money on groceries? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

If you would like to receive FREE updates of FBS through your RSS Feed, please click here to sign up. Or sign up for FREE email updates, by submitting your email address in the top left side of this site.

Or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fambalancesheet.

This post is linked to:

• Thrifty Thursday at Coupon Teacher
• Making Dollars Out Of Change at Madame Deals
• Thrifty Thurday at Melissa's Bargain Blog
• Frugal Friday at Life As Mom

Six Signs of Spring

In the northeast, we endured a long, rough winter, unlike one we have seen in many years.


So when the temperature hit 55+ degrees over the past few days, we got a little excited. The sunny skies, the light breeze, and the fresh air bring such relief that maybe old man winter has hit the road.

Six Signs of Spring:

Daffodils pushing through the ground...

Open Windows...

Outdoor Runs...

Grilling Outdoors has commenced...

Hubby set up my rain barrel after a long winter stored in the shed...

Drying clothes outdoors...

What signs of spring have you seen? Let us know in the comments!

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This post is linked to Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things

Ham and Asparagus Frittata

Frittatas are easy, delicious, and great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is also a dish where you can be creative and take advantage of food in your refrigerator. I had the ham in my freezer and some unused asparagus from a stir-fry dinner the previous night and voila...Ham and Asparagus Frittata.


Ham and Asparagus Frittata

• 1 Cup cooked ham
• 1 Cup asparagus, trimmed and cut on diagonal into 1 inch pieces
• 1 Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp dijon mustard or Dijonnaise
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg whites

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Coat 9 inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the pepper, dijon, flour, eggs, egg whites until smooth.

Stir in the ham, asparagus and cheese.

Pour mixture into the pie plate.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until it is set in the middle and golden on top.

Enjoy!

...but don't let the serving size in this next picture fool you. The four of us finished the entire frittata at dinner.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

If you would like to receive FREE updates of FBS through your RSS Feed, please click here to sign up. Or sign up for FREE email updates, by submitting your email address in the top left side of this site.

You can also follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/fambalancesheet

This post is linked to:

• 5 Dollar Dinner Challenge at 5 Dollar Dinners
• Tempy My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom

Tackle That Tough Spot - The Foyer Closet

I haven't tackled in a few weeks and it's not because I don't have tough spots that need tackled, I just haven't been in the mood to clean, organize or tackle anything, much less a tough spot.

But the foyer closet was driving me crazy. Things were just getting shoved in there, especially if we were having guests over. Too many jackets, pictures, luggage, boxes, baskets, a vacuum, stuff, stuff and more stuff.

It was time to tackle another tough spot.

Before:

When I pulled everything out of the closet, I found 20+ years worth of pre-digital photos that need to be organized. I also found many things to add to the yard sale pile: two racket ball rackets that my husband bought us last year that have yet to be used, a breast pump from my infant-nursing days, 12 martini glasses that were a wedding gift that have never been used, Christmas dishes that were never used, and a very ugly set of animal print luggage.

After...well it might not look it, but it is clean, organized and clutter-free. I even scrubbed the floor.

I know what my next tough spot should be...all of my pre-digital photos. I have boxes and books of photos that need to be organized. The photo albums are falling apart and I need to figure out how to organize them all.

I actually have lots of room now...

...And I plan on keeping it that way!

Have you Tackled a Tough Spot lately? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet.

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