New Year, New Start: Day 23

Good for what ails you…. or not, if your medicine cabinet contains anything expired or mis-labeled or improperly stored. At the very least, check the dates. If you’re a safety star, then take a few minutes to make sure your basic first aid kid is accessible and stocked.

New Year, New Start: Day 22

Hey, good lookin! Whatcha got cookin? Not much if your recipe box or cookbook shelf is jammed to overflowing. Time for a reality check. Most of your recipes can be found online and if you’re reading this , right now, then we both know you can find your way around the internet. Since we’re keeping our New Start Tasks simple, I’m not going to tell you how to organize your recipes in 10 easy steps, or even how to find the best recipes online. This is all about small, measurable, steps. Find a recipe/book that no longer reflects you, your family’s tastes, or your lifestyle, and throw it out. Wasn’t that easy?

New Year, New Start: Day 21

I’m treading carefully on this, to some, sacred territory. Today we’re going to dip our toes into the garage and find one thing that can go. I don’t recommend starting with your husband’s tool chest, work bench, or automotive shelf. I’m talking about something that you know is just taking up space and shouldn’t be. Old sporting equipment and gardening supplies are a good place to start. Maybe what really needs to go is your rusted-out garbage can. (Although good luck throwing that out. It’s hard to convince the garbage men that the garbage can is, in fact, garbage.)

New Year, New Start: Day 20

UFO? That’s Unidentified Frozen Object. I’ll let you have one bag of peas or corn for first aid’s sake. You can even have your hidden Haagen Dazs and I’ll never tell. What we’re talking about today is that mystery block of ice-encrusted something or other that you are just waiting to throw out but feel guilty as long as it might be good. It’s not good. Sever the ties and say your good-byes.

New Year, New Start: Day 19

When I got married, over 27 years ago, Tupperware was so wonderful we received several pieces as wedding gifts. Today, not only can you buy every sort of plastic ware imaginable at the grocery store, but one or two nights of take-out is enough to replenish  your supply. And that brings us to today’s post. I’m not here to argue the merits of safety, brands, or quality. I’m here to tell you that if it’s missing its lid – throw it out! There is no such thing as spontaneous-tupper-generation and your cabinet will not spawn missing pieces of its own volition. Sorry.

New Year, New Start: Day 18

Best face forward! Oops…not if your makeup is enough to send Mary Kay peeling off in her pink cadillac! The glittery aqua eye-shadow? Let me be the first to say…Old makeup isn’t just a hazard to your beautiful style, it can be a health hazard as well. Makeup has a shelf life and if yours is past its prime, throw it away.

(Congrats! We’re more than halfway through the month and if you’ve made it this far you have a more simplified, more uncluttered existence. Wow!)

New Year, New Start: Day 17

Compliments are food for our souls. Find something praiseworthy about someone else today and tell them.

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” Proverbs 25:11