Works for Me Wednesday: Purse Notebook

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I(Mel) just got back from 6 days of travel, and I was reminded of how much I use my purse notebook on my trip.  I keep a small, covered notepad in my purse at all times.  It has a pen attached, and I can't tell you how many times it has come in handy! I use it for notes, checklists, calendar reminders since I don't have a blackberry or phone internet service, and all kinds of other things.  I make grocery lists, let my son scribble on it, and on and on!

It's definitely a good idea for a multi-tasker like me to have one central place for writing notes. 

What do you do? This works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Halloween candy on the cheap!

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I have waited until the last minute to purchase treats for Trick-or-Treaters.  Have you? If you're in the same boat, here is my plan for scoring some reasonably priced treats.

• Go to CVS and use a gift card from my last new prescription to buy candy that is on sale there.  There's a 2 for $5 deal this week and I'll use clipped coupons, like the $1.00/2 Hershey's, Reese's, or Kit Kat Snack Size Bags, 9-22ozfrom the 10/17/2010 SS.

• Go to Safeway and spend the $2 coupons from the fruit snacks deal on candy on sale there.

• Use some of the fruit snacks I scored this week at Safeway.

• A last resort would be to buy the full-sized candy bars (30-pack) at Costco with the $4 coupon available in the Costco coupon mailer.  We get so many trick-or-treaters that I don't consider full size candy, even at this price, the most cost-effective method for our neighborhood.

What about you? Any ideas to share for getting treats on the cheap?

Works for Me Wednesday: Home Projects Outfit

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I've spent a lot of hours on home projects in the past week.

• I stripped, painted & restored an antique desk.
  
• I repainted a bookshelf to match the desk.
• I stained our deck.
  

Using the same clothes works for me when doing messy home projects, particularly sanding, paint & spackle projects.

When we became homeowners 8 years ago, I quickly realized that I'm a messy painter and that it's downright convenient to have clothes reserved just for those occasions. I keep an old pair of sneakers on hand, along with a pair of pants, pair of shorts and 2 t-shirts. This way I have 2 changes of clothes available when I get the bug for home projects.

I love that I can wipe paint off my hands onto the clothes and not worry. My sneakers are dirty and I don't wear them into the house or out on the town. My t-shirts are works of art. I smile when I think of the projects we've been blessed to tackle over the years.

I store these items in a special pile on my closet shelf. I also take care when washing them - I don't just throw them in with all our other good clothes.

Works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Organizing My Gift Wrap STUFF before the holidays!

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

How many of you out there have a pile of barely-used looks-new gift bags somewhere in your home? My mom is a chronic gift-bag saver, and so is my mother-in-law! The result of this is we've had the same set of Christmas gift bags revolving between our families for several years now! Many still look brand new, and others...well...let's call them well-loved classics. (Especially the HUGE Christmas gift bags...because we're all too cheap to buy enough paper or a new gift bag to wrap large-size gifts when a perfectly good Santa gift-bag is still kicking!)

Gift bags aren't the only thing we save, either. Gift boxes, bows large and small, fancy gift ribbons, and other like-new package decorations are continually reused, and even large unwrinkled sheets of gift wrap that once wrapped very large gifts are seen as potential gift wrap fodder for a future Christmas.

In fact, the only time I typically buy new gift wrapping items is when they are heavily clearanced after the fact; CVS and Target are my top locales for sniffing out gift wrap for pennies on the dollar in the weeks after Christmas.

Last week and this week, I made it my mission to clean out my SUPER messy "saved and clearance-purchased gift wrapping stuff" storage shelf in the basement. For real: it was a huge mountain of random gift bags, barely-used gift wrap, and other accoutrements.

For the past couple of years stuff has collected there, and it needed major help. It took me several minisessions of work (that's the way it happens when you're doing it with a baby and often also a three-year-old around). Here's how I approached it:

• Throughout the entire process, throw away anything that looks too old or used. When in doubt, don't reuse it.
  
  
• Separate all of your stuff: bows and tissue paper from your gift bags and gift boxes. Make a huge pile each of bows, tissue paper, bags, or boxes as you do this.
  
  
• Sort your gift bags into three categories: teeny, standard, and HUGE. Put each size set in a box (could be cardboard, Sterilite, whatever works for you!).
  
  
  
• Sort your tissue paper by color. For me, this was: whites, yellows & golds, reds & pinks, blues & greens, and white with patterns. Some tissue papers are holiday-themed, so it may behoove you to have a few tissue categories by holiday (Christmas, birthday, baby, wedding, Valentine's Day, etc.).
  
  
  When you're done with the sorting of the tissue paper, you can gently roll your stack and store the roll loosely upright in a smaller box. This way it's easy to see and easy to take a sheet out without messing up the rest.
  
  
• Sort your gift boxes. Some are holiday-themed, so it may work for you to have box categories by holiday (Christmas, birthday, baby, wedding, Valentine's Day, etc.). Stack your gift boxes neatly, largest on the bottom, smallest on top, so that you can see them in one glance. Two post-Christmases ago, I picked up shirt boxes at Target for 90% off - and they're still in my stash. Sweeeeeet.
  
  
  
  
• Put your bows and other box decor in a separate box. (Or further sort them if you like.)
  
  
  
  
• Organize your items on a shelf or other designated location so that you can see things plainly and put things together quickly, so that when the gift-giving occasion arises you can wrap it in no time. Here's a sample scenario of how it might go:
  --What size is my gift? For which occasion? (You'd pick out your gift bag or box.)
  --What color tissue paper should I use? (You pick out a sheet or three from your color-sorted tissue paper.)
  --Do I want any other bows or decor? (You pick from your separate box of bows to match the gift bag and tissue paper.)
  
  
• Pick up a hanging or under-the-bed gift-wrap organizer with compartments for storing a few items like spools of ribbon, tubes of gift wrap, "gift wrap scissors" if you have'em, and scotch tape (in my case, picked up for $0.24/roll on clearance).
  
  
  
• If you like, you can save the "too old" tissue paper for kid-oriented craft projects like tissue paper carnations, which make terrific decoration come spring and Mother's Day! "Too old" gift wrap can be used for scissors practice, too.

What are the benefits to getting together your gift wrapping stuff now? Well, there are quite a few:

• You will save money, because you'll know at last the extent of your supplies at home. No more last-minute purchases of bows or tape or wrapping paper at the store (probably at full high-season pricing) only to realize later that you had it at home all along!
  
  
• In the same vein, you'll know when you're about to run out of something because you have an awareness of what's already in-stock at home, and that way you can keep an eye on deals or seasonal clearances to stock back up.
  
  
• No more crummy too-old tissue paper on gifts you give because you grabbed that still-looks-new gift bag (containing said too-old tissue paper) from the top of your "gift wrap stuff" pile in a rush.
  
  
• Having your gift wrapping stuff organized means that you're less likely to procrastinate on holiday gift-wrapping and will save time when you do gift wrap.
  
  
• Knowing what you have, you'll be able to put together more creative combinations of bows, paper, bags, etc. than if you were just staring at a mountainous pile of unorganized gift wrap leftovers.

Organizing my gift wrap miscellaneous in time for the holidays works for me!

What organizing tasks are you tackling now so that you can have a more peaceful, less expensive, less-stressed holiday season?

Works for Me Wednesday: Laptop Lunches Bento Lunchbox

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I love my preschooler's Laptop Lunches Bento-style lunchbox. Laptop Lunches did not contact us to ask to be mentioned, nor did they give me a lunchbox - I bought one for my daughter of my own initiative this past spring, and I am just telling you about how much I adore this lunchbox system.



The system is American-made, and the pieces are BPA-free and lead-free. The features (two lidded containers - large and medium, two unlidded containers - large and medium, one tiny lidded "dip" container, plus a slot for silverware and room in the carrying case for the included water bottle) all add up to a very lunch-packing-friendly setup that encourages fresh ingredients.

Some things that you could put in the dip container:

• Almond butter or peanut butter (to go with sliced fruit)
• Creamy dips (I usually make with yoghurt or sour cream plus some other seasonings)
• Raisins or other trail-mixy stuff
• Nutella
• Cream cheese dips

The whole set cleans like a dream in the dishwasher, and you can also buy additional container sets so that you don't feel pressure to get the items clean every night.

I also (of course!) love that I don't need to spend additional money on plastic baggies or other items to make lunches.

Using a Laptop Lunches bento-style lunchbox works for us!

What do you use to increase the love for packing lunches?

We are Amazon.com affiliates, and this post contains our affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Redemption Unlimited!
All opinions in this blog post are honest and my own, and I was not asked to provide any reviews, favorable or otherwise, by Laptop Lunches

Works for Me Wednesday: Lunches and Clothes the Night Before

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I realize that for many of you organizistas, this is a total "duh" Works for Me Wednesday tip. For me, though, it's been a huge boon to our mornings. I pack lunches and lay out my daughter's preschool outfit and accesories the night before.

Most nights I'm packing lunches for both my older daughter (for preschool) and for my husband to eat at work. I try to do this right after dinner, but before the girls' bedtime. This enables me to give my preschooler a sneak preview of what she'll be taking - sometimes sampling bites so that she's familiar with what will be in the lunchbox. It also saves me the hassle of packing leftovers in a large container, only to unpack them and repack them into the lunch containers later.

As for the outfits, after I manage to get a few loads of laundry done, I usually hang together 3-4 coordinated outfits as I can, and after my preschooler's bath we look through the assembled outfits to pick one for her to wear the next day. (I also check the weather for the next day during this process to make sure that the outfit is temperature-appropriate.

Taking the initiative on these two things the night before really saves me stress and energy the morning-of, because I can ask my preschooler to get herself dressed, and the only thing left is to feed her breakfast and get her into the car with her lunch cold from the fridge.

Packing lunches and selecting outfits the night before works for me!

What do you do the night before to save yourself some time and energy the morning-of?

Works for Me Wednesday: Shredder in the Kitchen

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

A few months ago, I decided to be more proactive about protecting my family's identity. To do so, I realized that I needed to shred as much personal paper mail as possible. Because our hometown has a great, integrated recycling program, it's easy to recycle paper. And because we have a recycling bin in our kitchen, I have no excuse!

What works for me is keeping a shredder in the kitchen. It's nothing expensive, just a portable 6-page shredder that I can easily store in a kitchen drawer. [I think I spent around $20 on it 5 years ago.] When I have a stack of paper that has filled that same drawer, I put my toddler to work. After months of instruction, he can now safely shred, keeping his fingers away from the cutter. Believe me, I don't leave the room when he's doing it, but I've found it's a great activity for him to do while I'm preparing a meal.

Works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Freezing Chicken in a Marinade

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I(Mel) buy chicken breasts in large quantities when on sale for $1.99/lb. So I have a few meal ideas without having to work, I freeze a few pounds of chicken(.75 to 1 lb. per plastic freezer bag) in my favorite marinades. I'm amazed by how much better the chicken tastes when grilled after being frozen, then thawed in a marinade. The meat is moister and carries more flavor.

I can't claim originality for this idea, as a friend recommended it a few years ago. Thanks, S!

Works for Me Wednesday: Go-gurt popsicles!

About a month ago I(Mel) couponed my way to 4 nearly free boxes of Go-gurt. This is not an item I normally buy, but I found a variety that was made with skim milk and had a lower sugar count and went with it. What to do with 4 boxes of Go-gurt?

Frozen popsicles, of course! The Go-gurt website even advertises that if you freeze it, it will thaw by lunch. I like to freeze it so we can eat it as popsicles after pool outings. And by we, I mean that Mama likes it, too! Popsicles for 70 calories can't be beat.

The only hitch is that I really have to help my toddler with it. It takes a few minutes to thaw enough for him to eat it, and he needs help pushing it up. By next summer maybe he'll have that skill mastered!

Works for Me Wednesday: Ice Cream Scooping My Watermelons!

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

Now that watermelon season is here, my family can easily plow through one or two melons each week without even trying. Loss leader price on full sized melon in our region is around $3.50-$4, whereas retail is around $7, so if you're in the mood for a melon, you might want to check the ads for the stores closest to you; one of them is bound to have watermelon on sale any given week throughout the summer. As a matter of fact, watermelons are going for $3.99 at Giant this week!

The only thing I really used to dislike about watermelon was how space/time intensive and messy the whole operation seemed when cutting slices - and once cut, the slices took up a couple of shelves in our fridge. But I figured out a shortcut that works for us:

I use our ice cream scoop to scoop large bites of watermelon out of the melon halves into a big bowl!

Definitely not quite as dainty as a tiny-sized melon-baller, but it gets the job done. Reasons why I love doing it this way:

• Less juice everywhere! With the bowl right next to the halfed section of melon, the scooped bites barely have a chance to drip anywhere. (Compare this with slicing into wedges, which pretty much invites juice to drip all over my cutting board and the countertop.)
  
  
• Faster! I can scoop out both halves of a watermelon in less than five minutes - definitely less time than it takes me to figure out the visual math of dividing it into reasonable slices.
  
  
• Less energy-intensive. I ask you, what takes more effort: using your most mammoth kitchen knife to slice through watermelon rind again, and again, or scooping lush, soft bites of watermelon?
  
  
• It takes less fridge space! Once I have a big bowl full of bites of watermelon, I can either clear one part of a shelf, or spoon the watermelon scoops into smaller work-lunch-friendly Rubbermaid containers. Definitely less fridge space taken than when I have the slices stacked in bowls and trays.
  
  
• It makes for a great snack without all the mental effort/prep. Once I've scooped a watermelon, we have ready-to-eat watermelon on hand for 2-3 days - a favorite, healthy snack for all of us, cold from the fridge.

How do you dish up your watermelon?

Works for Me Wednesday: Pandora Radio!

It's Wednesday, and that means time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip! Check out this week's WFMW carnival, hosted weekly by We Are THAT Family.

After years of hearing my younger, hipper sister tell me about using Pandora Internet Radio on her cel phone, I finally checked it out a couple months ago.

The verdict: I'm hooked!

There are several reasons why I really like this free, internet-based radio service:

• It's FREE!
  
• It's super simple to set up an account. It took me less then 5 minutes to do so.
• I can access my account from any computer by logging in.
• It's easy to set up "stations" based on music preferences, and Pandora is intuitive when it comes to spinning tunes. For instance, once you set up a station and enter a few artists, Pandora will stream other tunes and artists in that genre.
• It has a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" feature. It's easy to tell Pandora if you don't like something and never want to hear it again, or the reverse!
• It has an exhaustive music collection! For someone like me(Mel) who memorizes tunes pretty easily, that matters. And don't forget, it's FREE! What a find.

If you haven't tried out Pandora yet, head on over and check it out.

Special thanks to my sister for introducing me to Pandora. Little sisters rock!

Works for Me Wednesday: Rating Library Books for Future Gift Ideas

It's Wednesday, and that means time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip! Check out this week's WFMW carnival, hosted weekly by We Are THAT Family.

I just discovered our local library this spring.

...

...

I know. I KNOW. How is it that a supposed frugalista just now discovered the local library? *Momentarily smacks forehead...* To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure what took me so long. (And to Mel's credit, she's been a longtime patron of her local library.)

But there was a major catalyst at play that spurred us to finally join: me getting sick of reading my three-year-old daughter the same books over and over. (And this, believe me, despite the fact that she has TONS of books via gifts, yard sales, etc.)

Now over the past few months we've averaged borrowing about 7 childrens' books or so per week. We've also discovered our library's once monthly book sale, wherein they liquidate excess inventory. Kids' hardbacks are just $0.50/each on the first day of the sale! (I really need to consider remodeling my daughter's bedroom to feature 20-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling bookshelving, and a freely gliding library ladder, a la Belle's library in Beauty and the Beast. But first, we should, you know, get a new water heater. Priorities!)

Every time we come home from the library, I take just a moment to document which books we've borrowed. As we read them, I put one star next to titles that I'd borrow again, and two stars next to titles which were so wonderful that I'd buy or gift.

This ongoing list gives me a quick reference for when a child's birthday or other occasion is approaching - I can quickly eyeball the "two-starred" books for inspiration. (Of course, this concept would be sweetened if I could then subsequently snag said titles brand new with a "30% off one item" Borders coupon, since there is a Borders just around the corner from me.)

Writing down the week's titles takes very little time, and the rating takes even less, since of those seven there are usually just a couple that get one star, and one or two that get two stars. I love the idea of giving books - but especially stories which we've also read and thoroughly enjoyed - to the kids in our life!

(And...when I one day return to the fold of those do lots of recreational reading...I'll probably apply this concept to grown-up oriented selections, too. :-p)

Rating library selections works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Tea Boxes as Cookie Gifting Containers

This idea is not at all mine originally, but it is one that I love and intend to use again and again. When you're gifting cookies, instead of putting them on a wrapped plate (kind of precarious) or in a Ziploc gallon bag (makes them liable to crumble) - both things I used to do - you should consider the Post Punk Kitchen suggestion (described here and linked with PPK's permission) of putting them in an empty tea box. Frugal and cute as can be.

The Post Punk Kitchen blog has some great-looking cookie recipes, too, like Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows (*drool*), and Magical Coconut Cookie Bars.

For additional inspiration, you could also head over to Amazon for the 5-star-reviewed Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats, written by the Post Punk Kitchen's Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (meet'em here).

Other suggestions for snazzing up your tea box of cookies:

• Per Post Punk Kitchen, add some bags of tea that would complement the taste of the cookie
• I like separating mine with squares of wax paper.
• You could fancy up your boxes with wrapping paper or ribbons on the outside!

Gifting yummy cookies in tea boxes works for me!
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Note: This post contains our Amazon affiliate link. Thanks for supporting Redemption Unlimited!

Works for Me Wednesday: Note Pad / Google Tasks at Our Bedsides!

Mel: I don't know about you, but my mind swirls with ideas right before bed and then when I awake. Since I'm a list maker and forgetful to boot, I've learned to keep a notepad and pen on my nightstand. My brain can dump information on it at any time of day, and I know where to find notes when I'm trying to remember something because I keep them in one place.

Keeping a notepad on my nightstand works for me!

A: I do something similar, only I often use Google Tasks to jot down bedtime epiphanies on my phone, which is always by my bed anyway. That way, if a "to-do" or idea pops up in my brain with a deadline, I can assign a date to it as well.

Keeping track of my "to-dos" during winddown time works for me, too!

Works for Me Wednesday: packing lunches at night

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

I pack lunches for my husband every night. It saves us beaucoup de bucks. He's happy with anything I put in any kind of bag, period. I'm so blessed to NOT have a picky eater husband.

The only way I get lunches packed is if I do them at night. With my toddler in preschool 2 days a week and the need to pack my own lunch those 2 days as well, I run out of steam if I don't get lunches packed the night before. There's too much to do in the morning when we're all trying to get out the door.

Packing lunches at night works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Tax Deductible Donations

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

A few years ago when we moved into our current house I noticed that neighbors would leave big items, boxes and bags out on their doorsteps and have them picked up by charitable organizations' trucks. Amazed by the ease of getting rid of unnecessary stuff, I looked into it. Since then I've become a big fan of arranging for pickup of charitable donations for a few reasons.

1) It's easy!
I keep a Rubbermaid bin in our laundry room for collecting items. Each organization also sends bags to me in the mail, so between the two I always have something for collecting donations. Both collect pretty much everything we'd be donating, except food items.

2) I can schedule or cancel pickups online at any time.
Once I registered with my preferred organizations, my profile was saved and I receive notifications about when they'll be in my neighborhood. After scheduling a pickup I receive reminders.
I donate to two organizations because each one only comes into my neighborhood about once a quarter. This way I can get things out of the house on a more regular basis.

3) I don't have to take my items anywhere!
Can't beat that! I'm horrible about putting things in the car and taking them somewhere. The organization's truck comes to my house to remove the items, and the staff leaves a receipt at my door. I keep track of what I'm donating in an Excel spreadsheet and place the receipts in our "Taxes" file after each donation. This way we can track a ballpark charitable donations amount to be included as we file taxes.

The two organizations that frequent my neighborhood are Vietnam Veterans of America(VVA) and the Lupus Foundation. VVA has an exhaustive list of items they'll accept as donations here.
Lupus has a list of items they'll accept as donations here.

Lest you think I'm crazy, I rarely donate more than half a garbage bag full of items. I donate old clothing that won't resell, household items like vases, etc. that take up precious storage space, and other various household items. Since we're constantly working on some sort of home renovation project, it's helpful to know when I have pickups scheduled. I also use Freecycle but find this more convenient for certain items I'm trying to get out of the house.

Do you donate items to an organization like this? Works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Cleaning Crocs

A friend told me a few years ago that
she cleans her family's Crocs in the dishwasher all the time.

I always thought it was an odd idea until my son started wearing Crocs. That means 2 of the 3 of us wear them most days of the week, at least around the house. I quickly decided to try the dishwasher tactic last year. Success!

I've tried top rack placement in our regular dishwasher cycle and been pleased with the results. It's easy, it keeps me from scrubbing mud off, and it's super clean. At first I was concerned about getting mud on our dishes, but the high temperature of the dishwasher seems to get rid of it, further putting my concerns about germs to rest...

Try it sometime! Works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday: Google Reader

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

Both A. and I would agree that computer applications available through Google are invaluable! We'd like to highlight Google Reader today because it saves us SO. MUCH. TIME.

Google Reader uses RSS feeds to check websites and save them in one place. It's like having another email account, only it tracks information from websites. For example, you can view the posts we write at Redemption Unlimited in Google Reader. We keep up with other deals blogs, personal friends and family blogs, news blogs, etc. It's a great tool, and it truly saves tons of time.

Yahoo offers a similar service, so if you already use Yahoo for email you might want to try Yahoo Reader.

To become a Google Reader user you must have a Gmail account. If you'd like to start one, send us an email at redemptionunlimited(at)gmail(dot)com. You can add Redemption Unlimited to your Google Reader subscription list by clicking on "Add Subscription" in the upper left hand corner and typing http://www.redemptionunlimited.blogspot.com into the field. Voila!!

Did you know that when you "follow" us via Google Reader, you also have the option of seeing items that we share from other blogs (which also appears lower on our blog page in the right-hand column)? We think that this is a great way for you to get to know other bloggers we follow and admire - who you might like adding to your Google Reader subscription list as well!

Google Reader works for us!

Works for Me Wednesday: Banana Bread Shortcut

This is kind of a silly Works for Me Wednesday tip because it's so simple, but for me, it has turned banana bread from a chore to a quick and easy pleasure.

When it comes to getting mashed bananas, I used to mash mine in a bowl with a fork. It took forever to get even the ripest bananas to a consistency that was good enough for a decent loaf of banana bread.

Then one day it dawned on me - I tried gently massaging each banana while it was still contained in its spotty brown skin, and once I opened the banana, 90% of the mashing was already done, and to a much smoother consistency, with so much less effort. I could just squeeze out the nicely-mashed banana like toothpaste from a tube.

Now I look forward to bananas browning on my counter so I can painlessly bust out loaf or two of banana bread. :)

Mashing the banana bread bananas "in skin" works for me! What are your banana bread tips?

Works for Me Wednesday: Evite

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another "Works for Me Wednesday" tip, as hosted by the blog carnival at We Are THAT Family. See this week's Works for Me Wednesday here.

After putting together yet another Evite for an upcoming event, I realized how often I use Evite. It's convenient, great at organizing my event invitations, and easy to use. I like the designs available and that you can customize invitations with photos. I like that you can include an end time and ask people to bring items if needed. I especially like being able to track RSVP numbers in real time and easily send reminders. Best of all, Evite is FREE!

Evite has many great features. If you've never used it before, consider using it for your next playdate, birthday party, shower, or other event!

Evite works for me!