Amy Slenker-Smith

How to Use Food Inventory, Reduce Waste and Save Money

March 13, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 6 Comments

It's amazing how quickly the cabinets fill up. Even our generous pantry is full. Clients often tell me their pantry is too small, but I would argue that we stockpile too much food. We buy large quantities because of a sale only to have items go bad before we use them. A few years ago, we canceled our membership to a bulk shopping store. The impulse buys and excessive quantities eliminated any cost savings. Grocery store sales and coupons are merely advertisements encouraging consumers to “stock up” and spend more. That’s why for this inventory challenge, I suggest staying out of the store altogether. I know what you’re thinking….but I don’t have all the ingredients to make this recipe or that. Well, neither did I, but Google and I made a lot of great meals together! I find substitutes for most ingredients or borrow spices from my neighbor. And sometimes, simply do without. My grandma liked to cook this way. She improvised. Occasionally, it was a disaster but we laughed a …

9 Easy Ways to More Organized Spices

March 9, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Recently, I went through our spices. By this I mean, I removed them from the cabinet and asked the following questions about each one: What recipe calls for this spice? Approximately when did I purchase this spice? How much of this spice is measured for a typical recipe? Surprisingly, most of my spices support my everyday cooking. And I had very few containers older than 12 months. But when I considered the question about quantity, I found several mistakes as a result of bulk buying. I own large containers of cayenne, parsley, cumin, and minced onion. Although they are used in our cooking, the volume was excessive for the typical amount needed in a recipe. But my neighbor was delighted when I refilled a few of her spice containers. Pictured below are the rest of my spices and some easy ways to organize yours. 9 Easy Ways to Organize Remove from the cabinets. Designate one cabinet for spices. (We prefer near the stove.) Review each container and ask the …

3 Reasons Why Storage Bins Do Not Make You More Organized

March 6, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Baskets and bins will NOT make you more organized. In fact, they have the opposite effect. Here are three reasons why. #1 Bins Collect Clutter Over the years, I acquired a lot of things. And then I organized a lot of things. Finally, I stored all the things. At one point, I contributed heavily to this statistic, "The average American home has 300,000 items." Moreover, my weekends were spent purchasing, organizing and cleaning things. If storage bins had worked, I would have gotten organized very quickly. But my storage containers perpetuated the clutter. I had to get rid of the stuff in order to get organized. #2 Bins Hide Clutter Bins, boxes, and baskets are clutter attractors. Ever notice how hard it is to keep an empty basket sitting around the house? Once you start eliminating the baskets and bins, stuff can't hide. It forces hard decisions about, do I really need all this stuff? #3 Bins ARE Clutter Recently, I worked with a client who decluttered her entire house. She …

How to Store and Organize Small Appliances

March 2, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Small appliances clutter a kitchen counter. By reducing dishes and pantry inventory, more appliances can live inside cabinets versus on the counter. Here are the kitchen appliances I eliminated. 2 Crockpots - (kept 1 medium size) Bread Maker Flour Sifter Espresso Maker Milk frother Deep fryer Coffee pot (replaced with French Press) Toaster Now, I love my empty kitchen counter. Empty counters clean up easily without obstacles. I don't need to clear a space to make dinner and there's a place to unload groceries. So, the goal of today’s challenge is to uncover your countertops and make working in the kitchen easier. Decluttering Appliances Make a list of the small appliances Note how often you use each sone Consider if they perform single tasks vs multiple jobs 90-day Rule Have I used it in the last 90 days? No - Donate Will I use it in the next 90 days? No - Donate Store all small appliances inside cabinets Give priority …

How To Declutter and Organize Magazines

February 28, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

For years, we subscribed to our favorite magazines and even the Sunday newspaper. Over time, they became a burden to read, instead of enjoy. Gradually, we reduced the subscriptions but were harassed by endless mailings from publishers offering "lowest price ever" if we renewed. While I could easily manage the magazines themselves, I found all the extra mail to be wasteful. It required diligence on my part to know when our subscription REALLY expired. At one point, I had paid for 2 years in advance. Eventually, we went down to just one magazine. It was my favorite until I realized every other page was an advertisement. It was thick with unnecessary ads. This was just the motivation I needed to end the subscription. For months, the bills continued. Even a letter that stated I was delinquent. But that's just another sales tactic because advertising works. I don’t object to an occasional magazine. Reading is good. But my approach eliminates waste and …

After a Natural Disaster – I Don’t Need All That Stuff

January 19, 2020 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Natural disasters dominated the news in 2017, from Texas to Oregon. I wrote about the true needs after a natural disaster strikes which inspired lots of discussion. When Hurricane Irma barreled through the state of Florida, my cousin evacuated. After the fact, I ask her what she packed knowing that she may return to nothing. Without a moment's hesitation, she responded, "Kids, Clothes, and Cats." "Oh...and any medicine that would be difficult to replace." That's it. That's all they packed. Sentimental Stuff So I pressed a little further, "What about sentimental stuff or photographs?" Her response, "I thought about it, but my photos were stored in the cloud and there was no room in the car for sentimental items." Their only concern, find enough gas to drive out of the state and not get stuck on the highway with everything that did matter to them (i.e., the kids and cats.) Thankfully, they arrived safe and sound in Virginia 12 …

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