You should never judge a book by its cover. But is it possible to judge a person by his pantry? Well, I’m not normally one to judge anybody. But I’ve found that when I walk into someone’s home and look at his or her pantry, a mental image of the owner instantly takes shape in my mind—and I am amazed at how accurate that mental image usually turns out to be!

No, I’m not just talking about the difference between a neatnik and a slob—that can be pretty obvious to anyone. I’m talking about more fundamental character traits—what the person is like, how he/she approaches life, and even sometimes what he/she does for a living.

You can tell a lot about people by how they organize things. And very often you need to look no further than their pantry to get all the clues you need. Here are some common personality types and the kinds of pantries you most likely will find in their homes:

• The leaders (generals, CEOs): This pantry has all the little guys in front and big guys in the back. In fact, it almost looks as if all the cans, bottles, jars, and boxes were told by a photographer how to pose for a group picture. At first glance, the arrangement seems super-organized—until you notice that boxes of the exact same cereal are scattered everywhere, on different shelves and in different parts of the pantry, only because the boxes happen to vary in size. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the owner can enter the pantry at will and instantly survey the battlefield in front of him. Everything is visible, all the requisite data is at hand, and therefore vital decisions can quickly be made.

• The clerics/scholars: This type of pantry needs to be looked at closely. At first it can seem totally disorganized. Then you begin to notice that the apricots are way to the far left and the beans are right next to them. Next in line is the canned corn, and so forth. You soon realize that this pantry is a glorified file cabinet, where everything is arranged alphabetically. If you are the right type of person, you will find what you want in here in a jiffy!

• The craftsmen (chefs, cooks): I can always tell when someone is a serious pantry user. The spices are with the other spices, the oils are with the oils, and the juices are with the juices. Not only that, but there is a wide variety of brands, styles, and types within each category. And the next time I visit, I always see new items—but everything is still organized the same way. These are the folks who make optimal use of their pantries.

• The logical thinkers (engineers, scientists): OK, let’s look at the dates! Everything in the back is brand new. Everything in the front is relatively old. Looks a little like a high school yearbook, right? But logically, it makes all the sense in the world. First use the stuff that will expire soon. And save the newer stuff for later. As time goes on, the items in the back slowly inch forward. And the cycle of pantry life continues…

• The survivalists: Eighty-four cans of SPAM, you say? OK, I think we all know what type of cat we are dealing with here. At least you know who to call if you ever run out of something.

• The “look at me” types: This is the kind of pantry where as soon as you walk in, the first thing that hits your eyes is a jar of expensive caviar and a container of rare Matsutake mushrooms. The stuff that people actually eat is stashed out of sight, way in the back. The owners of this pantry harbor no qualms about guests poking their heads in and looking around. In fact, they welcome it.

• The penny-pinchers: Instead of noticing the containers themselves, look at what is inside them. The boxes are half full. So are the jars—and the bags. Most of the containers have been re-used…and very often will be re-used again. Frugality is the order of the day! In this household, you can rest assured that sure that no scraps will ever be thrown away.

• The free-spirits: This pantry tends to look very similar to the penny-pincher pantry, but with one notable exception: the half-full containers have no completely full containers to back them up. In fact, the owner of this pantry won’t realize he is low on supplies until the last flake of cereal finally disappears from that well-worn box.

Pantries don’t talk but they don’t have to. Without saying a word, they speak volumes about the people who own them and organize them. You should never judge people—but if you want to learn a little about them, just peek inside their pantry.

Tim Eyre works in the self storage industry, regularly traveling to see locations like a self storage facility in Peoria. In many locations, like the Brooklyn self storage units yard, Tim helps his customers store seasonal equipment when it is not being used for outdoor activities or home improvement projects.

Photo by Claudia Snell

It’s back to school time again, get your family organized and ready for the new school year!!!

The summer is a great, great time of year and I’m sure we all have fond memories of our own summer vacations.  Our children, too, surely look forward to summer and spending days at the pool, trips to Disneyland or the zoo and lots of fun and games.  But alas, summer must come to an end, and that means it’s time to get ready to go back to school.

Getting you and your family organized for a new year of school fun can be a daunting task. Each year presents new challenges and old routines are just not going to accommodate the changes that happen every year.


Routine is your friend.  Establish a clearly defined, easy to follow routine as soon as possible.  You might have gotten a little lax with some of your usual practices…perhaps chores are ignored and overlooked, computer time is stretched out a bit, bedtime has gotten a little hectic, and so forth.

Now is a great time to get back on track and get everyone back in the school year groove.  And don’t wait until the first week of school either…there’s enough to worry about.  Start with earlier bedtimes and earlier mornings, have a nice printed chore chart ready to go and in use.  Your kids might resist these rules and routines, but they really do need this structure and almost always respond quite well when they know exactly what’s expected of them and when.

Get a Good Organizer.  Get a good schedule book, family organizer or a good family tablet app to get everything clearly laid out and ready to go. Once you’ve written something down and can easily find it again you’re much more likely to remember what needs to be done and follow the plan.  And don’t just put down to-do lists and appointment times.  Organization books and calenders are great for this, of course, but also use them to record emergency phone numbers and other important phone numbers like the school attendance office, the doctor and dentist, babysitter, play dates, etc.

MomAgenda has some nice planners that I’ve used in the past and recommend. You can also get 10% off orders over $65 with the coupon code MOM10OFF65 or $10 off order over $75 with the code MOM10OFF75. Check them out HERE.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute. Make sure you have all of your back-to-school supplies in hand a month or at least a few weeks before opening bell. You don’t want to be one of the hoards of people shuffling around half-empty shelves during the evening of the first day of school.

Get those school haircuts done a week or two before school starts as well.  You want to give your children a little chance to get used to a new hairdo before school starts.

Plan Ahead.  You’ll want to get into the habit of planning ahead for the entire school year, and what better way to start than the first week.  Have the week’s meals all planned and the shopping done.  If you can, get the lunches made the night before. Have all the laundry done and have the next day’s school clothes laid out and ready to put on.  And, don’t forget to set your alarm clocks!  Allow yourself some extra time the first day or two so you can avoid any last-minute problems and have plenty of time to take care of unforeseen delays.

Remember, This is Fun!  You want to give your children good memories of school and need to make absolutely sure that you make going back to school a great experience. Don’t stress them out freaking out about the little things.

Get your organization hat on and say goodbye to any last minute back-to-school jitters.

Here are 7 awesome family tablet apps that you can download that support family life:

Daily Living Apps

1. GPS Tracker

If you want to know the whereabouts of everyone in your family, installing GPS Tracker is one of the best things you can do. With this tool, you will be able to know the location of your family and friends, as well as share your whereabouts as well.

2. Grocery iQ

Grocery iQ is probably one of the best of its kind. This grocery helper will enable you to create a list of groceries and estimate the total amount of the product so you can keep your list within your budget range. The perfect app for an organized family!

3. Epicurious

Dinner is an important time for families. It is the time when everyone bonds and shares one another’s story. Of course, if you want to make the meal time better, make sure you have yummy delicacies on the table. That is why Epicurious is a great app that can give you some new and delicious recipes to try.

Fun Games

4. Angry Birds

Angry Birds is probably one of the most popular applications on tablet PC’s and smartphones. Tablet PC users from all around the world uses this game application. It is a simply game that everyone can surely enjoy. Adults and kids alike will have fun playing this game while they learn some physics mechanisms together.

5. Scrabble Words Finder

Scrabble Words Finder is an educational game that can be a great past time for families. Divide your family in teams and start twisting those letters and race to get the higher score.

Educational Tools

6. The Lorax

Dr. Seuss is always a family’s favorite that is why The Lorax application is a great app for families. It is actually an eBook that is great for past time and bed time stories.

7. Park Math

Park Math is an award winning application. This app enables learning math easier and more fun. If you have a little child who is preparing to go to school, this app can help give him a start with basic math.

These are just some of the many helpful applications out there to help organize your family life, keep you and your children entertained, and help your child with reading and math.

This guest post was written by Danny who  likes to write from  http://www.androidtabletfanatic.com/.

They’ve just released some interesting new products recently with some pretty good discount codes available. Their NEW 2012 Personal Portfolios are now available.  These beautiful books are made out of Italian faux leather, and feature side pockets and a snap closure.  According to their site, they are the most luxurious of all momAgenda day planners and they come in a variety of colors like Shimmering Berry Pink, Shimmering Spring Green, & Shimmering Smokey Gray.

 Take 10% off all orders of $65+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF65 Offer Expires 7.31

Take $10 off all orders of $75+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF75 Offer Expires 7.31

Also, just in time for another school year, momAgenda.com offers some very nice School Years books–as seen on the Today Show!  These let you track your child’s progress throughout their school years.  There is a section for each grade with notes available like height, weight, friends, favorite subjects, and so forth.

Remember you can get 20% Off a small School Years book with code SCHOOLYEARSMOM at momAgenda.com!

1. Remove Distractions

Keep kids focused on the cleaning. Don’t turn on the television – it’s an invitation for distraction. Turn on the radio if the kids need some noise while helping.

2. Make The Process Organized And Easy

Set aside a day to get organized before cleaning. Buy or compile attractive storage containers, small object caddies, drawer organizers, and safe cleaning items. When everything has a place, it’s easier to keep everything neat and tidy. Organize your kids’ rooms, the bathrooms, the living room, the kitchen, and any other room your kids will help you keep clean. Label storage containers and boxes so children can easily see what goes where. They’ll be more likely to keep everything effortlessly tidy. Also keep recycling and trash bins available so that toy and food wrappers and drink containers will go into it instead of being left on counters or tables.

3. Set Schedules

Keep one day a week for more major cleaning, but also set aside small cleaning times each day. In the mornings, have a few minutes before breakfast for children to make their beds and clean up their morning bathroom mess. Before bedtime, put away any toys, clean up bathtime messes, and put homework and school items in backpacks to cut down on panic time the next morning. On your major cleaning day, keep in mind that kids, especially smaller children, have short attention spans. It might be easier to conduct cleaning in 15 to 20 minute periods throughout the day.

4. Make Sure They Know What’s Going On

Give your children tasks that are age-appropriate and go through the cleaning methods very clearly, step-by-step. A five-year-old is more able to help you make his or her bed and put away clothes and linens, while a toddler is more suited to running around picking up toys and putting them in their boxes.

5. Find Out What They Like To Do

Make a chart to keep track of which tasks children enjoy most. Some will hate vacuuming or sweeping, while others might love to straighten shelves, put away books, or dust tabletops. Figure out which activities they enjoy and they’ll get the task accomplished more easily. It can also be helpful to give children choices. When they choose their own tasks, the interest makes them more likely to complete the job.

6. Give Them Safety Tips

Teach kids how to clean safely. Show older children – 12 years and up – how to use cleaners such as dusting spray, anti-bacterial cleaners, air fresheners, etc. Keep anything that might be toxic well out of reach. There are now non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaners that make it easier to let children help with cleaning.

7. Don’t Overcomplicate Things

Keep it simple! Don’t start out by expecting your children to scour the inside of the fridge, clean toilets, or mop the kitchen floor to a spotless shine. Find jobs that they can do easily and that won’t have to be completely re-done if they aren’t done perfectly. Sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, and wiping doorknobs with anti-bacterial cleaner are great jobs for kids. Older kids will be great at cleaning the insides of windows, cleaning bathroom counters and sinks, and organizing their closets.

8. Make It Fun

Make cleaning a competitive game. Set up some tasks as a race or give each child a list of tasks and see who can finish their list first. Let them know that there will be a quality check, though, so everything is done correctly. When you have a winner, give a small prize or some kind of recognition within the household. Print out your own ‘tickets’ and give one for each task accomplished. You can cash in tickets for a prize or fun activity, such as a trip to the zoo, library, park, or movie of the child’s choice. The option to choose a favorite dinner or dessert is a great prize, as well. For older children, when simple prizes cease to have meaning, making their allowance dependent on having their chores and cleaning done can be an incentive.

9. See What They Think

Ask your kids for their opinions. Children are smart and have great ideas. When you listen to their ideas and put those ideas into action around the house, it can make things easier for everyone. Ask the kids where to put the items they use the most in the refrigerator. Ask what utensils should be put in the kitchen drawers that are on their height level, where their items should be placed around their bathrooms, or how to rearrange the living room furniture so everyone can enjoy family time.

10. Set An Example

Leading by example is important. If the parts of the home that belong to adults are a mess, kids might not see a reason to keep their own areas cleaned up. Keep your own bedroom and living room nice and tidy, and your children will have a role model to follow in tidying up their own areas.

(A Guest Post by George Baker)

George whiles away the time working with hoover bags and writing about things like Numatic hoover bags on the internet.

2011-2012 DAY PLANNERS

I’ve been a big fan of the day planners available from MomAgenda and I’ve just received word that their new 2011-2012 day planners are available. What I love about their products is not only their great attention to detail and thoroughness in the planners, but the great quality and design of all of their planners and journals.  Definitely worth a look.

MOTHER’S DAY JOURNALS

Also, if you’ve been hunting for something nice for Mother’s Day, these cute journals might be just the thing.  Beautiful colors, super soft texture and Mom inspired sayings on the front make these a great Mother’s Day gift.  You can use the above momAgenda code until the end of the month for this or any other purchase on their website.

And, until the end of April  you can get a discount on your purchase.

Take 10% off all orders of $65+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF65 Offer Expires 6.30

Take $10 off all orders of $75+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF75 Offer Expires 6.30

Backpacks: Donate them to the American Birding Association.  Scientists can use them while tracking birds.

Batteries: Keep hazardous metals out of landfills.  Take your car batteries to any retailer and they’ll be recycled.  For household batteries, take them by RadioShack or Office Depot.

Books: Donate books or alternatively sell them to a used bookstore.  You won’t make much (the most I’ve made is $35 in one batch, and that included a season of Lost on DVD).

Cell phones: The Wireless Foundation gives refurbished phones to domestic-violence survivors.  Some states like California and New York require that retailers accept and recycle your phones without charging you.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL): They contain mercury, so you don’t want them in landfills.  Drop them off at an Ikea or Home Depot.

Computers: Return them to manufacturers or donate to charities.  If it’s broken, try sending them to Nextsteprecycling.org, which will repair and give them to schools and families in need.

Crayons: National Crayon Recycle Program melts old ones down to make new ones.  Leave the wrappers on so they know what color each one is.

DVDs, CDs: Send it to greendisk.com for recycling without it cluttering a landfill instead of your desk.

Empty metal cans: For cleaning products like Ajax, cut off the metal ends and put them with other household metals.  Recycle the tubes with paper or cardboard, accordingly.  For food products, clean the food out of them and recycle with metals.  You can leave the paper on since it just burns up in the recycling process.  (If you want extra green points, recycle the paper, too.)

Gadgets: Recycleforbreastcancer.org will send you shipping labels so you can send them your clutter, which they will recycle.  The proceeds go to breast cancer charities.

Holiday cards.  Yes, they’re sweet and sentimental, but you can send the ones from your boss or acquaintances to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.  Formerly abused or neglected youths will cut off the covers of these cards and glue them to new ones, which they sell to fund the nonprofit program.

Shoes: If your shoes are in good shape, they’ll be donated to athletes in need via oneworldrunning.com.  If not, drop them off or mail them to Nike Recycling Centers; they’ll be recycled into sports courts and playgrounds.

Shopping bags: Okay, you’ve started the reusable bag thing, but you still have all the plastic and paper bags from the old days.  Recycle the paper ones with paper (even if they have metal grommets; they’ll be pulled out by the machines) and drop the plastic ones at your local grocery store.

Spiral notebooks:  Toss the thing, metal and all, in the paper recycling.  The machines will pull it out.  If the cover is plastic, though, rip it off first.

Stereos and VCRs: You can find a list of recyclers, retailers, and manufacturers near you that will take them here.

Toothpaste tubes: Yep, you can recycle them with your aluminum tubes, even if your aluminum tube still has paste inside.  With plastic ones, though, you’re out of luck.

Used clothes: Donate them to your local charity organization or even the animal shelter, where they can be used as bedding (they’re always in need of bath towels, too).

Videotapes, cassettes, floppy disks: send them to greendisk.com, since they’re a menace practically anywhere else.

Read the full list of recyclable (and non-recyclable) items by Real Simple here.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degrees, and what it takes to succeed as a student getting an online masters degree from home. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

1. Safety

Many people may think, “What? You’re talking about power cleaning and clutter busting and you’re going to start with safety? It’s just cleaning, Do I really need to worry that much about safety?” I don’t mean to scare anybody, but every year there are 20,000 deaths and 21 million hospitalizations from home-related injuries so the first and foremost item on my list is to stay safe! Here’s a few safety tips: When you’re going to be spending a lot of time bending, kneel instead and wear some knee-pads to keep yourself comfy. When clearing and re-organizing clutter, make sure you leave any doorways, hallways and stairs clear of objects to trip on (about ½ of those injuries I mentioned are from tripping and falling). When carrying arms full of household items, make sure that you can see the ground and the path you’ll be walking over or around your load. When you have to use a step ladder, don’t take any risks. Lastly, before you doing anything strenuous, stretch yourself out and warm up a bit, like you would before exercising. You’d be surprised how much that will improve your energy and attitude while cleaning, while at the same time reducing your chance of injury.


2. Use Alternate Cleaning Supplies

There are tons of alternate cleaning supplies out there that you might not expect to use as an alternate to toxic or environmentally harmful products. Try some of these: Pour a cup of white vinegar and some lemon juice in your toilet bowl and let it sit over night to remove hard water and rust stains. Use Johnson’s Baby Oil to clean any metal surface from faucets to hubcaps. Mill some rice grains in your coffee grinders and they will absorb any stale smells and oils. Discard the rice and wipe it clean. There are tons more healthy and earth- friendly alternatives as well as more cleaning and decorating tips at realsimple.com. Check them out!

3. Read the Label

If alternate methods aren’t cutting it and you have to use some harsh cleaning materials, make sure you read the label first and follow all the instructions exactly. Never mix chemicals and make sure you wear gloves and a mask to minimize exposure to body. Make sure your pets and children steer clear while you’re using harmful chemicals.

4. Don’t Be a Pack Rat!

I can’t stress this one enough. The worst downfall for spring cleaners (I know it is for me) is the thought “I’ve never used this before and I’ve had it for 3 years but what if i need it some day?” Dump it! If you happen across something that you haven’t seen in a long time, here’s a few things to think about: How long has it been buried (or lost)? Have you looked for it and been unable to find it? Have you thought about it even once since it the last time you saw it? If the answer to either of these is ‘no’ – get rid of it! Give it away, throw it in a yard sale, sell it, trash it, just get rid of it! Don’t hold on to things you don’t need and your house will be much more clutter free and if your house is anything like mine, clutter-busting is 75% of the battle.

5. Get the Family In On It

Make it a game and have the family race to see who can get done first. When they’re done, perform an inspection and have a reward ready for the winner! If they’re not down for that, bribe them with toys or food. “We can have pizza twice this week if you get your rooms clean by the end of the week” or “For every five toys you donate to the yard sale, I’ll get you one brand new one. No, you can’t donate your sister’s toys.” Increasing your work force can drastically decrease the time it takes to get your home spic and span for spring time.

Rebecca Chelsey loves to spend time her family and she has more time to do so when her life is organized! Outside her life as mother and wife, she also works for Homeseasons, which has simplified the holidays with 4th of July decorations, Halloween Holiday arrangements and ideas for every holiday in between.

Photo Credit: Chiot’s Run on Flickr under Creative Commons

Well, the good folks at iFrogz recently sent me a nice set of their EarPollution CS40 Headphones in order to give them a try and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Headphones in our house have been a bit of a problem for awhile. We’ve tended to use the little cheap earbuds that come with whatever equipment we’re using and they’ve never worked out well.  The kids never really liked wearing them since they were uncomfortable and the sound was never too strong.  When I used those types while on the computer, I could still hear a lot of background noise and would have to turn the volume up to an uncomfortable level.

With the CS40s, however, these problems have largely been eliminated.  The sound quality is simply amazing.  Nice and clear with plenty of bass.  The beauty of these headphones, though, is that they block out external sounds, leaving you with nothing but the output from the headphones.  And, when the kids are listening to their music or playing their games with the headphones on, you can’t hear the sound leaking out from the earpieces.

These headphones are also extremely comfortable.  I’ve found myself wearing them for an hour or more and I’ve simply forgot they’re still on my head.  I can watch my favorite shows on the laptop now while the kids play noisily around me or watch TV and the CS40s block out the sound.

Here’s my little guy practicing his keyboard with the CS40s on.  He likes to play the practice tunes over and over and now we all don’t go crazy hearing the same song all day…

Well, the Les Mess Organizing Card Game is just the trick to help accomplish these oftentimes difficult tasks.

According to their website, “LES MESS, a fun interactive card game that teaches children how to clean up after themselves and manage their possessions.”

Les Mess recently sent me a deck of these cards to try out and my kids have had quite a bit of fun with these.

The game is set up so that your child draws a card and then does the task in the allotted time.  There are also “Bonus” cards that allow the child a free day or some other twist.  You can then set up the game to offer a prize or reward when the task is completed.

This game seems like a handy way to get your kids involved in tidying up his or her things as well helping out around the house.   Ideally they will then become a bit more aware of keeping things organized and develop a habit of picking up more often.