My sister inspired this tip. Her and I have a weekly dinner and last week she brought this spice kit from McCormicks that she found at Safeway. It gives you the exact amounts of spices that you need to make whatever recipe is printed on the back – all you have to buy is actual food (meat, potatoes, etc.)

It seems like a really convenient idea, and no doubt, if you’re strapped for time and out of inspiration it’s a great save. But when we actually looked at it, it turned out I already HAD all those spices, so all she needed to bring was the actual food and the recipe anyways. I started thinking, what if you made your own pre-measured spice mixes? You could refer to your favorite go-to recipes and use little containers (even the larger “daily pill box” containers would work) to store the pre-mixed spices. Label them accordingly and then you can achieve this same easy idea for less money.

For a long time I’ve been wanting to buy some packing cubes, but I always thought it wouldn’t be worth it, that if I just packed well enough they weren’t really necessary. Well I finally caved in for this trip and bought an eBags Packing Cubes – 3pc Set. And now after packing with them and getting to my destination I have to say that I love them! It makes it so much easier to keep your clothes in order when you’re living out of your suitcase for a few days.

By now I think it’s pretty clear how much I  love making lists, but it seems like I’m not the only one drawing parallels between detailed pilot checklists and other activities we undertake. I saw Atul Gawande on the Daily Show a few nights back and am super excited about his new book, The Checklist Manifesto. In it he proposes that other industries can learn from the pilot’s checklist in order to avoid costly or life-threatening mistakes. In particular he looks at the medical industry and how surgeons who use checklists make less mistakes and have increased success rates. He uses a mix of anecdote and practical advice to show how much more effective a team, in any industry, can be when it uses appropriate checklists.

I just downloaded it to my Kindle so it’s officially on my list of things to read. Anyone else read the whole book yet? What do you think?

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Katie’s entry on the makeup bag got me to thinking about overall makeup organization, which drives me crazy. I have a drawer at home that was so packed full that items got jammed in the back or fell through into the cabinet going missing for weeks. The drawer is even busted at the corner from being so packed! (see what it looked like before)

But now I’ve decided to go back to my favorite makeup organizer from the 90s, the caboodle. (I had no idea these were still around!) They have these nifty little clear boxes so it’s easy to see all your pretty eyeshadows that you don’t wear on a daily basis but want to remember you have for special occasions. That way you can keep the clear box in a separate cabinet or under your sink to pull out when necessary and not clutter up your everyday makeup drawers. (see what my drawer looks like now)

The boxes come in every shape and size and they also have some that feature compartments that hold cotton balls and tissues for easy access. See a full list of their products to chose one that’s right for you.

My life was forever changed by a $9.99 purchase. It’s true – the little set of drawer organizers send me into a burst of happiness every time I open my dresser drawers. White socks separated from colored socks? Check. Sports bras separated from frilly bras? Check. The list goes on, but the point is the same – organizing your drawers with separators or open storage boxes can ensure a tidy dresser, even when you are folding laundry in a rush. I love the Ikea Komplement set, which as you may have guessed is only $9.99.

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This Christmas I got a few new (awesome) electronic gadgets. When I got home it was pretty apparent that I’d need to do something to make charging all my devices a little easier, and a little less of an eyesore. I looked at some typical charging stations for sale, but they didn’t really fit my needs. Most were sized to accommodate about three gadgets and all of them pocket size – no good for my netbook or Kindle. A quick Google search brought back some great DIY projects, but all of them seemed to require tools I didn’t have or building skills I definitely don’t have.

I finally came up with a solution that I could do myself in under 20 minutes. If you got some new electronics this holiday season it may work for you as well.

Supplies: I went to the store and picked up two baskets of slightly different shape. One larger (base) basket and one smaller (accessory) basket that would sit on top without falling in. I also made sure these baskets had ‘handles’ or holes that the wires could be fed though.

Setup: When I got home I cleared out an area under my desk and set up the baskets one on top of the other. Then I threaded the wires from a powerstrip on the wall, through the handles, and into the devices. I adjusted things just a little bit and I was done.

Bonus: One added benefit of this setup versus other charging stations is that it’s fairly easy to unplug the wires and remove them entirely. That way if I need to take the wires with me somewhere it’s not too much of a hassle.

Finished look:

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Christmas is coming up fast and I’m sure I’m not the only one running out of time to get things done. I think this is the perfect time to introduce you to my favorite to-do list site: TeuxDeux.

The thing I like best about it is it’s simplicity. I prefer when my to-do items area listed out visually under the dates they need to be done (as Office 2007 does, or even a normal paper planner will). The interface is incredibly easy, dates scroll left to right with lines under each date. Just type what you need to do on the appropriate date  and click enter. You can even drag and drop items to move them around. When you finish a task, click it, and a satisfying line will cross through it.

It’s simplicity is it’s biggest asset, but it loses some functionality for that. It doesn’t let you organize tasks by topic (holiday, work, home) or assign priority or even include subtasks, notes or descriptions. But for particularly stressful weeks, it does one thing very well – it helps you balance the load across several days and manage your time to get it all done.

It even has a “someday” list to keep track of those things you want to do but don’t fit on a particular day. New Year’s resolutions maybe?

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