Home Helper

At our house, the age-old question – “What’s for dinner?” – is usually met with some groans. It takes a lot of work to find good recipes – or even recipes with ingredients that we’ve actually heard of before! Then you have to plan the meals, do the shopping, put the groceries away and THEN cook the meal…it’s a lot of work! Sometimes, because it is just the two of us, we find that it’s easier to grab some kind of take out.

But even then the question remains – what kind of take-out? Drum roll, please…I’d like to introduce to you the take-out menu organizer! It’s a simple concept, really. Each time you’re in a restaurant that you like, you grab a copy of their takeout menu and then slip into a page-protector sheet in a three-ring binder. Then, when you’re beyond starving and trying to figure out what to order or pick up, you have all the options readily available with contact information, too. ...read more

As a graduate student in art school, I was surrounded by talented graphic artists. While I was studying advertising and not design, I have always had an interest in art. Even though my skills are limited, I still like to think of myself as a creative individual. Lately I have been trying to use my artistic side to reinvent the artwork on my walls at home. We recently reorganized our furniture and I was thinking of a way to spruce up the walls, rather than continuing to look at the few random things I have accumulated at garage sales in years past. ...read more

There are few tasks that I dread worse than moving. The hassle, the disorganization, the chaos of it all is enough to send even the most balanced person into an absolute tizzy. 

I recently completed a major move (my 7th in 12 years, and this one with a two-year-old in tow, no less!) and wanted to stay organized so that the process was as quick and hassle-free as possible. There were two things that I did that helped me keep it all together when our life was in boxes, and I really wanted to share Out of Office readers who may have a move in their future: 

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Blog friends, I have to let you in on a little secret: I have always wanted to be a good gardener! I always thought that when we had a yard, I’d plant bulbs in the winter and watch beautiful flowers blossom in the spring. Or have a few rows of veggies so we could make fresh salads. But alas, no luck – my thumb isn’t showing any green tendencies and our yard is filled with wildflowers and weeds (and maybe a few too many “presents” from our dogs Molly and Conrad). My grandparents, however, were very active gardeners.  I spent many summers enjoying perfectly ripe and flavorful tomatoes, juicy strawberries, sweet corn and crisp cucumbers…Yum!

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As a busy working mom, I’m constantly on the go. And it feels like every time I drop my son off to a birthday party or leave him with a babysitter, I scribble down my contact information. I found that I was leaving the same information over and over again – and frankly I’m starting to get a hand cramp just thinking about it! As a result, I finally decided to make cards – social calling cards – with all the info I find myself writing out again and again for folks in my personal life.

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As you may remember from our wedding series, I recently got married – and for me, that meant moving too! I’ll soon be sharing some of my best tips and tricks for keeping a move (relatively…) painless, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t also share one even more important tip: you have to tell people where to find you!  

Once you’ve settled into the new place, send out a notice of your new address. This is incredibly helpful for family and friends alike, especially around the holidays when they are sending greeting cards. And don’t forget to make these change of address cards as fun as you are by using a photo of your new home, a moving van or a little rhyme.

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Guest Blogger Stephanie Buttrill is an account supervisor at Ketchum, the public relations agency for FedEx Office. Like many New Yorkers, Stephanie is long-term apartment dweller, but she said she just had to share some tips for a springtime passion developed growing up in the suburbs of Chicago – garage sales!

It’s springtime, and to me that means just one thing – garage sale season! Walking through yard sales in my parents’ neighborhood and nearby suburban subdivisions was as common a weekend activity growing up as trips to the town pool or library. For me, every stop along a garage-sale route was like an adventure trying to find something extraordinary amidst piles of the merely ordinary (or worse!) items being discarded by their once-proud owners.  ...read more

As someone who is meticulous about organizing at home and on the job, I can admit there is room for improvement when it comes to reducing my paper clutter. In fact, right now I have a stack of papers sitting on top of my paper shredder just waiting for my attention. Whether its copies of credit card statements and tax returns, cards from friends, or stacks of receipts – there’s a lot of paper to keep track of and its cluttering up my very small apartment! On top of that, I’m moving soon and I want to get it all organized before the movers show up. If you’re in spring cleaning mode like me, here are some quick tips to help you get this issue under control once and for all.

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Guest Blogger Lisa Antonio is a customer service coordinator at a FedEx Office in southeast Michigan. She has been with the company for over three years and is currently in graduate school.  A fun fact about Lisa is that this spring she will fulfill her life-long aspiration to train as an ice hockey player.

With two kids in preschool not only is the artwork piling up, but I also have a drawer stuffed with school memos. As the weeks progress, these letters (usually printed on lovely pastel or bright paper) contain information that is no longer relevant. Instead of tossing them, I created a recycling bin for future projects. Now the kids and I can make homemade paper and other simple projects from scraps. 

Here are just a couple of fun and cool ideas: ...read more

Last February, I ran in the 12th Annual Mardi Gras Run in Dallas, and the first thing I noticed upon arriving at the race was the huge crowd of walkers and runners. I was a little intimidated at first – as it had been quite a few years since my last 5K – but I ended up having a total blast. Some people were dressed in wild costumes and others had their faces painted. Everyone seemed to have smiles on their faces and there was a collective energetic spirit in the air. The best part was the group of event volunteers standing around the finish line with armfuls of Mardi Gras beads. As each race participant crossed the finish line, they were showered with beaded necklaces in bright green, gold, silver, and purple colors.

In the days that followed the race, I found myself looking at my beads in admiration of my accomplishment and also puzzled as to what to do with them. I’m a big fan of recycling and repurposing. So, I put on my thinking cap and came up with a solution… I could use the beads for gift wrapping!

To help you see my vision, I put together a couple of samples. ...read more