Welcome to Cindy's Porch!

Scroll Down for the ABC's of Going Back to School - Frugal Style!

Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Grab yourself a cup of tea and pull up a chair. Are you ready to discover the treasures that are available in your home, your neighborhood, and within your family that cost absolutely nothing? This is where we learn to "DO instead of BUY". Where we "SHOP at home FIRST" and discover that "procrastination" can be our best friend when it comes to BUYing more stuff.

Click here to join our e-mail list for more tips, ideas, and encouragement (hosted by Yahoo! Groups). It doesn't cost a thing.

"DO" away with debt in 2008! Are old debts keeping you and your family living in the financial past? Does day-to-day living clean out the checking account? Have you been waiting until "later" to begin setting aside money for your financial future? "Later" has arrived. Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Remember, we are NOT financial experts. We are simply people like you who have learned how to manage our money and make it work for us. No "get rich quick" schemes here. These are life-long money skills that we use every day. Keep reading...

"DO" away with debt (and create some savings) in 2008!

If 2008 is the year that you'd like to get a bit more control of your finances, your home, and the things you DO, then you are at the right place. Welcome to Cindy's Porch.

What are your financial dreams? Your financial goals? Do you have a pile of credit card debts that you would like to get rid of? Perhaps a student loan from many years ago? Does the monthly balance of paychecks and paying bills leave you frustrated and wondering, "where did all the money go"? Would you love to go on a vacation or renovate your home without adding thousands of dollars to your credit card debt? Does the thought of retirement funds, investments, and saving for the future seem like an impossibility from where you are sitting? Been there, done that.

"We're not doing without. We're DOing within!"

This year we are going to DO something a little different at Cindy's Porch. Each month, we'll have FOUR new goals to help us down the path of financial success and personal DOing. Our emails and our website will direct you towards the information to tackle each goal. And we're going to have fun DOing this together. At the beginning of 2009, you will be able to say, "I DID it in 2008!"

Are you ready to start?

Goal #1 for August, 2008

Getting the Kids Back-To-School WITHOUT Breaking the Bank!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like "Back to School!" I know a lot of you already have sent your little ones back to class. For the rest of us with school-age children, that day is coming up quickly. Now before you dig out your pocket books and spend spend spend, here's a few SHOP at home FIRST tips to get your kids off to a great start without breaking the bank!

• "SHOP at home FIRST" for supplies and more - including those cute gel pens that I always want to buy - hee hee!
  
  
• A Simple Little List - that will save HOURS of stress during the school year!
  
  
• Solving the Lunchtime Blues - a printable sheet that makes it easy for you AND the kids to put together great lunches - and avoid the dreaded "smooshed" sandwich.
  
  
• Kids Clean Room Challenge Did the kids manage to completely trash their bedrooms during the summer? Are last year's notes and art projects still hiding under the bed? Here's a quick print out challenge to tackle that room one little bit a time (and the kids do it).
  
  
• And a Mini Celebration for Mom - you made it through another summer vacation!
  
  
• ABC's of going back to school - frugal style! Our members share their tips and ideas.
  
  

Goal #2 for August, 2008

Give me a few minutes to write this one out - it is a doozy!!

Goal #3 for August, 2008

Summer is only half over - that means at least another couple months of DO DO DO! It doesn't matter whether you are on "official" vacation or not - take the time to DO something fun for summer EVERYDAY! Even if it is a simple evening walk after supper.

Put away your credit cards until fall. Put them on vacation. Stop feeding the albotross. Use cash and DO lots. It doesn't have to cost a dime!

• A Whole Pile of Kid's Summer Activities School’s out and it won’t be long until we hear those dreaded words, “Mom, I’m bored.” Little do your kids know, but you are prepared. You’ve printed out this list of things for kids to do during the summer. Shhhh, don’t tell the kids, but some of these activities are going to help them remember some of the stuff they learned at school. Thank you to our readers who added their ideas - you are the greatest!
  
  
• Rediscover Summer Fun! This summer, take the time to enjoy those hazy, lazy days. With a little bit of planning and a little bit of creativity, you can find ways to turn the entire summer into a holiday, a vacation. And it doesn't matter whether you have to work full time, or part time, or you stay at home full time, the treasures of summer fun are out there waiting for you and your family to discover! (we even included some printable sheets for those "are we there yet" moments!)
  
  

Goal #4 for August, 2008

Loving your Kitchen: We did the kitchen earlier this year. However, with the kids home from school, the summer harvest, being outside instead of inside, and simply enjoying the weather, my kitchen is looking uh - uh- uh - a little messy LOL.

With school just a few weeks away, plus canning season around the corner, I think I need to pull my kitchen together again. There's too much stuff in the cupboards, I have to find the kids' lunch supplies, and the final straw was losing my favorite wooden spoon (it has to be in there someplace LOL). So this month, my kitchen is up for a little deep cleaning (and a lot of Home Clearance!). You are welcome to join in!

• DOing a Surface Clean in the Kitchen Print out our checklist, start at the top and work your way to the bottom. If you are getting pooped or are running out of time, just do what you can and finish the rest later. Once you get started, you usually find out that it doesn’t take as long as you thought it would.
  
  
• Tackling the Fridge Do you know what's lurking in the back corners of your fridge? Or growing? Or moving? Let's find out. This is going to take about half an hour to forty-five minutes. Are you ready? You can do this.

Are You New to Cindy's Porch?

Cindy's Porch is a busy place. To get you started, we've posted links to our most popular pages. Enjoy!

• The Three Rules of NOT Buying: Does money seem to flow from your home faster than you can keep track of it? Do you hit the end of the month and wonder "where did it all go"? You are not alone. Today, it is so easy to spend money and buy more stuff that we don't even remember doing it. It is similar to driving. You know you made it to school or to work safe and sound, but you do not remember which lights you had to stop at, how many times you had to pass a car, or if you stopped for a pedestrian. We are on auto-pilot. Dangerous when driving, dangerous when shopping.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Money: The future is yours in 2008! We've got three simple steps to get you started on your journey to "Rediscover Your Money. Before you know it, your purse and wallet will be overhauled, you'll be tracking your spending, and you'll even have a spot in your home to "manage" your money (and it won't cost a dime). As your journey continues, you'll be taking a hard look at where your finances are today. How much do you OWN and how much do you OWE? Then we blow the dust off your savings account (YIKES). Remember what it was like when you opened your first savings account? We are going to recapture that magic. Credit card debt holding you back? Check out the "Three Magic Words" for avoiding new debt. Then read about how to tackle your current debt ONE CHUNK MORE at a time.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Home: Loving the Home You Live In! When you are unhappy with your home or stressed by a mess that never seems to go away, the temptation to BUY something to make things better or make things “look” better can become very strong. Some of us will even use a trip to the store or the mall as an excuse to escape this mess and this stress (been there, done that). Then the retailers, advertisers, and marketers begin to whisper their clever messages of BUY BUY BUY! Blech! Check out the "NOT ME FIVE," those 5 little things that can mess up a home in no time flat ("not me" is the person who messed it LOL). Dusting, vacuuming, and washing only takes minutes when the NOT ME FIVE are gone. We've also got tips for "deep cleaning" including the "guy's version" (put your hard hats on, we are going in), and "spring-cleaning" (regardless of what time of year it is). Enjoy!
  
  

• Treasures in the Kitchen: Do you know what's lurking in your fridge, freezer and pantry? With our easy to use printout sheets and meal planning calendar you can SHOP at home FIRST for supper and save money at the same time! We've also added in steps for tackling the fridge (YIKES), and tips for solving the lunch time blues. Enjoy! Updated with This Month's Meal Planning Calendar sheet!

Take care of you and thanks for dropping in,
Cindy

Thursday, August 28, 2008

"I looked in the cupboards and in the fridge and the only thing I really needed was some fresh fruit that's packable in the kid's lunches." - a member

Join Our E-mail List

Rediscover Your Money

Rediscover Your Home
(Updated for 2008!)

Treasures in the Kitchen
(Inventory sheets, meal plan,
clean fridge, and lunch tips)

Great Books
Great Links

About Cindy's Porch

Contact Us

Table of Contents

---

Cindy's DO-log
(Our daily adventures in DOing and Finances)

Where "Walking in Wonder" meets "DOing in amaZement"!

---

• Autum "SHOP at home FIRST"
  
• Are you Saving for the Future?
  
• Lunch, munch and crunch
  
• A freezer before a flat screen?
  
• Sprucing up around the home.
  
• and more...

"DO" away with debt in 2008!"

Extra Extra!
Read all about it!!

Cindy's Porch is now in the Google, MSN, and Yahoo! search engines. Just do a search for "cindy's porch" and there we are. Wahoo!

Walking is one of my family's favorite DO's instead of BUY's. It doesn't cost a thing. Anytime we feel the need for fresh air, some exercise, or a break from work, we just head out for a walk. You never know what wonderful things exist in your neighborhood unless you take the time to explore.

Click on the photo to enjoy a new "Walking in Wonder" discovery everyday (except weekends - that's family time!)

"Walk in wonder. Enjoy the peace, enjoy the freedom, enjoy the scenery. Enjoy."

Welcome to Cindy's Porch!

Scroll Down for the ABC's of Going Back to School - Frugal Style!

Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Grab yourself a cup of tea and pull up a chair. Are you ready to discover the treasures that are available in your home, your neighborhood, and within your family that cost absolutely nothing? This is where we learn to "DO instead of BUY". Where we "SHOP at home FIRST" and discover that "procrastination" can be our best friend when it comes to BUYing more stuff.

Click here to join our e-mail list for more tips, ideas, and encouragement (hosted by Yahoo! Groups). It doesn't cost a thing.

"DO" away with debt in 2008! Are old debts keeping you and your family living in the financial past? Does day-to-day living clean out the checking account? Have you been waiting until "later" to begin setting aside money for your financial future? "Later" has arrived. Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Remember, we are NOT financial experts. We are simply people like you who have learned how to manage our money and make it work for us. No "get rich quick" schemes here. These are life-long money skills that we use every day. Keep reading...

"DO" away with debt (and create some savings) in 2008!

If 2008 is the year that you'd like to get a bit more control of your finances, your home, and the things you DO, then you are at the right place. Welcome to Cindy's Porch.

What are your financial dreams? Your financial goals? Do you have a pile of credit card debts that you would like to get rid of? Perhaps a student loan from many years ago? Does the monthly balance of paychecks and paying bills leave you frustrated and wondering, "where did all the money go"? Would you love to go on a vacation or renovate your home without adding thousands of dollars to your credit card debt? Does the thought of retirement funds, investments, and saving for the future seem like an impossibility from where you are sitting? Been there, done that.

"We're not doing without. We're DOing within!"

This year we are going to DO something a little different at Cindy's Porch. Each month, we'll have FOUR new goals to help us down the path of financial success and personal DOing. Our emails and our website will direct you towards the information to tackle each goal. And we're going to have fun DOing this together. At the beginning of 2009, you will be able to say, "I DID it in 2008!"

Are you ready to start?

Goal #1 for August, 2008

Getting the Kids Back-To-School WITHOUT Breaking the Bank!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like "Back to School!" I know a lot of you already have sent your little ones back to class. For the rest of us with school-age children, that day is coming up quickly. Now before you dig out your pocket books and spend spend spend, here's a few SHOP at home FIRST tips to get your kids off to a great start without breaking the bank!

• "SHOP at home FIRST" for supplies and more - including those cute gel pens that I always want to buy - hee hee!
  
  
• A Simple Little List - that will save HOURS of stress during the school year!
  
  
• Solving the Lunchtime Blues - a printable sheet that makes it easy for you AND the kids to put together great lunches - and avoid the dreaded "smooshed" sandwich.
  
  
• Kids Clean Room Challenge Did the kids manage to completely trash their bedrooms during the summer? Are last year's notes and art projects still hiding under the bed? Here's a quick print out challenge to tackle that room one little bit a time (and the kids do it).
  
  
• And a Mini Celebration for Mom - you made it through another summer vacation!
  
  
• ABC's of going back to school - frugal style! Our members share their tips and ideas.
  
  

Goal #2 for August, 2008

Give me a few minutes to write this one out - it is a doozy!!

Goal #3 for August, 2008

Summer is only half over - that means at least another couple months of DO DO DO! It doesn't matter whether you are on "official" vacation or not - take the time to DO something fun for summer EVERYDAY! Even if it is a simple evening walk after supper.

Put away your credit cards until fall. Put them on vacation. Stop feeding the albotross. Use cash and DO lots. It doesn't have to cost a dime!

• A Whole Pile of Kid's Summer Activities School’s out and it won’t be long until we hear those dreaded words, “Mom, I’m bored.” Little do your kids know, but you are prepared. You’ve printed out this list of things for kids to do during the summer. Shhhh, don’t tell the kids, but some of these activities are going to help them remember some of the stuff they learned at school. Thank you to our readers who added their ideas - you are the greatest!
  
  
• Rediscover Summer Fun! This summer, take the time to enjoy those hazy, lazy days. With a little bit of planning and a little bit of creativity, you can find ways to turn the entire summer into a holiday, a vacation. And it doesn't matter whether you have to work full time, or part time, or you stay at home full time, the treasures of summer fun are out there waiting for you and your family to discover! (we even included some printable sheets for those "are we there yet" moments!)
  
  

Goal #4 for August, 2008

Loving your Kitchen: We did the kitchen earlier this year. However, with the kids home from school, the summer harvest, being outside instead of inside, and simply enjoying the weather, my kitchen is looking uh - uh- uh - a little messy LOL.

With school just a few weeks away, plus canning season around the corner, I think I need to pull my kitchen together again. There's too much stuff in the cupboards, I have to find the kids' lunch supplies, and the final straw was losing my favorite wooden spoon (it has to be in there someplace LOL). So this month, my kitchen is up for a little deep cleaning (and a lot of Home Clearance!). You are welcome to join in!

• DOing a Surface Clean in the Kitchen Print out our checklist, start at the top and work your way to the bottom. If you are getting pooped or are running out of time, just do what you can and finish the rest later. Once you get started, you usually find out that it doesn’t take as long as you thought it would.
  
  
• Tackling the Fridge Do you know what's lurking in the back corners of your fridge? Or growing? Or moving? Let's find out. This is going to take about half an hour to forty-five minutes. Are you ready? You can do this.

Are You New to Cindy's Porch?

Cindy's Porch is a busy place. To get you started, we've posted links to our most popular pages. Enjoy!

• The Three Rules of NOT Buying: Does money seem to flow from your home faster than you can keep track of it? Do you hit the end of the month and wonder "where did it all go"? You are not alone. Today, it is so easy to spend money and buy more stuff that we don't even remember doing it. It is similar to driving. You know you made it to school or to work safe and sound, but you do not remember which lights you had to stop at, how many times you had to pass a car, or if you stopped for a pedestrian. We are on auto-pilot. Dangerous when driving, dangerous when shopping.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Money: The future is yours in 2008! We've got three simple steps to get you started on your journey to "Rediscover Your Money. Before you know it, your purse and wallet will be overhauled, you'll be tracking your spending, and you'll even have a spot in your home to "manage" your money (and it won't cost a dime). As your journey continues, you'll be taking a hard look at where your finances are today. How much do you OWN and how much do you OWE? Then we blow the dust off your savings account (YIKES). Remember what it was like when you opened your first savings account? We are going to recapture that magic. Credit card debt holding you back? Check out the "Three Magic Words" for avoiding new debt. Then read about how to tackle your current debt ONE CHUNK MORE at a time.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Home: Loving the Home You Live In! When you are unhappy with your home or stressed by a mess that never seems to go away, the temptation to BUY something to make things better or make things “look” better can become very strong. Some of us will even use a trip to the store or the mall as an excuse to escape this mess and this stress (been there, done that). Then the retailers, advertisers, and marketers begin to whisper their clever messages of BUY BUY BUY! Blech! Check out the "NOT ME FIVE," those 5 little things that can mess up a home in no time flat ("not me" is the person who messed it LOL). Dusting, vacuuming, and washing only takes minutes when the NOT ME FIVE are gone. We've also got tips for "deep cleaning" including the "guy's version" (put your hard hats on, we are going in), and "spring-cleaning" (regardless of what time of year it is). Enjoy!
  
  

• Treasures in the Kitchen: Do you know what's lurking in your fridge, freezer and pantry? With our easy to use printout sheets and meal planning calendar you can SHOP at home FIRST for supper and save money at the same time! We've also added in steps for tackling the fridge (YIKES), and tips for solving the lunch time blues. Enjoy! Updated with This Month's Meal Planning Calendar sheet!

Take care of you and thanks for dropping in,
Cindy

Thursday, August 28, 2008

"I looked in the cupboards and in the fridge and the only thing I really needed was some fresh fruit that's packable in the kid's lunches." - a member

Join Our E-mail List

Rediscover Your Money

Rediscover Your Home
(Updated for 2008!)

Treasures in the Kitchen
(Inventory sheets, meal plan,
clean fridge, and lunch tips)

Great Books
Great Links

About Cindy's Porch

Contact Us

Table of Contents

---

Cindy's DO-log
(Our daily adventures in DOing and Finances)

Where "Walking in Wonder" meets "DOing in amaZement"!

---

• Autum "SHOP at home FIRST"
  
• Are you Saving for the Future?
  
• Lunch, munch and crunch
  
• A freezer before a flat screen?
  
• Sprucing up around the home.
  
• and more...

"DO" away with debt in 2008!"

Extra Extra!
Read all about it!!

Cindy's Porch is now in the Google, MSN, and Yahoo! search engines. Just do a search for "cindy's porch" and there we are. Wahoo!

Walking is one of my family's favorite DO's instead of BUY's. It doesn't cost a thing. Anytime we feel the need for fresh air, some exercise, or a break from work, we just head out for a walk. You never know what wonderful things exist in your neighborhood unless you take the time to explore.

Click on the photo to enjoy a new "Walking in Wonder" discovery everyday (except weekends - that's family time!)

"Walk in wonder. Enjoy the peace, enjoy the freedom, enjoy the scenery. Enjoy."

Welcome to Cindy's Porch!

Scroll Down for the ABC's of Going Back to School - Frugal Style!

Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Grab yourself a cup of tea and pull up a chair. Are you ready to discover the treasures that are available in your home, your neighborhood, and within your family that cost absolutely nothing? This is where we learn to "DO instead of BUY". Where we "SHOP at home FIRST" and discover that "procrastination" can be our best friend when it comes to BUYing more stuff.

Click here to join our e-mail list for more tips, ideas, and encouragement (hosted by Yahoo! Groups). It doesn't cost a thing.

"DO" away with debt in 2008! Are old debts keeping you and your family living in the financial past? Does day-to-day living clean out the checking account? Have you been waiting until "later" to begin setting aside money for your financial future? "Later" has arrived. Welcome to Cindy's Porch! Remember, we are NOT financial experts. We are simply people like you who have learned how to manage our money and make it work for us. No "get rich quick" schemes here. These are life-long money skills that we use every day. Keep reading...

"DO" away with debt (and create some savings) in 2008!

If 2008 is the year that you'd like to get a bit more control of your finances, your home, and the things you DO, then you are at the right place. Welcome to Cindy's Porch.

What are your financial dreams? Your financial goals? Do you have a pile of credit card debts that you would like to get rid of? Perhaps a student loan from many years ago? Does the monthly balance of paychecks and paying bills leave you frustrated and wondering, "where did all the money go"? Would you love to go on a vacation or renovate your home without adding thousands of dollars to your credit card debt? Does the thought of retirement funds, investments, and saving for the future seem like an impossibility from where you are sitting? Been there, done that.

"We're not doing without. We're DOing within!"

This year we are going to DO something a little different at Cindy's Porch. Each month, we'll have FOUR new goals to help us down the path of financial success and personal DOing. Our emails and our website will direct you towards the information to tackle each goal. And we're going to have fun DOing this together. At the beginning of 2009, you will be able to say, "I DID it in 2008!"

Are you ready to start?

Goal #1 for August, 2008

Getting the Kids Back-To-School WITHOUT Breaking the Bank!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like "Back to School!" I know a lot of you already have sent your little ones back to class. For the rest of us with school-age children, that day is coming up quickly. Now before you dig out your pocket books and spend spend spend, here's a few SHOP at home FIRST tips to get your kids off to a great start without breaking the bank!

• "SHOP at home FIRST" for supplies and more - including those cute gel pens that I always want to buy - hee hee!
  
  
• A Simple Little List - that will save HOURS of stress during the school year!
  
  
• Solving the Lunchtime Blues - a printable sheet that makes it easy for you AND the kids to put together great lunches - and avoid the dreaded "smooshed" sandwich.
  
  
• Kids Clean Room Challenge Did the kids manage to completely trash their bedrooms during the summer? Are last year's notes and art projects still hiding under the bed? Here's a quick print out challenge to tackle that room one little bit a time (and the kids do it).
  
  
• And a Mini Celebration for Mom - you made it through another summer vacation!
  
  
• ABC's of going back to school - frugal style! Our members share their tips and ideas.
  
  

Goal #2 for August, 2008

Give me a few minutes to write this one out - it is a doozy!!

Goal #3 for August, 2008

Summer is only half over - that means at least another couple months of DO DO DO! It doesn't matter whether you are on "official" vacation or not - take the time to DO something fun for summer EVERYDAY! Even if it is a simple evening walk after supper.

Put away your credit cards until fall. Put them on vacation. Stop feeding the albotross. Use cash and DO lots. It doesn't have to cost a dime!

• A Whole Pile of Kid's Summer Activities School’s out and it won’t be long until we hear those dreaded words, “Mom, I’m bored.” Little do your kids know, but you are prepared. You’ve printed out this list of things for kids to do during the summer. Shhhh, don’t tell the kids, but some of these activities are going to help them remember some of the stuff they learned at school. Thank you to our readers who added their ideas - you are the greatest!
  
  
• Rediscover Summer Fun! This summer, take the time to enjoy those hazy, lazy days. With a little bit of planning and a little bit of creativity, you can find ways to turn the entire summer into a holiday, a vacation. And it doesn't matter whether you have to work full time, or part time, or you stay at home full time, the treasures of summer fun are out there waiting for you and your family to discover! (we even included some printable sheets for those "are we there yet" moments!)
  
  

Goal #4 for August, 2008

Loving your Kitchen: We did the kitchen earlier this year. However, with the kids home from school, the summer harvest, being outside instead of inside, and simply enjoying the weather, my kitchen is looking uh - uh- uh - a little messy LOL.

With school just a few weeks away, plus canning season around the corner, I think I need to pull my kitchen together again. There's too much stuff in the cupboards, I have to find the kids' lunch supplies, and the final straw was losing my favorite wooden spoon (it has to be in there someplace LOL). So this month, my kitchen is up for a little deep cleaning (and a lot of Home Clearance!). You are welcome to join in!

• DOing a Surface Clean in the Kitchen Print out our checklist, start at the top and work your way to the bottom. If you are getting pooped or are running out of time, just do what you can and finish the rest later. Once you get started, you usually find out that it doesn’t take as long as you thought it would.
  
  
• Tackling the Fridge Do you know what's lurking in the back corners of your fridge? Or growing? Or moving? Let's find out. This is going to take about half an hour to forty-five minutes. Are you ready? You can do this.

Are You New to Cindy's Porch?

Cindy's Porch is a busy place. To get you started, we've posted links to our most popular pages. Enjoy!

• The Three Rules of NOT Buying: Does money seem to flow from your home faster than you can keep track of it? Do you hit the end of the month and wonder "where did it all go"? You are not alone. Today, it is so easy to spend money and buy more stuff that we don't even remember doing it. It is similar to driving. You know you made it to school or to work safe and sound, but you do not remember which lights you had to stop at, how many times you had to pass a car, or if you stopped for a pedestrian. We are on auto-pilot. Dangerous when driving, dangerous when shopping.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Money: The future is yours in 2008! We've got three simple steps to get you started on your journey to "Rediscover Your Money. Before you know it, your purse and wallet will be overhauled, you'll be tracking your spending, and you'll even have a spot in your home to "manage" your money (and it won't cost a dime). As your journey continues, you'll be taking a hard look at where your finances are today. How much do you OWN and how much do you OWE? Then we blow the dust off your savings account (YIKES). Remember what it was like when you opened your first savings account? We are going to recapture that magic. Credit card debt holding you back? Check out the "Three Magic Words" for avoiding new debt. Then read about how to tackle your current debt ONE CHUNK MORE at a time.
  
  
• Rediscover Your Home: Loving the Home You Live In! When you are unhappy with your home or stressed by a mess that never seems to go away, the temptation to BUY something to make things better or make things “look” better can become very strong. Some of us will even use a trip to the store or the mall as an excuse to escape this mess and this stress (been there, done that). Then the retailers, advertisers, and marketers begin to whisper their clever messages of BUY BUY BUY! Blech! Check out the "NOT ME FIVE," those 5 little things that can mess up a home in no time flat ("not me" is the person who messed it LOL). Dusting, vacuuming, and washing only takes minutes when the NOT ME FIVE are gone. We've also got tips for "deep cleaning" including the "guy's version" (put your hard hats on, we are going in), and "spring-cleaning" (regardless of what time of year it is). Enjoy!
  
  

• Treasures in the Kitchen: Do you know what's lurking in your fridge, freezer and pantry? With our easy to use printout sheets and meal planning calendar you can SHOP at home FIRST for supper and save money at the same time! We've also added in steps for tackling the fridge (YIKES), and tips for solving the lunch time blues. Enjoy! Updated with This Month's Meal Planning Calendar sheet!

Take care of you and thanks for dropping in,
Cindy

Thursday, August 28, 2008

"I looked in the cupboards and in the fridge and the only thing I really needed was some fresh fruit that's packable in the kid's lunches." - a member

Join Our E-mail List

Rediscover Your Money

Rediscover Your Home
(Updated for 2008!)

Treasures in the Kitchen
(Inventory sheets, meal plan,
clean fridge, and lunch tips)

Great Books
Great Links

About Cindy's Porch

Contact Us

Table of Contents

---

Cindy's DO-log
(Our daily adventures in DOing and Finances)

Where "Walking in Wonder" meets "DOing in amaZement"!

---

• Autum "SHOP at home FIRST"
  
• Are you Saving for the Future?
  
• Lunch, munch and crunch
  
• A freezer before a flat screen?
  
• Sprucing up around the home.
  
• and more...

"DO" away with debt in 2008!"

Extra Extra!
Read all about it!!

Cindy's Porch is now in the Google, MSN, and Yahoo! search engines. Just do a search for "cindy's porch" and there we are. Wahoo!

Walking is one of my family's favorite DO's instead of BUY's. It doesn't cost a thing. Anytime we feel the need for fresh air, some exercise, or a break from work, we just head out for a walk. You never know what wonderful things exist in your neighborhood unless you take the time to explore.

Click on the photo to enjoy a new "Walking in Wonder" discovery everyday (except weekends - that's family time!)

"Walk in wonder. Enjoy the peace, enjoy the freedom, enjoy the scenery. Enjoy."