http://housekeepingmatters.com Tips and Ideas to Clean and Organize Your Home Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:29:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Having a yard that is friendly to wildlife does involve certain techniques and approaches to lawn care, some of them unconventional. The perfectly-groomed, square-cornered lawn with the carpet-like grass that never gets above 2 inches tall is not, unfortunately, the ideal environment for wildlife. So you may need to re-think ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/making-your-backyard-wildlife-friendly/ Water is a precious resource. All living things need it, and in the summer it can become scarce. Gardens can use up a lot of water in the heat, especially if you're growing fruits and vegetables. Here are some ideas on how you can save water in your garden this ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/saving-water-in-the-garden-this-summer/ Making your own compost can be an economical way to use kitchen scraps and yard waste, and it is a natural means of keeping your yard, garden, and plants healthy. If you'd like to get started composting, here are some simple guidelines. How Much? Before you begin, sit down and think about ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/easy-guide-to-composting/ What is natural lawn care? Essentially, caring for your lawn naturally means you don't use synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn. It means you do use natural fertilizers and organic means of dealing with pests. Natural lawn care can apply to a few methods or you ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/the-benefits-of-natural-lawn-care/ Are you ready to do your spring cleaning but not willing to expose your family to chemical cleaners? You're not alone. As more and more people realize what really is in those cleaners, many are choosing to go with greener options. However, you don't always have to purchase products. There ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/easy-green-cleaners-for-spring-cleaning/ Other rooms in the home may be remodeled or redecorated but the bathroom is often overlooked. Even though the bathroom is small and not as prominent as the other rooms in your home, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be treated to the same decorative care. Here are several inexpensive ways ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/inexpensive-ways-to-dress-up-your-bathroom/ You've finally decided it’s time to start organizing your home.   There are many ways to store the items you plan to keep – dressers, boxes, and bins, to name a few.  But what’s the best bin to organize the job when you’re storing items until they’re needed again? There are a ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/the-best-storgage-bin-for-organizing/ The price of gasoline is on the rise. This is a huge concern if you are following a firm budget. So how can you save on gas? Here are some gas saving tips. The carpool system This is the perfect idea for employees and students. If you will be traveling in the ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/gas-saving-tips/ Other rooms in the home may be remodeled or redecorated but the bathroom is often overlooked. Even though the bathroom may be small and not as prominent as the other rooms in your home, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be treated to the same decorative care. Here are several inexpensive ways to ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/inexpensive-ways-to-decorate-your-bathroom/ Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 3 cups cooked ham, cubed ½ cup water ½ cup sugar 2 tbsp butter 1 ¼ cups fresh cranberries, washed 2 tbsp grated orange rind Salt and pepper to taste Instructions: Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and sauté ham until browned. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/ham-and-cranberry-casserole/ http://housekeepingmatters.com/organizing/ http://housekeepingmatters.com/meal-planning/ http://housekeepingmatters.com/money-matters/ http://housekeepingmatters.com/cleaning/ Unfortunately, the deep South doesn't get snow very often. But that doesn't keep Southerners from going all out with decorations for Christmas. In fact, Christmas decorating in the South often starts before Halloween. Maybe it's the same everywhere, but here in the South you start seeing Christmas decorations in the stores ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/deep-south-decorations-for-christmas/ Were you put in charge of the green bean dish this year? Spice it up! Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 6 links spicy pork sausage, sliced 1 cup water 2 pounds frozen green beans Seasoning salt to taste Instructions: Sauté the garlic and onion until tender. Add sausage ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/a-different-green-bean-dish/ Many parents wish they could give their kids a hot breakfast, but often feel like they don’t have enough time due to the fast paced lives most of us lead these days, so our kids reach for a cereal bar or a bowl of sugary cereal, or even go without. ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/hot-breakfast-on-the-run/ Breakfast is probably the meal that is skipped the most because people are either in a hurry and don’t have time, they don’t feel like eating or don’t have an appetite early in the morning. However, as studies have shown, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/freeze-heat-and-go-breakfasts/ Homemade chicken soup is great any time of the year. 1 (3 pound) whole chicken 4 carrots, halved 4 stalks celery, halved 1 large onion, halved water to cover salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (optional) Put the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large soup pot and cover with cold water. Heat ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/homemade-chicken-soup/ When it comes to getting the junk drawer cleaned out an organized, it always seems to be very low on the priority list. You'll be surprised though just how relieved you'll feel once that junk is under control and the useless items you've been storing forever are thrown out. Most people ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/cleaning-out-the-junk-drawer/ This warm chicken salad makes a very tasty and light lunch. Chicken Baguette Salad Ingredients: (Serves 2) 1 large chicken breast, cut into bite-sizes pieces Half a baguette, cut into bite-size pieces 1 large tomato, cut into bite-size pieces Olive oil Handful of arugula or other lettuce leaves ½ packet feta cheese, cut into cubes Salt and pepper to taste Method: Preheat ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/chicken-baguette-salad/ Today, people are more accustomed to having snacks due mainly to a fast living lifestyle. People just don’t have the time to sit down for a full and healthy meal so they try to get as much food as they can during meal time and try to cover all the ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/quick-and-easy-healthy-snacks/ Having a credit card is very convenient and has many advantages. But with its advantages comes its disadvantages. Since you can always buy things without carrying cash around, you are always tempted to buy something that you want but don't really need. If you have excellent control on your finances then good for ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/credit-card-savings/ Chicken is one of the all time favorite food. Both kids and adults enjoy having chicken whether in their sandwiches, salads, pasta, as appetizers, and as full meals. On the plus side, it is relatively inexpensive and can be quite easy to prepare. It is a good source protein, zinc ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/quick-and-easy-chicken-ideas/ Pasta meals are pretty easy to cook. The pasta itself just needs to be placed in boiling water and can be cooked in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of pasta of course. And while the pasta is boiling you can already prepare your desired sauce, whether it ... http://housekeepingmatters.com/quick-and-easy-pasta-meals/