Do you feel like this is what's in your way at times when it comes to getting organized?  Most jobs I work on do involve getting rid of some things - most often the client WANTS to let certain things go but just hasn't done it yet.  MAIN REASON?  They want to pass it along for a good cause as more often than not, it is something special/worth value to them and worthy of more than being tossed in a trash bag and dropped at Goodwill.  This is where working with a Professional Organizer can help - I spend part of each week researching local events and causes so I can best inform clients on great places that NEED their things and often will pick them up for them!  I found two great local North Atlanta causes this week alone.  Let me help YOU remove your roadblocks!

Prom with a Purpose:  collecting new or those "once worn" formal dresses of all styles, types and sizes that will be sold for purse friendly prices on Feb 10th at the Windermere Lodge - benefits to proceed families with kids fighting cancer.  Go to Facebook and use this link for full details. http://www.facebook.com/events/532401043451715/

HomeStretch Atlanta: needs furniture — lamps, end tables,
coffee tables, dressers, chest of drawers, TV stands and dinette sets. If you
have furniture that you can donate, please contact HomeStretch Facilities
Manager Steve Watson (swatson@homestretch.org or 770-642-9185, ext. 112).
HomeStretch helps families in Atlanta by providing temporary housing,
life-skills training and mentoring. http://homestretch.org/

Why is it that all those important thoughts, ideas, and things to remember, flood us before bed or keep us awake at night?  One idea I liked was keeping something by the bed to write it down on...Well, because I HATE to go out and buy anything before I re-use something else, this project was created.  I bet you've got some old picture frames sitting around the house and with a quick coat of spray paint and insert of some decorative or plain white paper to fit now you've got a bedside dry erase board to keep notes and the random thought you don't want to forget in the morning.  Add a pretty ribbon and dry erase marker and you are set!  Just wipe off with kleenex and re-use forever! This is one I've made for a friend and I've done a larger one to hang on the wall for my niece.  Trick for larger size/unusual size frames - use wrapping paper cut to fit so there are no visable paper seams under the glass! 

Got a crowd coming for the big game this weekend?  Get ready by prepping this in advance either Fri/Sat and then warming back up in crock on Sunday.  This makes about 16-18 burritos so it's great value for the effort and money!  Enjoy entertaining by staying organized with great go-to recipes to feed a crowd!  This is also great for a cook once eat twice family meal.  The meat freezes great so you can eat one night and freeze the rest for a meal down the road.  As always - start with a lined crock.  Prior to adding to crock - Step one take:

1 lean boneless beef chuck roast (approx 3lbs to yield 16-18 burritos - sometimes I end up getting two smaller ones to cook in my largest crock) and sprinkle on all sides with 4 tsp chili powder OR Jen's Devilish Delish Seasoning Mix - see post on 11/30/12) and in non-stick pan coated with oil on med-high heat brown meat on all sides to sear seasonings into crust.

Meanwhile in a bowl add & combine:

1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped/pressed or cheat like me and squeeze from Garden Gourmet Tube
1 small can green chilis diced
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chilis
1 tsp both cumin and chili powder OR 2 tsp of Jen's Devilish Delish Seasoning Mix (see 11/30/12 post)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce (I like using roasted garlic type)
1/4 c. Tequila (optional but good!)
Salt, Pepper and Tabsasco shakes to taste

Place seared beef in crock and cover with sauce from bowl.  Cover and cook on low overnight (9-10 hours) til beef is so tender it shreds easily with a fork.
Lift beef from cooker and shred with forks/fingers, discard any fatty bits.  Skim any fat on top of cooking liquid.  Return shredded beef to cooking liquid.  At this point you can serve with warmed tortillas and toppings to suit, i.e. sliced avacado, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, etc. OR if making ahead cool and store in fridge until gameday and begin reheat in crock a couple of hours ahead of serving.  A fresh squeeze of lime juice on the meat before serving will wake the flavor right back up!

I have been reading a sales and marketing book called The 21 Laws of Sales Success.  It hit on a topic that speaks loud and clear to me and is near and dear to my heart.  Many people operate in the URGENT mode - dealing with things once they are "on fire" and not in a methodical manner using a priority and planning system.  This goes for both at home and in the work place.  The reality is and what I try to help clients with, is that "ONE HOUR OF PROPER PLANNING SAVES FIVE HOURS OF ACTUAL DOING."  It truly is as simple as that - just a bit harder to put into practice at times.  That is where I come in!  Do you find that you are hitting drive thru or grocery store too often because there's not a dinner plan? Running out at the last minute to grab school/household supplies for a project since there's not a "supply" at home or you aren't sure what you have?  Struggling to keep up with household chores let alone clean out/re-org projects? Paper piles taking over because there isn't a office filing/operating system? Have you found that you've ended up buying something only to find you already had it but didn't know since things weren't sorted and organized?  Have lots of clothes in your closet but "nothing to wear"?  Many of these issues can be solved and improved for the long run when you work with a professional organizer.  Paying for one session with me can save untold $$ over the long run as I help you become more organized and productive!  During one garage clean out job - we found so much of the same bug/lawn products becuase they kept buying more since not sure of what was at home - the cost of the extra buys would have paid for my 4 hours session!  Let me help you from getting the fire hoses out and operate in the IMPORTANT mode with peace and calm!

This is a take off I created based on the traditional Chicken Marsala dish I love to order out...As always, start with a large, lined crock... Add chicken to suit your family - I used 4 boneless/skinless breasts AND 5 chicken drumsticks since my boys like them.  Then:
1 red onion sliced and scattered over chicken. In a small bowl combine the following:
1 c. Marsala wine (or port or other fortified wine)
1/4 c. water or chicken broth
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T good quality dijon mustard
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. sliced olives to suit
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
3/4 cloves garlic pressed or diced fine (I use pressed from tube to cheat)
shakes of Tabasco to suit
generous amount of ground pepper from grinder
Pour over chicken & onion in crock - cook on low 6-7 hours.  Remove chicken, it'll be fork tender and can be left as is or cut/pulled from bone.  Add a cornstarch slurry to sauce in pot, stir, cover and cook on high for 10-15 mins until thickened.  Serve chicken over pasta of choice and top with thickened sauce from crock. 

I can't take credit for this one - it belongs to my mother in law "Ninny"  Ginny Payne but I'm going to pass it along becuase it's so darn good!  Got small area rugs or chair pads on your kitchen chairs that are sliding around and won't stay in place?  Our kitchen chair pads (even with the ties for the chair backs kept sliding around making us all nuts.  Ninny hit the dollar store and bought some of the rubber shelf liner (the non-adhesive kind with the nubs on it) as an alternative to that expensive rug liner material you'd buy at a home improvement store.  Worked like a charm! 

As part of my envelope budgeting system and being creative with grocery costs this year - I have also decided to be very savvy and make sure I use up every little bit of things in the freezer and/or plan meals around my current inventory before I go buying more...With that being said...we had a half a bag of fresh cranberries in the freezer left over from Christmas and the following recipe was created over the weekend,  As always, start with a bag liner in your crock and add:
Pork tenderloin (size/lb to suit your family)
Combine in small bowl:  1 small onion diced (or you can use 1/2 c. dried chopped), 1 cup frozen, unthawed, cranberries, 1/4 c. ketchup, 2 T. firmly packed brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic diced/pressed (or squeeze from tube like I do), 1 tsp. curry powder, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, shakes of tabasco to suit, 2 T high quality dijon or other suitable mustard, 2 T cider vinegar.
Pour mixture over pork loin in crock and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Remove pork loin to platter (tent with foil to keep warm) and then make a cornstarch slurry (2T cornstarch blended with 2T COLD water).  Add slurry to cooking liquid mixture in crock, mix, cover crock, turn temp to high, let cook 10-15 mins to thicken sauce, stir occasionally, once sauce has thickened, pour over sliced loin and serve with sides of choice.  Chopped pecans or walnuts would also be nice to sprinkle on top before serving.

Can you imagine being a kid in foster care and along with all the heartache that comes with that, not having the luggage or totes needed to be able to pack your belongings to move from one location to the next?  Well, neither can I. If you know you have items that could help, please consider grabbing them and donating to WSB's Totes2Tots drive.  There is a link below to their event and a link to Georgia Cancer centers website that shows all their locations where they are collecting.  There are MANY locations all around ATL including Alpharetta, Cumming and Johns Creek.  Please share this post with friends as it's a super way to clean out your closet to help a child in need.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/events/neighborhood-community/totes-2-tots-january-13/nF3nD/

http://www.gacancer.com/offices

At some point whether you use a pretty jar on the counter for utensils or store in a drawer, there are some gadgets/items that simply don't fit!  The drawers become overwhelmed and stuffed.  An easy trick is to grab two dollar store containers as seen here and take all the bulkier and less used items and store via cabinet/pantry space.  If you have enough of certain items, then group them in your container i.e. baking items (chocolate curler, pastry cutter for butter cut-in, lemon zest grater, funnels for jam making, etc.)  cooking items (cheese graters, garlic press, corn cob butter gadget, meat tenderizer).  Leaves your drawers or jar open for the spoons/spatulas you use most!

It's COLD outside, we'd all rather be at the beach with a fruity drink BUT for most of us today the kids went back to school and it's back to reality...so yesterday when I realized I wasn't going to be drinking a rum punch on the beach anytime soon...I created the following recipe.  It's not the same as being somewhere tropical BUT it was a lovely hot meal to come home to yesterday after a busy day filled with the kids activities.  Hope you enjoy one night this week!  As always start with a lined crock pot:  Use chicken to suit your family - last night for the 4 of us I used a pack of 5 chicken drumsticks that the boys love and 2 chicken breasts for SP and me.  In a bowl combine the following:
1 can of crushed pineapple in juice
Juice of one lime
2 T fresh grated ginger (SEE CHEAT BELOW)
2 cloves garlic minced/pressed (SEE CHEAT BELOW)
2 T Chili sauce/ Or 1 T red pepper flakes (SEE CHEAT BELOW)
1/2 c. Magno chutney/ or red pepper jelly something along those lines
1 T Apple Pie Spice (or use a bit of cinnamon/nutmeg)
1/2 c. Rum (I used Malibu for the coconut flavor)
Splash of Grand Marnier

Pour sauce in bowl over chicken in crock and cook on low 6 hrs.  Serve over rice of choice.

BIG CHEAT IDEA:  I LOVE GARDEN GOURMET HERB MIXES IN THE TUBES AND KEEP THEM ON HAND AT ALL TIMES.  I USED MY GINGER, GARLIC AND CHILI SAUCE VIA THE TUBES I KEEP IN THE FRIDGE.  FIND THEM IN THE PRODUCE SECTION AND WELL WORTH THE $$$