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You carefully plan how to spend your money.  But you may have never organized a plan on how to best save your hard-earned money.  Shopping the sales, cut corners,  conserve energy, and clip coupons are all positive steps in the right direction, but with some careful planning and organized thought, you can make your dollar stretch even further.

First of all, pay yourself first.  Bill yourself if you have to as a way to keep track.  You can even have a portion of your check directly deposited into your savings account so you’ll never even miss it.  Put part of it into savings for shorter term goals and some into a retirement plan.  Compare interest rates at different financial institutions to get the most bang for your saved buck.

Pay close attention to where your money is going.  Develop a spreadsheet or other method so you can visibly track where your money is going each month.  You probably easily remember the bigger bills like the mortgage or the car payment, but it’s easy to lose track of the incidental spending you do.  You’d probably be surprised how much you spend each month on movies, eating out, video rentals and a little spending money for the kids. This will help you find ways of saving a few dollars here and there, which can quickly add up to a significant savings each month.

Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Once you’ve paid close attention to where your money is going, it will be easy to find where to cut corners and adjust your budget accordingly.  With some commitment and a few lifestyle adjustments, it’s really quite simple to live within the parameters of a well-planned budget.

Look for fun, inexpensive ways to entertain your family.  You can usually borrow videos from your local library at little or no cost, and outdoor activities not only promote family togetherness but the fresh air and exercise are good for all involved.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on fancy closet organizing systems to organize your own closet, but it does require taking an honest look at your belongings and your habits.  With some creativity and some planning, you can create a closet that’s organized and easy to maintain.

First of all, it’s imperative that you take a look at what’s currently in your closet before you can begin to organize it.  If there is clothes that haven’t been worn in six months or more, worn out shoes, outdated handbags and accessories that you no longer use, get rid of them.  They are only taking up your valuable space.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised just how much space you can free up by purging beforehand, and it also means less to contend with during the organization process.

Next, take a look at what you’re left with.  Try to organize your clothes based on what groups together well as outfits.  Try to group like colors together, and organize shoes and accessories into casual, sport, professional and formal/dressy categories.

Now that you know what you’re left with, it’s time to place it back into your closet in a neat and organized fashion.  Look around your home for unused baskets and bins.  Consider installing a couple of extra shelves if the need warrants.  Affordable shelving units and brackets can be found in more home organization sections of your favorite hardware or discount store.

You can also make great use of your space simply by using lengths of chain to hang items on in your closet.  You can purchase plastic or metal chain in different lengths depending on your needs. Links should be large enough to accommodate your style of hanger - whether metal or plastic. Hardware or do-it yourself stores will cut the chain the length that you request. Attach the chain to your closet rod with a hook; these can also be found at the hardware or do-it-yourself store.  Or you can simply loop the chain over the hook of a sturdy coat hanger.  Hang clothing items, one hanger per link.  This simple, inexpensive method can help you store several items in the space of just one.

With a little discipline, some creativity, and a free afternoon, your closet will soon be organized, easy to use, and simple to maintain.

Kitchen or dining room tables can easily become a catch-all for everyone’s belongings.  Mail, school books, car keys, pens, pencils, and other miscellaneous items can quickly appear, and at dinnertime, end up in a large pile of clutter somewhere else in your household.

To curtail this habit, try organizing a central area for everyone’s belongings right inside the door to your house.  Install hooks on the wall so that purses, coats and backpacks can easily be hung upon entry.  A bench or short shelf can be placed directly underneath the hanging area for clearly labeled catch-all bins for each member of the family.  This will also help during the course of the day when picking up around the house.  Items found around the house can be placed in these bins, and each family member should get into the habit of making sure items are emptied from the bins and properly put away each evening.

If your kitchen table doubles as an arts and crafts studio or location for your kids to do their homework, make sure that there are bins, shelves and containers nearby that neatly organize school, office and arts supplies, and keep them within easy reach.  Help establish good habits in your children by ensuring they are held responsible for putting these things away as soon as they are done using them.  Make sure snacks are kept on plates and drinks are kept on coasters to ease cleanup time.

A nicely decorated table spread is also an ingenious way to keep the table from becoming cluttered.  Spread a nice tablecloth and place a large centerpiece on it, or even set four or six formal place settings on a dining room table that is not used for meals each evening.  Your family will be less likely to lay things on these tables since they can see there are already things there.  You’ll also be ready for company at the last moment this way.

You’ve conquered your house, your home office, and your car, and you’ve mastered the art of scheduling and cooking in bulk.  But your garage is still a cluttered and unorganized mess.  As with everything else, a neat and organized garage is attainable with just a little elbow grease and some simple storage solutions.
First, get a handle on the mess by moving everything out to sort through what goes and what stays.  Large, clear plastic containers can help you do this. They’re great for clearing away the clutter and then using for storage.  Be ruthless with yourself during the sorting and purging process.  Don’t keep paint from a project from two years ago, and if you have parts to things you no longer have, get rid of the parts as well.
Consider adding a cabinet to your garage. Look for units that offer keyed locks, so you’re able to store poisonous materials and sharp tools out of children’s reach.
The garage is also where most of your kid’s sporting goods land. To keep bats and balls organized, purchase a hamper-style organizer. Designate a section for each child. Add a bin or shelf outside to store messy, muddy shoes as well.
Find a workable storage solution for all the little things in your garage.  Organize bolts, screws, nails, fasteners and other small parts into small clear containers so you can easily see what each contains.  Organize into steady stacks or consider installing a shelving unit to house these out of the reach of small and curious fingers.
For long-handled items, such as rakes and shovels, look for storage units to keep everything straight or use a durable rubber trash can.  Pegboards can also be installed on garage walls, and can be a simple solution for hanging items such as rakes or shovels out of the way.  They can also be hung on hooks. Inexpensive hooks come in a variety of sizes. Large deep hooks are perfect for hanging a ladder and bikes can be hung and kept off the garage floor as well.
Now that you’ve practiced on your house, your office and your car, organizing your garage is a snap with a little creativity, some hard work, and a well thought out plan.

If you’re looking into adding some fresh decorative touches to your home, a good place to start is with your window treatments.  But it can be a bit daunting to your budget to purchase window treatments for an entire room.  However, there are many window treatment options available that you can do yourself, and you never even have to pick up a needle or thread a sewing machine.

With a little imagination and some simple connectors, any piece of fabric can easily and quickly be transformed into a window treatment.  So find a fabric that suits your home décor and personal style, and choose something that already has finished edges, such as a vintage linen or printed sheet. Then choose a grommet, clip, hook, or cord to hang it with, and you’ll have a beautifully simple and inexpensive window treatment that reflects your personal style and creativity.
Grommets, slipped over wall hooks, produce a simple, crisp window treatment. Generally, a hammer and a grommet tool works at least as well for setting just a few grommets.  The grommet prevents the hook from tearing through the hole. You can thread rayon cording through grommets and tie behind the grommets to create loops to hang from a wooden dowel or hooks above the window.

There are also stylish clips that can be found at flea markets and antique stores that simply latch onto the fabric.  Home decorating and import stores also carry clip-on rings to hang curtains from.

You can even use buttons on curtains.  Simply thread fine wire through the holes and sections of ribbon and simply twist the wire on the back side to create simple ribbon loops to hang the curtain with.

Let your creativity be your guide, and you can craft window treatments that reflect your personality and style.  You’re only limited by your own imagination.