lists: the placebo effect

This is what happens when the kids have long afternoon naps. I finish all of my "have to dos" for the day and then engage in my favorite household activity: making a list.

Today, it was a comprehensive list of all the disposable goods we use regularly in our house. Categories included: Spices & Seasonings; Pasta, Rice, and Beans; Canned Food; Baking; Snacks; Misc; Household; Paper goods; Cleaning; Bags; and Personal Care.

In theory, I will use this list to go through my house once a month to take stock and then make one big trip to the store (without kids) to pick up everything we need. Thus, we reduce last-minute trips to the store, better plan for household expenses, and stay within budget.

Ha.

It never really happens. I could show you approximately 15 different Excel spreadsheets I've made over the last 7 years, all trying to better organize our daily home purchases and thereby save money. My paid career is in evaluating programs to determine what impacts they have. And in light of loads of longitudinal data on this particular "program", I have to admit that no list has ever really saved me money.

I mean, let's just face up to the hard truth here. The trick to saving money is simply saying no to whatever you're about to put in your cart at the store.

Which makes me think that the reason I like to make the lists is because it makes me feel like, even if I have a hard time saying no to the 48 pack of double roll toilet paper on sale for just $8.99 (wow, life is really that exciting sometimes), at least I'm really good at making a list. The list is a symbol of control. Sure, I might be overspending 50% on my household budget every month, but I have it written down, so there.

friday photos - documentation of the memoir week

For this week's Friday Photos, I thought I'd do a photo wrap-up of my "week in the life of Erin" series that I did from Tuesday, February 14, to Monday, February 20.

Tuesday, February 14 (see the entry here)
Genghis and play mate enjoying "yummy" and "yucky" snow, represectively.




Wednesday, February 15 (see the entry here)
Genghis helps me with morning deep cleaning.


Saturday, February 18 (see the entry here)
Purchase 40 baby hangers at Target to organize the baby's new closet in our bathroom. Things to note:
1. This is a bathroom
2. Labels for clothing sections
3. Rigged up shelves to a 90 degree angle using nothing but pipe cleaners in order to turn them into hanging rods for the clothes.





Monday, February 20 (see the entry here)
Buy a shopping cart overflowing with pantry items to stock up before the baby comes.
Haul items in from the car, while Genghis pleads desperately for a banana.





Arrange items in hall closet. Again, note the labels. I'm particularly proud of this labeling system because it references the actual location of items in the kitchen. So if you run out of something in the kitchen, you look it up by location in the pantry to see if we have more. The only problem is that sack of potatoes, which is neither an "Oat, Oil, Vinegar: cupboard above the sink, right" nor a "Condiment: fridge" but lives there because it's the only place it fits. Maybe I should make it its own label.