ellenacious's Profile

I'm definitely the tidier of the two of us, but I'm incredibly thankful that my husband lived on his own for a while and learned to take care of things... he does a lot around the house.

And call it sexist or no, but in every house of singles I've visited, whether during university or after, the girls homes were always cleaner than the guys'. My husband himself credits having lived with three females for a while with having shaped up his tidiness habits and 'prepared him for a peaceful marriage'.

I don't think it's sexist, I just think that women tend to be 'nesters' more than men.

I like having a dining room that seats quite a few and also a smaller kitchen table. When alone, we eat in the kitchen - it's cozy, comfortable, and since I tend to clean up as I cook and any remaining dirty dishes can be hidden in the sink, it's not cluttered.

With young children it's incredibly convenient to eat in the same room where I cook. It's also nice to be able to keep the day-to-day kid-eating mess out of the dining room. And when we have large groups of guests (particularly with children), we can set two tables and increase our space.

It would have to hold a very tiny plant and you'd have to be utterly devoted to watering daily.

Looks good, though!

This would be a fantastically easy DIY needing very few parts and likely very few $$... this is a ridiculous price for such basic item.

Two things, which seem more reasonable:

1 - Don't go to very many houses when trick-or-treating, to keep the candy count low. Better yet, skip the trick-or-treating and find a community center or church that is having a special Halloween games night. The kids come home with some candy, but generally a lot less - they just enjoying winning and eating it that night as part of the games (and still get to dress up). Don't build up a stash that you then have to dispose of. It is wasteful and a rather unkind temptation for kids.

2 - Use your authority as a parent. When we had candy stashes after events as kids, we knew that the rule was we could chose one piece each evening after dinner. That was it. It wasn't hard to tell when the rules were serious and we didn't push it (consequence for begging at other times would be to lose the after-dinner piece). This meant we could enjoy our candy for a few weeks afterwards, we didn't succumb to sugar comas, and Mom and Dad didn't go crazy. It also taught us about treating food wisely and not giving into the temptation to binge on treats.

What's wrong with a little structure enforced by parents? I'd personally rather just plan hikes and fun activities with my kids without trying to work bribery into it.

Invest in some good meal-sized containers and cook recipes in the regular four-person amounts, then freeze them. I even did this a lot when I first got married. We were working different shifts and so often cooking for one at a time. It is SO nice to have good food you like ready to go at a moment's notice and you don't end up wasting food.

Just avoid a lot of recipes with potatoes - they don't tend to freeze well.

I mainly like shopping on my own. I process items better in my mind when I can wander and think and I don't tend to have a problem knowing what I like.

I do enjoy shopping with my mom and sisters, but more on the clothing/everyday errands type of stuff. We always have a great time on Boxing Day - it's a family tradition (but I'm not looking for home items, mainly clothing).

I concur. Dizzy.

Ok, not sure when that quote is from, but I'm currently puttering through her massive 'Homekeeping Handbook' and she includes photos and tips from all THREE of her homes (not including an apartment in NYC). From the photos, every one of those homes qualifies as a mansion, or pretty close thereunto.

** wereN'T in an intimate conversation...