Taken a trip down the cleaning aisle at the supermarket lately? If you believe the ad hype, you can't keep a clean house without loading your shopping cart with a different cleaner for each surface, floor and sink in the house.

Hogwash! Simple recipes using products from your pantry make effective household cleaning solutions. An added plus: these natural products are more environmentally friendly than commercial alternatives.

What's for dinner? It's the question of the hour!  Too many of us look for answers in the supermarket at 5 p.m. Harried from the day's work and harassed by by hungry children, we rack our brains to solve the what's-for-dinner dilemma.

Three meals a day. Seven dinners a week. From supermarket to pantry, refrigerator to table, sink to cupboard, the kitchen routine can get old, old, old.  No wonder we hide our heads like ostriches from the plain and simple fact: into each day, one dinner must fall.

What's the answer? A menu plan. 

So you think businesspeople are the only folks who need a personal planner?  Think again: families need an organizer, too, to keep life moving smoothly on the home front!

A planner for the entire household allows anyone--child, visitor, babysitter--easy access to the information they need. It's a one-stop information center for busy families.

Paid cleaning help can be a wonderful short-cut to a clean and organized home--if the household budget can stand the cost. But what do you do if the Prize Patrol bypassed your door this year?

Take a speed-cleaning lesson from the pros! Paid cleaning services are masters of the art of speedy, efficient cleaning. Watch professional cleaners at work: they don't waste time, cut corners or dawdle over the job--and they know how to clean fast, clean right.

It's silent. It's sneaky. It creeps about in corners: clutter! When the state of the house aggravates you to your last nerve, it's tempting to launch an all-out battle in the war against clutter.

First, though, know your enemy! 

There are as many reasons for household clutter as there are clutterers. As Pogo says, "We have seen the enemy, and he is us!"

Take aim on your household's clutter problem by going to the root of the problem: your own thinking. 

What's your clutter personality ... and which of these internal voices strikes a chord?

A working pantry? It's the secret weapon of a well-organized kitchen. 

A planned reserve of foodstuffs and sundries used in the home, a pantry saves time, money and stress in the kitchen. Tap the pantry for unexpected meals and reduce trips to the supermarket.  Stock it with frugal finds to lower grocery costs. Set aside a supply of food and sundries for a rainy day and protect your family against weather emergencies or financial dislocation. 

Christmas is coming, holiday cards and letters fill the mailbox--and it's time to write your family's annual Christmas letter. 

Want your letter to stand out from the crowd? Looking for ways to spice up the same-old, same-old Christmas greeting?  Try these seven tips for a sparkling holiday letter.

Sure, you love the holiday season--but just not so much of it! This year, you're hoping to cut the crazy out of Christmas: to trim the celebration back to one that is sustainable and calm.

Question is, just how do you do less--and enjoy it more--during the Christmas holiday season?

If you're aiming to simplify Christmas, take time to ponder ways to cut stress, save money and tame over-the-top traditions. Setting simplicity strategies in place early will keep you from being swept up in holiday madness.  Try these ideas:

The holidays are here, with wall-to-wall shoppers at the supermarket. Who wants to have to join them?

Instead, assemble a holiday survival kit. Before you shop for the holiday meal, check supplies of these often-forgotten items for your holiday gathering. 

Pencil these items into your regular shopping list--and save a last-minute trip. They'll keep the fun in the festivities!

They're popping up in a neighborhood near you: "We've Been BOOed!" signs that fly from house to house. First one neighbor, then another ... and then it's your house! What's behind it all? You've been BOOed! Welcome to the wonderful world of Halloween BOO-ing!