Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole

My husband and I recently found this recipe in Rural Arkansas Magazine. After tweaking a few ingredients, it became an easy and healthy dish! Anyone who want to eat a filling nutritious breakfast, but doesn't have time should try this!

Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole

6 slices of whole wheat 100 calorie buns
1 lb. sausage
Small onion, chopped
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 cups reduced fat milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
6 eggs, beaten
1 chopped jalepeno

Place slices of bread in greased 13x9 baking dish. Brown sausage in skillet with onion, stirring to crumble. Drain and spoon over bread. Combine beaten eggs with milk. Pour over sausage. Sprinkle with cheese and jalepenos. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Set dish out while oven is preheating. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let us know if this advice worked for you!

Stress Free Holiday Traveling

I know most of you are thinking, "Yeah, right. Holidays + traveling = craziness." Although I'm sure you will to run into few unexpected issues, if you are prepared it is possible to get to and from your destination with ease. Just follow the following tips:

Plan Ahead
Before you start any journey, research the conditions and requirements for your trip. Do your research, make a checklist of the things you absolutely need and start packing. Allow yourself plenty of time so you don’t forget necessary items or hurriedly over pack with things you don’t need. If you travel frequently create a packing list on your computer that you can update to include “must-haves” and blank space for trip specific items.

Communicate
Remember to let friends, family and trusted neighbors know where you are going, how long you’ll be gone and how to reach you. If you’ll be away for an extended period of time, have the post office hold your mail. Some periodicals offer you the opportunity to have your newspaper donated to a non-profit organization while you are away. Contact your credit card company if you are traveling abroad — charges made in other countries can often raise flags about credit card theft and your card could be declined.

Protect Your Home
Arrange to have pets boarded or cared for by a friend. Water houseplants well before leaving, or set up a time-released watering system. Set timers on the interior and exterior lights in your home. Hide valuables somewhere in the house rather than leaving them in your jewelry box or an underwear drawer; be sure to let someone else know your hiding place in case you forget. Set your thermostat at a reasonable temperature in order to save on summer cooling costs — keep it comfortable for pets and houseplants.

High Time for a Tune-Up
If you’re taking a road trip, be sure to give your car a thorough pre-vacation inspection. Check the tires and all fluid levels. Inspect windshield wipers, hoses and belts for wear. Don’t forget an emergency kit that includes jumper cables, basic hand tools, flares, a first aid kit and a flashlight.

Don’t Take the Kitchen Sink
When planning for your weekend, keep in mind that many hotels offer a variety of amenities that you won’t need to bring from home. For example, many facilities feature hairdryers in each room; therefore you can leave yours at home and reduce the bulk in your suitcase. The same is true for items like robes and beach towels so, save space for something you know you will need.

Keep it Simple
As you plan your outfits for the week, try to keep the bottom half of your wardrobe (pants, shorts, skirts) very basic. Take khaki and black bottoms along that can be mixed with different tops to create new outfits. Select shoes that can be worn with multiple outfits.

A Wrinkle in Time
If you prefer to travel with your clothes on hangers in a garment bag, you can help prevent wrinkles by placing each garment in its own dry cleaner bag. Use a clothing compression system in your carry-on, as well as in your checked luggage, to make the most of the space. The slippery plastic bag keeps the clothes from shifting and rubbing together, which is the main reason clothes wrinkle during travel. To keep clothes in your garment bag from creasing along the middle fold, roll a sweater or light jacket up and place it in the fold.

Step in the Right Direction
If you’re flying to your destination, it’s usually a good idea to wear your bulkiest pair of shoes onto the airplane. To help save space in your bag, you can stuff socks and undergarments in the shoes you’re packing. Place them in shoe bags to protect the other items in your suitcase and pack them at the bottom of your bag to prevent damage to the other contents. If you are traveling with bulky sweaters, jackets or towels use a travel compression system to save space in your luggage.

Lighten the Load
Make copies of information that is pertinent to your trip from travel magazines and guidebooks — there’s no need to bring the entire guide. Keep the papers together in a pouch so all the information is organized and accessible and fits flat inside your suitcase.

Dr. Mom (and Dad)
You should be prepared for the unexpected but you don’t need to bring along the entire medicine cabinet to remedy the situation. Prepare a small first aid kit with only the basics and a travel-sized sewing kit. You’ll be glad you have them when you need them.

Store Update!

Hello everyone! We have been busy searching for the perfect property, growing our inventory, and sorting through all the details of opening our first store! Gladly, quite a few important decisions have been made final. We have decided to focus our business on gently used furniture and home decor, but we will offer about 20% brand new items too. We are very excited about the upcoming year! Be sure to keep posted for more details. Also, if you have any furniture or home decor and accessories we would love to check them out as we are still in purchasing phase! Please contact us for a consultation!

Clutter Consultants Store

We are so excited to announce that Clutter Consultants of NWA will be opening our first store in 2011! We will buy and sell gently used high-end name brand clothing, accessories, and home decor. Also, about 20% of the items in our store will be brand new to include bath and body products, gifts, clothing, and accessories. We are currently working to find the perfect location and to build our inventory. If you have any items you would like to sell to Clutter Consultants, contact us today! Stay posted for more details!

Rid Your Life of the Clutter!

We all have it...that space in our home that stashes everything from art projects to luggage. How did it get this way and how can it be fixed?

How it got that way is the easy part. Family, jobs, and the craziness of life usually takes precedence over organizing. What people don't realize is the clutter is actually adding to your stress. Sometimes it takes years of "Where is that..." before a foot gets put down to finally tackle the daunting space. When that time comes, you must be prepared.

During my consultations, I always ask my clients, "What has prevented you from getting organized?" The most frequent responses I get are, "I just don't know where to start" or "I'm overwhelmed." My first advice is get out your calendar and make a specific date and time to declutter. If it's a date in the planner, it's a date! Don't break it.

As that special date grows near, revert back to this blog and jot down these helpful tips.

-Just do it! Getting started is the hardest part. No more excuses. You deserve for your home to be a warm welcoming space.

-Take a 'before' picture. You will be so proud of yourself when you have an 'after'.

-One room at a time. Don't unnecessarily stress yourself. Take it one room, or one drawer at a time.

-Remove everything! I mean it. Everything. Make that space bare as bones. As your removing sort... What is trash, recycle, donate, or keep? Make designated spots and post signs. You would hate to mix up the piles.

-Approach the keep pile. Now get serious. Ask these questions for every single item: When was the last time I used it? It is easily replaceaple? What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I got rid of it? This should cut your keep pile in half.

-Sort the remaining keep items putting like things together - the first rule of organizing. Use rubber containers, baskets, and labels and neatly bring everything back into the room.

Guess what? Your done! Take that after picture now! Congratulations!

If you are still feeling overwhelmed or simply don't want to do it...CALL ME! I love to organize!

Keeping the Keepsakes!

Organizing photographs and memorabilia may be one of the most rewarding projects! These items usually touch your heart and should be stored in way that shows their importance. Yet, the project is usally years and years overdue and can seem overwhelming. The first step is remove everything from the space! Then sort into piles (i.e. school pictures, sports, vacations, family.) As you decide which items to keep, we do offer a word of advice. Keep those items that truly stir your heart or capture important events, and allow yourself to release the rest. In her book, The Gift of the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh compares our lives to the process of collecting seashells. Imagine that you are exploring the beach, gathering shells along the way. Each time you uncover a shell, you carefully consider its beauty and uniqueness. You decide whether or not it is worth keeping. By carefully choosing which shells to keep, you end up with a small collection of beautiful shells that bring you joy. If you had insisted on keeping every shell, then your beautiful shells would be lost in the mass of other shells.

Albums and scrapbooks are just a few ideas for giving these keepsakes proper homes though this can get expensive. It is just as visually pleasing to put photos and memorabilia in large manilla or white folders, labeled and organized chronologically!

The team!

Clutter Consultants of NWA is now a team of three!

Roberta Pekel is the founder and professional organizer extraordinairre. She has spent her professional career as an accountant after earning a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from The Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. With this accreditation and two years of professional work experience, she is able to provide a more in depth knowledge of organization expectations for small business and residential clients. She is currently working on becoming certified as a professional organizer.

Kate Ivie's professional organizing experience began with Clutter Consultants of NWA. She has proven to be a valuable member of the team through her ability to ask the right questions to understand what a client wants and needs, teach and transfer basic organizing skills, visualize spatially and see the big picture, break goals down into manageable steps, categorize and plan ahead. She is also working on receiving her Certification as a Professional Organizer.

Dylan Hollums is our most recent addition and we are excited to have him as our in house handyman! He can complete a variety of home improvement projects and possesses the skills needed to perform repair and construction projects in order to aid in the organization of our clients.

Clutter Consultants of NWA are a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and ascribes to the Code of Ethics set forth by NAPO.

My New Adventure!

Clutter Consultants of NWA was founded in January of 2010. I have always had a passion for organizing and finally got the courage to start my own business. I look forward to bringing order and efficiency to other's lives. As my father always says, "Organization is the key to success." Check out our website: www.clutterconsultantsnwa.com