Piecing together ways to save money, protect the environment, and keep kosher.
(updated 4/6/17) For most kids who go to Jewish schools, Pesach also means Spring Break. Depending on how many weekdays fall between the Yom Tov days, you could have a few or several outings with your kids! Or perhaps you are just looking for ideas for a weekend outing. Here are some ideas of how to make... Continue Reading →
(updated 3/17/17) Pesach is a very expensive holiday, even if you eat out for some of your meals or don’t buy all Shmura matzah! It is a wonder how you can spend half your monthly food budget on eight days of Pesach! Here are some tips we use to keep our costs as low as we... Continue Reading →
Taxes are due very soon and I definitely need to get started on mine. I don't do them myself (I worry I would miss something), but there are still a lot of things to gather, print, call for, etc. I don't want to forget things from year to year, so of course I created several checklists. The... Continue Reading →
I went to a training the other day and was surprised to hear that a coworker had not heard of 211. I realized that there may be other people who are not aware of this GREAT service. 211 is a program of the United Way, the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS), and referral agencies in states... Continue Reading →
We love cookbooks and actually have too many. Many of our cookbooks are year-round kosher ones, some of which have Pesach recipes in them. But how do you use a "chometz" cookbook for Pesach? I undertook a project to solve this problem several years ago. I created a Pesach recipes binder. 1) Gather: I looked at all of... Continue Reading →
(updated 4/18/22) Being successful in preparing for Pesach depends a lot on being organized. There are so many details to keep straight with cleaning, shopping, meal planning, cooking, guests, etc. In my single days Pesach was much simpler because I didn’t have guests. I went out for all my Yom Tov and Shabbos meals and had a... Continue Reading →
(updated 4/18/22) Really it is best to start preparing for Pesach/Purim two weeks before Purim. However, that usually doesn't happen for us. No matter when you start, though, the first thing to do is to print your planning checklist. If you don't have one, I have included mine below. You can use it as a... Continue Reading →
I know it is almost Shabbos and we are already thinking about the weekend and Pesach, but before we move on, we need to wrap up Purim. This is a good time to make notes and reflect on what went well and didn’t go well this holiday. Remember that Purim checklist I gave you in my post... Continue Reading →
At the recommendation of a co-worker, I found Flylady my second year of teaching, when I also had a child under one. I love Flylady’s website, which features organizational, time, and home management tips. Since following her tips, I have gotten much better at managing my life and time. She has helped me create routines... Continue Reading →
I apologize to my non-St. Louis readers that this post will not apply to you. However, I wanted to do a post listing all of the Orthodox Megillah readings here in St. Louis. I know as a mom that it can be hard finding a time that will work for me to hear Megillah. I... Continue Reading →
Surviving on a tight budget 