Do you ever become overwhelmed by the constant emails, junk mail, and shopping catalogs that flood your inbox and mailbox?  I for one do.  I’ve recently made it a habit to separate my email accounts into two different ones.  I have one that is for personal correspondence and one that I use when I purchase things online or if I choose to subscribe to a newsletter or blog.  It makes it easier to separate what’s important and therefore I can prioritize which emails I want to read and respond to.  Recently I’ve gotten into the habit of unsubscribing from a lot of emails I get from companies or brands that I’ve shopped with it the past.  It helps to simplify my inbox.  Similarly when I receive junk mail or catalogs I make it a point to call the phone numbers on the back of the catalog and ask to remove me from future mailing lists.

When I moved into my new condo I welcomed furniture and design catalogs, however I’ve been living at my condo for 3 years and I’m no longer in the market for new furniture.  No thank you Crate and Barrel, CB2, West Elm, Pottery Barn, etc. etc..  Even when I get home late from work the first thing I do after checking my mail is to call and ask to be removed from these catalogs. Typically these catalogs have 800 numbers and customer support that will take your call outside normal business hours.  If they do not answer the phone, then I’ll go online to the customer service link and email them to request to be removed.  I recently received a catalog from a Chicago art institute and a children’s clothing catalog from J.Crew.  I’m not sure exactly how I was added to these catalogs since I’ve never shopped at any of these places and I don’t have children.  However often times companies will either sell your information to affiliates or sister companies and that is how we end up on these lists.  I find that spending just 5 minutes to ask to be removed from catalogs you don’t want really helps to simplify the mail that is coming through and it also helps companies to reduce waste and save some paper/resources.

For those pesky credit card offers that appear in your mailbox so reliably, I find that if I write “return to sender, recipient has moved,” they stop sending them to you.

Here are some additional resources for getting your name off direct mail lists

http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/Default.aspx

http://donotmail.org/

My mom gave me this recipe and I use when I feeling ambitious enough to marinate the meat myself or having friends over for dinner.  You can use this to marinate Galbi (Korean short ribs), or bulgogi (marinated bbq beef).

• 5 lbs of Korean short ribs or Korean bulgogi (unmarinated)
• 3/4 cup Soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Corn syrup (I like to buy a Korean brand from a Korean grocery store)
• 1/4 cup Sesame oil
• 2 t Minced garlic
• 1 large yellow or white onion (pureed in a food processor)
• 1/4 cup Mirin (Japanese rice wine) or 1 kiwi (seeded – use the meat only)
• Mirin/Kiwi is used to tenderize meat so be careful not to add more than the recipe calls for
• 1 T Black Pepper
• 1 T Toasted Sesame seeds

In a large bowl mix all ingredients.  Add the meat and marinate 3-4 hours in the fridge.  You can also marinate the meat overnight but make sure to go easy on the Mirin or Kiwi (I’d suggest to halve the portion if marinating overnight).

Cook on barbecue grill approx. 6-8 minutes.  Pay close attention to the grill or else the meat will burn!

→Tips

• If you choose to marinate the meat overnight, use gallon size Ziplock bags and split up the meat/marinade evenly
• You can choose to freeze some of the meat to be used later (make sure to defrost in the fridge one full day)
• You can substitute beer or lemon/lime soda if you don’t have Mirin or Kiwi as a meat tenderizer
• Enjoy with Kimchi and other Korean side dishes and don’t forget the rice!
• If you’re lazy, you can always opt to pick up some pre-marinated meat at your local Korean grocery store with some ready to eat side dishes

I’m a career woman who’s got one of those “overtime” jobs.  I’m also a full-time wife and a part-time blogger.  This blog is about my everyday struggle to find the right balance.  I’m competitive. I like to “win.”  I enjoy doing things I’m good at, and being good at the things I choose to do.  I’ll explore home economics and what it means for the modern woman.  I’ll be theorizing and demonstrating the practice of homemaking.

You’ll soon see me cover topics such as sewing, cooking, nutrition, food preservation, hygiene and beauty, handicrafts, and managing money.

Home economics classes were still being offered when I was attending high school.  However at that time, most girls my age didn’t see any use for those classes since we were being raised as modern, independent women who didn’t need to be taught how to bake or sew.  We were going to have careers that would defy my mother’s generation of  just having 9-5 jobs.  Our generation has fallen far from our mother’s and grandmother’s “trees”… How many of us know how to hem our own pants, or even sew a simple button without pricking a finger and bleeding?  Growing up I remember my mother being a resource who could sew orphaned buttons back onto our favorite pieces of clothing, beautifully wrap birthday presents and books as well as pack my school lunch every single day.  She once made me a fabulous Poodle skirt for a 50′s themed Halloween costume and I remember thinking that my mother was so talented and gifted.  I could always count on her to “fix” things.  I don’t have children of my own yet, but I’ve got two nieces (my extremely educated and accomplished “overtime” career-minded sister’s kids), and whenever they need something repaired, the 3.5 year old places whatever is “broken” in a corner and says “Mommy, when are we going to grandma’s house?  I want her to fix my princess dress.”

I’ve been married for 4 years and am just learning how to bake and sew.  As my husband and I talk about wanting to have kids, I endeavor to learn basic homemaking skills so my children will be able to come to me as a resource just like I did with my mom.  I’ve gotten used to outsourcing everything for convenience, but sometimes it’s more of an inconvenience to have to wait 2-3 days to get a pair of pants hemmed.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to whip out a sewing machine and hem a pair of pants in 10 minutes?  I’m looking forward to that…