Frugality: a noble value. Trouble is, if you've got a disorganized nature, the frugal life can seem daunting. How do tightwad friends remember all those prices, bargains, shopping bonanzas? Is the warehouse mega-pack a true bargain? When is a sale a sale?

Fight back with a powerful weapon from the frugal arsenal: the price book. First publicized by Amy Dacyczyn, author of the Tightwad Gazette book series, a price book is a power tool for tracking prices, products and sales. It's a simple tool to save time, money and supermarket stress.

Spring forward, Fall back: Time Change Sunday is on the way!

On Sunday, November 2, Daylight Savings Time will end in most of the United States. Setting back the clock gives an extra hour to the day. Time for a seasonal safety check!

As you circle the house, setting clocks back one hour, make time for this short safety checklist. It'll see you into winter months in a safe--and organized--home:

Once again, I mark the coming of autumn with a clothing closet declutter. I wade into the closet and find the boxes of out-of-season clothing. Try everything on, skin itching at the touch of wool when the temperature's 80 degrees.

Sort the summer's keepers from items to donate. Look for "holes" and orphans in my autumn wardrobe. Count the upcoming dinners and fund-raisers, and divide them by the number of my cocktail dresses. Try, for the 900th time, to locate some good transitional outfits: cool enough for warm autumn days, but not too summery or too bare.

A closet declutter is more a ritual celebration of the change of seasons. It's a time for reflection, a time to face up to changing identities. Who's living in your clothes closet?

Ready or not, here it comes: sister site OrganizedChristmas.com's Christmas Countdown begins on Sunday, October 26!

The Christmas Countdown is a free six-week Christmas organizing plan from OrganizedChristmas.Com. By breaking Christmas preparations down into small, easy-to-take steps, the Countdown gives you a holiday headstart for a stress-free Christmas season. Whether it's holiday gifts, entertaining, decor or food, you'll be ready for Christmas with time to spare.

This year, the Christmas Countdown celebrates ten years on the Web! We'll commemorate our 10th birthday with an online celebration, so stay tuned!

It's the time of the season: summer's heat begins to wane as shorter days, cooler temperatures herald the coming of autumn. What better time to head for those dim, dark, cool closets?

A closet clean-out clears the decks for the new season and gives even the most frazzled home manager a feeling of accomplishment.

Whether in the children's closets or in your own, follow these principles for efficient, organized clothing storage:

Have you heard about Christmas pocket planners? Handmade from scrapbooking paper and a simple pocket file folder, these little holiday planners are inexpensive, creative and just plain fun!

The pocket planner concept is sweeping the scrapbooking and rubber stamping world, but there's always been one thing missing: a set of printable forms for Christmas organizing.

Until now! Introducing the latest Organized Christmas forms set: Christmas Pocket Planner Forms!

Autumn days are long and lazy? Not for today's busy families. Between work, children's activities, and vacation plans, even breezy fall days don't seem long enough to get everything done at home.

There's a solution for busy times. Just as your body needs a "minimum daily allowance" of vitamins and minerals, an organized home needs a minimum of maintenance and attention to keep running smoothly.

Think of this as a Magic Minimum: a short list of essential household tasks. It's a bottom-line list of chores and activities necessary to keep things running at a basic level.

With a working Magic Minimum plan, the household stays afloat, even when time is short.

You've heard about bulk freezer cooking. Whether you know it as once-a-month cooking, freezer assets, OAMC or freezer cooking, the idea sounds intriguing. In a single day, cook and freeze dinner entrees for a month--or more.

But the work! Loaded down with toddlers or balancing a full-time job, you can't imagine devoting two full days a month to shopping, preparing and cooking all those meals.

Take heart! Freezer cooking is not just for the energetic. Try these strategies to build your frozen assets bit by bit:

What's the fast-track to an organized holiday season? Create a Christmas planner notebook!

Organizing holiday preparations in a simple three-ring binder takes the household notebook concept to new holiday heights!

To create your tool for efficient holiday planning, try these pointers from sister site Organized Christmas:

Every family needs a family disaster plan, and that goes double during the volatile hurricane season. Solution? Try this interactive Family Preparedness Plan generator from Weather.com.

To create a plan, jump to the link below. Step-by-step, you'll add personalized information about family members, pets, meeting place and location of emergency supplies.

When finished, the plan generator provides printable identification cards, checklists and forms for your household notebook:

Create a Family Preparedness Plan