These are a few of my favorite blogs

Cue "Favorite Things" from Sound of Music.

Okay, so it's no secret that I read A LOT of blogs. And I'm trying to get more people to read more, so I don't feel so bad :) So, here, in no particular order, are just a few of my favorites. (Now, obviously, I enjoy reading my friends' blogs to stay caught up on their lives, but I'm just including "theme" blogs in this post...ones that appeal to a wider audience).

1. Unclutterer - This blog was pretty much the catalyst for my extreme purging of "stuff" in the past year. It has a lot of inspiring tips for keeping your home and life uncluttered. Sometimes it can be a little extreme. The writers are very against "baby-clutter" and suggest that you think about whether your child actually needs a mobile. Another suggestion for clearing closet clutter is to wear only neutral colors so everything goes together. I'm not that clutter-phobic. And, really, if you have so little clutter that you can start worrying about your baby's mobile, you're probably in pretty good shape. But, all that aside, the blog is pretty awesome. My favorite feature is "Workspace of the Week" where they feature a readers' desk area.

2. Get Rich Slowly - This is a fairly new find. It's a personal finance blog with a focus on living frugally in order to save money for the future. The author's goal isn't really to "get rich" in the way we normally think of getting rich, but rather to have saved enough to retire on time and not worry about money constantly. There is also a focus on giving money to charity. The writer's financial goals really match up with mine, and he and the readers give great advice for saving money and keeping track of finances. Because of that blog, I've started using Wesabe, which is a free online service for tracking your earnings and spending and setting financial goals.

3. Smitten Kitchen - Deb's recipes are amazing, and the photography is drool-worthy. If you can look at any of her desserts and not want to make them immediately, you have more willpower than I. (Of course, I guess that's not saying much).

4. The Pioneer Woman - Another great cooking/photography site. The Pioneer Woman has actual recipes that real people would make (you know, that actually contain things like, gasp, shortening or canned biscuits). It is refreshing in the world of all-natural, organic food blogging. Plus, she is absolutely hilarious. She has several different sections of her site. I also enjoy the "Confessions" section where she writes about her life on a ranch in Oklahoma.

5. The Kitchn - Okay, this one kind of falls under the "all-natural, organic food blogging" category, but the sheer number of posts (close to 10 per day!) makes it a worthwhile read. I really like the product features and posts where they tell you what to do with all kinds of weird produce. They also do a roundup of the most popular food posts from other popular food blogs, like Serious Eats. So it's sort of like reading two or three blogs in one. (It doesn't get better than that for me!)

A couple other sites I love that don't fall in the blog category:

1. Martha Stewart - Organizing Tip of the Day and Craft Tip of the Day...awesome! Hey, if you can't be crafty, the next best thing is reading about being crafty and imagining all of the things you could do if you had talent!

2. Supercook - You put in the ingredients you have, and the site searches all sorts of recipe sites to give you recipes with those ingredients. Be careful. It's addictive. This also appeals to my frugal side. I have been known to spend hours on this site looking for something I can bring to our small group that doesn't require me to go to the grocery store. Yes, I know, it would be quicker to just go to the store, but where's the fun in that?

So, if you have a few free minutes (or hours), go check these out.