I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with material for a post and finally hit upon one the other day. It started with a simple recipe that called for a mixture of cinnamon and sugar to be sprinkled over the top of my fresh peach cobbler.
I have always had a small shaker of cinnamon and sugar mixture in my kitchen, just like my Grandma Pearl did. The first thing I learned to make on my own was cinnamon toast, under her watchful eye. She kept a shaker of cinnamon and sugar in her kitchen in case we children wanted a snack. It was easy, and relatively mess free.
I find myself using my shaker for more than just toast. Sir will sometimes sprinkle his cereal with the mixture, or when I'm baking, I'll sprinkle some over the top of what I'm making, like the peach cobbler from the other night or anything that suggests a sprinkling of sugar on top. Suggested ratio is 1 teaspoon cinnamon for every tablespoon of sugar, but you can tweak to your liking.
I was thinking about other tricks I got from Grandma and I realized, she's all over my kitchen.
* I keep a bag of onions that I've chopped up in the freezer to save time. Along the same line, I freeze ginger root to make it last longer and easier to grate into recipes.
* When I make things in the Crock Pot, I turn the pot on low while mixing the sauce then add the meat, makes the wet ingredients blend better.
* I also keep a shaker of baking soda near the sink to help wash off fruits and veggies. (ok, this one didn't come from Grandma, but from Aunt Phyllis!) It's also good for cleaning off cutting boards and scrubbing pots and pans too.
* Fresh herbs from the garden always taste better store bought. So I have a small herb garden out back where I have Basil, Oregano, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. I pick them at the end of the season and dry them to use through out the winter.
* When making sauce or other liquid based dishes to freeze, drape a large freezer bag over the rim of a small mixing box, it makes it easier to fill.
Those are just the tips I can remember off the top of my head. My little Kitchen Witch up there is a reminder of my Grandma Pearl, she always had one in her kitchen. It was said that if the witch was facing towards the kitchen, then it was your turn to cook dinner, if her bottom was facing towards the kitchen, go out to eat! I named her "Pearl" after my Grandma.
Just like the magazine, the book had really good photos. And the photos showed some good organizing ideas. But the downfall of this book is that it didn't describe really how to implement its ideas. There isn't hardly any text in the book and no captions or how-to instructions to go with the photos to tell you how to create that in your home. In the back of the book, it has a resource list but not an index of what item went with each resource. So although I found some great and interesting containers in the photos, there is no clear way to find those items without just going through each resource which is a big list. If you like Real Simple's photos you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy real simple's tips and ideas, you won't enjoy this book, as it really doesn't give much written content and how to create the ideas put forth in the photos.
The book is only good maybe for section to do layouts. It has graph-paper and then cut-outs that so you can arrange your room. But if you are wanting a book that will tell you how to get the most space out of your small room - this probably isn't the book for you. I mean it has some nice ideas for hidden compartments behind mirrors, under the stairs or over doorway type storage solutions. I don't feel it was really a book for utilizing space in small rooms rather a book of utilizing space in any/bigger size room/house. Many of the photos show medium to large rooms that look airy and not in need of space. 
A to Z - How to Decorate Series - A to Z has gathered some great bloggers together to do a month long series on decorating
