Homework/Craft station
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | By moonseekerjade
Now that my little ankle-biters are in school,it is time to get organized,Again, It is taking me sooo long this year to get it together,I just started our"homework" area,it is serving as a craft area also. I have a dry erase board(my kids HATE the board, I use it for the star chart-the each earn a star for doing certain things,my 7yr old has a hard time getting up and going to school-so,if he does it,without me having to fight with him..he gets a star,same for bedtime,chores,homework,etc...They each have to earn AT LEAST 15 stars to get a "prize" on Friday,I always try to put stuff they like/want in the prize box,the more stars,the better the prize. They have 3 chances before the "Mega Bitch comes"out and grounds them,three checks= day grounded. This is a true and tried method i my house,I stopped the board for one month and my kids were little monsters-alot of it is because (shame on me) I am so one of those moms who make empty threats"Your grounded" etc,with the board,I say once more you get a check-if I say "your not going out after school-I write it in their block and am more likely to stick to it.This is the third year with the board,It works. I have magnatized paint on a small sectio og wall and magnet strips for chores this year,this wa I can just move the chores around. I am working o the actual work desk/area,ther are three of them so the little space I have-has to have some privacy for each,I am trying to make it comfy,their own spot to do homework,we'll see what happens,when and if it ever gets completly done,I will put up a picture.
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Purging The Plastic
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | By jess
Last week, I decided to get rid of the majority of the plastic in my house, mostly gladware containers. I know that they are cheap and reusable but I had way too many and never could seem to find the right shaped lid or the right size when I needed it. Too much of a good thing, I guess. Plus, there are more and more studies about plastics, especially when heating it in the microwave. As this is the main reason for those plastic storage containers, I had second thoughts.
What I did was buy a set of glass storage containers at Costco, called Glasslock. They have a heavy duty plastic top that locks around all four sides of the glass container. They are beautiful, very sturdy and look great in the fridge. I packed up all the old gladware and random other "tupperware" type containers. I also got glass juice containers to replace the plastic ones. They are smaller, just one can of frozen concentrate, but I figure this will keep my boys from drinking juice so fast. I also have one full of water in the fridge, as our local tap water is very high quality (Western Oregon). I already have some glass cannisters, with the rubber gasket and the old fashioned flip lock. I keep my dry goods in those. I have a very old canning jar that I use for my popcorn. My oils and vinegar all have their own colored glass bottles from Ikea. I was going to use them as vases or for other decorative purposes but I'd rather give them a real purpose in my home. If I need more containers, I always have canning jars and lids for quick storage of leftover soups, sauces or whatever.
I am still using ziploc bags, especially for freezing and marinating. I have had good success with freezing chicken stock and leftover chili in a gallon sized bag. Just be sure it stays sealed very well. I always buy brand name bags, because I have found that the off brand have more failures and the price isn't usually that far off. At some point, I may invest in a Food Saver vacuum sealer but there always seems to be something more pressing.
I have a good looking tomato harvest coming up in August. Last year, I had more tomatoes that I knew what to do with and gave away tons. This year, I'm going to make and can spaghetti sauce and salsa for later in the year. My plants have several green spheres so I should have plenty.
My husband and I took this opportunity to reorganize and pare down the kitchenware. I have 4 (yes, four!) vegetable peelers, each with their own pros and cons. I had several sets of measuring spoons and cups, lots of very old spatulas and cooking spoons that had seen better days. And no end of random kitchen gizmos and specialty items. No wonder I couldn't regularly get the drawers to close! I got rid of anything that was an obvious duplicate or unnecessary (several lids for spice jars that I no longer have), and have mentally marked a few items that may be going out on the next purge. For example, I bought a garlic chopper, it is sort of round and you push it against the garlic on the cutting board and it "easily" chops it up. this is in addition to the two other garlic presses that I had in there. I got rid of the oldest press and am going to test out the chopper before deciding to give it away to a friend or donate it. Problem is, every time I chop garlic (every day, pretty much), I forget to get it out of the drawer and just smash it with my knife. So that is probably a sign that I don't need it :)
I'm a big fan of Alton Brown and his show, Good Eats, on the Food Network. He is a advocate for avoiding "unitaskers", kitchen gadgets that only have one purpose. He says that the only unitasker you should have in your kitchen is a fire extinguisher (a lesson I learned a couple of years ago!). I'm not quite there, but it is something I'm keeping in mind.
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Buying A Bicycle For A Child
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | By Monique63
If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their
picture inside the handle bar before placing the grips on.
If the bike is stolen and later recovered, remove the grip
and there is your proof who owns the bike.
I thought this was a terrific idea!
Monique :)
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wow haven't been here in ages
Sunday, July 05, 2009 | By Syl_ver
am blogging here now:
http://simplyblissful.posterous..com
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It's A Wrap!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | By Monique63
I use one of those under-the-bed storage boxes for organizing my gift wrapping.
Along with all the wrapping paper (included some I have recycled) I keep scissors and cellotape, ribbons, sticky labels and card tags along with birthday cards and a few left over Xmas cards. It's quite spacious so I have also only now started to collect some gifts ready for this year's anniversaries and birthdays and I keep those inside it too. It fits under the sofa bed in my lounge so I still have space under my bed.
All that I need for gift wrapping all in one place!
Monique :)
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Organizing The Clutter
Thursday, May 07, 2009 | By jess
Well, my husband and I are on a mission to organize our house. We don't have a very large house, around 1100 square feet and we have two kids and a dog. So, as you can imagine, there is stuff everywhere. We recently built some shelves for our office "corner". This weekend, we went through box after box of "Important Paperwork" or "Office Supplies". We got a bunch of small containers to organize the supplies and a bunch of file folders for the paperwork. We have a little labeler so we have clearly labeled all the boxes "Pencils, Marking Pens," that sort of thing. It is very nice to know exactly where to go for scissors, or stamps or birthday candles.
One of the most challenging things is sorting through all the keepsakes, and deciding what to keep. With two young boys, we get lots of art projects and drawings that seem precious now but may lose their meaning as the boys approach adulthood. They also tend to be bigger than the standard letter size for file folders. I currently have them stacked in larger boxes, but I'm sure some of it is getting ruined over time. What I would like to do is get or make an oversize scrapbook (12x18 inches) for each child (and maybe one for me too!) to put in newspaper clippings, holiday projects, etc. Don't even get me started on the greeting cards, I guess I am a packrat!
The next thing we are going to do is to work on organizing the garage and slowing converting it into living space. I want to make it a family room with a TV, video games, etc. but also room to work on projects and store extra stuff. I think this family room will be very important as the boys approach the teenage years. Plus, our front door opens directly into our small living room and it would be nice to move the clutter from the entry to deeper in the house. Well, better to put it all away, but I am a realist :)
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Organizing my daycare, etc
Thursday, March 19, 2009 | By aprilbug29
Organizing a daycare takes a LONG time but is very worth it. A well organized daycare makes my life easier and gives a more professional appearance to my daycare parents. I keep craft supplies organized in an armoire with doors that have glass in them so I can see everything. Supplies are organized in clear shoebox size containers that I bought from walmart.com. They were $23 for 14 containers. I buy alot of craft supplies from orientaltrading.com and dollar stores. They seem to have the best prices. Everyday I give baby parents a report on how their child's day went. I also give a weekly progress report for my parents with preschool age children.
As far as toys and baby gear go I still go second hand on almost everything. It's just as good and the kids don't care. A large box has become a fort inside the toyroom. The kids love it-and it's free! It's time for another box though.
I bought a preschool cirriculum from ebay for $14. Most of the supplies needed for projects I already have around the house. Found a wooden swingset someone was giving away so that was FREE. Saving money is so much fun!!
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Simplify Your Life
Monday, December 29, 2008 | By Cindy D
I've taken the break between Christmas & NewYears to get rid of alot of extra baggage In my life.
First on the list was; Less time on the computer. Meaning,I've deleted all the accounts that I rarely used and were very time consuming. In doing this I was able to start cleaning out my Inboxes.
Now on to De-Cluttering the house. I've been taking my house one room at a time and taking It apart and discarding all the extra "Stuff" I don't or won't ever use. Donating these Items appropriately of course.
In doing this It allows me to ring In the New Year with most of the "Clutter" out of the way. I will have more time to spend reading the Bible and Spend with God. Not to mention there will be more time for Quilting, Sewing, Crafting. I'll be In a Happier person having the feeling of accomplishment from all the organization. My husband & children will be happier as well...lol...
Start somewhere. Even If It's small. It may take a little longer than expected, but little by little you'll have this mountain whittled down to a more manageable amount...Hope this helps someone with the the Dreaded Clutter get started to the New Year...Blessings to all
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The two-day Son room-cleaning has begun...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 | By DorrieBelle
I'm constantly amazed at how much an 8-year-old can completely demolish a room ! I mean, I knew Dearest Son's room was a pile, but I had no idea it was that bad...
So, as we do every year, we make a family effort out of cleaning his room together, just before Christmas. That way, we can ditch some broken stuff, get rid of some hidden trash, and he'll have a nice, clean room to play in, with his new holiday swag. I confess, I let it get away from us, and our ideas of what makes up a clean room vary quite a deal...
New rule for the last two months has been, before bedtime and a story, he has to put away all the toys he's dragged out during the day. My idea of 'put toys away' is for him to put all the Lego in one of the two put-aside-for-Lego bins, all the cars in the car box, etc.
His idea of 'put toys away' is 'throw everything in one toybox or another, or just dump it in the closet, or under the bed'. It sort of backfired on him when I noticed his underbed bins didn't fit under the bed anymore, and his closet doors didn't work well, either. And the toyboxes were overflowing. And last Thursday, he got the idea that his bookcase would be better utilized to hold toys, so he dumped out all his books into a huge floor-pile, and left them there.
It was Beloved Hubby's turn to read to him that night, so I didn't notice until he was at his grandparents' house for the weekend. So, we took two hours today and we'll turn in some more time on it tomorrow, and that should have his room back to human habitational standards. I might even be able to vacuum !
Other than that, I decided to make calendars this year. Normally, I buy 'em half-price a few days after New Year's, but this year, I haven't found any I liked at any price. I really liked one I got last year, so I'm printing new 'month grids' for it, and attaching them with small, decorative clips.
I really need one for my desk in the Office, but my old PrintMaster Gold software is too old to run on my Vista computer. And even though printing programs are cheap, why spend even $10. I don't have to ? Looked up 'Calendar maker' online, and soon had two different ones for Jan. and Feb., using two different sites and my own images.
I really like this one - bighugelabs.com/flickr/calendar.php - because I got a huge print of my image, long as I remembered to click 'top/left' on the Keep This Part of My Photo Visible' dialog. It allowed me to save and print it using any protocol I liked with my own printer and copy of PaintShopPro. Very nice.
For a more basic calendar, www.printablecalendar.ca/ had more options - typing in your own holidays, changing sizes and sheet layouts, and enabling you to print up to 48 of 'em in Word format. In fact, you only download the calendar part, you do the customization in Word on your own.
From there, I pinned up a document protector and fitted both calendars inside. The January one has a bit of ribbon stapled to it, so it's easy to lift out, write on, and slide back in. I love customizing my own calendars - the images mean more to me than generic kittens and artistically decaying barns, or even the cheap ones at Dollar Tree. It probably costs more to print my own than buy a 99c one, but it's cheaper than buying a $12. one at half-price !
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Sort Through Sunday...
Sunday, November 30, 2008 | By DorrieBelle
Another quiet but active day as we all prep for going back to normal schedules tomorrow. While putting away some oil lamps - we lost power for a couple hours due to a heavy storm last week, happens often enough to be annoying, but nothin' major - I rediscovered my old XM Radio 'boom box'. We had XM Satellite Radio for a year, and I enjoyed it, but we found ourselves using Napster on our Mp3 players more, so we dropped XM.
Anyway, this was their 'entry level' receiver, yer basic portable device - AM/FM radio, CD player, and an Auxillary setting for attaching outside devices, like Mp3 players. It was expensive for a boom box, but at the time it was the cheapest XM receiver on the market. Since we had several smaller portable stereos, it got shoved into the closet, as it's almost too big to be portable.
Well, Beloved claimed one for the Shop, and another one bit the dust when it tumbled off a shelf. I'd been looking for a small battery-powered radio for the next power outage, but yard sales so far had not revealed one. The XM was far from small - 8 D batteries required ! - but we didn't have one in The Office, where our computers and desks are. A quick bit of shuffling, and it had a home by a power outlet, and was running a CD, something we rarely listen to anymore. Dug the remote out from the junk drawer, and it still worked. Plus, I realized that the clock in the bathroom is also a radio receiver, and it runs on three AAs. We always have those, you keep a stock of 'em when you got a Wii. Heck, it'd run from the batteries that still had some juice left from the Wii-motes. Scratch one item off the 'hunt' list ! I love rediscovering what we want is something we already have !
Same thing with our camera. I'd been toying with the idea of doing YouTube-type videos with my dolls. Just needed a video camera ! Our local pawn emporiums have dozens, starting at $39., but when pawns price things that low, ya gotta wonder... I was still pondering whether or not to invest in one when it hit me. The fantastic Fuji FinePix S5200 digital camera Beloved Hubby got me two Christmases ago had a motion camera function ! With the 1gb memory card, it'd record 30 minutes of action ! And we've since upgraded to a 2gb ! And bought a super-cool tripod on markdown for $10. So I didn't need to risk $40. - I already had more than what I needed !
Of course, I haven't made any videos, but I have the means when I'm ready ! And Beloved's humming a bit with the CD in the XM. I'm looking forward to hearing some of my ancient Christmas music when no one 's home - I'm the only one who likes it !
I'm still sorting through stuff to donate Monday. Earlier this week, Beloved installed a new fridge whiteboard/corkboard set he found on markdown - the one we got as a housewarming present fell off the fridge and broke, two years ago. That eliminated the need for the small bulletin board I had over by the cabinets, so I cleared it and tossed it in with the donations box.
Dearest Son saw it today, and asked if he could have it instead. Sure ! Got it hung upwhere he wanted and found some pushpins - we need more of those, I'm not much on thumbtacks ! - and he now has his scissors and a coloring page hanging off it. He's quite proud of his 'office' - a desk Beloved made him, an office chair that lost its hydraulics (perfect for an 8-year-old !), a desk lamp with a spinning organizer, two letter trays, and now a bulletin board. For Christmas, Beloved's making him a shelf to match the desk, for his books and computer games.
The Barbie case I made such a fuss over Friday is suffering from that which preys on all soft-side luggage - The Crush. Sooner or later, all non-rigid cases will collapse if there's nothing inside and little side support. The 1990 Little Mermaid suitcase I bought from a yard sale evidently had heavy stuff on top of it, the bottom plastic piece that holds the feet down and the case flat on the floor had folded up into thirds.
Not a lot I can do for Ariel's baggage, but the Barbie case I could at least stuff with Mal-Wart sacks and various bags I keep forgetting to recycle. I'd put fabric or doll props in there, but they get hung up eight inches from the ceiling, which makes 'em hard to get into. And it keeps the bags from piling up, and the luggage from collapsing inward.
Poked through Yard Sale Bloodbath (http://www.yardsalebloodbath.com/) and Manic Thrift Store Shopper (http://mtss.blogspot.com/) for fun and ideas. It's always a treat to find a site you like and then go through their links for more !
After lunch, I'm sorting through a copy-paper-size box of sewing notions I bought for $5. last week. It's mostly already sorted, I just have to find where to put the newest forty unopened packages of bias tape ! I really need to learn how to use that, I have a metric ton of it...
There was only one yard sale advertised on Craigslist for my town this weekend, so I think it's finally the end of the Season. I'm always a bit melancholy about that, but I have a flea market down the street Friday, and there's always the thrifts ! Even though I rarely buy much from 'em, it satisfies my need to shop and keeps me out of dangerous mall parking lots !
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