The Coat Closet........
It is amazing the junk one can pile in a closet that they rarely use!!! I found baby stuff in my closet, and Tristan is 4 years old now. The kids had shoes stashed in it that they haven't been able to wear for years. Prom dresses and I graduated high school 10 years ago. So all in all I was able to pull about 3 1/2 bags of stuff out of the coat closet!! Can you tell I come from a long line of hoarders ;) I call my self a pack rat but the truth is I would almost qualify to be on that TV show about hoarders, and me kids are following closely in my footsteps. At least I can recognize the problem and fix it before it gets too out of hand.
I hold too much meaning into material items. My husband has been a major help in learning to let go. Mostly because I would rather have him and my children than all of the "stuff" or money in this world! And my in-laws being hit by a tornado a year ago was a major eye-opener too. As they say "He who dies with the most stuff, still dies". Why hold on to a t-shirt that I no longer fit into, but has sentimental meaning that is really kind of dumb. There is no reason! I can either make it into a t-shirt quilt with some of my other "old" shirts or give it to Goodwill. At least if I turn it into a quilt it becomes useful again, instead of wasting space. Some stuff I realized that I have a picture of me with or wearing that item so no need to keep the item. As long as I don't end up with 500 million photographs I am doing okay ;) I also don't mean a random meaning less picture of that item, I am talking about the ones that are of a special moment,t like prom pictures of me and my friend dancing in our dresses. It reminds me of a Sponge Bob Square Pants episode where Sponge Bob became one of those strange hoarders that was keeping every piece of garbage, and when forced to get rid of the garbage ended up taking pictures of everything and ended up with just as many pictures as he had garbage ;)
So anyway back to the closet...... I made room for the adult coats that get used and room for the kids to put coats that are for a different season in. Then we have a crate in the bottom to hold ball gloves, and bike helmets. The top for now has extra blankets in it, and I made room for my vacuum in the bottom. It has gone from a closet that I never use, to one I will use almost every day.
I can't even begin to tell people how good it feels to have gotten rid of so much junk already. I have 10 days worth of tasks done leaving me with 30 tasks left, but I already feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I have also noticed day to day changes as well. While sewing tiny scrapes are no longer stashed in a box with the idea that I might use them. I keep ones that I know I can use somewhere, but some of the small ones I find a use and use it right away or I pitch it. The kids' school papers have not piled up yet, and usually by this time I have a stack started and I wait to go through it till the next summer. So far I have looked them over and if they are not ones I deem important I get rid of them.
I also look at the fact that some day my time on this earth will end and whatever I leave behind, my kids will have to go through and divide amongst them. So why leave them a mountain of junk they didn't want in the first place!! The older I get the more I have to take my turn going through relatives stuff and the more I realize how much of a pain it can be. I really didn't want their stuff, I wanted them. Since I couldn't have them I realized I already had something that they had given me in the past for a birthday or whatever, so I really didn't need something of theirs to remember them by. Moral of the story don't leave your mess for someone else to clean up ;)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Secrets of My Beauty Kit
Beauty Kits........
Ladies we all have them even if they don't have much in them. I consider mine about the average size. I love eye make-up, I don't use it all the time, and I don't use it because I feel like I need it to be beautiful. I use it to express my artisticness. The rest is mostly all-natural products to help keep my skin and such healthy. I figured I would share them with you.
Ladies we all have them even if they don't have much in them. I consider mine about the average size. I love eye make-up, I don't use it all the time, and I don't use it because I feel like I need it to be beautiful. I use it to express my artisticness. The rest is mostly all-natural products to help keep my skin and such healthy. I figured I would share them with you.
- Pumice Stone: We all hate shaving, and some have even made the choice not to shave at all. I shave because I like how my skin feels when it's smooth. Reality is, shaving is very damaging to the skin, and doesn't always leave us so smooth. We cut it leaving scars, it drys out our skin, and it also leads to the one thing I hate most; ingrown hairs. They are painful at times and they look horrible. There are tons of exfoliating products on the market and I have tried several with much disappointment. While using a pumice stone on my callused hippie feet, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it on my legs. I was shocked with my results!! the ingrown hairs were gone, and so was all the dead yucky skin. In about a month of using it on my legs I saw huge improvement. I usually shave in the tub, so I would soak for a few minutes allowing my skin and hair to soften. Then I simply rub the pumice stone in a small circular motion all over my legs, and shaved as normal.
- Hair Conditioner: I am sure you are thinking I am going to tell you to use this on your hair, nope ;) I use it as shaving cream! When I first learned to shave I did what my mom did and used my dad's shaving cream. Sure it is cheap enough, but I broke out all over my legs when I used it, so I switched to the women's variety with little success. First I was having issues with certain kinds clogging my razor and this lead to nicks, and cuts :( I also broke out from using it. So for a very long time I used body wash, I didn't break out but it didn't help the condition of my legs much. I know now there are several kinds of body wash that would work better for this on the market today, but I grew up in a frugal family, and we didn't have as much selection on the market in my early teens. One day while in the shower I had washed and conditioned my hair first to allow my leg hair to soften, and I dumped conditioner on my leg by accident. While trying to wash it off my leg it dawned on me! Shaving cream!! So I gave it a shot and it worked great! I didn't have tons of nicks, and cuts, and it helped moisturize my skin! Now don't go out and buy the expensive moisturizing conditioner, you can but it can really make a dent in the pocket book. I usually just buy VO5 for dry hair it's less than a dollar a bottle and it will do the trick.
- Coconut Oil: I have seen the posts with 160 uses for this stuff, truth is, the uses for it are endless. I use it as a night cream, lotion for my whole body, lip balm, and many other things. It even works great as a make-up remover. http://wakeup-world.com/2012/03/02/160-uses-for-coconut-oil/ This link takes you to the post I read that kick-started my usage of coconut oil. There are tons of sites and recipes for more uses, do a little research try a few out, and maybe you will invent a few of your own uses. In my opinion you can't go wrong with coconut oil;)
- Baby Wipes: They work awesome as make-up remover! Plus I am not always in places with running water when camping so they are great for keeping hands and feet clean. In high school I was in every musical and play as possible, and I had horrible acne problems from all of the make-up. My mom didn't have any babies in the house anymore, but we always had baby wipes for trips and so on. I was very tired after a dress rehearsal and didn't want to take away from my time sleeping grabbed a baby wipe and scrubbed off my face. They light bulb turned on and I carried a travel sized package of baby wipes in my make-up kit from then on. The best part being, I can get the mascara off and I am not getting soap in my eyes. Not to mention they are way cheaper than the make-up remover pads you can buy, and gentle on your skin.
- Tea Tree Oil: I use this on blemishes and minor cuts. The smell can be a little over-powering so I use it right before bed or days where I don't have to go anywhere. It also tends to make my eyes burn a little so the zits that are close to my eyes I try to avoid. It also works well for bug bites that itch or burn. Dab on a tiny amount with a q-tip to the pimple, bug bite, or abrasion.
- Aloe: This helps with under eye bags, I would go with an organic variety 100% pure variety with no additives. Now it won't zap away under eye bags but it can help when you stay up to late the night before around the campfire ;)
Monday, August 20, 2012
Day 5: 40 bags Challenge
It is the 5th day of my 40 bag challenge. 35 more days to go and I am doing awesome! I am 4 days ahead of schedule!!
Today's task was my kids' coat closet, and it was a MESS!!! I usually go through and reorganize it every couple of months if not sooner and within a week of cleaning it, it is back to is usual state of disaster :( This time I went through found a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit or that they have worn holes in giving me another bag to add to my total. After cleaning out the stuff that is not staying at my house, I went through and pulled out the surplus that still fits or that was missing it's mate. I came up with some new rules for the closet and tonight when my husband gets home he is going to do a little remodeling in it for me so I can better organize it.
The new coat closet rules
I am going to make a poster and put the rules up somewhere around the closet and hopefully they will follow them! I am also going to get a color coded bin for each child to keep hats, mittens, and stuff like that in them.
The shoes is kind of an issue too, but I have a solution for that as well. I figure they can keep their play shoes and cowboy boots in the closet and dress shoes they will keep in their rooms. We also narrowed down the kids' shoes to one pair of cowboy boots each, one pair of sneakers each, and one pair of sandals each. They don't need anymore than that plus shoes are not cheap! I just don't see the point in them having 20 pairs of shoes each that they will grow out of in a year or less. My daughter does have some other shoes, but she keeps them in her closet in her room, and most of them are goodwill shoes or hand-me-downs. Slippers are a whole other conundrum with her, but I have a slipper fetish so I have no room to talk ;)
Today's task was my kids' coat closet, and it was a MESS!!! I usually go through and reorganize it every couple of months if not sooner and within a week of cleaning it, it is back to is usual state of disaster :( This time I went through found a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit or that they have worn holes in giving me another bag to add to my total. After cleaning out the stuff that is not staying at my house, I went through and pulled out the surplus that still fits or that was missing it's mate. I came up with some new rules for the closet and tonight when my husband gets home he is going to do a little remodeling in it for me so I can better organize it.
The new coat closet rules
- Each child will have one of each item/pair in the closet at a time.
- Each child will have a designated section.
- Items will be placed back in closet in an orderly fashion. NO MORE THROW AND GO!
- If it doesn't fit, don't throw it back in the closet. Take it to Mom!
- Dirty clothes do not belong in the closet. THIS MEANS SOCKS!
- The closet is only for Shoes/boots/sandals, no slippers; coats/jackets/snow pants, no sweat shirts; stocking caps/mittens/ski masks, no ball caps or gardening gloves.
- Chore clothes will have a designated spot in the basement, not in closet stinking up good coats and such.
I am going to make a poster and put the rules up somewhere around the closet and hopefully they will follow them! I am also going to get a color coded bin for each child to keep hats, mittens, and stuff like that in them.
The shoes is kind of an issue too, but I have a solution for that as well. I figure they can keep their play shoes and cowboy boots in the closet and dress shoes they will keep in their rooms. We also narrowed down the kids' shoes to one pair of cowboy boots each, one pair of sneakers each, and one pair of sandals each. They don't need anymore than that plus shoes are not cheap! I just don't see the point in them having 20 pairs of shoes each that they will grow out of in a year or less. My daughter does have some other shoes, but she keeps them in her closet in her room, and most of them are goodwill shoes or hand-me-downs. Slippers are a whole other conundrum with her, but I have a slipper fetish so I have no room to talk ;)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Day 4: 40 Bag Challenge
I know I completed day 4's task yesterday on day three but I figured I would stay in number sequence for the title ;) Since I finished day 4's task already I decided to go through my list and take care of other tasks that are in my kitchen. My goal is to get my whole kitchen done first, and then move on. I don't think I will do an entire room again only because some of the other rooms in my house are bigger and it is nice sometimes to space things out and work on something else for a change.
Anyway, I finished 2 tasks and got two more bags out today!! So my bag total is 8 bags for 8 tasks done :D
If I do this again I will probably make a rough draft list first and reorganize things before I make a decision on my list. Really though, it doesn't much matter in what order I get them done just that I get them done and stick with the challenge. Who knows I could end up adding to my task list since some of my tasks aren't taking me as long as I thought they would.
It is so very relieving to have so much progress made in my kitchen. With it being the first room in the house that we come into, it becomes a dumping station for every one's junk. The living room being the next worst on the list ;) I am hoping with some of the new organizing I have done that things will be a little easier to keep clean. It will also help now that the kids are getting older they can start helping with the chores.
Anyway, I finished 2 tasks and got two more bags out today!! So my bag total is 8 bags for 8 tasks done :D
If I do this again I will probably make a rough draft list first and reorganize things before I make a decision on my list. Really though, it doesn't much matter in what order I get them done just that I get them done and stick with the challenge. Who knows I could end up adding to my task list since some of my tasks aren't taking me as long as I thought they would.
It is so very relieving to have so much progress made in my kitchen. With it being the first room in the house that we come into, it becomes a dumping station for every one's junk. The living room being the next worst on the list ;) I am hoping with some of the new organizing I have done that things will be a little easier to keep clean. It will also help now that the kids are getting older they can start helping with the chores.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Kitchen Organization Quick Tip
Just had to share this quick tip.......
Since we live in the country we occasionally have a mouse or two that like to visit inside the house :S, so we have a lot of our dry goods in plastic containers. Plus I like the way the plastic containers fit better in my cabinets. For the longest time I would get so angry when I would forget to keep certain cooking instructions to the items I was filling the containers with. I started cutting the side of the box off and I would stick it in the cabinet next to the container with the corresponding item in it. This only worked with things like Bisquick, most everything else comes in plastic bags or a cylinder(oatmeal, corn meal). So I came up with this idea.........
Since we live in the country we occasionally have a mouse or two that like to visit inside the house :S, so we have a lot of our dry goods in plastic containers. Plus I like the way the plastic containers fit better in my cabinets. For the longest time I would get so angry when I would forget to keep certain cooking instructions to the items I was filling the containers with. I started cutting the side of the box off and I would stick it in the cabinet next to the container with the corresponding item in it. This only worked with things like Bisquick, most everything else comes in plastic bags or a cylinder(oatmeal, corn meal). So I came up with this idea.........
I took a Sharpie marker and wrote the instructions right on the side of the container. A Magic Eraser will take the marker off if you need to remove it, a pencil eraser works well too.
After a while I will have cooking instructions memorized, but this comes in handy if my husband has to do the cooking. Great to help out baby sitters as well, and when my kids are old enough to use the stove or microwave they will be able to read and follow the instructions if I'm not there to help.
Day 4,5, and 6 knocked off my list on day 3!!!
Well I got ambitious and kept working on things in my kitchen ;) I finished they next 3 days worth of tasks on my 40 Bag Challenge, and got 1 1/2 more bags so, lets see, that makes 6 bags total. Right on track ;) I think for sanity's sake I am going to move around a couple of things on my list and just finish my kitchen tomorrow, that way I can have that room in my house completely done.
I'll post again tomorrow, but for now I am gonna leave this one short and sweet ;)
I'll post again tomorrow, but for now I am gonna leave this one short and sweet ;)
Day 3: 40 Bag Challenge
I am still keepin' on ;) and doing rather well I might add! I have even worked ahead a little here an there, while I still have the cleaning buzz ;)
Day 3 was my upper kitchen cabinets, and wow! did they really need cleaned out! I haven't majorly reorganized and cleaned them out in probably about 2 years. I reorganized them when I painted my kitchen and cleared out a lot of stuff then, but now my youngest has grown out of a lot of the "baby" stuff.
I also should have done it sooner, because 2 years ago we had a massive snow storm on Christmas Day. When this storm hit we lost power about half way through the day and couldn't get out of our farm. That didn't bother us so bad because we figured the power would be back on and the storm would stop at some point. At 9 pm we still had no power so we all huddled in the living room with blankets and candles. By 10 pm my daughter and I came down with the tummy flu (not a fun night and I will probably never forget it) so blankets and towels started to become scarce. Thankfully by 8 am the next morning, my father-in-law was able to get to us with his tractor and we headed for a hotel. Before we left my youngest who was 2 at the time came down with the flu and my husband followed suit after we had settled into the hotel. After 2 weeks of no power in the house, the electric company was finally able to get the power back on. Because of the state we left the house in, my husband and I returned first and cleaned! We had to make sure no pipes were frozen, we lost everything in our fridge and freezer, and disinfected like the entire worlds germs were in our house. When we cleaned we were only targeting things that had been handled during the flu epidemic, we later realized that everything in the house was also covered in soot. When we had the candles burning(yes we put then out before we left for the hotel) as the temperature in the house dropped the soot from the candles stuck to everything. I gradually got the most of the soot mess cleaned up, but when I went to clean my cabinets this morning I found out lines of soot on the backs of the cabinets, and my top shelves that I rarely have to use still had a thick soot film on them :(
So anyway.... enough of the story telling ;)
It took me a little longer to accomplish this task. I ended up rearranging my cabinets which was awesome! I can find things a little better now. I mean it wasn't bad before but now certain things are closer together, and I should have put them that way to begin with! Not to mention while completing this task I got a head start on the next days tasks!
Last but not least I cleaned out 1 1/2 bags worth of stuff. That puts me a bag and half ahead of schedule :D
Day 3 was my upper kitchen cabinets, and wow! did they really need cleaned out! I haven't majorly reorganized and cleaned them out in probably about 2 years. I reorganized them when I painted my kitchen and cleared out a lot of stuff then, but now my youngest has grown out of a lot of the "baby" stuff.
I also should have done it sooner, because 2 years ago we had a massive snow storm on Christmas Day. When this storm hit we lost power about half way through the day and couldn't get out of our farm. That didn't bother us so bad because we figured the power would be back on and the storm would stop at some point. At 9 pm we still had no power so we all huddled in the living room with blankets and candles. By 10 pm my daughter and I came down with the tummy flu (not a fun night and I will probably never forget it) so blankets and towels started to become scarce. Thankfully by 8 am the next morning, my father-in-law was able to get to us with his tractor and we headed for a hotel. Before we left my youngest who was 2 at the time came down with the flu and my husband followed suit after we had settled into the hotel. After 2 weeks of no power in the house, the electric company was finally able to get the power back on. Because of the state we left the house in, my husband and I returned first and cleaned! We had to make sure no pipes were frozen, we lost everything in our fridge and freezer, and disinfected like the entire worlds germs were in our house. When we cleaned we were only targeting things that had been handled during the flu epidemic, we later realized that everything in the house was also covered in soot. When we had the candles burning(yes we put then out before we left for the hotel) as the temperature in the house dropped the soot from the candles stuck to everything. I gradually got the most of the soot mess cleaned up, but when I went to clean my cabinets this morning I found out lines of soot on the backs of the cabinets, and my top shelves that I rarely have to use still had a thick soot film on them :(
So anyway.... enough of the story telling ;)
It took me a little longer to accomplish this task. I ended up rearranging my cabinets which was awesome! I can find things a little better now. I mean it wasn't bad before but now certain things are closer together, and I should have put them that way to begin with! Not to mention while completing this task I got a head start on the next days tasks!
Last but not least I cleaned out 1 1/2 bags worth of stuff. That puts me a bag and half ahead of schedule :D
Friday, August 17, 2012
Money saving tips for the Summer.
I am always looking for ways to save money, with 3 kids I have to. Not to mention the more we become self-sufficient saving money kind of goes hand in hand.
In the summer time while trying to stay cool saving money can be hard to do! Our air conditioner is a luxury, we don't have to run it but sometimes it helps us sleep better. At the same time, as with any luxury, our pocket book gets kinda skinny. So I have learned a few small ways to save money to help with the extra expense.
In the summer time while trying to stay cool saving money can be hard to do! Our air conditioner is a luxury, we don't have to run it but sometimes it helps us sleep better. At the same time, as with any luxury, our pocket book gets kinda skinny. So I have learned a few small ways to save money to help with the extra expense.
- We make our own Popsicles. What kid doesn't love Popsicles in the summer?! I bought enough sets of Popsicle makers for the kids to each have 2, plus 2 extras for dad ;) They only cost me around $.90 for 1 Popsicle maker that makes 2 Popsicles. This way the kids can pick the flavors they want and I know what the Popsicles are made of. We even make fudgesicles from chocolate pudding, and smoothie pops with real fruit in them. Root beer float pops are good two ;) You also won't have a box taking up space in the freezer with Popsicles that are going to waste because the kids don't like the flavors that are left, or because they forgot they were in there. Ice cube trays also work well for making mini Popsicles ;)
- Grill. We have a charcoal grill and in the summer we grill a lot! When I have to run my oven in the house I am paying to run that plus the air conditioner works harder while the oven is running. Or we resort to my electric skillet it cooks the food and doesn't heat the whole house up like my oven does. George Foreman grills are a good alternative too.
- Don't just run the air condition because you don't want to take the time to shut it off until it's time to turn the furnace on. If we are going to have a couple of cool days in a row or more, we will shut the air off, but when we do turn it on I don't wait till its really hot and sticky. If I know it is going to be really hot that day I will turn it on while its still a little cooler outside so the AC doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house back down.
- Rain barrels. They are relatively cheap to put in and they supply water for my flower beds and herb garden without me having to run the hose. Saves on electricity and water bills ;) Basically a rain barrel(for those who may not know) is a large barrel or tub placed under eve spouts to catch rain water. Some have hoses attached to them for watering, I will usually just dunk my watering can in mine.
- Grow a garden. Fresh produce is not only very healthy for you, it is also cheap to grow and will save on your grocery bill. Even more so if you can your surplus. You can also swap with friends or sell your extras.
- Instead of paying for admission to a local pool or water park go to the nearest natural swimming hole instead. My kids had more fun swimming in the lake my in-laws were living by last summer, than they did going to a crowed town pool.
- Hit the garage sales! You can find tons of bargains at garage sales, especially city wides. We used to go to garage sales every weekend when I was growing up, but the best time is to watch for local city wides. More people are likely to have a garage sale during city wides, and some save their stuff just for city wides. Remember not to be afraid to haggle, some people will stand firm, but others really want the stuff gone and might budge some on their prices.
- Don't turn the lights on till you have to! My kids used to have every light on in the house from sunrise to sundown. When I figured out what they were doing I immediately put a stop to it! The next month my electric bill had gone down. With the days being longer we are usually outside till it's too dark, but on those scorcher kind of days when we are sitting in the air conditioned house I make sure the kids do not turn the lights on till they absolutely have to!
- Keep your freezers full. A full freezer runs more efficiently. We fill clean empty plastic bottles 3/4 of the way full and freeze them. This keeps our freezer full, plus if the power goes out in the winter we will have clean drinking water and ice packs to keep the frozen food cold. I will even use the frozen bottles as ice packs for our cooler when we go camping or on trips, and when they thaw you have cold water to drink without the extra expense of buying bottled water at the store. They also work well for boo boos ;) and way cheaper than the cold compresses from the store.
Day 2: 40 Bag Challenge
My "hidden cabinet" in my kitchen isn't really hidden. It is more of a huge cabinet with a tiny door ;) When I first moved in I thought it was an access door for the electrical panel or something like that. While moving my stuff in and reorganizing cabinets I opened it and was greatly surprised. Over the years it has become a sort of "catch all" for junk we didn't know what to do with :S I had unopened horse washing sponges, old broken toys, can cozies, an old rusty thermos, and a bunch of miscellaneous junk in it. So now it is completely empty!! I pulled a bags worth of stuff out of it surprisingly. I honestly didn't think I had that much stuff in it! Now I am thinking of ways to use it that will be useful and so it won't become a "catch all" again.
Cleaning out that cabinet only took me 30 minutes. So, yeah I could be done with the challenge for the day or I could get a head start on my task for tomorrow. I have to bale hay this weekend, so I won't have much time for cleaning that isn't on my regular schedule.
One thing I have learned over the years is to take advantage of extra ambition when it comes to cleaning. Before, I would be done with what I wanted to get done for the day and would still have the energy to clean. Instead of using that energy to get ahead of schedule, I would find something less constructive to do with my time(watch TV), and then I would have a few days that we were unexpectedly busy and got behind. It is a lot harder to catch up when you get behind than it is to do extra ahead of time.
Cleaning out that cabinet only took me 30 minutes. So, yeah I could be done with the challenge for the day or I could get a head start on my task for tomorrow. I have to bale hay this weekend, so I won't have much time for cleaning that isn't on my regular schedule.
One thing I have learned over the years is to take advantage of extra ambition when it comes to cleaning. Before, I would be done with what I wanted to get done for the day and would still have the energy to clean. Instead of using that energy to get ahead of schedule, I would find something less constructive to do with my time(watch TV), and then I would have a few days that we were unexpectedly busy and got behind. It is a lot harder to catch up when you get behind than it is to do extra ahead of time.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Day 1: 40 Bags Challenge
Today was the first official day of my 40 bags in 40 days challenge. I did really well! I started with my kids' art drawers and cleaned out 2, yep 2, bags of garbage!
My tips:
1. If all the pages in a color book have been scribbled on, throw it out. My kids will not color a page if it has the slightest bit of a scribble on it anywhere. So why have them sitting around taking up space and collecting dust! My daughter actually went through a phase where she would draw one line on a piece of paper and that was an amazing piece of art ;) I couldn't tell her it wasn't, being an artist myself I didn't want to squash any creativity she might have no matter how big or small. She soon changed out of this phase and has moved on to more elaborate pieces, and now my husband has plenty of fire starter.
2. Don't keep markers that aren't quite dried up! They are not worth keeping, mostly because no one will end up using them, or they will be a constant frustration that isn't necessary.
3. Old broken crayons that no one wants to use can be remelted into neat tye-dye color patties that are way more fun to use. This also makes a good craft for kids on a rainy day. Here's how its done.....
Materials:
Crayon pieces and muffin pan (I like to use an old tin that is reserved for crafts
only).
Instructions:
Break crayons into small pieces and remove all paper from crayons.
Fill spaces in pan 2/3 full (have fun be creative with the colors we like to make
rainbows)
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Bake for 8-10 min or until crayon pieces have fused into one piece.
Cool at room temperature for about 5 min.
Place pan in freezer for 20-30 min. this will make the patties condense and
make it so they slide right out of the pan.
4. This was done easier without my kids being home. I have cleaned out the art center before when they were home and we argued a lot over what was staying and what was going :(
5. Designate and LABEL drawers. Each of my 3 kids has 2 drawers, one small one for utensils, and one large one for coloring books, and notebooks. When they know which ones are theirs and can see the other drawers are labeled for something else they tend to be better at keeping things where they need to be.
6. Don't keep junky pens and pencils that only work when they feel like it. I like my mechanical pencils and Bic pens and the old faithful No.2 pencils ;)
7. Keep pens and pencils in a can, or in a drawer organizer. I can never find a pen when I need one. My cans have been working great for the last 2 years, plus they are organized this way instead of laying all over the place in the bottom of a drawer.
8. Duplicate coloring books are not a necessity. These are great to give to Grandma to keep at her house for when the kids come visit, or they are great to donate to a daycare, preschool or even a church(depending on the content of the coloring book).
After cleaning out the art drawers I even had one set of seven drawers completely empty! I am now moving thing into it that I need to have more organized and more accessible. For instance my coffee maker sits on the top of this particular set of drawers and the top drawer works great for my coffee filters and my bags of Starbucks coffee.
My tips:
1. If all the pages in a color book have been scribbled on, throw it out. My kids will not color a page if it has the slightest bit of a scribble on it anywhere. So why have them sitting around taking up space and collecting dust! My daughter actually went through a phase where she would draw one line on a piece of paper and that was an amazing piece of art ;) I couldn't tell her it wasn't, being an artist myself I didn't want to squash any creativity she might have no matter how big or small. She soon changed out of this phase and has moved on to more elaborate pieces, and now my husband has plenty of fire starter.
2. Don't keep markers that aren't quite dried up! They are not worth keeping, mostly because no one will end up using them, or they will be a constant frustration that isn't necessary.
3. Old broken crayons that no one wants to use can be remelted into neat tye-dye color patties that are way more fun to use. This also makes a good craft for kids on a rainy day. Here's how its done.....
Materials:
Crayon pieces and muffin pan (I like to use an old tin that is reserved for crafts
only).
Instructions:
Break crayons into small pieces and remove all paper from crayons.
Fill spaces in pan 2/3 full (have fun be creative with the colors we like to make
rainbows)
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Bake for 8-10 min or until crayon pieces have fused into one piece.
Cool at room temperature for about 5 min.
Place pan in freezer for 20-30 min. this will make the patties condense and
make it so they slide right out of the pan.
4. This was done easier without my kids being home. I have cleaned out the art center before when they were home and we argued a lot over what was staying and what was going :(
5. Designate and LABEL drawers. Each of my 3 kids has 2 drawers, one small one for utensils, and one large one for coloring books, and notebooks. When they know which ones are theirs and can see the other drawers are labeled for something else they tend to be better at keeping things where they need to be.
6. Don't keep junky pens and pencils that only work when they feel like it. I like my mechanical pencils and Bic pens and the old faithful No.2 pencils ;)
7. Keep pens and pencils in a can, or in a drawer organizer. I can never find a pen when I need one. My cans have been working great for the last 2 years, plus they are organized this way instead of laying all over the place in the bottom of a drawer.
8. Duplicate coloring books are not a necessity. These are great to give to Grandma to keep at her house for when the kids come visit, or they are great to donate to a daycare, preschool or even a church(depending on the content of the coloring book).
After cleaning out the art drawers I even had one set of seven drawers completely empty! I am now moving thing into it that I need to have more organized and more accessible. For instance my coffee maker sits on the top of this particular set of drawers and the top drawer works great for my coffee filters and my bags of Starbucks coffee.
Less is More: The 40 bag challenge!
While on Facebook a site that I have saved in my favorites posted about a woman who was doing the "40 bags in 40 days challenge". I was intrigued, I had no idea what they meant by it so I read further. The first blog I came to didn't post much in depth on what it was. Mostly it was about what this particular woman was doing. Her blog in turn lead me to the woman that started it(well I don't know if she created the idea but her post were informative and useful). Her blog also has other posts with tips about sticking with the challenge and some other helpful tips.
http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2011/03/one-week-from-now-40-bags-40-days.html
This is another link with some tips about the challenge that might help too ;)
http://threesidedwheel.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/keeping-a-holy-lent-40-bags-in-40-days-printable/
The woman that started, got the idea for Lent. She decided she was going to get rid of 40 bags worth of clutter from her house in 40 days. She made of list of all the places in her house that she could get one or more bags out of. While getting stuff out she also scrubbed down her house, in turn giving her self a fresh start with her house. She also did some new decorating, and had new shelves built and so on. The end result was awesome. I have been needing a solution like this, we have 2 households crammed in one small house and I am over whelmed by the clutter!!!
With school starting and winter coming, I figured this would be the perfect time to try the 40 bags in 40 days challenge and get my Fall house cleansing in at the same time ;)
Here's my list :)
1. Kids' art drawers
2.Hidden cabinet in Kitchen
3. Upper Kitchen Cabinets
4. Lower Kitchen Cabinets
5. Kitchen drawers
6. Top of the fridge :S
7. Kids' coat closet
8. Living Room Closet
9. Laundry Room
10. Storage shelves in basement
11. Storage shelves in basement
12. Allen's clothes
13. Tristan's clothes
14. Daynia's clothes
15. Daynia's closet
16. Toy room
17. Attic
18. Attic
19. Soon to be master bedroom
20. Under our bed
21. My clothes
22. my closet
23. Daynia's room
24. Boys' room
25. Cedar chest
26. Living Room
27. Bookcase in Kitchen
28. Benches in Kitchen
29. My side of the bedroom
30. Hall closet
31. Bathroom
32. My nightstand
33. Area next to fridge
34. Shelves in toy room
35. Bookcase and shelves in Living room
36. My sewing stuff
37. My craft boxes
38. Holiday boxes
39. Hallway
40. Rest of my bedroom
Now I am not going to go through and do all 40 days in a row. I am trying to do as much as possible while my older 2 kids are not home. So all the weekdays that they have school and the weekends that they are at their dad's house I will be counting as my days. This might help me if I have a day break here and there, after all I still have a farm to run while cleaning ;)
http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2011/03/one-week-from-now-40-bags-40-days.html
This is another link with some tips about the challenge that might help too ;)
http://threesidedwheel.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/keeping-a-holy-lent-40-bags-in-40-days-printable/
The woman that started, got the idea for Lent. She decided she was going to get rid of 40 bags worth of clutter from her house in 40 days. She made of list of all the places in her house that she could get one or more bags out of. While getting stuff out she also scrubbed down her house, in turn giving her self a fresh start with her house. She also did some new decorating, and had new shelves built and so on. The end result was awesome. I have been needing a solution like this, we have 2 households crammed in one small house and I am over whelmed by the clutter!!!
With school starting and winter coming, I figured this would be the perfect time to try the 40 bags in 40 days challenge and get my Fall house cleansing in at the same time ;)
Here's my list :)
1. Kids' art drawers
2.Hidden cabinet in Kitchen
3. Upper Kitchen Cabinets
4. Lower Kitchen Cabinets
5. Kitchen drawers
6. Top of the fridge :S
7. Kids' coat closet
8. Living Room Closet
9. Laundry Room
10. Storage shelves in basement
11. Storage shelves in basement
12. Allen's clothes
13. Tristan's clothes
14. Daynia's clothes
15. Daynia's closet
16. Toy room
17. Attic
18. Attic
19. Soon to be master bedroom
20. Under our bed
21. My clothes
22. my closet
23. Daynia's room
24. Boys' room
25. Cedar chest
26. Living Room
27. Bookcase in Kitchen
28. Benches in Kitchen
29. My side of the bedroom
30. Hall closet
31. Bathroom
32. My nightstand
33. Area next to fridge
34. Shelves in toy room
35. Bookcase and shelves in Living room
36. My sewing stuff
37. My craft boxes
38. Holiday boxes
39. Hallway
40. Rest of my bedroom
Now I am not going to go through and do all 40 days in a row. I am trying to do as much as possible while my older 2 kids are not home. So all the weekdays that they have school and the weekends that they are at their dad's house I will be counting as my days. This might help me if I have a day break here and there, after all I still have a farm to run while cleaning ;)
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Less is More
I have heard the phrase "less is more" time and again throughout my life but never put much stock in it, until recently.
When I married my first husband I never had much. We lived in tiny two bedroom apartments until we finally got the courage to buy a house. The house we bought was a very large four bedroom house. It had a huge master suit with a walk in closet, a full basement that was really clean(no bugs), a small kitchen, and a large dining room and living room. I had more space than I knew what to do with. I never actually filled any of the space and I liked that fact because it was easy to clean that way.
When the marriage went south and I met my husband I am married to now, I moved all my stuff and my two kids' stuff into a small 2 bedroom country house that was already fully furnished. As kids grow and so did our family with the addition of our son, our house became even smaller and more cluttered.
Now when I hear "less is more" I look at the contents of my house and it gets me thinking. But where to start how to make more into less! It's really not a hard concept to make more into less, it was just finding a good place to start.
Our financial situation has never enabled be to live a highly pampered lifestyle but it has created envy at times. So I finally figured out that I have the ability to make a lot of things that I thought I had to have. After figuring this out I had to weed out what was needed and what was just a want. For instance, I have never really been into designer purses, but I do like to have a functional purse that fits my style. I found several hobo or monk style bags on etsy.com that I loved but didn't have the money for. So I studied the bags, and researched different patterns. I found a very simple pattern, bought fabrics I absolutely loved, and made my very own monk bag. After it was finished I took fabric paints and added even more of my own style to it. Want and need for a new purse solved ;)
Most simple things that are exactly a need that most of us like to have around the house can almost every time be easily and cheaply made. I have made pot holders, coasters, a cozy for my coffee mug, slippers, and many other accessory type items for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them in the store.
Then you have the needs, with a little research and some helpful tips from youtube.com and the scores of sites on google, needs can also me made. Not to mention adding your own creative spin and you'll have a one of a kind item. Scarves for my kids was a need. I found fleece material in the remnant bins while shopping and sewed a couple of quick seams in them, tasseled the ends, and now my children are warm and cozy while playing in the snow. Plus they love the fabric I chose that had their favorite characters on it.
Making up cycled clothing has become a sort of passion for me recently. I stumbled upon these beautiful coats made by an extremely creative and wonderful woman called Katwise. She takes thrift store sweaters and makes them into beautiful coats of all colors and styles. While cruising through her etsy store, her prices were sadly out of my current range(some day I will save my pennies and have one of her fabulous creations), but she did have a tutorial on how to make them. I jumped all over that!! I have now created 3 of my own Katwise coats and am working on a fourth. After finding her coats I stumbled on others that were making things from old t-shirts. I gathered my old t-shirts and started thinking and sketching and soon I was creating! I have made everything from rag rugs and pants to a Katwise style jacket from t-shirts. The point being when it comes to t-shirt up cycling the possibilities are endless!! The best part is I am taking something old and unused and making it into something new and functional. by doing this I haven't had to make expensive clothing purchases for about 6 months now. With kids that I swear grow an inch every day, not having to buy them clothes has helped a lot with our finances.
I have even found recipes on how to make many things I am constantly buy at the store. Ketchup, mayonnaise and other condiments can be made very cheaply at home especially if you grow your own vegetables or have laying hens. Most of the homemade varieties taste just as good if not better too!
We have also found that if we haven't used something for 6 months and can't think of a way we will use it in the next 6 months, we get rid of it. This is making a huge impact on the amount of clutter we have in our house. The kids are even starting to get rid of toys they don't play with!! I was a little shocked when this started happening and also very relieved! It is really nice not to have to feel guilty about getting rid of toys I know they haven't touched forever, or get caught in the act and have to try to sneak it out without them seeing. The last time I was caught the end result was the kids followed me for weeks and peeked in all of my hiding places to see if I had their stuff stashed in them. This led to them finding all of their yule gifts *ugh*.
I have also found a new plan and I will do a blog next about it. I will also follow up with progress reports ;)
When I married my first husband I never had much. We lived in tiny two bedroom apartments until we finally got the courage to buy a house. The house we bought was a very large four bedroom house. It had a huge master suit with a walk in closet, a full basement that was really clean(no bugs), a small kitchen, and a large dining room and living room. I had more space than I knew what to do with. I never actually filled any of the space and I liked that fact because it was easy to clean that way.
When the marriage went south and I met my husband I am married to now, I moved all my stuff and my two kids' stuff into a small 2 bedroom country house that was already fully furnished. As kids grow and so did our family with the addition of our son, our house became even smaller and more cluttered.
Now when I hear "less is more" I look at the contents of my house and it gets me thinking. But where to start how to make more into less! It's really not a hard concept to make more into less, it was just finding a good place to start.
Our financial situation has never enabled be to live a highly pampered lifestyle but it has created envy at times. So I finally figured out that I have the ability to make a lot of things that I thought I had to have. After figuring this out I had to weed out what was needed and what was just a want. For instance, I have never really been into designer purses, but I do like to have a functional purse that fits my style. I found several hobo or monk style bags on etsy.com that I loved but didn't have the money for. So I studied the bags, and researched different patterns. I found a very simple pattern, bought fabrics I absolutely loved, and made my very own monk bag. After it was finished I took fabric paints and added even more of my own style to it. Want and need for a new purse solved ;)
Most simple things that are exactly a need that most of us like to have around the house can almost every time be easily and cheaply made. I have made pot holders, coasters, a cozy for my coffee mug, slippers, and many other accessory type items for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them in the store.
Then you have the needs, with a little research and some helpful tips from youtube.com and the scores of sites on google, needs can also me made. Not to mention adding your own creative spin and you'll have a one of a kind item. Scarves for my kids was a need. I found fleece material in the remnant bins while shopping and sewed a couple of quick seams in them, tasseled the ends, and now my children are warm and cozy while playing in the snow. Plus they love the fabric I chose that had their favorite characters on it.
Making up cycled clothing has become a sort of passion for me recently. I stumbled upon these beautiful coats made by an extremely creative and wonderful woman called Katwise. She takes thrift store sweaters and makes them into beautiful coats of all colors and styles. While cruising through her etsy store, her prices were sadly out of my current range(some day I will save my pennies and have one of her fabulous creations), but she did have a tutorial on how to make them. I jumped all over that!! I have now created 3 of my own Katwise coats and am working on a fourth. After finding her coats I stumbled on others that were making things from old t-shirts. I gathered my old t-shirts and started thinking and sketching and soon I was creating! I have made everything from rag rugs and pants to a Katwise style jacket from t-shirts. The point being when it comes to t-shirt up cycling the possibilities are endless!! The best part is I am taking something old and unused and making it into something new and functional. by doing this I haven't had to make expensive clothing purchases for about 6 months now. With kids that I swear grow an inch every day, not having to buy them clothes has helped a lot with our finances.
I have even found recipes on how to make many things I am constantly buy at the store. Ketchup, mayonnaise and other condiments can be made very cheaply at home especially if you grow your own vegetables or have laying hens. Most of the homemade varieties taste just as good if not better too!
We have also found that if we haven't used something for 6 months and can't think of a way we will use it in the next 6 months, we get rid of it. This is making a huge impact on the amount of clutter we have in our house. The kids are even starting to get rid of toys they don't play with!! I was a little shocked when this started happening and also very relieved! It is really nice not to have to feel guilty about getting rid of toys I know they haven't touched forever, or get caught in the act and have to try to sneak it out without them seeing. The last time I was caught the end result was the kids followed me for weeks and peeked in all of my hiding places to see if I had their stuff stashed in them. This led to them finding all of their yule gifts *ugh*.
I have also found a new plan and I will do a blog next about it. I will also follow up with progress reports ;)
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