Toys for Tots; Insanity for Moms

Do you find yourself tripping on toys?  At the end of the evening is it a hassle to clean up all the toys scattered across the entire house?  Do you find yourself throwing the toys into the nearest container and later not being able to piece together the entire "set"?  This was the story of my life until my sister shared her secret with me.  She lives a very decluttered, peaceful, and organized life.  (If you haven't read about my relationship with our dear friend organization, please do so here.)
She works it in an even better fashion than what I share with you today, but from my experience I hope you get the general idea.  It's made a WORLD of difference for us.

If I had all the time and money to do this the way I wanted it would look even better; but as you know being a homemaker those two resources are very valuable.  I chose to spend some time and very little money re-doing our toy system.
Step One: I saved old diaper boxes; wipes boxes; and scrounged up unused Rubbermaid tubs. (Again, if I'd had the money I would have bought all matching tubs of the same size, shape and color.  I'm weird that way). 
Step Two: Asses what toys your children actually play with and sort through them getting rid of unused/not played with toys.
Step Three:  Clear out a space in the TOP of the closet or bookshelf or other space.  It must be a place the children cannot reach.  It's fine if it's visible, but not accessible.

Step Four:  Take a picture of the toy, or find one online and print on paper the photo/image of the toy.
Step Five: Tape the picture to the outside of the tub/box and put the box up on the shelf with the image pointing out.
Step Six:  After the boxes of ALL the toys (except books) are up out of reach explain to your children that they are allowed to play with one box at a time.  If they finish playing with the item, say dress ups for example, they must clean it up putting all of the items back in the box before you will get down another box for them.

I have been amazed at the amount of time and energy this has saved our family in the past year.  My children are learning responsibility, our clean up time at night is much less stressful, and we are living a simpler more intentional life by clearing out the toys we do not use.  What we have becomes more valuable to us when we are allowed the privilege of playing with it!

For more great tips, head on over to Kirsten at We Are That Family!

Recycle...books

We've all heard of the three R's and I'm sure we are trying hard as a generation to reduce our waste.  But sometimes I'm amazed at all the trash we tend to produce.  It seems like most things are becoming "disposable" these days.  In a world where we tend to throw things away or donate to our local charities our unwanted possessions, it seems that we've lost sight of how precious some of our possessions are.

I recently came across a website that I have fallen in like with.  I wanted a book recommended by a friend.  When I couldn't locate it through our library, I looked online.  I didn't want to buy it, and pay shipping.  I look on a website my mom mentioned where people "drop" books for others to pick up, and when I didn't find it there ended up here, at Paper Back Swap.  Not only did they have it, but I was delighted to find out it wouldn't cost me a dime to get it shipped to me! (See the official guidelines here.)

When I look at my bookshelves I'm constantly amazed at how much we have accumulated.  Books are not something we buy frequently and we certainly don't buy them new, (hooray for yard sales!).  However we have a large number of books.  Some I'm quite certain I won't be reading again.  A few duplicates of children's books and some that the children have "outgrown".  What to do?  Well, list them of course!

If you have never been on the site, I highly recommend it.  It may be a way to look up some of Elise's amazing Children's Books, or find that biography you want your 6th grader to read, or even a new cookbook for yourself!  It worked for me!

Popcorn & a giveaway!

The Wonderful World of Disney, a large mustard yellow Tupperware bowl, our crazy brown swivel chairs, Scamper (our dog), orange juice and the love of family surrounding me... these are just a few of the thoughts that come rushing to my mind when I eat stove top popcorn with this seasoning on it. ----->

A while ago, we had some teens over for a game night and I proceeded to make popcorn on the stove top. I kid you not, one of the teenage boys said to me: "What are you making?" "Popcorn" "On the stove? No Way, I didn't know you could do that!"

I could hardly believe my ears...Microwave popcorn, apparently now the standard for popping corn, was not only a luxury we didn't really indulge in growing up, but I've learned to dislike over the years. To me, it tastes like wax, it's expensive, it has ingredients I can't pronounce.!



Popcorn however, real popcorn, is a pretty great snack. My mom LOVES popcorn. There were times that popcorn was our evening meal. It's relatively healthy as long as you don't pour loads of butter and salt on it. For as long and I can remember and as long as she can remember we've used the Jolly Time Buttery Seasoning as a low calorie way to season our popcorn. It's become another "family secret", that many friends have asked for over the years.
I would highly recomend that you look for it at your local grocer and if they don't have it, request it. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

I've recently been inspired by a friend to try a give away...if you want to try the seasoning, leave a comment here telling me a memory you have from the past or are currently making with popcorn! I recently purchased it directly from Jolly Time and it came only in four packs. I would love to send one your way! Please include your email so I can contact you directly. Giveaway will be chosen at random, closing Saturday March 13th. Winner announced in Monday's blog post! Good Luck...


Happy munching! For more favorites and tips that WORK, click the link!

Works for me Wednesday~Hidden Stash

This seemed the perfect tip for today's

The way to keep your "stash" hidden

A mentor mom of mine once shared this tip with me. She used this idea when her kids were small, and though I haven't had to use it yet, I know that someday I will!


There are four simple steps to keeping your goodies hidden from the family, (even your hubby, if you so choose!)


Step 1: At the grocery store purchase yourself a sweet treat, and a bag of frozen veggies.







Step 2: Fix the frozen veggie for dinner that night, setting aside the bag (keeping the sweet treat hidden away in the mean time of course.)







Step 3: After the kids have gone to bed place the sweet treat inside the frozen veggies bag and close with a twist tie.








Step 4: Place your hidden stash in the freezer where kids and husbands alike will certainly not rummage through frozen veggies!

Meal Planning 101

In my post on how to grocery shop, I mentioned that you must plan in order to save money. If you go into the grocery store without a meal plan YOU WILL SPEND MORE MONEY than you want to! It's what they want you to do; they even design their stores so that you will buy things not on your list! People get degrees in this marketing stuff (I know, I thought about it for a while!) So, how do we buck the system? How do we not buy into what the marketing world tells us?

We plan ahead!

I had a few comments on both facebook as well as here that asked my system for planning meals. I truly believe this is the key to our saving money each month on groceries. One of my tips for eating cheap is to eat "boring". Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you: We do NOT eat boring all the time. I have however started planning a weekly menu for breakfast and lunch. We do not vary from this plan much at all. Dinner however is a totally different topic. I love to explore new recipes and new flavors. I think the kitchen is a world ready to be opened up to my children and I want them to taste it all!

I have a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens 1953 Cookbook. I love to look through it sometimes just to get some ideas. It never ceases to amaze me each time I glance through. We've come so far in the kitchen in the past57 years! I feel like people in general are eating healthier, and for our family we are focused on the quality of the ingredients we use.

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty on meal planning!

In order to save time and money I have purchased a large desk calendar that hangs by magnets on my fridge. This is my "master calendar" and if it's not on the calendar, it's not happening. (okay, so not really, but that's how it was in my house growing up!) This calendar helps me to navigate through my meal planning. There are a few different options for meal planning. Because every family is different, each person's methods for planning will be different as well. These are meant to be guidelines to help you find what works best for you.

I always start my meal planning (no matter which method) by sitting down at the kitchen table with my big calendar, my cook books (or computer), pen and paper and sometimes a cup of coffee or tea.

Option #1: The list method.

In this option you simply make a list of the meals that you would like to have in the two week pay period. (if this is how you shop, you can also do it weekly if that works better, just beware that more trips to the store means more chances for unlisted or not needed items to "jump" into your cart!) From this list of meals you can make your grocery list. Don't forget to plan in nights for "leftovers" as well as any meals you know you will be eating out. For example, a two week meal plan, I typically schedule about 10 dinners knowing there will be leftovers and that we eat out on Sunday nights. This is the most "flexible" planning method I've found that still works well with a two week pay period schedule.

Option #2: Day by Day.

In this option you write down each day (on the calendar) what you will be having for dinner. From this calendar you make your grocery list. There's not a lot of flexibility with this option, which is part of what makes it work budget wise.

Option # 3: Theme Nights.

In this option you plan each night to be a type of food to give variety but yet keep the ingredients of what you buy similar to each time you shop. For example, if you make every Monday night Mexican, you know that you will need to purchase lettuce, tomato, meat, olives, sour cream etc. The only change is if you want it flat (tostada) or folded (burrito), crunchy or soft! This has a lot of flexibility.

I use a combination of the second and third options. Mondays are Mexican, Tuesdays are Asian (I always make rice this night!), Wednesday is Italian, Thursdays are "American" , Friday and Saturday nights I reserve for either pizza or leftovers. (Summer time we grill once a week, sometimes more). Sunday's I try to do a crock pot meal, but being in ministry we end up eat out a lot of Sunday's. (It is within the subculture of our Church to share meals, and unfortunately that has frequently transferred from homes to restaurants.)

Instead of just leaving it at a theme for the dinner, I plan out what I will be making each night. It saves me a LOT of guess work and brain power wondering "what's for dinner?"

Also as I mentioned before, I plan out "boring" breakfast and lunches. Monday mornings we eat oatmeal, Tuesday is cereal and yogurt, Wednesday is breakfast rice, Thursday is muffins, Friday is pancakes, and Saturday is eggs and with either bacon/sausage. Sunday is cold cereal as we are usually in a hurry to get out the door for Church. Lunches are as follows: Monday, rollups (pb&j or turkey/cheese), Tuesday sandwiches, Wednesday bean burritos, Thursday quesedillas, and Friday is Noodles/Pasta. ( I don't plan lunch on Saturday because we normally "clean out the fridge" on these days!)

Recently I switched from planning two weeks at a time to doing the entire month at once! It's been FANTASTIC! At the first of the month I make four grocery lists: the first one has all the meat and dry goods I will need for the entire month, the other three have any perishable (produce/dairy) items I know I will need based on my month meal plan. I also have a note pad attached to the fridge to keep track of items I've run out of and need to put on the first list of the month! Having the lists finished ahead of time has been such a relief. It takes so much mental effort to plan and it's worked well for me to just get it done all at once!

I hope these meal planning ideas have been helpful for you and that you are able to use them in your home! Please feel free to leave me a comment with questions or suggestions.

Works for me Wednesday~Breakfast

Hello readers! (Click on the banner above for the original WFMW) I've decided to participate in these Works-for-me-Wednesday on the first Wednesday of the month. This month, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite breakfast ideas.


About once a week we eat rice with our dinner. (I've resolved to make Tuesday my dinner with rice night. Planning it makes it so much easier.) I always make more than we need because I like to re-purpose it the next morning as breakfast rice.


It's like making fried rice, only with "breakfast" ingredients. It's a wonderful way to use up leftover veggies and meats. (I also do this with potatoes from the night before)


For those interested in the step by step, I've included that below:


1. Start with COLD rice. This makes all the difference between breakfast rice and breakfast mush.


2. Prep all other ingredients: leftover veggies, meats, or fresh selections from the fridge. (Chopping or shredding as needed)


3. I like to start with about a Tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a large skillet. Once melted make sure its covered the entire pan.


4. If you are using onion or other not cooked veggie, add those now. Brown or "stir fry" until tender.


5. Add the rice, and stir constantly to coat the rice with butter.


6. Make a well in the center of the rice, and add another pat of butter to the skillet there.


7. Once melted pour well beaten eggs in the sizzling butter, stirring just that portion, thus "scrambling" the eggs in the center.


8. When most of the egg is cooked, stir it into the rest of the mixture adding last minute ingredients like cheese, cillantro, fresh parsley etc.


9. Season as needed with salt and pepper, or other favorite seasoning mixes. (On potatoes I use Mrs. Dash)


10. Serve to a hungry crowd.

Works for Me Wednesday~ Christmas Gifts

Frustrated by the constant bombardment of commercialism?


This Holiday, give a gift that will do more than gather dust, it will make a difference in someones life.


Today's Works for Me Wednesday is one that reaches down deep. Click here to find a gift for that someone who is hard to buy for because they have everything. Why succumb to the pressure to purchase something that they will inevitably not use?

This Christmas give.

Works for me Wednesday

I love the idea of blogging weekly and sharing ideas that help other moms and homemakers. I've used a lot of good ideas in longer posts prior to this and if you click on Tips, in the side bar you'll see them. However since Elise shared this site with the Works for me Wednesday idea, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon to share with you and idea that really works for me!

First I should explain that my husband likes to sleep with the covers pulled up all the way to his chin, but he also likes the sheet to cover the top edge of the covers...this lead to a problem for us. EVERY morning I was having to re-tuck the bottom of the sheet because he kept pulling it up every night! I finally broke down and did this: I simply added length to the flat sheet by sewing on fabric from a sheet I was using as a drop cloth for painting. Now I can tuck the sheet in and he can pull all he wants to and it won't come un-tucked! It worked for me!