Quick Tip #6--Storing Kids' Artwork

My kids draw pictures and make things for me ALL THE TIME.  And they expect me to save and treasure every single one.  I do treasure them, but I don't have the inclination (or space) to store all of those papers and things.

The solution is simple:  take pictures!!

Star Wars is a big theme around here.  My 7-year-old son drew these:

In case you missed some of those details, here's Princess Leia.  See the buns?

And here's Yoda.  I love the frownie faces.  And the stick legs with ball feet.

He's not alone in his Star Wars fixation.  My 4-year-old son did this one of Darth Maul.  He was so proud of how he turned out.  Fierce.

He also did these of Yoda.  Star Wars art is so simple, no bodies required!

My 5-year-old daughter did this one of my husband.  The body is included, but no clothes.

I typically like to label the artwork with the child's name and age, though you can tell by those above that I often forget.

Some things the kids want to keep on paper, not just the computer.  They typically do those things into composition books.  My seven-year-old son is currently writing his own reptile book, complete with drawings.  =)  My nine-year-old daughter is currently writing her own comic book, again in a composition book:

You can also do pictures of things they build, paint, etc.  It all stores nicely on a computer, disc, etc.

How do you store your kids' projects?

Helpful tips

The other day, I saw an awesome list of helpful tips on Alderberry Hill.  (I especially love that cookie bowl idea!!)  I decided to give you more helpful tips from a friend's wise grandma!!  Some of these I've tried, some I haven't yet.  If you try any and they work (or don't!), let me know!!

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.  If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.  [Of course, they don't last long enough at my house to ripen too much.]

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.  [Hmmm....I wonder what you do with the pepper that has 5 bumps!!]

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover Snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!  

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.  [I've never tried the cotton, but a slice of bread works GREAT!!!!]

To keep squirrels from eating your plants [or digging in them], sprinkle your plants [and soil] with cayenne pepper.The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and... ta da!... static is gone.

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

ETA:  Stacy wrote the following in the comments:   A note on the cornmeal. I did try this and it didn't work for us. I ended up having to use diatomaceous earth to get rid of the ants. THAT worked. The fruit fly remedy really does work. I used just ACV (w/out the soap)in a canning jar. I used a lid that had several large holes in it. The flies go in but can't get out. 

Thank you, Stacy!!!!

Quick Tip #5--Removing make-up

I rarely wear make-up.  There are several reasons for this, but if I'm being totally honest with myself (and you), it's mostly because I don't want to take the time to apply it.  I spend most of my days at home with the kids, which is fine with me.  I get out of the house mostly for church.  I get dressed while my wonderful Mr. Man feeds the kids breakfast.  They eat VERY quickly.  So I know that as I'm getting ready, I have 5 other little people waiting for my help to get them ready.  I think I'm doing pretty good to get my hair and teeth brushed, no less putting make-up on.

Still, there are those rare times when we're going to a wedding or some other fancy event, when I want to put a bit of make-up on.  In those rare instances, I typically wear eye-liner, eye shadow, and a touch of blush.  Hardly ever do I wear foundation or powder or mascara, but it has been known to happen.

One of the worst things about wearing make-up--especially around the eyes--is having to remove it later.  Mascara and eye-liners are made to be water-resistant, making it even harder to get off.  The market is full of different lotions, soaps, and ointments made to get make-up off.  These lotions, soaps, and ointments are typically full of all sorts of nasty chemicals that you really don't want to apply to your skin.  And they're expensive.

Well, I have an easy, cheap, healthy alternative for you, that you probably already have in your kitchen cabinet!  Oil!  Olive oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil...any of those healthy oils that you cook with or put on your salads.  Simply rub onto your face--especially around the eyes--and gently wipe the make-up off with a warm washcloth.  Even better is doing the oil-cleansing method as your regular method of cleaning your face.  My complexion is so nice and clear since starting this.  No more chemical-laden cleansers and lotions.

So do yourself a favor and get that make-up off quickly and easily.  And you're doing your skin a favor by moisturizing it naturally with no harmful chemicals.  It's a win-win!

Quick Tip #6--Easing "Growing Pains"

My kids often wake up at night complaining of "growing pains" in their knees.  I've read that these aren't actually growing pains at all, but are some kind of muscle or ligament pain, but no matter what they are, it's very unpleasant.  I don't like giving my kids any kind of medication unless it's medically necessary, so I set out to find a remedy other than over-the-counter pain medicines.

I've found the perfect treatment for it.  We have several heat socks--you know, those long, skinny things full of dry rice or corn that you can throw into the microwave to heat it.  I also have a medium-sized teddy bear full of herbs that can be thrown into the microwave.

I heat the sock or bear in the microwave--typically only for a minute, so they're not too hot for the kids.  I then have the child lay on their back.  If I'm using one of the socks, I tuck a small pillow under their knees and lay the sock on top of that.  If I'm using the bear, it's thick enough that it elevates their knees on its own.  The key seems to be the combination of heat and elevation.  It eases the pain enough that the child is able to go back to sleep.  (Though some nights we have to get up and reheat the sock/bear a few times through the night--3x last night for my 6-year-old son.)

This has really helped us and our children.  I hope it helps you all, too!

Have you come up with any other methods to help with "growing pains?"  Please share!

Quick Tip #4--How to Have a Nice Table Cloth with Kids

Fact 1:  I love pretty, cloth table cloths and table runners.

Fact 2:  I love my kids.

Fact 3:  Kids destroy pretty table cloths and table runners.

Fact 4:  I needed to find a way to have #1 and #2 without having #3.

Fact 5:  I achieved #4.

Some stores sell clear vinyl table coverings.  They are flimsy and cheap and tear quickly.  Cheap, printed vinyl table cloths also tear quickly.  But kids spill, drip, and leak all sorts of foods and fluids when they're sitting at the table (and when they're not, but that's another post entirely).  But I've found the perfect solution.

If you go to the fabric section of Wal-Mart, where they have the bolts of fabric, they also have a rack with big rolls of clear vinyl.  They sell it by the yard in different thicknesses.  We measured our table and bought enough to overhang the edges a bit, and it cost around $7.  Now I can have my pretty cloth table cloths and pretty table runners, without them being destroyed!

It's a little bit shiny, but that's a minor trade-off to have my nice table.  I also know families who put the kids' current school projects underneath.  For example, a family studying world geography may have a world map underneath.  Or older children can slide a copy of their current spelling list underneath, so they can study while eating their breakfast.

But I like the pretties, myself.  I'm not a very frilly-froo-froo type of person, but I like an attractive table.  =)

What methods have you come up with to have nice things protected from everyday life with kids? 

Quick Tip #3 -- Cleaning your Microwave

Ok, I know I haven't done much crafting this week.  But it's been a crazy week!  I promise I'll have a craft post on Monday!!

Anyway, back to your microwave.  I don't know about you, but my microwave tends to get all yucky.  I don't even understand how it gets so yucky so quickly!  I won't even show a before picture.  But I learned a quick and easy way to get all of those yucks out, without using any kind of nasty cleaners or chemicals.

First, get a glass container with 3-4 cups of water.

Put it in the microwave and run it for five minutes.

When the microwave finishes, don't open it.  Let it sit undisturbed for another five minutes.  The water will steam up the inside of the microwave, loosening any hard, dried yucks inside.  You then simply wipe the microwave out with a sponge, rag, or paper towels.  If there are any stubborn spots, simply dip your scrubber into the hot water (careful not to burn yourself) and continue to scrub it.  It'll come right off.

You'll be left with a nice, sparkly clean microwave!

I've heard of people adding lemon juice or vinegar to the water, but I've never found that necessary.  Plain water works every time!  Now, go scrub out your microwave (you know it needs it), and let me know how well this method worked for you!

Quick Tip #2 -- Laundry

Keeping up with laundry for 7 people is something I've been struggling with for years.  Especially when 5 of those people are tiny people who seem to go through a lot of laundry in any given day.

I had three large laundry bins in my laundry room, which were constantly overflowing.  I felt like I was doing tons of laundry all the time, yet my son would still ask me, "Do I have any clean boxers?  There are none in my drawer."  It was constantly hanging over my head.

Then I discovered this tip over at "I'm an Organizing Junkie."  Like she said it did to her, it changed my life.

I no longer have bins in my laundry room for colors, whites, etc.  I no longer have mountains of laundry ruling my life.  Guess what?  I've been 100% caught up on laundry in my house for TWO WEEKS!!  That means that everything is washed, folded, and put away.  This system is MIRACULOUS!!!

Every person in the family has their own laundry basket in their room.  Each person is assigned to a day of the week.  And each person's clothes get washed on their day--no sorting of colors, etc (unless it's a fancy white dress or something like that).  For example, on Mondays I wash Little Love #1's and Little Love #2's clothes.  They're both small, and their clothes are small, so I put them all together into one load.  When they're dry, I pull them out of the dryer and fold them immediately into their own laundry basket.  Since #1 is a girl and #2 is a boy, it's a no-brainer as I fold--no thinking required.  They each get their basket back and put everything away.  Then I wash Mr. Man's work clothes, and am done for the day!  Tuesdays I do my clothes and Mr. Man's clothes.  Wednesday I do miscellaneous ones--like throw blankets or whatever--or none at all.  Wednesdays are crazy around here.  Thursdays I do #5's clothes and towels.  Fridays are #3's and #4's clothes and, again, any miscellaneous loads that may need to be done.  Every other day I also do a load of cloth diapers.  Saturdays are also for anything miscellaneous or anything I missed during the week if my schedule got thrown off.

I'm not strict with this schedule.  If I look around and see a load that really needs to be done, I may go ahead and do it on another day.  My laundry room is right off of our classroom, so it's really easy to switch loads while the kids are doing schoolwork.

And all of the clothes get picked up off the kids' bedroom floors on a regular basis.  They're actually doing really well at keeping them in their baskets, actually.  So no more of this:

What a great system!!  Now, my laundry room is actually getting organized.  I may actually post a picture of it some day.  =)

Do you have any great laundry tips that have revolutionized your life?

Quick Tip #1

There are some tips that I have picked up in life that revolutionize how I do things.  The one I'm going to talk about today revolutionized my linen closet!

Ok, maybe revolutionized is a bit strong, but it definitely organized my linen closet.  And it's soooooo simple!  We have 6 beds being used in this house, soon to be 7.  That's a lot of fitted sheets, flat sheets, and pillowcases.

Here's the tip:  when you wash and fold your sheets, tuck all the sheets and pillowcases of the set into one of the pillowcases in that same set!!

For example, the following is my daughter's twin sheet set.  I folded the flat sheet and fitted sheet and put them both into the pillow case.  Then, when I'm looking in my linen closet for a twin set, I just grab that pillowcase, and everything's together!

For queen sizes, I fold the flat and fitted sheets and one pillowcase and tuck it all into the other pillowcase.  For crib sheets, I have a very stretchy knit pillowcase that I fold all of the crib sheets into.  

All of this stacks nicely and neatly into the linen closet if you stack them.  If you let your 6-and-8-year-olds stack them, it's not so nice and neat (which is why I'm not showing you a picture inside my linen closet itself). However, even if they're all jumbled in your closet, it's still so easy to find exactly what you're looking for when everything is nicely contained together!

What tips have revolutionized your life?