lunch baggies

The perfect Eco-friendly container that's perfect for lunches or trips to the park.

To get started you will need. Fabric, Ripstop nylon, Ribbon, Velcro: fabric supplies.

1. Cut two rectangles of patterned fabric and ripstop nylon, each 13x7".

2. Pin right sides of fabric together, with nylon on the outside.

3. Fold two pieces of 5" ribbon in half and pin them, centered on each short side. The loop should be toward the inside and approximately 1 1/2" of the tails should be showing (so the tabs can be reinforced when you stitch the Velcro).

4. Stitch each short side using a 1/2" seam allowance.



5. Turn right side out and iron the fabric side on a warm setting.

6. Pin Velcro to each short end on the ripstop nylon side, approximately 1/4" from the seam edge, as well as 1/4" from each raw edge (this will cut down on the bulk in the finished side seam).

7. Stitch Velcro in place using two lines of stitching.

8. Fold in half, right sides together, and stitch down both sides approximately 1/4" from the edge.

9. Turn right side out, press and stitch down each edge with just slightly more than a 1/4" seam, enclosing the inside seam.

These snack baggies are even machine washable- turn them inside out, place an extra piece of loop Velcro over the hook Velcro so it doesn't catch on other items, then Wash and dry as normal with like colors.



getting the chores done

One day after I had just finished teaching a class on family organization, a friend approached me and asked, "How did you come up with all of your ideas and chore chart system?"  For lack of a better answer, I gave her my simple one-"frustration."  I have found that if necessity is the mother of invention then frustration must be the mother of organization.
Managing a family of seven and having a strong desire to be organized along with not having great natural organizational skills can cause some frustration.   I have learned to compensate with a lot of creativity and a lot of learning as much as I can from others.  Over time, we have figured out ways to keep our family organized and on schedule even during the chaos.
This week we will be sharing lots of these ideas and details about family organization and chore systems.  But for today, here are a few simple tips that we have learned along the way.

Family organization and chore charts systems:

1.  Keep it Simple:  There are a lot of family chore system ideas out there, but many of them are too complicated to keep up through real life.  They work great for the first week or two, but then as a change in a work schedule, a new soccer season, strep throat for the whole family or a new baby comes along, they are just too hard to keep up. 

2.  Start While Your Kids are Young:   Children who can walk and talk can do simple chores and begin to care for themselves.  Toddlers and preschool age children especially love to feel involved and helpful, but this is also true for older children.  Use their enthusiasm to do things for themselves, to teach them responsibility. 

3.  Spell it Out:  Kids do not really know what it means when we as parents say, "Get ready to go today" or "Go clean your room".  They work much better with small assignments.  Give them some sort of list of what they need to do in the morning and a list of things that they need to do to clean their room.  Pictures may be helpful on the lists.  Even if they are readers, pictures are just more fun.

4.  Work as a Team:  Give kids chores when they are young, but work along with them and train them as you go.  Working together is great one on one time and it will all pay off as they learn to do jobs well on their own.  Rotate chores and give everyone a turn.  This helps everyone to feel that things are fair and that your family works together as a team.  This feeling is important in families.

5.  Let Kids be Responsible for Their Choices:  Help children have a good understanding of what their chores are and what happens when they complete or do not complete their chores. Give them some simple and positive incentives to finish.

6.  Use Creativity, Humor, and Fun:  It is what kids (okay all of us) respond to well.  Use these things in abundance and any job is more fun.




The chart above is protected by a copyright and is not to be copied for commercial use.

my favorite summer container

You can find these oversized buckets anywhere. I generally shop Wal-Mart simply because it's hard to beat their price. As of recently I have seen them in some super fun colors. Not your ordinary tote, lots more character and just enough personality that they can add to your ambiance. Consider filling it with ice to chill drinks at a bbq or summer picnic. Great for water relays, filling with water balloons, or storing balls or other outside toys that have no place to call home. I keep two of them in my garage: one for balls and one for frisbees, jump ropes, water guns etc. Easy enough for the kids to pull around and definitely easy enough for them to do a quick clean up. That's always nice:) I also use a smaller version in my kids' closets for their shoes. Each child has a bucket of their own. Sooo much nicer than shoes all over the closet and bedroom floor. In the picture of my boys closet the baskets on the shelf hold their socks. Good-bye chaotic sock drawer.

more than just a new shirt

Go the extra mile this Father's Day and put a twist on the traditional new shirt and tie for Dad by tidying up his closet space. The biggest key to a tidy closet is hangers that are uniform in shape and color. I prefer white because it doesn't over power the clothes. You can buy 10 -12 hangers for about $1. Oraganize his shirts according to color and season. Consider freshening up his older shirts with a trip to the dry cleaners or an afternoon of ironing. Have your children write notes of endearment that can be placed in the pockets along with a favorite candy bar, tickets to a game, a gift card for a night out, etc. There are countless ideas that can make this specific to the dad in your house. If you are feeling super ambitious, tackle his shoes also. Polish those that need it and create space for them to be stored in an orderly way. It would be cute to put a new sleeve of golf balls in his tennies, or a gift card to his favorite lunch spot in his work shoes.

plastic sack organizer

Looking for a way to contain all of your plastic grocery sacks? Many are moving to the reusable grocery sacks which we use once and a while also but we still use the plastic sacks for bathroom garbage sacks and many other things around the house. This little organizer is not a new idea but I thought I would share it anyway. Here is what you need.

cloth napkin or dish towel

8 in. of 1/4 in. elastic

safety pin

10 in. strip of ribbon

I started with a cloth napkin I found on clearance on day but you could also use a dish towel which would create a little longer organizer. I folded it is half and cut it about 7 in away from the folded edge. Measure and mark elastic at about 8 inches.

Attach safety pin to elastic and thread through the existing hem of the napkin or towel.

Pull in through until you see your mark of 8 inches and then sew up the side creating a tube.

Turn it ride side out and attach your ribbon to the top.

Stuff it with sacks in the top, and hang it up in your pantry. I found this and some other kitchen organizing tip from Martha here.

create your own coordinated gift

While shopping this week I finally bought a few items that I have had my eye on to create a gift basket. These would make fun gifts for Mother's Day, graduation, birthdays, etc.

Hobby Lobby carries this great line of coordinating office supplies/gift items in several different styles. Find them in one of their 443 stores in 35 states on online at HobbyLobby.com.

The supplies include:

paper weights--binder clips--photo envelopes--small organizers--passport covers

letter openers--clip boards--stationary--notepads--lunch bags--file folders--luggage tags

note pads--weekly planners--push pins--journals--book marks--huge coffee mugs

Creating any gift basket would be so simple and easy.

Thanks Mom:

Fill the coffee mug with journals and bookmarks.

Have a great summer vacation:

Mix the passport cover, photo envelope, luggage tags and stationary

Congratualtions and good luck at college:

Wrap up the binder clips, push pins, file box and file folders

Congratualtions on the new job:

Tie a bow on the file box filled with the mouse pad, note pad, and lunch bag.

password keeper

Do you have a hard time remembering passwords and login names for all of the shopping, bills, registrations, emails, etc. I know that this was becoming a problem at our house. We started writing them on a paper by the computer but were running out of room quickly. We found that an address book worked great for this. I found this one at a dollar store. You just jot down your login and password under the alphabetical letter that is applies to. A is for Amazon, B is for Barnes and Noble, C is for Chase and so on. I hope this helps with the missing passwords at your house.

outfit organization

Having several daughters in our family can sometimes mean a little extra stress in the morning when it comes to getting dressed for school. Several years ago I found a tip that help simplify this problem for everyone and it has worked fabulously ever since.

We created 8-10 special hangers for everyone by tying ribbon to the top and we used a different color ribbon for each child. This was especially important for those who share a closet.

When it is time to put laundry away, I help each child pick out enough clothes for the next school week. We match up tops and bottoms into outfits including belts, tights, etc. and hang them on the special hangers. We have fun with fashion design and we choose clothes that will work well for the upcoming weather. Creating 7-10 outfits ensures that they will always have a few to choose from and extras if needed.

Each morning for the next week my kids get to choose whatever they are in the mood to wear from the special hangers. Even better I get more free time in the morning and less discussions about wearing pajamas, tutus or shorts with snow boots to school.

pickles to petals

Yes these use to be full of PICKLES. Our family loves pickles and on a pretty regular basis we buy this huge jar of pickles from Sam's Club, which are pretty inexpensive. These jars are nice big 1 gallon glass jars that I can't just throw away. A few of them sat in my pantry for a while until I thought of this idea. I needed a container for ribbon scraps and flowers petals.

I washed them good and then tore off the label. I found of piece of scrap paper and made labels and then glued them on with Mod Podge. I didn't keep the lid but if you wanted to I found a cute way to cover it with paper here. Here is what they ended up looking like.

packing your bags

PACKING YOUR BAGS







Summer is coming and with it comes the excitement and fun of family vacations. But even the best of parents get a little queasy at the thought of packing for a whole family. This task was greatly simplified at our house when we stumbled onto this one little idea.

By creating a packing list and hanging one in each child's closet, children can learn how to pack their own clothes, they feel more involved in the upcoming trip and last but definitely not least a list cuts down on the number of forgotten items. What seems like a scavenger hunt list to kids, can save rushed parents precious time. Younger kids can pull out all the items needed and have a parent do a quick okay check, before packing their stuff in their bag. As they grow older they will get better at packing on their own. If the list is hung in a plastic sheet protector, kids can use a dry erase marker to mark off items as they pack them. Below is a list a items that could be included on a packing list.





basic:
shirts
pants/ shorts
belt
underclothing
socks
walking shoes
flip-flops/ sandals
sweatshirt/ sweater
pajamas

others if needed:
jacket
hat
slippers
sunglasses
pillow
water bottle



activity bag:
electronic devices
books
snacks
activities

personal: (may be packed in a family bag)
toothbrush/toothpaste/ floss
hairbrush/comb
body wash/ face cleansers
hair products and accessories
sunscreen
lotion
lip balm


special occasions:

water activities:
swimming suit
cover-up clothing
water shoes
sunscreen
towel

snow activities:
coat
snow pants
hat
gloves
boots
scarf

dress-up activities:
shirt and skirt or pants/ jacket
extras like tie, slip, hair bow, jewelry, etc.
dress shoes
dress socks



Other tips that may help.
Buy a different color bag for each child or buy the same color for the whole family and then tie a different color ribbon on each bag.
To save clutter and confusion make a rule that "everything you take must fit it your bag."

cupboard organizer

Our family has a few recipes that we use often like cookies, pancakes and breads. Instead of always having to look for these recipes, a sheet of galvenized metal mounted inside the kitchen cupboard holds them right where they are needed. I bought a 2x3 sheet of metal at Home Depot (near the heating duct supplies), and using a pair of tin snips cut it to fit inside the cupboard door frame. A spray adhesive applied to both the metal and the door hold the sheet in place. Buttons glued on magnets hold the recipes.

This idea works great in the kitchen and also in the bathroom and craft room. Another idea is to use this inside of your medicine cabinet for your child's medicine dosage. Happy organizing!