House and Chore Solutions

I've blogged before (and before, and before) about some of the solutions that help us function in our little house with four kids and just generally a busy life. Here are three more small changes I've made in the past couple of weeks...

There was an awkward space at the head of the girls' bunk bed - there wasn't enough room between the bed and the wall to really play in that space. Often it just became a parking space for random toys and looked junky.

So I added a second bookshelf and made a little reading nook


I got a bathmat from Target that is made from some sort of super cushiony memory foam stuff and put that down first to make the wood floor softer, then added some blankets and pillows. The girls LOVE this space now! And with two emergent readers in the house, having a space that inspires them to read is great. The books are generally organized by fiction/nonfiction and reading level.


The next idea is from Martha Steward. Did you know they make magnetic paper that can go through a printer?? They do! It went through my HP color laser printer with no trouble at all - I was in awe (and yeah, I held my breath waiting for the whole thing to jam up and break forever while it was going through).

Here is our new chore chart


This is the chart "fully loaded" and ready for Saturday morning. Most days they only have the dark green chores - those are their daily chores. I put them on their chart at night and the next day as they do their chores, they remove them. The goal is to have no chores left on their chart. The blue chores are their Saturday jobs, so since tonight is Friday night, this is what it looks like tonight. Again, as they do their chores and jobs tomorrow, they will take them off.

We don't do allowances (yet - they are too young for money, we think) and I don't really believe it paying or rewarding kids for doing chores. To me their chores are just like me cooking dinner and Davis taking out the trash - these are the things we all do to help out and keep our family taken care of. We are also building good habits.

BUT I do have a little envelope on the bulletin board that has "perfect chore score" written on it - if they do all of their chores and Saturday jobs for a whole week, they can pick out a reward from the envelope. They are things like having me make their bed for a week, staying up to read an extra book or play a game one night, etc. It's working well. At this age, often having kids doing chores creates MORE work for parents - teaching them to do the work and nagging them constantly to get it done. But I think it's a huge mistake to give up or wait, and I can see in Sophia that having a child who is used to doing chores since age 2 does pay off!

And finally, Sophia is starting piano lessons. She is so excited! I needed a way to help her keep track of time, because I'm making her practice for 15 minutes every day. I found this clock at West Elm - I love it! It's actually been great to have a great big clock in the living room, no more craning our necks to look at the kitchen clock all the way in the room next door ha ha!


Our house is still on the market, and we are still making plans to remodel if it doesn't sell. But in the meantime I have decided to continue to make it work for us as best we can. We do love our little bungalow!!

Solutions

I just thought I'd do another organizing post. I was just talking with a friend about how living in a small house has forced us to be careful about not accumulating too much stuff and also to be creative with our storage. Our little bungalow was built in 1936, and other than one very small closet per bedroom (3), we have no closets. We do a big clothing purge at every season change, and we give away at least one giant box of toys before every Christmas. I'd want to do that even if we had unlimited closet space!

But with soon to be four kids, we really needed a solution for coats, hats, gloves, rain boots, etc. We had some room at the end of a hallway - there's a door there, but we never use it, because on the other side is a door in Henry's room that we have blocked off. So a few weeks ago, my sister in law and I headed to my favorite antique store, in search of a wardrobe.

I ended up getting this rustic cabinet - it was super cheap, and exactly the dimensions of the hallway (it took a little taking apart and putting back together to get it in the spot).

Behind the mirror is a tall cabinet. Davis hung a rod, and that's where everyone's jackets and coats are. On the floor of the cabinet are everyone's rain boots. The top cabinet on the right had a very rickety mirror that kept falling out, so I replaced it with some fabric - that cabinet is the perfect spot for bags (kids' little overnight bags/backpacks, extra diaper bags, library bag, etc. - it's surprisingly deep). And the drawers are just perfect - one for umbrellas, one for gloves, one for hats, one for scarves, and one that's still EMPTY!

One of the things that's hard about having the kids in school and me working, is that Davis picks them up from school at 3 o'clock, and I don't get home until a couple of hours later. Last year, we kept having issues with important school papers getting lost during those two hours! It seemed like I was always searching for permission slips under the car seats. When Sophia was taking dance, Davis and I were always having frantic phone conversations 30 minutes before her lesson about where her tights or ballet shoes or leotard were.

So, now the rule is that when the girls get in the car at school, they throw their backpacks (or in Amelia's case, the little canvas bag the school provides for pre-K kids) in the front passenger seat (so they're not tempted to open them in the back seat on the way home!) And when they get home, they hang them on hooks underneath their initials on the big bulletin board

When I get home, I know everything will still be there for me. Usually Sophia sits down with me at 5 and does homework at the dining room table while I start dinner and look through their folders.

Underneath their school bags, on their hooks, they each have a sports bag. Sophia's soccer bag has her ball, cleats, shin guards, uniform, sunscreen, and water bottle in it.

Amelia's dance bag has her tap and ballet shoes, tights, and leotards in it.

Sunday nights, I wash their uniforms and stick them back in the bags, where they stay until practice/class/games. No more searching!

Henry's hook has his diaper bag on it. I have always kept my diaper bag stocked, so that it's ready to go - when we get back from an outing, I clean it out/re-stock it as needed, which works so much better than trying to throw stuff together when you need to run out the door. Of course the contents change based on the age of my kids... right now it contains 3 cloth diapers, a wetbag, a travel package of disposable wipes, an extra shirt for Henry, an empty sippy cup, a little bag with raisins and Cheerios, a few matchbox cars, a bag of crayons and a little notepad, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen.

One the side of the pantry cabinet, to the left of the bulletin board, I hung a wire basket. That is where library books live. The girls are free to get them out and read them anytime, but as soon as they are done, the books go back in the basket rather than on their bookshelf (or anywhere else). This makes it easy to find them when they are due, and is also a good reminder to me to return them!

Speaking of books - see Sophia's reading caterpillar on the top of the bulletin board? He gets a circle for every book she reads on her own. When he gets to the end, we're having a party!

One more easy solution... I got this from my friend Holly, and I think it's just brilliant! When the weather is nice, we go to the zoo all the time - it is close to our house, and we have a membership so we can go however many times we want and often go for just an hour or two. But I never seem to have tokens (or dollar bills for buying tokens) for riding the train, and Davis can never find his zoo card... So I got this cute little wallet, and in it I put our zoo card, a bunch of zoo tokens, a few dollar bills (for lemonade!), and coupons I have for free stuff at the zoo that we get when we renew our membership. Now when Davis or I head to the zoo - we just grab the zoo wallet off the bulletin board and have everything we need!

There are days that I spend hours on Pinterest, looking at amazing mud rooms and beautiful big houses with lots of storage space, thinking about how nice it would be to have more space than stuff... but really, I am content with our little space for now, and it works.

More Solutions

Just like trying to find first aid supplies when they are most needed, finding a pen when the lady on the phone starts rattling off a phone number is equally hard at our house. I've seen this idea several places, so it is not mine, I just don't remember where I've seen it.

I took a small metal canister (Starbucks sells mints and things in them - this one came from Trader Joe's via the Easter Bunny), spray painted it (I've seen much cuter versions with paper modge-podged on them and/or ribbons) and then hot glued a magnet to the back. Now I have a pen and pencil that permanently live on the fridge.

For more about how I menu plan for the week, click here. Our grocery bill has gone up since I wrote that post, now that the girls are older and we've added a little boy with a VERY healthy appetite to our family. But I still do things the same way, and it works well for us. This past weekend, I bought $207 worth of groceries, and then handed the cashier my Kroger card and stack of coupons, and watched the total drop to $126. It's not Extreme Couponing, but I also don't have 8 hours to prepare for a grocery trip, nor do I desire to have stacks of body wash piled up in my living room (a friend of mine the other day said, "the only difference between Hoarders and Extreme Couponers is how well organized their stuff is" - ha ha! So true!)

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I also wanted to get the kids really into the habit of doing their chores toward the end of summer vacation, so they would already be in the habit when school started. And yes, I start my children early with plenty of chores - Henry even helps clean up his room and take his clothes to the laundry room, like his sisters did at his age. I just think it's easier to get them started when they are still at the age that they like being helpful!

We have a giant bulletin board (you can see it here) divided into sections for each of the kids. I made little lists for each of the girls with their names and days of the week written on them, and then laminated them, so I could write in their chores (they change every couple of months) and fill in the circles every day with an overhead projector erasable marker

Along with their daily chores, the kids each have Saturday jobs.

The girls are pretty good now about some of these chores - they usually make their beds and take their dirty clothes to the laundry room without being reminded, and they like the satisfaction of having colored in circles enough that they will do their other chores too.

Amelia loves dusting! I collect old socks that have lost their partners, turn one inside out and slip it on her hand - and that girl will go to town on bookshelves and baseboards!

Small Solutions

As I've mentioned a couple of times lately, I started to get nervous about this fall - having two kids in school, a toddler (a very active toddler!) at home, and a newborn (on top of all the normal work-life balance issues I deal with anyway). So I have been working hard to come up with simple ways to simplify and organize our lives. I thought I would share a couple of the small solutions I've come up with - having things organized helps my mind feel more in order!

1. The First Aid Kit

Anyone who knows my husband understands that a well-stocked first aid kit is vitally important in our house! I first started stock-piling wound-care products when we were dating, and now that I have birthed his children - some of whom take after him in the injury-prone department - I make sure we have everything we need for small emergencies at our house.

The problem was, whenever we urgently needed a butterfly bandage or tweezers, we would dig through a big unruly box of wrong-sized band aids, and never find what we needed. No matter how many times I tried to organize our first aid kit, or buy nifty divided boxes at the Container Store - it wasn't long before someone in search of a piece of gauze turned the whole thing into a mess again!

Well, check this out

I ordered this clear shoe holder (small enough that it hangs higher than toddler hands can reach) for the inside of the bathroom closet door.

It makes me so happy every time I open the closet now, and it even motivated me to clean our and organize the rest of the bathroom closet. Now when an emergency strikes, no more frantic riffling through a bunch of junk to find what we need.

We also have a big emergency kit in the laundry room, which never gets touched (it's for BIG emergencies - you can read more about it here). I just bought this prepackaged kit, and then we have extra gallons of water and food, etc. in the same cabinet.

2. The Car

I remember before I had kids, I was very picky about keeping my car clean. I swore I would NOT become one of "those" moms with the french fries on the mini van floor. Ha ha ha! Well, I don't have a mini van, and french fry consumption in our car is very limited, but still, it's really hard to keep the car clean with three little kids!

One thing that drove me crazy, is that my SUV has a giant console between the driver's seat and passenger's seat - we always joke that it could fit an 8th passenger in there! The problem with it being so big, is that it was hard to keep track of all the stuff that accumulated in there. If we emptied it out, we always ended up needing a Kleenex and not having one in the car.

Well, check this out

These pouches are pretty small, so I can also grab one and stick it in the diaper bag, if for example we're headed to the doctor's office and need some snacks or activities to keep everyone happy while we wait.

The only other thing in the console now, beside these bags, is the remote for the DVD and this small notebook/pen.

Our glove compartment is big too, so I separated paperwork into two plastic envelopes that are easy to grab if needed. The Emergency Information sheet contains all of our names with our pictures and dates of birth, our insurance information, medical information (drug allergies, etc.), and contact information for our families.

Insurance and Registration is so Davis can easily get to it when he gets pulled over. Ha ha! I just totally jinxed myself by thinking about how many years it's been since I've been pulled over...

Coupons, Grocery Shopping, Menu Planning

You know those people who say saving money is like a game to them? That they just love finding ways to save money? That clipping coupons, finding sales, and getting a good deal gives them a high? Well, I'm not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I do want to save my family money, and it feels good to get a really great deal on something, but it's not something I derive a great deal of joy from. Clipping coupons and all that jazz is just a chore to me.

But I think the economy has affected us all... and choosing a job that allows me time with my family over one that pays as well, and of course the expenses of Sophia's out-of-state medical care, have made it more of a necessity for me to try to save us money.

I have come a long way. One thing that always drove me crazy was throwing away food at the end of the week. And one thing I do have fun doing is menu planning. So I've gotten good at choosing recipes that use many of the same ingredients. So, if I buy a stalk of celery, I will use up all of it by the end of the week. I vary up our meals, so that we usually have one chicken dish, one vegetarian dish, one pasta dish, one red meat dish, etc. throughout the week, but I do chose dishes that contain some of the same things - like parsley - so that nothing goes to waste.

Usually I will go to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays and pick up whatever looks extra yummy - this week it was beets, black-eyed peas, red onions, yellow onions, sweet potatoes (and lots of fruit). Then on Saturday night I sit down and, using those ingredients plus things I know are on sale an/or I have coupons for, and depending on our schedules and what I feel like, I plan out our meals for the week and make my grocery list.

Then I go grocery shopping Sunday nights after the girls are in bed.

I have figured out how to save money at the grocery store, even though I hate it. I used to spend $200 or more a week for our family of four. I know there are families of ten that claim to spend less than half of that, and I'd love to know what they buy, because as hard as I try, I cannot get it down that low. We do eat fresh produce every day and meat almost every day. But I'm also a brand snob, unfortunately. I've tried, I really, really have, but it just proved to me that nothing gets my clothes as clean at Tide and nothing gets my dishes as clean as Cascade and nothing stops leaks and diaper rashes on my kids like Pampers. So I started clipping coupons, stocking up when things were on sale, and really paying attention to when/where I bought things. And I've got my week grocery bill to around $80, which is a huge improvement over $200+ With $20-30 at the Farmer's Market added to that, I'm right around $100 (but that does include some non-food items, like diapers, which should be disappearing from our grocery bill any day now!!!)

So here's how I cut my bills in half, while still buying the same things:

I use the Sunday paper, the coupon mailer in the mail, online coupons and all other sources (like Pampers coupons in the box, and I sign up to get coupons from P&G and other companies that sell my favorite brands - check out all their websites for offers and to get on their mailing lists). I shop at Kroger (LOVE them! They always double coupons, they have cheaper Pampers than anyone else) - if you have a Kroger card, be sure your address is updated (you can do it online) because they will send you personalized coupons...last week I got a free pound of baby carrots and a free big box of Cheerios! Also, we have a coupon club at work - everyone brings in their coupons that they didn't use and puts them in a big basket - I get lots of duplicate coupons there.
I go through all of the sources and cut out every coupon that is for a product that I normally buy (don't clip coupons for stuff you wouldn't otherwise buy!)

You won't use your coupons if you don't organize them, so I have a little plastic envelope thing I got in the dollar section of Target - it has dividers in it, and I organize my coupons in that... one section for food, one for household items, one for baby items, one for medicines, etc. But I leave the very front pocket empty.

I have plans to wrap my little coupon holder in adorable fabric and decorate it... one of many, many plans that is just waiting for a little free time!

When I make my grocery list, as I decide which coupons I need to use that week, I move those coupons to the front pocket of my coupon holder - that way I have all of them ready to go at the store. I also weed out any coupons that have expired that week. If there's one that's about to expire, sometimes I'll go ahead and use that if it's something I can stock up on, even if I don't need it right then (like my toothpaste).

I only buy what's on my grocery list, except... If I'm at the store, I might notice that peanut butter is on sale AND I remember that I have a coupon for it - so I move that coupon into the front pocket and get one (or more) to stock up.

Right now I think the most useful thing about my pre-law school education is that I am really good at cramming lots of random information into my head. So I pretty much have the contents of my coupon envelope memorized - that way as I'm scanning the store for sales, I can be sure to catch things that are on sale and that I have a coupon for. This way I'm always stocked up on things like laundry detergent, and I never have to buy them without a coupon or a sale.

So there... most of you probably spend less than me at the grocery store, but those are my money saving tips nonetheless ha ha! And now, for some random weekend pictures (because I have a feeling I won't have much time for blogging this week - so this will have to last you a few days)...

Don't you love Amelia's monkeys? I love them, because she loves them - when she puts this outfit on, she starts bouncing around yelling "my Georgie!" (Curious George - she calls all monkeys Georgie).

Sophia's best friend Zoe came over Sunday to play. There is nothing sweeter than these two together - they've been BFF since they were barely two years old. They mostly played in the yard today, doing fun things like trying to make honey with flowers and water.

Some day very soon I'll share the recipe for this very LARGE pound cake, which was eaten by my family and the nurses on Baby T's floor all in one day - yes, it's that yummy.

As Sophia has been singing non-stop this weekend... and so I praise the Lord for giving me the things I need - the sun and the rain and the appleseed, the Lord's been good to me!