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{Tuesday Task Challenge} tackling the toy mess

November 13, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Is this your child? Taken from the Scholastic Book “My Messy Room.” Click to see more.

Ok, I’m going in. I’m going to tackle the toy mess. I have to! Can’t you see that countdown clock over there–>
Christmas is just 6 weeks away and my boys are going to get so many more toys! From grandparents, aunts, uncles … We tried to cut back. I should say, *we* have cut back on how much we purchase for Santa to give them, because we now know how much they are going to get from others. But there is still so much.

So here is what I’m doing, in steps.

First, I empty all the toy bins. We have a multi-colored bin unit, one sort of like this. Except mine was only $2 at a church yard sale!

And we have two big tubs. So I basically empty everything on to the floor. And start sorting.

I make sure that all puzzles have their pieces. That books can still be read. I put new batteries in most things, and test them, make sure they still work with batteries. This is no small task, even though I do it at least twice a year, er, three times. I try to do it at Christmas time and their birthdays, about a month before. I look at what is age appropriate, and what they don’t play with anymore–is it because they don’t like it, or forgot about it? I ignore pleas of “but that’s my best one!” if I know they are not going to play with it.

And these are my piles:

  • trash
  • resell or consign
  • donate
  • keep
  • keep, but in a bin in the basement, to rotate out

I like having a ‘rotate’ bin, because we have stretches from Christmas to a mid-March birthday, and then March to August-another birthday with no holidays in between. And, I’m not the type to buy new toys “just for so” when they already have so much. So I rotate to keep it fresh.

Then, I put everything back. There’s one “special” bin that holds most of our Melissa & Doug stuff, plus all of our good puzzles, all of the learning stuff, play-doh, markers, etc. The green bin can only come out with a grown-up. This helps keep our nicer things intact and all the pieces, plus it’s good for my son’s TSS or if they have a babysitter, they have an ace card to play if they need something to do. The boys love that bin because they don’t get to use it every day. And I don’t have Play-Doh and markers all over my house, or markers left without lids and so on.

If I don’t reappear on Wednesday with some blog posts, send a search party!

What are some of your tips for keeping toys organized?

 

Filed Under: Home Sweet Home, Kids & Families Tagged With: , ,

2 Meals in 1: Chicken and Potatoes

November 12, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

You will need to add to this meal to make it two in one but it is still so much nicer to have a meal that’s already partially done for you.

Day 1:

Baked chicken
Mashed potatoes
Favorite vegetable

Make 2 extra pieces of chicken, a few extra potatoes, and double the veggie!

After dinner, cut or tear up the chicken and put it in the crockpot.
Throw the mashed potatoes in.
Throw the vegetable in or chop it a little smaller.

If you want the meal ready to go, add –

Chop 1 medium – large onion
Dice 3 cloves garlic
Throw in some fresh or frozen veggies – peas, corn, carrots, celery, beans, green beans, etc.
Add 6 cups water and any seasonings you like.
Stick in the refrigerator overnight or cook overnight on low to reheat tomorrow evening.

Day 2:

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Either cook in the crockpot on low all day or cook through the night and refrigerate for the day.

Serve with a loaf of Italian bread, cornbread, or rolls.

 

Filed Under: Food & Recipes, Home Sweet Home, Reusing and Repurposing Ideas~eliminating wasteful purchasing Tagged With: ,

Great DIY gift idea for Christmas or Mothers’ Day~home made bath salts

November 8, 2012 by · 3 Comments

I saw this idea in a magazine. I think it would work well not just for the holidays, but also Mothers’ Day and if you have several gifts to get like teacher gifts, babysitters, stuff like that. It’s a gift that the kids can help you make and it won’t make too much of a mess either.

 

First, you’ll need some glass jars, preferably with a clamp-lid. Something like this, from Amazon:

 

Next you’ll need a container of epsom salts. This is a time to use up some Extra Bucks at CVS, Register Rewards at Walgreens or your UPs rewards at Rite Aid. They’re very inexpensive anyway, but why pay with cash if you don’t have to? This is also a time when you can save and buy store brand. Two pounds of epsom salts is only $3 at Walgreens, according to their online prices.

 

Next you’ll need a very light bath oil or mineral oil. Baby oil will do, just make sure you get unscented. Or not. Because what you’re going to do, if you wish, it to mix in 6-8 drops of an essential oil. But if you choose not to use an essential oil, then you will want the scent of the bath oil. I love essential oils and would like to recommend my friend Wendy. Keep her in mind if you do this for the holidays or end-of-school-year teacher gifts. I love their oils and they are great quality. Lavender is definitely my favorite. But there are many great options-patchouli, orange, eucalyptus, sandalwood, peppermint. Essential oils can also be found at Ulta, and they have a $3.50/$10 coupon in this week’s paper.

 

Recipe is: Mix 1 cup of Epsom salts with 4 oz of the bath/mineral oil and then 6-8 drops of the essential oils. Mix well in a bowl and put into the jars. You can then decorate the jars as much or as little as you wish. Have your little one tie a bow or put stickers on the jar. They can even paint them beforehand if you wish.



Filed Under: Home Sweet Home Tagged With: , ,

Superpoints suspends program immediately, November 7

November 7, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Superpoints put out notice today that they are suspending operations.

 

I would go claim whatever you can, right now!

 

Their message:

An important message from the Superpoints team:

Dear Superpoints members,

At the end of January, 2011 the current team began to manage operations of Superpoints.com on behalf of its owner, Superpoints, LLC, in the hopes that we could build a great rewards community. We did our best, but unfortunately Superpoints, LLC has decided to cancel our management relationship and take back management of the site.

Unfortunately we are forced to suspend access to Superpoints.com and members will no longer have access to the site as of 3:00 pm central time on November 7th, 2012. We’re saddened to have to take this action, but extenuating circumstances have forced our hand. We’ll do our best to complete fulfillments on a timely basis for those rewards claimed prior to the site’s suspension.

FAQ:

Will my pending redemption still be paid out?
Yes, we will do our best to fulfill all redemptions submitted to Superpoints.com prior to 3:00 pm CST on November 7, 2012.

Why are you making such drastic changes?
There are several changes happening in the management of the Superpoints website and the economic conditions around supporting a rewards site. Those changes have prompted the suspension of the Superpoints.com website.

What about my support email that you haven’t replied to?
At this time we do not have the resources available to respond to all the support emails. We will begin answering new support emails regarding redemptions but all prior emails will not be addressed. If you have any outstanding requests regarding redemptions, please contact us again and we will look into it. Requests outside of redemptions may or may not be responded to.

Is the site going down permanently?
The current team will no longer be the managing operator of the Superpoints.com domain and therefore we don’t have information as to whether or not Superpoints.com will resume service at a future date.

Filed Under: Work at Home Tagged With:
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