It's nearly back-to-school time, so be sure to check out some of my previous posts about that (like this one, this one, and this one). In the meantime, don't forget to enjoy the last gasp of summer with fun tips like this one! Here’s a quick and organized way to serve lunch to your kids. When my kids were little (and occasionally even now that they’re bigger), they loved the surprise of a muffin-tin lunch. The novelty of having several different foods in separate little compartments got them to try new things and to eat a more balanced meal.
After all, who doesn't like cute, tiny food and meals that give you a taste of everything? We grownups just call it tapas! You can put all kinds of things in the tins, but it works best for two kids (or as a snack for 3-4, dividing the holes by row) with each child getting 6 muffin holes-worth of food. Pictured here is a lunch of salami, tortilla chips and salsa, Kalamata olives, cheddar cheese, and watermelon spears. Other cute ideas are mini-salads, trail mix, crackers and cheese, nuts, beans, dried fruit, baby pickles, sandwich bites, whatever will fit. Even small servings of soup, pudding, or mac & cheese will work. Let your creative juices flow and see how excited your kids will be to eat lunch!
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Do you, your children, or your coworkers have trouble staying on time with tasks? Try using a Time Timer, an innovative timer design that shows a visual representation of time elapsing that's easy to see at a glance. Use a Time Timer for:
Best of all, there's a Time Timer for everyone because they come in lots of sizes, several colors, an app, and a desktop version. In fact, I'm using a Time Timer on my computer desktop right now so I don't dawdle the night away fine-tuning the details of this blog post!] .August is right around the corner and, for parents of school-age kids, that means back-to-school time.
Get your family ready with this handy, printable checklist from Smead. If you prefer not to print it to cut down on paper clutter, just save the PDF file on your computer or phone. It's a pretty thorough list, so you won't forget any pesky little tasks. The checklist breaks down the tasks by when they should be completed, so you can simply glance at the chart to see what you need to do this week or this month. [NOTE: One thing I disagree with on the timeline is buying supplies 2 weeks before the start of school. Most parents know that stores begin featuring back-to-school supplies in July, so if you wait until mid-August, stocks will have been pretty depleted. Why not get that task out of the way as soon as possible?] Using a checklist like this will make it easier to get ready for school while still holding onto the summer fun. My 9-year-old daughter seems to be a chip off the old block – not only is she a crafter but she also likes organizing. “Yikes!” say my husband and 14-year-old daughter. Today’s post is a little encouragement from her to you.
The other day, she made this “Savers” truck and asked me to put it on my site. Of course, I couldn’t resist. She says it’s to remind you that Savers is “The best way to get rid of things.” If you don’t have a Savers donation center and thrift store in your area, you probably have a Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other donation center nearby. Why are these the best way to get rid of things? 1. They are conveniently located (pick one that’s close to home or on your usual route) so you’re more likely to follow through with your de-cluttering goals. 2. By donating to a thrift store, you’re benefitting your community by giving others the opportunity to buy at a low price your high quality, gently used items. 3. Most of these charities also offer pick-up services (hence, the truck) so you delete an errand from your To Do list and schedule them to come to your door and pick up your donations. Be inspired: put a box or bag near your front door, fill it this week with things you no longer need, and bring it to Savers right away! Way back in the fall, I wrote about how to set up a system to deal with all those pesky papers that come home from school.
The basic weekly system is this: 1. Immediately deal with any notifications (add to calendar, write a check, sign a form). 2. Recycle anything not worth saving (worksheets, scribbles, spelling tests, coloring pages). 3. Display this week’s artwork and accomplishments in your temporary display space (fridge, frame, bulletin board, clothesline strung across a window). 4. Stash last week’s displayed work in an art portfolio or other bin.* *This is the time to weed out anything that, after one week’s display, can be recycled. Try to save only the best items, such as the unusually detailed drawing, the very clever essay, or the spelling/math test that was a true victory. Now that you’ve been diligently checking the backpack every week and keeping up with all the papers, what do you do with the stash that has accumulated in the portfolio? That’s what we’ll tackle today! Are you worried about the influx of gifts that could be coming your way, or your children’s way, during the holidays? Concerned about incorporating new things into an already crowded home?
A great way to prepare for the holidays (also for birthdays) is to do a quick sweep through the house and find a few excess items you can part with to make room for new gifts. If you know people like to give you certain types of items (clothes, candles, lotions, food), you might just glance at your closet, bathroom, or pantry and see if there are a few things you could use up or donate in the next week or so to make a little room on your shelves so any new items can easily be incorporated into your home. For children, this is a great way for them to learn how to be discerning with their toys and possessions. They can see which things stand the test of time and become favorites, and which toys might have seemed so desirable during a fad but are now rarely used (because they weren’t that great) or broken (because they weren’t well made). Children can also feel good about participating in the spirit of giving by donating their used-but-still-usable toys to worthy charities. This doesn’t have to be a huge chore. Just grab a shopping bag and a wastebasket, take five to ten minutes to check one or two areas (shelf, closet, drawer, etc.), and put the no-longer-needed items either into the shopping bag for donation or into the wastebasket if they’re really trashed. Happy Halloween, fellow parents of trick-or-treaters!
Although technically candy is consumable, the size of the haul your kids bring home on Halloween can put it into the category of clutter. How do you deal with it all? Well, you could just not deal with it and let the kids keep and eat as much as they want. My main problem with this strategy is that having so much candy in the house is way too tempting for my husband and me! (The kids won’t notice anything missing, right?) OK, so assuming you’d like to tame the candy beast a bit, here are some strategies that work for me: The kids have been back in school for about a month and a half now and, especially if you have preschool or elementary-school-age children, the papers they bring home are starting to accumulate. If you want to get a handle on this influx, you’ll have to be systematic and ruthless! Your set-up should include two things:
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