Reasons to Rake Leaves with Your Kids

Sometimes it’s hard to get your children to help out with yard work. If you can show them how fun it is, the chances of them participating increase tenfold. Raking leaves is the perfect cleanup activity for a wide variety of age groups. The folks over at Mommy Lounge have put together 13 reasons why kids should rake leaves. Here’s our favorite:

The special treat you get afterwards: After an hour or two its always nice to reward yourself for a job well done. Some hot chocolate, tea, coffee (not for the kids) and some delicious cookies would work perfectly.

Craft Time: Can Cozies

This fun project was posted by Maria over at Parenting Hacks. I think it’s both a great activity and a headache saver… with a personalized cozie it’s easy to tell who left their soda can by the couch! Cozies are also great for keeping hands warm while the soda stays cool. Try using this activity at the beginning of a birthday party to label cups. Bonus: kids can take them home as party favors!

One rainy day at the craft store, my kids picked up a couple of foam drink cozies to decorate. They had a blast decorating with stickers and markers. Now they use them all the time.

The Truth About Sponges

I’ve heard all sorts of tips on when to throw away sponges. From don’t use them at all, to toss them in the micro to kill off bacteria. I happen to be a fan of sponges and use them for all types of cleaning. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited to find this tip from the Unclutterers blog:

In our household, we discovered a trick: the Good Clean sponge [for dishes] is used as-is, straight out of the package. When it gets downgraded to the Wiping Sponge [for kitchen counters and the table], we cut one of the corners off. When the sponge gets downgraded again to a Skunging Sponge [the dregs of cleaning], we cut another corner off. This way, each sponge is easily identifiable by its shape. People who have more than 3 life cycles for their sponges could adapt this by cutting off additional corners as the sponge continues to move down the ranks.

Thank you Kathryn for that wonderful solution!

Give up your TV Addiction

I admit it. I have a TV addiciton. Not my own shows, mind you. I’m addicted to Nick Jr and Sprout. I even watch certain children’s shows when my kids are out of the house! When I first came to this conclusion I surfed around the net (another addiction!) for some tips on how I could curb my craving and set a good example for the kids. Luckily I found this set at dumblittleman.com:

Try 30 days without TV.
Journal your progress.
Insert good habits.
Keep a list of tasks around to keep your mind off the TV.

10 More Uses for an Empty Jar

A few days ago I posted a tip on how you can create craft storage out of old jars. BusyMomsOnline.com has a list of even more things you can create. Looking forward to trying out their craft idea for a Beach in a Jar!

Beach in a jar - This is a fun project for kids who have been to the beach recently and gathered seashells. Simply put some sand in the bottom of the jar, and add lots of shells and some driftwood. A larger shell can be glued to the lid for a finishing touch.

Become a Frugaly Green Family

It’s hard to imagine when you go into a health food store that being “organic” can be cheap. Sometimes it seems that eating healthy is eating expensive. But being green minded is more than being organic. It’s about not being wasteful, it’s about avoiding or reusing disposable items. SimpleMom.net has a great list of frugal ways to become a greener family:

Reuse Plastic Bags
As I mentioned earlier, plastic grocery bags are our garbage bags. We also do what we can to use reusable shopping bags. If I’m visiting a local produce vendor in our neighborhood, the bottom basket of our stroller works perfectly - no bag needed at all.

How to Pretend Your House is Always Clean

Michelle over at BlissfullyDomestic.com had some great tips to share about sudden cleaning. You know, the cleaning you do when your mother-in-law says she’ll be over in 5 minutes for a quick visit with the grandkids. Well now, using these tips from Michelle, you can make the most out of those five minutes! My favorite tip:

Swiffer Wet Jet is your friend.

How to Clean a Minor Cut

Children are forever falling, getting scrapes and bruises. That’s why it’s important to keep this tip from BlissfullyDomestic.com close at hand:

Carefully and thoroughly clean wounds with warm water and soap, working from the inside out and going beyond the actual wound area so that the bandage sits on clean skin. Pat dry the area with a sterile gauze pad and carefully apply antibiotic ointment, and cover with a sterile bandage. When applying a bandage it is crucial not to touch the white pad that covers the cut; it is sterile and touching it would introduce potentially harmful bacteria.

Get Your Child to Take His Medicine

I remember when my son contracted pneumonia at 2 years old. That was one of the worst ordeals I have ever been through. On top of general worry, there was the need to get medicine into him every 2 hours, and feeling as yucky as he did, he was not a very willing participant. Battling the will of a stubborn 2 year old is never easy on the best of days. Thank heavens for this tip from Parents2parent.com:

Break them and crush them or indeed take the beads out of the capsule and put it in syrup, honey , yoghurt, nutella or any other thing your child thinks is yummy and give small amounts at a time. Remember when you do this you may affect the strength of the medication but at least you get it in. You might need to strike a deal to get it in.

Encourage Toy Sharing During Playdates

Despite having a best friend to come over and play, your preschooler may balk at letting little Johnny play with his favorite fire truck. Or anything else for that matter. Here are some tips for encouraging toy sharing from Surfnetparents.com:

Prepare some extra activities

While this is a good idea to do anyway, they can come in extremely handy when children begin to fight over toys. It’s always nice to have a change of pace for a while so that’s why extra activities work great. Things like reading books together, playing with play dough or some type of kinesthetic activity or water painting, and one of the best activities for young children is sand and water. Kids will come up with a million things to do with sand and water, or even just water. It doesn’t matter what you decide to prepare, just as long as you have some extra fall back activities to change things up a little.

Reclaim “Me Time”

Did you ever wonder where all of that “me time” went? You remember it don’t you? Those times when you were able to read a book, watch CSI or just take a nap. You don’t have to wait until your children are 18 to reclaim this precious time.

How often do experts say we need that mental recuperation? Moms should have at least 15 to 20 minutes of “me” time a day to decompress, especially between afternoon and evening, says health psychologist Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D., author of The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood. Then about once a week you need a longer block of time to get out and do something for yourself.

The folks at Parenting.com have put together some information on discovering what you should make room for in your day. Without it, you can’t be SuperMom to anyone.

Create a Great Guest Bedroom

Last year we purchased our first house. It came with three bedrooms, one for us and one for each of the boys. As the children were still young, we thought that it would be best for them to share for a while. When they were ready to make choices about decorating their own rooms, we would move them into seperate rooms. In the meantime though, that extra bedroom has become a refuge for visiting family. As my husbands family lives far away, creating the best guest bedroom (with tips from Moms Buzz!) has been our way of helping them save money.

Special Touches for the Guest Room
An assortment of perfumes offers a touch of luxury.
Comfortable terry robe and slippers add a special touch along with oak or satin padded hangers.
Thirsty white terrycloth or Turkish towels enfold guests in full comfort and coziness.
A collage of nice family portraits or posters to personalize the room.
Chilled wine or champagne to welcome them to their new bedroom.
A bowl of fine chocolates by their nighttable or chest.
A TV set.

Reduce Lint Trips

Lifetips.com had this little gem for saving a few moments every time you do laundry:

Keep an empty tissue box on or near your clothes dryer to put the lint in each time you empty the lint screen. Also, put used dryer sheets in the tissue box. When the box gets full, dispose of it — instead of carrying a handful of lint from each dryer load to the garbage can.

Remember, little things can sometimes add up to a lot. Before you know it, you may have time to enjoy that extra cup of coffee!

How to Help the Teen who Has ADD/ADHD

These tips were found at Helpful Hints for the Parents of Teens and were specific to parents of children who suffer from ADD/ADHD. I found that they were just as helpful for jr high students and those without learning disabilities but who tend to be a bit disorganized.

** Have your child tackle the most difficult homework assignment first. If left until the last to be done your child could stretch out the other work he or she has in order to prolong the assignment.

** Have your child keep a planner. This shouldn’t be too difficult as most schools now provide them. Make sure your child is keepingit up to date so they do not have to rely on their memory.

** Make sure your child has a neat and organized space in which to do their homework. Stock it with all the supplies they may need; pencils, paper and books.

** Make sure your child keep a organized backpack. Empty old homework and assignments out of their folder on a daily basis.

It’s More than an Egg Carton

My husband always grumbles that egg cartons take up too much space in the recycling bin. So, instead of recycling them I found some great tips over at frugaldad.com for him to try. So now he’s trying to find recipes for all our eggs so he can try some out! Here’s his favorite:

Make fire starter briquettes. Looking for a good use for a pile of sawdust from your latest home improvement project? Melt some wax in a big pot, mix in a little sawdust, and pour the wax into the bottom of an egg carton. When the wax cools you are left with little fire starter cakes that are great to take along camping, or use in the backyard fire pit.

Reuse Old Album Covers

If you have some old album covers hanging around the house that you can’t get rid of, perhaps you can turn them into something useful: Wall organizers! Paper and Stitch has step-by-step instructions on how you can create delightful and practical pockets for storing bills, artwork and more:

I am on an endless quest to keep myself organized at home, especially in my studio/office, which is quite small since I share the space with my love. Anyway, our office is the only room in the house that we have neglected to paint and I wanted to come up with a way to make it cheerfully colorful AND organized. This is what I came up with…

Using Technorati

Have you ever used Technorati.  I just registered momliving.com there.  What will it do?

Technorati Profile

Bring Back Family Game Night

I can’t wait for my children to be old enough to participate in Family Game night. Growing up these evenings were always my favorite. We each had our favorites - I was a Trivial Persuit fan, my sister loved Life, Mom was a Scrabble and Boggle nut, and my Dad played chess. We had competitions to see who held the gaming crown. It was so much fun. BlissfullyDomestic.com has put together a list of different games that are great to play on Family Game night. Here’s one I can’t wait to try out:

Upwords- Along the same vein, this is another fabulous word puzzle game, but with a twist. You build words just like Scrabble, but you can build up and up (five letters high) to change words into new words. The more you stack, the more points you earn. I think it is more challenging than Scrabble, but the scoring is much easier to do. This game is for two players or more and recommended for ages eight and up. This game can be a powerful tool when your children are beginning to read because it can help teach them how to change words using different letters. Consider it a cheap version of “Hooked on Phonics” and a game that they can enjoy for years after they have learned to read!

Find the Perfect Credit Card for You

My husband and I paid down our credit cards years ago. So it came as quite a shock when we went to buy a house and the mortgage broker told us we would get a better response if we had more revolving credit. Thankfully we were able to get a great deal despite the fact that we liked to pay cash. If you’re in the market for a new or better credit card, then I suggest you check out BillShrink. Here’s why:

Our technology compares your usage against all the offerings in the market, and highlights your best options. This empowers you to make an informed choice.

Reuse Old Lemons

Being the frugal moms that we are, it’s good to know that some food items have multiple uses. Lifetips.com provides us with this handy hint:

If you´ve got a lemon that´s a little past its prime, cut it in quarters and run it through your sink disposal to freshen your drain.

See - those lemons aren’t just for making lemonade!

Reduce Stress When Hiring a Contractor

We purchased our first house this last April and I’m gleefully looking forward to starting some house renovation projects. But there are two obstacles in my way: a lack of time and horror stories about contractors. Finding time in my hectic life is going to require the combination of a couple of tips and tricks but I may be able to solve the contractor issue with this tip from Handytipsandhints.com:

handy tip is to find the right web site that can give you the necessary information you need as you look for the right contractor. ServiceSpider.com is a web site that can be very handy when it comes to this issue or concern. They connect homeowners and local contractors for free.

Composting Made Easy

Even items that are usually sent to the trash can be put to one more use by the frugal mom. Moms Living Green shows us that it’s not difficult at all to create our own compost from kitchen scraps. Added bonus: it may reduce your garbage bill as well!

First of all, we bought a plastic bin with a carbon filter to keep on the kitchen counter. That way for a few days at a time, I can just collect the kitchen scaps as I’m cooking. All kitchen scraps except for meat, dairy, eggs or oil can go into the compost. Vegetable and fruit scaps, peels, rinds, coffee grounds, filters, tea bags, etc. can all be composted. Rachel Ray keeps a “garbage bowl” on her counter when cooking. I do the same thing, it’s just a “compost bowl” at our house.

Organize your Chores

When I stumbled on this website I was so happy! Finally an unbiased solution to delegating chores! Introducing ChoreBuster.com a website that will help you create a chore schedule for every member of your family. ChoreBuster.com will even email you a new chore schedule every week or month!

Enter in people and chores
Specify how hard / undesirable each chore is, and how often it should be done
ChoreBuster automatically generates a fair schedule of chores
Schedule emailed to you daily or weekly - no need to log in

Helping Your Teen Cope with Depression

No teen is immune from depression. As parents we try to help kids out of a “funk” by engaging them in activities or asking questions. Sometimes though it becomes more than we can do alone. Teens have many influences, and we as parents, may not represent the most important influence in a time of crisis. That is why we should be vigilant in “knowing” our children. Your child may not tell you what is wrong, but if you remain aware of your child’s habits and routines, you can tell when you need to call in more help. This list of signs from helpfulhintsforparentsofteens.com will help you to assess whether your child is simply having a bad day or if its something more serious. Call for help if you notice any of the following:

Suicidal thoughts
Sleeping habits change
Crying often
Anger/Hostility
Agitation
No motivation
Cannot concentrate
Feeling of guilt or that they are not worth anything
Tired all the time
Sadness
Withdrawing from family and friends

Don’t Forget Your Pets

I spend lots of time trying to trim down the grocery bills based on what myself, DH and the kids will and will not eat. I plan out crock-pot meals, clip coupons and create menus around what’s on sale this week. But for some reason I am never frugal when it comes to pet care. I have two very spoiled, very overweight Persian cats who have sensitive tummies. In the past I’ve always been willing to splurge for the good cat food so I can avoid the cat vomit that I will undoubtedly step in at 3am in the morning (YUCK!) However, over at Blissfully Domestic, they’ve put together a list of ways you can save money on your pet - even if you have finicky pets like mine.

Head Online for Pet Medications- As with hair care products at the salon, you can get pet medications for a lot less anywhere but your vet’s office. I’d been buying heart worm prevention medicine from my vet for years, and only recently checked into 1-800-Pet-Meds and PetCareRX. Both offer free standard shipping and I saved at least 20 percent over my vet’s office. Geesh, what took me so long to switch over?

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