Grocery Lists and Christmas Cards

I am well aware that grocery lists and Christmas cards don't typically go together.  However, in my house, they kinda do!  Inside my pantry door, I have a dry erase board hanging with my grocery list and that is also where I keep all of my Christmas cards after the holiday is over.

The dry erase board is where I jot down anything that I run out of that needs to go on my grocery list.  I keep a dry erase marker on the top shelf of the pantry so I can grab it quickly.  Any time I use or eat the last of something, someone in the family thinks of something they would like me to have from the store or I just have a thought of something I need to buy- I just jot in down quickly. And then when it is time to go to the store- I can look at my list and make my grocery list from it.  This dry erase board had a natural wood frame on it that I didn't like very much, so I just painted it dark brown to match some of the colors in my kitchen. Then I attached it to the door with stick-on Velcro strips. This allows me the flexibility to take it on and off when I need to.

And since my kids often stand with the pantry door open staring- last year I decided to put all of our picture Christmas cards in there for us to look at all year long.  That way they are not out cluttering up my refrigerator or put away in a drawer somewhere, but they are in a place that allows us as a family to enjoy them!  The kids often stand and look at them while they are trying to decide what they would like to eat as a snack.  I used double sided tape to stick them to the door. When Christmas is over next year, I will just change them all out for the new ones!  

Walker Stops Sucking His Thumb

Several months back, Walker had a visit to the dentist.  As soon as they looked into his mouth, they said "Does he suck his thumb?"  Well, of course, the answer was yes.  They said that there was no permanent damage YET, but that he really needed to stop before he started losing baby teeth and gaining permanent ones.  The doctor gave several suggestions.  All of which were very expensive!  I told him that the only time that Walker sucked his thumb was when he had his "teddy" in his hand.  And that we only let him have that in his bed when he was going to sleep.  Guess what the doctor suggested?  That it was time to get rid of the teddy.  Walker of course heard this conversation, but didn't say very much.  And he didn't mention it until I started talking to him about it later that afternoon.  Then the tears came. And the begging followed.  He was saying "Please mommy, don't take away teddy.  I just don't think I can sleep without him!"  And he was very, very serious.  It broke my heart!  So, when Chris got home, we talked about it and talked to Walker.  We decided to ask him if he had any solutions.  In the sweetest little voice, he said "Well, could I just wear gloves?"  We thought that was a great idea!  At least one worth trying!  So, he got some of his little winter gloves and put them on that night when he went to sleep.  I checked on him several times and each time, there was no thumb in his mouth!  And he hasn't sucked his thumb since!  It worked!  Who would have ever thought that something so inexpensive and so simple would break his thumb sucking habit?  I told several people that I think I need to market some gloves as "break the thumb sucking habit" gloves!  I am sure someone would buy them!  We were so proud of our little guy for being so creative and so thankful that we didn't have to make him give up his teddy.  And when we shared our progress with the dentist office, they were thrilled!

Here is our little guy with his favorite pair of Angry Bird gloves.

As he has stopped the habit, he has moved to gloves without the tips in them that he got for Christmas. Lol.  And even though I don't think he still needs to wear them, every night he puts his gloves on before he goes to bed.  We may have to break that habit someday!

Happiness is organization- Even if it is just jewelry!

Getting my jewelry organized was something that I had wanted to do for years!  And last year, I finally did it!! Now all of my jewelry is in one spot and is well organized! And it is right in my closet along with my clothes.  So when I pick out my outfit for the day, I can pick out my jewelry too! I was so happy when I first got it up that I kept going in my closet to look at it. It is always the small things in life that make me happy. No more tangled necklaces, no more time wasted looking for the match to an earring, no more wondering where that bracelet ended up- it is all where I can see it and wad free!  And to me- being organized is happiness.

All I did to make it was buy pegboard from Lowe's.  When I bought this a year or so ago, they sold pegboard with holes in two sizes.  One with smaller holes and one with bigger holes (no matter how many times I have asked how they measured these boards, no one could tell me the what the two hole size differences were distinguished other than small and large).  Originally, I bought the ones with smaller holes and found screws from Lowe's that screwed perfectly into them.  I spray painted the pegboard white and then hung it up on my wall.  That simple!  And I can move the screws around wherever I want to fit my different necklaces, bracelets, rings and the kind of earrings that clasp closed.  For earrings with hooks, I just slip them into the holes like the picture below shows.  

 After I made mine, I decided that they would probably be much prettier if they were framed.  So, this year for Christmas, I decided to make my mom and both of my sisters jewelry pegboards as their Christmas gifts.  The problem was that Lowe's, and every other store that I have checked, does not sell the smaller hole pegboards anymore.  They have all been discontinued.  And I could not find an affordable screw that fit into the giant holes in the pegboards that are currently being sold. But while I was at Hobby Lobby one day, I came upon a fabulous find- wooden pegs that fit into these holes perfectly!  And they were very affordable!  And even better, I realized that lots of smaller hardware stores will sell smaller, left-over pieces of pegboard at great prices.  I bought a few small pieces for just a couple of dollars at one in my parent's home town!  My dad and I used a jig saw to cut the pegboard to fit an oak wood frame that he had made many years ago.  My mom did not want to get rid of it because it was pretty and he had made it.  But she also didn't have anything to put in it for her wall.  So, I decided to use the frame to make one for her.  The wooden pegs that I bought were natural wood color and so was the pegboard.  We spray painted them both white, but you can often get either white or natural wood colored peg board. To paint the pegs, I took an old cardboard box and poked holes in it with a screw driver.  Then I put the pegs in the holes and spray painted them.  We ended up having to glue the pegs into the pegboard with wood glue in order for them to be able to hold the jewelry up.  So, with the pegs, we lost the ability to move the jewelry around like you can with the screws. I might eventually come up with a solution for that, but for now- they are just glued.  Here is how my mom's turned out.  She loved it!

And I also made one for each of my sisters.  Here is the picture of one of them.  I did it in silver and white to match her closet.  And when I did hers, I still had some of the smaller pegboard and so I used the screws with it. The screws did not look very pretty being silver, so I used the same technique with the cardboard box to spray paint her screws white.  My other sister's was white with a chocolate brown frame.  On both of these, I used old frames that my mom had given me.  I just sanded them a little bit and then put a few coats of paint on.  And now all of us have very organized jewelry!

And I think the very best part of all is that working on these while we were visiting my parents gave me some very special time with my dad.  It took me back to my childhood. When I was growing up, we always had some kind of project going on.  My poor mother was wonderful to let us use the kitchen table as a work space! My dad was a great wood craftsman and he could build just about anything.  Along with that comes a lot of experience with cutting, painting and staining.  So, I was so thankful that I got to have some time with him to do some of those things.  And he even shared some great tips with me!  One thing I learned was that when it comes to spray paint- frugal is not better.  He laughed at my cheap spray paint.  And he showed me the difference between how well my cheap paint covered the picture frames compared to how the more expensive paint he had covered them.  His took two coats.  Mine would have taken about 5!  It just shows that we are never too old to learn from our parents!  And that cheap paint is not always the best deal. 

I love to organize and to create things that are pretty.  And even more, I love to do these things with other people who love it.  This time with my dad was very special, especially since he is the one who ingrained in me the love for creating things in the first place.

Laundry Organization

I have to admit that I have really been struggling to get my laundry done on time.  I am able to wash it and dry it, but getting it folded and put away seems to allude me.  I have felt like we have been digging through baskets of clean clothes trying to find that pair of white leggings or that particular pair of socks a few too many times.  I have been wanting to buy stack-able laundry baskets for about a year now, but would never break down and spend the money.  Well, I finally broke down!  And I am so excited!  (I know, most people do not get excited about such things.)  I have been price comparing for a while trying to find what I wanted at the cheapest price.  But, I found that most of the stack-able laundry baskets are about the same price everywhere.  They range from $5-$7 and most of the time the price is directly related to their sturdiness and/or their size.  I finally decided on ones that I found at Wal-Mart. They are both sturdy and spacious!

They cost $6.97 each (not cheap).  The great thing about them is that they each have handles that allow them to either stack (when the handles are turned completely inward) or be carried individually (when the handles are turned up).  One side of each bin is dipped down so that things can be placed inside of them or removed from them while they are in the stacked position.  Wal-Mart also carries other bins that are a little bit smaller, but still the same style that come in the colors navy, purple and pink that are $5.97. (That might allow you to assign each family member a color)

I am going to leave my bins stacked beside of my dryer. Every time I take a load of clothes out, I am going to go ahead and fold the clothes and place them in the proper basket.  The top one is for my bedroom- mine and my husband's clothes.  The middle one is for our oldest daughter's bedroom since she has her own room.  And the bottom one is for the two youngest kids, whom also share a bedroom.  So that way I can keep them stacked until time to put clothes away. And then I have a basket for each room that can be carried with it's own handles.  If I see that I have more clothes than will fit in the baskets, then I may buy one or two more and divide the baskets up into individual people.  But right now, I think this is going to help to keep me so much more organized!  Now when I don't have time to put clothes away, we can at least quickly locate whatever item we are looking for!  And since I plan to fold the clothes straight from the dryer- hopefully they will not be loaded with wrinkles from being waded up in piles like they have been recently.  Although these are a little pricey, I think that the time it is going to save me in putting clothes away and not having to iron is going to far outweigh the price!