Gratituesday: Books

I thought I would join in on Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday Challenge and share something I am grateful for today. I am thankful for books. I enjoy reading and if I didn't have other things to do would spend a good portion of the day doing just that! I love fiction (Christian mostly) and non-fiction. Cookbooks, organizing books, homemaking books, homeschooling books, craft books... you name it, I love them.

Just last night I finished The Shack by William Young. It's a tear jerker to be sure! While I take my nightly walk I listen to an audio book. I am almost done with A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. A great treat... why did I wait so long to give it a try?!

Of course, the one book that is always on my bedside table is my Bible. While I read plenty of books, the Bible is the one book that I will never "finish". And for that I am grateful! I always hate it when a good book ends!

Sometimes I just read for entertainment. Sometimes I read to learn something. Sometimes a book really changes the way I think about something. The following are some of the books I have read in the past few years that have really challenged me. I used to view the world quite a bit differently than I do now, thanks in part to these books.

• Money: The Two-Income Trap: why middle-class mothers and fathers are going broke by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi AND The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
• Cleaning: Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
  
• Coupons: Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom by Stephanie Nelson
• Feminism: The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality by Mary Pride
• Contraception: A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ by Rick and Jan Hess
• Children: Children: Blessing or Burden by Max Heine
• Assisted Reproduction: Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction is Changing Our World by Liza Mundy
• School: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
• Our Government: Every Knee Shall Bow: The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family by Jess Walter
• Conservatism: Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative Counterculture and Its Return to Roots by Rod Dreher
• Food: More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre
• Islam: America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It by Mark Steyn
• Self Sufficiency: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
• Just About Everything: The Bible

Want to read more Gratituesdays? Head over to Heavenly Homemakers.

Seasonal Cleaning: Kid Bedroom(s)

Here's where we part ways! If you "see a fork in the road, take it" kind of thing. I'm pretty sure what I do in kids bedrooms isn't what you will do or want to do in kid bedrooms, and you know what... that's okay! I'm not saying you have to do it my way. I'm just tossing out there what I do and if you can pick out an idea here and there that works for you, great!

My intentions aren't to get you to do things the way I do them. You should get your rooms organized and cleaned your way. If it truly doesn't bother you to have clutter or dust... carry on! BUT if you do want things neater or cleaner then do something about it! What I hear the most is that people do want to change; they do want a cleaner, more organized house... they just don't know where to start. Well, the first step to is to start doing things differently than you are now. That works with anything... saving money, getting healthy, or organizing your house!

Now, onto the kid's rooms... they are a bedroom so it's going to be very similar to the master bedroom except for the toys... ahh, the toys! So use the master bedroom checklist for the cleaning part, I'm not going to repost the whole thing again here. You should know the drill now anyway, clean the WHOLE room... top to bottom... every surface.

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Fall Cleaning: Kid's Bedroom(s)
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1. Window treatments 2. Bedding, flip mattress 3. Ceiling fan and light fixture 4. Ceilings and walls 5. Door and door frame 6. Blinds 7. Window and frame 8. Vacuum carpet including under furniture and along wall 9. Dust furniture front, back, and sides 10. Dust stuff on walls and shelves 11. Clean mirrors 12. Vents and light switches 13. Baseboards

14. Don't put back any items that aren't used or don't belong! Keep only a few items on top of dressers. This makes it much easy to clean on a regular basis. Group small items together in baskets or containers so you can pick them all up at once when it's time to dust. Empty each drawer and return only necessary items. Donate and toss appropriately.

16. Closet time: Take everything out of the closet. Wipe down shelves, dust the ceiling and walls. Vacuum. Have 3 boxes ready as you go through the closet: trash, give-away, and storage. Only keep the items that currently fit. Store clothes that are too big or too small somewhere else. At the very least get everything off the floor and vacuum, dust the closet corners, and look through the clothes to donate any unwanted items or remove items of the wrong size.

I like to hang all shirts. I find that folded clothes just don't stay tidy with little kids around. If we had a bit more closet space I would hang pants too but since I have four kids sharing one closet I don't have the space. We fold pants and keep them on shelves in the closet. Pajamas, underwear, and socks go in drawers. We have one five drawer dresser in the boys room and one three drawer plastic cart on wheels in their closet. Drawer 1 of the dresser is eldest son's underwear, drawer 2 is his jammies, drawer 3 is all older boys socks, drawer 4 is my twin's underwear, and drawer 5 is twin jammies. The three drawers in the closet are toddler undies and socks, jammies, and pants. All shoes are in a large laundry basket on the floor of the closet. I color code the clothes on hangers. Go ahead... call me crazy, but it's nice to know at a glance whose stuff is whose.

clothes on color coded hangers
(in the closet at our old house)

The baby's closet set up is a bit different. I don't really like it but it's what we've got. He's got two closets in his room. One with two rods and the other with just shelves. His clothes go on the bottom rod in the hanging closet (and in his drawers). I keep a few out of season shirts for each boy and spare hangers on the top rod. The shelves hold baby toys that are currently out of rotation, crib bedding, cloth diaper supplies, and a few odds 'n ends. The bottom of the closet holds a huge draw string bag that I made out of a sheet. This is where we keep all extra stuffed animals that aren't being cuddled with.

17. The easiest way to keeps kids rooms clean is to keep toys elsewhere. Don't store toys in the bedrooms at all. Bedrooms are for sleeping! I know this may sound radical to many of you, but toys are what usually create the messes in kid's rooms. If you must store toys in the kid's rooms, don't keep every toy they own in there, just keep a select few (we do have a small toy box in the baby's room with baby toys). Rotate them. Use containers to help keep things tidy. If you're overwhelmed reading this, think how your kids feel. Seriously, kids have too much stuff!

If you are honest with yourself, I am sure you will admit your child(ren) have way more than they use or play with on a regular basis. Christmas is coming and that means new toys are coming. The first step is to not get them so much in the first place. Unfortunately, we didn't learn that lesson until our oldest was almost grown but the younger boys are benefiting from our new ways.

This year consider cutting back on the "stuff" and putting the money you save in a savings account instead. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hand your child a bit of money when they buy their first car or set up their first apartment? They will appreciate that a lot more than another Barbie or Match Box car. For me, it's sad to see a child opening gift after gift on Christmas morning (or a birthday) as they just toss aside the new toy and move on to the next package. "No time to look at it kiddo, hurry up, there's more to open!" What are we teaching our children? Anyway, if you choose to get rid of some toys, consider donating them. This year, especially, it could really make a difference!

So, where are all the toys if they aren't in the kids rooms? I'll post more about my toy solutions in another post. Here's a quick peek:18. Nothing should be stored loose on the floor (books, videos, toys, clothes, etc.). Find a home for these items-use baskets, shelves, drawers, plastic storage containers, or even cardboard boxes.

19. Again, if you haven't vacuumed under the beds do that now and if you store stuff under the bed make sure it's stuff you really need and you have a way to get to it if you need it.

Want to keep it looking this great? Here's how in about 5 minutes per day:

• Make the bed(s)*. EVERY day.
  
• Put dirty clothes in the hamper, never leave them on the floor. Ever.
• Put trash in the trash can.
  
• Keep clean clothes hung or folded and put away.
  
• Put stuff (especially toys) away. If it doesn't have a home... make one!
• Dust and vacuum once a week.
• Train your children in the above! It's their room, they can keep it clean!
  

*In the kids rooms we do bed making a little bit differently. We only use a bottom sheet and a blanket. The blanket gets folded and laid at the foot of the bed and the bed is made. Easy for little kids and less stress for mom.

Win a Step 2 Kitchen!

How would you like to win a $250 Step 2 LifeStyle Grand Walk-In Kitchen? We love all the Step 2 toys we have at our house. They are study and made to last. We get lots of comments on our Step 2 wagon... especially when it's loaded with little boys! I would love to win this kitchen... and if I blog about this I get an extra entry! So head over to Two of a Kind and enter to win!

TOS Holiday Supplement... A Must Have!

I just got my "copy" and started looking through it I just had to share! This digital magazine is put out by a homeschooling magazine but it is full of wonderful Christmas activities, recipes, and crafts that anyone can use. The recipes alone make it worth downloading!! You can preview it online or download it here.

Can We Build It?

Several months ago I came across these plans to make a rotating can storage rack out of cardboard. Since I tend to buy large quantities of items but have a bad habit of just putting the new items in front of the old... I always wanted some can rotators. But being the frugal person I am, I just couldn't spend the money on fancy, expensive ones. So, I thought I would take "Grandpa's" plans and make one to try out.

My prototype

Well, the first one was a challenge. I finished it but set aside the idea for awhile because I had so much trouble putting it together... it seemed that it was a project for someone with six hands! Plus Grandpa's plans were not exactly written out in a helpful, step by step fashion.

Then another blog I like to read posted the same instructions and in the comments I got several suggestions that helped me out. The most important tip was to use pins to hold everything in place instead of growing a few extra hands! Why didn't I think of that?! Now I was willing to give it a second try.

I made a few other "improvements" to the plans as long as I was at it. The second rotator went together much easier and by the fourth I was a pro. Now I think I could put them together with one hand tied behind my back. Okay, so not really... but this new improved method really helped! And my new and improved method is stronger because it adds shelf supports:

If you want to make more than one I highly recommend making a template of the pieces. I used shirt gift boxes. They're thin yet sturdy enough to use repeatedly if you mark lightly with a pencil. You also want to use a utility blade with a fresh blade. It just makes the edges so much nicer. Use a straight edge too! Crooked pieces don't go together as nicely. (Trust me on that one!)

Here's what you'll need:

utility knife, wood glue (or caulk), metal carpenter square (or ruler),
sturdy 2 ply cardboard, pins, and the plans*

Assembly Shelly's Way:

1. Measure and cut out all necessary pieces. This is probably the most time consuming step and why you'll want templates if you're making more than one.

2. Mark the sides (both left and right) where the shelves will go. This part is NOT in the plans... glue thin strips of cardboard (mine are about 1/2 inch wide and 5 inches or so long--no longer or they'll interfere with the can rolling) just below the lines you've marked (left photo). Squirt glue on marked lines (center photo). Place center shelves onto glue (right photo). Let it dry for a bit. If your shelves won't stand up support them with something.

3. Now squirt glue onto the opposite side and... this is the hardest part... line it up just right and put in place. If you placed those thin support strips in the right place it will help you line it up. When you are done it will look like this:

I like to pin it all in place to keep everything from shifting because at this point it's like a house of cards and prone to collapse.

I cheat a bit and don't wait for the glue to dry. I just keep on truckin', but I'm brave like that... or impatient. You can let the glue dry if you want. Just do yourself a favor and stand the whole thing up and make sure it's square and all the shelves look even.

4. Glue (and pin) the bottom front (left photo), top front (middle photo), and back (right photo) in place. These pieces kind of come around the corners which adds strength. Grandpa's original design did not have the back this way. That is a modification by Shelly (aka "Shellification"). You will also need to glue the "wood block" in place at the back of the bottom shelf. The wood block is not really wood, it's just a card board rectangle glued in on an angle that keeps the cans moving forward. It is hidden away in there and therefore not easy to photograph, but trust me... you need it!

5. At this point I like to turn the whole thing on it's side and set some heavy books (heavy in weight, not content... although I used books heavy in both respects for mine!) on top of the whole thing. Once the glue is dry, remove the books, then the pins. Cut a small notch where indicated to make it easier to remove the cans. Label, if you so desire, and then try it out!

Grandpa paints his to make them sturdier, but I am just using mine plain and taking my chances. Grandpa's plans include dimensions for all sizes of cans. I want to make a couple that are wide enough for peanut butter jars. Peanut butter is the thing I have the hardest time following the FIFO rule on (FIFO=first in first out).

Too lazy to make these?? I found, after I made mine, that you can buy something very similar made from cardboard for pretty cheap. I might have gone with this option had I known about it sooner, but there is some satisfaction in knowing you made them yourself.

*Follow this link to get a pdf of the original plans.