Bookshelf Markers for Organization

We actually use bookshelf markers!  I know it is a little anal, but it sure does help us keep track of all our books and where they belong.

To make these, I obtained a bunch of paint stir sticks.  Each member of the family got a color and I painted the sticks and then used Permanent marker to create my stick figures representing each of us.  Each family member got two markers.  Plus, we made a few more for "school books" since we homeschool. 

The idea is that one marker goes in the book shelf when a book is removed to save the place where that book belongs.  If an individual in the family doesn't have a free marker, that means there is a book laying around the house that needs picking up in order for another book to be removed from the shelf.

You could decorate the stir sticks anyway you pleased (as you can see from mine, no artistic ability is truly required).  Hope you find this idea useful.

15 Cool Tips and Tricks I learned from Pinterest

This article is all about housekeeping on a time and money budget.  I hope sharing these tips and tricks with you will inspire you as the ideas originally inspired me.

1.   I'm bummed that this first one doesn't link back to the original blog.  BUT it works well and will probably save money, and help the environment.  Use vinegar in your rinse aid compartment on your dishwasher instead of that blue chemically stuff.

Actually, Let's talk about the dishwasher a little more.  I learned the next four tips,  from Divine Caroline in just this ONE article.  I do wish her tips were a little more verbose. Like which setting to use for each suggestion. I should mention that I rarely use the heated dry cycle to save energy (wouldn't want anything to shrink or melt). Despite the lack of certain specificity, the tips are still generally AWESOME! I'm just not sure I want to steam my salmon in the dishwasher still.

2.  Wash Shoes AND Hats in your DISHWASHER!  Place Hats in the top rack and use a little baking soda. 

3.  Wash Toys (child and pet toys) in your Dishwasher.  She doesn't mention how to contain the toys with little tiny pieces (like Lego's for example), but I tied them tightly into an old pillowcase. 

4.  Wash all those sports pads in your dishwasher.  Alice is fairly new to sparring (Tai Kwon Do), so I haven't had the need to try this one yet.  But I will - Those things can STINK!  What a great idea.

5.  Clean Tools.  Throw in the dustpan, gardening tools, even car parts like your hubcaps (separate from any dishes of course) on the pots and pans setting.  Although, if your dustpan is plastic, you might want to run it through with the toys instead.

6.  To keep up with the laundry, instead of having a "Laundry Day" do one load every morning and then fold during nap time or quiet time until your kids are old enough to take on the chore of at least sorting out the socks and beginning to fold underwear (From the Stressed Mom).  Actually, the whole article is good, if you don't already do any of these 10 things to make your life a little more sane, any of them might be considered genius!

7.  Use bread to keep cakes and muffins moist and fresh overnight while you wait to construct, decorate (or just eat) between baking the night before and enjoying the next day.  From Baked Bree.  (If, like us,  you have a crazy cat who will leave thawing chicken alone but eat pastries and bread that's left out, you may want to try this on a shelf in the cupboard).

8.  I have an old friend that, if asked how good a cook I am, would tell you I can screw up baked potatoes.  Baking was always fun for me, but cooking!  Ugh!  and then Iron Chef became popular and was quickly followed by Top Chef and a host of other competitive reality cooking shows.  I started having a lot of fun experimenting.  While I wouldn't make it a day on Top Chef, I THINK my husband would tell you I'm a better cook now, but I still had trouble with how to best cut up certain things.  Until I discovered, The Kitchen.com.  This wonderful resource has simple to follow instructions and tips for everything from peeling hazelnuts to cutting a mango and seeding a pomegranate (although I still like Rachel Ray's version of dicing an onion best).

9.  This one, from HandyFamilyman isn't really one tip, but 10 suggestions for your toughest interior cleaning jobs (make them easier and faster).  I mean, who would ever think of using a car product to repel water in your shower and preventing soap scum marks on your shower doors?

10.  While I've said it myself, kids should help with the chores (saving you time AND teaching them life skills), but I've never gotten around to writing an article about which kids can do what at any given age.  This Resource from, The Happy Housewife does just that in a glance (and saves me doing the research).  Visit her site by using the link for the printable version of the chart. 

11.  Excited by a Glamour Magazine article, Jillee from One Good Thing found out that the concoction the magazine touted worked on "everything" didn't REALLY work on everything.  She tweaked their recipe and discovered this miracle cleaner concoction gets out yellow sweat marks AND grease stains from white AND colored clothes.  1 tsp Dawn, 3-4 tsp Hydrogen Peroxide and 2 Tbs baking soda.  Scrub in, let sit (an hour or so) launder as you normally would.  Check out your stain free clothes.

Before                      After

12.  From Cookie and Clare, how to detangle your kids' dolls' hair.   DO NOT USE THE doll's brush or human brushes.  Use a wig brush and spray with laundry softener watered down.  If the hair is really tangled, quite a bit of it might still pull out, but it really does work pretty well!  It also does seem to soften the hair and possibly prevent more tangling for a little while as well  We tested it out on our own Rapunzel doll and will be using it on other dolls (and ponies) shortly.


13.  Detarnish ALL your silver ALL at once with this recipe.  Line your sink with Foil, fill with hot water.  Then add, 1/2 cup of table salt and 1/2 cup baking soda.  dump in all your silver and let soak.  Foil tarnished, silver not!  The pinner gives Susan Branch the credit, but I can't actually find the specific article with this hint in it.


14.  THIS super simple way to make your stainless steal (that isn't really completely stainless) sparkle again.  Use Creme of Tartar, a little bit of water (just enough to make it the powder into a paste) and add a small amount of elbow grease.  Thanks so much "The Real Life Housewife"!


15.  Make your old concentrated juice can lids into garden markers (what a great way to reuse AND they're beautiful too!).  The tutorial with the details is linked here.

How Many Seconds in a Minute? Introducing Preschoolers to Time

How many seconds in a minute?

Sixty, and no more in it.

How many minutes in an hour?

Sixty for sun and shower.

How many hours in a day?

Twenty-four for work and play.

How many days in a week?

Seven both to hear and speak.

How many weeks in a month?

Four, as swift as the moon runn'th.

How many months in a year?

Twelve the almanac makes clear.

How many years in an age?

One hundred says the sage.

How many ages in time?

No one knows the rhyme.

  - Christina G. Rossetti

Children hear things like, "dinner is in twelve minutes" all the time.  This is great for kids as it helps them establish a good sense of time (when the prediction is accurate more often than not).  Increase the frequency with which you give them this "warning" and you not only increase your sanity (they usually transition better when they get such warnings) but you'll increase their sense of time at an earlier age.

Digital clocks are pretty easy to read, but what time it is, usually means very little to most children under four. Even four-year-olds generally don't care about the time unless it relates to a specific activity.  The more regular your schedule, the more meaningful time becomes.  Many toddlers and preschool children are helped by having a poster that shows "times" like, "school time", "meal time", "club time", "bath time"  - etc.  make a visual representation of the things you typically do in a day (or week) and display it in a place where your child will see it a lot.  Then, refer to it when you state the actual time of day, or when you say things like, "bath time is in about 10 minutes - it will be seven-o-clock then".

Play beat the clock for children that are dawdlers.  

Although Dawdling does serve a purpose in a child's brain development, there are times when we just need them to focus and get "it" done.  Set a kitchen timer or other noisy clock ticking to help keep reminding your child he/she has a job to do.  Or, if the job is part of a routine, refer to my article, "Musical Routines".  Challenge him/her to get dressed (or other such task) before the bell rings or the song is over.  A prize can be as simple as, "yeah you did it! great job", a sticker for a sticker chart, or a token for a token jar.  For a more complex reward system where bigger rewards are earned after a certain number of stickers or tokens have been awarded you can actually offer up a cool little prize toy your child will enjoy.  Once your child gets used to this game, he or she might even enjoy learning to set the timer.  The experience of learning to read the correct numbers (even those numbers in the teens) helps to set them up for later when they're learning to count past ten.  When your child is helping you in the kitchen he/she will now also be able to do the job of setting the timer when needed.  The more practice  the better (Also Check Out "Food Math" for other mathematical advantages to having "help" while you cook).

Playing games with kids that involves a "time" element is also a meaningful way of giving your toddler or preschooler a sense of time.  If you are trying to count seconds, clapping your hands and then slapping your thighs (while sitting cross-legged) actually comes pretty close to taking a second for most of us.


Have a Calendar available in a busy room in your house you can refer to with your child.  Put it right next to the poster with your "daily" time chart or poster described above.  Make sure you use both regularly with your child.  Mark the calendar with upcoming important activities and talk about it with your preschooler.  See "Calendar Time: What the Calendar and Holidays . . . " for more information on ways to use the calendar with your kids to teach your kids.  Now that my child is in Kindergarten, I no longer use a daily schedule, but we do have a weekly one.  Check out "Schedule Boards" to see how I use this with Alice and how to make the components so you can have one right on your refrigerator.