WFMW: Cleaning that Kleen Kanteen

Anyone else ever reach for the Klean Kanteen with soapy hands and realize the lid is still tight? If Kansas Dad (or someone dear to your heart) isn't around, I have to rinse and dry my hands, open the bottle, and then start washing again. At least, that's what I used to do. Kansas Dad (as always) had a brilliant idea.

Now I just grab a wooden spoon, thread it through the hole at the top and use it as a lever. Works perfectly every time, soapy hands and all.


That's what works for me. Head over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

Shoes You Can Use

When I finally figured out the best way for us to store the shoes the kids weren't wearing, I planned to post about it. (You never know, it might help someone else!) I finally took the time to write it when I saw this week was an organization theme over at Works for Me Wednesday.

I save shoes, just like I save clothes, which means storing them. I try to buy ahead for First Son and the girls always have a sizable pile in sizes bigger and smaller from my nieces. I used to try to keep shoes with the clothes, but it always seemed like shoe sizes and clothing sizes changed at different times. So I finally decided to store them separately.

I put all the shoes in big plastic bags by size. I reuse plastic bags and they are very useful for shoes even if they have a small hole or two (unlike, say, for chicken broth).


I separate the boy and girl shoes (one big plastic container for the girls, two for boys now that First Son is five and we've collected quite a few).


It's really easy to switch shoes (in with the old and out with the "new"). I keep the empty bags right in the bins so they're ready for the switch. It's also easy to take a quick stock of what we might need for upcoming sizes. Since they're stored by size, it's also very easy to see if we've got redundant shoes and could spare some for someone else.

Check out more organizing posts over at Works for Me Wednesday!

On Cleaning Paddles (Not the Canoe Kind)

It's been a while since I participated in Works for Me Wednesday. In fact, I haven't been a part of it since it moved from Rocks In My Dryer to We Are THAT Family. I'm jumping in with another kitchen tip (no surprise there).

Having trouble cleaning the inside of the paddle on your bread machine? I used to try to scrub in there with a bottle brush, but now I just grab a toothpick (stored right above the sink for quick muffin-testing when baking) and scrub the inside. All clean!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works-For-Me-Wednesday.

No More Spilled Salt

Maybe I just need more practice, but it always seemed like I was spilling salt when I was measuring out a half teaspoon or a teaspoon. With all the baking I do around here, I felt like it was adding up. (Sometimes, I would even pour over a measuring cup and then pour the spilled salt back in, but I always felt a little silly doing that.)

Finally, I just poured a bunch of salt into a little jar. Now I can scoop out my teaspoon without spilling any.

I feel much better now, don't you?

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips.

Avoiding Holiday Sweets

I have no self-control when it comes to candy in my cupboard. I can manage some self-control at the grocery store when my wallet is involved, which is why we usually don't have candy in the house at all. After Halloween, of course, candy is a given. In the past, my kids weren't all that interested in the candy. I convinced my husband to take most of it to his students (after pulling out the M&Ms for First Son and the peanut butter cups for us, of course). This year, though, the kids are much more interested so I didn't want to just send it all away. I didn't want to eat it all, either. We accidentally managed a solution that (I hope) satisfies everyone.

We bagged up the candy and wrote the child's name on the outside of the bag. The bags are stored in a high cupboard. (First Daughter still doesn't realize she could climb up to them and hopefully it doesn't entice her to try it.) After lunch and dinner (sometimes only if they ask), each child is allowed one piece from his or her bag.

I can't bring myself to eat any of it myself. It's in a bag, with a name on it. If I take a piece, it's like taking it right out of my son or daughter's mouth.

There are no toys the kids can claim in entirety (just a few bedtime security stuffed animals, but the kids generally share those happily enough). The food is communal. The banking account is communal. The Halloween candy is not, and I just might implement this policy for all future holiday candy (reserving rights to limit intake and eliminate massive overflows by shipping it off to the college students who can afford a few more calories in their day).

It worked for me!

Baby to Toddler: Toys that Stick

Today is a themed edition of Works for Me Wednesday. We're not having a big Christmas for the kids this year I wasn't sure I was going to participate. I couldn't help, though, paying a little bit more attention to the toys that were out and about in recent days and realized we do have a few toys that have really stood the test of time that can be quite inexpensive: a sorter, a stacker and a set of cups.

This is the Sorting Box from Brio, a fancy wooden version of a standard sorting toy. My kids love this kind of toy. We have an older version of the Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Baby's First Blocks. The sorter blocks can be stacked, dumped into and out of the bucket, sorted into the bucket by shape, sorted by color, and on and on. In fact, my two year old has been playing with these every day recently.

This Cachempil Maman Poule from Djeco is $30, but isn't it fabulous? My kids have the Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack which is only $7. This deceptively simple toy encourages hand-eye coordination in more ways than one. My kids love to watch me spin the rings on the floor (and give it a try themselves).

Last, but not least, we love stacking cups like these Stack Up Cups. Our stacking cups pretty much stay in the bathtub. They are absolutely perfect for scooping, pouring and other fun water play. Our set even has some small holes in each cup so water showers or seeps out. Unlike many bath toys, they are incredibly easy to keep clean - just throw them in your dishwater!

All of these toys are simple and straightforward and yet allow lots of free play.

Another favorite holiday and birthday gift idea for us is a collection of art supplies. My mom has done this for all the grandchildren for a few years. Everyone gets some paper, markers, scissors, whatever she can find in the quantity she needs at a good price. They love free drawing and we mothers love restocking our art cabinets.

Last, but not least, I love the idea of gift memberships to local attractions. We have some wonderful museums and zoos nearby. A family membership allows us to enjoy them for an entire year as often as we like (and with the ability to go just for a few hours, which is key with young kids). I read once (I wish I remembered where) that a homeschooling mom bought a membership for a different venue every year and let her kids really get to know it as part of their homeschooling. I thought that sounded like a fabulous idea!

These are a few of the gifts that work for us!

Instant Drying Rack

You'll be saddened to learn our dishwasher just isn't washing. We've given up on it while we look into options for our water softener, which may need to be replaced. We're certainly disheartened at the renewed lack of a dishwasher and the unhappy cost of another new appliance, but at least I figured out a trick to help manage our dishes as they dry.

I've realized our little dish rack wasn't really designed to hold a meal's worth of dishes. Cups right on a towel (right side up or upside down), of course, never seem to dry.

So I put a towel on the counter and added a cooling rack. Presto! Perfectly dry cups by morning!


Eventually, the dishwaser will return to service, but I plan to continue to use this little trick because we don't use the drying feature on the dishwasher. Why pay the electricity for something air can do? We just open up the dishwasher. If you catch it right at the end of a cycle, everything dries in the steam very quickly. If you miss it, though, the cups usually need a little bit longer and this rack is just the thing.

It works for me!

Previewing Books with Deliberation and Organization

I am a bibliophile. I always knew I'd have to marry a man who loved books as much as I did. Little did I know, God was preparing for me a husband who loves books even more! We are always reading, and always finding books we want to read. I used to juggle my lists of books and find myself at the library or bookstore wandering the aisles without a focus. No longer!

It all began when I started pulling lists of children's books. At the same time, we began significantly decreasing the books we purchased and owned (no worries, we still have eight bookshelves, all mostly double stacked). I wanted to fill our home with quality books, inspired by Charlotte Mason's living books. I needed a way to organize the lists of books I wanted to preview before we purchased.

Enter the Amazon.com wish lists.

Under an account for the children, I have three visible wish lists, one for each child. Hidden from view, however, I have five more.

I created a list of books I want to preview. Any time I see a children's book mentioned on a blog, in a magazine article or in conversation, I add it to the list. I then organize it by title (so the current ones are always at the top), and request them from the library. They're waiting at the desk when I arrive. As I preview them, I add them to one of the visible wish lists (for whichever child I think might enjoy it most or who is already enjoying it most from the library) or just delete them. Many are also added to our PaperBackSwap list (or are found and ordered immediately).

If a book is too old for any of the kids, but still a great book, I move it to a hidden list for when they are older. If a book is unavailable from our library, I put it on a hidden list for interlibrary loan. (I'm allowed three requests at a time, and I always use them all.)

I use the same system on an account for myself, with a visible wish list of books I've already previewed and know would be great additions to our library at home. I have a hidden list of books to check out and one of interlibrary loan books. I also keep a list of books I've previewed that I might want to use as a resource from the library again in the future.

We have a few family and friends that use the wish lists for gift-giving and I love knowing we'll love every gift. Kansas Dad and I use the lists ourselves when we purchase gifts for the kids, sorting by priority and choosing one that will be a family favorite.

You don't have to buy from Amazon to make good use of their technology. It's what works for me!