Time Saver: Lists

I'm a list person.  Not everyone is, but it works for me!  Breaking up a task into do-able portions, and setting a time limit to complete them REALLY helps me.  After a whirlwind play-date followed by a church event last night, I was just too tired to clean up.  So, I'm left with the daunting task of my normal morning routine, plus my evening routine, PLUS the added mess from the playdate, which a deadline of a morning visitor.  What do I do?  Make a list.  Simple things like: clean up playdoh, sweep floor, pick up living room, clean counter tops, and assign a time next to each task to complete it by.  If I'm behind, I know I have to do the next task super fast to meet my goal.  (I'm VERY goal-oriented).  I still have 30 minutes to my deadline, and so far so good! 

Sanity Saver: Toy Overload

Do you have too many toys in your house?  (If you have kids, I'm pretty sure your answer is yes).

Here are a few solutions I've gleaned over the years (and yes, I still have too many toys in my house).  As I stated previously, when there's too much stuff out, it takes too much time to clean up, taking away family fun time!  So I try my best to keep it simple.

Tips:

Toys with lots of pieces (such as Lite Brite) stay in the closet until requested to be played with.  This also goes for big kid puzzles with lots of pieces.

Rotate bins to keep interest.  Take half your toddler toys and put them away for a while.  In a month, put away the ones that are out and take out the ones you had in the closet.

Give some away.  My toddler is too young for this, but she doesn't seem to mind when her unplayed with toys go in our giveaway bin.  For my preschooler I ask her to find toys to give to "kids who don't have toys."  This was the simplest way to explain the donation process to her.  She doesn't get rid of as much as I'd like to see, but she does give somethings usually.

Hope this helps you save some sanity and find some time!

Sanity Saver: Get Rid of Junk

Go ahead do it!  Go find 5 things in your house right now that you don't need/haven't used in over a year and put them in a box.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.


All done?  Good.  I've got hoarding issues...I often fear I will turn into those people you see on TV with piles and piles of stuff.  I simply can't throw anything away if I feel it still has use.  In my mind, it has to be donated or recycled.  So, twice a week or so, I take a quick walk around my house, and try to grab a few things that we don't need or use.  It could be something as small as a fast food toy, or a book, or some shoes.  What still has use goes in a box I keep in our coat closet.  Then, when the box is filled it goes to a place that accepts donations of goods.  It works for me, because the stuff I don't need will still find a home. 

Some ideas for donations:  Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Homeless Shelter, your local Freecycle email group, daycare centers, or church yard sales.

Why is this good to do?  I'm not sure where I heard it, but its stuck.  Each time I have to pick up that McDonalds toy, or move around those shoes we don't use is time wasted that I could've used for something better, like spending time with my family.  I actually have an alarm in my phone to remind me to do this...try it, and save some sanity!

Time Saver: Use that One Cup Coffee Maker!

Do you have a one cup coffee maker? My friend Laura taught me this trick: dispense a coffee cup of water (take any pods out first!) to speed up cooking! It started with peas...she counseled me to take some peas and put them in a coffee mug. Next dispense a cup of hot water and place that filled mug into the microwave. Using water that's already hot saved minutes!

I decide to expand this idea and try it was boiling water on the stove...same effect! Boiling my mashed potato water (instant this particular eve) was super duper fast since I started with super hot water already. Try it!

No pizza sauce? Try tomato soup! Seriously!

Just a quick post here...in the past 24 hours I've made zucchini brownies, whole wheat bread, egg salad, buttercream frosting, and pizza crust, all while taking care of 3 preschoolers (2 just part of the day) and an infant.  So, when I realized I didn't have pizza or pasta sauce for the pizza crust, I really didn't want to run to the store.  So I tried tomato soup.

I took a can of condensed soup, added basil, oregano and garlic to it, and that's it!  The sauce tasted delicious on the pizza!  It was a little sweet, but still good topped with cheese and green peppers.  Its an "in a pinch" winner!

How to Make Your Own Cake Frosting!

My picture today is deceptive. It was my youngest daughter's first birthday this weekend and this was her cake.  My husband prefers store bought frosting when he star tips cakes for its constancy.  I dislike it for its trans fats and the fact that I always run out at 10pm.  The last time this happened I decided to try something daring:  I made it myself!  I always thought this was a super complex task only to be attempted by the most qualified professional bakers.  Uh, no.  Its super easy.  Its simply a combination of butter, confectionery sugar, a little vanilla, and a little milk (plus color if necessary).  Here's the recipe I started with, but now I just wing it and you will be able to also. 

1 lb confectioners sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk

Thats it...just mix it all together until it forms frosting!  If its too thick, add just a little drizzle of milk and mix.
For chocolate frosting add some cocoa powder as well.


For a second point today a blog I frequent Heavenly Homemakers celebrates GratiTuesday each week and asks its readers to talk about what they are thankful for.  As I reflected on this today, I first of all was very thankful for the string of green lights I got on the way to pick up my daughter from playground camp, and of course my family, but on a relevant topic to this site--I'm thankful for all these tips I've learned.  Many of these were the result of friends or family members sharing their knowledge with me, and encouraging me to try things.  I think presently of my dear friend Alissa who encouraged me to try making my own Alfredo sauce, or my friend Laura who told me about the cookie time saver.  Of course there are other friends who've shared tips that I'm not going to mention here right now, but know I'm thankful for you too.

Help! I need a quick, easy dinner! Crockpot recipe

Judging by my lack of posts this week, you may detect my busyness...that's why I love recipes like these when you are in a pinch.

I generally try to healthify my meals, meaning I try not to use prepared or processed ingredients, but sometimes I lack the time and energy yet still need to eat.  I was so thrilled to discover a crockpot recipe that takes 1 minute to start.

What You'll Need:

About a 2 lb chuck roast
can of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup of water
packet of dry onion soup/dip
1 tbsp of minced garlic

Put can of soup, water, garlic and dry soup in the crockpot and mix.  Add the meat and turn to coat.  Set on low for 8 hours and enjoy!  Super easy and yummy!

Cookie Time Saver!

                                                                                                                                      photo copyright C.W.L

Ahh, fresh baked cookies!  They are my husband's key to happiness.  His favorite have toffee chips in them.  Of course its not always easy to whip up a batch of cookies with babe in arms.  Here's a great time saving trick:  Next time you make a batch of cookies, bake the 15 or so your family will eat in the next few days, and then freeze the rest.  Take a lined cookie sheet and scoop the dough onto the sheet using your cookie scoop as you normally would.  Since you are freezing these and not baking them you can put them much closer together.  Once the sheet is full, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.  The next day, take the frozen cookie clumps and place in a gallon size ziploc bag.  The next time the cookie bug bites, just take a dozen of frozen cookie clumps out, place (spread out this time) on a cookie sheet and bake! I just let them sit on the cookie sheet at room temperature while the oven is preheating, and they take an extra minute or two of bake time.  Enjoy! (Thanks Laura for the tip!)

Here's a decidedly unhealthy recipe my husband loves:

Mama Hinz's Candy Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup lt brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 10oz bag of toffee chips
1 cup of M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour and the baking soda and set aside.  Cream the softened butter and add the sugars.  Next add vanilla and salt. Beat in the eggs until blended and then the flour mixture. Finally add the candy. Scoop onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.