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Print Friendly

I just found this nifty website called Printfriendly that can make any web page printer friendly! How great is that? Why do I love?

-it is simple and easy to use

-it will save ink

-it will save paper

-it will save money

-it is friendly to our environment by creating less waste

-it gives you a bookmarklet button to add to your bookmark toolbar

I will be adding a button on all my blog posts from this site so you will be able to print a post out in a printer friendly way. It even gives you the option to remove images. This will be especially helpful for my posts that contain recipes.

I just love finding things that make life more simple!

FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Simplifying

Makes Me Happy-Wooden Clips

In my quest to simplify, I have tried to get rid of stuff that takes up space, and replace it with something more practical, simple and cheap. These wooden clips fit that description perfectly. They are so much better than having a bunch of plastic, different colored chip clips laying around, or shoved in drawers. I personally have very, very little drawer space in my kitchen. VERY little. Like, 2 normal size drawers, and one itty bitty skinny drawer stuck in the corner. One drawer I have my silverware in, the other I have miscellaneous utensils/measuring cups, and the itty bitty one is the only ‘junk’ drawer I allow myself in the whole house.

I’ve actually found a way to be grateful for my lack of drawer space. It forces me to be strategic in my kitchen and really think through everything I bring into it.

Back to the clips, I love these things! I use them all the time and keep them in a mason jar;) in a very accessible spot in my pantry. Makes me happy! I know, doesn’t take much..

FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Art Bags

My girls’ favorite thing to do is art. All 3 of them do some type of creative art every day, it is just in them. Ever since they were little, we have always made sure paper and colors are available for them to use whenever they want. As they have gotten older, I have worked hard to make sure they have access to age-appropriate supplies, so that they can create whatever their little art brains desire.

We have rolling carts with labeled drawers upstairs where we keep all their craft supplies and use them a lot, but I also wanted to have basic supplies handy on our main floor that they could just grab and start creating with!
My solution was to make them each their own little school supply bag. I shopped for these at the beginning of the school year when all the supplies were super cheap. I found the bag at Wal-mart in the craft supply section. All of the bags are black, but I made them distinct with certain supplies that were all the same color (my youngest daughter likes blue so her scissors, pencil sharpener and pencil erasers are all blue.) This is how they tell which bag is theirs.

I keep the bags in a very central location (our dining room) right by the table, not only because they are in view and the girls will use them more if they see them, but also so I can make sure they take good care of their bags (even though the supplies were cheap, they add up when you times it by 3!) and put them away properly. Our table is also where they do their homework so the bags are very handy for that! I am pretty strict about keeping them in the dining room to use at the table. I only allow them in the car for trips that are longer than an hour, just because it seems like something always gets lost in the car!
Before, we had supplies on all 3 levels of our home and showing up in places where they didn’t belong! I grew weary of questions like “mom, where’re my little scissors?” and “mom, where’s my tape?” Now that they are in one area it has worked so well. They know right where they are, and find them daily, sitting on a shelf waiting for little creative hands to grab and use them!

Drinks/ FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Homemaking/ RECIPES

Mason Jars: Easy Iced Tea

I used to buy a 2-liter of pop every week. I decided to try and cut pop out at least when I am at home. I still enjoy a coke occasionally, especially when we are out for pizza or at a movie with popcorn.
What helped me in this transition was making iced tea instead. I found a super easy way to make it that does not include boiling water or sitting it in the sun all day, and uses a mason jar which we all know I love!

Basically, you take a jar, put in 4 tea bags, fill it to the top, screw on the lid and put it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, take the bags out and give them a little squeeze over the jar. What this does is makes an iced tea concentrate! Love it! Now when I want a glass of tea, I pour about 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water into a glass of ice and stir. I adjust the amount of concentrate depending on how weak or strong that particular brand of tea is. Here is the blog that I got the idea from, there are a bunch of comments regarding specific measurements if you are someone who likes more details.
*the picture above was taken before the jar sat overnight. The concentrate gets much more, well, concentrated:)

Frugal/ HEALTH/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Natural Products/ Simplifying

A Cleaner, Cleaner

Here is a great example of what our grandparents might have done in the past that was right on in my book.
Homemade cleaners that cost pennies!! Think baking soda, vinegar, lemon, castile soap, borax..

I am still in the process of switching out all my bottles under the sink, but it has been so fun tossing bottles with warnings pasted all over them, and replacing them with cleaners so safe and simple my kids could drink most of them!

I had a few reasons for doing this.
1. I am frugal and love saving money.
2. I want my kids to help me clean but don’t want to worry about their aim when spraying toxic cleaners
3. I don’t like when I feel like commercialism is getting to me (you know, those commercials where everything looks like perfection and unless you use that specific product for a specific project you have, you are a loser mom)
4. Something was triggering my daughters asthma, and after much reading I got suspicious of my windex, of all things! (I was right. It is a trigger for her and with 2 glass tables that we eat on I was using it numerous times a day!)
5. My cleaner cupboard was so full I was barely able to shut it
6. Less bottles and non-toxic ingredients means being a good steward of our environment
7. Did I mention I am frugal??

My favorite that I use every day, numerous times a day, is a simple glass cleaner.

I take a spray bottle that makes me happy, fill it 1/3 of the way full with vinegar, and the rest with water. Some use distilled water and say it minimizes streaking, I have not tried this because I do not notice streaking.

As far as the smell, we are a family that can finish off a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips in minutes, so we actually like the smell of vinegar. For those of you who don’t, once the cleaner dries there is no scent, and I think it is better than snuffing something that the company has to warn you to use in a well-ventilated area. I live in Nebraska people! I can’t be opening my windows all the time!!!

I will continue to post my experiences with natural cleaners. I have a great one for dishwasher detergent coming up, and I am on the verge of trying out a homemade laundry detergent recipe, so I will let you know how that goes!!

Beauty/ HOME/ Simplifying

Simple Shade

I love to be girly, and I must admit it is a struggle to keep it simple when it comes to the many beauty products that are always calling my name. As some of you know, I am a licensed cosmetologist and with that comes knowing about A LOT of fun products on the market.
Despite many of them whispering to me, I feel like I am winning the battle. I’ve been taking a minute to think through each purchase, to decide if it fits into this new, paired down lifestyle I am trying to embrace. For example, just yesterday I was at the store and found a nail polish color by OPI called Barefoot In Barcelona that I had just read about in Real Simple magazine. The article said “Hands down(pun intended)the most flattering nude polish for most skin tones.” It caught my eye because I am forever looking for a nude polish color that does not make my hands look dead!(I am quite pale.) I sampled a few strokes on my thumb and then impressed myself with amazing self control and walked away, motivated by a ‘no spending challenge’ that I am in the middle of right now. (we’ll talk about that in a different post.) Here is the problem, I JUST CAN’T STOP ADMIRING MY THUMB!! So, I am eagerly awaiting my ‘no spending challenge’ to be over so I can go buy that beautiful bottle of Barefoot in Barcelona. I think it is a great color, not only b/c it doesn’t give me corpse hands, but it will match with everything! (unlike the amazing trendy purple color that also whispered at me.) Sigh. Sometimes its just not easy being a ‘wanna-be’ simple, girly girl.

FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Simplifying

Mason Jar-My Love Affair With Mason Jars

I recently discovered the wonderful world of mason jars. Why do I love them? Funny you asked. They come in many sizes. They are inexpensive. They are NOT plastic. They are simplistic in design. They do not keep me guessing on what and how much is inside them.

They have a gazillion different uses! In my opinion, they are the perfect example of something from yesterday that can simplify today.

In fact, I don’t think just one post will do for this new love affair of mine. I just might have to keep sharing with you the insane amount of things one can do with a mason jar.

I know, I can feel you just oozing with excitement. You just wait, you may have an affair of your own!

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