WFMW - Quick, Easy, Healthy and Yummy!

I don't do a lot of posts about meals and cooking, because it's not exactly my strong suit.  I am always juggling trying to find meals that are easy and quick to prepare, but also healthy and taste good, too.  So when I ran across this recipe (courtesy of e-mealz), I was excited.  When I served it up and EVERYONE in my family enjoyed it, I was thrilled!  It is now one of our top go-to recipes for dinner, lunch, or even a quick snack!

Our newest favorite meal is Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps!

Here are the ingredients required:

Yep, just three things - a Caesar Salad kit, chicken, and whole wheat tortillas!

(A few notes: My husband vastly prefers home-cooked cubed chicken breast to the canned stuff.  Sometimes I provide that for him, other times, when I am not so well prepared, we use the canned chicken breast instead. Also, if I knew how to make homemade tortillas, I would.  But I don't, so we go with store-bought.  Both of these choices also help to make the meal "quick", of course, but subtract slightly from the healthy aspect of it... but not too much!)

The prep is super, super simple.  As in, a child can easily do it for his siblings (hint, hint!).  Simply combine the salad kit (but not the croutons! Save those for a crunchy snack later!), add chicken breast (if using canned, be sure to drain it first, of course!), and combine well.  Serve into the center of the tortillas, roll up like a wrap, and cut in half.  For a little more fun, stick a toothpick into each half - for some reason, my kids love when I do that!

One large salad kit and two chicken breasts (or two cans of chicken), plus an 8-pack or tortillas is enough to satisfy my crew - but with no leftovers!  Which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

I have two children in my family are who particularly picky - as in, only eating a few select fruits or veggies... and even they gobble these wraps down!  That makes this a miracle meal in our house!  Add to it the fact that it is so easy to make, and healthy, too... Super Bonus Points!  Oh, and I also love that no cooking is necessary, which makes it an awesome choice for summer menus.  As you can tell, this is one of my favorite meals to serve!

So, for a quick, easy, healthy, and (best of all) yummy meal, these Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps work for me!  Check out other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!

WFMW - Homeschool Organization

In my "Glimpse into Our Week" post, there were a few pictures of one of our organizational systems that caught the attention of my friend, Heather! (Hi, Heather! *waving*) She asked, so I thought I'd share a little more about it.

My two oldest boys (ages 10 and almost 9) have several subjects that they now do independently - these are Math, English, Reading, and Bible Study. (OK, just for full disclosure - Isaac no longer does the formal reading curriculum, but has Handwriting which he does independently. Ezra struggles a bit with handwriting so he does a different program, which requires my involvement. Anywhoo...)

Since they started independent work, they've had their own totes to keep their work in:

I used to keep all my Teacher's Manuals lumped together in a crate (those plastic milk carton crates are my best friends!). When it came time to check their work, I'd have to dig through their totes to find their workbooks, and then dig through my crate to find the corresponding Teacher's Manual. It wasn't a very efficient process, and often just lead to me leaving everything out on the table all the time. Which is efficient, until you want to use the table for something else... say... eating, perhaps? So, I brainstormed for a better idea.

Then, while walking through the office supply section of a store one day, I had one of those "lightbulb" moments! This is what I came up with that is now our current system - much neater and more efficient than the old one!

Each boy still has their tote to store their books and notebooks in. When they've completed their work, they put the completed work into their magazine holder. They each got to pick which color they wanted, and then I got a second one of the same color and use the second one to hold the corresponding Teacher's Manuals.

So when I need to check Ezra's work, I pull out his magazine holder, pull out my matching magazine holder, go through each workbook, meet with him to go over it, and then he puts his workbooks away in his tote again, leaving his magazine holder empty until the next day. And I put away my Teacher's Manuals. Tada! Nice and clean and organized! And if I haven't gotten a chance to go over any work, or have to stop part way, I can tell because those books are still in the magazine holder. Kind of like the "in" and "out" boxes they used to have in offices. (Do they still? I figure it's all electronic now!)

Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed that extra magazine holder - the (not so) inconspicuous black one? That one holds Teacher's Manuals for subjects that they need my one-on-one attention for (such as Spelling, Writing, and Ezra's handwriting). They can't do them by themselves, but they're also not subjects we do as a group, so I keep those Manuals separate, as well. (Also, those blue boxes in the middle are used for Spelling). Clear as mud? Hopefully this all makes sense! ;-)

So... there you have it! That's what works for us in keeping some of our homeschool things reasonably organized and flowing smoothly. Check out what other Works for Me Wednesday posts at We Are That Family!

WFMW - 3 Tips for a More Efficient Homeschool Day

It has been 3 months since Rachel's birth, and I am slowly getting back into the swing of homeschooling. We did "homeschool lite" for the first few months after her birth - only doing a few subjects a day (or week!), but now we are back into our full-time schedule, and after a few false starts, it is going wonderfully! There are lots of things I can think of that can affect how smoothly a homeschool family's day runs, but I wanted to highlight the top 3 that I recently implemented that seem to have the biggest effect in our house:

1. Everyone must get up at the same time! For us, that time is 7:30 am. I get up earlier than the kids, but all kids must be up and getting their day started no later than 7:30. That way, we can all eat breakfast together and get started on schoolwork without being held up by stragglers. This has proven to be the only way to get our day started on the right foot. If everyone just gets up whenever, I feel like I'm making breakfast for 2 hours and school is haphazard to say the least! So everyone getting up on time, at the same time, has dramatically made our day more efficient. (This rule does NOT apply to Rachel - I let her sleep as late as she needs to!)
   


2. I must stay off the computer. Must. Other distractions are eliminated as much as possible as well (phone calls, etc).


3. We cannot leave the house! Yes, I know one of the many benefits to homeschooling is the flexibility - being able to do school when and wherever we please. However, for a while, I was running errands several days a week - and trust me, hauling 6 children to a store for 3 items is not a "quick" jaunt! Just the time it takes to get everyone ready, organized, out the door, into the car, and so on is mind-boggling - what could have easily been a 15 minute trip solo turns into an hour or more! It was really eating up our day. So now, I run shopping errands on Sunday afternoons or in the evenings, and we do field trips, nature walks, library trips and doctor's appointments on Fridays, which is a very light schoolwork day for us. For me, in order to really keep things running smoothly at home... I have to be at home!

Of course, in these rules, there has to be flexibility - taking a phone call when it's an urgent matter, leaving the house to bring a meal to a new mother, letting a sick little one sleep in longer... but I've learned that I can call myself "flexible" and really use it as an excuse for laziness and chaos! So overall, having these three guidelines in place are really necessary for us. They have made our homeschooling day soooooo much easier and efficient!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What things do you find most affect how efficiently your day runs? Please leave a comment and share! Also, check out other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!

WFMW - The Best Kitchen Clean-Up Towels

Believe it or not, I rarely use paper towels or napkins in the kitchen! We've used wash cloths and hand towels for clean-ups for many years, and its amazing what a difference it makes. I find cloth to be much more absorbent and economical. While lately the biggest fad is microfiber towels for cleaning, I have something that works even better at getting up spills fast - prefold cloth diapers! Think about it - as diapers, they're designed to absorb ALOT of moisture, and quickly - and they do an awesome job at it. Not only that, but they're inexpensive, and super durable - they can hold up to all sorts of washing, drying, and other abuse.
Now, before you get grossed out, I don't use the same prefold diapers for kitchen clean-up as I do for diaper duty ;-) I buy a totally different size for the kitchen so that they don't get mixed up. Since I use infant and preemie prefolds for diapering, I buy the premium size for the kitchen. Toddler size are also useful - extra large for when full cups of water spill or the washing machine leaks everywhere or a helpful toddler tries to wash dishes (ask me how I know)! And, because they can be washed with bleach without any harm, prefolds are also good for bathroom spills and leaks, too!

It seems so simple, but it constantly amazes me at how fast prefolds suck up water, and how much they can absorb. They're the BEST kitchen clean-up towels, ever!

If you're thinking of trying some for yourself, my friend Gina at Little Lions is having a "secret sale" on many of her diapering products, including prefolds - even her "second quality" prefolds (which is what I've used and have never come across any defects)! I just ordered a dozen more to add to our use and even with shipping paid less than I would have for the same amount of quality kitchen towels that wouldn't work nearly as well! Awesome deal!

Using prefolds for clean-up duty definitely Works for Me! To get other great ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family!

WFMW - Keeping a Boy Bathroom Clean

In our house, we have two bathrooms. One for Michael and I, and the other for all of the boys (and guests). Needless to say, the "boy" bathroom is usually in need of a cleaning, no matter how often it actually gets cleaned. One of the boys' morning chores is to wipe under the seat with a bleach wipe and scrub the inside of the toilet, but there still remains the issue of the floor around the toilet.

As a side note, I just wanted to say that I do NOT understand the lack of ability to aim! It will forever be a "male mystery" to me, but in my logical brain, it seems that if you are only inches away from a large opening and have to direct a tiny stream into it, it couldn't possibly be that hard. Right?! Wrong, apparently.

So, oftentimes, and much to my embarrassment, the guest bathroom often has an... odor. I've tried bleach, Odo-Ban, 409, and other cleansers that promise to kill germs and smells, but to no avail. Little boy pee is stinky! Blech!

But then I came across a product that actually... *gasp*... WORKS! And it makes sense that it does - its the same stuff used for puppies and dogs so that their super noses can't smell their previous accidents!

Good ole' Nature's Miracle! Now, its a little more pricey than bleach or other cleansers, but it really, truly works, which makes it priceless to me! I got the "Hard Floor" kind because the boys' bathroom floor is textured ceramic tile. I use it once a week, after I've swept and wiped the floor - I just spray it all around the base of the toilet and let it dry. It smells pleasant while it is drying, and then... tada! NO smell at all. Ahhh... heaven! Truly a miracle!

It definitely Works for Me! To find other useful and fun tips, be sure to check out the other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!

Solving the Shoe Dilemma

This post could also be entitled "Sometimes a Little Humiliation Can Go a Long Way"...

We have lots of shoes in our house. Each child usually has a pair of sandals as well as a pair of sneakers. However, when it is time to leave the house, for some odd reason... not a single pair can be found. It defies mathematical odds, really.

Let me just say, I make it reallllllyyyy easy for shoes to be found. I keep a large basket by the door, ready and waiting for its specific purpose in life of being filled with shoes. Right by the front door, you'd think this would be so, so simple. Come in, take off shoes. Get ready to go, get shoes on by door. Keeps floors clean, speeds up leaving time, keeps mama happy.

Except it just hasn't been working!! Why? Why is this SO hard? I feel like banging my head against something solid when its time to walk out the door and everyone is searching frantically for shoes, and finding them in random places that they should not be, such as one in the bathroom and one under the kitchen table. Really?! Do you REALLY walk around the house with one shoe on and one shoe off? I 've never actually seen it happen, but by the way shoes get spread everywhere, you'd think it was a common enough occurance.

Anyway, in a plea for advice from some friends of mine, a dear mama actually went back to her ever-so-creative dear husband for his thoughts on the situation. And let me just say... his idea is going to revolutionize our house! I ran it by my dear husband, who wholeheartedly agreed we should give it a try, and then ran to the store. Oh, I also gave the kids a head's up about the plan, which was met with near-tears and exclamations of shock and horror.

The brilliant solution for this houseful of boys who can never put their shoes where they belong? No more ranting and raving mama, that's for sure. Enter....

The Pink Flip-Flops of Terror!!!

Yes, that's right. If a boy, or several boys, cannot find their shoes when it is time to go, no worries, mama has some extras on hand! Here, honey, just wear these pink flip-flops to homeschool co-op. Or the doctor's office. Or church. Or the park to play football with daddy. Oh, what, you don't like pink flip-flops, sweetie? You think they're girlie and people might make fun of you? Yeah, you're probably right. So maybe next time you'll put your shoes where they belong, huh?

Am I finding too much pleasure in the idea of my children being humiliated and scarred for life? Nah... because ever since I mentioned it, they've amazingly found the skills needed to actually keep their shoes in the basket.

It's a miracle! A skill they couldn't grasp for several years has suddenly been mastered overnight. Weird! But in case there's a slight lapse in skills... the flip-flops are ready and waiting!

WMFW - Taming the Runaway Pencil Madness

I know of very few homeschooling families who have their pencil and pen situation "under control". Meaning, we're not constantly buying new ones, only having them be lost, scattered or chewed up within days. And then there's the "But I don't have a pencil!!" excuse when its time for the kids to get down to work... how convenient! For them. Not so much for those of us who do the pencil/pen shopping and who also occasionally actually need a writing implement!

However, after much brainstorming, I have come up with a solution that seems to be working! The situation is still not as "under control" as I would like it to be, but it is very quickly becoming that way. Here's what I did:

First, I bought several packs of personalized pencils for each child. I got them from For Teachers Only, where a 3-pack of personalized pencils is less than $1! There's a $25 order minimum, though, which actually helped my idea to grow. Because of the minimum order amount, I went ahead and ordered 7 packs each for the older kids, and 6 packs each for the younger kids.

The first pack was a "freebie" - the boys awoke one morning to a pack sitting at their seats at the breakfast table. They were SO excited to have pencils with their names on them! Its amazing the little things that can make kids happy ;-)

I very quickly laid down the rules. The rules are simple: You are in charge of keeping your pencils. If you lose one, you will have to pay me $0.25 to get a new one. To get a FREE new one, you just have to trade in your old one, worn down to an unusable nub, so that I know you've gotten the most out of it!

(I will say that in order to help them facilitate this, they have designated boxes to keep their pencils and such in. Its much harder for anyone to keep track of things if the thing doesn't have a specific spot it belongs, that's just a natural rule of order)

Also, if (and when!) I find pencils lying around outside of their specific spot, I know right away whose it is. I haven't gotten mean enough to feign that they're lost just to embezzle my children out of quarters, but its not necessarily beyond me. Or I might just induce a "lost but found" fee of ten cents. I haven't been driven to that necessity yet.

So far, I've had to replace 4 pencils. Woo-hoo, $1!! Well, when you're, say, 7, (no names, please) and your weekly allowance isn't much more than that, it adds up! The boys are definitely becoming MUCH more conscientious about where their pencils are now. Both because of the fine and also because they really do like things with their names on them. So it is a solution that is definitely working for us!

For more fun and creative solutions to everyday problems, be sure to visit Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family!

WFMW - Natural Ant Control

Every so often we get an invasion of those little, tiny ants. I have no idea what type of ant they are, so I can't get more specific, other than they are tiny, and once they show up, they seem to be everywhere and impossible to get rid of. I've tried many unnatural things (like spraying them with whatever chemicals I have on hand, including bleach, Windex, Shout, etc), and a few natural remedies, but never had much success until I came across the one I am about to share:

Cinnamon!

Yep! Plain old cinnamon! Whenever the ants start showing up, I follow their little line back to their entrance location, and then I sprinkle cinnamon all over their entrance spot and their marching line, and within hours they've dispersed completely. I usually leave it down for 24 hours or so, just to be sure.

It works every time I've tried it, and its totally safe and natural! Its also pretty frugal, and convenient, if you're like my family and think cinnamon is a topping that can go on just about anything (or, maybe my kids are weird?!). Now, its not the most aesthetically pleasing remedy (if you ever come to my house and see brown dust all over the floor, you know why!), but I don't have to worry about it if the baby plays in it, or the dog licks it (the dogs actually don't notice it, oddly enough). And it makes the house smell nice! Clean up is easy, it just takes a broom and a dustpan, or a wet washrag, depending on where you've sprinkled it.

So there's a simple, easy, cheap, and natural ant control that Works for Me! To see other Works for me Wednesday posts, visit We are THAT Family!

WFMW - The Artwork Clutter Solution

My boys love to draw. And when you have 4 boys over 9 years making lots of drawings, that adds up to ALOT of paper. Some drawings are delightful and unique, and worth holding on to, while others are just silly doodles or failed attempts at... no one really remembers what anymore. I have read so many ideas on how to organize, cull, preserve and otherwise keep up with the large amount of children's artwork we've amassed. And no matter what, it still gets overwhelming. I won't even go into the amount of print/copy paper I've had to buy to keep them supplied.

My first method of organizing was a tall dresser, a normal 5-drawer type that was handed down to us. The drawers were organized - one for art supplies, one for blank paper, one for coloring books, and the last two for completed artwork. When the bottom drawers got full, I'd do the dreaded toss - going through all of the artwork and trying to determine what was keepsake and what was, well, not. I could only do this once the kids were sleeping because it invariably ended up in tears and hurt feelings... no fun for anyone. Not to mention it was really hard for me, as I am a natural packrat and have trouble throwing away old receipts much less my child's precious time and effort displayed as a big brownish-black mass of fingerpainting without determinable shape.

So, then I tried to put the resonsibility more on them - I bought Sterilite drawers specifically for paper, like such:
one labeled for each boy. They were to put their artwork into their drawer, and when it got full, it was THEIR jobs to determine which creations were their favorites and which could be tossed.

Ummm... yeah. THAT never happened. Failure #2.

Then Joel got this for his birthday:
Did you hear the same angelic chorus that I did when I looked at it and got my super duper idea? Self-contained paper?! What genius came up with this?! Obviously, its not the first time I've seen a sketch pad, but all of the sudden that proverbial light bulb came on when I realized I was looking at the perfect solution to my artwork woes.

So off I went to the store to get 3 more for the other boys. At about $4 a piece, $16 total for replacements won't hurt us too badly. At first I thought they'd fill one up fast (each one has 70 pages, or 140 front and back) - my one concern was that I'd be buying new ones each month - that's 48 sketch books a year filling our house! But its been 3 months since we first got them and only Joel has needed a replacement (he's our resident artist).

Some awesome benefits to using sketchpads to keep artwork contained:

1. The artwork is contained, no more skattered loose sheets everywhere.
2. No more running out of printer paper because little artists steal it
3. An easy and fun way to see how each child's artwork has progressed - Nathan's scribbles which have now turned into his first impressions of people are all captured for posterity
4. The paper is thick, so they can use pencil, crayon, marker and even paint, without worry about it ruining the pages below. Unless they go too crazy with their rinsing water while painting, which has happened.
   
5. Easy for me to keep and store - each child has a storage file box for each school year - the sketch pads are labeled with the year and put into the file box with their other school work memorabilia
6. If they want to give someone a picture, the pages have the serrated edge to make them easy to tear out, not to mention they'll be giving a picture on higher quality paper
   
7. No more organizing needed - trying to guess who drew what, what it might be, if its a preschool version of a Picasso and unknowingly incredibly valuable...
   
8. I no longer have to do the dreaded "sort and toss". A big hurray! from everyone!

Sketchpads. They Work For Me! Check out some other great ideas over at We Are THAT Family!

Works for Me Wednesday - Getting the Most from SwagBucks

This might be old news to some swagbuck pros, but I am relatively new to the swagbucks craze, so it was exciting for me to figure this out! In case you are also new to swagbucks, perhaps it will help you, as well :-)

First, what is swagbucks? Its a search engine that rewards you for using it. You earn points, called... "swagbucks" (not that complicated) that can be used in their "swag store" (there's a pattern here!). Personally, the only thing I really want swag bucks for is to buy amazon.com gift cards. Free books, people!! But they do have lots of other stuff, too. (And a *ahem* pretty cool referral program if you want to sign up using one of my links or the banner on my sidebar over there *ahem*)

I soon noticed that a $5 amazon gift card costs me 45 swag bucks, and a $25 amazon gift card costs me 315 swagbucks. Huh? I'm pretty good at math, but I think most of the general adult population can figure out that ordering 5 separate $5 gift cards at 45 swagbucks each (which would total $25) is actually LESS than 315. Almost 100 swag bucks less, in fact. Actually, for 315 swagbucks, one can actually get 7 individual $5 gift cards, which equals $35!

However, what I didn't know and had to figure out for myself is how to actually apply more than one gift card while checking out at amazon. I'd like to be able to apply more than $5 off each order, because then it's actually really like getting free books. So, here's the beautiful part!

Amazon has this wonderful thing you can do if you log into "Your Account" - I will include a picture for those of you who are visual like me and can't understand written instructions without pictures very well:

(click to enlarge if needed)

See the big blue arrows? The link they are pointing to says "Apply a Gift Card Balance to Your Account". If you click on it, you can enter in your gift card number, and it will apply that amount to your account (kind of like the link says). Here's the part I was excited about: you can do that with any quantity of gift cards! So if you gather up a bunch of $5 gift cards from swagbucks, you can enter each one in, and it will total them up for you. When you are ready to order from amazon, when you check out, it will ask you if you want to apply your gift card balance to your order. I love it!

Right now, I am about 4 swagbucks away from adding another $5 to my gift card balance, which will then bring it to $25... but I only spent 225 swagbucks instead of 315! The nerdy part inside of me that loves to get a good deal is thrilled about this - so I just had to share!

Join in for some more Works for Me Wednesday fun at We Are THAT Family!

WFMW - Grocery Shopping Simplified

Grocery shopping is something that has always been "the bane of my existance". Boy, I hate it. Boy, do I get stressed over it. Meal planning, budgeting, list making, shopping, checking out, loading the car, unloading the car, putting things away... every inch of it, I dislike... extremely.

However, being the mother and wife in a family of 7, it is something I have to do. Because of my strong negative emotions toward it, I've come up with a few things that have made the whole process decidedly less stressful and a bit more simplified. Necessity is the mother of invention! Here's what I've done!

• My goal was to only do the main shopping twice a month, since we get paid twice a month. I do have mini-trips to stock up on the staples (fresh fruit, etc), but even then, I'm only going to the store about once a week or once every ten days or so, and only doing a huge trip twice a month.
  

• First, I made several "two week" menus - sets of 14-day meal lists. Some meals we have every week. Every Sunday we have Spaghetti. Its easy and quick to make, a nice way to get ready for the week ahead without too much work or cleaning up afterwards. We have homemade pizza once a week, as well, because its super yummy and fun. Fridays tend to be a soup night, because I make challah for our Sabbath meal, which goes perfectly with some soup. Since we also use Friday for errands, library runs, and a deeper house cleaning, soups are also easy and quick to prepare. The other days I filled in with other meals that have been tested, tried, and approved by all. So in general, each "two week menu" list has about 10 different meals.
  

• Then, I made corresponding grocery lists that contain every. single. ingredient. I need for each meal - spices included! This took some time, but the end result is sooo worth it. I also created a "master grocery list" of the general day-to-day things we always need, such as bread, milk, eggs, fruits, veggies, etc. All of the lists are in excel spreadsheets, so I don't have to rewrite them.
  

• When payday rolls around, I get ready for shopping. I choose which two week menu plan I'm going to use, and print out the grocery list that goes with it. Then I go through the house and cross off the list anything I already have here. I combine what's left into my master grocery list, and I'm ready to go! I also organize the final shopping list by aisle in the store, so there's no more running back across the store because I accidentally listed flour at the bottom of the list and missed it while in the baking aisle. The whole process of meal planning, menu planning, and grocery list making only takes about 10 minutes every two weeks. That's a HUGE reduction in time, and mental energy for me! I literally used to spend days stressing over the whole ordeal. Sad, huh?
  

• Then I make sure me and the kids are well fed, well rested, and ready to go! The big shopping trip twice a month takes several hours (including drive time, as well as loading/unloading the groceries), so its still a bit exhausting, but the satisfaction of knowing I don't have to endure it again for another half of a month is priceless! Before I started this system, I was doing 1+ hour trips to the store twice a week if not more. Yikes!
  

The end results are:

• I no longer stress about menu planning, or the "what are we having for dinner tonight" panic

• Little things like random spices or miscellaneous ingredients aren't forgotten anymore, because I've made sure they're on the meal grocery list. No more sinking-in-the-pit of my stomach feeling realizing that I have to go back to the store for just one silly little ingredient

• I am shopping much less frequently. Oh, the bliss of knowing I don't have to dash out for errands every other day! The freedom in knowing I have everything I need to feed and sustain my family for two whole weeks! It is incredible, I tell you! It saves money and gas, too!

• More time, less stress = happy mama. Happy mama = happy family. Good food fixed on time = happy everyone. Awesome!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, be sure to check out We are THAT Family!

Works for Me Wednesday - An Alternative to Construction Paper

This may not be a new revelation for anyone else, but its something that has helped my sanity alot!

My children love to create. We have loads of construction paper, which is perfect for cutting, tearing, gluing... creating! However, as a background, it is not so great - if they happen to make a work of art I'd like to keep, construction paper is too big to fit into a binder or sheet protector! Not to mention its a bit flimsy, so it tears or crumples easily.

My solution to this problem is to use colored cardstock as a background for pictures. I buy multi-color packs from JoAnn's Etc, they're relatively inexpensive, especially if I use a coupon or stock up when they're on sale. Cardstock comes in even more colors than construction paper, is much more sturdy, and fits perfectly into binders, sheet protectors, and laminating sheets!

Its a simple solution, but it works for me! Check out other WFMW posts at We Are THAT Family!

Works for Me Wednesday - Closet Organization

I'm so excited about our closet project! I had been fretting over a clothes storage solution for a few weeks. Now that Nathan is moved into the boys room, there isn't much space for 2 bunk beds and 4 boys' worth of clothes storage. We had a standard sized dresser, plus several Sterlite-type drawers, and a full hanging bar already, and I was totally overwhelmed with what to do with Nathan's things!

I brainstormed and pestered people for ideas (including my lovely sister, many thanks for her patience!) until I stumbled across this site. What a plethora of ideas, for clothes storage and ALL things large-family related! I was specifically excited when I came across this article... I showed it to Michael and he said "Sure, we can do that"! So my hardworking man went out, bought himself some power tools (anything to please his lady, you know ;-) ), some boards and supports, and went to work. I headed out to WalMart for some cheap laundry baskets... and here is the final result (sans clothes):



We LOVE it! The dresser and drawers came out of the room, leaving actual living space. Clothes are easy to organize, put away, and find for the boys (who are completely in charge of their own laundry, by the way). Each boy has his own shelf, and the four baskets are for tops, bottoms, PJs, and church clothes. There are small plastic shoe boxes tucked into the corner of each shelf for underwear. Socks are in an over-the-door shoe holder thingy on the back of their door for easy accessibility. I made little labels with corresponding pictures on each basket for everyone, especially the littles, to quickly see what goes where.

I still need two more baskets for Nathan (he has the pink pop-up totes on the bottom) because the store didn't have enough of the one style (hence the two different color baskets, as well), but that is no big deal, I'm sure they'll be back in stock the next time I go.

No more messy dresser drawers, no more bulky dressers! I'm so pleased! It Works for Me! For more tips and ideas, check out WFMW at We are THAT Family!