Getting It Together: Back to School #1, Shopping Plan.

It is about that time again and our kids have to start school in about 2 1/2 weeks.  The task of shopping for school is always very stressful to us and it takes a lot to face it sometimes.  UGH!  But I have a schedule to uphold, and have to get these kids ready before the stores run out of clothes and supplies to choose from.  This is how we create our shopping plan for back to school.


Clothes:
About a week ago we inventoried all of their fall and winter clothes.  We had them try everything on, then we tallied up what they had.  This gave us an idea of what gaps we had so we could create a list of what the kids need for school clothes shopping.  I created a worksheet in our word processor to help us streamline this.  Keeping this on hand will allow for easy annual inventories, and keep you organized.

The clothes that didn’t fit or were too old (or they just had way too many of…) went into 2 piles.  One to donate to Good Will and the other was items that were not good enough to give away and we threw them out or chose to reuse them as rags.

From this tally sheet I made a list for shopping.  I arranged it by the departments we would be shopping in, then by the items needed then by the person.  This way we would be first directed to the correct department and wouldn’t be having to go back and forth, searching for things.


Supplies:
Our school sends out lists with the children’s required school supplies at the end of the previous school year.  It is such a joy… to try to keep track of this list over the summer.   LOL!  Anyway, I place it in my Household binder so it won’t get lost. 

I take all of their lists and I go through all of our extra supplies that we have on hand (from previous shopping trips, and from what came back from last year that was adequate to reuse).  This generally takes care of most of the needed school supplies.  Then I start setting up their backpacks with the supplies that we do have on hand.  Again, like with the clothes inventory worksheet, I just have to fill in the gaps where we are lacking. 

From what we are missing I create a new list, and set it with the clothes shopping list in my household binder and wait for the right day to go shopping.  Prep work is now complete.


Having a plan and a budget in mind will really help you stay on track.  My children know that they are allowed to choose the items we shop for from the list, and from the store that we agree upon.  Children need choices, but families need limits.  It really isn’t responsible of a parent to spend all of the months money on clothes and not be able to buy food or pay the bills, just because they didn’t want to limit their children’s clothing allowance. 

Planning is key.  If you have any ideas or comments that you would like to add, I would love to hear from you.   My next Back to School segment will be about any other preparations that might be needed before the school year starts.

Recipe: Butter Spread

I love making my own butter spread.  Have you seen some of the ones today, some contain omega 3 fish oils.  I personally have to be careful, because I have an allergy to fish.  They cost quite a bit for something that should only contain butter, salt and vegetable oil. 
Example:  Great Value Light Cardio Choice Buttery Spread (I used this, and now reuse the container when making my own butter spread).
Butter isn’t listed. 

1. Water
2. Premium Oil Blend (Canola, Soybean, Palm, Palm Kernel, and Flaxseed)
3. Salt
4. Vegetable Monoglycerides
5. Potassium Sorbate (Preservative)
6. Soybean Lecithin
7. Alpha Tocopherol
8. Acetate (Vitamin E)
9. Citric Acid
10. Artificial Flavor
11. Vitamin B12
12. Vitamin B6
13. Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids
14. Calcium Disodium EDTA
15. Vitamin A Palmitate
16. Beta Carotene
17. Vitamin D3

For our family, the 2 minutes it takes me to throw this recipe together is worth not having all of these “Yummy” ingredients on our table, at every meal.
I came across this a few years ago, I don’t exactly remember where. 

• 1 part salted butter
• 1 part oil (cooking, corn, canola, olive, whatever kind you prefer)

Melt the butter in a heat safe container in the microwave ( I use a Pyrex liquid measuring cup), then measure how much has melted.  Add the same amount of oil to it whisk together until well blended, then pour into an old butter spread container and place in the refrigerator.  Allow to set up, about 3 hours. 
*Spread is meant to be kept in refrigerator, if it does sit out for a long period of time it will melt and need to be put back in refrigerator.
My family doesn’t even notice the difference.  I should say my husband doesn’t seem bothered by this at all.  He is actually happier, because it has real butter in it! 
I would love to hear your thoughts on Butter Spread, and if you try this yourself let me know how it turns out!  Till next time.

Getting Green: Recycling #2, The Full Picture

Researching can sometimes take a little effort, but in the long run you will be benefited by it.  You will be able to make better decisions if you know all of the information.  I started by contacting our privately run waste management company.
To get the phone number to the company we use, I looked on one of my bills…  I found there website on the bill too so I decided to check it out.  When I got to the site, I hunted around for a bit before I called, to see if there was anything else I could ask them about.  I found their recycling page and was amazed.
I found out what they will take, not only curbside, but also if we took specific items to their transfer station (they would take these items for free). 
From Home:

• Pete Plastics #1-#7.
  
• Cans
  
• Glass bottles of any kind.
  
• Paper and Cardboard

At their transfer station:

• Furniture-$
  
• Kitchen Appliances-$
  
• Construction Debris-$
  
• Tires-$
  
• Concrete-$
  
• Mattresses-$
  
• Electronics-FREE

I didn’t realize that they recycled electronics!  Most of the things in our out buildings are electronics.  Craziness!  All this time, wasted, not knowing.  I feel really foolish, but motivated too.  But now we can really get all of that stuff out of there!  That really makes me very happy!
If you are someone that has a lot of clutter, don’t be afraid to do some research.  You could find better choices with another waste management company or you might, like me, learn that the company you use has updated its services.  Definitely weigh all of your options, you have nothing to lose but clutter for doing your homework.  If you have further suggestions that might help, or have any comments please leave them. 

Mix It Up: Left Overs

My kids love leftovers at our house!  We take all of the leftovers out of the refrigerator and let them mix and match them like a buffet for dinner!  Just by swapping the side dishes and entrees, this changes the whole meal and makes it more interesting for the kids.
For example tonight we had:
Meats: 

1. Honey Glazed Ham
2. London Broil
3. Honey Mustard Pork Loin

Starches:

1. White Rice
2. Roasted Potatoes

Vegetables:

1. Mixed Vegetables
2. Roasted Carrots

After the kids made their selections, we lit a few candles on the table, and they pretended like we were in a fancy restaurant.   They love the fact that no one is eating the same thing, and we can create our own special event without there being a holiday.
Mix It Up Points:

• Add Candles
• Add Music
• Use the good dishes
• Use the good silver
• Pull out the nice table cloth and napkins

Life is something to relish in.  Having time with your kids, your spouse, or other family members is something to cherish.  Take some time today to make a special memory with your family.  No special event required!  If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear about them.
My ideas for this came from my mother always living in the moment.
     Two days after Thanksgiving of last year my husband , our 3 kids, 2 nephews and I were heading out to see my father who at the time was very sick with lymphoma.  It started storming really bad and we got into a car accident. Luckily no one was hurt, but I was almost impaled by a road sign.  My mother sick with pancreatic cancer herself, made an incredible dinner with the leftovers from Thanksgiving.  She set the table with her finest table cloth, cloth napkins, silver, best dishes, candles, and serving ware.  She told me “life is what we are here to celebrate, and there isn’t any moment more special than today to focus on that”.   I will share this philosophy with my family, and relish in it.  Thanks again Mom for the lessons and ideas you have given to me, may you rest in peace.

Getting Green: Recycling #1, Seriously

We attempted recycling in the past, but everything was confusing and frustrating.  I recycled our cans, and bottles with #1 & #2 Pete, and we had a little small tote bin sized recycling bin, that was collected every other week. I didn’t really see it as a great benefit, it wasn’t removing a lot from our garbage weekly.  And because it wasn’t collected on the same day as our regular trash, I kept forgetting to get it out to the road.
Our waste management company has a no sorting program.  Seems simple enough, but unless you really take the time and pay attention to everything that they process, you won’t truly see the benefits.   I thought that if I did look into what they took, that I would be more frustrated for seeing what they do not take.  Well I couldn’t have been more wrong.
As I said before in “Getting Green:  Composting #1, The Bin”, we were trying to cut back on how much waste we were sending out each week. We have a few out buildings, that are full of things from the prior owner, that I cannot afford to dispose of.  I thought if we reduced our weekly waste, we could use that money for disposing of the other stuff. 
We had been composting for about 3 weeks and recycling everything we could possibly recycle, and again I missed the recycling truck day.  Ugh!  I called the company and asked for a larger bin, the area where we keep the recycling bin was getting dangerously full.  When I was speaking to the lady I told her that since we started composting and now “really recycling” we hardly have any garbage to go out. 
She was able to change our plan so now we are paying 1/2 the price that we used to.  Wow that's $35.00 a month that we can use towards getting rid of all the old TVs, furniture and junk in the out buildings.  Plus she said she would upgrade our recycle bin to the large one that they have.  Its about a 120 gallon sized can now!  I was able to get everything into it that was starting to collect! 
So not only are we saving money, and helping the planet, but now we are saving our little corner of the world too.  Just by starting a compost bin, the wheel started turning and it kind of took on a life of its own.  Lol!   I am not complaining.
In my next post, I will tell you about what I learned about our waste company, and the bigger benefits that lie ahead for us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on composting and recycling.  Till tomorrow, everyone have a safe and wonderful day!