Tips & Tricks

I am totally not a house keeping/parenting/organization guru but I am trying to implement some tips & tricks from the experts to keep the Brown house running smoothly and to not have to be cleaning it every single day!

Here are some that are working out great for us so I just had to share in case your life is in as much of a mess as mine!!

Pantry/Meal Prep
Use bins to separate food catergories so you know just where to find stuff. I got this from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine and of course their pantry was gorgeous and everything was labeled and cereal was poured in TupperWare containers. To make things a little more economical I only use about three bins and I place them in the middle of a shelf so that I can use the space between the bin and the pantry walls for a food catergory. Works perfect and I always know where everything is!

Keep ingredients for your week's meals in a bin, along with the recipe. This works great for us! I plan our menu for at least a week's worth of meals and sometimes two. When I get home from the grocery store every dry ingredient that I'll need goes into the bin along with my cookbook or copy of the recipe I need. I keep my menu on the fridge and it doubles as next weeks grocery list. This way when I am in hurry to make dinner I am not searching the pantry for what I need, it's all in the bin!

Keeping kids entertained at restaurants
Have a special "restaurant bag" that they only get at restaurants. I got this idea while researching travels tips for our vacation. Instead of handing kids the same car you hand them in the car or at the doctors office have a special bag of fun, time-consuming activities just for restaurants (we use a "church bag" too since Mason is in "big church" now). I have been cutting the backs of cereal boxes or fruit treats or any food item that has mazes or games on it to cut costs and in order to have a variety of things to do. Both boys also a travel magnet set that I have for them to play with at the table. Keep crayons you get at restaurants in your bag too.

Random
Plastic diaper wipe boxes make great beds for toys or crayon storage.
Make a cleaning schedule. Monday, dust. Tuesday, vacumn, Wednesday, mop., etc. (I am not so great at this one!)

And I have one other really great tip but to prove I'm not so organized I'll go ahead and admit that I can't remember what it is!!

Leave a comment with your favorite tip or trick too! I know it pains some of you to leave comments so I've made it so much easier by taking the word verification feature off! Now comment away!