The Ziploc Barf Bag

Oh my gosh, where was this idea when I was in my child rearing years?! A friend of mine told me about this, as her kids were ALL just sick with the stomach flu, and I thought it was genius: using Ziploc bags for barf bags. How many times in my children's youth did I have to clean out the barf bucket by the bedside because things came on too quickly to make it to the bathroom? With a Ziploc bag you can zip it up and throw it out. No mess, no stench. This is even more perfect if you have kids prone to motion sickness in the car when a bathroom just isn't available...and at less than 10 cents a bag that's the perfect solution in my book! Road trip anyone?

4 Great Kitchen Organization Ideas

I have been hard at work the last couple weeks gutting out and deep cleaning my kitchen. I get very stressed out when things are cluttered and unorganized and I had a few cupboards that really needed some serious attention. I tried to keep things stacked and in containers, but it just wasn't enough. I was tired of having to dig for what I needed and wanted a system where everything was super easy to get to. I am extremely pleased with what I came up with and thought I would share my ideas. Get ready to get organized! You're life will run SO much smoother.

Kitchen Accessory Bar

I am in the middle of my annual organization cleanse. I try super hard not to get a bunch of stuff to clutter my house, but it's amazing how much I need to organize and de-junk every year. At the moment I'm working on the kitchen (probably one of the hardest rooms to work on). I spend a LOT of time in this room, and want it to look great but also be extremely functional. I'm very proud of my latest idea in here.

Garden Bling

I love to garden. There is something very therapeutic about digging in the dirt and listening to the birds chirp while the sun warms my back: complete peace. My garden is a place I love to be, and I have decorated it beyond the beautiful plants I have growing there. A trip to the thrift store can make your garden sparkle in the sunlight and give it a wonderful addition of art and color.

Pancake Poppers

Yesterday the Seahawks game came on in the morning, so instead of having the usual football fare we decided to do a football breakfast. One of the things I made up were these pancake poppers. They were easy to make a bunch at one time, since you bake them in the oven, and were perfect for a breakfast buffet. No leftovers with these guys!

Make Leftover Night A Fancy Night

I always hated leftover night. I just knew that if I was asked what was for dinner, and the answer was "well, there are a lot of leftovers in the fridge..." before I could get another word out there was a collective groan coming from living room and everyone got on their food pouts. I hate it when people are food grumpy! So, early on in my child rearing years, I came up with this amazing little idea and it worked like a charm. Make leftover night a fancy night with the simple addition of a nice table setting, a couple of candles, a menu and mom acting like a waitress. All of a sudden everyone is going out to dinner instead of eating dumb ol' left overs.

Clean Toys!

This may seem like a no-brainer to all of you big brained peeps out there, but to me - at the time years ago when I heard this tip - it was a revelation. Clean toys in the dishwasher........ I know, right?! You don't have to worry about the nicks and crannys, it comes out sanitized, and you would be amazed at how well it handles getting all of the caked on dirt off. Save yourself a ton of time, toss those suckers in the dishwasher, and in an hour you'll have a sparkling new toy.