Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for April, 2010

This is one of those things everyone runs into but nobody really knows how to deal with it. Cleaning up packing peanuts. Made worse when your small angelic looking child gets into them. I have to open packages on the sly because Peanut LOVES packing peanuts.

When her father came home today he brought in a package and happily told her it was for her (it wasn’t). Inside were some of my goodies and…(danger music here) packing peanuts. She shouted for joy grabbed up all the packing peanuts and proceeded to make soup out of them, use them for a landing pool for her dolls, rub her head in them to get them to stick to her hair and then finally take her tricycle and ride through them (yeah I let her ride her bike up and down the front hall in the house) to break them up good and tiny. So we have a mess. This is all on carpet.

Surfing the internet I found countless stories to use a balloon. That did not work for us.

We know that static is the problem so get a paper bag so they don’t bounce around on you like happened to me many moons ago when I had a huge pile to dispose of.

So what did we do? Tape. Packing tape wrapped around every member of the family’s hands and start patting. When the tape is full toss. Vacuuming would work a bit too but can clog your vacuum and fill those not so cheap bags fast. Won’t really work if you have bagless either because once you opened it…WHAM! Back they come.

I hope this helps someone.

Well it’s gardening season again and we’ve started. How about you?

For the potatoes we are hoping to repeat the success we had growing the potatoes in the Smart Pots.

We are reusing the same Smart Pots. They have been rinsed and nicely stored since last season. I did find a few petrified bagworms embedded in the fabric but (deep breath) I’ve moved past it since my husband dug them out for me.

I’m kicking myself for not saving some of our potatoes over to plant. We ate the last of them about a month ago. So I reordered seed potatoes from Seed Savers. I purchase two variets. The same from last year, German Butterball, and a new variety, Purple Viking which has a white flesh and purple skin.  Both of these came in nice and large. Last year the German Butterball were kind of small and so were the tubers from our yield.

Now I have learned from the Homestead Blessing sisters and their homemaking gardening video that if you want larger tubers don’t cut your potatoes down. That’s it in a nutshell so don’t quote me but we had larger tubers from Seed Savers so we did not cut and we planted them whole. Even though they had several eyes per tuber.

Now to plant the potatoes we used 2 15 gallon and 1 30 gallon Smart Pots. We filled each pot halfway with potting mix that had mixed with 1 shovel full of peat moss. Then we added 3 tablespoons of Oscomote granules (don’t know the article said to use this fertilizer).  Then we stuffed about 5 potatoes per pot down in the stuff. We let Peanut do this and hope they are placed far apart enough. Then we watered.

Now we wait…(when the plants are about 3 inches above the soil line we are going to fill the rest of the pots with the same concentration of planting mix).

I struggle with sending birthday, new baby, conrgratulations, happy graduation, happy anniversary, on your new home, you name it, cards.  So Tiny Prints new greeting card service is perfect for me.

Tiny Prints already had adorable baby announcements, and wedding invitations, save the date and thank you cards but they just recently opened a new line of stylish printed greeting cards (birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day holidays, etc.) you can personalize, schedule and even send online. You can pay per greeting card or sign up for a membership plan to enjoy special pricing on every card you send, starting as low as $1.99 each.

There is also a pretty nice incentive to get you AND me signed up.

By the way I’m an affililiate for this stylish company where I promoted their darling baby announcements.

So what’s the incentive?

Your first year’s membership is fee is waived AND you get three free cards to fully grasp the program when you sign up for Tiny Prints Custom Greeting Cards Membership Plan.

Thank you those who took the time to enter my teeny tiny giveaway. It has ended and Random.org has picked a winner.

Clever Colleen has been picked by Random.org to receive her free online pass to Cindy Rushton’s 2010 Homeschool Expo Giveaway. So I’ll be contacting her with details.

Thank you!

Need some help gearing up for the new school year? Wish you had a friend to take you by the hand and help you plan your year?

For homeschoolers or those thinking about homeschooling this is the time of year to review what worked, what didn’t work, and what you would like to try for the coming school year. And Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo kicking off May 3-7th 2010 is a great place to start.

One of the great things about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is that everything is ONLINE as more than a convention–it is the ULTIMATE homeschool resource library.

Just like a convention you attend in person (and I have definitely been to my share of those) you have…

• Over 30 speakers giving you workshops on their homeschooling specialty.
• Vendor booths where you can get freebies and  sample the best of homeschooling companies
• And finally the Mommy Grab Bag which includes thousands of dollars in free ebooks, audios, lesson plans, and more.

But unlike a conventions you attend in person you don’t have…

• To book a flight
• spend money on hotel, car rental, and food
• Put up with workshop scheduling conflicts. While it is wonderful if you can tune into workshops as they are happening you can also access recorded workshops in your membership only area for years to come.

With every online event that Cindy plans, she builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the Ultimate Homeschool Expo in one place–it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts from her speakers), ebooks, complete unit study guides, articles, printable notebooking pages, cookbooks, on and on. I can’t believe all of the things that we receive for only $39.95. It is a lot!

(CLOSED) GIVEAWAY DETAILS: So I’m giving a giveaway for one membership to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo.

• Contest Ends Wednesday April 28th which will hopefully give us enough time to get the winner their access code in time for the conference.
• Leave me a comment about your homeschooling journey. I like one entry person please. Keeps me less confused that way.  A simple comment is nice.
• Winner usually chosen by my lovely assistant (my five year old from a bucket of numbers) but if she is otherwise engaged then Random.org will do the honors.
• Um no country origin restrictions as this is an online event.

Want to see what theUltimate Homeschool Expo is about?

Well here is a sampler of one of Cindy’s free gifts that is included on the Membership Site. It is a audio and ebook set that she actually sells on her website, but she is giving away on the Membership Site. Here are your links…

Download Part 1

Download Part 2

Download mP3 Audio : Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year

Making Your Home Sing Monday. I didn’t think I was going to join another meme. They do take up time and many times they were took me out of my regular schedule so things would get out of sync. But alas during the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom I found out about Moms the Word and Making Your Home Sing Monday.

Monday is my day to get the home back in order from a busy weekend. I know a lot of people clean up house on Saturday and the vintage schedule was to clean up on Friday but for me it’s Monday. I clean the bathrooms, do oodles of laundry, straighten up and even start some deep cleaning that I’ll finish up later in the week.

So LA LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAAAAA! Today to make my home sing I’m doing the regular Monday duties of cleaning two of the three bathrooms, washing towels, kitchen linens, darks, kid’s clothes, and work clothes, and cleaning up from the birthday party we hosted yesterday. I’ll also start spring cleaning the master bedroom.

And get this. Our vacuum died a couple of weeks ago. We have a new being delivered this week but I’ve been making do with a handvac. Oh well. No biggie.

We also have been deep into perfecting our cooking and that really makes our home sing but I have write up another post for that. It is involved.

To find out more about Moms the Word and Making Your Home Sing Monday, and what other’s are doing for a singing home visit Moms the Word

Even though I have some Spring Cleaning articles on the website I haven’t talked about what is going on in my own home.

Well up until maybe a week ago I was doing precious little in the deep cleaning in the home department.

Was I waiting for Spring Cleaning? No I don’t think so. I was just…waiting.

The winter can do that to you. But I knew it was time to kick it into gear and getting some things done. So here is what I’ve doing.

I like to focus on one section of the home a week because that means if I forget something one day I can do it  the next. Or if I’m too busy I can clean any other day of the week. Or I can clean as long or as short as I like because I have a whole week to get around to it or get it done.

I also ordered some green, pretty smelling cleaners. I needed some inspiration. And I did put together a nice upbeat gospel/southern gospel cd via iTunes to sing to with my daughter while we clean. That helps too.

So I have been cleaning the kitchen the last week or so. A little every other day or so but today I wanted to start focusing on a room per week. I’ll be coming back to the kitchen because I need to  workup a nightly quick clean set up like I  had in the last home. Did I mention that cooking is our family hobby (which I don’t write about nearly enough) so our kitchen gets kind of a workout.

Today I started with the Front Entrance. I have a small pergo floor there with plant, a small table for incoming mail and a chair which we pull in for dinner parties.

1. Pulled all items off the floor which included a boot drip tray or whatever they call it and an indoor rug for catching dirt. It has been said that you should have one on each side of the door….so I do.

2. Dusted high ledge above the door.

3. Dusted blinds (3 windows) and low ledges.

4. Dusted plant stand and polished small table

5. Cleaned windows (inside)

6. Wiped down walls and front door.

7. Vacuumed corners

8. Vacuumed throw rug (I should wash it but I need it right now) and swept floor

9. Mopped the floor

How long did it take? I have no idea. Maybe an hour with breaks to do something or other. I had dusting help from my 5 year old.

What’s next? I’ll check out the hall closet tomorrow and next week I would like to tackle the Master Bedroom dresser drawers mostly.

Hi everyone! Welcome to my little neck of the woody internet.
Here’s a little about me. I’m a Christian SAHM sometimes WAHM to one little peanut and hopefully 2 soon (adoption) and then eventually 3 etc.. We’re a very tight family that cooks, cleans, and gardens together. I love the Victorian era, vintage magazines, reading, Southern Gospel Music, perfume, soap and not necessarily in that order. I play the piano, and guitar and teach when someone asks. I love to share too much information hence the creations of….Homemaking Organized, and Vintage Homemaking not to mention a few others.

Welcome and have a cup of tea AND….

Since I’m supposed to say what I would love to win here is my list…

I want the CAR for me I mean my daughter.
Then the Pampered Chef stuff
Then the little cupcake kit
The Mrs. Meyer’s Laundry kit

It’s time for the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2010. What is the Ultimate Blog Party? A chance to connect and get to know other mom bloggers and win fabulous prizes. Wahoo!

Find out more => 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2010

We Have a Winner: Comments Contestant Number 4 Amy. Please contact me directly with your mailing information and I’ll get right on your Couponizer delivery.

Whoops! Sorry for the delay. Family affairs that could not be helped. But yes the giveaway is closed and I’ve picked a winner via Random.org.  My usual Lovely assistant is otherwise engaged.

It’s Springtime, the right time for another Couponizer giveaway. Now Closed

What is a Couponizer?

A Couponizer is a complete coupon organizing system to help you organize and actually use the coupons you may see on a daily basis. After MUCH trial and error and a specific desire for something small and compact I enjoy my Couponizer. I have had it for some time. You can read my review here and see a couple of my personal pics here. And yes I became an affiliate. So my links within this post to the site are affiliate links (which does not change the cost).

Our previous winner had this to say about her Couponizer…

“I want you to know how easy it is to use my Couponizer that I won fromyou.  I must say that I was a fairly organized coupon user prior to my win. That it what made it so easy to adapt to the system and start using it right away.  It is so easy to file and to find my coupons.  It is quite full and does not fit back into the plastic pouch, but that is okay.”

Now she also said this timely bit of advice for keeping track of your giveaway entries…

“I want you to know that I knew I had won before I received your email.  Besides being an avid coupon user, I also enter many sweepstakes and contests like yours.  I have a Google Alert set on the word”sweepstakes”and learn about new sweepstakes that way.  I have Google Alerts set for my name and my husband’s name.  I got a Google Alert on my name when you announced in your Blog that I was the winner. For your readers that enter contests I recommend setting up several Google Alerts.”

Giveaway Details
One lucky winner will receive a Couponizer courtesy of Couponizer.com

1. Leave a comment about your coupon organizing needs and/or solutions. Or trackback from your own blog.
2. One entry per person.
3. Winner chosen at random. I’ll let my daughter pick a number between 1 and how ever many enter. She’s 4.
4. Contest ends Monday, noonish, April 12 th 2010
5. The winner will need to provide a mailing address so if you’re not comfortable with that (if you win) please do not enter.
6. Open to US residents only.