Not only is water a resource we should conserve, it’s a utility you pay for unless you live in an area where you have your own well. There are a lot of ways you can save on your water bill. They may not all be things you’re willing to do or that work for you [...]

Posted in Frugal, Going Green, Parenting 1 Comment »

Some quick tips for adding vegetable content when you’re preparing meals for picky kids:

Use vegetable cocktail in a soup. If a recipe calls for stock, tomatoes or tomato sauce, you can switch part of it out for vegetable cocktail and get the added nutrients from the other vegetables in the juice without affecting the taste [...]

Posted in Easy Food, Health and Beauty, Parenting 1 Comment »

Chore charts are a great way to keep kids organized and teach them how to build good habits. The one in the picture comes from Chart Jungle, which is a great source for printable charts of all sorts, including a blank version of this one.
Seeing all the days chores laid out visually makes it easier [...]

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Spotlight Post: 25 Ways to Simplify Your Life with Kids
Prep the night before. Mornings can be a hectic time for parents and kids alike, but they don’t have to be. Instead, prep as much as possible the night before, and have your mornings be a little more relaxed. I like to prep lunches, get their [...]

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How many times have you seen a baby or small child ignore the toy and play with the packaging?
Baby toys are a huge, greedy market, and their marketing is designed to make you feel like a bad parent if you don’t buy toys that promise to develop skills and prepare your child in some way [...]

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Disposable diapers are a very big part of landfill clutter, and they’re mostly non-biodegradable. Making your own cloth diapers is a great, eco-sensitive and frugal alternative. Here are some free patterns and instructions for making some. If you’re not comfortable with sewing, ask a relative or friend who is if they would make some diapers [...]

Posted in Going Green, Parenting No Comments »

The big problem with using ultimatums and threats in negotiating is that you’re giving the other person a choice. No matter how bad the choice is, there’s something in human nature that wants to take it just to show you you’re not the boss. Or to see if you’ll really follow through - which you [...]

Posted in Parenting, Work No Comments »

Every generation has some parents who decide they’re never going to tell their kids “no”. When asked why, most of them say they think “no” will “break their spirit” or “hurt their self-esteem.” This is absolutely false. Kids need to be told “no” when it’s appropriate, and telling them “no” will not hurt their self-esteem [...]

Posted in Parenting 5 Comments »

It’s snow time, and the kids want to play outside! How do you know for sure they’re warm enough?

How to Keep Kids Safe When Playing in Snow. Talks about layering clothes, making sure the clothes breathe, picking out appropriate boots, and checking for signs of frostbite periodically.
Makeshift Ziploc Bag “Snow Boots” for babies. Great workaround [...]

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As neighborhoods get less and less neighborly and we live increasingly isolated lives, it’s not that easy to do the hand-me-down thing with babies’ and kids’ items. Freepeats is going to fill that void by letting you donate and receive used kids’ stuff instead of sending it to the landfill or buying new.

Posted in Parenting 1 Comment »