Neat Freak Rule #121 - Don't Reinvent the Wheel with Storing Christmas Decor

Packing away Christmas decorations used to be so stressful for me. All of my big, bulky decor that was a puzzle to cram into the designated boxes I have that just-barely fit in my garage cabinets. 

Then I got a label maker and started labeling everything. It seemed silly when I was decorating because I didn't care what was in each box…I put out ALL of the items and the boxes ended up being empty! But. When it was time to put everything away, I realized how easy it was for me (and others in my family who can read!) to get the big items in the right box and squeeze everything else all around them.

These labels have saved my sanity more than once. Even if you use masking tape, consider labeling your holiday containers!

(PS - Your house will still look like a disaster when you un-decorate, but at least it might save you a little time.)

#1 - Hang curtains on the office window

#1 on my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days list is DONE! This is one of the lingering items from my first 101 in 1001 list from 1998. 

I'm a little ashamed that it took 5 years to throw some fabric up on the wall (or, ahem, for my MOM to throw some fabric up there) to complete this project. I had the leftover fabric laying around for years. YEARS. And now this no-sew, knot-the-corners-and-nail-it-around-the-window project is finally done. Thanks, Mom!!!

Neat Freak Rule #79: Find Something That Needs to be Done and DO IT (Teaching Initiative)

With Christmas creeping up on us like a freight train, my house has been in complete disarray. Bags with gifts that need to be hidden and wrapped, random toys and blankets and items strung all over the house, shoes kicked off, coats on the floor, not to mention incoming Christmas cards and cookie platters from neighbors…sometimes I look around and want to freak out. 

But I don't. On the outside.

Instead, from time to time, I have the kids stop what they're doing and ask them to spend 5 minutes picking up. If I'm not in the mood to bark orders, I'll tell them to "find something that needs to be done and do it." 

Most of the time I delegate: "Ryan...please take out the trash and recycle bins, Kaylin…empty the dishwasher, Jason…put away this pile of laundry." But it occurred to me recently that they might not see the mess that I see because I'm always micromanaging HOW and WHAT they clean. Is it possible to train their eyes to see what I see? 

I have no idea, but I'm going to try. The first few times I heard, "Everything's done!" before they'd even started. Now that they realize I'm not letting them off the hook that easily, they take more initiative to find things to pick up, put away, load/unload, or otherwise tidy.  

Considering the fact that I'm not the primary one making these completely unnecessary messes (*cough* JASON *cough*), I don't feel the need to constantly be tidying what others destroy. Until everyone is officially in the habit of picking up after themselves (will that day EVER come?) then we all need to tackle the tasks together. Plus, it goes faster when everyone pitches in!

My First Pinterest Party

This past weekend, a couple of friends and I hosted our first annual Pinterest Party. It was such a hit that the guests were already asking us to plan one for Valentine's Day! No one wants to wait a whole year before doing another one.

Here were the details of the invitation: everyone pre-paid $25 to cover the cost of the craft supplies, then my two friends and I each chose a craft. We didn't do a very good job staying within our budget, but it was a tough balance because we didn't want to pick something cheap and chinsy, or something that took too much time to complete. Even though we went over budget, we were really happy with the projects!

This was a two-sided Christmas/Birthday countdown.

(the birthday side - more neutral colors)

We also did a wooden painted JOY craft (it's supposed to hang - I haven't bought the Paper Tak stuff yet) and Martha Stewart's White Christmas Mason Jar Luminaries. 

As for food, we asked the party guests to each bring their own Pinterest dish. I set up the table with pre-made candy cane food labels and had the girls fill in the name of their recipe when they arrived.

I also put together a hot cocoa bar complete with mini marshmallows, toffee bits, mini chocolate chips, whipped cream, Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka and chocolate peppermint dipped spoons. 

I used an easy and surprisingly delicious crock pot cocoa recipe: 1/2 cup dry baking cocoa, 12 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, 1/8 tsp salt, 7 1/2 cups water, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. It's perfect for a crowd. Try it! You'll thank me.

I also made chocolate peppermint marshmallow stir sticks with some red and white striped paper straws that I found at Target.

One last thing I added to the tablescape were these adorable meant-for-Valentine's Day candy cane hearts. Such a fun idea to do with leftover mini candy canes! Place the two candy canes with the top of the crook touching the top of the popsicle stick, bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 350* for 3 minute until the candy canes are moldable, pinch the ends together (top and bottom) to adhere to the stick and "fill" the center with melted white chocolate or almond bark. (I used a very fancy Ziplock with the corner snipped off)

Curious what the other guests brought for their Pinterest dishes? It was a complete sugar fest. Let's just say I regretted skipping dinner.

Caramel Apple Pops (contest winner for best presentation!)

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies (not the most "Pinterest pretty" presentati, but Oh. My. Yum.)

Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites (contest winner for best tasting!)

Reindeer Donuts

Snowman Donuts and Santa Hat Pretzels

Everyone arrived at 6:00, we ate and voted on the best recipes, chatted for about an hour, then we finally got started on our crafting around 7:30. 

The kids came home toward the end of the party and had fun with the fondue fountain.

It's safe to say that we all had a blast. The weekend we chose was horrible for attendance (everyone had office parties and other commitments 10 days before Christmas!) so next year, we'll schedule our Pinterest Party before the craziness of Christmas is in full swing. Which will probably have to be before Thanksgiving.

25 Days of Christmas, 2013 Edition

Our advent activities are pretty low key this year. I'm excited about less pressure and more relaxed family fun time.

Day 1 - Make a countdown chain link
Day 2 - Christmas Family Movie Night
Day 3 - Make Monkey Munch
Day 4 - Ice Cream Cone Christmas Tree craft
Day 5 - Bake a homemade apple pie
Day 6 - Celebrate St. Nicholas Day
Day 7 - Have a Christmas Scavenger Hunt in the neighborhood
Day 8 - Look up a craft on Pinterest and put it together as a family
Day 9 - Christmas Family Movie Night
Day 10 - Cut paper snowflakes
Day 11 - Make Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Day 12 - Make everything needed for a Hot Cocoa Bar
Day 13 - Christmas Family Movie Night
Day 14 - Snowman pancakes for breakfast
Day 15 - Make homemade cinnamon ornaments
Day 16 - Drive around in PJs and look at Christmas lights
Day 17 - Christmas Family Movie Night
Day 18 - Make Peppermint Popcorn
Day 19 - Drive around in PJs looking at Christmas lights
Day 20 - Bake a birthday cake for Jesus
Day 21 - Make Marshmallow Stir Sticks
Day 22 - Snow Day in Flagstaff
Day 23 - Make Christmas cookies
Day 24 - Deliver Christmas treats to friends and neighbors
Day 25 - Read the Nativity Story from the Bible

Easy Apple Fritters

I have been making these Apple Fritters for years. They are a Christmas morning tradition and an occasional Saturday morning treat. Make them this weekend…you will thank me.

I've experimented and tried to clean up the ingredients a bit and they turned out great! Then on Thanksgiving a few days ago, I made them with GF flour, Xylitol and also substituted the canola oil for coconut oil - I think I messed with them too much. The consistency wasn't quite the same, but they were still very good. So use substitutions as you see fit for your family's dietary needs. The skeleton of this recipe is hard to mess up!!!

Fritter:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (GF all-purpose flour works, too)
• 1/4 cup sugar (or baking Xylitol)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup milk (coconut milk or almond milk works too)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apple (with or without the skin)
• canola oil (for frying)

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Pour oil into saucepan so that it is approximately 1 1/2 inches deep.  Heat oil on medium-high while making the dough.  Oil is ready when dough sizzles in the pan and floats to top.  
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon.  
3. Stir in milk and egg until just combined.  Fold in chopped apple.  
4. Carefully add dough to oil in heaping teaspoons.  Don't crowd the saucepan too much - the dough will expand a bit. (I cook 4-5 at a time in a 2 quart saucepan)
5. Cook until brown, about 2 minutes, then flip with a fork or slotted spoon.  Cook another 1-2 minutes, until both sides are browned.  
6. Transfer briefly to paper towels to absorb excess oil, then transfer to cooling rack.  
7. Make glaze by stirring milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl.  Drizzle over apple fritters.  Best served warm.

I always double this recipe for my hungry family and serve next to eggs. I figure the protein will somehow balance the sugar overload to avoid late-morning meltdowns.

This is how they usually look - puffy and round. The first batches all disappeared quickly and by the time I took pictures, they all flattened out (as in the pictures on top)

Neat Freak Rule #124: Containerize

I will never forget the first time I saw baskets in someone's kitchen pantry. The snack items were in one basket, nuts and baking items in another, lunchbox items in another. It looked like something out of a magazine! My image of an organized pantry would never be the same again.

I was instantly a fan of containerizing. Anything that's small or piece-y looks and feels more tidy if it's contained. In our playroom, there are plenty of open bins for the kids to toss their toys to keep the floor clean. I labeled our colorful dress up bins for easy access, but sometimes it's a mad dash to pick up and things are thrown wherever, which is fine with me...as long as I can see the carpet. 

You will find containers all over my house. On tables, in closets, in drawers and cabinets. I'm obviously a big fan. I'm always on the lookout for clearance items that I can use to containerize different items. 

They keep like things together and help me find what I'm looking for quickly and easily. It's also faster to put things away when I know where they go. Remember: A place for everything and everything in its place!

And don't get me started on labeling. Not everything in our house is labeled, but when I get an itch to be fancy, I'll pull out my label maker and go to town. Labels eliminate the guesswork. OH - have you seen the new chalkboard labels? Love. Get yourself a liquid chalk marker and you'll be a happy camper.

Sometimes I put containers inside of containers. The white bin (in my baking box below) already had candle wax all in it (ruined, in my mind) but the pink one did not, so I put the open candles in one and the boxes in another. Excessive? Probably. But I'm aware of my obsessiveness, so there's no need to point and laugh. 

Seriously though - things look so great when you take them out of their manufactured packaging and put them in a container. Aren't my muffin wrappers adorable, all stacked like that? I found a bunch on clearance for $.50 and stocked up. Polka dots, strips, birthday and Halloween…I won't have to spray a muffin tin for years!

Gluten Free Chocolate Walnut Torte

Whether or not you follow a gluten-free diet, this little treasure of a dessert is delicious. It's not expensive (as most GF desserts can be) and is full of protein (lots of eggs). It utilizes way too many bowls to prepare, but other than the heavy dishes you'll be washing afterward, the recipe is fairly straight-forward. I found the original here. 

Chocolate Walnut Torte
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup Xylitol, agave nectar, honey, or plain old sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups walnuts

1. In a food processor, pulse the chocolate until the pieces resemble the consistency of gravel.

2. Add the walnuts and pulse again for just a few seconds, until they are coarsely chopped - just bigger than the chocolate chunks.

3. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until they're pale in color, then gradually beat in your sweetener of choice (Xylitol, agave, honey or sugar). Fold in the chocolate-walnut mixture.

4. In a separate large bowl (preferably a KitchenAide mixer with the whisk attachment) beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then beat in the salt.

5. Fold the chocolate-walnut mixture into the egg yolk mixture.

6. Pour into a well-greased 9-inch springform pan.

7. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave in for 10 minutes longer, until firm to the touch and golden brown around the edges.

8. Cool slightly in pan, then serve. (I prefer to serve it warm so the chocolate is still melty)

Neat Freak Rule #1: A Place for Everything (come on...finish it with me…!)

There are lots of tips and tricks for having a neat and tidy home, but by far, the best organizational tip I've ever heard is: 

A place for everything, and everything in it's place.

This is the single most important rule of keeping things organized in your home, office, anywhere. If your stuff doesn't have a home, it piles up and grows (sometimes it feels like it breeds) and quickly becomes clutter. 

Think about that for a minute…how many times have you shoved something in a drawer or closet because you didn't know where to put it? Or dumped mail on a junk counter to get it off the island while you try to make your family dinner?

But having "a place for everything" is only the first half of the mantra. If everything has a home, is it realistic to expect that everything will end up there? Maybe not all of the time, unless you live alone and have no one else contributing to the mess in your home. 

For me, my husband and kids are not the only culprits in my battle for a perfectly neat and tidy house. Even though I have a home for {almost} everything, it doesn't always make it there. The act of putting things where they belong is deliberate and intentional.

You can see my attempt at a system here: The top paper tray was for incoming mail and coupons, the kids each had a tray below that and the bottom one was for and magazines. The little white bin was supposed to be a catch-all for small items like hair ties and paper clips, but became a catch-all for absolutely everything!

My new goal is to not put something down unless I'm putting it away. I have a horrible habit of carrying an arm-ful of items upstairs and dumping them on my desk. Or cleaning off my bed to go to sleep and relocating folded laundry onto the top of my dresser. Or bringing in trash from the van and unloading everything on the counter. How much longer would it take to walk the items over to the trash can right then and there? Or to put my purse directly on the shelf? Or to take my shoes off by the hall closet and put them away immediately? 

What is displaced in your home right now? Incoming mail? School papers from the kids' backpacks? To-be wrapped Christmas gifts? Mass quantities of Costco toilet paper? Items to donate?

Make a plan and stick with it. I have baskets and cubbies and places for most everything in my house. (Except binoculars…I cannot figure out where to put our rarely used, yet needed when they're needed, binoculars! But I digress…)

Incoming mail can be corralled in a shallow basket on a table near the garage/front door. I'm a firm believer in going through the mail immediately, with the recycle bin close by. It's rare that I don't have 5 minutes to sift through the mail, but if I'm in a rush, I simply don't bring it in the house! I'll leave it in the mailbox until I have time to go through it the next day.

School papers from the kids can be put in a reference binder or another spot where you collect items for each child. Just be sure to go through these periodically so they don't pile up…because they will.

To-be wrapped Christmas gifts can be stowed away under your bed or on the top shelf of your hall closet. For me, as soon as the gifts are wrapped, they go under the tree. And after they're UNwrapped on Christmas morning, they go back under the tree until I find a long-term home for them. It gives me several days to put away new toys, puzzles, games and electronics in a home where everything already feels at-capacity.

Bulk purchases: If you don't have room for 60 rolls of toilet paper, maybe you shouldn't buy it in bulk. I recently decided to stop purchasing paper napkins from Costco…I simply don't want to store 4 packages of 260 napkins each. Granted, I only need to buy napkins a few times a year, but it's not worth it to find a place for them.

Donations: Keep a garbage bag in the corner of your closet to toss items to donate so you'll always have something to put on the porch when the Big Brothers/Big Sisters notifications come in the mail.

Is it time to go through your house and gather items to donate? You might need to get rid of some items before you attempt to find a home for what you are willing to keep. I'm a firm believer in having only what will fit in your home…comfortably. By that, I mean if you have a smaller space, you need to figure out how to live with less stuff. How often do you use those giant trays for entertaining? Is it time to pass along some books that you know you'll never read again? Do you really wear all 20 pair of black shoes? We tend to keep more when we have space for more, so even those with excessive amounts of storage need to purge {perhaps even more often} to keep from accidentally becoming a hoarder.

After you go through your stuff, keep like things together to avoid accidentally storing doubles. Once everything is together, you might realize that you can easily get rid of some of the items.

So...which items need to find a home in your house?

Neat Freak Rule #61: Go to Bed With a Clean Kitchen

I'm mentioned this several times before, but I'm happier when my kitchen is clean. Maybe it's because it's the center of our home. Maybe it's because I'm in there making meals and snacks 5-6 times each day. Maybe it's because I hate trying to cook with cluttered counters. Maybe it's because I'm neurotic and I need to seek professional help. 

Who knows the real reason! But one thing is for sure: if I wake up to a sink full of dishes or leftover rice all over the floor, it starts my morning on the wrong foot. In a bad way.

So it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a key ingredient to a pleasant morning. If I spend a few extra minutes cleaning up the kitchen before heading upstairs for bed at night, I'm setting myself up for success in the morning. 

The beautiful thing is that everyone generally helps put the kitchen back together after dinner: the kids clear and wipe off the table, Mike and Ryan load the dishwasher, I pack away leftovers, Jason vacuums under the table, Kaylin puts away stray toys and shoes. Does it happen 100% of the time? Absolutely not. But the evenings when the kitchen is neat and tidy make for much happier mornings. 

And then it is destroyed again at the next meal.

Neat Freak Rule #143: Never Leave a Room Empty Handed

Have you ever wondered how organized people keep clutter at bay? There are lots of tips and tricks, but one of the secrets (there are not 143…I made that up) is to never leave a room without taking something with you. Obviously, you'll want to be intentional about bringing something that doesn't belong in the kitchen upstairs to the office when you head up to change your clothes. Or bring the laundry basket down to the laundry room on your way downstairs to start making dinner. Get the idea?

For me, this is a never-ending cycle because my sweet "I'm four now and I'm not three anymore because I've had lots of birthdays…four of them…" Jason lives by a similar philosophy. The problem is that instead of bringing things back into the room where they belong, he chooses to take things from their rightful homes and drop them off in a totally random part of the house. 

I find stuffed animals in my closet. Clean, neglected wardrobe changes on my bathroom floor. Schoolbooks in the hallway. Dirty socks on my bed. Books in the pantry. Hot Wheels by the front door. The iPad cover in the play room. Darts and dart guns every.where. I'm not making up a single one of these examples…these are just a few things I've found this week. He remains, and may always be, Destructo-boy: Destroyer of All Things Tidy.

So if you feel like your house looks like a tornado went through it, give this task a try. And don't just dump something on a table when you drop it in the right room - take a quick second and put it back in the drawer where it belongs, put dishes in the dishwasher, hang up the shirt, throw the trash way…you get the idea. You will save yourself the extra work later!

#24 - Preplan Homeschool Schedule for a Month (and stick to it)

This quick post is LONG overdue, but the task is done! I began this feat on July 28th and planned our schedule through September 6th. (a little longer than a month because of two trips on the calendar)

After the homeschool conference this summer, we decided to incorporate KONOS unit studies into our curriculum. They're character based and very activity driven, all meant to supplement the current reading, writing and arithmetic programs that are already in place. 

The kids have loved it! We are just now finishing up the first 12-week character study on Attentiveness. We've covered everything from the five senses to Helen Keller and Alexander Graham Bell to predators and prey (they certainly need to be attentive!) to pioneers to Native Americans. 

Back to the task at hand: during one of our trips to my in-law's cabin in July, I spent a chunk of time planning a month of our school schedule and activities. I requested books from the library online, made lists of supplies needed, it all seemed like a great idea at the time.

But as far as the "stick to it" part of my goal, I decided not to get stuck on fulfilling that piece. One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility. And having everything written down (albeit in pencil) didn't allow for much flexibility for my Type A personality. We got off track by week 2 and a small piece of me died inside. Not to mention that not doing my weekly planning every Sunday got me completely out of the habit and it took me until just recently to get back INTO the habit. (the same thing happened when I meal planned our menu for a month - I haven't been in a good routine of meal planning since!)

As you can see, I pick my own categories for "lunchroom" and "playground" since I bought a traditional teacher's planning book. 

We were at the cabin again this past weekend and I planned the next two weeks of our schedule. I think that's about as far in advance as I'm comfortable with for now. Things come up that throw us off and I need to work on my spontaneity, not my organization. People get sick, we go on impromptu field trips to the pumpkin patch or Phoenix Children's Museum, we learn that the neighbors have "fall break" and our doorbell starts ringing at 8am with requests for Ryan to play football at the park...I'd much rather he get exercise with his friends instead of checking off his school to-do list. There's plenty of time to practice his spelling words...next week.

That's the beauty of not being accountable to anyone except myself. We can switch things up whenever we want! So #24 is crossed off my 101 in 1001 list, but I honestly don't know that I liked the results. But it's done, regardless!