My New Freezer Inventory System

This past year, we used our Christmas gift money to purchase an upright freezer for the garage.  I know, how did we survive so long without a freezer?  I really have no idea.  At first, I didn't even know how to adjust to life with a freezer.  For a while, the only think inside the freezer were the twenty bags of holiday chocolate chips from Albertson's clearance rack.  Eventually, I also found baking chocolate on clearance, further increasing my freezer stockpile of chocolate.  One day, David took over the Farmer's Market shopping and we ended up with way more oranges than I knew what to do with.  So, I juiced them providing something of nutritional value for the freezer.  Then, something clicked in my brain, and I suddenly realized that I could stockpile perishable items!  If Costco put turkey bacon on sale with a purchase limit of five, I could actually purchase five and put them in the freezer.  Things were going really well, and everything seemed manageable until tomato season hit!  In one week, I have made nineteen jars of tomato sauce.  Big jars.  At this point, the freezer was getting a little bit out of control.  I had no idea how to keep track of what was in there without actually opening the freezer door and looking inside.  In need of a solution to my dilemma I turned to Google.  A quick search landed me with oodles of images of freezer inventory checklists. I settled on the inventory sheet I created in OmniGraffle below.   So how do I use this?  When I put something into the freezer, I make a slash like this "/". When I take something out, I turn that slash into an "X".  Ah, so simple and beautiful!  Now, I am happy as a lark because I don't actually have to open the freezer to know what's inside.  And, even better, I don't have to try to remember what's inside.  Believe me, the less there is for me to mentally keep track of, the better!!  Happy stockpiling:)

Summer Equals Reorganization!

Part of summertime fun at the Mobleys always involves a bit of reorganization and spring cleaning! I had big plans for David to build cubbies in the laundry room for shoes and bags and jackets. When he realized my plan involved removing the door, he exercised his veto power. Instead, we settled on building cubbies for the entryway.  Bye-bye inexpensive do-it-yourself home improvement.  David was concerned that his carpentry skills were not up to par for the highly noticeable entryway, so we hired the cabinet maker who the University had hired to build other cabinetry in our home.

Because we have set back arches in our entryway, it was a bit tricky coming up with the final design. We tossed around so many iterations, played around with different dimensions, and finally settled on what you see in the picture. Everyone is so pleased with the new cubbies, especially me, since shoes and bags are being put away in their proper places with more consistency.

I decided to use the space between the cubbies to display our unique collection of hats, mostly handmade by my mother-in-law. At least this portion of the project was inexpensive, coming in under $15! I bought three pieces of craft board from Lowe's, painted them with clearance paint, and attached them to the wall with screws. (Yes, another excuse to use David's power tools!!)  I first tried screwing Bulldog clips into the boards for hanging the hats.  Right away, I realized this was not going to work out, since I was the only one who could hang the hats.  Add that to the list of things I need to do on a daily basis?  No, thank you!  So, I replaced the Bulldog clips with clothespins.  Now, everyone can retrieve his/her own hat and everyone, except Josiah, is capable of hanging them back up!

Then, of course, coloring had to be involved, so I made everyone a special sign, like this one, marking their territory!

I Can Use a Power Drill!!!

This is how our Saturday began...
Me: Do you think you'll be able to work on the laundry room today?"
David: (looking very skeptical) "Well, I'm going to take the kids to running club and stop at the Farmer's Market. Then, I was hoping to spend my time with Jonathan and then work on my Sunday School lesson.
David: (quizzical) "Wasn't there something else you wanted me to do today anyways?"
Me: "No."
David: "Well, if that's the case, then I'll make the laundry room a priority."
Me: (There's really noooo way it's gonna get done today.) "OK."

 Now, you can see why I taught myself how to use a power drill today!!! I've watched David do this stuff so much that I wasn't completely clueless, but I was a little worried that I would screw something up and David would come home disappointed! The first step was to find the tools I needed. Power drill. Got it. Drill bits. Searching...searching...still searching...who would imagine they would be in this red walletish-looking thing??? Wall anchors. Got 'em. All supplies in hand, I got out the ironing board hanger and was ready to proceed with gusto until I realized I didn't even know how to put an anchor into the wall. So, I watched a quick YouTube video and then proceeded. My first mistake was to drill the hole too big. So, I tried again a bit higher, repeated three times for the other three holes, screwed the holder into the wall, and, much to my surprise, it didn't fall down. It even stayed up when I set the ironing board and iron in place.

Motivated by this initial success, I proceeded to drill and screw and drill and screw. When it was all done, I really wanted to take a picture and submit it to Better Homes and Gardens because I was just so surprised that I actually did it all myself.  Okay, I know it's not impressive at all really, certainly not the quality of work that is featured in magazines.  David probably would have completed this project in less than an hour.  Me?  Well, it took me the better part of the day. Still, I am thrilled that I have acquired a new skill, and I can't wait to have another opportunity to use it!  I'm also delighted to have my cleaning tools and supplies organized!

Not Pretty But Functional

I can now attest to the fact that boys are messier than girls.  Period.  Even though I mostly spoon-feed these guys, food gets everywhere. On the forehead. In the ear. Everywhere!  Quickly, I realized one bib per boy was just not going to cut it!  Then, I saw that someone transformed a waterproof bag into a really cute bib.  Inspiration!  I dug out my stash of bags.  Alas, not one was waterproof.  Disappointed but not discouraged, I remembered the big stash of old, worn cloth diapers sitting in the laundry room awaiting their fate as cleaning rags.  Perfect bib material!  I just cut a curve for the neck and then sewed ties on using some extra fabric I had from curtains.  Voila!  I realize these are not going to win any awards for either cuteness or stitchery, but, hey, they are functional!  Plus, a cute bib might detract from the cute faces anyways:)

Random Baking Tip

I know some of you out there are probably gearing up for some serious holiday baking!  Not me.  I'm just trying to keep on top of feeding my crew three meals a day, plus elevensies...and onesies...and threesies...and sevensies.  Have I mentioned that I am going to be increasing our grocery budget soon to keep up with these boys??? 

OK, now on to the baking tip.  Maybe this is something that every other baker on this planet already knows about, but here goes.  One day, when I was making bread, I almost forgot to add the honey.  I added the oil first.  Then, I remembered the honey.  So, I added the honey.  Yep, I used the same tablespoon to measure the honey.  The honey didn't stick to the spoon at all!  So, now I always measure the oil before the honey!  Or if I am not using oil, I spray the measuring implement with cooking spray!  No ooey gooey sticky mess! 

The iTunes Visualizer

Honestly, my first plan of attack for a fussy baby is to nurse.  All of my children have found it really comforting.  Plan B in our house, though, is the visualizer.  Open up iTunes; play some soothing music; press apple and T simultaneously.  Voila!  Graphics set to music.  Mesmerizing!  This has worked wonders for all four kids when they can't sleep because of teething or ear infections or whatever reason.  To this day, Mary, age five, asks me to play the visualizer for her when she is sick! 

Short Haircuts for the Girls

After we got married, David wanted me to cut his hair.  Terrified does not even fully describe how I felt about this.  I went along with him and watched him get a hair cut, so that I could learn how to do it myself...ummm multiple times.  He even bought me clippers, but I was too afraid to use them.  When I couldn't avoid it any longer, I did it.  I actually cut his hair.  And the results were not very good.  I think I cut his sideburns completely off.  Over time, through trial and error, I've improved maybe a little bit.  Maybe I've just grown wiser--I let him do his sideburns now:)  This saves us a ton of money each year--I figure about $180.

Enter two little girls into the equation.  Every time I cut Daddy's hair, they want theirs cut, too.  I avoided cutting the girls' hair for a long time.  I told them I really like long hair on little girls.  You can do so much with long hair: braids, ponies, etc.  The truth is I was again more than terrified.  Well, last year, Mary took the scissors to her hair, so I was forced into the realm of girls' haircuts.  It actually turned out really cute, despite my trepidation.

A few weeks ago, I went and had my hair chopped again.  It had been EIGHT months since I had it cut.  (Ordinarily, haircuts are not particularly memorable for me, but this one had been on my day of grace before the boys were evicted.  Unforgettable!)  At last, the girls wore me down begging and pleading for haircuts, too.  I think they turned out pretty cute this time.  And, you know, what I've realized about kids and haircuts?  Kids are cute no matter how much you screw up their hair:)

Clothing Labels

I recently read this ingenious tip for labeling clothes that you pass down from child to child in The Complete Tightwad Gazette.

Label the eldest child's clothes with an X.  When an item gets passed down to child #2, add an X, so that the label now reads XX.  When that item gets passed down to cherub #3, add another X, so that the label reads XXX.  Now, why didn't I think of that???

Mary and Maggie are still different enough in size that we can easily distinguish their clothes when it comes to folding and sorting laundry, but I am holding on to this idea for the future:)

Therapik to the Rescue!

Honestly, before we moved to Louisiana, I had no clue just how buggy it would be here!  Mosquitoes, no-see-ums, ants, and, our favorite, the stinging caterpillars.  None of these seem to really bother my husband.  Lucky guy.  I wouldn't exactly say that we girls are allergic.  I would say that we are extremely sensitive to the bugs.  We get super-itchy welts.  One doctor recommended the Benadryl Itch Relief Stick.  That helps a little.  It's really difficult to keep the girls from scratching the bites, though.  I've tried putting bandaids over every single bite, but they just pull them off and scratch away.  Scabs.  Blood.  Yuck!  A friend who has lived here all her life told me about the AfterBite stick.  We found that if we can apply AfterBite immediately, the bites/stings swell less and itch less.

Recently, my mother-in-law sent me an article about the Therapik.  Consider this my endorsement for the Therapik!  This is absolutely the best product that we have found to relieve the pain and itch of bites/stings.  The therapik applies heat to the area which relieves the pain and itch by increasing blood flow to the area.  It looks a bit like an ear thermometer and requires a 9V battery.  You just put the tip on the affected area and press the button for 20-30 seconds.  If you, like me, find yourself in a place where you have no choice but to coexist with our buggy friends, then you really should seriously consider getting the Therapik!!! 

Our New Deli Meat Strategy

We normally eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch.  When we have guests, though, we like to splurge on deli meat.  This time, instead of buying the pre-sliced turkey either from the deli or in packages, I tried out a tip I read in America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams.  I bought a little chub of turkey ham.  I brought it home and sliced it into thin slices using my food processor.  It was actually recommended that you take it to the deli counter to be sliced, but Save-A-Lot doesn't have a deli counter, so I had to enlist the help of my food processor.  It cost about $2 a pound this way and worked great for sandwiches for our lunches with Grandpa and Grandma Judy! 

Onions, Onions, Onions

Who likes to chop onions? Not me! I tear up so much that I can't even see what I'm doing.  Not very good when handling a sharp implement like a knife!  But, the smell of sauteed onions just can't be beat!  I read this awesome tip a while ago on moneysavingmom.com.  Thanks, Crystal, for the time, money and tear-saving advice!

Whenever I buy onions, I chop off the ends, peel them and quarter them.  That's all of them--every last one in the bag.  Then into the food processor they go.

Once chopped, I measure them by 1/2 cupfuls into small ziploc bags.  I roll them up like little burritos and put them in one big ziploc freezer bag and freeze them.  Whenever a recipe calls for an onion, I just pull one small bag out of the big freezer bag.

Not only is this a huge timesaver for me, but it stretches my onions, too.  I got 13 bags out of one 3-pound bag of onions when I did this the other day.  Around here onions are only $2 a bag, so I don't save a ton of money chopping and freezing onions this way.  I do, however, save a lot of hassle!

How I Made $200!

As a stay-at-home mom, my rewards are not normally in the form of monetary gains. I get smiles.  I get hugs.  I get kisses.  The value of these things is inestimable!  Nonetheless, I was super-excited about making $200 for my family in about five minutes time!

I know for some of you credit cards may be taboo.  Not for us.  We use them.  We pay them off.  We only use them for expenses that are (1) budgeted or (2) non-budgeted, absolutely necessary, and affordable.  One of the big reasons that we use credit cards is for the cash back.  Recently, David applied for a Chase Freedom credit card because they offer 5% cash back in certain expenditure categories quarterly.  We figured we could potentially earn more cash back if the category rotation is different than the 5% offered by our Discover card.  When David applied, they offered us $100 after the first use of the card.  About a week later, we received an offer for $300 instead of $100,  At first our reaction was, "That's too bad.  Wish we had that crystal ball!"  But, then I thought it couldn't hurt to at least ask about it.  So, I called customer service and gave them the offer number.  Within two weeks, I received a letter that 20,000 points have been added to our account, which equates to $200!  It never hurts to ask!

Stickers, Stickers, and More Stickers

A while ago, my mom, a.k.a. Grandma Nancy, shared this awesome tip with me.  You know all those address labels you get from the non-profit organizations?  She cuts the addresses off and uses the pretty picture part for stickers.  Brilliant!  I still have the same number of return address labels, but look at all the new stickers my kiddos have!  They LOVE them!

A Puzzle Tip

Recently, Maggie has been quite the puzzler.  She has moved on from the wooden puzzles to jigsaw puzzles!  I have been enjoying watching her figure out how the pieces fit together in the different puzzles that we own.  The reality in our home right now is that often when she wants help, I am occupied with one of the boys and can't come right away.  While waiting for me, she figures it out on her own.

All this "playing puzzles" brought to mind a tip that a friend shared with me years ago, which I have found really helpful.  To make sure the right puzzle pieces get returned to the right box, label the back of the puzzle pieces and the box or in this case the backing with the same label.  This has really come in handy when we have clean up to do after playdates with friends.  That's usually when we have multiple puzzle boxes/backings and lots of pieces scattered on the floor. 

The Clothesline Update

I know you have all been wondering how our clothesline adventure is going ever since I wrote about my brilliant idea to put up a clothesline during hurricane season.  Well, I am happy to officially declare it a success!  Twenty feet of line sounds like an awful lot until you try to hang your clothes on it, so I actually ordered a second line.  We (meaning my husband) had to criss-cross the lines rather than run them parallel because of our backyard configuration.  Even if it looks a bit non-traditional, the clothes still get dry.  Last week, we actually had excessive heat warnings every day, so I was able to dry every single load of laundry on the clothesline!  Yippee!  I did err on one point, though.  I failed to make the lines low enough for the girls to reach.  Does Miracle Grow work on kids?  Fellow cloth diaperers, I am pleased to report that the sun has an amazingly wonderful effect on my cloth diapers.  My previously stained used since 2006 cloth diapers look like I just bought them!  They are bright white!  I am sure there is a science lesson in there somewhere...I can't wait to see the savings on our Entergy bill, although I guess last week's savings were probably eaten up by air conditioner use, since it was so hot!

My Next Frugal Adventure--A Clothesline

Once I remember a mom of five telling me that she did a load of laundry every day.  At the time, I didn't have any children and I was horrified!  I couldn't imagine having that much laundry to do.  Well, guess what?  I am now that woman!   I don't even have five kids and I am that woman!  Having one big laundry day is inconceivable for me in this season of life, so I try to do one load per day (Monday through Thursday).  Since we use cloth diapers, I also have diapers to wash every day and half or so.  That's a lot of drier use!  I thought we could save some money and energy by having a clothesline.  I found this clothesline at Wal-Mart for $9.  It actually turned out to be free for us, since we had a gift card from trading in our American Express points!  Plus, to avoid paying for shipping, I had it shipped to the store.  My husband put it up for me yesterday.  Clearly, I am not hanging today's dark wash out on the line because of the thunderstorms.  I admit it was not exactly a brilliant idea to install a clothesline during hurricane season in New Orleans!

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

We try to have a brief time of family worship every evening.  Usually this consists of a short Bible story, singing two songs from the Wee Sing Bible Songs and Wee Sing More Bible Songs and a hymn, and a time of prayer.  Recently, prayer time has been a battle with the girls.  It is difficult for them to think of things to pray for.  At the same time, they really don't like it when we give them things to pray for.  While God does care about us not having bad dreams at night, we really want our children to get beyond thinking of their own needs and pray for others in our family, the church and the world.  Enter prayer board.  I went to Target and bought this bulletin board.  We divided the board into three sections: family, church, world.  (As you can see from the picture, it's still a work in progress.)  Whenever we have a prayer request we write it down (with the smelly markers) on a piece of paper and post it on the bulletin board. During our family devotions, we're not at a loss of what to pray for anymore.  We ask each of the girls to pray for something on the board.  We are happy because they are praying for something in addition to not having bad dreams.  They are happy because they are choosing what to pray for.  Some friends at church also gave us the idea to write down how God answers each specific prayer request on the back and keep them, so that we can periodically remind ourselves of how God has answered our prayers.  We are really looking forward to building our Ebenezer!

Our Bag Drier

Hey, frugal friends, do you reuse your ziploc bags?  Oh, come on now!   Admit that you do!  Well, I reuse my ziploc bags until they have holes in them rendering them useless for food storage.  I grew up doing this, but never had a really good way to dry them.  For Christmas one year, my ingenious husband made me this bag drier.

What you need:

• Flat piece of wood
• dowels
• wood glue
• stain
• polyurethane
• paint brushes

Instructions:

1. Take a flat piece of wood and drill as many holes as bags you wish to dry.
2. Use wood glue to glue dowels in place.  Let dry.
3. Stain and coat with 3 layers of polyurethane.  

Now, you have a handy bag drier!  Truth be told, we even gave a friend one of these for a wedding present!

Why I Didn't Clean Last Week

We are back onto our cleaning schedule this week after taking a week off.  No, my task manager program did not fail me.  Actually, our pastor and his wife have begun the process of adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia (read about it here).  International adoption is very expensive, so they are planning several fundraisers, the first of which is a yard sale.  We took the week off of cleaning and spent that time going through the house trying to find things to donate to their yard sale.  Thank you, Chad and Cole, for the motivation to declutter!

What works best for us in this season of life is to clean a little bit each day:

• Mondays--kitchen and dining room and take out the trash
• Tuesdays--bathrooms
• Wednesdays--dust or clean the picture frames/mirrors (alternating weeks)
• Thursdays--vacuum the floors and couches, take out recycling, clean living room windows
• Fridays--miscellaneous monthly or less frequent tasks
• Saturdays--yardwork

I keep track of my tasks here. I am loving our new system!  I am better able to train the girls to help in short periods of time.  Cleaning tasks are not so overwhelming anymore because, by cleaning at regular intervals, things actually stay cleaner.  Now, if we have a party or have out-of-town guests come to visit, I don't have to dread the deep cleaning that has to be done either because I've been keeping on top of it!  And, best of all, I don't have to think. I just check my task manager to find out what I'm supposed to clean every day.  Definitely a good thing, since I lost most of my brain cells on March 2!