Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

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Archives for 2011

Inspiration: Halloween Party Ideas – Part 1

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Matthew P.)

Are you planning a Halloween Party this year? For the last two or three years, our family has hosted a non-scary Halloween party with friends. With a busy scheduled this year, I am still debating whether or not we will host this year.

If you are interested in hosting a gathering but have no idea where to start, let me help. In scanning the posts from my favorite blogs through my Google Reader, I came across a great article written by Joanie from thekrazycouponlady.com: Halloween Party Ideas: Plan your Spooky Party for Under $50. She gives you a list of supplies for the food and decorations. Oh, the spider cakes look like lots of fun and simple for little ones to create.

Though I am not currently planning a Halloween party, I enjoy keeping event notes and gaining inspiration in case my schedule frees up to plan a Halloween Bash. In using time wisely, I keep watching for inspiration since I might need one of these ideas soon. Happy planning!

Question: Are you having a Halloween party this year? If so, what are you planning? Please inspire us and add your answer to the comments.

Organizing: Children’s Clothing – Part 2 of 5

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Going to the closet in the morning only to find clothing that is too small, too short, or in the wrong season does not help in using time wisely. Instead of getting my daughter dressed, I am taking time to sort through her clothes searching for something in the right season that will fit.

After finally recovering the last clean suitable outfit, I get her dressed and sent down to breakfast. When I arrive downstairs, I find that spilled milk soaked her top and bottom, and I am back to finding another outfit. Been there? I have more than once. Staying a step ahead of my children’s growths spurts is an ongoing battle, but a great use of my time.

Though I cannot control their growth spurts, I can plan to change their clothing at least twice a year. I prefer spring and fall before the heat and cold arrive. With fall upon us, I am in the process of organizing my children’s clothing. Last week, I shared STEP ONE of my 5-step process. Today, I will take you along as I purge my youngest daughter’s clothes.

STEP TWO: Purge

In my daughter’s nursery, her clothes are housed in the closet and dresser. There are also items in the coat closet, diaper bag, and car. In switching out her clothing, I began with the largest supply found in her closet.

Closet

As I checked each label for the size, I took out any 12-18 month clothing and most of the summer items. As I went item by item, I folded the clothing and set them in piles by size and type (winter or summer).

If I never dressed my daughter in an item of clothing, then I placed it in a donation pile. I would rather someone use the item than to save it for the off chance that I might use it someday.

After purging one rack and placing those items in piles, I went to the next. When the closet was complete, I moved to the dresser.

Dresser

In checking these labels, I kept her 18 month bottoms since my daughter has just outgrown her 12-month pants. As I pulled out items too small for her, I rearranged the piles of clothing in the drawers to allow more room for larger sizes.

Each out-grown item was folded and added to the correct sized clothing pile. Going drawer by drawer, I quickly purged the entire dresser. Then I searched the rest of the house for her clothes.

Coat Closet

In the coat closet, I purged the winter hats, mittens, and coats. These items were added to the appropriate piles in her room.

Diaper Bag

Since I keep a change of clothing in her diaper bag, I needed to take out the smaller size and replace it with a larger size when I get to STEP FOUR. For now, I just removed the smaller sized items.

Car

The last place I checked for her clothing was in the car. My children have a tendency to get dirty, so I keep a spare set of clothing in the car. These items were now too small for my daughter, so I added those items to the piles in her room.

Whew! With lots of clothing piles waiting to be packed away in STEP THREE, I am left with a bare closet and a semi-empty dresser. Though my process is still underway, the progress is moving forward. In using time wisely, I will soon have the correct sized clothing in place making the morning routine less eventful. Happy organizing!

Question: Do you consign your clothing or give it away? Please add your answer to the comments.

Vehicles: Car #2 – DMV Records

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Last week I itemized the eight insurance-related documents kept in the eleventh file slot of Box 1 of my important documents. Another set of documents in this file opening are the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) records for our car #2.

Our DMV records consist of two documents:

Registration

Our vehicle registration arrives attached to the receipt via the mail. Before separating the registration from the receipt, I make a copy. The copy is put in this file slot. I then separate the registration document and place it in an envelope in my glove compartment.

License Plate Decal

This decal is sent shortly after payment of our vehicle registration. When I receive it, I make a copy. Then I apply the sticker to our license plate. The copy and the original document are stapled together and placed in this file opening.

The registration and decal documents are paper clipped together and placed behind the insurance documents in this eleventh file slot. The last set of documents in this file opening are the ownership papers which I will cover in detail next week. Until then, keep using time wisely as you get your documents organized!

Question: Where are you in your document organization project? Please add your answer to the comments.

Do It Yourself: Boy’s Haircut

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Nadine Visscher)

My son was born with a head of hair. In fact, he received his first haircut when he was 8 months old, and he sat very still during the process.

When my mother visited, she graciously trimmed his hair for me until I felt comfortable taking the plunge to cut it myself. With some guidance, I completed my first haircut. No wounds, stray hairs, or gouges. Success!

Though no one got hurt from the haircut, the style was very plain and needed some definition. After trying a number of tips and tricks without the results I wanted, I came across this tutorial posted by Crystal at moneysavingmom.com.

Having cut my son’s hair using these guidelines, I am thrilled with the end result. By watching the tutorial and seeing the process, I corrected my order and method used when cutting his hair.

With the added confidence that I can cut his hair well, I am using time wisely, stretching our dollars, and applying the information learned with fantastic results. Cutting my son’s hair continues to save our family money, energy, and time. Keep stretching your dollars!

Question: Do you cut your own or someone else’s hair? Please add your answer to the comments.

Lowe’s Build and Grow: Monster Machine

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If you are looking for a free family project for this weekend, then look no further. Tomorrow, Lowe’s will be hosting this Build and Grow clinic:

Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

What: Build a monster machine

When: Saturday, October 8, 2011

Where: Your local Lowe’s home improvement store

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

These clinics fill up quickly. Be sure to register your attendance at your local Lowe’s and arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. to the event. For other tips and details on the Lowe’s Build and Grow clinics, refer to my detailed post here.

Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

After this Saturday’s event, the next Lowe’s Build and Grow project will be on Saturday, October 22, 2011, building a monster truck.

You can register for both the October 8 and 22 events through Lowe’s web site.

Enjoy your family activities this weekend!