Quick Kitchen Tip

I was just going to do a quick video to show this time/space saver for us but it's been one of THOSE days and there was not even a 10 second space where it wasn't chaos over here. So here it is instead. Our utensil drawer is FULL, it's tiny and I don't think I can purge anything else! 

So rather than have the kids open that drawer over and over all day, and to save some space. This is where we keep our apple slicer. It's been a must have here since we have kids in various stages of teeth missing, braces etc. 

Do you keep any frequently used items in an unusual place? 

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Back to School Organization~ Cleaning Cards

 I shared our updated Chore Packs last week, over the weekend I put together the cards for each room. These are not jobs that will take hours, just a checklist of a few items that each take a couple minutes max. Having some help do these few chores a couple times a week will sure help me, and help these kids learn how to keep the spaces they frequent tidy. 

I don't expect the bigger kids to need these for long, after a few weeks they will have the routine down, until then, they are laminated and have a spot easy to access. I also attached a dry erase marker because a certain 7 year old I know and love will want to check them off! It might add more time to the job than the actual job, but if it encourages him to helpful, I will take it!

I've got a card (just small, 4x6) for Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, and Family Room.

Email me if you would like them too, free :)

FolkHollow@gmail.com

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

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Back to School Organization~Chore Cards

Sorry, sorry, sorry for even bringing it up. But today IS August 1st which means school will be in session before we know it :( I don't love that at all, but I do want to make sure it all goes smooth!

Honestly, the last 2 years or so have kind of had me/us in a funk! Baby, re-doing a home, health issues and overall busyness just have not worked in our favor.  To combat that busyness that isn't going away I need routine, and scheduling and structure. No way can I just toss that on the kids the first day of school.  I haven't updated our CHORE CARDS in years, those need an overhaul, and our weekly and daily routines need an overhaul too. We don't expect them to be followed 100% every single day, but having a plan in place that we hopefully meet 80% of the time still REALLY makes a difference. 

We are starting by adding chore packs again, and hopefully practice morning routines in the next couple weeks.

So this is the new chore cards. They are more work because the kids are a lot older now, I mean it's been 5 years!!! And these are all things that *might* need to be done. I promise we don't expect them to clean the coop everyday :) I left some blank because I laminated mine and wet erase markers work great on them! Sometimes we have chores that are just for a season, or a few weeks and I like to have the option.

Happy to share these printable sheets! Just email me (FolkHollow@gmail.com) and I will send you the file! I just had mine printed on card stock (using the floral as a back side), laminated them and then used these rings and a hole punch to keep them handy and together!

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

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Harry Potter Birthay Celebration

Missing Harry Potter? 

We are! We went to Universal last fall and we are halfway through the audio books this summer!  Our kids are all fans and we have a couple weeks of mellow, well, mellow for us anyway, so we are going to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday! July 31st is a Monday this year so we will be doing a bit of it during the day while hubby is at work and the biggest Potter fan is at football camp.  

I've got a scavenger hunt for after lunch. 

I just picked up some horcrux and other Harry Potter inspired items. Some we already had, it doesn't have to be expensive! 

A plastic snake, a goblet, an old book, a necklace, a wand, a piece of silvery fabric left over from a project, I really like the little plastic animals because our little one loves them. You can find a  Badger, Griffin, or a Raven. I found a little tri wizard cup, a lavender unicorn horn, Nevil will probably need help finding his toad a few times, and the bones of an Acromantula. 

We do some harder clues and some that are easier because we have a bit of age range for our Potter fans. 

I don't love butterbeer to drink because it's too sweet. This year we are either going to make butter beer fudge or butterbeer caramel corn, I will be winging that, if it turns out I will share :) 

After visiting the 3 Broomsticks at Universal Studios and having THE best roasted chicken ever, seriously the best, I am pretty sure we can do something like that with baby potatoes that is easy enough for our middles to do a lot of the work, they love to help!  We also have an owl muffin pan and they can make some corn bread or something in them. 

I will pick up some dry ice for the table and goodies for snack mix to make for movie watching! 

Here are some other things we have done in the past, none are to hard! 

What do you do to celebrate?

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

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