Tips On "Going Green" With Young Kids

Here's some great tips that you can do with young children to celebrate Earth day and to teach your children how to be "Green":

(Source)

For Toddlers & Preschoolers

• Let them practice turning off the lights whenever you leave a room and teach them vocabulary such as "light" & "turn off the lights"
• Let them practice turning the taps off after they brush their teeth and show them how not to waste water. Again, a good chance to teach vocabulary here
• Put them in charge of making sure you turn the TV etc. off whenever you aren't using it. They love having tasks to do, especially when they are put in charge!
• Let them help you hang clothes on the line instead of using a dryer
• Kids as young as toddlers can help sort recycling and even place items into bins
• Decorate reusable bags together that you can use when you go shopping
• Teach them how to pick out ripe/ seasonal fruit and vegetables whenever you go grocery shopping. K loves smelling all the produce and feeling it which is a great sensory activity.
• Start a compost. My son loves taking out the garbage and taking out food scraps is just as exciting!
• Let your child help dust the house with a microfiber cloth instead of using harmful sprays
• Start your own garden and work on it together
• Help them draw pictures or take photos of what they find during outdoor activities
• Watch movies or TV shows that teach about the environment and make sure to talk about what you learned afterwards
• Plant a tree and watch it grow
• Pick some flowers together and make a bouquet, or dry them and press them to make a picture
• Feed the birds and watch them with binoculars
• Help make a birds nest
• Read books about nature
• Make crafts using recycled materials
• Clean up the park together by picking up litter
• Reuse junk mail by letting your child colour on it or make art
• Make your own playdough
• Collect and sort nature items

For All Ages:

• Reuse bath water. Give your toddler or preschooler a watering can and they'll love watering the plants
• Go on a bike ride or pack up a stroller with essentials and walk places together instead of driving. Why not stop and have a picnic while your at it?
• Try to make less of an environmental impact by buying used toys and clothes or repurposing the ones you have
• Do a toy or clothes swap with friends or donate items to a charity
• Buy natural toys and products instead of plastic
• Try and have waste free lunches for school by investing in a lunch set with reusable containers
• Ditch the bottled water and juice boxes. Opt for a stainless steel water bottle instead
• If possible wear the same clothes all day and only wash them when necessary
• Try to use cloth diapers instead of disposible ones or use biodegradable disposible ones whenever possible
• Go on nature hunts, hiking, apple picking or sledding and teach them to care for nature by nurturing their love of the natural world
• Adopt an endangered animal through a charity
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins

Do you have any other ideas? How are you celebrating Earth Day this year?

Free Printable 2011 Calendars

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging this week but lucky for you I just can't help myself! I've been procrastinating from cleaning and searching the internet to find the perfect free printable calendars to get organized. The following calendars are so fabulous I just had to share them with you. So get those printers ready cause you are sure to find one that's perfect for you:

2011 Produce Calendar from Cottage Industrialist

2011 Watercolor Calendar from Creature Comforts

2011 Sketch It Yourself Calendar and Color It Yourself Calendar

from Lula Louise

2011 Graphic Calendar from The Graphics Fairy via The Blog Guidebook

2011 Watercolor Calendar from A Number Of Things

2011 Doodle Calendar from Creative Mama

2011 Planner from Mibo

2011 Polka Dot Calendar from The TomKat Studio

2011 Calendar from Benign Objects

2011 Year At A Glance Calendar from Red Stamp

2011 Modern Calendar from Switcheroom

How awesome are these? A huge thank you for the generous bloggers who took the time to make these and share them with us. Be sure to stop by and give them a huge thanks and let them know that I sent you.

If you were featured today you can find a Featured button to display on your blog HERE.

Happy organizing!

How To Dry Ziploc Bags

Ever attempt to wash your ziploc bags but can't seem to get them dry? This is one of my pet peeves so I've done some research for you and have come up with some solutions:

1. Clip Drying Rack

2. Glove Drying Rack

3. Vice Versa Bottle Drainer

4. Over Water bottles

5. Using A Clothes Hanger & A Clip

6. Wooden Bag Drying Rack

7. A Cup and 2 Chopsticks

8. Counter Top Bag Dryer

I tend to use the chopsticks in a glass method if I just have one or two bags to dry, but use the clip drying rack when I've got heaps of them. Do you have another method that works for you? I'd love to hear which one you like best!

Free Pantry Labels

Here are some beautiful labels to help organize your pantry. The best part is they are free!


Canister labels from Carina Gardner

Blank labels from I Do It Yourself

Stripe Labels from 16 Sparrows

HP Free labels from I Do It Yourself

Free labels from Poppytalk

Scallop labels from Tart Workshop

Blank canning labels from Merriment Design

Red labels from Poppytalk

Spice labels from Martha

Canister labels from The Project Girl

Blank red & teal labels from Poppytalk

How To Speed Clean

Have you ever heard of Speed Cleaning? I saw it on Fly Lady via  Crazy Domestic and I knew right away that I had to try it! It's absolutely brilliant!


I always find that I can't seem to get everything done that needs to in a day. I've tried making cleaning schedules but most days I don't get to everything and the house work piles up. Then I procrastinate because it just seems like there is too much on my plate and I really don't want to do it. Sound familiar? Well speed cleaning is your answer. Here's how you do it:


1. Make your bed: This always comes first.
2. Get yourself ready: Get dressed, fix your hair and put your make-up on.This sounds a bit silly but trust me, you feel better when you schedule the time and get yourself ready. 
3. Set the mood: Put some music on that has a good beat then light a candle with a good scent.  


Now you are ready and it's time to get your clean on!

You are going to set your timer for 15 minutes and move on to each numbered task. When the timer goes off it is time to move on to the next task.


4. Kitchen: Shine your sink, fill it with hot soapy water and clean off your cupboards. DO NOT GET SIDETRACKED AND START CLEANING OUT YOUR CUPBOARDS. Empty your dishwasher and re-load it. Wipe out the microwave. When the timer goes off head to your living room.


5. Living room: Clean off the coffee tables, pick up toys or newspapers. Concentrate on one thing and get it done. This can be putting all the things that don't belong in the living room in a basket or picking up all the trash and putting it in a laundry bag. When the timer goes off head back to the kitchen.


6. Bathroom: Clean the bathroom sink, swish the toilet, pick up dirty clothes and towels and put them in the hamper. Wipe the mirrors and spray some air freshner.


7. Take a break:  Walk around and look at all that you've accomplished in 45 minutes. Set the timer for another 15 minutes and grab a snack and a drink. Do whatever you want to relax. When the timer goes off you are back in work mode.


8. Repeat steps 4-7: Pick up wherever you left off. Every 45 minutes you are to take a break. Do this until you are happy with your results. 


9. Floors: Sweep, then vacuum, then mop. When the timer goes off take another break.


10. Take care of it: All the items you gathered in the laundry basket can now be put away. The trash can now be thrown out. Then dirty laundry can now be washed.


The best part of this routine is that you can change it to fit your routine and even use 10 minute increments if they suit you better. If you don't get sidetracked you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a days time. Plus, this method works great for other things in life too-like blogging!


Now grab your timer and get to work!

How to Organize Puzzles

K is 19 months old and currently loves doing puzzles. He also loves to take EVERY puzzle piece out of the bin, throw them and kick them around, hide them and NOT clean them up. So, to save our puzzles (and my sanity) I've been looking for some new ways to store our puzzles. This is what I've come up with:

I bought a clear plastic tub and some mesh zippered laundry bags from our local dollar store. I then placed each puzzle in its own bag, zipped it up and stacked them in the bin.

This was easy to do and super cheap. And now our problems are solved! When K wants to play with his puzzles we just take all of the bags out of the bin. Since he can see which puzzle is in each bag it is easy for him to choose. And since all of the pieces are stored together we can do one puzzle at a time and easily clean it up before we start a new one. 

And of course, when K decides to dump everything out of the bin so he can sit in it I don't need to rush to get those pieces picked up before they go missing. Instead, I can grab my camera and capture cute shots like these:

I love this so much that I'm now using the same technique to organize my felt board pieces. Hope I've given you some organizational inspiration today.

Cleaning Naturally For Our Children from House of Grace

Hi Delicious Ambiguity readers, 

I am Bonnie from the blog,  HOUSE OF GRACE.

First off,  Happy Mother’s Day!!!! Second, I feel so honored to be a guest blogger here on Yummy Mummy Week! In honor of Mother’s Day, Jenn asked me to write about mothers and cleaning naturally for our children. This is one of my favorite topics, so I would love this opportunity to talk to you. As mothers, I feel that it is our responsibility to keep our children as safe as we can.

Go to your cupboard right now. Pick a cleaner, any cleaner.

Does it contain sodium hydroxide, phenol, ammonia or formaldehyde? These–and more–may be toxic. Toxic as in dangerous, as in hurtful, as in not very clean at all. 

Home is no place for stuff like that.

So start by getting rid of those troublemakers.

According to the book, The Safe Shoppers Bible, here is a list of common household products that contain known carcinogens and/or neurotoxins. Carcinogens are chemicals that cause cancer. Neurotoxins are chemicals that adversely affect the nervous system reducing emotional well being, mental alertness, coordination and other functions associated with intelligence.

-Lysol disinfectant (all scents)

-Renuzit Air Deodorizer

-Bon Ami Foam Cleaner

-Citri-Solv

-Fantastik All-Purpose Cleaner

-Formula 409

-Pine-Sol Multi-Action Spray

-Pledge Household Cleaner

-Simple Green

-Spic & Span Cleaner

-Scotts Liquid Gold

-Lemon Pledge

-Tilex Soap Scum Remover

-Glass Plus

-Ajax Cleaner

-Gillette Foamy Skin Conditioning

-Speed Stick Deodorant

-Soft Soap

-Secret Deodorant

-Johnson's Baby Shampoo

-S.O.S. Ammonia Glass Cleaner

-Dawn Sureshot

-S.O.S. Vinegar Cleaner

-Joy Dishwashing Liquid

-Windex Glass Cleaner

-Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid

-Shout Aerosol & Stick

-Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid

-Spray & Wash Stain Remover

-Kleen King Aluminum & Copper Cleaner

-KR2 Spot Lifter

-Behold Furniture Wax

-Depend-o Blue Toilet Cleaner

-Endust

-3M Aerosol Spot Remover

-Formby's Lemon & Almond Spray

-Most Home & Garden Pesticides

-Right Guard Deodorant

-Ponds Dry Skin Bar

-Palmolive Skin Bar

-Lady Speed Stick

-Lever 2000

-Irish Spring Deodorant

-Lifebouy Soap

-Jergens Liquid Soap

-English Leather

-Deodorant

-Ban Roll-on

-Caress Body Bar

-Camay

-Ultra Brite Toothpaste

-Cepacol Mouthwash

-Crest Tartar Control

-Listerine Original & Cool Mint

-Arm & Hammer Toothpaste

-Colgate toothpaste

-Scope Mouthwash

-Old English Furniture Spray

-Dove Soap Bars

Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump!!!

TOXIC ALERT:

The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals — more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century.

More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II.

Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects.

The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.

Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.

Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.

Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners, are found at levels 2 to 5 times higher inside your home than out.

A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning off shower walls could inhale 3 times the “acute one-hour exposure limit” for glycol ether-containing products set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Now that you know what dangers might be hiding under your sink, what is important when you choose cleaning products?

I always look for products that are…..

-Nontoxic and safe

-High performance cleaners

-Biodegradable surfactants

-Free of harsh fumes

-Earth friendly

-100% guaranteed

-Economical

-Fragrance free

-Hypoallergenic

-Easy to use

-No animal testing

-Recyclable

-Natural

My personal favorite cleaners are Shaklee’s Get Clean products. I have been using these products since my mother made me in high school, lol.  I didn’t see the benefits of “safe” cleaning until after I had my own children.  I was just buying these because they were cheaper and being a newly wed, I wanted something cheap that worked too!  Now,  I am really glad that my mother “made me” use Shaklee’s cleaners.  I love knowing that I do not have harsh chemicals or air borne toxins in my house.  Get Clean products also help me keep my house clean.

Here are some before and afters:

 

Read about how I get off grass stains here.

Read about how I clean my oven here. 

You can read more about my cleaning schedule and how I clean on this post. And you can read more about my favorite cleaner, Basic H, here.

I use Basic H for just about everything in my WHOLE house!!! Even Oprah loves GET CLEAN products!

(Click HERE to watch video)

I mix Basic H with water. I can make a gallon of a general purpose cleaner with Basic H for only 21 cents!!!   21 CENTS LADIES!!!! A gallon of Seventh Generation general purpose solution costs $21.96 and 409 Original and Fantastic costs $11.16 a gallon. 

I can also make a gallon of window cleaner with Basic H for LESS than 1 cent!!!!Windex cost $12.56 a gallon and Seventh Generation costs $21.96. So you can see another reason why I love these!

Now it is your turn, take out all of the chemicals in your house and replace them with safer products for our children.

Please visit my Shaklee website to buy or read more about these products.

Thank you so much for having me today as your guest blogger! I love sharing information and love meeting new people. Feel free to check out my blog for cleaning tip, recipes decorating ideas and more!

Have a WONDERFUL MOTHER’S DAY!!!!!

Bonnie :)