Two Tips Tuesday

Tip #1 Organize Snacks To Go

This tip is probably one that I personally need the most because I feel like I am always on the go and never organized to be on time. I am usually very organized but having children has caused me to let things go. Also, I am a stickler for being on time...OK, I was a stickler for being on time but children and their never ending surprises that cause delays has fixed that for me. Now I am always late. To church. To a play date. To whatever I plan to do. But this tip helps me throw things together last minute and run out of here.

I really think this one is a great one but it requires some consistency and planning. I have a philosophy that you need to GET organized to BE organized. I also love this because it applies to kids of all ages, including adults.

This all started when I began bagging grapes because I could probably eat a whole bag of them in a sitting. Those little sweet pieces of fruit can pack on calories and pounds if you are not careful so I started putting 15 to 20 of them in little baggies to keep my portion sizes more reasonable. Then I thought, why don't I do this all the time and with other snacks too? So I did.


This is one of those craft drawers that I put on a shelf in my laundry room/pantry. It is easily accessible for Cati to grab a snack and I can see through it for when it starts getting empty.

I put various goodies in snack size baggies (goldfish, graham crackers, Cheerios, rice cake snacks, etc) and put them in these drawers. Along with them are cracker packs, raisin boxes, and cereal bars. This makes for fast packing of a lunch or Mommy bag on the go.


This is my fruit drawer. I also took to putting my fruit free of grocery store baggies & made small bags of grapes to grab on the go. This is a little hard with fruit like berries which need to be kept unwashed until ready to eat (so they last longer). But I keep melon cut up in a container and so on which makes it easier. Plus, older children can begin packing their own lunches or hubbies who are running late to work can just grab something and go too!

Tip #2 Creative Fragrance Fresheners

I love things that smell good. I love the smell of coffee brewing, walking outside by a house drying clothes in the dryer, baking bread, a baby after a bath, a burning candle, and even the smell of fresh air on a cool day. They evoke memories & even affect my mood. So I strive to make anything smell good in my house. And if you know me well, I am really weird when I smell something. I never knew I was weird about it until my family starting making fun of me for it. If I pick something up to smell it, I put my nose almost on it and inhale like I am trying to consume all of the smell and pack it right up there in my nose. Attractive image, right? I guess I am not a dainty smeller. If you need proof, watch my Cati smell something. She'll just put her nose right on it. When she smells a cupcake, frosting is on her nose. Since Cate is my little Mini-Me I guess we just don't do things half way.

Enough about my exuberant smelling methods.

So here are some fun things I found that work to freshen up the house with happy smells...

Grind citrus fruit in the disposal. I love this because I have pushed some forgotten food down there that ends up making my kitchen smelly with a yucky odor. Grinding lemons makes it smell so good and lasts too.

Dryer sheets. I put these over air vents or in storage boxes with out of season clothes. I learned this in college when my room could get funky from smells from the hallway. Bring some in your suitcase when you go to a hotel room too. It works!

Simmering spices on the stove. I do this every Autumn through Christmas. I fill a pot with water and throw cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla extract in there and let the pot come to a rolling boil while the steam lets off a wonderful, spicy fragrance. This is my favorite time of year and the house seems so homey during this season so this just makes it extra special. Be careful though. I have ruined pots forgetting it was on there so consider a low temperature to make it last and not blacken a pot.

Essential Oils. Don't laugh but a few drops of this can freshen your toilet. Of course, clean toilet water is good too but this is just extra. :D I used to have lavender linen spray I received as a gift and never used. So one day I poured a little in the toilet and it ended up smelling the bathroom so nice! Pretty funny, I know. But it was better then throwing it away. Plus, if you don't like it, flush it away!

Happy Tuesday Friends!