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Category: Making Life Easier

Making The Decision To Exercise Easier

The best time for me to exercise with my schedule is early in the morning. One of my biggest stumbling blocks to actually getting out of bed and getting started, was trying to figure out what to wear every morning as I exercised. The thought of going to the closet for one item and digging through multiple drawers for the others, gave me just enough time to talk myself out of exercising. To add to it, I never knew if my exercise clothes were clean or if they were in the dryer across the house in the laundry room. So, instead of figuring it all out, I would find myself crawling back into my cozy bed.

Here is what I did that made it easier for me to get out of bed each morning and exercise: I already had a lot of of exercise clothes, but they were all pieced together and I didn’t love anything that I had. So, I purchased new clothes. I workout at home so I didn’t care too much what they looked like, I just wanted them to fit, be very comfortable, and all mix and match together. I purchased six new workout shirts, six new workout shorts, six new sports bras and even six new pairs of underwear to workout in. The shirts were all the same shirt, just different colors. For the shorts I went with black or gray. I put one of each item together into an outfit and stretched a piece of elastic around it to hold them together. I placed three outfits together in one bin and three in another bin and put them on a shelf in my closet. I typically workout four to five days a week so that gives me enough for the week plus an extra set or two to give me time to do laundry. When I am done exercising, I hang the clothes up to dry out. I keep a separate laundry basket in my bathroom just for my dirty exercise clothes. My husband puts his dirty workout clothes in there too. When the basket gets full, I wash all the exercise clothes together in one load. That works better too because I can launder them with heavy duty detergent or use a different water temperature than I would with the rest of my clothes. Once washed, I immediately put them together into outfits and put them back in the bins. Because all the clothes are the same and mix and match together, I can quickly grab one of each and it works.

This has been a game changer for me. Now, when I get up in the morning, I don’t have to think about it at all. I go to my closet and pull out a set of clothes that are together and all ready to put on. It is hard enough to get up to exercise, so why not make it a little easier by having your clothes ready to grab and put on? I have been doing this for over a year now. It is one less decision to make in the morning and it really does make it easier to get up and start exercising.

Car Bingo

car bingo

We just got back from our family vacation.  We had a six hour car drive each way and I knew the kids would spend most of that time watching dvd’s.  I decided to make car bingo for them to play just in case they got board with the movies.

I was pleasantly surprised that the kids loved playing it.  I played with my seven year old daughter while my 4 year old son helped us look for the items.  It was fun and got them looking out the window at the scenery.  I was so glad they got to see some of our drive instead of staring at the tv screen the whole time.

I laminated the cards and we used dry erase markers to mark the squares as we saw the items.

Here are the cards we used.  There is a pdf version of the cards as well as an excel file in case you want to edit them.

Car Bingo

Play Mats

play mat 2 play mat 1

I found these cute little ocean and space figurines at the craft store Michaels.  They had many different themes such as birds and horses, but I thought my boys would like these the best.  I made the play mat they are on by searching for themed wallpaper on the internet and then printing them off.  I found a scene for each side, put them back to back to make them two sided, and laminated them.  My boys got them for Easter and loved them.  They are nice because they don’t take up a lot of space and you can take them with you when you go out to eat etc.  I’ve seen a lot of cute figurines like packs of plastic bugs and green army guys at the dollar store that would be fun too.  They make fun and inexpensive gifts for children.

Multi Purpose Bags

multi purpose bag

I bought several of these reusable grocery bags at ALDI last year.  I have used them for just about everything!  They are great because they are much larger than the bags from other stores, they are super durable, they can hold a ton of items, they can hold a lot of weight, and they cost less than $2!

In the photo above you can see we used them for beach bags on our vacation last summer.  They worked great because they held everything and it didn’t matter if they got yucky in the sand because they were so inexpensive.  We actually used them to pack for vacation.  I know it looked like hillbilly luggage but it was so convenient.  We had one bag for beach stuff, one for food, one for each person, etc.  It kept everything nice and organized.

I also use them when I am cleaning my house. I will carry one into different rooms to put all the kids toys in that I find throughout the house.  Then I can take the bag downstairs to their toy area and put them all away at once.

We celebrate Christmas with three sets of parents in their homes.  I keep a bag for each home we are going to.  After wrapping a gift, I will place it in the bag whose home it goes to.  Then, when it’s time to leave on Christmas Eve or Day, I can grab the correct bag and everything is there and easy to carry.  They also work great to put the gifts you received in to bring them home.

Wii Mats

wii mat

My kids got a wii for Christmas.  They love it and it gets them moving.  As they play, they start moving closer and closer to the tv.  I was afraid they were going to put the remote right through the screen.  So, I put down these carpet squares and told them to stay on their mats.  Hopefully it will keep our kids and our tv from getting hurt!

Growth Chart

growth chart 2 growth chart 1

I saw a growth chart recently online that I loved.  I have been meaning to make one for my kids for a few years but never knew how I wanted to do it.  This was the perfect solution.  Amy at www.amyscreativevinyl.com made the vinyl for the growth chart like the one I saw online.  I LOVE IT!!!  I got an 8″x8′ board at Lowes and had them cut it to 7′.  I just found out that Lowes will cut your boards for you!  Then I painted it an off white color, sanded the edges lightly, applied a thin coat of stain, and applied the vinyl.  When I grew up, we marked our heights on the back of a door.  When we moved we had to leave it behind.  Having the growth chart on the board is great because it looks cute enough to leave out as a decoration, or if you want to put it out of sight it will easily fit into a closet, and it can go with you if you move!

Popcorn

popcorn

I recently discovered you can pop popcorn kernels in the microwave.  Pour about 1/4 cup kernels in a brown lunch sack, fold over once, and tape shut.  Microwave it for about two minutes or until finished popping.  I love doing this for a few reasons.  First, the kernels are much cheaper than buying microwave popcorn.  Second, you don’t have to add any oil or fat to the popcorn.  Third, it’s much healthier than the microwave kind because you don’t have all the additives and extras they add to the microwave popcorn.  Fourth, you can top it with whatever you want.  You can use real melted butter, salt, garlic, etc.  Fifth, it tastes yummy!

Multi-Purpose Toys

multi purpose toys

These are the best children’s toys ever!  I bought them on sale several years ago.  While bathing my daughter one day I became very frustrated with all the bath toys she was playing with.  They all had small holes that trapped water inside and every time she squeezed them, black gunk squirted out!  I got the set of beach toys out and they have remained in our bathtub ever since.  There are buckets, shovels, cars, and boats etc. included in the set.  They love them.  Last winter I had another bright idea.  My kids wanted to play out in the snow but I didn’t want to join them in the cold.  So, I grabbed the beach/bath toys and set them out on the deck in the snow.  They loved scooping up snow and molding it into shapes.  I laid a towel down for them to sit on so they stayed dry.  We have also taken these toys to the beach and they loved them there too.  We’ve had them five years and all three kids play with them daily.  I’ve also put them through the washer and the dishwasher several times to clean them with no problems.  So, the next time you need children’s toys that are inexpensive, hold up great, and are multipurpose- go buy a sturdy set of beach toys.

Racetrack

race track

We have two sons who spend the majority of their days rolling, ramping, and racing their many cars all over the house.  We found the perfect racetrack for them.  It is a piece of vinyl soffit found at any home improvement store in the siding section for about $12.  It has three lanes and bends slightly to give the perfect incline.  It’s 12″ wide and 12′ long and can be placed anywhere.  My boys have had it on our outside front steps, our stairs inside, and leaned up against our couch.  They have had so much fun sending their cars down the track and watching them race down.  The best part is that it is thin so can be stored anywhere, it’s very inexpensive, and it keeps the boys busy for hours!

Kids Lunch Choices

food choices

I thought this would be a good post since school is about to start next week.  Last year my daughter started kindergarten.  I packed her lunch each day but she rarely ever ate it.  I realized that I needed to start giving her choices and let her decide what she would like to pack in her lunch.  I made a key ring full of choices.  Each category is a different color.  Now, she goes through and orders her meal each day.  She knows she has to pick one blue, one green, and one yellow.  Then, the rest are up to her.  This system worked very well for us.

Blue-main dish
Green-vegetable
Red-fruit
Purple-side dish
Brown-dip or sauce
Orange-treat
Yellow-drink

You can download the cards and then print them on paper or cardstock.  I printed them on paper and then laminated them using Jumbo Card Size 2-15/16″x4-1/8″ laminating pouches from www.oregonlam.com.  I punched a hole and put them on a ring.

You can download the cards and the photoshop template here:

Food Choices Template

Food Choices pdf