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Dinner Menu Planning to Reduce Stress in Busy Households

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Welsh Cawl in a Casserole Pot

  Dinnertime can be a stressful time of day in an active household. To try to run this busy time more smoothly, I have found that a planned menu is very helpful. I first tried a similar system a few years ago, and failed, but the adjustments I have made since then have been very helpful for our family. The way I tackled it the first time did not work, and here’s why: I created a large menu plan that would repeat once we reached the end of it. We would then start over from the beginning instead of going through the effort of making a new menu. I created a menu that extended over 7 weeks, to give us variety. It turned out that 7 weeks was not enough time between certain dishes, and we got really tired of dishes that we used to enjoy. We have found that we can eat some meals quite often without ever going tired of them, while others are only enjoyed if served infrequently. Another problem was that over the course of several months, our daily schedule changed too much to work with the current menu. I also found that the amount of leftovers changed as our young kids grew and ate larger portions. All in all, too many adjustments needed to be made, and it became too complicated to continue. The new menu plan that works for me! What does work for [...] Read more »

Homemade Tear-Free Eye Make-up remover; Easy, Save Big Money

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Bottle with homemade eye make-up remover, no tear

  I have tried several brands of eye make-up removers. Some brands were cheap, and some expensive. They all had one thing in common: if I got some of it in my eye, which is inevitable when removing make-up from eyes, it wasn’t pleasant. Some of them down-right stung, which seems odd when you consider what they were made for; the eyes! Using plain water doesn’t work, of course, and soap stings as well. There is a solution to the problem, however, and the solution is not to go to the department store to purchase the most expensive bottle you can find. It is simply to make it yourself, using a product readily available at any grocery store, or may already be in your bathroom if you have a young child: Baby shampoo, or baby wash! Baby shampoo is made to be tear-free, and though not 100% neutral when in the eyes, at least it’s more gentle on eyes than anything else I’ve ever tried. It also works great for removing sticky mascara or other eye make-up. I have made my own for years now, and saved a lot of money. When it first was suggested to me via a message board (sorry, can remember who that was, but will try to find out), I jumped to the idea! It was brilliant! And I simply re-use my old Mary Kay eye make-up remover bottle, though any bottle will be fine. [...] Read more »

Save Money on Easy Homemade Baby Wipes! Versatile Recipe

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Homemade Baby Wipes

    Babies are cute and cuddly, so very sweet! They do, however, need a good clean-up now and again, and baby wipes can come in very handy. Purchasing ready-made baby wipes can really add to the price of having a baby, so when had my first baby and heard about making homemade baby wipes, I jumped right to the idea. I tried them, and never looked back. I was sold! It is now several years ago since the youngest of my three kids was in diapers, but I decided to make a batch again to show you how, then donated them to a friend who has a little one. Baby wipes can be used by the whole family, whether you have a child in diapers or not, for freshening up or keep in the car for a quick clean-up when out and about. Some benefits to making your own, is of course the money you save, for starters; your highest cost will be the paper towel roll, which will (depending on the size and brand) give you 200-300 wipes per big roll. The ingredients you add cost very little. I will explain in a little bit. First, I would like to point out that with this recipe, you can pick and choose which ingredients you want to use, so that you can adapt the recipe to fit your individual baby’s needs. Some infants are very sensitive to fragrances, and [...] Read more »

Saving Money by Making Your Own Liquid Foam-Soap Refill

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FoamSoapRefillB

    Foam soap dispensers are fun to use, but refills can be pricy; especially if you consider how cheap it is to make your own refills. That’s right, not only can you refill the inexpensive plastic bottles from Dial, Soft Soap, and other brands, but you can quickly and easily make your own. In addition, you can color the refill to match your decor, if you so choose! It doesn’t take a crafty, creative, domestic person to do it. It is easier than making pancake batter from a box. Here’s how it’s done: First off, I’ll explain what the advantage is to using foam rather than regular liquid hand soap: When you use foam, you use much less soap to get the same job done. Regular dispensers usually give you more soap per pump than you really need, while the foam uses diluted soap to give you fun foam to wash with. This is especially nice for families with young kids, as little hands need very little soap, yet a regular dispenser gives much more than needed, even for adult hands. Using foam saves you money right from the get-go, then in addition, you can save more money by making it yourself. It is also fun to use, also an advantage when you try to instill in kids that they need to wash after bathroom visits. I start by purchasing cheap, liquid soap of some kind. Just make sure [...] Read more »

Simple, Fun Christmas Decorating

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DSCN1372

Last weekend, we, like so many others in the US, decorated for Christmas. Christmas decorating is not really my favorite thing to be doing, though once it is all up, it does look so beautiful and gets me in the spirit of the season. Growing up in Norway, tradition was to decorate on the day we called “Little Christmas Eve”, December 23. Christmas Eve was the major celebration when we’d officially start Christmas, eat a special Christmas dinner, open gifts etc. In December, we’d decorate in purple for Advent, the time in awaiting the birth of Jesus Christ. Then, on the 23rd, we’d change the colors and decorate for Christmas. In the US, in my experience people generally seem to be celebrating Christmas throughout December up until the 25th, then everything comes to an abrupt end. In Norway, however, the week between the 24th and New Years, “Romjula”, is all about Christmas. In fact, the 25th, 26th and 27th are called 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Christmas Day, which are Holidays, and all stores are closed. Families get together, visiting and celebrating. It is a peaceful time with no errands or shopping to be done. Regarding decorating, last year was the year of a new tradition: Let the kids go excitingly at it while I watch in awe and see it all come together! My decorating style is fairly simple, and once I figure out what looks good, I want it [...] Read more »