Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks are on Etsy!!

I've set up shop on Etsy to make it easier to purchase my Chore Charts & Kid Bucks system. Please visit my Clever Homemaking Etsy Shop (click here) to purchase my completely customized system!

I also altered the pricing to make it simpler. They are priced as a set "per child." Each "set" for sale consists of one chore chart with two chore cards, one AM/PM list, and one set of Kid Bucks (8 bills each of 1's, 5's, 10's, 20's, 50's, and 100's). Also included are one Kid Buck Menu and Allowance Chart per family.

Please see the Etsy listing for more details including current pricing, or feel free to contact me at cleverhomemaking at gmail dot com.

Thanks!


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If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at Cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Road Trip Fuel Cost Calculator

How cool is this? AAA's website has a Fuel Cost Calculator. You enter your starting point and destination, along with your car's make, model, and year and it will tell you an approximate cost of gas for your trip, both one-way and round-trip. [They only list major cities so you have to choose the closest major city as your starting point and destination.]

SO handy when we planned our recent 1000-mile road trip (hence my lack of posts in the last ten days - you forgive me, right?). And yes, it is fairly accurate. :)

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If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Making the Bed of a Potty-Trainer

When your child is in the midst of potty training and has an accident in the middle of the night, you are so very tired that the last thing you want to do is remake the bed - right?

So don't. :)

Make the bed up to start with like this:
1st layer: waterproof pad/cover
2nd layer: fitted sheet
3rd layer: another waterproof pad/cover
4th layer: fitted sheet
(then proceed as usual)

When your potty trainer has an accident in the middle of the night, all you have to do is pull off a couple of layers and "TA-DA!" the bed is ready for sleeping again in no time flat.

Sweet dreams!

sig4blog

If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Grating Soft Cheeses

Before trying to grate soft cheeses (like mozzarella), first wrap it in plastic wrap and toss it in the freezer for 30 minutes. It'll be much easier to grate.

Once it is grated, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.


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If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Ant Killer w/o Chemicals

Along the same lines as the Weed Killer post I did recently, I wanted to share a way to kill off those nasty teeny little ants that seem to come out of the woodwork (literally!) this time of year withOUT the use of harsh and dangerous chemicals.

If you sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal where you see the ants trailing, they will take it back with them and eat it. Their bodies can't digest it and they die. (Okay, so a little inhumane for the ants, but no worse than a chemical ant poison.) You get an ant killer without the risk of harming children, pets, etc that you get when you use harsh chemicals.

I had a family member's dog recently get into an ant poison stash that was seemingly impossible for her to reach. (I understand something in the ant poison smells attractive to dogs.) Poor doggy got really sick, has been to see the vet twice, but will be okay. Still on the mend nearly a week later. Could easily have killed her.

Don't risk it. Try this simple solution first. I've used it and it worked great!

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