Programmable Slow Cooker with Delayed Timer, for FREE!

Do you already own a slow cooker? Did you wish you had a slow cooker with one of those nifty delayed timers? Wish no more! :)

When you get your Christmas stuff out this year, hang on to that timer for your lights. Plug your slow cooker into it and you have yourself a programmable, delayed timer for your slow cooker! Set the timer to come on when you want the slow cooker to start. Make sure it's on long enough (don't set it to only be on for an hour or something -- disaster!). Plug the slow cooker into the timer and the timer into the wall. Turn the slow cooker knob to high or low (whichever you need for your recipe) and walk away. This is great when you are gone from the house for 12 hours a day but only want to cook something that calls for 5 hours on low.

Be smart about using the delayed start... Don't cook anything with ingredients that will spoil if sitting out on the counter for a couple of hours before the slow cooker comes on.

Happy cooking!!

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

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks System on Etsy

Dear Friends -

I recently had about 24 hours where I had no chore charts listed on Etsy -- whoops! Sorry about that! I try to keep my listings current and I apologize for those who were trying to purchase the system (or even view it) and I fell behind. You can always just email me directly and I can work with you to purchase the system from me without going through Etsy. Whatever is easiest for you. :) So... there are more sets of my Chore Charts listed on Etsy if anybody was interested.

Thank you!

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks System

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks System listed on Etsy

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

Sweet & Sour Meatballs - Yummy!

I love sweet & sour stuff, and I found the BEST recipe for sweet and sour meatballs with the sauce made from scratch. It would work easily to switch out the type of meat and make it sweet & sour chicken or sweet & sour pork. Heck, you could throw in a bunch of baked chicken nuggets if you wanted to make it super easy! :) The recipe below serves at least 8 -- but you won't mind the leftovers, trust me!

SWEET & SOUR MEATBALLS*
2 16-oz bags of frozen meatballs (plain, not Italian; ~32 1" meatballs per bag)

1 20-oz can of pineapple tidbits in pineapple juice

1 large green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 C. packed brown sugar

2 T. cornstarch

2/3 C. vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes at 350 degrees (just enough that they're no longer frozen and they're warm to the touch). While they're baking, combine the brown sugar and cornstarch in a large skillet. Stir in the pineapple tidbits with all the juice, the vinegar, and the soy sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Add meatballs. Cover; simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped green pepper. Cover; simmer until crisp-tender, about 5-7 minutes. Serve over warm rice.

You can change it up by adding more veggies like different colored peppers, snow peas, carrots, etc. This would also be a great as an appetizer, minus the rice.

*Original recipe from Cooks.com with some variation.

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

Foaming Soap

Don't buy the expensive foaming soap for your favorite foaming soap dispenser. All they are is watered-down soap! Fill your foaming dispenser with about an inch of regular soap then fill the rest of the way with water (you may need to adjust these estimates, depending on the size of your dispenser). Cap the dispenser and tilt it back and forth until the water and soap are mixed together. Do NOT shake it! You'll have soapy suds everywhere! :)

p.s. This will not work with creamy hand soaps. Must be the clear-ish kind of hand soap.

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

Waste Not...

I have recently discovered Raising Olives. (So many great ideas for families large and small!) I learned a really cool tip I had to share...

To cut down on wasted toilet paper (you know, when little people take more than they need off the roll because they just pull and tear without thinking...?), before you put place the toilet paper on the roll, smash it so that you bend and flatten the cardboard tube. It won't be as quick to unroll 3 feet when you only want/need half of that. Brilliant! :)

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

Preparing Your Home for Your Vacation

Things to consider regarding your home when going on a vacation:

- Use timers on lights and radios/tv's... Leave blinds open just the slightest to allow the light to shine out.

- Have a neighbor park in your driveway to give the illusion that someone is home.

- Coordinate with a neighbor to make sure your trash cans get out and then get pulled back in if the trash collection happens while you're away. Trash cans left at the curb or not put out on trash day are a dead giveaway that nobody's home.

- Have someone bring in mail, water plants, and care for your pets.

- Turn down the ringer on your phone and the volume on your answering machine.

- Pack your car with the garage door closed. Don't advertise to just anyone driving by that you're planning on leaving your home unoccupied.

- For added security, unplug your garage door opener (after you've gotten your car out of the garage and closed the door again, of course).

- Shut off valves to your washing machine and to toilets and sinks. It's added insurance you won't come home to a flood!

- Open doors to rooms/closets so your house will smell less stuffy when you come home. Don't leave windows open, however.

- Clean out your fridge. Get rid of anything that will be past its usefulness when you get home. Take the garbage all the way out of the house and into the cans that will go out on trash day (see #3).

- Make a plan for your first meal or two after you return. Use shelf-stable items or frozen foods, but have a plan so you don't have to rush to the store first thing the next morning to grab something for breakfast.
- Turn down your thermostat to save energy while you're gone.

- DO NOT announce your absence to your Facebook page, your Twitter, or on your blog. You never know who reads your post, and you don't know who you can trust. Save your posting for after you're home. Better safe than sorry!

What did I miss?? Any other ideas??

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

Recipe Sites

Besides the "Queen" of all recipe websites, AllRecipes.com, did you know that many food manufacturers and grocery chains also have collections of recipes on their websites?

Here's a few to get you started...

Betty Crocker

Pillsbury

Duncan Hines

Campbell Soups

Kraft

Bisquick

Rhodes Bake & Serve

Foster Farms

And grocery chains as well...

Safeway

Fred Meyer

Whole Foods

Trader Joe's

Albertsons

What grocery chains do you have near you that also have a website full of recipes? What food manufacturers have you found that have great recipes on their websites as well?

Please share!

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

Summer Game-Plan

Summer is full of carefree, lazy days. Well, mostly. Around here, we thrive on routine. So, we have a "Summer Schedule" that still allows for hours of free time each day, but the structure that my children need as well. Summer is also a great time to instigate a chore chart system for your children. I am still selling my Chore Charts & Kid Bucks system on Etsy if you're interested. ;)

Our Summer Schedule:

Wake - 9:30am: Breakfast, AM Lists, Morning Jobs, then TV time (cartoons!)

9:30 - 11:30 am: Free Time or Outing (Library, Park, etc)

11:30 - 12:00pm: Lunch

12:00 - 1:30pm: Quiet Time

1:30 - 2:30pm: Free Time

2:30 - 3:30pm: Summer School

3:30 - 4:00pm: Cleaning Jobs

4:00 - 5:30pm: TV / Movie / Free time

5:30pm: Dinner

6:00 - 8:00pm: Evening Jobs, PM Lists, Reading Time, Family Time

In the morning, the TV doesn't go on for cartoons till all the other items are completed. During the summer we do "Summer School" with our kids -- workbooks and activities to keep their minds sharp between the previous school year and the next. "Cleaning Jobs" are additional responsibilities that we give our children during the summer, and they change every day.

For details on what AM / PM Lists and Morning / Evening Jobs entail, see my post "Family Economic System: Chore Charts & Kid Bucks System."

This schedule is, of course, flexible. We're going to be going to the library once a week, and hoping to do a lot of in-town stay-cation-ing too. :)

Have a great summer!

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

Scuffs & Scrapes

Today is Sunday and had me thinking about how I camouflage the scuffs on my little boys' church shoes. They grow so fast that I just buy the cheapy shoes for them. Every once in a while, though, they manage to scuff the toes. Depending on the shoe, my approach may or may not work for your little guy's shoes. :)

For black dress shoes, when the scuff rubs off the black of the shoe, I take a permanent marker and color it in. Then take petroleum jelly and rub it into the spot to "shine" it. Rub off the excess.

(Nearly) good as new!

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

How to Teach a Child to Swallow Pills

When my oldest daughter was small, she had a very strong gag reflex (still does, actually). Liquid medicine often made her gag. She just couldn't swallow the stuff, and often ended up vomiting instead -- which made it difficult when it was something she had to have, such as an antibiotic or allergy medicine.

We taught her to swallow pills at a young age with Tic-Tacs. She'd practice swallowing the tic-tacs with a little bit of water by putting the tic-tac on the back of her tongue, taking a sip of water, tilting her head back, and swallowing. If she didn't swallow the tic-tac, it didn't get yucky-tasting on the back of her tongue. It only took a few tries and she had it mastered. Good luck!

**Disclaimer: Read labels carefully. Adhere strictly to dosage guidelines that are appropriate for your child's age and weight. MOST pills that are designed to be swallowed are NOT in dosages appropriate for children. Some prescriptions (like antibiotics) can be dosed for children in a swallow-able pill format. Consult with your doctor or pharmacist to determine the appropriate medicine and dosage for your child.

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

General Conference Packets

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am looking forward to the General Conference of the church this coming weekend. We will get the chance to hear from our church leaders, including our beloved prophet. The wonderful folks over at Sugardoodle have created a page of links to Conference Packets for children and youth to keep them focused during the conference (and give their parents a chance to listen!). Check out the link below. Thank you, Sugardoodle!!

Sugardoodle's 2010 General Conference Packets

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

Favorite Clever Homemaking Posts Revisited...

This blog has been a labor of love over the past two years. I thought it might be fun to look back on my favorite Clever Homemaking posts...

Family Economic System: Chore Charts & Kid Bucks

Still my all-time most popular post. :)

Tween Cell Phone Rules

Got a tween or teen with a cell phone? Some ideas to keep it from getting out of control.

One of My Favorite Things: My Slow-Cooker - A Primer

My favorite kitchen appliance, by far, is my slow cooker. This is an introduction to the slow cooker and some helpful hints.

56 Meal Ideas

Another super popular post. I find myself re-visiting it now and again to change up the meal plan every once in a while. :)

Meal Planning

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail... Some ideas on how to plan your family's weekly meals.

Consolidating Cookbooks

Got too many cookbooks lying around, many of which you're only keeping because of the one or two recipes in them that you love? Here's an idea to simplify your life and lighten your bookshelves.

Eating Leftovers - Really!

Some tips for making leftovers disappear - like magic! :)

Ten Benefits of Meal Planning

Why do meal planning? Here's the answer... Ten answers, actually!

Spoiled Children

Some basic parenting advice -- not from me, but an excellent article I wanted to share.

50 Ways to Manage Your Time

Who couldn't use tips to get more out of the 24 hours in each day?

We Will Never Forget

My thoughts on September 11th.

Tips for an Organized Home Series: General Organization, Spring Cleaning / De-Cluttering, Kitchen Organization, Time Management, Bedrooms / Closets.

Ideas I've gleaned over many years from books, workshops, and friends.

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

Sunday Bag

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka, the "Mormons"). Just like many church-going folks, I find it a struggle to keep my younger children occupied while sitting through weekly church meetings. In order to get something out of the meetings, I need to find ways to keep my little ones occupied with quiet, non-messy, un-distracting things to do. Since my children were little, we have tried and failed and succeeded at this objective, depending on the day. :) Below are a few things that have aided our moments of success:

• Lift-the-Flap books. My littlest ones would sit with these books for at least 10-15 minutes at a time. Awesome! Keep a stash separate from the kids' book collection and rotate them in your Sunday bag.
  
• Look & Find books. These are my FAVORITE Sunday-bag item. Similar to "Where's Waldo?" books, they have things hidden in the pictures that the child has to find. They are made by many publishers and come in varieties ranging from photo look & find's to scripture character look & find's. Check out your local bookstore and your local library. Just like the Lift-the-Flap books, rotate them in your Sunday bag.
• Magnetic writer. They come in the brand-name "Magna-Doodle" but many toy manufacturers make them. They let kids draw and create and erase, all without the mess of crayons and paper.
• Church magazines. Our church puts out the Friend Magazine for children. It is full of stories, pictures, and activities for children ages 3-11. We bring the current month's Friend, along with a few past issues, in our Sunday bag for the younger children to look at and/or read.
• Church-based board books. These can get heavy, so we rotate them in the Sunday bag. You can get these online or at your local LDS bookstore.
  
• What other tricks do YOU put in your "Sunday bag?" Leave a comment... It'll be great to get other people's ideas! :)
  

Now, a couple of DON'T's that have aided our success as well:

• No food for kids older than 18 months. We made the family rule that once our child was in Nursery (18 months), we would no longer bring snacks for during Sacrament Meeting (our main meeting, usually the first 70 minutes or so of church). My logic in doing so was that our child would get a snack in Nursery so he/she wouldn't need one during Sacrament Meeting. (It's only 70 minutes -- any kid can go 70 minutes without eating at that age.) Until they hit 18 months, we only brought spill-proof sippy cups or bottles and small, non-sticky, non-crumbly snacks like Cheerios or Goldfish crackers. In our church, kids can expect to get a snack in Nursery till they're 3, almost 4. After that age, they can handle not having food for 3 hours during the day. I feed them a substantial meal before we leave, and we have snacks or a meal (depending on the time of day) just after we get home.
  
• The Sunday bag stays closed until after the Sacrament. The Sacrament is administered about 30 minutes into the meeting. Before then is the singing of hymns, announcements, church callings are given, etc. I figure the sooner the bag is opened, the sooner it will loose their interest. With the goal to be to get through the end of the meeting before they completely loose interest in the Sunday bag, I figure it's best to put off getting it out until as far into the meeting as I can. Plus, I want to be able to sit through the Sacrament without the distraction of kids digging into the bag for something else to do and /or the mess of stuff created by them doing so. :) Besides, if the goal is to be thinking about Jesus during the Sacrament, can they really be doing that while they're busy with something else? They know that the bag stays shut until after the Sacrament, so they get better and better at practicing sitting quietly withOUT the stuff in the bag to distract them just yet.
  
• Nix the crayons & coloring books. These, I have to admit, I am NOT a fan of bringing to church. Ever since my youngest decided that coloring on a pew would be great fun, we have excluded these from our Sunday bag and we haven't missed them a bit. I no longer have to scramble around at the end of the meeting, making sure we got all the crayons back in the bag. I don't have to help a child find a particular color while I'm trying to listen to the meeting. I don't have to pass the bag of crayons from one child to the next. Yeah, don't miss that a bit. :) We take the magnetic writer mentioned above instead.
  
• The Sunday bag is off-limits once my kids hit the age of 10. At that age, they are allowed a lined notebook and pencil. What they choose to do with it is up to them. :) My daughter (12) likes to take notes. When she was younger she liked to draw in it.
  

What have you found to be helpful in keeping children quite and undistractING to others during Sunday meetings??

Looking forward to the comments on this one!




p.s. This is my family's personal take on stuff during church, and I know everyone won't agree. But there it is. Take it or leave it. :)

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

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks

I just re-listed my Chore Charts and Kid Bucks system on Etsy!

Now that I am working full time, I am only offering the digital PDF version of my chore charts system. They come with simple instructions for assembling them yourself. Please see my Etsy listing for more information. Thanks!

My Etsy Listing
My Chore Charts & Kid Bucks System




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Biscuit Personal Pizzas

These are SOOOOOO yummy!!

Buy a package of the "jumbo" biscuits. Roll them out flat. Sprinkle cornmeal on your cookie sheet before putting the rolled-out biscuits on them. Top the flattened biscuit with a couple tablespoons of pizza sauce, a handful of mozzarella cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is just starting to brown.

These are a new household favorite around here (and not just with the kiddos)!




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

Blogging Safety

I read a post on Mormon Mommy Blogs by Heather about safety when blogging. This blog post by Heather says everything I've ever thought about safety while blogging. She earns a gold star from me today!!

My family blog is kept private and I've very picky about who I allow to see my blog. Even with those things said, I don't include many "identifying" tidbits on my family blog (such as address, etc) because I'm freaked out about internet safety.

I am going to copy and paste her blog post below because I feel it is really important -- but please check out her original post as well. I've linked to it HERE. Be careful, people!! All too often I see party invitations, announcements, etc with names, addresses, pictures on PUBLIC (as opposed to private) blogs. We live in a really scary world. Be careful!! As the title of Heather's blog post says it best, "Better Safe Than Sorry."

The blogging community is awesome. I’m sure all of you agree. We read about each other’s lives, we leave validation in the forms of comments and emails; we rally around crises together and support each other’s businesses. It’s a large sisterhood we’ve got going on here. It’s a wonderful one.

We feel safe with each other. We understand each other. But, even in this environment of love and friendship there is something I just don’t get. I just don’t get at all.

It’s like laying out a Welcome Mat for Trouble.

It’s like sending a Pedophile a personalized invitation.

It’s like waving a banner that says, “Here I am! Hurt me!”

What could I possibly be talking about? I’m talking about the information that I occasionally come across on public blogs that literally makes me wince. For example: Pictures of the front of the family home. Pictures of children standing outside their classrooms –which include their teacher’s name and room number, complete addresses and phone numbers, invitations which include date, time, and directions to a person’s house. Information, in short, that can lead a “stranger danger” right to your front door.

It’s a scary thing folks, it seriously is.

I saw a news report a while back where some reporters set up an experiment with some parent volunteers. The parent stood in a room watching a reporter *a.k.a. complete stranger to their child* talk their children into getting into a car with them. Parent after parent stood in shock as their child who “would never get into a car with a stranger” got into the car. Over and over again.

Think about it. You have no way of knowing who exactly is checking in on your blog. Chances are that the people who do read your blog know what you look like, know what children look like, know their names, know their interests… You get the idea.

A long time ago a friend of mine was in an abusive marriage. She was able to get her and her daughter away. She has since remarried and has some more adorable children. Well guess who recently showed up at her door one night, when her husband wasn’t home? Her ex-husband. How did he find her? Her neighbor’s blog.

It’s a true story.

I’d just like to remind all of you that what you share with us, you are also sharing with the rest of the world. Be careful about what you’re posting. It’ll help keep you and your family (and possibly your neighbor’s family too) safe.

That’s all. I am now stepping off my soapbox.



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

Eggs-actly...

Ever get part way through a recipe and realize you're an egg or two short?? Don't toss it - substitute:

1 tsp baking powder
+ 1 1/2 T. water
+ 1 1/2 T oil

for *each egg. No one will ever know! :) Also a good substitute if you have an allergy to eggs or exclude them from your diet for whatever reason. The baking powder will give the baked item the "rising factor" and the oil the "sticking" factor that the eggs usually lend to the recipe. Happy egg-free baking!

*Experts recommend not replacing more than two eggs per recipe.



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

Susan Powell's Missing Poster

She could have been my sister, your sister, your friend. In reality, she is the sister of a friend of mine, and it breaks my heart what her family is going through. Please share this missing poster wherever you can. Participate in the social media blitz to increase awareness of her missing case. Twitter #findsusan.



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

My Favorite Things: Sally Hansen Hand Creme

Do you have cracked, split, dry skin on your hands during the winter? I do. Or DID. Before a nurse friend gave me this:


It's Sally Hansen's 18 Hour Protective Hand Creme. It has vitamins A, E and C along with grape seed oil and shea butter. The trickiest part of this is WHERE to find it. It is sometimes in with the hand lotions. But most often, I've found it near the Sally Hansen nail products.

If you put it on generously at night, you'll heal your hands and protect them from further drying, cracking, and splitting. I usually also put it on once each morning after I'm ready for the day. Bonus: the grape seed oil makes it smell good too!

You'll thank me later. Trust me. :)




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