Jules - 33/154 - as Jules is going

Up-Cycled Wipe Containers {Thoughtful Thursday}

March 27, 2014 by Jules Leave a Comment

Drier Sheets Case

A large box of drier sheets fits in this container, keeps them fresher, and is cuter than those lil cardboard ones.

Keep Drier Sheets Fresher in an Up-Cycled Wipe Container

Travel Tissue Box

A small wipe case is the perfect size for a travel case of tissue and keeps it dry and clean.

Holds "Missing Pieces" for Board Games

Its is nearly inevitable that kids will misplace a piece {or 8 aHem} to some board game. Rather than have them grouch and tear apart the game storage trying to return that piece when its finally found. This random game piece container allows them to store the piece by stuffing it in through the top or easy-open lid so the pieces are found quickly when playing a game with that missing piece.

Travel Crayon Case

You can fit a 24 package of crayons into 1 up-cycled wipe case for your traveling artist

Filed Under: Cleaning, Hand-Dandies, Homemaker, Homeschool, Organizing, Parenting, The ones about the Rothacher Home, Thoughtful Thursdays

NEVER Fold You’re Littles Laundry Again

March 26, 2014 by Jules 2 Comments

I have has some friends ask how I get certain things done while having 4 kids. One of those is laundry. I never cringe when I think about laundry and I think that is completely because of the system we have in place. It has kind of evolved over the years.

Our Basic "System"

I start 1 load every night {unless there are random circumstances, night time wet sheets, sickness, extra guest, "washing day"- clean sheets or carseat covers} and some times move it to the drier.
The little on laundry that day "shuffles" the laundry- movies it to the drier and or sorts the laundry into the appropriate baskets.
Once {some times twice} a week, usually Saturday, we all put clothes away. Adults do their own {folding if necessary}, Jamin (3), Izzie (4), and Maggie (almost 6) all put away their own clothes.

At first I was a little embarrassed to confess my biggest secret in our system. I think my mom and mother-in-love are possibly discussed by this buuuut, it work for this season of life::

We NEVER fold laundry.

Littles can Help
I spend less than 7 minutes a day on laundry because I have my 3 oldest on a chore chart that includes laundry. They're current job is to shuffle the laundry. The awesome basket shelf my hubs made me is a vital part of our system but this could easily be done with baskets on the floor.
Tiny Clothes Don't Stay Folded
When my oldest girls were little, I loved organizing their clothes. {Attempting} to fold all those tiny items and get them to stack neatly in their drawers. I'm sure it would have been pretty comical for anyone watching. Since those days, I've designated drawers for specific items but never fold them.
Littles clothes don't really wrinkle
I have never observed someone snarling their nose up at the state of my kids clothes so why waste the time. They are so tiny, they don't look gross. {I also refuse to buy high-maintenance clothes for my kids and my husband and I for that mater}
1/2 our clothes are hung
Since we have limited space in each bedroom {and I like to}, we hang all shirts, jackets, and skirts/dresses. This leaves very little to go into dressers and underwear, socks, leggings, PJs, and pants don't really matter if a little ruffled. Making sure it all fits also keeps us from having too much of something. If it doesn't fit it needs to get.
Laundry Gets Done
I have tons of friends who HATE laundry. It gets overwhelming and everyone in the house dreads it. This is no glamorous laundry life but it does get done!
Sanity
In this season of our family, we need as much sanity as possible. High-maintenance laundry is just not a priority. If it is to you, that's fine. But if you are overloaded, snapping at your family over clothing battles, and pressing preschool pants, you might need to try something else. Does laundry really matter in an eternal perspective? There's always time to teach folding before they leave the house {it is a good life skill to learn}.

Note: they rarely look This clean 😉

While researching before I made my big confession, I found this awesome ladies laundry system and she too confessed to not folding kids laundry. I could hug this stranger for making me feel less skanky 😉

Filed Under: Cleaning, Homemaker, Organizing, Parenting, The ones about the Rothacher Home

Organizing LITTLE Chores

March 24, 2014 by Jules 1 Comment

Does the idea of spring cleaning excite you all while making your bones ache with exhaustion? YES! Me too! So, how are we going to get those normal chores done and the “spring cleaning” items we rarely get to handle? Child Labor!

Having four kids, 5-years-old and under, we had to recruit their help early. Here are some of the ways we helped our kids get in on helping keep-up the house with daily little chores that are easy for littles to accomplish. Organization helps you and your child keep on top of the daily so once they’re in the swing of helping with those things on your list, you’ll be free to do those rare spring cleaning items on your bigger list!

Today on the Homemaker's Challenge, I am sharing how we organize our version of "Child Labor" so we can get to the spring cleaning. I'm covering our chore chart, how we rotate and train the littles, as well as our "allowance".

On a side note, look for the upcoming post where I give you some very convincing arguments for why you should never fold your little's laundry again.

Filed Under: The ones about the Rothacher Home

Reupholstering Bar Stools for Newbies (like ME) {Thoughtful Thursday}

March 20, 2014 by Jules 4 Comments

I have always admired my friends who could reupholster things. I'm talking full couches and stuff. I've never been brave enough to try it, ya know, 'cause it would cost big money if I messed it up...

So when my hubs came home with some bar stools out of the blue that a friend gave him for free I thought I'd give it a try on these for a few reasons: they were free, the seats were so small it would only take a tiny bit of fabric, AND we can only fit 3 stools across our bar leaving 1 to be my guinea pig!

Supplies:

bar stools
screw driver
fabric
staple gun {and staples}

Directions:

Started with the most beat-up one {mine had splattered paint on it & was missing a screw} so you can test your skills.
Take out screws on the bottom. I removed them all because I was also considering painting them so I wanted to see if it could be done but if you're not, just remove the ones hold the cushion on.
Cleaned the cushion off really well.
Cut fabric to the right size. I had 1 yard and cut it into 4 pieces leaving them close to 1x1 foot each.
Remove decorative cover that is hiding the manufacture's staples so you can reuse it when you're done. {but you could make your own if needed}
Place fabric print side down.
Put your cushion face down directly in the middle of the fabric.
Pull the 4 corners up and staple tight into place.
Begin gathering tightly and stapling the rest of the fabric in a circular manner until you've gone all the way around the cushion.
Cut off excess fabric.
Reattach the decorate fabric to cover raw fabric edges and staples.
Reattach the cushion to bar stool legs.

Filed Under: The ones about the Rothacher Home

Easter Crafts with Littles {Thoughtful Thursdays}

March 6, 2014 by Jules Leave a Comment

This week I want to feature a guest post from Olivia Glendale, a a 20-something year old mother of two, both under 2 years. When she’s not busy soothing tantrums and changing diapers, you can find her blogging about home décor, organizing, and DIY projects at www.DIYMother.org. Today, she has super cute ideas for Easter crafts you can easily do with your littles!

My family has a tendency to get caught up in spring fever. My husband is a DIY addict like me, so springtime means outdoor projects every weekend: staining the deck! Cleaning the gutters! Yay!

I, on the other hand, prefer to garden and host gatherings with the extended family. And Easter is one of my favorite holidays to fill with family and fellowship. Because, really, what better way is there to celebrate a season of new life and growth than with the resurrection of our Lord?

This year will be the first year I can involve my 18-month old in Easter crafts. Naturally, I’ve been looking around for fun crafts to do with her, as well as all of her cousins on Easter Sunday. Here are a few of my favorite Easter crafts I’ve found. The links to the tutorials are listed below each photo.

Egg Carton Cross

From Housing A Forest

This is a great craft for the kids after church on Easter Sunday-especially if you have some cooking to do. It’s pretty simple: cut out 5 cups in a row and then 3 cups in a row from an empty egg carton, preferably the cardboard kind.

Glue the inside of the middle cup in the row of three and glue the cross together. Let the kids paint it, add glitter, beads, or cover them with fabric.

Rice Krispie Eggs

From HTYM.com

I absolutely love this idea and cannot believe I’ve never done it. Prepare the Rice Krispie treats as your normally would; no need to go through the steps, we’re all parents here…we should be pro’s by now. Then wash and dry some plastic eggs and spray the insides with non-stick spray.

Push the Rice Krispies into each half of the plastic egg, working it up the sides. You want to create a cavity, so leave enough room to fit candy inside. Let the Rice Krispie mix set and gently slide them out of the plastic egg. Put a few pieces of candy inside (jelly beans, robin’s eggs, whatever you prefer) and press the egg halves together using a little bit of pressure. You can even decorate the Rice Krispie eggs with sprinkles or icing.