Organizing the Kitchen/Dining With Containers

Cardboard drink holder

Last Friday, I wrote about Organizing the Bathroom With Food Containers.  This Friday, I want to show I have organized a few things with food jars and other containers.  In the picture above, I have a cardboard drink holder from a restaurant takeout trip.  I used two large cups, one to hold straws and another one to hold forks and spoons.  It has a handle for ease of moving to and from the dining table.

Below, I have a nifty napkin holder.  Of course, we could use it for holding paper napkins, but why?  I have two salt shakers, one for each side of the dining table, as well as two toothpick holders.  It's easier to hold all of these four items in the napkin holder. 

Napkin holder

Below, you can see two containers of Nesquik Chocolate-flavored powder.  One has been emptied of the powder and its label removed.  I love these containers.  I've used one for birthday candles.  This time, I have used one for pre-packaged spices for different meals.

Containers of Nesquik chocolate powder

Nesquik container reused

Below is a tall plastic container that we were given years ago.  It used to hold some granola bars.  I knew right away when I saw this container that it would be worth more than the snacks it held.  Well, it now holds cup cake paper cups, food dye, and other small baking products.

Front of snack plastic container

Back of snack plastic container

Finally, here is a plastic Folgers container.  I love these because they are very sturdy and versatile.  The label can be removed and with a permanent marker one can help relabel it.  Below, I am using it for uncookable pinto beans.  I'm saving the beans for a future craft project.

Plastic Folgers container

Folgers container holding pinto beans

As you can see, containers of all sorts can be reused.  Nesquik and Folgers container, and even drink holders, can be used in different ways.  Food, baking, and eating utensils can find new containers.  Unconventional containers can hold new things.  I would think that the small Folgers container can hold sugar for a trip, and the napkin holder can still hold a small amount of paper napkins.

Well, thanks for reading this entry.   

If you like it, please press the "like" button below.  

I would appreciate that very much.

How about it, my readers?  Have you organized anything in your kitchen and/or dining room lately?  Would you consider using plastic food jars or other unconventional containers?  Right now is the perfect opportunity to do your fall cleaning.  I hope you would find time to change things up for the fall season. 

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry is part of the Family Fun Fridays series.

Homeschool Organization 4: Blocks to Construct

Megabloks in use

Over the years, we have bought and sold a few collections.  The collections that I have organized and kept are those that are visited by everyone, including me.  I enjoy building things with my kids.  Sometimes, I go so far as to hog up all of one color of Legos.  Does that make me a bad mother?

Megabloks stacked to fit in a box.

I wanted to keep all of the Megabloks in one container.  We had to stack them together.  It was impossible to keep them in that Office Depot box any longer.  I had to make a decision.  I wanted the kids to have freedom to use the toys.

We acquired more Megabloks.

Our neighbors gave my youngest some more Megabloks.  I was very grateful.  I knew she would be so happy.  She started playing with them right away.  It didn't matter if she played on my bed.

We moved the Megabloks into this bigger, plastic container.

The Megabloks fit much better in this plastic container.  I shopped in my home again.  I had been using that plastic box to house my out of season curtains and sheets.  Since I moved the linens into another location, this box had been freed up.

Closeup reveals a few Megabloks in the container.

Not all of the Megabloks are in the container.  Some are currently in my son's room out in the open.  I think he constructed a mobile home and used up a lot of Megabloks.  This trusty plastic container is waiting patiently to house the pieces once he's done using them.  I like that my youngest ones dug right in and started playing with the Megabloks when I showed them the containerful (yes, that's a word) of Megabloks.

Legos are in blue container and some shoe boxes, too.

Legos are a family favorite, especially mine.  I can actually lose track of time if I start playing with Legos.  In the entertainment center, I have a large blue box that holds red, white, and blue pieces for building houses.  We also have a few of those see-through plastic shoe boxes that contain brown and green pieces.  In another shoebox are other pieces, probably purple and pink pieces.  (Can't check right now; it's the middle of the night and don't want to wake my teenage son.)

Here are some more Legos, by color.

As you can see, I also have some Legos joined together by type and color.  Yellow and orange go together and the black ones are for making cars.  We occasionally have some of our creations on display.  You can see the red, blue and white house.  There is also a pumpkin face on top of it.

We even have wooden blocks in a separate container.

In the entertainment center (pictured above), I have the Lincoln logs way at the top.  I also have some medium size blocks that are plastic.  I'm not sure if they are made by Megabloks.  They are in a see-through box, just like the size of the one for the wooden blocks.  My kids play with all of these different collections.

Well, I have shown here some ideas on how to organize different types of blocks within a homeschool.  Yes, the collections are in different sizes, colors, and shapes of containers.  Since I am on a limited budget, I have had to shop in my own home for the best containers. 

I haven't forgotten the other items that I want to show.  Stay tuned to see how I organize such things as DVDs, audio cassettes, and the Wii games.  When toys are organized, children will want to play with their toys, constructing and using their imagination.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.

How about you, my readers?  How do you organize your blocks?  Do you own Lincoln logs?  Do you own K'NEX toys?  I encourage you to evaluate if you have the right containers to hold your block and/or construction collections.  The collections might need to be moved into new, bigger, and/or sturdier containers.

I pray that God bless you all, my dear readers, with His wisdom and peace.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays. 

Homeschool Organization 3: Music, Poster, & Art Supplies

Old, broken container that served its purpose in our homeschool.

I have many more areas of organization to present you in this third installment of homeschool organization.  I am presenting it to you piecemeal so that I can allow you to digest the ideas slowly.  I have, as a homeschooling mom, seen that some containers are no longer doing their job properly.  That's why I often change out the contents into other containers.  Yes, I like to re-purpose containers.

First up are the musical toys.

Musical instruments fit in this Rubbermaid container.

I went through many containers trying to find the right one that would hold all of the instruments.  I was given this green container by a friend.  It fits lots of toys, including the maracas and two xylophones.

Musical instruments that my children use to worship God.

 

Here is a sampling of some of the toys that fit inside the green box.  I have collected these toys over the years. Some I have found in yard sales.  Some were given to us.  Some we bought.

Next, we have the posters.

A large box that held a disassembled computer chair hold some posters.

Over time, I have also accumulated quite a few posters and charts.  The best containers for posters have been flat boxes like the one above.  You can slide the posters in and out.  The posters remain flat.  I dislike when posters are rolled up and stay curled when you try to hang them up on the wall.

Posters are gathered together in two rings.

Hole-punched the posters and put them in rings.

I used two rings to distribute the weight of carrying the posters.

White rack held my posters by the rings.

Another option is to group them together.  I hole-punched the ends of the posters and put them in rings.  That way, I could hang them on a makeshift wardrobe rolling rack.  My hope is to find a more sturdier rack than the one you see above.  That white one was cheap and cheaply made, as you can see from the legs.

Finally, we deal with the arts and crafts supplies.

This is really two containers-the pink one and the white one.

The containers above held the arts and crafts.  I had joined the two sets of containers with double-sided glued tabs.  The supplies stayed in this setup for a few years.  The bad thing is that the pink drawers were broken.  Also, we had to yank the drawers open just to access the supplies.

The white tower is really two sets of containers.

Again, I used double-sided glue tabs to keep these two sets of white containers together.  It used to hold the girls' doll collection.  Since they decided to get rid of the dolls and their accessories, it freed up the tower.  I decided to re-purpose the tower for the arts and crafts supplies.

Closeup of top of tower.

The top portion holds paints, glues, smocks, and old CDs.

Closeup of bottom of tower

The bottom of the tower holds wood craft, construction paper, and colors.

Well, I hope that I have provided some solid ideas on how to organize arts supplies, posters, and musical instruments within a homeschool.  There are more pictures and themes I want to cover.  Stay tuned to see how I organize such things as DVDs, audiocassettes, and the Wii games.  In order to use the items in your home, we must make the time to organize our teaching aids.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.

How about you, my readers?  Are your posters all in one box?  Are your instruments ready for your kids to use?  Are your arts supplies organized enough for your children to want to use them?  I encourage you to see if you have the right containers to hold these collections.

I pray that God bless you all, my dear readers, with His wisdom and peace.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays. 

Making the Most of Leftovers

At least 6 containers of frozen leftovers--for one week.

With being a mom full of responsibilities, it is sometimes tough finding the time and energy to cook up the best meal.  That's why it is a good idea to stretch that meal that you do take the time to create.  Stretching it for another mealtime is very important.  Let's take, for example, that hearty soup that hubby can't take to work.  Well, why not freeze the leftovers for another dinnertime?

It is important to keep in mind the containers you will be using.  Some of the containers I bought were for frozen veggies.  I think that, even though they are a little more expensive, they are worth it if they can keep your food from getting freezer burn.

Taco meat labeled and dated

Another thing to consider is the dry erase markers.  You need to label the contents and the date for the food you will be storing.  It is worth the extra time you take to label those items.  You don't want to wonder months later what mysterious food lurks in your freezer.  I have several of those markers (within reach) hanging on my refrigerator and/or in the utensils drawer.

I hope this helps you out when thinking about stretching the food budget.  I know that many of us are watching as food and gas prices go up.  We can't do anything about that, but we can find strategies to stretch our dollars by not letting our food go to waste.  It is worth the extra time and effort to put away some leftovers so that we can use them later.  It will help you resist the temptation to get takeout, which we can't really afford.

How about you, my readers?  What do you do to stretch your budget?  Do you freeze leftovers?  I hope you will consider it?  You just might save $100 from your grocery bill.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.