Works For Me Wednesday: Making Applesauce

By MAD21

We started a new tradition in our family last year. We decided that we were going to give everyone homemade applesauce as gifts for Christmas. So in October (the middle of apple season!) we headed out to one of our local farmer stands and purchased several bushels of apples. Seven different kinds. It was a hit. Both the family time it took to make the applesauce, and the they joyful reception the gifts got during the holidays. We really enjoyed the time we had with Grandma teaching us the canning process, and our girls LOVED using the peeler to peel all the apples (which was Grandma's station...though thinking back, I think the time with Grandma was probably what was enjoyed most).

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Works For Me Wednesday: Organizing Rooms

By MAD21

We all have one... A space in the house that is like a dumping ground. For some it's the garage, some it's the attic, others it's the 'spare room.' You know the kind, it's the space full of clutter where there is a mix of items that are used and unused, and things that need to either be given away, sold, or thrown away.

I am, by nature, a neat-freak. I am one of those people who can't stand the sight of clutter everywhere. It was much easier to live a life clutter-free before being married and having kids. Though, it wasn't too bad until the kids came along. Now it's a daily struggle to keep my house from looking like a giant toy box. I am happy to find out that as they get older, their toys seem to get smaller, so I do have some hope for the future...

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Works For Me Wednesday: Master Lists

MAD21

Most who know me think I'm an organized person. (Boy do I have them fooled!) I am actually an ADHD procrastinator who has had to find ways of coping over the years so that I can actually accomplish the things I am responsible for. One of the methods I use that helps me is to create master lists.These are lists I keep for things we do more than once.

For example:

Vacations. Write out a list of the things everyone will need, everything. Then when you return home, go through the list again and add or subtract items you want to remember for next time. Keep this list and use it again and again, modifying it each time you go somewhere.

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Works For Me Wednesday: Cleaning Tips

By MAD21

This is a themed week for Works For Me Wednesday. We were asked to write on our favorite cleaning tips. I don't have any recipes for actual cleaning products, but being a neat freak/mother, I do have a few things I do to try and keep our house clean.

1. Touch it once. The fewer times you touch or move something, the more efficient. Some examples:

* When you get up in the morning, before you do anything else, make the bed.

* When you go get the mail, go through it as soon as you get inside and separate it into three piles: junk (to recycle); bills; and read later.

* Put clothes in the laundry basket or hang it up as soon a it comes off of your body.

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Works For Me Wednesday: Charts

By MAD21

For this weeks Works For Me Wednesday, I want to talk about charts. Ya-ya, I know. Every time you are having issues with your kids repeating undesirable behaviors, someone, somewhere says, "Well, make a chart...give them stickers." I have to say, I've worked with kids for a long time, and ...I really don't like doing them. That being said, I hate to admit, they usually work. I have my own kids now, and have pretty much avoided using charts until the last few months. I got really tired of 'going down the list' of all the things they were supposed to do everyday... everyday.

In our house, we have two charts. One is the "Responsibility Chart." This one is for both of our girls and it includes both the morning and evening routines. The other chart is the "Potty Chart" and this one is for our youngest daughter who is still having some issues with not wanting to use the toilet all the time.

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