WFMW - Greatest Hits

This week's tip is supposed to be one our favorite tips from our archives. Mine is about measuring honey and molasses. Here it is:

In keeping with the kitchen edition this week, here's my quickie little Works-For-Me-Wednesday tip. When a recipe I'm using calls for honey or molasses, I spray a little food release in the measuring spoon or measuring cup before I pour in the sticky stuff. When I pour it back out of the cup it comes out so quickly and easily it usually comes out it one big glob. No more waste and no more "slow as molasses in January" for me. It's quick, it's simple, and it Works For Me. Check out other tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

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My previous WFMW posts:

Fingers in Doors

Line Drying Towels

Brand Loyalty

Breakfast Menu

Rinsing Toddler Hair

Measuring Honey & Molasses

Precooking Hamburger

Holey Jeans, Batman?!

Cleaning out the fridge

Trimming Baby Nails

WFMW - Fingers in Doors

Elise's cool tip today reminded me of something I do that might be helpful to others too. I take a partly folded hand towel and drape it over the top of any door that I don't want my tiny ones to be able to close. This can accomplish several things.

1.) They can't close the door and then sit down in front of it thereby preventing me from getting in when they're crying because they're trapped.

2.) Since they can't close the door all the way it's harder to get their fingers pinched in the knob side of the door. Now if I could just figure out how to protect their fingers from the hinge side. (THAT was a fun ER visit!)

3.) It's also handy on those warm, breezy nights when you have the windows open and the wind is sucking the door open and then pushing it back and it's a little loud and startling and it's even freaking out your 11-year-old daughter! With the towel over the door, the latch doesn't hit against the strike plate (is that one word or two?) and sleep isn't rudely interrupted. Not by that anyway.

It's worked for me for many years.

See what working for the rest of the crowd over at Rocks In My Dryer.

Works for YOU Wednesday

This week is supposed to be backward week for the Works For Me crowd at Rocks In My Dryer. Shannon said that:

Instead of giving a tip, you'll ask for one, on a very specific subject. You'll be inviting all the WFMW readers to weigh in with their clever solutions to your most stubborn problems.

So here's my situation:

Where To Sleep?

I have a three-bedroom house. One room is for my husband and me; one room for my boys, ages 3.75 and 9; and the last room is for my girls, ages 21 months and 11 years. We've had the baby nap in our room during the day because I'm not using it then and my 11 yog can have her room available to her at that time. The problem is nights. The baby will still wake up at night and fuss. Sometimes scream and cry. If I let her cry it out she's usually asleep again within 10 or so minutes. My 11 yog can't sleep through that and doesn't want to be sharing a room with the baby. She also wants more light to sleep by than the baby can handle. Once my babies are about 4/5 months I don't share my room with them anymore because I hear every little intake of breath (that doesn't bother my older daughter) and I'm just ready to have my bedroom back. For a long time my two older kids, Rebecca and Micah shared the top bunk in the boys' room and Adam (3) slept on the bottom bunk but Micah finally got tired of Rebecca being in there and wanted his space back. The two older kids spent the summer sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the living room but that is over now too. So now Rebecca is back in her own room trying to share the space with Abby. I wish I had space for my babies to have a room of their own, but I just don't.

Am I being selfish for not wanting to have the baby in MY room anymore? Am I asking too much of my older daughter to expect her to share a room with her 21-month-old sister? Is there a solution that I haven't come up with yet? HELP!

See what the other questions this week are at Rocks In My Dryer!

WFMW - Line Drying Towels

Do you line dry towels and find them rather stiff and abrasive? Well, I learned a trick from my mom. Throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes on the no-heat setting, THEN hang them on the line. Ten minutes is enough to fluff them up and remove the wrinkles from the spin cycle and you still get the sweet smell of line drying and you've still reduced your energy usage.

Check out what works for others at the Works For Me Wednesday home: Rocks In My Dryer.

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My previous WFMW posts:
Brand Loyalty
Breakfast Menu
Rinsing Toddler Hair
Measuring Honey & Molasses
Precooking Hamburger
Holey Jeans, Batman?!
Cleaning out the fridge
Trimming Baby Nails

WFMW - Brand Loyalty

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer has asked that: "Everybody post about what brands (any products) you cannot do without."

Here's my list:

• Jif peanut butter
• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Toothpaste
• Arm & Hammer laundry detergent
• Arm & Hammer dryer sheets
• Crayola crayons
• Clorox bleach & Clorox 2
• Plain or Honey Nut Cheerios (other generic cereals are okay but NOT Cheerioes!)
• Premium Saltines
• Van Camp's Pork 'n Beans
• Gorton's Fishsticks
• Scott's toilet paper
• Band-Aid's
• Dove bar soap
• Q-tips

There might be a few others but I can't think of them now. The cool thing is I just got a BUNCH of coupons for the name brand things that I like. I spent a total of $6.18 on ebay for a huge amount of coupons (from three different sellers). I'm so excited for payday because then I get to use them and see exactly how much I'll save! Check back later and I'll record my savings. The trick with coupons is to ONLY buy the coupons for things you already buy anyway. Otherwise it turns into more spending instead of more saving. I've been bitten by the coupon bug!

Anyway, back to WFMW... What's on your list?

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Updated to add: After reading a few other brand loyalty lists I had to hurry back here and add NETFLIX!! Yes, of course! Goodness, it's even in my sidebar. I can't believe I forgot that one. Netflix is so great. I can't tell you how I DON'T miss going into the video rental store and having to avert my eyes from the evil that abounds there.

WFMW - Breakfast Menu

This week's Works For Me Wednesday is a repost of this week's Menu Plan Monday (hosted by Laura at Organizing Junkie)

Since I participate in Menu Plan Monday's hosted by Organizing Junkie, I thought I'd also share my breakfast menu plan.

I have the same menu planned for each week. It's such a time saver to have breakfast always already decided. I love auto-pilot!!

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Monday- Bagels & Fruit
Tuesday- Cold Cereal
Wednesday- Waffles or Pancakes
Thursday- Eggs & Toast (sometimes bacon or sausage too)
Friday- Hot Cereal

Sometimes the menu gets varied because I forgot to get a package of bagels out of the freezer or forgot to put some needed item on my shopping list. Sometimes the days get mixed up because I wake up and start making eggs only to be told by my kids that it's Wednesday and they were really looking forward to waffles. Oops! For the most part, however, it works out really nicely and everyone here is pretty happy with it.

See what works for others at Rocks In My Dryer.

WFMW - Rinsing Toddler Hair

When Adam was little I printed off an 8X10 photo of him and taped it to the ceiling above the tub. Whenever I needed to rinse his hair I told him to look at the baby. It worked like a charm!

Works for me!! For more tips visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

WFMW - Measuring Honey & Molasses

In keeping with the kitchen edition this week, here's my quickie little Works-For-Me-Wednesday tip. When a recipe I'm using calls for honey or molasses, I spray a little food release in the measuring spoon or measuring cup before I pour in the sticky stuff. When I pour it back out of the cup it comes out so quickly and easily it usually comes out it one big glob. No more waste and no more "slow as molasses in January" for me. It's quick, it's simple, and it Works For Me. Check out other tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

My other kitchen-related WFMW tips:
Precooking Hamburger
Cleaning out the Fridge

WFMW - Precooking Hamburger

This week are instructions are: "Instead of sharing a new WFMW idea, go back in your archives and find your WFMW that you consider your best one." I've only posted four tips so I'm reposting my very first one.

For several years now before I freeze it I cook most of my ground beef (with diced onion, salt, and pepper). THEN I divvy it up into ziploc bags and freeze it "flat and smooth". That precooked meat is then really quick to use for spaghetti, tacos, stroganoff, pizza, sloppy joes, or whatever. I just add whatever other spices it's needs and voila! I'm done. It also takes up less space in the freezer if it's precooked. (It's good for 2-3 months in a big freezer)

I also premake porcupine meatballs and hamburger patties and freeze them on cookie sheets. I transfer them to ziploc bag when they are totally frozen. The patties go straight to the grill from the freezer and cook in just a few minutes. The meatballs go straight into a casserole with sauce and into the oven. Cooks in about 1 1/4 hours. It saves me so much time in the end to "do up" the meat all at once.

Oh, I also premake and freeze meatloaf, but I thaw it before cooking it.

Do you have anything that you precook and freeze?

Visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips!

WFMW - Holey Jeans, Batman?!

This is just under the wire but it IS still Wednesday. So, here goes:

IF you have a Shopko in your area, this may work for you as well. My son wears the knees out of his jeans SO quickly. Thankfully Shopko has this Kid Tough Promise:

Are you the parent of one of those youngsters who always seems to be coming
home with jeans ripped at the knee? No problem if you purchased those trousers
at ShopKo! We have a Kid Tough Promise! Any garment you buy at ShopKo will last until your child outgrows it, or we’ll replace it! (Same item. Same size.) Now
that’s a promise that will make any parent smile!

I take advantage of this deal several times throughout the year. I buy about 3 pairs of jeans for him in the fall and just replace them as needed. At first I felt like I was being sneaky and doing something that I shouldn't because it was SUCH A GREAT DEAL. But I'm over that now and very thankful to the mom of 3 boys that told me about Shopko's Kid Tough Promise.

Go over to Shannon's at Rocks in My Dryer for more helpful hints.

WFMW - Cleaning out the fridge

I don't always take the time to do this, but I'm sure happy about it when I do.

BEFORE I go grocery shopping, when my refrigerator is at it's lowest inventory, I go through it and toss out any outdated or spoiled foods. I wipe out the drawers and clean the shelves and glass. This time I had just gotten back from being out of town for 9 days so there was precious little in the fridge. I took out the bins and shelves and washed them in the sink. (I rarely take it this far but the cleaning bug bit big time once I got started.)

THEN I go grocery shopping. It's really nice to come back and restock my very clean fridge! I'm including a picture because it's the best it's looked in a while and the best it's going to look for a while to come I imagine.

Works for me (when I do it)!

Check out other tips at Shannon's blog, Rocks In My Dryer.

WFMW - Trimming Baby Nails

It's always been easiest for me to trim my babies' fingernails (and toenails) while I am nursing them. I just make sure that their heads are propped up sufficiently using a boppy or a pillow (or the arm of a big recliner) and I trim away while they are busy nursing. While I'm trimming I usually say "It's your job to be very still and mommy's job to be very careful". After I do it this way for about a year I don't have trouble trimming their nails even if I'm not nursing them at the same time. When they start talking they can even say the instructions along with me. I've done this with all four of my babies and I haven't drawn blood yet. ( I hope I haven't jinxed myself!)

Check out other tips at Shannon's blog, Rocks In My Dryer.

Works For Me Wednesday

I've decided to join in the fun (even if I only do it sporadically) over at Rocks In My Dryer.

WFMW:
For several years now before I freeze it I cook most of my ground beef (with diced onion, salt, and pepper). THEN I divvy it up into ziploc bags and freeze it "flat and smooth". That precooked meat is then really quick to use for spaghetti, tacos, stroganoff, pizza, sloppy joes, or whatever. I just add whatever other spices it's needs and voila! I'm done. It also takes up less space in the freezer if it's precooked. (It's good for 2-3 months in a big freezer)

I also premake porcupine meatballs and hamburger patties and freeze them on cookie sheets. I transfer them to ziploc bag when they are totally frozen. The patties go straight to the grill from the freezer and cook in just a few minutes. The meatballs go straight into a casserole with sauce and into the oven. Cooks in about 1 1/4 hours. It saves me so much time in the end to "do up" the meat all at once.

Oh, I also premake and freeze meatloaf, but I thaw it before cooking it.