Successful Garage Sale Tips

By: Tisha Novotny

I don’t know why, but all of my children have enjoyed the adventure ofhosting garage sales during the summer. Maybe it is the fun of pretending theyhave a store or the idea that they are making extra money. I, on the other hand,look at hosting garage sales as a lot of work. But over the years I havelearned a few successful garage sale tips and tricks.

 
Click here to read Trisha's how to have a successful garage sale over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson


*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

Outdoor Activities at the Pool, Lake or Home

By Trisha Novotny

The heat is on and the kids need some cooling down so whether you arehanging at the house, playing at the beach or headed to the cabin, your kidswill enjoy cooling off to these fun splish, splash games and activities. To read about my FUN activities clock here to go to SC Johnson.

Click here to read Trisha's how to create a DIY Kids Writing Kit over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

My Magazine Addicition

My obsession with magazines began soon after the birth of my thirdchild. I came to the realization that reading an entire book in a reasonableamount of time was becoming impossible with three kids under the age of four.Thus, the beginning of my addiction to magazines began. Knowing I could sneakin a few minutes here and there to read the latest parenting advice, ideas andtips to inspire me as I traveled my mom journey.

The biggest problem with my new obsession was that there were so manygreat ideas and articles in each magazine that I had a hard time parting withmy already read magazines. I had the attitude that someday I might want thisinformation, recipe or fun idea again. After my stack of magazines began togrow I had to come up with a plan to organize them all. So, I’m going to letyou in on my secret to organizing my magazine addiction.

Click here to read about my secret magazine organizing at SC Johnson.

Click here to read Trisha's how to create a DIY Kids Writing Kit over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

Summer Supplies Organized

By Trisha

Summeris here, and for our family that means lots of park days, pool time,day trips and backyard playing. This also means lots of supplies topack and keep organized. Over the years I have discovered helpful tipsthat keep our summer supplies organized and ready for fun.


Click here to read Trisha's tips to organize your summer supplies  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

Relaxing Summer Meals on the Grill

By Trisha
 
Ioften refer to summer as my family’s relaxing time of year – it’s whenwe like to hang out, travel and move at a slower pace of life. When itcomes to cooking meals during the summer, we also take the “relaxed”approach by cooking outdoors and using our grill to prepare dinner.

Outdoorcooking can be more than just barbequing hamburgers or chicken, thereare lots of simple and tasty meals that you can prepare. Get ready fora relaxing summer of meals on the grill with my tips and organizationhelp over at SC Johnson.

Click here to read Trisha's grilling and BBQ tips over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

DIY Kids Writing Kit

By Trisha

Withthe use of e-mail, texting and social networking, will writing personalletters become a lost art? This summer, why not inspire your childrento write letters to family and friends by creating an organized writingkit to motivate them to write and be creative at the same time.

Click here to read Trisha's how to create a DIY Kids Writing Kit over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

Tips for Family Travel

By Trisha

Iremember the days flying with my five kids, packing and checking sevenover-stuffed suitcases, portable cribs, strollers and then walking ontothe plane with a minimum of seven carry-on items, several backpacks anda diaper bag. Today, with all of the new regulations and changes, wehave become a smart packing flying family.

If you see my familyat the airport these days you would notice each of my children pullingtheir own carry-on suitcase filled with everything they need for afamily vacation, along with a backpack– no more over-stuffed checkedbaggage.

This mom has learned a few tips and tricks when itcomes to packing a family of seven for one, two or three week vacationsall in carry-on suitcases.

Click here to read Trisha's packing tips over  at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles.

One Dozen Kitchen Tips

By Trisha

Withso much of our time spent in the kitchen preparing meals, it is alwayshelpful to find tips that simplify meal preparation and save time.

Click here to read Trisha's dozen kitchen tips that you will find useful as you clean and prepare meals.
 at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekl

Kids Can Help with Family Cleaning

by Trisha

Recently, while on a mother-daughter trip with my oldest daughter, she nicely informed me it was time that the two youngest members of our family take on a few more family chores. Her reasoning was that they were getting older and were very capable of doing more if we would teach them. I got to thinking about her suggestion and I realized I had not been teaching them as I had the older three. She was right – it was time to teach the next two in line.

As I mentioned in Tips for Delegating, I needed to start delegating more of the chores around the house, so I created a list of chores that our kids can do working alongside us as we begin the training process.

Click here to read Trisha's example of the chores you can delegate over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly

Tips for Delegating

By Trisha

When I think of my role as a mother and the many daily tasks to accomplish, I often wish I had eight arms like an octopus to assist me in my multitasking day. But you and I both know that isn’t possible, so how can I gain more arms and hands to help me and make the mom load easier?

The answer is to delegate. That’s right, delegate to our children. They are capable of helping out and taking on some of the family and home responsibilities.

Click here to read Trisha's tips to getting your family to help out around the house over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly

Summer Planning as Easy as One, Two, Three

By Trisha

In a matter of weeks, the final school bell will ring for the year, and my children will be looking forward to a fun-filled summer.

Every summer, I think we will have a less hectic schedule, more sleeping, lots of lazy days and time to create family memories.

However, I will begin hearing those three words, “Mommy, I’m bored,” if I don’t have a summer fun plan. The memories I want to create with my kids won’t happen unless I begin preparing now.
I begin planning my fun-filled summer with three simple steps:

Click Here For my three simple steps I shared over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

DIY Portable Homework Station

By Trisha

After the school bell rings and your car turns into the “kid taxi,” going from one activity to the next, it often means dinner and homework on the go. To simplify the homework on the go and your children saying, “I need a pencil. I need a ruler,” create a do-it-yourself (DIY) on-the-go homework station to ride along with you as you travel from one activity to the next.
 
Click here  For my complete DIY portable homework station box instructions SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

Thirteen Uses for Ice Cube Trays

By Trisha

Are ice cube trays becoming an old-fashioned kitchen item at your house? If so, it’s time to re-purpose and re-use them.

Don’t toss out your ice cube trays just because you now have an automatic ice maker in your freezer. There are a lot of great uses for this old-fashioned kitchen item.

Read my top 13 ideas for Ice Cube Tray uses: Click here to read them over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

Six Cosmetic Storage Solutions

By Trisha

How do you organize, sort and keep track of your cosmetics? With two teenage daughters and my own pile of cosmetics I knew it was time to find some simple organizing solutions to help us keep them contained and accessible.

If you are like me and ready to get organized, begin with these three steps: Click here to read Trisha's Three steps over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

Organize Your Car

By Trisha

On-the-go kids mean on-the-go taxi driving moms who spend half their lives living in their cars, taking their adorable children from one activity to the next. This often results in a car filled not only with children but litter, remnants of clothing, sports equipment, books and other miscellaneous items creating a disaster on wheels and possibly leaving an over-driven taxi driver feeling less organized in her car then even in her home.

Click here to read Trisha's full article and car organizing tips  over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

Your Medicine Cabinet Checklist

By Trisha

As the weather gets warmer and my kids head out doors to play, my role changes quickly to mommy nurse as I began patching up skinned knees, removing splinters and administering allergy medications to my children. Having a well-stocked and organized medicine cabinet is a must as the warm weather months arrive.

Are you ready to play nurse for your kids? Here are some tips to ensure your medicine cabinet is well stocked.  Click here to read Trisha's full article over at SC Johnson

Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson

Creative Parenting Tips and Tricks

By Cathe

Parenting may not always be easy, but there are lots of creative ways to get through the sticky parts of parenting small children. I want to share a few creative tips and tricks that worked very well for me during the first several years of raising my three kids.

Click here to read the rest of this great article of tips and tricks  by my friend Cathe on the SC Johnson Family Economics site.

While at the SC Johnson Family Economics site you can also get some great organization tips by reading my ( Trisha's) Getting Organized articles that I write each week.



Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Spring Cleaning 101

By Trisha

I looked on the Internet for the definition of spring cleaning and this is what I found: the period in springtime set aside for cleaning a house, normally applied in climates with a cold winter.
The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom that would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name. However, it has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise.

The sun is peeking out once again the Internet says that when the first warm days arrive, spring cleaning will begin to take place. So, where do we begin?

Follow my simple steps for easy spring cleaning 101 over on the SC Johnson blog.


Click here to read Trisha's full article over at SC Johnson


Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson


*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Recycle, Re-Use, Re-Purpose In Your Home

 By Trisha
24/7 MOMS Editor
 
With Earth Day only a month away, we hear it everywhere we go these days—recycle, re-use, re-purpose. There are signs, websites and multitudes of companies that are focused on these three words. This got me thinking about how we could organize our home by doing just that—recycle, re-use and re-purpose.

Here are some of the simple ideas I came up with to get each of us to recycle, re-use and re-purpose in the home: Click here to read Trisha's full article over at SC Johnson


Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson


*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.

The 31 Day To-Do List Challenge

By Trisha
 
Several weeks ago, I was thinking about how as a mom I often get overwhelmed with my never ending to-do list and projects that I would like to accomplish. I began playing the “what if” game – what if I created a challenge for myself to accomplish one project per day this year? I was immediately overwhelmed. So, instead I decided to break it down into months. What if I could accomplish one project per day for an entire month? I would feel a huge sense of accomplishment checking off a month’s worth of to-do’s and projects!

What about you? Do you have a never ending to-do list full of projects you would like to accomplish? Join me in this challenge and begin checking things off your list. Here’s how we can do it: Click here to read Trisha's full article over at SC Johnson


Be sure to leave me a comment over at SC Johnson


*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly organization articles.