Clothing Switch Over

It's officially Fall! Well, I know it was technically Fall last week, but now that it's officially October it seems more Fall.  Plus in my area that seems to be when the weather really starts to change to colder Fall temps.  Which means, the official switch from Summer to Fall clothes in our house.  The thing is, this isn't an exact date that happens every year.  It could be early October, late October, or sadly some years in September.  But, the point is it sneaks up on us.  Thankfully, this year it's been warmer a little longer.  Over the years, I've learned to stock up on the Fall items early on.  One way I've done this is by storing clothes the girls have grown out of.  

I'm blessed with three girls.  For many reasons they are a blessing, but when it comes to clothes it really does help that they are all girls.  I can save what the oldest has grown out of and keep for the next and then the next. Well, at least for now this method still works a bit.  As they have gotten older and care more about what they wear or how clothes feel we have less that is re-used. BUT, when that first cold day hits we aren't scrambling for clothes because we have some they can start with.

As I have done this for many years I have a system that works for me.  Hopefully, this will help you if you are just starting off, or for ideas if you needed. 

Each size and season have their own tote. When my girls were younger I could get all seasons of one size into one tote.  But, as we've added clothes and their clothes have gotten bigger we have switched to season totes for each size.  

One big thing for this is finding the space. I've done everything to having 1-2 totes in their closet, to the skinny long totes that can fit under their beds. Once you find the space you can store the totes then it's easier to get the totes for that space.  I do like to keep the current size/season in their room if possible.  That way as we switch back I can just put their clothes in that tote. Plus, if there's something that is a size 6, but through the season we realized it fits snug, I know to put it in the size 5 tote instead. 

Then using tape and a sharpie, I label the clothes in that tote.  

This post includes affiliate links, which means if you click on the link I get a portion of any sales at NO COST to you.  See my disclosure page for more details. 

  

Also, I have a tote for the future.  My oldest is definitely the ones who ends up with the least clothes and we need to buy more for.  So I have a tote that is for her future size.  As we find things on sale she might like we put them in that tote. That way she has something to browse through as well to start off with. 

Finally, I also have a tote for the girls' shoes.  Sometimes they can be reused, other times we end up pitching them.  But, we've gotten many years worth out of snow boots and other shoes so it helps here and there. 

I'm sharing some links to totes we have or are similar to what we have.  They are costly at first, but they do last forever.  Also, if you can first check out garage sales, or consignment stores, you usually can find them pretty cheap there.  Otherwise, check out these links for more options.  Like I said above we used the under the bed totes for a while, they worked awesome.  I actually still use them for the kids spare sheets.  

Cereal Crumbs for Muffins

 Let's talk how to save on flour. Did you know you could save on flour by replacing it with cereal crumbs?  I've mentioned the Tightwad Gazette before on my blog.  In her book, she talks about making muffins with crumbs of any sort to help cut down on flour.  

*Check out her book linked at the bottom of this post for her muffin recipe.* 

Well, we eat cereal in our household and there's always the crumbs that no one wants in the bowl, but instead of throwing them out you can save them to use as flour! 

This post includes affiliate links, which means if you click on the link I get a portion of any sales at NO COST to you.  See my disclosure page for more details. 

After reading this idea in the Tightwad Gazette, I started attempting it. While I found it worked, I was needing to store the crumbs until I needed them.  So, I have a pint sized jar in my freezer.  Anytime we finish a box of cereal, or crackers I take the crumbs and pour them into the pint sized jar. As the jar gets filled I know I can start making muffins soon.  Before I make the muffins, I take out the crumbs from the jar and blend them up until they are smooth. This helps the flavors blend together better.  Sometimes, if my jar is full of chunks of crackers and cereal, I'll blend it up to see if I can get more in. 

You can use this to make all kinds of muffins.  

We like to add cocoa and make chocolate ones sometimes too!

Also, check out these awesome reusable canning lids! I use them anytime I use a mason jar, but don't need to water bath or pressure can it.  They are super easy to use and are freezer safe! 

Inflation!

 AGH! Every time you go to the store, prices are just depressing.  Anyone else feel they are doing well with saving money and then you do your weekly/monthly grocery shopping and you feel deflated? I feel each time I go I need to find another short-cut on how to cut costs.  Prices are just constantly going up.

Well, I thought I'd put together. a list of ways that I have saved at the grocery store.  Things I've been doing for years to things I've recently learned about.  Here is your one stop post to a lot of ways I've saved over the years. 

But, first let's start with a new one.  Recently, I was re-evaluating how our food gets used.  Am I using up our leftovers as well as I can?  Which led me to how can I make sure to not have so many leftovers?  I realized when I first learned to cook, I measured everything! But, now I just wing it, I go by what I think is enough.  Well, I've decided that going back to  measuring some things isn't the worst idea.

Take frozen veggies for instance. I started buying them in the bigger bag because it's cheaper, but we don't eat a whole bag each time.  I've gotten it down to about 1/4 bag per meal; however lately that's been too much for some veggies.  On Saturday's we usually grill out.  My girls and I prefer baked beans, while my husband prefers corn.  Why am I cooking 1/4 of the big bag of corn for just him I ask? Well, before it wasn't a problem, but now even if we end up not eating some of it as leftovers I don't like to waste it.  So yep, I've started measuring it out; 1/2 cup/person eating it approximately, a little more for my husband, but that's about enough for the kiddos.  If I'm making corn just for him, I only measure out 1 cup.  We've had less leftovers and less waste since. 

Click on each type of food you'd like to learn more about how I save on them. You will be directed to another post on my how-to. 

Baby Food

Bread Crumbs

Brown Sugar

Chicken Broth 

Cheese Sticks 

Cotton Swabs

Flour 

Laundry Detergent

Microwave Popcorn

Milk

Muffin tin liners

Oatmeal

Onion

Spaghetti Sauce 

Shredded Cheese

Snack Mix

Taco Seasoning

Frozen Waffles

Wax Paper

3 General ways to save at the grocery store

Make Monthly list

Expired?

I hope that you found something to help you save a little at the grocery store this week.  But, remember take it step by step, pick 1 or 2 to try this time around and then 1 or 2 the next time around.  Once you have a way to save down, it's easier to add another and so forth.  

Mudroom Remodel

So, I shared a sneak peak to our mudroom lockers on a previous post. I mentioned that I would share the mudroom locker remodel as well. 

Originally I wanted to wait until it was complete (I still want a rug), but I'm having trouble finding the right sized rug so I will share what I have for now. 

Of course I was so excited to get this project going that I forgot to take a before picture. But, if you can imagine all the stuff below (left photo) squeezed in the skinny mudroom (right photo) I'm sure you can figure out how cramped and un-orderly it was. 

      

The first thing was to change the color. I like a neutral palette, so I wanted to go with grey.  I knew I wanted the lockers to be white, so a clean grey background it was. 

     

My husband had the hard work of making the locker cabinets. However, he had a great tutorial.  I did not create these lockers myself, but found them on Pinterest. I was looking for lockers that would fit our mudroom and would be enough for the 5 of us.  One day I found them.  The gal who posted about them gives a great step by step guide.  If you are looking for a great set of mudroom lockers with easy to follow directions check out Jaime Costiglio's  DIY locker post.   Let me just say, both my husband and I are not professional DIYers, but with the help of Jaime's post we have some sweet mudroom lockers that work awesome! 

               

Matt had to make a couple changes to the original measurements. Our mudroom was just a little skinny to make the bench as wide as what Jaime has.  But, ours is in an actual mudroom so I wasn't worried about our girls needing to sit on the bench. So Matt just made the bench a little shorter.  

After they were in, it was time to paint them.  That was my job. 

Then we added the hardware. 

We even had a little extra space on the side, I have used this to store our umbrellas on the floor and hung some of our extra bags. 

Our girls were pretty excited to have their own space.  My favorite, there's a space for everything! Coats, jackets, backpacks & snow pants are fit in the main part. Below all their shoes fit for all seasons. (We only have a few pairs for each season) 

Up top there are two cubbies, one we use for gloves, hats and other accessories. The other I use for their school supplies, lunch boxes and any school notes. 

       

The last touch, other than a future rug, was the curtain.  I wanted to hide all the storage in the back, so I put up a basic extension curtain rod.  Then found a cute curtain at Target, as a Christmas present of course. 

Grandparents Day gifts!

Grandparents Day is; September 11th this year.  Do you have ideas planned for those special grandparents in your kiddos lives? We were blessed to have one set of grandparents move close to us just after COVID hit.  It has been such a blessing! It's hard to remember what we did before they moved here.  First of all Sunday dinners have gotten a whole lot better! 

So, I love that there is a day we can show them how much care even more.  The best part about Grandparent gifts, is I don't know a grandparent who doesn't love a homemade gift from their grandchild.  It doesn't need to be perfect, but that it was made just for them. 

Here are some of our favorite grandparent gifts: 

1. Homemade cards: 

My girls enjoy making cards. We do a lot of crafts in our household and making cards is just another craft. These are easy to do and each kiddo can make them to their ability.  

2. Perler bead creations:

Another thing that's easy to make are the perler bead creations.  Pick a form, let your kiddo fill it in however and then add a magnet to the back. Voila! You have a cute refrigerator magnet. Or, thread a string through it to make an ornament. Also, they make great coasters, make a few and tie a ribbon around them for a coaster set! 

3. Flowers in a vase or pot ( could be store bought or wild):

Take a moment go for a walk and collect some wildflowers.  Put them in a vase and there you go a simple, but pretty gift. You can also purchase a bouquet, put them in a mason jar & tie a ribbon around it! 

4. Candy: I mean I don't think I need to explain this one. 

5. Coupons:

We like homemade coupons in this house.  If you saw my Father's Day gift idea post you know we use them a lot.  What we like about them is you can gear them to a particular person. Here are some ideas we like: 

free ice cream 

1-2 hrs date with said person (this would be good for an older kiddo, gift of their time with their grandparent)

golf date 

coffee date 

Well I hope these ideas help you.  Pair any two together and you are all set! Enjoy!