Life Hacks

 Here are 3 simple life hacks. 

1. Use hangers as clips 

Did you know you can re-use those pant hangers for clips in your kitchen? Super easy, just break off the clip part!  I recommend using a sharp pair of scissors first to cut it a bit.  Then just bend back and forth and you have a clip for your chips, cereal, or anything else you may need a clip for in the kitchen! 

2. Newspaper trash bags

WHAT? Yes! You can make trash bags out of newspapers.  This isn't a new idea, in fact, it's been around since Audrey Hepburn, but, what a great way to cut back on plastic PLUS, save some money!  You don't need a lot of newspaper, just one sheet actually. Then it's a basic origami fold.  Check out this post by Improvised Life for the how-to.  

3. Clipboards for kid art 

Sometimes those school artwork pieces don't fit your normal 8x10 frame.  Over the years, I've accumulated a bit of artwork from my girls from school and other areas.  Recently I stumbled across a way to display their artwork without having to spend anything.  We had a few clipboards in a drawer.  So I tried them out.  They work great! The best part about them is they don't leave tape damage on the artwork! Plus, with them not being closed in the artwork is able to move freely.  They work for so may different sizes of artwork! 

Silicone ~ Mats & Cupcake liners

    

    Ok so I know that this blog is about saving money not spending money. And I know I did a post last month on a spending freeze, but when you are back to spending money I have a couple that will save you in the long run.  Sometimes we make purchases that spend a little more in the beginning, because over time they will save you more. 

With that, have you heard of the silicone mats? Silicone is all the rage now in many items.  I wanted to share about two that I've been using for a while now and think are worth the money spent on them, which really isn't that much!

     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. 

First up; Silicone mats! 

I shared a while ago on my IG feed about how easy they are to use, but I thought I'd share a little more in depth about them.  Why silicone mats? 

1. They are reusable, instead of using a different sheet of wax paper each time and throwing it away, you can rinse the silicone mats and store for another time! 

2. They make clean-up a breeze! No more cleaning those pans, just the mats! 

3. They are non-stick! You don't even need to spray them, just drop your cookies and you're good to go! No more using that spray oil!  

 

Second: Silicone cupcake liners: 

Ok, so once I was hooked on the silicone mats, I started to hear about silicone cupcake liners.  Guys! They are awesome! I have one set and want to buy another! They clean up well and work great for baking! All the good things with silicone mats apply to the cupcake liners too! 

I'm pretty plain and I wanted them to match my kitchen so I went with the grey/teal/white set.  But, I'd like to get either the rainbow or a set of a fun color for birthdays! 

Also, my sister found this cute idea on IG about using them for kids at Thanksgiving.  We tried it this last Thanksgiving and it worked awesome! They were the perfect portion size for the kids. The cups kept their food separated AND it was fun for them too! 

Sorry, the photos are real life, I was not planning on needing to use these at the time.  

     

So when you are spending again add these two items to your list! In the long run you will save because you won't be re-buying a product to use-up. Plus you'll be helping out out planet in the save process! 

Snow for watering plants

    

    Did you know you can use snow to water your plants? Now, don't go out and grab some snow and put in your plant pot, because then your plant is not going to be happy.  But, if you use melted snow to water your plants you are not only saving on water, but you are benefitting your plant as well! 

As snow falls through the atmosphere, nitrogen attaches to the snowflakes.  This is turn becomes nitric oxide and is really good for plants because it's essentially a natural fertilizer. So if you are looking for a great way to add some nutrients to your indoor plants and save money in watering, use snow! Can I just say, how amazing God is that He created all nature to work together.  It is just little things like this that make me go, WOW! He really has it all worked out, even to the smallest details! 

Back to watering with snow: 

Watering your plants with snow is pretty easy. 

1. Find a container you want to use to hold the snow/melted water. 

2. Collect snow from outside. 

3. Keep container inside and the snow will slowly melt. 

    You will notice that you will have less water than you did snow, because snow takes up more room that the liquid it is made of.  This gives you room to add more snow as it melts. I like to keep adding snow until my container is full of water so I know I have plenty.  Plus the snow won't last forever, right?

4. Once the snow is all melted and the water is room temperature, you can use it to water your plants just as you would with your normal water. 

It's that easy! 

Homemade Valentines

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. 

    Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Now's the perfect time to start making those valentines for family and friends.  Homemade Valentine's are so easy to make!  If you are up for some craft time it's a fun project to do with kids. 

In our house, I like to take all the things out and let my girls be creative!  I usually have cards made for them to start. Check below for my easy how to! Then they can write in them, add construction hearts, glitter, glitter glue, felt hearts, stickers and anything else we have on hand that would work. 

The simple way to make a card: 

1. Take a piece of computer paper/white cardstock

2. Fold in half. 

3. Cut on folded line. 

4. Take the two halves and fold each one in half. Now you have two cards.  

   They will fit perfectly in the small photo/invitation envelopes. 

Now, like I said I'm one that lets my girls just go and be creative, but I wasn't always that way. My girls are a little older now so it works for them to be able to do more.  You can set it up however you like.  I'll share some of our different homemade cards for some ideas! 

1. Painted Hand print cards ~

Remember my post about homemade Father's Day cards? Well you can do a similar card for Valentines! Don't remember? You can check it out here. 

2. Glitter heart cards ~

My girls can't get enough glitter.  You can make glitter heart cards two different ways. 

    1. Draw a heart using Elmer's glue and let your kiddos shake some glitter on.  A great way to keep the mess down; put the card on newspaper or wax paper and then shake the extra glitter off onto the newspaper/wax paper. Then you can reuse that glitter for another card, or pour it back into the container. I linked some glitter at the bottom of this page that is similar to what we have and we've used a few times. 

         

    One tip for using glue: I pour some glue into a small container (we reuse fruit cups) and then let my girls use q-tips.  It makes for a little less mess, because they can't get a lot of glue on the q-tip. 

         

    2. Using glitter glue, you can draw a heart on the card. Younger kiddos may need help. I linked both bottles and pens at the bottom of this post.  While the pens get used up so fast, sometimes they are easier to squeeze for the younger kiddos.  Although we've had success with the Elmer's bottle glitter glue.  

3. Construction paper heart cards ~

    This one is an easy one. Using construction paper, cut out many different hearts.  Big ones, little ones, pink, red, purple & even blue! Let your kiddos glue them onto the card.  You can overlap them, you can glue one on each spot and so on.  For older kiddos you can draw the heart shape and they can cut it out following the line.

You could even make a card using a heart shape too! 

Or, if you have heart punch you can use that too! 

There you have it! Easy and fun homemade Valentine cards! Some other things that are fun to let them add on the inside, stickers! You can't go wrong with a pack of stickers! 

Now that you have your cards all figured out for family, onto those school Valentines.  Check out a post I did for Traditionally Cozy on ways to make your own Valentines for those school friends! Plus don't forget to check out all their other Valentine's Day ideas, including my favorite: Valentine's Day pancakes!