10 things that bring me sanity to my day

topI wrote this blog post way back last year when I was thinking about blogging.  I was reading where someone recommended having a months worth of blog posts ready and waiting.  So of course I started writing before I even had made a blog design.  I realized now I do not need to do that, life enables me so much to blog about, its hard to contain it to just 5 days a week.  I wrote this to share how I was thankful for some material gadgets in my home:)
 (In no particular order, just material things I am very thankful for)

1.  Large 32 gallon trash can.

Sounds funny but having to empty our overflowing kitchen trash can everyday was not.  After visiting with a dear friend I saw her large trash can and the light bulb went off – what a simple and plain idea! We have never gone back, only thing I miss is a flip top lid….but I won’t be picky.

2.  Steam mop

 

with 12 people in our household, keeping the floors clean is a daily struggle.  After having 6 babies in the last 7 years, I have spent hours on my hands and knees hand washing the floors to make sure thy were all clean for crawling babies.  Then my wonderful visionary husband said there has to be an easier way.  After hours of scouring the internet, he shared with me about steam cleaning.  At first I didn’t buy into it, but after doing some research, I found that it was the answer to my prayers.  Perhaps the best advantage of all, is that hot steam vapor is a natural sanitizing and deodorizing agent without any chemical odor.

3.  Electric tea kettle

For a family who does not own a microwave, this has been a huge time saver for us.  We can quickly heat water for tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or oatmeal.  One of the greatest things I believe ever made.

4. My Google nexus tablet

I know not a “plain” item, and probably not a necessity for most people,  But for me as a mom on the go—-its huge.  Most of my day is spent nursing a baby, playing on the floor with children, and if I were to ever think of running off to my room to spend some time alone on our laptop—forget it.  .  I finally can do my bible reading plan for a year everyday, I make all my lists—because in our household if you write stuff on paper its bound to end  up as a paper airplane 🙂 , and I type my blog from it. Its small and convenient enough to hold while nursing baby or I can lie in bed and not disturb my husband. Again a wonderful gift from my husband, its awesome.

****actually I am going to change this to my Asus EEE PC notebook.  That is my favorite item.  The tablet the children enjoying playing games on, I like it for driving and watching videos and for quickly checking my mail. But when the children are all in bed, that is when I do my blogging.  I like my mini laptop so that I can easily carry it off to sit by a restless toddler or keep it stored on my countertop for whenever I can grab a second during my days:)

5. Magic erasers

Because someone is always bound to leave one crayon out and the 1 or 2 year old always finds it:-)  crayon is hard to get off of, but not with magic erasers, this has become a weekly chore in our household.

6. My top loading HE washer and dryer

Laundry, laundry, laundry, that’s all we used to do 24 hours a day.  With 3 in cloth diapers this was always a struggle to get done.  Last year my husband bought these and it was probably one of  the greatest investment in our lives.  Typically we only have to do 2 loads plus 1 diaper load a day.  Now that I don’t over stuff my washer—because there was so much to get done—clothes come out cleaner and I can still use my all natural homemade laundry soap.

7. Scissors

I use scissors to quickly cut up my children’s meals.  Whether it be a sandwich, burritos, or spaghetti noodles, I use these everyday all day.  I buy these for $.99 at Harbor Freight.  We use them for everything.  Cutting green onions, mini tomatoes, even pancakes and sausage.  It gets the job done quicker than knives.

8. hand cleaner

Before the hand sanitizer craze, my hands would be so dry after constantly washing and drying them.  With hand sanitizer a quick hand wash and I’m good to go.  Great time saver for little ones, unless there is visible dirt:-)   we have a bottle in every bathroom, by the kitchen sink, in the van, and in our purses and diaper bags.  One of the first “skills” taught to our children,  as soon as we get in the van, hands out for hand cleaning.

9. My chore organizers

Every morning,  as I’m serving breakfast, I gather up my premade chore cards for each child.  Everyone then knows what is expected of them and I don’t have to feel so overwhelmed that the house is a disaster.
****I still use these chore packs just on a more simpler level.  I do not have to worry about getting them ready in the morning.    You can read how I have made our chores manageable with 12 people.  

10.  Knowing that my husband has left me an iced coffee in the freezer.  A great surprise especially on those long days when I know, my husband won’t be home till late and I just feel like I wanna crawl out of my shell:-)

 

****its amazing how life can change so much in a years time.  I use to look forward to my hazelnut macchiatos from starbucks.   They would keep me going throughout my day—-life was very tiring and baby and toddler consuming last year.  After my weight loss, it seems I didn’t rely so much on caffeine to keep me going.  Now with my new fast starting, I will be anxious to see how my level of tiredness will be.  How much does a person have to rely on caffeine?  Hmmmm I will be figuring that out in the next few weeks.

What are the top 10 or 5 things that you cannot live without in your home????

7 responses to “10 things that bring me sanity to my day

  1. Pingback: Things that bring sanity to my day |

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