Laundry is a necessary evil for most moms.  We can all use any tips we can get to help make it more manageable.

It wasn’t too hard for me to stay on top of laundry when it was just my husband and I, but then we had our first daughter.  She was a spitter, so we went through numerous bibs and burp clothes and even a few outfit changes.  I was amazed that someone so little could generate so much dirty laundry.

When we had our second daughter, it seemed like our laundry doubled.  I couldn’t believe that adding just one more person’s clothing could make the volume of my laundry increase so much.

I will be honest, I don’t mind washing the clothes.  It’s not so hard to sort them, throw them in the washing machine, and then transfer to the dryer.  My issue has always been with folding clean clothes and putting them away.  I will just let the baskets pile up until I am overwhelmed with how many clothes need folding.

It took some getting used to, but below are some tips that I use to “tame the laundry monster” in my house:

• Do one load of laundry a day.  This for a family of 4, but families with more may need to do 2 or more loads a day.  The idea is to break it up so that you are not doing it all at once.
• Enlist other family members to help.  My girls love to help me sort laundry and fold it.  As they get older, I will have them put away their own clothes.
• Try to have a set day to wash bedding.  In my house, I do this all on Saturday.  By having a set day, I don’t have to try to remember the last time I changed the bedding.
• Another idea is to have a set time to do laundry.  I usually fold a load of laundry after dinner while my husband is keeping the girls busy.  If you are home during the day, you could do it al nap time or whatever time best fits your schedule.

By following these simple tips, I think that you can tame your own laundry monster.  Good luck!!

This Friday’s meme was very timely for me today because I need your help.

About a week or two ago, we left some bananas out a little too long in the kitchen.  Before we knew it, there were lots of fruit flies all over the kitchen!  They even made their way into our bathrooms.

I searched on the internet on how to get rid of these fruit flies.  Most people used a bowl with some vinegar in it, wrapped the top of it with a plastic wrap, and then poked holes it the plastic wrap.  The flies are supposed to make their way through the holes and get trapped in the bowl.

Well, it worked, but not completely.  I even put out two bowls in two different rooms.  Some of the fruit flies were still hanging around the house, mainly in the kitchen.

Help!  Do you have a tried and true method of getting rid of these pesky things?  I want them outta here!

Our children started chores at a young age of 2 or 3 years old.  We rearranged our kitchen to be kid-friendly so our children could easily reach things they would normally use.

Here are some tips on what we did to help the younger children make their chores easier for them:

• One of their assigned chores was to unload the dishwasher and put the items away.  The problem with the young ones putting dishes, cups or silverware away was that the cupboards were too high for them to reach.   Move all the plates, cups, and silverware from the cupboards above the counters to the cupboards below the counter.  The pots and pans were moved up to the top.  This also helps the children set the table without any help.
• Putting the groceries away was another chore.  We moved a lot of the groceries, like canned foods or oatmeal, to the lower shelf of the pantry so it was easier for the children to put them away and get when needed.
• Plastic containers or other storage items and kitchen towels are placed in the bottom drawers of the kitchen.

This has helped us a lot since the younger children can do this on their own without any help from us.  Once the children get older, we can place the items back in their original places.  We’re not there yet.

Guests that visit us are fun to watch when they step into our kitchen looking for a glass of water!

photo credit: chatirygirl

Why be thankful on Thursdays? We tend to just give thanks on Thanksgiving; why not share your blessings on a weekly basis with us? You don’t have to participate every week; do it as often as you can. The road of life is hard, let us count our blessings as we travel this road…

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name”

~ Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

This week, here’s a list of what I’m thankful for:

• My wonderful husband and best friend of 15 years – we are constantly working on making our marriage better and have made a lot of progress
• Our children – we get to experience watching them grow to be independent people
• Friends and extended family – they are always there to talk to and help out where they can
• My health – no major problems that I know of and starting an exercise routine
• And last but not least – Jesus, for sacrificing his son to give us life!

What are you thankful for this week?