Mama tricks

Alright, I know that I said I wasn't going to post much this week, but yesterday I found a blog that I love and a meme that I love even more- All That is Good and the Friend Makin' Monday Meme! The meme is all about getting to know our blogging friends better and supporting and encouraging one another! I love it! I have already been so encouraged by the participating blogs I have visited and all the wonderful things these mamas have to share!

This week's task is to share as few or as many everyday, little tips that you use to make your life easier. You know- all those special tricks you might have to cook, clean, raise kids, work in the yard, and on and on!

So here are my little tricks:

• I have lists for everything (and trust me- with this pregnant brain they are well needed!)! My new love this year has been my weekly listing notepad that I bought for a dollar from Michael's craft store (I have also seen them at JoAnn Fabrics)! It has a place to list things for every day of the week and I find that it allows me to break things down into more sizeable postions to chunck off during the week instead of just making one big master list.

• I try to plan out an entire month of meals at one time. I simply print out a blank calendar and then go through our month with a general plan. This way I am able to look at the activities we have coming up for the month so I can best plan what nights it would be best to have something easy to prepare or which days would be best to make something big enough so that we will have leftovers the next night. The amount of time it takes me to creat this plan each month has sazed me so much time in the long run (along with money) and my husband loves it because we can normally get through a whole months without repeating one meal! Need ideas? Check out My Kitchen Cafe for tons of great ideas!

• I fold my laundry straight out of the dryer. This way it can't get wrinkled and it can't get too piled up in a big ball in a basket or on the couch (piled up in stacks on my deep freeze in the laundry room, maybe, but at least it's folded!).

• I keep labeled bins in our pantry (small pantry, might I add) for just about everything! There are bins for snacks, canned goods, fruit & nuts, pasta & rice, and so on. This makes getting to things much easier and keeps everything relatively organized and easy to find.

Hmmm... yup, I think that about does it for my "clever" mom tricks as of now- at least, I can't think of any others at the moment!! I'm always learning though, and this meme has been a great way to learn a ton from other mamas! You all should really go check out some of the awesome ideas people had to share this week!