Preparing Your Pantry for the Holidays
Can you believe it?! The holiday season is in full swing with Thanksgiving just two weeks away! So, in preparation, we decided it’s the perfect time to take inventory and clean out the pantry. Between Halloween candy coming into your home as well as holiday baking coming up right around the corner, we came up with 3 tips to help get your pantry cleaned out before the chaos only increases!
Can you believe it?! The holiday season is in full swing with Thanksgiving just two weeks away!
So, in preparation, we decided it’s the perfect time to take inventory and clean out the pantry. Between Halloween candy coming into your home as well as holiday baking coming up right around the corner, we came up with 3 tips to help get your pantry cleaned out before the chaos only increases!
Here they are:
Toss Expired Items
Look through everything in your pantry and throw away anything that’s expired, especially if it’s been in there since last Christmas!
Replenish Ingredients
Make a list of any items that need to be replenished for your holiday baking. Having clear bins makes this process so simple and quick!
Wipe the Shelves
Take the time to wipe down your pantry shelves, cabinets, doors, etc. while you’re already cleaning out.
Need help getting your pantry in order?
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How Clutter Effects Our Children
Have you ever walked into your home and felt overwhelmed, overstimulated, and possibly even anxious? In a 2016 study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology scientists declared environments can have a negative effect on a person’s wellbeing.
That made me wonder, what effect is all of our "stuff" having on our children?
Have you ever walked into your home and felt overwhelmed, overstimulated, and possibly even anxious? In a 2016 study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology scientists declared environments can have a negative effect on a person’s wellbeing.
That made me wonder, what effect is all of our "stuff" having on our children?
Back in my teaching days, I planned my classroom centers with specific goals in mind. Certain areas were stimulating, bright and full of manipulatives and activity (ex. a math center), but I also planned areas with empty walls, calming colors and no clutter (ex. The reading center). It was interesting to me how children sought out the calming space, sometimes more than the active space. I also noticed the difference in the behavior of the children in these areas. Children in the bright areas were active, chatty, engaged. This area also had more emotional outbursts, aggressive behavior, and chaos. Children in the reading center, which was less chaotic, were found to be quieter and calmer. There were fewer outbursts of emotions and less negative behaviors in these areas. This wasn’t a true scientific experiment, yet I saw first-hand that clutter and stimulation effect children’s behavior, sometimes in a negative way.
What does your child’s homework space look like?
Numerous studies have confirmed my theory that clutter and chaos can have negative impacts on children’s lives. Excessive visual, olfactory and tactile stimulation may cause our senses to work overtime. If our senses are already working overtime just by being in a room, then how is a child supposed to focus on what’s important?
Look around your home, what message are you sending to your children?
This sentence makes one thing come to mind, the cardboard box. Why? Because how many times do we buy things for our children only to watch them be more fascinated with the cardboard box? What makes us buy these "things" is great advertising that makes us believe our kids will be better, smarter and have much more fun with "____" item when in truth, the best gift you can give them is your time and a cardboard box. Ok, maybe a few markers or crayons too. Let the fun begin.
They don’t need more THINGS. They just need YOU.
Which brings me back to the message we send our children. If you are constantly needing new things, new stimuli, new stuff to feel happy, then your children could possibly be observing and learning that behavior, instead of learning that happiness comes from within. They too may be feeling overstimulated and anxious from all of the "stuff" you love to buy them.
Help your family win their day by having a clutter free home where they can play, focus and feel stress free.
Don’t know where to start? Call us for a consultation where we can help you formulate a plan!
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Sunday Prep Checklist with Toni-Ann
As a mom, you have a never-ending to-do list, and staying on top of everything can be tough. From meal planning to keeping up with your kids' schedules, there's always something that needs to be done. That's I want to share with you Toni-Ann's, Sunday Prep Checklist - to help you stay organized and prepared for the week ahead.
As a mom, you have a never-ending to-do list, and staying on top of everything can be tough. From meal planning to keeping up with your kids' schedules, there's always something that needs to be done. That's I want to share with you Toni-Ann's, Sunday Prep Checklist - to help you stay organized and prepared for the week ahead.
With the Sunday Prep Checklist, you'll feel more organized, less stressed, and better prepared to tackle whatever the week throws at you.
This easy-to-use checklist covers everything you need to do to get ready for the week, including:
12 things to do on Sunday to reduce the stress during the week
Provides critical areas to focus on for the working mom
A meal plan worksheet so you know what's for dinner every night.
The Sunday Prep Checklist is perfect for all moms, whether you work outside the home or stay-at-home. It's also great for busy families with multiple kids and hectic schedules.
With the Sunday Prep Checklist, you'll feel more organized, less stressed, and better prepared to tackle whatever the week throws at you. Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a more organized and productive week.
Get the checklist for FREE by clicking here
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Holiday Tips for Stocking the Bar
When I saw that it’s National “Tie one on day, “ I giggled. It could mean a lot of things, but here in the South with football, family and friends for the holidays, my mind instantly went to cocktails. So y’all, we are organizing the bar!
- By M.C. Stewart with assistance from Dana Schlotterer.
The family is coming! Stock the bar!
When I saw that it’s National “Tie one on day, “ I giggled. It could mean a lot of things, but here in the South with football, family and friends for the holidays, my mind instantly went to cocktails. So y’all, we are organizing the bar!
The Basic Bar:
As one who hosts lots of large family holidays, I advise keeping it simple. Your basic liquors to have on hand are bourbon, gin, light rum, vodka, and tequila. Wine, red and white, and craft beers are a good staple as well. Our family has their ”go to” brands like Tito’s Vodka, Bayou Rum, Tanqueray or Bombay Gin and a variety of Bourbon because, well, we like our bourbon! 1792, Buffalo Trace and Jim Beam (with Coke) are the top three choices.
Basic Mixers: Club soda, tonic water, Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite (Fresca)
Basic Garnish Set Up : Lemons, limes, and olives.
STEP-IT-UP
If you want to step it up a notch, here is a better-than–basic bar set up. Adding a few more variety of liquors is key to this bar. Elderflower liquor, Grand Marnier, Irish Whiskey, Scotch Whiskey, Kahlua, Prosecco or Champagne and Brandy are a few things that help you step up your bartender game.
Mixers for this set up would be: ginger beer, flavored sparkling waters, simple syrup, bitters
Garnish: Stuffed olives, candied dried oranges, berries and mint.
Now that your bar is set, here are some great drink recipes to try! Cheers!
Karen’s Poinsettia:
Champagne with a splash of cranberry juice!
Sent in by Valerie:
KQED Cranberry and Rosemary White Sangria:
2 apples, granny smith and braeburn
1 heaping cup of fresh cranberries
1 large sprig of rosemary, extra for garnish
1 bottle of Pinot Grigio
½ cup of white grape juice
¼ cup of sugar, more for garnish
1 can of club soda
To make Sangria: chop, pour, stir, get drunk. (That’s what it says!)
Mookies Whiskey Sour:
1 shot of Whiskey
1 shot of lemon juice
½ shot of simple syrup
½ shot of egg white. (Which he doesn’t really like so we have ours without this ingredient.)
Sarah’s Milk Punch(Originally from Taste Fare Cookbook):
1 ½ oz each Vodka, Rum, Bourbon and Cream sherry
2 Tbsp Sugar
2-3 drops vanilla
2 C vanilla ice cream or ice milk
¼ C whipping cream
Add all the ingredients in blender and finish filling blender with milk (About 1 ½ C) The punch may be frozen.
To sere: remove from freezer and soften slightly. Chop/stir until it is slushy.
To make a gallon: Place in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer.
Keeping the Holidays Happy, Organized, and Chaos Free
As the holidays approach, the stress slowly creeps in and eventually, we are in the midst of complete holiday chaos! We are going to help you get through the holidays with our little secrets to a chaos free holiday!
As the holidays approach, the stress slowly creeps in and eventually, we are in the midst of complete holiday chaos! We are going to help you get through the holidays with our little secrets to a chaos free holiday!
Today’s secret: Decorating
Decorating Zones
The key to less stress decorating is to zone your decor. Here are the zones I use in my house:
Outdoor
Foyer or entry
Mantle
Tree
Etc. -living room throw pillows, bedroom decor, bourbon bar (Or is this just me?), or any other areas needed.
Instead of bringing all the decor down at one time, bring down what’s needed for 1 zone only. The key to making this easy is....properly labeled storage bins.
Storage Bins and Labels
It is essential to your organizing that you have plastic bins that are properly labeled in your attic. Each holiday should have a designated spot for all of the bins needed so there is no confusion. Not only should the labels have your decorating zones on them, but they should be labeled with every single thing inside. Removable labels are best because sharpie is permanent, and your items may not be.
Here’s an example of how we label our bins.
These are the label maker and storage bins we use, but there are many great options out there whatever your budget may be!
Side Note: We typically prefer clear storage bins, but we make an exception for these as long as they’re properly labeled.
Simple and easy tips!
Zone your decorating
Contain your zones
Label, label, label