Cleaning Bath Toys

Ashton & I love his rubber ducky and dinosaurs but I don't love the black gunk that builds up inside, it doesn't matter how much I squeeze after bath time and make sure they air dry till next bath, they all ways end up nasty and I just wanted to rip my hair out!

I googled how people clean their bath toys and was surprised at how many parents have just chucked out the rubber bath toys in favour of plastic jugs. While it solves the build up issue we enjoy the toys to much to just throw them out.

I grab a bucket, 5L or around that size

1/2L warm water to 5L vinegar, you can play with the ratio

I fill the toys with the vinegar/water solution and squeeze it all out, I repeat a few times then fill them up and leave till bath time

For the things with suction caps on the back I grab a old toothbrush and brush all around and over the caps and also go over the animals air holes, there is usually one on the mouth/back and one on the bottom of the animal

Give a good rinse and squeeze out a few times with fresh water before putting back in the bath for bath time

This is also a great way to clean the caps of your non-slip mat that sits in the bath if you have one

And since its environmentally friendly your kids can help if they are at that age to teach them about helping out with their toys- don't tell them I suggested that! 

Weekly Wrap Up

This week has gone by in a blur of sickness, poor Ash has been hit by everything this week and today has come out in a rash I rang gp access and apparently its just a part of having the 12 month immunisations, but we are booked in to our doctor tomorrow to check how his ear is going after our Monday visit and we found he did have a ear infection so he's been on antibiotics for the week at least something has gone right this week.

Went for a walk with my neighbour, Ash and Cleo on Sunday it was lovely, I've forgotten what a workout it is pushing Ash and the pram! And I've decided to do 50 sit ups in the morning to try and tone my tummy now the pouch is gone from all the walking I've done I get to 30 and want to die LOL

some good news! my iphone is working again! I have my life back :D

Tomorrow is the start of my new planner and hubby and I have decided each pay we are going to put a grand aside towards renovations and debt repayment so hopefully this time next year, we will have all the renovations done and all our debts paid off except for my car loan which will hopefully be able to be consolidated onto the home loan, I'm really excited that we are both working towards our goals hopefully we can keep each other motivated!

I'm really pleased how well the house is running with all the routines I've set up, it almost takes care of itself it seems but I'm still not entirely happy how I run my blog and fb page, this week I'm making it my goal to tick off all my planned posts and get up nice and early

RIP Iphone

This morning I felt like my world was ending, I had just ducked into Master As room to get a shirt and jumper while daddy was on the couch watching him, silly me thinking everything would be ok just because dad was there, rookie mistake!  -.- I walk back in to find Master A using my iPhone as a biscuit to dunk into my tea, even though I was mortified I couldn't help but think how darn cute he was being so gentle giving my phone a bath.
I rescued my phone, turned it off and put it in the sun. Little did I know that would be the last time I would get to use my phone. I raced to the local Apple and Vodafone store, picked up a $20 cheapie phone that only makes calls and texts. That's it. No Facebook.No Internet. No games. No camera. None of the little aps i waste my day on.
I. Could. Cry!
Its been six hours since the Phone Dunking Incident or PDI for short, and in those hours I've come to realise how much the iPhone takes up of my day, its just a little bit here and there so you don't really notice it, but it all adds up and how I'm actually using my time, total fail really!
I'm playing with Ashton more, really getting down on his level. We put the dishwasher together and ran its first cycle- yipee! ( I think that is husband guilt right there though- but I'm going to milk this for all I can) I realised my routines weren't working for me, well they would work a whole lot better if they were right there when I woke up instead of in a room I don't go into till after another hour of being a zombie on the couch- darn body clock! can't sleep till midnight then takes hours to wake up gahhhh so annoying! So I'm writing them up in my new planner to keep on my night stand so I see it when I first wake up in Zombie Mode. Oooh I love it, I'd take a photo to show you, but ya' know... phone's dead... darn
Of course too late, I figure out Outlook can sync your notes from your Iphone to your computer I'll try that as soon as I get my new phone.
Who knows, maybe I might become more productive without being connected 24/7. I read a interesting article last night about someone who turned off for a month it was really interesting, I'd post the link that I had saved but...yeah...phone's dead and I can't remember it

Oh God! I miss my iPhone!

Frugal Friday- Power Reads

I love my books, when I was younger I was the biggest bookworm, now I'm older I find the time to enjoy a book less and less. Deb from Home Life Simplified introduced me to Power Reads a few months ago and I love it! I signed up for the emails and I get a list of free e-books for the day that I can download to my iPhone. As a hardcore book lover it took me a little while to get used to the coldness of reading this way, I miss the smell of books and flicking through the pages. But I do love that they're not taking up space in my tiny house, that it's one less thing my toddler can rip off the shelves and something more valuable can go higher up now. And my toddler can't rip the book from my hands to have a "read" himself, when I say "read" I mean chew and destroy. And if we ever move again I won't have to move them, saving money and time and did I mention this is FREE! Yipeee! I must have saved $150 since I started, the most expensive book I got for free was $30 but most are for $0.99-$5.00

Got. To. Love. That!

My week & SYL wk 24 Clutter Prevention

This week I've been under the weather, taking care of Master A who had his one year needles then developed croup. State of Origin night we slept in the lounge room because he screamed in his room I finally got over my fear of "should I move him? It might wake him up, maybe I should just leave him...what if he rolls into his toys and wakes himself up anyway? Or one of the animals treads on him?" And moved him to his cot at midnight, he didn't even stir lucky me!

I dusted off and updated me resume, and sent it to a company looking for a weekend receptionist. Fingers Crossed!

 Friday saw me curled up on the couch feeling blah and sorry for myself, when some people I knew stopped in for a cuppa. Actually getting up and doing something made me feel a little better. And the weather is nice for a change! 11 weeks till Spring...not that I'm counting :D

Week 24 Clutter Prevention

I love this week! I had the biggest clutter problem a few years ago, but I couldn't see it, everyone else could but I couldn't see any problem with it after all I needed all this stuff! it's not clutter if you need it.

The things that helped me, was moving and having to pack everything up but I know that's not possible for everyone.
When we moved back, I looked at each room and labelled them, master bedroom, spare and computer room, Master A's room, kitchen, lounge room and dinning room. And listed what goes in there, while unpacking I made sure to put likes with other likes then purged the excess. If I couldn't decide where a item should go, I packed it up into a storage container to be opened later. I kept all our nick-nacks packed away. Just because they were packed away didn't mean I loved them any less.

I made sure when items were put away that they each had there space, if they couldn't fit, I purged and packed away or donated again.

I still do this even six month later I go through each room and really look at what is in there, if there are things that don't suit, fit, belong or I haven't used it in six months or really looked at it and enjoyed it and I can't figure out where to put it. Into a storage container it goes.

If I found I was still piling I cleaned the surface off and put something pretty or functional in the middle of the hotspot, having something there made me not want to start to make a mess.

It's really been a big help having my five year goals written down, even hubby is excited about them and we've started brainstorming how to get them achieved. Its really exciting when your family is on board with your goals :)

{FRUGAL FRIDAY} Saving energy

Today is the first post of what I like to call Frugal Fridays. Today's post is all thanks to Amber, who posted a question on my facebook page about slow cookers being energy efficient.

I did some digging and found two posts that clear it up, the first is from Ergon, a Australian electricity company that lists the cents/hour. It is a great starting point but this post from the SA government has a handy how-to guide I love to do things for myself rather than take someone's word for it, especially when it comes to my hard earned money, ok hubby's hard earned money.

Do you have any energy saving websites you love to use?

My Daily Missions How I Clean

I've broken my home up into zones to make cleaning more manageable and so I don't get overwhelmed as I don't have huge chunks of time to clean, and really even if I  did I wouldn't want to!

There are four zones so each month a bit of my house gets a going over, I put my timer on for 5/10 minutes and once it buzzes I either stop or I have a rest and do another 5/10 minutes but trying to beat the timer is great motivation and I rarely need to reset.

Because a bit of my house gets seen every month If I don't get something done, I don't stress because I know I'll get to it in another few weeks and even a little bit done still is better than nothing, just keep chipping away!

I post my missions on my facebook page I would love to know if your joining in with me! And even if when i post its not a good time for you, you can always do the mission when it suits you.

I also have weekly, monthly, six monthly etc tasks which I'll post up as well and what I'm doing throughout the day :)

Home Made KFC

Ingredients

• 2kg chicken legs
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 beaten egg 
• 1 cup milk

Method

1. add seasonings and flour into a plastic bag and shake well to mix
2. add egg to milk and mix well
3. dip chicken legs in egg wash, then into flour, shake well to coat
4. lay legs onto an oiled baking tray, spray lightly with cooking spray if desired
5. bake in moderate oven, about 180 degrees, for 25-30mins, turning once or twice until chicken is cooked through and browned.

Slow Cooker Tuna Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tin cream of mushroom soup
• 300mls cream
• 2 large tins tuna with brine, dont drain
• 2 cups uncooked pasta
• 2 cups frozen mixed veges
• 3 shallots chopped
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1 tsp ground pepper

Method

1. add all ingredients to cooker except cheese
2. cook low 5 hours or high 3 hours, about 30 mins before serving, stir in cheese.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized pumpkin
• 2 carrots
• 1 medium sized potato
• 1 onion
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp chicken stock powder
• 2 cups boiling water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup cream

Method

1. peel pumpkin and cut into even chunks
2. peel potato and cut into even chunks
3. peel carrots and cut into even pieces
4. dice onion and place vegetables in slow cooker
5. in a mug mix stock and spices, fill mug with 1 cup water and mix
6. add liquid to slow cooker and cook on low 4hrs or high 2hrs
7. blend with a electric mixer and add cream

Cottage Pie

(serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 450g beef mince

• 1 large onion, chopped finely

• 2 medium carrots, chopped finely

• the leaves of 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 400g tin of tomatoes

• 1-2 tbsp tomato paste

• 290ml beef stock

• dash Worcestershire sauce

• mashed potato topping

Method

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees
• add olive oil over medium heat, add mince, onion and carrot, stir until beef is browned and vegetables are soft.
• Add herbs and stir for a minute, stir in Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. season to taste.
• Boil and mash potatoes. Pour mince into casserole dish and cover with potato and cook for 30 minutes.

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients

8 Chicken Pieces

500g apricot nectar

1pkt french onion soup

1 brown onion, diced

Method

Place chicken pieces in casserole dish with soup and onion, season with salt and pepper and add nectar and stir. Cover and bake at 180 degrees for 1 hr and 30 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Apricot Chicken

Tuesday- Cottage Pie

Wednesday- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Thursday- Slow Cooker Tuna Casserole

Friday- Homemade KFC

Saturday- Leftovers

Sunday- Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

SYL wk 23 & How I organise my wardrobe

Week 23! I still can't believe I'm all caught up! Such a great feeling :D

This week is all about our wardrobes :/ ugggh!

I'm going to try and do this for the change of season, so every six months or so. The thing that drove me absolutely bonkers though was my UNDIES! And I finally sorted them once and for all! And it was so easy I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. And you can do this for any item that you have alot of, not just undies.

I had a drawer FULL to the brim with undies, it was so full I couldn't shut the drawer.

First, what I did was folded them and stack them, they made four piles in the drawer to fit them all in. Then when I would get dressed in the morning I would make a effort to actually think about what I was putting on, did they have any holes? Stains? I found a pair that, I think got bleach on them! Has the elastic gone? Were they too tight? If it was a yes in the bin they went!

When I did the laundry and went to put my clean clothes away I put the undies, I also did my socks, for a month till I got through them all, in my dresser. It can be anywhere you don't usually go for your undies, even a storage container under the bed! Now, I'm really ashamed to say this but it took three whole months to reach the last of my undies and I tossed half of what was in my drawer.

With my other clothes I turned my hangers facing the opposite way to how I usually have them, then every time I wore a item and washed it I turned the hanger back the 'right' way, so I could easily see what I had worn and what still needed to be worn and If I wasn't wearing it, why not? And should I donate it?

I kept a donate box in the bottom of my wardrobe to easily put items I wanted to donate then when the box was full in to the car it went! Nice and easy :)

What are your tips for a tidy wardrobe? Would love to hear them :)

SYL Week 22- Declutter

Week 22 is about de cluttering. If you had to move what would you take with you? When I finally organised my photos a few weeks ago I couldn't believe the amount of STUFF that was crammed into my little house, it felt claustrophobic and I thought moving would fix it. But of course I needed all this STUFF and hubby had a room crammed full of STUFF so why should I try?
Then we did move and we turned it into a game who could get rid of the most STUFF, two giant glass cabinets family gave us were left at our father in laws big house where they fitted in much better and looked like they belonged rather than jammed into our little house, looking out of place.

Moving back to our little house, I have used plastic storage tubs to contain things we're not using or don't have room for just yet to keep the house looking tidy and its so easy to do, I don't know why I didn't do this before. And I also have another plastic tub for donations to the Salvos in the lounge room.

But this has been a work in progress I have been getting the emails from Flylady for years but ignored them thinking "I don't need them, I don't have a problem, I NEED all this STUFF" It has helped having a clear vision for each room to slowly work through all my stuff.

And i've been thinking of having a regular 27 fling boogie on my FB page

SYL wk 14-21 - Time Management & Home Audit

Week 14 is all about Planning Time Management, perfect timing once again! I've been meaning to get a diary and planner for a few weeks now but have been procrastinating, so first thing tomorrow I will be heading down to the news agency to have a look at what's on offer

This week was my office, bathroom and laundry zone, I mostly spent my week in the office and neglected the others, not that they were terrible to begin with, luckily. So I have culled two laundry baskets worth of paper into one folder- yipeee! it looks so much nicer now I know not as exciting as re-organising the lounge room, its nothing you can bring your friends round to ooh and aaah over.

Trying to organise the office was a nightmare with a toddler wanting to help and inspect every bit of paper that's around and mess up my nice piles. And babysitting a friends cat that wants to catch the mouse cursor and letters as I type them and walk on the keyboard as I'm trying to type.  

Week 15  is about conducting a time audit. Have a look at how you are spending your time and making sure the way you spend your time is helping you reach your goals.

I've written out my 5 year plan and 2012 plan and worked backwards for monthly goals, to at least try and move towards my goals and make sure I hit them by NYE

Week 16 is about slowing down, making sure you fit in things for yourself and only choosing 2-3 important tasks for each day instead of piling on the pressure. I love the sound of that, I think it will help when I get to the weekly to-do list.

Week 17 is about decision making, being decisive i love the line, "Focus on what next action you need to take and do it" That really jumped out at me for some reason.

Week 18 Was all about stopping procrastination, I have a procrastination list I try to tackle one thing every week. Still a few things left on it though.

Week 19 We are talking about routines, I love routines they make me feel so organised and calm knowing what comes next and being able to tick things off and look back at the end of the day and see I actually did things.

I have a morning and afternoon routine, a weekly routine, a monthly routine, I have a cleaning routine and set day routines, for example, dumping everything and organising everything off my phone is on the 7th of every month. or washing my poodle on a monday.

What areas cause you stress in your life? Would a routine help?

Week 21  Had to laugh when Deb mentioned being more intentional about what we buy, I have just started cutting out things of catalogues and sticking them to my cork board instead of stuffing the catalogue away for later. Much neater and its on display, much more motivation for saving those coins at the end of