How to Prepare Food Storage for Kids

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How to Prepare Food Storage for Kids

How to Prepare Food Storage for Kids

As a mom, I like to be prepared. Prepared for the little things and prepared for the big things, including food storage for kids.

Some might think my prepping can be a little overboard, considering I’m the mom whose purse is more like the Mary Poppins bag full of just about everything. If ever you have the honor of rummaging through my own version of a Mary Poppins bag, you’ll realize I’m serious when I say, I like to be prepared! In addition to the “must-haves” of money and makeup, I’m always equipped with wet wipes, OTC headache medicine, children’s cough medicine, bottled water, bandages, an extra baby onesie, extra diaper, bags of fruit snacks, and more. Yes, it seems a little much, but the way I see it, I’d rather be prepared with more than equipped with less when on-the-fly needs arises.

Prepping beyond the purse

And though I’m very prepared for family outings, my mommy prepping goes beyond what’s included in my purse. I consider myself a very prepared homemaker. With canning as a favorite hobby, I’m very keen on preparing for a rainy day (or week or month). Remember the rush on food items last year when the pandemic hit? Thankfully, food worries weren’t a thing for my household, because we maintain a pretty decent supply of food storage.

It’ s no secret that I love to can food and maintain a spirit of preparation in the home. Recently, many people have asked how they can start a food storage plan that kids will like. Because, although basic foods like beans and rice are palatable by most adults, most children shun “preparedness foods” and would rather go hungry than eat prepper food.

Here are some suggestions on how to prepare a food storage that your kids will enjoy.

Food Storage For Kids

  • Store Macaroni and Cheese

Every kid on planet Earth likes mac and cheese, and one of the great things about mac and cheese is it has a pretty long shelf life.  I suggest buying mac and cheese in bulk the next time your grocery store has a case lot sale.

  • Store canned peaches

From my experience, canned peaches are the most popular fruit for kids. Peaches make for a great stand-alone dish, side-dish, snack, or ingredient for a yummy dessert.

  • Store boxed cakes

Boxed cakes are great because kids love cake (and adults do, too), they’re easy to store, and super easy to prepare. A cake can be a great comfort food when times get rough.

  • Store canned spaghetti sauce

Like mac and cheese, kids love spaghetti. And this is good news when it comes to building an emergency food storage, because spaghetti sauce is very simple to store and pasta noodles even more so.  If you want to be evern more adventurous, can jars of minced hamburger to toss into the spaghetti sauce.

  • Store peanut butter

Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and kids love it! Having a ton of peanut butter on hand is a great way to ensure your kids are getting enough to eat. Whether it’s eating the peanut butter by the spoonful or as part of a sandwich, peanut butter is a vital  piece of the food storage plan.

peanut butter
  • Store tootsie rolls

Store bags of Tootsie Rolls and/or other sweets that you can pull out on occasion. This isn’t so much for physical health as it is for mental health. Everyone is happier when they get a snack! Tootsie Rolls are cheap to buy and last forever.

Conclusion

These are just a few thoughts. Stay tuned for more in a future post, as this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Suffice it to say, the best way to know if you’re building a food storage that works well for your kids is to ask this question, “Do my kids already eat this stuff?” If the answer is no, then stop and begin building a food storage comprised of things your kids are already eating. It will give you peace of mind and save you a lot of money and headache in the long run!

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Mom Hacks

5 Tips to Keep Your Kitchen Floor Clean

5 Tips to Keep Your Kitchen Floor Clean

In this blog post, I’ll give some tips on how to keep your kitchen floor clean.

As a mom, I’ve learned that keeping the kitchen floor clean is like stringing pearls on a thread without a knot. The task is never-ending! Truly, sometimes I wonder why I even attempt to clean my kitchen floor if, when I’m done, it immediately begins to get dirty from all the flying food, garbage wrappers, random clothes, and more. It’s as if the kitchen floor is a magnet for filth. Why is that? It may have something to do with the adage that the kitchen is the great gathering place of the home.

So instead of waxing impatient and irritated, I instead wish to share some very positive, easy steps you can take to keep your kitchen floor clean and hence continue keeping the kitchen the fun family gathering place it is intended to be.

Transform your kitchen from the home’s dumping ground to the home’s gathering ground.

5 Tips to keep your kitchen floor clean

Pick up one thing every time you enter the kitchen

It’s amazing what a little constant effort sustained over a long period of time will do. Instead of waiting for the floor to “suddenly” be a disaster, try to keep it clean by getting in the habit of picking up just ONE thing off the ground every time you walk into the kitchen. You’ll be amazed how many things get picked up, and, as a result, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep your kitchen floor tidy and clean.

Keep refrigerator magnets on the top half of the fridge

Yes, this seems a little random, but for those of you with toddlers, you can already see the wisdom in this counsel. Refrigerator magnets are a constant temptation for littles to grab and toss on the floor. And for every magnet that lands on the floor, the piece of paper or photo that the magnet was holding up, also hits the floor.

Maintain clean counters

So much of what hits the kitchen floor first resided on the kitchen counter. The longer something remains on the counter (or kitchen table) the more likely it will end up on the floor. Get in the habit of keeping the counter clear. You can begin by removing one thing from the counter every time you walk into the kitchen, similar to the suggestion earlier where I recommended picking something off the floor every time you walk into the kitchen. Remember, it’s just ONE thing at a time.

Keep the broom in a visible location

Usually, we keep the broom in the closet or somewhere out of sight. But you know what they say: Out of sight, out of mind. To help as a reminder to keep the floor tidy, try keeping the broom in a visible location. I actually like sweeping. There’s something very satisfying about seeing all the crumbs and crusty food find its way to the trash bin!

Buy a robot vacuum

Okay, I almost left this one off the list, but because I recently bought a robot vacuum, I feel confident in recommending a robot vacuum as part of your kitchen cleaning process. It’s really the final icing on the cake. After you’ve swept the big stuff, then let the robot vacuum do its precision work.

The thing about these little R2-D2 vacuums, though, is if you’re not careful, your littles will think the robot vacuum is a toy and will potentially damage it by trying to play with It. For this reason, if you have kids, I suggest running the robot vacuum at night!

Conclusion

Cherish the time you have with your kids at home. Don’t get too frustrated with a messy kitchen. It really is just part of the journey, and I believe there should be joy in the journey. Hopefully, these little tips for keeping your kitchen floor clean will be as helpful for you as they have been for me.

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Mom Hacks

6 Tips to help kids with bedtime

6 Tips to help kids with bedtime

Why is it that bedtime always seems to be a struggle for littles? You’d think that we, as moms, would have this round-up and routine mastered considering it comes around every. . .single . . . day. As grown-ups, it’s hard to understand why children are so averse to the concept of getting a good night’s sleep. I mean, who in their right mind doesn’t appreciate an end to the chaos of the day and the blissfulness of a wonderful night’s sleep. The answer: children! For some reason, which grown-ups do not comprehend, little kids simply don’t like going to bed. As a result, bedtime tends to turn into a nightly battle, which all-too-often results in grumpy parents, grumpy kids, and less-than-ideal sleep for everyone.  Understanding that this is a common situation, I decided to share some of my tips to help your kids with bedtime.

And although some of them may seem a little odd, they’ve worked for my kiddos. As with all my pieces of advice, take what you want and leave what you don’t. Hopefully, though, you’ll find some helpful points in this list to make bedtime less of a struggle and more of a delight.

Tips to help your kids with bedtime

Tip #1: Eat dinner earlier

One of the biggest challenges with getting kids off to bed on-time is we run out of time! Your bedtime routine should begin as soon as dinner is over. So, if you eat dinner too later, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. Most parents are pretty good at choosing a firm bedtime, but very few of these same parents are good at choosing a firm dinner time. By staying true to a firm dinner time, you make it much easier to stay true to your firm bedtime. In my family, we eat dinner at 6 p.m., which means, I need to start dinner well before that time. In other words, as soon as the “workday” is over, that’s when dinner preparation begins.

Tip #2: No screens after dinner

As soon as dinner concludes, you should begin the process of preparing the family for bedtime. A big part of this preparation includes the winding-down of the brain by disconnecting everyone from electronic devices. This includes parents, too! Yes. Now, if you absolutely need to use a screen, do it in a way that is not visible to the children.

Tip #3: Clean for 15 minutes

To help the kids get ready for bed, help them get rid of their remaining energy. The way I do this is together we all clean up the kitchen and/or living room for 15 minutes. The goal isn’t to complete the task of cleaning the entire room. The goal is to expend the remaining energy the kids may have, which will encourage them to want to head to bed more willingly. Also, cleaning together is a great way to spend time together as a family. For me, any together time is time well spent.

Tip #4: Get the kids into pajamas at least 15 minutes prior to bedtime

If bedtime is set for 8:30 p.m., then get your kids into pajamas by 8:15 p.m. When you send them to put on their jammies, turn off the lights in the living room and kitchen. Or at least dim them. This is a visual cue that bedtime has commenced.

Tip #5: Read your children a story

I’m surprised and saddened by how many people do NOT do this step. Reading a story and/or singing to your kids not only helps them fall asleep faster, but it is a beautiful way to communicate that you love your kids and want to be by them. It is a magical moment. Later in life, as you reflect on your parenting years, you’ll be very grateful you did this.

Tip #6: As you tuck them in, say you love them and that you’ll check on them in a bit

When you tuck your children in and leave the room, something that I’ve learned is really helpful and calming is to tell my kids, “I love you. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

Of course, you need to be true to this promise. Check on your kids in five minutes, then ten minutes, and then fifteen minutes. By the third check, they will very likely be asleep.

Conclusion about tips to help your kids with bedtime

These are just a few tips to help your kids with bedtime, but they work for me. And though bedtime continues to sometimes be a struggle for my littles, it is no longer the fight it used to be.

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3 Tips to keep a minivan clean and organized

3 Tips to keep a minivan clean and organized

If you’re a parent desperately looking for ways to keep your minivan clean and organized, then this blog post is for you! And although I’m writing my thoughts from the perspective of a minivan owner, the same principles of cleanliness and organization can successfully be applied to any vehicle.

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Mom Hacks

The Relay Phone for Kids

The Relay Phone for Kids

One of the scariest moments for a parent is when a child goes missing. In today’s world, there is no shortage of danger. With bad actors lurking in every community and human trafficking increasing at alarming rates, the importance of keeping track of kids has never been higher. Where once the term “helicopter parent” was a phrase parents shied away from, today, more and more parents wear the term as a badge of honor. I admit, I’m a helicopter parent. I don’t trust the world around me, and I certainly don’t trust the strangers (and even non-strangers) in my neighborhood.  Because of this, I’m always trying to keep track of my kids, which is why I recently started researching GPS tracking devices for my kids. After looking into different companies that offer GPS-enabled kid smartwatches, I finally decided on one: The Relay Phone for Kids.

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