A Day In My Life

This is just a quick list of everything I've added to my little one year old's 72-hour kit, because it differs slightly from our adult kits. Be sure to check out  my comprehensive list  for everything in my (and my husband's) kits. It has all the reasoning behind my choices, how I keep the kits rotated, and all sorts of other tips. Or you can check out my son's (age 4) young child version of the kit , as well. I purchased  this kit from Emergency Essentials  for each of my children. At the time it was only 25 bucks, and seemed like a great deal for everything plus the backpack. I store each grouping of items (clothing, entertainment, etc.) in a separate gallon sized Ziploc bag. This makes the pack virtually waterproof, it's much easier to find an item, and the bags can be used for all sorts of things (think garbage or water storage) in an emergency. On the outside of the backpack, I've attached an ID card for Avery. On one side, it has her name ...

This is just a quick list of everything I've added to my little boy's 72-hour kit, because it differs slightly from our adult kits. Be sure to check out my comprehensive list for everything in my and my husband's kits as well. It has all the reasoning behind my choices, how I keep the kits rotated, and all sorts of other tips. I purchased this kit from Emergency Essentials for each of my children. At the time it was only 25 bucks, and seemed like a great deal for everything plus the backpack. For the next one, I think I'll get this backpack and add my own items. I store each grouping of items (clothing, entertainment, etc.) in a separate gallon sized Ziploc bag. This makes the pack virtually waterproof, it's much easier to find an item, and the bags can be used for all sorts of things (think garbage or water storage) in an emergency. On the outside of the backpack, I've attached an ID card for Harvey. On one side, it has his name and our family...

Twice a year, during General Conference weekend, we update our 72 hour kits. Since it's on my brain this week, I'm going to do a series of posts on what we include in each of our bags. Today I'll talk about what's in the hubby's and my bags. This is a long post. But I wanted to give you more than just another packing list for your 72 hour kits. I've spent a ton of time researching things to put in our kits, and I wanted to share the info I've found as well as why I chose the items I did. Bear with me!! Also, I just wanted to add... planning and preparing beforehand with tools and essentials that would be useful in an emergency can be expensive. Chances are, you already have many things around your house, but other things need to be budgeted for and purchased little by little. I'll leave it up to you to decide which things are the most important, and which things can wait until you have a chance to buy them. (And my kits aren't finished yet... ...

After Harvey's nighttime bath, I usually left his toys in the tub to dry off. And that usually meant I forgot about it and left them there all night. Then Justin got up the next morning to get ready for work and he would have to move all of those toys to the bathroom counter or on the floor. I knew we needed a solution to this little problem, but I'm not really a fan of things that suction to the wall (to end up getting all mildewy and nasty...).  After I found this colander that rests evenly on the edge of my sink, (and takes up considerably less room in storage) I had an extra one I was going to donate to good will anyway. But then I thought of a way to use the colander to solve our little problem... Now, Harvey cleans up his toys after bath time by placing them in the colander. After all of the water drains, the toys can drip dry throughout the night, and Justin can just grab one container and set it in the cupboard out of the way in the morning. Best part? We c...

This is an old post that never saw the light of day... but if you have kids, it's still a great solution! Store some crayons in your diaper bag or purse in a container just their size: a travel soap dish! It works like a charm.

I got lucky this year. My sister-in-law gave me a Scentsy candle warmer for Christmas. (I didn't even know what a Scentsy candle warmer was until November, but that's beside the point.) I was/am super excited! But at the same time, I was a little sad because Scentsy doesn't have my all-time favorite candle sent: Grapefruit Vanilla. And what was I supposed to do with my precious candle? Throw it in the garbage? Umm. No. First, I melted it down using a candle warmer. (Yeah - it took forever ; one of the reasons I'm super excited to make the switch to my Scentsy warmer.) Then I poured it into an ice cube tray, and set it in the freezer for about 20 minutes for it to harden. To remove the wax, I just wrung the tray over a paper towel and the cubes popped right out. (If you'd like to do the same, don't skip the freezer; it's the key to removing the cubes with ease.) I got excited, and did the same to every candle in the house! Let's just say Ju...

Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the "car stuff". I mean, sure, there's a glove compartment for that kind of stuff, but let's face it: us women have plenty of other things to put in there as well. I found a solution for keeping all the car information organized and easily accessible (while still leaving room for all that other stuff). Check it out! Now when you get pulled over... you can pull out your registration and proof of insurance and impress that officer so much - he won't give you a ticket! (Okay, maybe not, but at least you'll know where all of it is!) My tabs include: Registration Insurance Tune Ups Oil Changes Warranties Tires Maps Safety/Inspection Happy organizing!

In my spare time, I'm a massage therapist. Now, I've cut back quite a bit on my hours because of tending my nieces and staying home with my son, but just imagine how many sheets I've folded in the last six years. I've gotten pretty good at folding flat and fitted sheets alike. Plus.. I'm sort of a perfectionist, and there is nothing like looking at your linen closet when all the sheets and towels look like the inside of a catalog. So, here's the technique (I'm folding a crib sheet here for ease of taking photos, but any size sheet works exactly the same). 1. Find the two seams on one end of a fitted sheet, and match them up - wrong side together. 2. While holding these two seams with your left hand, glide your right hand along the right edge (my thumb is touching it in the photo above) of the sheet until you find another seam and match it with the others. Do the same thing - pinch the three seams together with your left hand and use your right h...

I used to babysit - a lot. And I remember showing up, following the parents around listening to a mouthful of instructions, rules, and suggestions of what I needed to do that night. Then they would leave and I would forget half of it. It would have been so helpful to have a little handbook to refer to if I wasn't sure I remembered what they told me. So I decided when I was a parent, I'd make one for my babysitters. Justin and I left Harvey with my mom for 4 days while we went to Bear Lake with his family. I printed up my handbook just in time for our trip. I have a tendency is to kind of overdo things. But I figure for something like this, I'd rather have too much info than not enough, you know?? Here are the things I included: Emergency Info: - our cell numbers & work numbers - our home address with directions from the nearest intersection - info about Harvey: age, height, weight, SSN, allergies, birth date - Emergency Contacts - poison control phone number ...

Our entire family has been sick. It's been awful. Harvey got it first, and he had a nasty little cough that would keep him from getting a good nap, or sleeping through the night. I remembered an e-mail I received about a month ago with a cough remedy using Vicks VapoRub, so I found it, tried it, and discovered it's amazing-ness! After both the hubby and myself contracted the nasty cough, we tried it - and it worked for us as well. Just in case you haven't got the e-mail... here is the new way to use Vicks VapoRub: