Are you trying to get organized at home? One place I like to start is by making sure I have all the cleaning supplies I need before I begin organizing the house. Use this free printable Cleaning Supplies list to make sure you have everything you need for your home. There is nothing more frustrating then blocking out time to clean the house and not have the cleaning supplies you need.
My cleaning supplies list is broken up into three categories for cleaning a kitchen, cleaning a bathroom, and general cleaning supplies. Before you head to the store, make sure to check this list and see what you need to stock up.
Want to find the best place to get cheap cleaning supplies that actually work? I love buying all my cleaning supplies at Dollar Tree. You will be amazed at how much you can save and how great their products work. Make sure to check out the 45 Best Cleaning Supplies at Dollar Tree after you print out your list.
Ultimate Cleaning Supplies List
Print out your ultimate cleaning supplies list and start getting organized at home. You can click below to download it to your computer.
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Are you trying to figure out a travel budget for your upcoming road trip or vacation? Use this cool Trip Cost Calculator to plan out all your travel expenses in advance.
You will find a category for each travel expense you may have on your trip. Fill in the form and get an idea of how much you will be spending by merely plugging in amounts into the travel cost calculator.
Once you see the total, you can decide if you’re ready for your trip or if you need to save a little more money. Adjust the amount you will spend in different categories to come up with a total travel budget you can afford.
Then send it to your email to help keep track of your travel expenses and keep yourself on track.
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Trip Cost Calculator to Make Your Travel Budget
*** Make sure to fill in each field, even if it’s a zero, to get your total.
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Let me know in the comments if this Trip Cost Calculator worked for you. I love to hear from my readers. Make sure to share this with friends on Facebook and Twitter too!
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Are your kids back in school and you’re feeling a little crazed and disorganized? Help your kids get ready for school and get organized at home so it’s not a stressful year.
Getting ready for school and the kid’s out the door can be a mad dash to get out of the house and the afternoons are a rush to get to all the kids’ activities. This is how it is for me and I realized I need to figure out how to get ready for school and organized so we didn’t all lose our minds.
I got organized by creating checklists with everything they needed to bring to school and after school activities. Then I set out to plan easy after school snacks and weeknight dinners so it would be one less thing to worry about during those hectic afternoons.
These little changes have made a huge difference in the stress level in our house and I am hoping they’ll help you, too. Are you ready to learn how to be organized and grab your freebie printable checklists?
If your kids are doing remote learning or e-learning get helpful tips on educational resources, room set up ideas, and supplies on our Homeschool Resource Page.
This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see my disclaimer here.
Get Organized with Free Printable Checklists
With the chaos of family life, it’s hard to remember everything the kids need to pack in their school bags and for after school activities. I created these checklists to make it easier to remember what the kids need to pack.
Each of my kids is responsible for checking the list before they leave to make sure they haven’t forgotten anything. Not having to remember everything in my head has been a game-changer for us.
I am attaching three free printables I use for my home. You will find one simple before school checklist and one that has more detail – decide which will work best for your family.
You will also see the free activity printable for all after school activities. I also left blank lines so you can customize it to your family’s needs. I suggest you hang these up where the kids pack their backpacks.
Click on the picture below for your free download.
School Checklist
After School Activity Checklist
Organize Your Pantry for Easy School Lunches & Snacks
The next step in the morning is getting lunches and snacks packed for school. To make this easier, I organized my pantry and refrigerator so the kids can help pack their own school lunch and grab their own school snack.
This also made it easier for the kids to get their own after school snack, too.
Check out these simple pantry organization ideas to encourage your kids to be more self-sufficient. It was a quick change that made a huge difference in our day.
Declutter Your Home
To help reduce more stress when your home, work on decluttering and organizing rooms in your house.
Start with your kitchen and office space to get you organized and feeling good. Then move onto the kid’s bedrooms and playroom. Set up a mudroom area for kids to leave backpacks and shoes when they get home.
I know it can feel overwhelming to get started but if you take just one room or closet at a time it’s not so bad.
When the kids come home starving after school, be ready with these easy and delicious after school snacks. I have two quick snack recipes my kids love and as a bonus, they are also healthy!
Both are no-bake recipes so whip them up the night before and you’ll be set for the next day. The first recipe is for my Peanut Butter Energy Balls and the second is for my Apple Slice Cookies (not really a cookie). Check them both out and see if your kids will love them, too.
Easy Weeknight Dinners
I have found after school activities make it a lot harder to have a healthy family meal each night. You really have very little time to cook and squeeze in meals between activities. This rushing to get food on the table was stressing me out and I was making way too many frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets.
So, I decided I needed some quick and easy weeknight dinners for when we are in a hurry. Here are some of my go-to meal ideas that I hope will also help you out.
Rotisserie Chicken Dinners
What could be faster than picking up a rotisserie chicken for dinner? The chicken is already cooked which is a huge time saver and there are so many ways to make it into a delicious meal.
Are you and your family in a dinner rut? Then use this list of 25 Easy Family Dinner Ideas to keep things fresh each night. You’ll find a variety of quick meals that your kids will actually eat!
Sheet Pan Dinners
I love a good sheet pan dinner! You just throw everything on a sheet pan into the oven and you are free to do other things while your meal cooks. Plus, it’s only one pan to clean at the end of the night.
Our favorite Sheet Pan Dinner has sausage, potatoes, and veggies. Use this recipe as a base and adjust it to the tastes of your family.
Teriyaki Chicken Crockpot Dinner
This dump and go crockpot recipe for Teriyaki Chicken couldn’t be easier. Just throw all the ingredients into the crockpot, turn it on, and your meal will be ready for you at dinner time.
Find out two ways to serve this chicken in my Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe. Bonus, it makes enough leftovers for a second dinner that week.
How Kids Chores Can Help De-Stress Your Afternoons
At the end of the day, there are so many things to get done that it can be overwhelming. Get some help around the house on busy weeknights from your kids.
Kids can help set the table, pick up toys, empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, and complete other small tasks around the house. Having them help with simple tasks will teach the kids responsibility and help you out.
I hope this article inspired you to help the kids get ready for school and get organized for a stress-free year. Use the free printable checklists for a calm and easy morning and after school activities. Plus the quick meal ideas ad organizational tips for home. All of these together should help make your life a little easier and a lot less stressful.
Do you have something that helps you get organized for school? Please share it in the comments to help us all learn from each other.
If you enjoyed this article and want more ways to make a mom’s life easier, join the Happy Mom Hacks community weekly e-newsletter. You’ll never miss a new household tip, quick weeknight meal, or fun family travel adventure again. As a bonus, get a free Birthday Party Checklist.
I am so excited about this week’s guest post from Janey at Shutterfly on age-appropriate chore charts for kids. Janey provides free printable chore chart templates and gives the reader easy tips on how to introduce more responsibility into your child’s life.
Use these simple chores chart ideas by age to make adding chores an easy transition into your daily life. I know this is something I could use a little help with and I hope it can help you out too!
This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see my disclaimer here.
Fun Age-Appropriate Chore Charts For Kids by Age & Chore Chart Templates
Adding some responsibility into your child’s day-to-day can oftentimes be a bit of a challenge. We want our kids to still be able to play and enjoy their childhood but as they get older, it’s imperative that we also teach them to value hard work, practice good hygiene and learn about the importance of helping others.
These customizable chore charts by age are made for three different age groups including toddlers, kids ages four to six, and older kiddos ages seven to ten.
Another thing I like about these chore chart templates is you can choose a point and reward system that works for you and your kids. You’ll be able to establish the best routine and rewards to help them stay consistent and motivated!
Tips On Introducing Family Chores
1. Keep Things Simple
Whether they’re toddlers or starting chores at an older age, try to keep their chores simple and straight-forward.
If a chore involves many different steps to complete, it might feel overwhelming and you might end up with partially completed chores.
Instead, break a complex task into a few different chores to give them the satisfaction of checking things off their list little by little. This will also help keep them on task!
2. Add a Challenge
Add a couple of challenging tasks throughout their week. Try to think of chores that will encourage them to put their thinking caps on!
This can be anything from helping you build a piece of furniture, fixing something around the house, or any other project that involves being resourceful.
3. Assign Age-Appropriate Chores
It’s best to assign chores that supplement what they’re learning at home or school.
For example, things like washing their hands before every meal, eating a good breakfast, and picking up their toys are great chores for toddlers since they’re further developing their motor skills and building good habits.
4. Give Praise
It’s important to create a positive association with chores. Be sure to praise your little one often after they help you, a relative or a friend to give them a boost of confidence and encourage them to continue practicing good deeds.
5. Establish a Reward System
Rewards are great motivators! Keep in mind that rewards don’t always have to be toys, candy or money. A dinner of choice, a trip to the beach or a fun, messy science project can also be great prizes for completing their chores.
Whether it’s caring for a pet or cleaning their room, chores are a great way to teach your kids some valuable lessons. Remember to be patient, allow them to figure things out on their own, and lead by example!
An alternative to the free printable is a magnetic chore chart. Once you decide on the chores add it to the board and kids can check it off when they’re done.
Here is one we use at home. It works great for multiple kids too just change the color of the marker. Magnetic To-Do
Are you ready to get your kids to start helping out at home? I hope these free printable chore charts for kids by age will help get you started. The templates are easy to print out and set your family on the right track.
Looking for more family organizational tools?
Cut down the stress before heading to after school activities with my free printable After School Activities Checklist. Everything you need to do before you leave the house.
Get these genius pantry organization tips for kid’s snacks and have your kids be responsible for their own after school snack.
Need Some Fun Activities too?
Keep the kids busy when there is no school with these fun at-home activities
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Are you overwhelmed when you open your pantry and refrigerator? Is it totally disorganized and you can’t find anything? This is how I was feeling!
The kids and I were constantly searching for food and snacks we couldn’t find or letting food go bad because we didn’t see it. I decided it was time for some pantry organization. I came up with some easy pantry organization ideas for kid’s snacks and school lunches that I wanted to share with you.
Use these DIY pantry organization hacks for your refrigerator, cabinets, and countertops. Once you’re organized, the kids can get their own school snacks and school lunches ready themselves. How great would that be!
This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see my disclaimer here.
Easy Pantry Organization Ideas for Kids Snacks & Lunches
DIY Pantry Organization
Every time I opened my pantry, I was overwhelmed by the mess. I wanted the kids to be able to go in and grab a snack by themselves to be more independent but that was not working.
Here is what my shelf looked like before I organized the kid’s snacks.
My Messy Pantry
To fix this huge mess, I purchased some small containers to hold the snacks. Creating sections of different snacks so that they would be easy to find and easy to put away when adding more snacks.
I will be honest, I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with the organization. However, once the sections were created, we all seem to be adding things to the right container. It really is working.
TIP 1: If you want to have the kids pick specific snacks, you could add numbers with a label on each container.
Then let the kids know, for example, after school, they can pick two things from the #1 bin and one item from the #3 bin. This way, they are not only picking fruit snacks to eat for after school snacks.
Make sure to fill the bins with healthy snack options that way you know they’re always making a good choice.
Organizing Kids Snacks & School Lunches in Your Refrigerator
I love the idea of organizing the refrigerator with kids snacks and school lunch options. My hope is that if I have an organized fridge, the kids can be more self-sufficient and help make their own school lunches in the morning. I can dream, right?
My plan to accomplish this is by creating bins in the fridge with already prepared items. For example, I will add grapes & carrots in small zip lock bags that they can throw in their lunch or eat after school.
On Sundays, you can fill a week’s worth of small bags or prepackaged items such as cheese sticks and yogurt into the bins. Then during the week, you only need to make a quick sandwich in the morning.
I don’t know about you but our mornings are hectic and anything I can get done ahead of time will be a huge help.
You can also set up your after school snacks in the bins. You’ll find tons of healthy make-ahead snack options in our 25 Healthy After School Snacks for Kids.
Here is a picture of how I organized my refrigerator. I again used the same small bins I bought for my pantry.
All the bins are placed on the lower shelves so they can be easily reached by the kids.
TIP 2: If you want to save some money you can find bins like this at Dollar Tree too. I get a lot of my simple storage solutions there for my whole house.
TIP 3: Just like the pantry containers, you could label the bins with types of foods so the kids are encouraged to pack a variety of food in their lunch.
Small Space Organization
If you don’t have room in a pantry or the refrigerator to add a kid’s snack area, don’t worry. You can do something as simple as adding a container to your countertop.
What I have done is put a container on the counter labeled with each kid’s name and I fill it with after school snacks for the week.
This lets the kids be responsible for their own snacks but also lets them feel like they get to choose their own snacks each day.
Here is an example of the bins I have used on our counter.
Fun storage bin ideas for you.
Have these easy pantry organization ideas inspired you to organize your kitchen? I will say that having the children help with their own snacks and school lunches makes all the effort worth it.
Do you have some great pantry organization ideas, too? Please leave them in the comments for all of us to learn from or ask any questions you may have. I love to hear from my readers!
Easy Snacks and School Lunch Ideas
Now that you’re organized, do you need a few new kid snacks and school lunch ideas?
If you need a fast lunch for picky eaters, try these simple Lunch Kabobs. The kabobs are rolled up deli meat with cheese and are completely customizable to each child’s taste.
Bonus, the kids can quickly make these themselves in the morning.
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Are you looking for things to do in Chicago with Kids? Look no further than the Kohl Children’s Museum located in Glenview, Illinois. This children’s museum offers tons of cool play areas for your kids to learn and explore. I have taken my children to kids museums all over the country and this one by far has the most to offer. This Chicago attraction has 17 permanent exhibits to explore with hands on exhibits your kids will love. Follow along with me for tips to make your Kohl Children’s Museum visit a great time for all.
Kohl Children‘s Museum | What to Know Before You Go
Kohl Museum Parking and Location
The great thing about a museum in the suburbs is big free parking lots! This makes it really easy to get in and out with little kids.
Located in The Glen, a shopping area in Glenview, Illinois, there are tons of things to do with kids before and after the museum visit. The Glen has a great playground and splash area plus tons of shops and restaurants. You could make a full day out of visiting the Museum and The Glen.
Address: 2100 Patriot Blvd. Glenview IL
Kohl Museum Cost
The price to get in is a little steep at $13.00 for kids and adults while children under the age of one are free. I will say from experience of going to this museum for years it is well worth the money. There is so much to do and see. You will feel like you are getting your money’s worth and will want to come back over and over.
Kohl Museum Membership
If you do plan to come more than once it might be worth looking into the Membership. There are some perks like getting to enter the museum earlier than other guests. I found this to be a great bonus as the kids can play more when it’s less crowded. I also found it helpful when the kids were younger, we could just visit for an hour or two and not feel like I had to stay all day. Tip: This makes for a great gift from Grandparents
Lockers/ Coats
Instead of weighing yourself down with all of your coats and bags I suggest you use their lockers located near the entrance. If we bring a packed lunch I will leave this in the lockers and retrieve it when it’s lunch time. This way I have my hands free to play and wrangle children. The lockers only take quarters so make sure to bring some with you. They also provide an area to hang your coat with no fee.
Cosi Restaurant at the Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum
Kohl Museum Restaurant – Cosi
Inside of the Kohl Museum is a Cosi Restaurant that serves snacks, breakfast and lunch. They have kids’ meals plus some pretty good lunch options for adults. You can also bring your own lunch and eat it in the restaurant. If you want a break from the museum head over to the Glen where they have several restaurant choices, such as Potbelly.
Kohl Children’s Museum Infant Area attached to exhibits
Mixed Ages of Kids
Kohl museum makes it easy for you to take different age children to the museum by providing baby only areas mixed into the exhibits. For instance, your older child can play in the grocery store exhibit while the baby crawls in the attached infant area. This gives you the ability to watch both kids having fun and playing.
I think this museum is great for kids ages 8 and younger. However if you have older children you need to take they will find things to do while your entertaining your younger children. So don’t feel you can’t bring older children with you.
Kohl Children’s Museum Nursing Station
Nursing Stations
The museum does provide two areas for breastfeeding moms which are located in alcoves. There is no door in these Nursing Stations, just a blocked off area and bench.
Best Times to Visit the Kohl Children’s Museum
The best times to visit the Kohl Museum are right when it opens and after lunch time. Both will be less crowded and more enjoyable for your family. If you have the membership, I suggest trying out the early hour membership entrance to get the most out of your visit.
As to the time of year to visit I think this museum is great all year round to visit with kids. In the winter or on rainy days it’s a great way to get the energy out and let your kids explore. While in the summer months kids are able to explore Habitat Park. This is a fun outdoor area with hills to climb, water painting, swings and more.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum Exhibits
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum Exhibits
Let me a highlight a few of our favorite exhibits in the children’s museum and give you an idea of what you will see while visiting.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum – Adventures in Art
Adventures in Art Exhibit
You will find an engaging art area at the beginning of the museum. Kids can paint, use different materials to create pictures, build with magnetic blocks or do the daily art activity. Several tables are set up with different activities to let all ages find something they like to do. I would suggest going to this area first so that your child’s materials have time to dry before you go home.
Water Works
There is a great water exhibit at the far end of the museum. Kids love splashing around in this area of the museum. They do provide smocks but if it is busy, they might be hard to come by. I would suggest throwing some extra clothes in your bag and doing this area at the end of your visit.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum – Train Table
City on the Move
Recently the Kohl Museum updated their train area and now have a huge train track. Little ones that love trains will be so excited to see this area.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum – Music Room
Ravinia Festival Music Makers
The music room introduces kids to all different music concepts while letting them bang on the drums, ribbon dance and listen to different music tones.
Kohl Children’s Museum – Whole Foods Market Exhibit
Kohl Children’s Museum – Potbelly Exhibit
Whole Foods Market and Potbelly
Whole Foods Market and Potbelly have both sponsored exhibits in the museum. Kids get to practice grocery shopping and checking out customers in the grocery store area. While in the Potbelly exhibit, they can create sandwiches ordered by customers just like in the real restaurant. Both of these have great imaginative play that make them so much fun.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum – Baby Nursery
Baby Nursery
Does your child love to take care of their baby dolls? Here you can pretend to be a doctor checking on the health of your baby doll or being at home in your house feeding the baby and singing them to sleep.
Kohl Chicago Children’s Museum – Pet Vet Exhibit
Pet Vet
If your children love animals, they will love pretending to be a veterinarian in the Pet Vet Exhibit. Kids wear stethoscopes and listen to the stuffed animal’s heart, check their X rays and wrap up any injuries the animals may have. They can also practice taking care of animals by feeding and grooming them.
Kohl Children’s Museum – Spot Hero Car Garage
Spot Hero Car Garage
This is the exhibit for car loving kids. Build your own car and race it down the track, walk through an enormous car wash or fix parts on a car.
Traveling Exhibits
There is a rotating area in the museum that houses its traveling exhibit. I love that this area changes every couple of months. It gives my kids something new to explore every time we visit.
Kohl Museum Programs
Every day the museum hosts some type of children’s program. Some examples are the Baby and Me class, Preschool Storytime and learning about working animals. Make sure to check their website ahead of time to see what time the children’s program starts. Visit here Kohl Children’s Museum.
I hope after reading this your family will enjoy exploring the Kohl Children’s Museum as much as mine has over the years. It is a great place for your children to explore and learn. I think if you go once your kids will be begging to go back again and again.
Have you visited this museum before? Please share with us any tips you may have or any questions in the comments. I love to hear from my readers.
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Don’t forget to Pin this for Later
Want to learn about more Chicago Museums that are great for kids? Check out these Happy Mom Hacks Blogs.
Ready to find out how to clean a front loading washing machine? Do you feel like your washing machine smells? I am so embarrassed to say that mine did and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
I did a bunch of research and figured out how to clean a front loading washing machine with bleach, vinegar, and baking soda. Turns out it is really easy to do!
So, don’t be embarrassed like me, just follow these simple steps to clean your washing machine and feel good about using your machine again.
These are the questions I will answer for you in this step by step guide.
How to Clean the sludge out of my washing machine?
How Do I stop my washing machine from smelling?
What can I use to clean my washing machine?
How can I quickly clean my front loading washing machine?
This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see my disclaimer here.
How to Clean A Front Loading Washing Machine with Bleach
What You Will Need
2 cups vinegar
¼ cup baking soda
¼ cup of water
2 cups bleach
Clean rag and small scrub brush
Bucket with warm water and dish soap
Step 1 – Clean the Sludge
First, use a rag and some warm water to wipe down the door to your washer. Then scrub and wipe down the inside of the washer seal with a small brush or rag.
This will get rid of the sludge in your washer. You will be amazed at how much gunk/mold you will find on the door and between the seal and the washer.
Don’t forget to clean the door of your Washer. Here is how dirty mine was.
Use a small scrub brush to clean the rubber seal.
Don’t forget to pull back the Washer Rubber Seal and clean it.
Next, you will clean your washing machine by creating your baking soda mixture for the first cleaning.
Do this by combining ¼ cup of baking soda and ¼ cup of water together in a measuring cup or small bowl. Separately, add 2 cups of vinegar into a measuring cup.
Now go to your washing machine and add the baking soda mixture to your soap dispenser and pour the vinegar into the drum of the machine. Yes, I know it sounds odd to pour the liquid into the drum of the machine but it works.
Last, set your machine to normal and the hottest setting or if you have a clean washer cycle, use that. This step will help break up any mineral deposits and mold growing inside the tub.
What you need to make detergent and the measuring cup of vinegar.Add your baking soda mixture to your washer soap dispenser.
This step is how you will kill any smell left in your machine. I really wanted to make sure I got rid of all the mold so I did an extra step of running a cycle with bleach.
If you are already taking the time to clean your washer, you might as well take this extra step and finish killing off any mold or smell that might spread. So, bleach is the way to go.
To do this, pour two cups of bleach into the soap dispenser and run the washing machine on the same hot water settings as before.
When the bleach cycle is done run a final rinse only cycle just to make sure all the bleach is gone and you won’t ruin any of your clothes.
Step 5 – Final Cleaning
Wipe down the washer’s seal again one more time with a rag and warm water to get out any mold that is left. I would also do one more quick wipe down of the inside drum and the door to the washer.
After this, the washer should no longer have a smell and you should have a clean washing machine ready to use.
After you run a load of laundry, leave the door open to let it dry out after every wash. Or hang a dish towel over the door so that it stays open a crack to let air in but won’t be in your way.
Remove laundry right away after it is washed to keep mold from building up.
Wipe down the rubber seal after each time you use it with a rag. You might even find little treasures that have fallen out of pockets in the wash.
After you wipe it down hang the rag over the door so that the door stays open and lets air flow through. This will also help keep away the mold.
Try to clean out your washer once a month to maintain a clean, odor-free washer.
When you’re done cleaning your Washing Machine clean up your Microwave next. Get rid of all that baked-on food and stink with easy Microwave cleaning hacks using Lemon, Vinegar, or Baking Soda. It will take you 20 minutes with these no scrub cleaning methods.
For those of you who hate cleaning, you’ll love our DIY Cleaning Hacks for Lazy People. Their insanely easy cleaning tips for deep cleaning your house with the least amount of work. Your gonna want these tips!
How To Save on Cleaning Supplies
Want to save some money on cleaning your washing machine and your whole house? I found the best cheap cleaning supplies that actually work at Dollar Tree. Yes, Dollar Tree!
Make sure you have all your cleaning supplies ready when you want to clean the house with my Ultimate Cleaning Supplies List. Get this free printable and never forget what you need at the store again.
Get Organized Too
What has helped me the most with cleaning my house is a simple cleaning schedule. The free printable is a realistic cleaning checklist that makes you feel less stressed about all the cleaning tasks and more focused.
Plus you’ll really love checking things off the list when you’re done.
While your busy cleaning start organizing your house too. You’ll feel great when it’s done! Get started with our Simple Decluttering Tips for your whole house and then focus on Kitchen Organization so you can finally find your pots and pans and Tupperware when you open your cabinets.
I hope this article has taught you how to clean your front loading washing machine with bleach, vinegar, and baking soda. Let me know in the comments how it worked for you.
If you have any other great tips please share them with us in the comments. I love to hear from my readers.
Get more great tips for household hacks, easy meals, and family travel ideas by becoming part of the Happy Mom Hacks community and receiving my weekly newsletter.
How to Get Organized with Free Checklist Printables For Kids Activities
Are your afternoons like mine, a crazy rush to get to all the kids’ activities? They come home from school and it’s a mad dash to get homework done, eat some type of meal, then pack up all your gear and head off. The trick for me is to remember what we need before we rush out the door. Whether it’s soccer shoes, baseball bags, ballet flats, or musical instruments there is always something to remember. By the time we get out the door I am totally stressed. So, I came up with an organization idea for kids with my free checklist printables to help get me organized and de-stress my afternoon.
I created an activities checklist that I hang in our mudroom for the whole family to see. It includes what they need to wear and what they need to bring. Right before we leave we read through the list to make sure we haven’t forgotten things like a soccer ball or baseball hat. It helps me feel like I don’t have to remember everything as we are rushing. I started making these lists a year ago and it really has gone a long way to relieve my stress. It has just become part of our family routine now. An added bonus as they learn to read, they can use the list to get everything packed up themselves.
Free Checklist Printable Templates
I am attaching two free pintables I use for my home. The first is the activity list and as a bonus there is a second list for School Mornings. I hope this is helpful to your family too!! Please share in the comments with our readers any great ways your family is getting organized and de-stressing. I love to learn from my readers too!
Organize Your Pantry for Easy School Lunches & Snack
Looking to get your pantry and refrigerator organized so kids can pack their own school lunch and grab their own snack after school? Check out these simple kitchen organizational hacks to encourage your kids to be more self sufficient. Wouldn’t that be great!
Delicious & Quick Kids Snack Ideas
Do you need some new snack ideas for after school? I have two quick snack recipes my kids love and their healthy! Both are no bake recipes so whip them up the night before and your ready to go after school. The first is my Peanut Butter Energy Balls and the second are my Apple Slice Cookies (not really a cookie). Check them both out and see if your kids will love them too.
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I don’t know how mornings are in your house, but ours is a crazy mad rush every morning to get the kids ready for school and out the door. Kids always oversleep, take too long to eat breakfast, and forget to pack their backpacks so we are scrambling every morning. I was starting to get so stressed out with our total disorganization and began thinking of ways to make things quicker and easier in the morning. I needed snack organization!
How to get your Snacks Organized
Every day, the kids need to bring a school snack. Our school, like many others, provides a snack list of what you can bring so I don’t have to be creative about snacks, just pick things off the list. I went to the dollar store and bought two Tupperware trays, one for each kid. I bought different colors so they would know which tray was theirs. This helps with the fighting in the morning over who stole who’s snack – another thing that would add to my stress.
Snack Trays for both kids
I put the tray out on the counter and filled them up with a weeks’ worth of snacks. Each morning, the kids have to pick out their snacks and pack it in their own bags. This does two things: gives them responsibility and frankly takes one thing off my morning to do list. You can even put a tray in your refrigerator with pre-bagged and cut up fruit. These trays will be worth the 10 minutes of your time for a week worth of less stress in the morning.
Want to make after school snacks easy too? Create trays in your fridge or pantry that just have snacks. This way kids know what they can have after school and maybe you will get lucky and they won’t beg for cookies!
I hope this helps you out in the morning as much as it helped me! Let me know some of your great organizational tips.
