Cookies, Crayons, Classes, & Chaos

Stack the snacks.

Stackable Packet Bins. Here are some more stacking products to help organize the pantry. I *love* how you can access anything without disturbing the other bins!! What a great idea!

Still in search of efficient shoe storage...It's the Goldilocks problem

True confessions. We still haven't solved the shoe (and lack of coat closet) problem that I wrote about this past winter.

And now with summer it is much easier to ignore the problem...bare feet, flip flops, and the lack of winter apparel don't really need too much space at this time of year.

But this year I'm determined to tackle this problem before summer ends!!!

What is stopping us? It's probably the fact that we need a custom solution;

The "mud room" is also the "dining room" so we don't want to eat inside a closet of dirty boots and coats hanging in view.
The space is small and oddly shaped with 6 openings in the room.
And being an Asian family, we keep all our shoes at the front door which is also extremely practical.
To get the storage we need we have to optimize every single inch. Too many pre-fab shoe storage options waste space and are inefficient.
Each shoe, boot, backpack, sports bag, coat, and roller skate needs a cubby that is designed for just it's size....not too big, not too small.

In addition to everything I've researched already, here are some additional options we're considering.

Adjustable Shoe Cubbies. These seemed like a good idea since they are customizable. But some reviewers have complained they are too small and too difficult to assemble. The 6" x 6" openings are probably too small for even one men's shoe. Bummer.

Shoe and Boot Pods. These "pods" act like drawers so you can pull one out container without disturbing the rests. They are designed for shoes and boots, although they have to lay on their side to fit. The #4 boot size pod would allow adult size shoes to sit side by side.

Sterilite Clearview Storage Drawer. We have these around the house for organizing office supplies, but I'm thinking now that these might be just the right size to stack in the most efficient manner. There are different sizes to accomodate different shoes, boots, and accesories. But I'm not sure how many you could stack before the weight is too much.

Create a fantasy wonderland with these cookbooks

Check out these scrumptious Barbara Berry cookbooks!

We got the fairy cookbook from the library. My daughter, son, and I were immediately ready to have party after we saw the pictures.

Farmers Market at Benjamin Davis

South Lansing Community Development Association will be sponsoring a farmer's market on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 6 through September 26, 2009 at Benjamin Davis Park.

If you are interested in selling your items on any particular day or for the entire season, please contact Catie at catie@southlansing.org to get the application forms.

Vendors need to be licensed when they sell prepared food, so anything cut or cooked would need to be done in a licensed facility. A great resource for regulations is the MIFMA website: http://www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu/

Make your own Rain barrel - or buy one May 16th

I'm jealous of the amazing resources available to the residents of Gaithersburg and Rockville, Maryland, through this organization that helps residents harvest their rainwater, build native habitats through their landscaping, and work together as a community toward eco-goals.

One thing they offer is a "make it and take it" day to help folks build their own rain barrels. Here are the instructions if you want to try it yourself.

If you are in the Ingham-Clinton-Eaton areas, you can get a great deal on a rain barrel purchase, Saturday, May 16, 2009 - 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Skip the boring lattice!

Perusing some lovely garden magazines from the library I ran across an add for these unique lattice designs. It got my creative juices flowing.

They have fences, gates, borders, trellises, etc. I think I'm really inspired to use several freeform trellises for some boring spots along the garage-side garden.

These are some of my favorite designs: Prairie, Chinois, Modernist. Imagine the possibilities...

Repurposing books as boutique purses

I heard the NPR interview with Caitlin Phillips, the creative genious behind these purses, and had to check it out online!

Her "Rebound Designs" store offers lots of creative designs for purchase.

There are also some DIY instructions for making these purses. Enjoy!

Go to MIT for free

Okay, you don't get a degree but you can get the education.

Check out MIT's online classes through their open coursework project.

As a homeschooling mom I wish we had access to this kind of material for K-12 curriculum too.

But this is the coursework I'm salivating over!!

And it is official, my undergrad psychology professor, Duane Kauffman was right and I was wrong.

He tried to explain the importance of neuroscience to the field of psychology and I thought it was just to "sciency" at the time.

I avoided it like the plague during graduate school thinking I was more interested in the "touchy-feely" side of pyschology.

Well, yeah, I'm still interested in the practical, outreach side of psychology, and happen to like being around people more than lab samples. But I'm all geeked up on the science of psychology and totally fascinated by brain science.

Dear Duane, thanks for being ahead of the curve and getting us to at least take advanced cognitive science classwork at GC! Enjoy your retirement!

Asperger Syndrome Tied to Low Cortisol Levels

This is an interesting bit of research looking at biological differences in these children on the Autism Spectrum.

Asperger Syndrome Tied to Low Cortisol Levels: Finding could steer caregivers away from situations that would add to anxiety

It's interesting that the researchers suggest environmental modification strategies to deal with the biological basis of the apparent hormonal deficit.

I'm not sure this is really useful science, at least as presented in this artcle.

As parents of sensory challenged kids, we already rely on environmental modications to get through the day. Avoid this....Alter that...Only do this... It's exhausting.

I want more treatments focused on addressing the underlying neurobiology that seems to be the problem.

Fidgeting is good!

Kids with ADHD May Learn Better by Fidgeting By John Cloud Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2009

I had to laugh when I read this article in the current issue of TIME magazine, because occupational therapists , well-informed teachers, and parents of sensory-challenged kids know this already!

So if you are looking for some good fidgeting devices, check this small sampling from office playground's huge selection of stress-busters and fidgets:

Loss of newspapers hurts our democracy

As a political junkie and a researcher by trade, I am saddened by the preliminary findings of this article given that more and more communities are losing their local papers.

Do Newspapers Matter? Evidence from the Closure of The Cincinnati Post (March 2009).

Authors, Sam Schulhofer-Wohl and Miguel Garrido of Princeton University, concluded that the loss of even a small paper made local elections less competitive.

The absence of the paper was associated with reductions in voter-turnout, the number of people running for office, and the likelihood of non-incumbent candidates prevailing.

The authors controlled for race, and age, and the effects of the historical presidential election on local elections in this one small geographic area. However, additional larger studies are needed to further examine this trend.

I think I'm going to melt some plastic

Ew! I know...here I am trying to get rid of plastic things from the house so why am I suggesting this?

Well, I got really inspired by some fabulous fun funky usable art where geeky nerdy science meets crafty goodness aka "instructables."

Here's a fused plastic zipper bag using plastic candy bags from an instructables contributor.

Or this appliqued fused plastic bag from another instructables fan.

You basically take 8 layers of plastic bags, sandwich them between parchment paper, and melt away after you finesse your talent at gaging heat, pressure, and timing the process.

Etsy has a tutorial on this basic process and moon>sun has more details and hints. (How did I not know there was a mass crafter-craving for this knowledge?)

With a little luck and some skill you can end up with something like this quick and lovely "farmer's market bag" from Modern Cottage....

Or this professional quality lined version from Moon > Sun.

And hey, it counts as sustainable under the "reuse" category right? So maybe I'll accidentally forget the reusable market bag so I can get some of the pink and purple plastic bags that merchants use around Easter...

Nifty Storage & Organization Ideas

Here are some super cool products that actually relate to the great suggestions offered by Rebecca when she assessed our home's storage and organizational needs.

Art & Creativity Center and Storage
This Elfa Kids Workstation allows maximum flexibility for keeping puzzles, art supplies, and other inspirational objects close at hand while providing adjustable height table tops for different size kids.

Vertical Storage for Entryway
These free-standing components from The Container Store starting from left to right can create an instant mudroom where none exists. Like at our house.

Underbed storage

Providing way more underbed storage than those tiny risers, these rackraisers are just one of the many space-saving ideas from dormbuys.

Enhanced lighting without rewiring

This handy switch allows you to add convenient light switches wherever you need them.

Yet another way to stack and store shoes

These stacking see-through Shoebby's have drawers so you can pull out just one pair of shoes without having to unstack the boxes.

Felt Pasta

Inspired by all that Fabulous Felt Food, I've been channeling my inner "Waldorf wanna-be" homeschooling mom to create magical creations of nature.

So I have been trying to replace our pile of plastic play food with felt versions.

Okay, those real Waldorf moms like this one and this one would probably raise her own sheep, shear them, spin and felt her own wool and then hand-dye it with vibrant vegetable dyes from her organic garden.

But that's not me, except in my day dreams. So I've got craft store felt to use.

So, voila! Here are our healthy tri-color farfalle and fettuccine pastas, dutifully stored in glass storage jars (gotta keep the play kitchen pantry organized as well as our own!), and lovingly prepared by our 3 year old.

It was so much fun (and easy) to make. And now the kids want to make more things! So stay tuned for more...I've been dreaming of felt sushi :)

BTW, I didn't realize Haba has a version of this farfalle as well like this sold by Petit Baby.

Here's the

Fabulous Felt Food

I must confess. I love felt food!

These Twinkle Cakes started it all when I first saw them a year or so ago. Aren't they just scrumptious???!!!

There are so many delicious source of inspiration from Etsy moms who sell patterns for felt food items like these from Gulf Coast Cottage. Even McCall's has gotten into the act.

No worries....there are even healthy items like these Biofina toys from Haba and on sale at Kidsurplus--one of my favorite online stores for great deals on high quality toys.

The kids got these Biofina items in their Christmas sock this past year and really love them!! The petit fours are especially wonderful for playing with our many tea sets.

The ice cream cones are fabulous for playing store because the "scoops" can reverse to alternate flavors if you flip them upside-down.

If this isn't great motivation and inspiration to get rid of plastic toy food I don't know what is!

Fruit and Vegetable Storage - Decluttering the Fridge

The refrigerator and counters at our house really need to be organized!

We need to find ways to keep the fruits and vegies visible to encourage healthy eating but also to keep them fresh.

So I've been asking, "What's the best way to store fruits and vegetables?

AZ sustainability guidelines via bohemian revolution for freshness
Live green wear black suggestions for freshness
Utah State Cooperative extension guidelines for freshness
High-end funky storage ideas from the kithcn and Chiasso

Containers for common bulk dry food sizes

What size storage containers do you need?

To help find the right glass storage containers for bulk food items, these calculations might help.

Container sizes
8 fl ounces = 1 cup
1 pint = 2 cups
1 quart = 4 cups
1 gallon = 16 cups
2 gallons = 32 cups
2.5 gallons = 40 cups

Flour
1 lb bag = about 4 cups (32 ounces)
5 lb bag = about 20 cups (5 quarts, 1.25 gallons)
10 lb bag = about 40 cups (2.5 gallons)

Sugar (white/brown)
1 lb bag = about 2 1/4 cups (18 ounces)
5 lb bag = about 11 1/2 cups (92 ounces, 3 quarts)

Legumes
1 lb bag = about 2 cups (16 ounces)
5 lb gap = about 4 cups (1 quart)

Rice

1 lb bag = about 2 1/2 cups (20 ounces, under 1 quart)
3 lb bag = about 7 1/2 cups (60 ounces, under 2 quarts)
5 lb bag = about 12 1/2 cups (under 1 gallon)
10 lb bag = about 25 cups (1.6 gallons)
12 lb bag = about 30 cups (2 gallons)
25 lb bag = about 63 cups (4 gallons)
50 lb bag = about 126 cups (8 gallons)

Gallon jars in a file cabinet -- Am I crazy?

More indecision...

My latest brainstorm was to repurpose the 2 drawer lateral file (great deal from Smart Office Systems re-use showroom) as our "baking center."

Then I could store all the jars of dried goods in the drawer and easily pull them out for access. I wouldn't have to lift any heavy jars down off the shelf. And I could set the mixing bowl on the top of the file and scoop out ingredients from below.

Great....but the "Winning Jars" from my research, the 2 and 2.5 gallon Montana Jars are too large to fit in the drawer, although there smaller sizes available from limited sources.

So I'm back to thinking about those gallon "pickle" jars. On the plus side, they are lots cheaper. On the downside, the openings aren't as wide so it's hard to get a scoop inside. Plus, some lids aren't airtight and some lids are downright awful.

But here are some great resources for gallon jars and even some different types of lids.

Speciality Bottle Company -- 1 Gallon Jar (with lid) $3.25; 1/2 gallon Jar (with lid) $2.38