Winter Ideas and Tips
 Tips for Toys
If, like our family, you received an overabundance of new toys, consider weeding through both the new and old play things. What has outlived its function in your house (or never will have a function)? What is there just too much of (can any one family truly have need for 57 different stuffed animals?) Do you shudder about and morally cringe at a particular item when your children bring it out to play? (violence enhancing toys come to mind here) What is broken or has lost so many of it’s pieces that it has lost the power of play? Now – the big question – can your children give up the old to make room for the new? Remember to be sensitive. If they can’t bear to part with it fully, but you know it hasn’t been played with in a very long time, perhaps you can agree on a trial separation. Can it be put in a safe space (say top of the closet?) for 3 months and if not desired in that time, passed on or recycled appropriately?
Now – getting rid of what you can (recycling, giving away to friends or charitable organizations, swapping, etc.), take stock of what’s left. Still too much? Can some be put away for those boring days when all of the regular toys are just not enough to spark good play? If you can put at least some away for those occasions, you’ll always have an emergency plan for that zillionth day stuck inside, or that just-about recovered from illness bore that can drive parents and children alike mad.
Next – organize the toys so that your kids can easily find them and return them after they are done with them. Store sets together in fabric bags, boxes, cartons, or baskets, and arrange these in an easily accessible manner. Avoid having too much on hand for young children (consider rotating some toys or toy sets in and out as interests have waned), and big jumbles of toys (such as a large toy box) for all ages. The easier it is to see the different toys available for play, the more likely they are to get played with.
Make the play space inviting, comfortable and near the hub of the household. Making it easy to clean up and encouraging your kids to help with this task will make the massive task of sorting and cleaning out one that needs to be done only occasionally.
Preparing for the New Year
Yearly Journal
The beginning of the new year is always a great time to spend time reflecting on the year past and getting clear on what is important to you for the coming year. Each year we sit down with our dreams journal and come up with our goals for the
year ahead, reflect on the year past and dream of things yet to come in life.
Get a journal or make one, and divide it into 3 different sections
Section I - The Year Ahead
The first section is for your upcoming goals, dreams and plans. Spend some time day-dreaming, get clear on your purpose and intentions. Then set goals for the upcoming year. You can start by having a section for individual goals, such as fitness goals, courses to take, new activities, etc. Then you can have a area for "together" goals - such as trips to take, activites to do together as a family, financial goals, etc.
Section II - The Year Past
The second section is about the year just past. Each year you can look at what you wrote the previous year and see what goals you accomplished. Then write about the trips you took, the new friends that came into your life, the events that happened, etc.
Section III - Life Time Fun
The final section is all about life time goals. Each year add to the list of things you want to experience in this lifetime. The items can be as crazy and wild as you like. Have fun with it. You can even add some quotes or pictures to this section. Let you imagination run wild and don't deny yourself any dream.
Preparing for the Holidays
Traveling with your family this Christmas? We have prepared some travel tips to make your travel time fun and enjoyable. Make the time you spend traveling a special part of your holiday celebrations rather than something you just have to get-through....Are we there yet?
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Alphabet Game
Take turns coming up with words that pertain to the holiday season. The first person starts with 'A' the next one 'B' and so on until you have gone through the whole alphabet. (ex. Advent, Boughs of Holly, Caroling, etc.) When you are finished with Christmas words, start over with a new category, such as Christmas Songs, animals, etc.
Sing Along
If you know holiday songs take turns picking a favorite and have the whole family enjoy singing along. If you don’t know very many Christmas songs borrow a tape or CD from the library, or pick one up before you head out. Or, ask everyone to bring one to share with the rest of the family.
Take turns humming a song and see who can be the first one to guess what the song is that is being hummed, the first person to guess it takes the next turn.
Map Plotting:
Most kids love maps and map reading is a great skill to learn on a distance trip. Give each child a map so they can keep track of where you’re going and note the towns and attractions as you pass them.
Guess What Number I’m Thinking of
Take turns picking a number between 1 and 10. Everyone else can guess which number the person who is “it” is thinking of. The person who gets it right gets to be “it”, and so on, and so on…
Story-Telling
Have the whole family make up a story as you travel. Have someone start with the first sentence and then each family member takes turns adding a sentence as the story unfolds.
Books on Tape/CD
Buy or borrow a book on tape that the whole family will enjoy. Kids can draw pictures of the story they are listening to.
Practice Tongue Twisters:
Here are a few to get you started:
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He'd chop as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood."
"She sells seashells by the seashore"
"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?"
"A noisy noise annoys an oyster."
"Greek grapes"
Flying? If you are traveling by plane, take along books, activity books, sticker fun, a small felt board with felt objects, a drawing pad, stamps and stamp pads, small toys and healthy snacks. Take out the various items intermittently so there is always something new and exciting to entertain. Last time my daughter traveled with her 2 year old she took along a roll of scotch tape which amused her son for most of the trip.
Have fun with your travel plans and enjoy this special time you have with your family.
Aid for Dry Skin
To help moisturize skin add baking soda to your bath water.
The precious Rose Essential Oil helps fight skin dryness. Try adding ten drops of rose oil to your bath water. For added luxury, add some rose petals. Rose oil hydrates skin, is a wonderful scent, and helps prevent spider veins. To help the oil and water mix better add a little milk to the water.
Home made Orange Lip Balm
Chop 2 Tbsp. beeswax and add to a double boiler, heat until melted.
Remove from heat then slowly pour ⅓ cup olive oil into beeswax, stir to mix.
Add 1 ½ Tbsp. honey and 4 - 5 drops Orange essential oil to wax and oil.
Stir continuously to mix until cool.
Seal in a clean container
For a thinner, glossier tip balm use more olive oil, for a thicker lip balm use less olive oil.
Whole Oats
For silky skin
For an all-natural, gentle skin cleanser and moisturizer all-in-one, try this quick and easy approach. Cut the foot off an old pair of nylons or threadbare sock (you’ll want 6-12 inches of material), and pour ½ cup of whole oats into the toe of it. Secure with a knot or elastic band, trim any extra material you have and take your new little bag into the shower. Use it to scrub your body and then rinse thoroughly. It will leave you silky and soft. Repeated use increases the results! Too easy to be true? Give it a try – you’ll be amazed.
Candle Care
Stop Dripping Candles
Candle light makes a room soft and cozy. Here is a great tip to help stop your candles from dripping this holiday and winter season.
Mix ½ cup salt in ½ cup water. Place your new candles in this solution and soak for several hours. Take the candles out of the solutions and let them dry completely and your candles are ready to burn as usual.
It's a good idea to always place your candles on a tray or to use discs over your taper candles to prevent accidents. However, if spills do occur follow the method below to remove candle wax from fabrics.
Candle Wax Cleanup:
Pick up as much of the candle wax as possible with your hands.
Heat up your iron to the lowest setting, place a white paper towel over the remaining wax. Apply the iron to the paper towel and as the wax begins to liquefy the paper towel will absorb the wax. When the paper towel absorbs a lot of the wax use a new paper towel and continue the process until the wax is all absorbed. This process will take some time and patience.
Home made Face Masks
With the colder, drier weather often comes chapped and dry skin. Try some of the following home made skin care treatments to pamper yourself and help relieve the irritation of dry, flaky skin.
- Apply whole egg mayonnaise on your face for about 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water.
- Mix about 4 Tablespoons of honey with a pure essential oil such as lemon, rose, or lavender (use only 1 - 2 drops each) Apply the honey mixture to your face and neck. Leave it on for about 15 mins., then rinse well with warm water.
- To exfoliate skin, make a paste with oatmeal and water. Apply to face and allow to dry. Rinse well with warm water.
- Grind 1 tablespoon almonds into a fine powder using your blender, food processor or coffee grinder. Mix the almonds with 1 tablespoon honey and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.
So Long, Static Cling
No chemicals, no perfumes
With winter on its way (and having arrived in some places) and central heating kicking in, static cling once again becomes an issue.
To control static cling, try the following:
Add ½ cup of vinegar to the last rinse cycle of your wash (fabric softener dispensers work great for a timed release)
Avoid synthetic fabrics
Air dry when possible
Fabric softeners often contain synthetic fragrances and are a disposable and chemical product. If you do use fabric softeners, consider using the liquid type rather than dryer sheets, which are a greater strain on the environment and less effective.
Wall Art Removal
Simple, non-toxic
Some of a child’s artwork is framed or put away to be cherished forever. Other of that same child’s artwork, say the stuff colored right onto the wall in the living room when mom and dad were just a bit too busy elsewhere, may just be temporary. To remove it easily and without toxic chemicals, simply make a thick paste out of baking soda and water, scrub and rinse. Add a drop or two of orange essential oil for really ground in crayon, pencil or pen.
Indoor Plants
Purifying the Air
Houseplants are the friends of earthy families. They clean the air, produce oxygen, moderate air humidity, and create a warm home environment.
NASA studies have proven that indoor plants are extremely effective in ridding the air of chemicals and toxins. The studies revealed that the following were the most effective air-cleaning houseplants:
Bamboo Palm
Chinese Evergreen
English Ivy
Ficus
Gerbera Daisy
Janet Craig
Marginata
Mass Cane
Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
Potted Mum
Peace Lily
Spider Plant
Warneckii
These plants proved themselves very effective at removing chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene. Formaldehyde is found in almost all indoor environments as it is used in pressed wood products (such as cupboards and office furniture), some paper products (such as grocery bags and paper towels), foams and plastics, carpet backing, and many common household cleaners (such as furniture polish and water softeners). Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen and can cause headaches and red, irritated eyes.
Benzene is a toxic solvent introduced into indoor air environments from inks, oils, plastics, natural gas appliances and rubber. Benzene is also a suspected human carcinogen and can cause headaches and nervousness, even at low levels.
Besides the fabulous air-purifying effects that indoor plants offer, they also offer amazing psychological benefits. Studies have shown that plants in offices reduce stress and increase productivity. Plants have also long been connected with relaxation. So start growing more plants and enjoy the psychological benefits. Make it a family project to include everyone in the home and you’ll also enjoy the benefits of working as a team on a project together.
Experts recommend one plant per 100 cubic feet of space. So let your thumbs turn green, your mind relax and enjoy the clean air your new houseplants will bring.
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