Smart Habit Saturday

If you are new to SHS find out all about it here: Getting Started with SHS. Click here to read more SHS posts. Please don't forget to link back to this post so your readers can find out more about SHS.

Anyone who has participated in SHS for two weeks in a row by the end of March will be entered into a drawing to win free Organizing Bags! E-mail me the links to your posts and I will enter you in the drawing. You have until Sunday, April 1st to get your entry in. Monday April 2nd I will choose a random winner. I will even video record the drawing so you can experience the thrill with us! I can’t wait! These are the people that have entered so far. Tammy, Kassie, Dana, Michelle, Tirzah, Kara, Lucy, Lorie, Cheri, and Betty. If you e-mailed me and you don’t see your name, please try again.


March isn't ever over yet and I am already excited about having another drawing next month. I'm going to be giving away a copy of The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me, signed just for you, you Lazy Organizer! We're getting more organized so we might as well put "become a millionaire" on our to-do lists right? Look for some or all of my April habits to come from this book. If you want to do them with me then go ahead and buy the book on Amazon for $5 and you can give it to a friend after you win your free signed copy from me! The requirement for the drawing will be to participate in SHS for any three weeks in April. I hope it's not too much to ask you to mention the drawing in your posts. You don't have to of course but we want to get the word out about SHS don't we? I might even throw in some fun ways for all my blog readers to get entries in the drawing so stay tuned!

I had another great week! My habit of staying off the computer after breakfast is still going strong and I did a good job of serving lunch by noon. Some days I prepared it and some days the kids prepared it but as long as we started by 11:00 we were ready to eat by 12:00. Normally we wait until we're all starving and grumpy!

My studio is looking so much better with all my new Smart Habits that I think I am ready to start tackling my paperwork on a daily basis. I said I THINK!!! For my new habit I'm going to spend 15 minutes every day opening mail and filing papers.

Here are the habits I have been working on this year. Some of them are habits and some of them still need a lot of work but all of them have improved my life! Notice I ditched Joe's Goals? It was so fun to use but I just couldn't keep up with it!

Have lunch ready by Noon
Turn Off Computer during chores
Become a Dresser, Playing games with my kids and reading my Church Magazine
Kitchen and studio clutter free
Clear Counters
Clear Desk
Review Planner
Daily Prayer
Clean Toilet

*Important - Please link to your individual SMART Habit post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me

I had the greatest night last night! I met Richard Paul Evans (Author of The Christmas Box), got his autograph and was actually dorky enough to ask for a picture with him!!! As luck would have it my hair was in a ponytail, I had no make up on, and the photo turned out terrible but who cares? I got my picture taken with a famous billionaire!

I went to hear him talk about his book, The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me about life and wealth and he was an adorably fabulous speaker. Afterwards he presented his new multi-level-marketing business and I was pretty shocked to find out that he is doing something like that. Maybe you have heard of Bookwise? I'm sure people will be making millions from it but that is not how I want to make my millions so I passed.

I actually read his Millionaire book last year and I thought it had some great ideas in it which I promptly forgot to follow through with. One of them was that he started collecting silver coins when he was a boy. Seeing all of them stacked up in a jar made him want to buy more and more of them. He was able to pay for his mission and put himself through college all with his silver coins. I wanted to help Victor start collecting silver coins but I never did. I know he would love it because he is obsessed with money! Will you remind me to do this please?

Richard doesn't suggest putting yourself on a budget which he says is worse than dieting. He said that everyone knows that dieting makes you fat. Hello! Haven't I been telling you that for years now? He said that just hearing the word "budget" makes you want to eat! So thankfully no budget but I need to know how much money I have, I need to know where it comes from and I need to know where it is going. How sad that I don't know any of these things! Luckily Stranger is a good saver and he's very frugal so we have never been in debt for anything besides our house but I know we could be doing better. This is going on my Smart Habits list!

Speaking of Smart Habit Saturday I had a book autographed just for you and I will be giving it away next month as a door prize. Aren't you so excited!

Teach Your Kids to Work, Part III

I have noticed that large families, families that home school, and families that run businesses together are especially good at working together. It seems to me that they have to because parents in these situations can’t do it all themselves and they know it.

I used to try to do it all myself. I used to pick up my kid's toys quite often because it seemed easier than trying to get them to do it. (See how they train us? Don't try to tell me they don't know exactly what they're doing!) Then three years ago I hurt my back so badly that I physically could not do it anymore. Surprise, surprise, my kids were perfectly capable of picking up their own toys and I haven't done it since!

Decide today that you will no longer try to do it all and you will be well on your way to that promotion I promised you!

Read my latest article at GNMParents about teaching kids to work.

You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself People

Phat Mommy said it would be fun to stop using punctuation so I thought Id see if she was right so far Im not that excited about it but I really like her other idea of going through the drive through and requesting my order to go that makes me giggle can I get that to go don't forget that I need that to go

another thing that makes me giggle is when we go to Taco Time and order a side of rice and beans to go of course and they dont give us any utensils where I come from you pretty much need some sort of utensil to eat rice and beans a tortilla at the very least but no we get nothing Its a good thing are so organized that we have plastic ware in the glove compartment but its too bad that we arent just smart enough to ask for a utensil the next time nope all I can say is so long and thanks for all the cheese

the giggliest thing of all though is when my kids and I go to a garage sale and walk past a large framed poster of a nak*d woman Im not talking about a classic work of art either what Im talking about is more from the pl*yboy centerfold artistic genre what a fun morning Saturday morning cartoons cant even begin to compete with that not that theyre not trying their hardest

The funs over because I'm going to need punctuation to make the following public service announcement. Here's the deal. I don't care how funny and real and gorgeous you are. I don't care if you have a sarcastic sense of humor that perfectly coincides with mine. I don't care if you seem to get into my mind at times with your perceptive observations. I have looked past the n*ughty words for too long as it is and now this. I need to make it perfectly clear. If you are going to publish n*ked pictures of women on your blog with little stars over their boobie parts then we have come to the end of our relationship. I am just embarrassed that I didn't have the courage to end it sooner. It hurts that you care so little about my feelings but the part that hurts the most is that this hurts me more than it hurts you. You and your 27 million commenters, 27 billion now that you’re featuring pornography, never even knew I was alive so you surely won't miss me now that I am gone but that's ok. If I start missing you I can always take my young children out for a morning of garage sale-ing to experience that family porn euphoria again. Yep that’s what I was lookin fur rat thur. Can I get thems to go?

Saturday wasn't the best day for garage sales but I did come home with eight bread pans that I have needed for years and this book which further follows our theme for today.

Call me paranoid but because I can't quite figure out that picture on the cover I think it's best to keep it put away where the children can't see it. Plus they might start reading it and I'm not sure they're really ready for all the drugs, adultery and suicide inside this great classic. Leo and Anna what were you thinking and why did I buy this book?

Speaking of Leo and Anna, aren't those great names? I think I'm going to use them the next time I have twins. I think it would be a fine legacy for them to be named after such a great piece of work. I was named after Dr. Zhivago's mistress you know and nothing could make me prouder!

Run!

I pray for inspiration every day and I often receive it. I really need it because couldn’t do the things I do all on my own! The last couple weeks I have been thinking about cutting back my workouts from five days a week to three days a week. I feel like I could do more with my kids if we had a couple more evenings together to read and study. We just don’t get to all the books we want to read during our afternoon study time.

So I have been praying about my workouts. I thought that if my Heavenly Father wants me to spend more time with my kids then he will make my workouts more effective so I can cut back. Finally yesterday I got my answer. The answer was, go to the gym three days a week and the days that you don’t go, you can go running outside to make up for it. What? That is not what I wanted to hear!!! Oh well, He knows best so I had better do what I’m told.

I’m worried because when I have to workout at home it is easy for me to find excuses not to do it. I need to find a way to make sure I fit it in. This will be great though. It will save us time driving in to the gym and it will give me a chance to get outside to enjoy this beautiful weather. I just hate running outside. I’m a big baby and I like my treadmill.

Ugh, all this whining is making me sick!

We are so excited today because we are going to go garage sale-ing. I made a list of all the things I will be looking for and I know I will find at least one thing on my list! Remember Lara’s Law? Is there something on your shopping list that you don't want to pay a lot of money for? Don't walk, RUN to your nearest garage sale!

Smart Habit Saturday

If you are new to SHS find out all about it here: Getting Started with SHS. Click here to read more SHS posts. Please don't forget to link back to this post so your readers can find out more about SHS.

Don’t delay if you’ve been thinking of joining us. These are the last two Saturdays in March and anyone who participates in SHS for two weeks in a row by the end of March will be entered into a drawing to win free Organizing Bags! After you have completed your two weeks, e-mail me the links to your posts and I will enter you in the drawing. You have until Sunday, April 1st to get your entry in. Monday April 2nd I will choose a random winner. I will even video record the drawing so you can experience the thrill with us! I can’t wait! These are the people that have entered so far. Tammy, Kassie, Dana, Michelle, Tirzah, Kara, and Lucy. If you e-mailed me and you don’t see your name, please try again.

I found the greatest quote last week by Diann Jeppson in A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion. She is talking about Homeschooling Mothers but I think it applies to all of us at any stage of life.

“Waiting for the chores to end before I take time to teach, mentor, plan prepare, inspire, and study is like standing at the banks of a mighty river waiting for the water to finish going by so that I can cross to the other side!”

Are you waiting for the river to pass before you cross over to become the brilliant, inspiring, competent person you were meant to become? No!!! We know you are building a bridge and already on your way to the other side because you are participating in Smart Habit Saturday. We are all working together here, pulling each other along, to make simple and often mundane daily tasks a little easier by creating life changing habits. This will give us more time to find our greatness within. Whether you want to become a great mother, wife, teacher, or leader, thank you for taking the time to inspire me!

I had a great week! I was able to stay off the computer every morning while we did our chores, except for one day when I wanted to finish an article before we took a field trip. My house has stayed a lot cleaner and this morning I even made a nice lunch for everyone. That is something I need to be doing every day! Weeks ago I tried to start new habits to keep my kitchen and my office cleaner. I have been struggling with it because I was trying to start new habits without getting rid of some old habits first. I do need to spend time at the computer but now I will find the time to do it with a clear conscience of a clean house! I feel like I can move forward again with my habits.

Here are the habits I have been working on this year. Some of them are habits and some of them still need a lot of work but all of them have improved my life!
Turn Off Computer during chores
Use Joe's Goals
Become a Dresser, Playing games with my kids and reading my Church Magazine
Kitchen and studio clutter free
Clear Counters
Clear Desk
Review Planner
Daily Prayer
Clean Toilet

My new habit for next week is going to be preparing a nice lunch every morning so it is ready by noon. The kids work so hard to get their jobs done, they deserve something better than a pbj sandwich! Today I made some delicious black beans in the pressure cooker, garlic chicken in the crock pot and brown rice in the rice cooker and it was easy. Everything was good except for rice that didn’t get cooked all the way. It was my first try with brown rice! I think I needed more water and after lunch I read that it helps to soak the rice for 30 minutes so I will try that next time. Does anyone have any other advice for me?

*Important - Please link to your individual SMART Habit post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Teach Your Kids to Work

Introducing Homeschool Hat

Victor– Mom, I like doing dishes.

Mom - That's great!

Victor - I’ll do Persistence's dishes when it’s her turn if you’ll give me a five cent raise on my allowance.

That is five cents a month we are talking about! I had a very difficult time turning him down! The kids take turns doing dishes every other day and they do them by hand so it is a big job.

Mom - Well, that doesn't sound very fair to you but if you want to do dishes more often then you could ask Persistence if she would like to trade jobs with you.

They decided that he would do her dishes every other day and she would clean his bathroom every day. I told them they could switch for one week and see how it went. I have a very strong feeling that it won't last more than a week but I will keep you updated!

If you are struggling with your kids to get them to help around the house then check out my articles about teaching your kids to work. This week's article is pretty radical. I know most people are too attatched to their stuff to take a step like I took but just think about it and see if it might work for you. It is not a punishment. It's a way to help your child become responsible and happy. What would you being willing to do for your child's happiness?

Part II, Getting Rid of the Clutter

Part I, Who's Job Is It?

No, I am not an expert on this subject or any other subject for that matter. I am just sharing what has worked for my family. Stay tuned next week for part III. I have no idea what it's going to be about because I'm not that organized!!!

Story about Homeschool Hat - Homeschooled children look goofy. If they don't then their Mothers aren't doing it right. It's pretty much a law that if you homeschool you have to take your children to garage sales, let them buy Billy Bob hats and then let them wear them everywhere they go.

Organize Your Bathroom Drawer

*Updated
Alissa brought up a good point in the comments. Little girls love to get into all these fun hair accessories. When Persistence was little I kept them in a flat tackle box with a tight fitting lid. The clasp was too strong for her to open but she could get it out of the drawer and bring it to me. The tight lid andthe compartments kept everything from tumbling together. By the time she was old enough to open it she was old enough to stay out of it! Lovely hasn't made an attempt to get into this drawer yet. She isn't as, shall we say, persistant as my older daughter!

I was getting tired of this

It's a great organizing container that I bought at Target several years ago. It has lots of little compartments and the top layer slides back and forth. My problem with it was that it didn't have any big compartments for larger hair accessories. So I stopped at the dollar store and found some great stuff!


And so cheap! Why haven't I shopped the dollar store for containers before?

I don't know! I outfitted this drawer for less than three dollars and look how perfectly the containers fit! There is only a tiny corner of wasted space. I love it! I am just in want of some smaller containers to work with it. I have those round red dishes in there until...

...our next organizing adventure!

Now you've got him where you want him.

Freezing Cold

Cold

Warm

Getting Warmer

Hotter

Feel the Love!

Yes, we had another great weekend. Some people spend money taking vacations. We are going to spend all our money on seminars! We are learning so much and meeting so many wonderful people. It will really be fun when our kids are 12 so they can go to the youth seminars. The youth that are getting A Thomas Jefferson Education in their homes are the most amazing kids I have ever met!

My feet and shins are really feeling the 3" heels I wore to the ball. Yes, I was 6'4"! Of course Stranger doesn't mind when I'm an inch taller than him with my heels but we only danced two songs all night. The rest of the time we took turns dancing with Lovely. She would not be put down. She had to dance the night away!!! And so did her big sister. I just love how she's making her dance partner do all the work!



Ok, there's my new skirt and blouse. It's not too exciting but it covered all my und*rwear which is more than I can say for the rest of the clothing at the mall. You can thank my photographer, Victor, for the alluring pose.

Smart Habit Saturday

I'm excited we have so many new people doing SHS with us! I didn't know if SHS would last past January but it looks like a lot of us are still going strong. Welcome, welcome, welcome!

Don't forget that anyone who participates in SHS for two weeks in a row by the end of March will be entered into a drawing to win free Organizing Bags! After you have completed your two weeks, e-mail me the links and I will enter you in the drawing. I only have five people entered so far so get your entries in!

If you are new to SHS find out all about it here: Getting Started with SHS. Click here to read more SHS posts. Please don't forget to link back to this post so your readers can find out more about SHS.

I'm sorry I don't have anything inspirational for you today. I have another TJEd seminar all day tomorrow and then we're going to a family ball in the evening. The kids and I spent all morning cleaning the house for some friends that we met last week who needed a place to stay. I'm so excited but I'm worried that we'll stay up all night talking and be completely exhausted for the seminar tomorrow! I have to force myself to shut up and go to bed! I'm already worn out because Persistence and I spent five hours this afternoon shopping for new dresses and shoes for the ball. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a cute modest dress when you are 6-1"? I know I was inspired because I did find something but I came home with three different pairs of shoes because I didn’t like anything but I had to buy something! Hey, maybe I should post them here and let you vote! Ya right, like I have time for that! It's time for habits...

Here are the habits I have been working on this year. Some of them are already habits and some of them still need a lot of work but all of them have improved my life!

Use Joe's Goals
Become a Dresser
Playing games with my kids and reading my Church Magazine
Kitchen and studio clutter free
Clear Counters
Clear Desk
Review Planner
Daily Prayer
Clean Toilet

My new habit for next week is going to be turning off the computer after breakfast so I won't be tempted to sit down before the house is clean. This is going to be very hard for me! I turned it off once last week and turned it back on about 10 minutes later because I wanted a recipe but I know I can do it!

Good luck with your habits and have a great week!

*Important - Please link to your individual SMART Habit post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Swing It

I have the Sign Baby video up on this post. I can really see this video thing becoming a problem because now I can post things like this



and someone will call the PPS (Pet Protective Services) on me. Or else the circus. Our animals are well trained by professionals.

Ok, the video isn't ready yet (I bet you can't wait to see the pet talent can you?) I have a new article up at GNMParents today. Do you get tired of hearing your children complain every time there is work to do around the house? I am writing a series about teaching children to work. Feel free to e-mail me your thoughts, tips or stories and maybe I'll be able to use them in my articles!

Lovely Checkup

My two older children are very weird. They both love to go to the dentist. It looks like our latest edition (I meant to say that) is turning out the same way. This is her first time in the chair and look what a great time she's having! I think Lovely and Persistence will have to duke it out over who gets to marry Dr. Dale. The scariest part of the whole thing is that I dated the good Dr. myself years ago!

He's a single billionaire if anyone is interested. He is so nice, even if he can't count. I'm sure he doesn't mind if I post a video of him on my blog and sign myself up as his dating service, do you?

(This post is really just about me wanting to see if I can get a video on my blog.)

Opps, I guess not! Try clicking here if you're desperate to see what a terrible job I've been doing brushing my baby's teeth.

Organize Your Crib

And by that I mean the baby crib. Lovely always has a few books and toys in her bed with her when she sleeps which I’m not sure is a good idea, especially when she wakes up with an imprint of a mini spatula on her cheek. A few months ago I read about a blogger who had a shelf next to her baby’s crib where she put toys and books for him to play with when he woke up. I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way to implement the concept without installing a shelf or buying a new piece of furniture and look what I came up with!

I’m in love and so is Lovely! It gives her lots of ammunition when Persistence wants to sleep in instead of getting Lovely out of her crib in the morning. From what I’ve heard she has a good aim with a board book.

I keep a hand towel under the basket to keep it from rubbing on the crib. It works really well because I can move the basket while she’s going to sleep if I need to and then sneak in and put it back before she wakes up. I think I’m going to put a puzzle in it for her tonight.

I always have her help me put away all the toys and books up when I go in to get her. Now that I think of it I’m going to have her start straightening her pillows and blankets too. We must start those Smart Habits early mustn’t we?

Visit Shannon for more WFMW posts.

Miata In Mi Pocket

*Updated with video. This is Lovely signing after playing with the Signbabies flash cards once. I'm sure I could get a better video but the beginning of this one is too priceless! (If the video doesn't work, click here.)

I had the most amazing weekend! First of all I got to attend the Face To Face With Greatness seminar by George Wythe College (A Thomas Jefferson Education) and it really was. There were so many intelligent people attending that it made me feel like a big dummy and wonder why I am even home-schooling. Oh well, I'll just have to aspire to reach their level of greatness some day. Maybe quilting during seminars doesn’t help.

I talked some of the greatness into staying with me this weekend for another seminar and I can’t wait! I’m sure you will all get to meet her after I turn her into a blogging addict like the rest of us. Her husband says he has already tried but I’m pretty sure I can push her over the edge when she isn’t looking.

Speaking of great, do you want to hear the most exciting part of my weekend? I got to meet Julie from Mental Tesserae but dang it, I forgot to get her autograph! She promised to make me dinner when I'm down there again in June so I can get it then. She was so sweet; she didn't even seem to mind that I talked her ear off because I was so nervous! She brought her baby body guard with her just in case (you have to be careful with these kinds of internet relationships) and her cuteness was lethal, especially to certain kinds of mall vegetation and citrus drinks.



I also got to meet Wendy from Signbabies.com. Two blind dates in one day! I've been working with Wendy to design an Organizing Bag for their fabulous Flash Cards. My family has been practicing with the flash cards every day and my two year old and forty year old can’t get enough of them! If someone would teach me how to put a video on my blog I would show you the adorable-ness of Sign Babies in action. Nancy’s blog is all about signing with your baby and she also has a radio show that has ideas for building a strong relationship with your baby. What great resources!



I’d have to say the highlight of the weekend was when we ran out of gas on the way home. Stranger had an exhilarating hike up the hill to a gas station while I got to sit in the dark on the side of the freeway wondering how long it would take for someone to stop and try to help. Where was the baby body guard when I needed her? I’m not sure why I stayed with the car. It was a tiny yellow Formula 1 that I could have just picked up and carried to the gas station in my pocket. Just so this doesn’t happen to you, if you trade cars with your sister-in-law and the gas tank reads ¼ full, don’t believe it. Refuel immediately!

Search Lazy

Look at me! I have my very own search button! Do you want to know what my views are on hooks or bags or containers? (like you didn't already know) Type it in and find out. Just be careful because as with all good things, this can also be used for evil. Whatever you do don't enter "Chocolate" or you may be sorry.

Scribbit has a new custom search button for Momblogs that is amazing. I love it! But I was so jealous that I had to have one of my very own. Thanks a lot Michelle, for making spend an hour figuring this out, like I didn't have anything better to do this afternoon! That's ok, I love you anyway. You can make it up to me by letting me borrow your clothes. Do you have something formal I could wear this weekend?

Smart Habit Saturday

I'm posting this early this weekend because I'm going to be in a Thomas Jefferson Education seminar for two days. It is an amazing style of education that can be used in homeschooling or in any classroom.

Don't forget that anyone who participates in SHS for two weeks in a row by the end of March will be entered into a drawing to win free Organizing Bags! After you have completed your two weeks, e-mail me the links and I will enter you in the drawing.

If you are new to SHS find out all about it here: Getting Started with SHS. Click here to read more SHS posts. Please don't forget to link back to this post so your readers can find out more about SHS.

Here are the habits I have been working on this year. Some of them are habits and some of them still need a lot of work but all of them have improved my life!

Become a Dresser
Playing games with my kids and reading my Church Magazine
Kitchen and studio clutter free
Clear Counters
Clear Desk
Review Planner
Daily Prayer
Clean Toilet

I did really well getting up and getting dressed last week. This week I am going to work on checking in with Joe's Goals every single day. I was doing much better with my habits when I did!

*Important - Please link to your individual SMART Habit post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Ask Lazy

I've got another article for you at GNMParents. It's my very first Ask Lazy column and it is short and sweet. I've got more bathroom organizing photos for you soon. There are just so many posts and so little time!

Some of the posts I have been writing in my head are Bathroom Organization, Getting your kids to help around the house, my Valentines post that is just a tiny bit late, and of course more of our Kitchen Koncoctions. Then there is something about my 7 year old's new business, my baby is learning sign language with a great new product, and of course where would we be without more lazy stories? I will write all about it next week because there is always more time next week than there is this week. I hate that!

Store It Where You Use It

Are you looking for ways to save time and steps? Check out my article over at GNMParents to get some tips for having everything where you need it.

Email your own organizing ideas or questions to asklazy@laragallagher.com

Keep Snacks Fresh

You know my obsession for bags right? I couldn't live without them! When I have anything in the kitchen that comes in a box, I throw the box away and I used to use a clothes pin to close the bag. Well, we don’t go through bags of chips very quickly so they were always going stale.

I finally got smart and started transfering my chips, cereal, pasta, beans, tea bags, etc. into gallon sized resealable plastic bags. I line them up in a wash tub in my pantry or in the snack drawer in the kitchen. The bags work better than using a clothes pin that can fall off, allowing the contents to get dumped in the bottom of the snack drawer, although I still use clothes pins to close bread bags and such. I just wash the plastic bags when they're empty and use them again.

Do you know the fastest way to get a baggie dry after you’ve washed it? Stuff it with a dry dish towel and before the next meal, it will be ready to store.

This has worked wonderfully for us. There is no more mess and snacks stay fresh forever!

Click here for more kitchen tips from The Lazy Organizer.

Go to Shannons place for more WFMW tips for the kitchen.

What are you waiting for? Join us for Smart Habit Saturday!

Fontify Your Handwriting

I have been drooling over the book Love Your Handwriting by Heidi Swapp. Well, I've been drooling over the image of it on my computer screen because I haven't actually bought it yet. Do you think she would trade me one for some Organizing Bags?

I decided last summer that I was going to teach myself how to write in cursive. Of course I learned how when I was young but I was never good at it and by the time I got into high school I just stopped using it all together. So, last summer I bought a handwriting practice book at a school supply store and I wrote in it every day until I could confidently write in cursive.

The only problem is that my cursive writing doesn't have any style to it. I would like add something unique to it. My printing needs more personality too. That's why I want to buy this book so badly! I know I will love it. I stumbled upon a very cool idea tonight in my search for it. Rebecca Ludens tells you how to make your own computer font at Fontify.com I think you scrapbookers will love it! I am not a scrapper but I'm going to beautify my handwriting before I Fontify it. I can't wait!

Baked Oatmeal

*Updated Crock Pot recipe below.

Is baked oatmeal a southern thing? I had never even heard of it until I saw a recipe for it on the Internet a few years ago. We make it all the time now and my kids love it. It might have something to do with the fact that it tastes like oatmeal cookies!

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together and pour into 13x9 buttered pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Scoop it into bowls and top with milk, dried fruit and nuts.