Toaster Tray

Ignore the sad state of the toaster and bask in the glory of my clean counter!

Here's a couple of things you should know about me.  First, I hate clutter.  I can't stand to have things out on my counters.  Second, I have kids and, therefore, not too many "nice" things.  So, yeah, the toaster has seen better days but I refuse to waste money on a new one that will eventually, and likely quickly, meet the same fate.

Now my kids, on the other hand, seem to LOVE seeing things out on the counter.  All day, everyday throughout summer break I find my toaster out and accompanying crumbs everywhere.  I'm happy the kids are self-sufficient and feed themselves {mostly} but I realized they couldn't put the toaster away immediately because it needed to cool down.

Which brings me to the Toaster Tray.  I wanted a solution that would keep both the counter and my cupboard clean and clear of falling toast crumblets, keep little fingers from being burned, and provide cord control.

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best and this is the case here.  I LOVE Maruchan Ramen...for their boxes!  The kids eat plenty of it so I always have lots on hand and they are perfect for organizing.  For this project I  just cut the sides shorter, wrapped it in foil and that's it!  The cord fits in the box, the crumbs are contained, and the little ones grab the box instead of the hot metal sides.

Someday I will have "nice" things and when I do eventually upgrade to a new toaster I might consider making a cute wooden tray with handles but this totally does the trick for now.

Hang{er Turn}Over

It's January - that mean's it's time to turn the hangers around.  As items are worn, put them back the correct way.  Whichever ones are still facing the wrong way come June/July get donated.

UPDATE:  See the dress I made from an old dress shirt that never got turned around HERE!

Solutions Notebook

How do you plan to stay on track with all those New Year's resolutions you've made?  Do you have something around the house that irks you every time you see it, but you can't get to it then because you're on you way to something else?

I have a little corner piece of base molding in our upstairs hallway that drives me nuts.  It's come loose from being kicked and hit with the vacuum.  The problem is I only see it when I am coming up the stairs and it's at eye level...and I'm carrying a large basket of clothes, or a child, etc.  I always think to myself, "Make sure you grab the nail gun and pop that sucker back into its place."  I ALWAYS forget.

And there are a million little things like that around my home that, alone, do not add up to any big deal.  But taken together make me feel like chaos has taken over.

That was why I created the Solutions Notebook.

[caption id="attachment_1256" align="aligncenter" width="560"] My handy, dandy notebook![/caption]

I purchased this one from Wal-Mart.  I chose it because it's smaller than the standard notebook and more rigid.  It also has some tabs, a folder pocket, and envelope which comes in handy, dandy.

[caption id="attachment_1257" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Oooo, ahhhhh..the functionality![/caption]

Then I went about my home writing down all the problems I saw (I was originally going to call it my Problems Notebook, but you can probably guess why I did not!)  I have a section for each area of the home.  I just write the room at the top, skip ahead a few pages, repeat for the next room/area.  Don't forget that your cars, garage, front lawn, back yard, etc are all part of your home.

[caption id="attachment_1258" align="aligncenter" width="418"] Inside the mind of Kristal[/caption]

I fold the pages in half and write the problems I see on the left.  "Problems" are really anything I want to change or improve.  Sometimes it's something that is broken or in disrepair, like the molding, other times it's just something that could be better, more efficient, prettier, etc.  On the right side I write down ideas to create a solution for the "problem" listed.  When I've solved the "problem", I cross it out.

So what's the timer for?  Well let me go all Forest Gump on you and tell you what my mama playfully says to me: "It takes a special kind of stupid to forget to eat."  Something I often do when I get into a project or chore that just HAS to get done.  I use the timer to remind me to take breaks, stretch, eat, and - most importantly - walk away for the day.  I'm notorious for ignoring all else until a painting is done.  The timer helps me avoid that and get dinner on the table.

It's really just a brainstorming notebook but I like this system for a few reasons:

• it's on paper - you could do this on your tablet or phone, but I like that I can forget about in a digital file or Pin Board


• it's small enough to fit in my purse - I can write down measurements of the curtains I need and have them on hand.  Also, I don't always write the solutions down right away.  Sometimes I don't know what the solution is right away.  I like to pull out the notebook when I'm waiting at the carpool or a restaurant and think/write while I'm waiting.


• did I mention it's on paper - I like to doodle solutions as well!

Currently I use it for my domestic solutions, but you can create a section for any area of your life.  Did you make a reSOLUTION to lose weight yesterday?  Name that section "Weight Loss" or "My Body/Health".  Did you make a reSOLUTION to hone a skill or hobby?  Name that section "Music" or "Running".

How would you personalize your notebook? What SOLUTIONS will you come up with?

Editable Primary Roster Excel File - Free Download

You may have noticed that I dropped from the blogosphere late last summer.  It is no coincidence that that is when I was called to be our ward's Primary secretary.  That, on top of everything else, left me with very little time - or energy - to blog.

I was not required to serve in this position very long, only a few months as opposed to the few years one usually holds that calling.  So now, after short sabbatical to recover from the time and energy required of that, I am back to blogging!

To kick it off I am sharing the thing that kept me sane during my time as a Primary secretary: my Primary Roster Excel file.  Anyone who has had the task of tracking 100+ Primary children knows organization is key.    This file will keep your Primary more organized than you ever dreamed (at least it did for me!)

When I was handed the responsibility I was given lots of paper files, each one to track the same children in a different way or for a different purpose (ie by class for one, by birthday for another, etc).  It was difficult for me to wrap my head around everything that way and so I created a spreadsheet where I could track each child on one screen by name, family, birth date, age, class, and date of advancement if applicable.

**To download the editable Excel file click HERE 
(this will take you to 4shared, a free file sharing website).**
*6 Jan 2012 UPDATE: The previous link had been inactivated.  As of this date this link is current.  Please contact me at kristalsblog at yahoo dot com if you have any problems with this link*

UPDATE: As of Oct 20, 2012 this blog has moved to kristalcoles.com  I can be reached with questions at
CONTACT at KRISTALCOLES dot COM

When I created this file I had no intention of sharing it, only to help myself get a hold of a daunting task.  So, of course, it was made to my needs at the time.  You can add to or delete however will best help you.  Below  you will find explanations for how things are set up and the formulas used.

The Key

At the top of the spreadsheet you'll notice the key. Currently it shows "P = Prayer   S = Scripture   T = Talk   LA = Less Active   * = No longer in Sharing Time   º = Official records in another ward"

Prayer, scripture, and talk columns keep track of not only who has given them, but who has been asked to.

"No longer in Sharing Time" - After a child turned 12 I would place the asterisk after their name in the 'Name' field (see J6) to indicate that they still needed to be on the class rolls, but would no longer receive assignments for Sharing time.

"Official records in another ward" - We had enough children of divorce or attending with grandparents on a regular basis that I decided to include this.  The degree symbol (made by holding done the Alt key, typing 167
on the keypad, then releasing the Alt key) was also placed after the child's name.  If there were other notes I would include them in parenthesis (see J8).  The purpose of this was to include children in assignments as part of our ward family even though their names were not able to be counted because their records were elsewhere.  This could also apply to non-members that attend regularly.

The "Advance" Column

This column includes the formula that calculates the exact date a child will advance.

The formula for determining when a child will turn 12 and advance to Young Men or Young Women is:

=DATE(YEAR(C6)+12,MONTH(C6),DAY(C6))

with C6 being the field where their birth date has been entered.

The formula for determining when a child when turn 8 and be eligible for baptism and participation in the Cub Scout and Activity Day programs is:

=DATE(YEAR(C6)+8,MONTH(C6),DAY(C6))

with C6 being the field where their birth date has been entered.

The formula for determining when a child when turns 18 months and can be in nursery is:

=DATE(YEAR(C143)+1,MONTH(C143)+6,DAY(C143))

with C143 being the field where their birth date has been entered.

The "Class" Column

This is one of those things I did for my benefit.  There's probably a better to do it and if you know what it is you can share in the comments.

To be able to sort by class I added a ghost letter before the name of each class.  "A" was added to the oldest class, Valiant 11, "B" to the next class, and so on all the way down to Pre-Nursery (PN).  Simply type "A Val 11"  and highlight ONLY the 'A'.  Change the font color of the 'A' to white.  Done!

*6 Jan 2012 UPDATE:  After some more use of this program I have learned that you could also have ghost numeric system to help sort.  In place of letter prefixes use three-digit numbers, starting with 001.  I would recommend using increments of 5 or 10 (ie 001, 005, 010, 015, etc) to leave yourself room if you need to add a class later.  This way you will not need to rename all the subsequent classes to keep them ordered.  For example: [A Val 11] and [B Val 10] would now be [001 Val 11] and [005 Val 10].  If you needed to add another Valiant 11 class it would look like [001 Val 11A], [003 Val 11B], [005 Val 10].*

The "Birthday" Column

Not to be confused with the "Bday" column, this is where you'll need the child's birth date in MM/DD/YYYY formate for the formulas to work.

The "Age 1/1" Column

This column shows what the child was/will be as of January 1st of a given year to determine class placement.  For this example the year is 2011 and the formula for this field is:

=DATEDIF(C6,"1/1/2011","y")

with C6 being the field where their birth date has been entered.

The "Age Now" Column

This column shows the child's age in years and months.  It is automatically updated whenever the file is opened.  It is somewhat superfluous since you have the date of advancement but it helped me to be able to see the ages.

The formula for determining a child's age in years and months as of TODAY is:

=DATEDIF(C6,TODAY(),"y")&" y "&DATEDIF(C6,TODAY(),"ym")&" m" 

with C6 being the field where their birth date has been entered.

The "P", "S", "T", and "LA" Columns

Tracking child assignments and less actives.

When a child was given an assignment and they were able to fulfill it, I entered the # of the month they did it.  For example, in row 8, that child gave the prayer in February, the scripture in March, and the talk in January

If they were asked to do something and weren't there for whatever reason I used a strike system.  A "/" indicated one strike.  An "X" indicated two strikes.  A "☼" (Alt code 15) indicated three strikes.

Three strikes did not mean they were not able to have assignments anymore.  It was a way for me to keep track how how often they were asked, mostly so parents wouldn't be annoyed with excessive repeated requests.

The Less Active column was updated on the last Sunday of each month.  As I went through the rolls I would mark a red "X" next to each child's name who had not attended at least once.  Doing this allowed me to sort so I could quickly give the Primary President a list of those children and also to give the ward clerk the report of active children (row # of last child listed in youngest Primary class, not nursery, - row # of last LA child listed = number of children aged 3-11 as of January 1st attending at least once during the given month).

The "Bday" Column

Why a "Bday" column when there's already a birth date listed?  For sorting purposes only.  Again, I'm sure there must be a way to sort the "Birthday" column so it will display in order properly, but I couldn't figure it out.  So my solution was to add this column.  Be sure to include the apostrophe just before the three letter month and Excel will sort the birthdays in order.  This was used to know who had birthdays in a given month and was copy and pasted into our newsletter.

***

The rest should be self-explanatory.  There are tabs at the bottom for Cub Scouts and Activity Days.  I also had a tab for teachers, sharing time rotation, and a substitute list.  Add whatever makes it work for you.  If you have any questions or better solutions you'd like to share, please leave a comment.  I hope this can help other Primary leaders as much as it helped me. 

*6 Jan 2012 UPDATE: The file has three instructional comments in blue (one at the top of the worksheet in each tab.)  These are just to serve as reminders and can be deleted without altering the function of the roster.*

Laundry Dots

I have three boys.  Usually it is obvious which little pair of shorts or undies belong to which boy.  But sometimes not so much.  Sometimes the size on the tag is worn off or the sizes are too close to tell apart without holding them up to one another.

While browsing around one of my favorites websites a few years ago I found this solution:

LaUnDrY DoTs!

Brandon (the oldest) gets one dot.  Sam (the "skunk in the middle") gets two.  And Matthew (the youngest boy) gets three.

O, laundry dots, why do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:

1. I can fold BVD's by dots with ease
2. I can pair socks by dots - that ROCKS! (put the dots on the bottom of the toe)
3. I can hand down clothes by the lot by simply adding a little dot (This is my favorite! Why use dots instead of initials, names, or colors?  Because as your children grow out of clothes you can just add on another dot as you go down the line, rather than scribbling out that Sharpie® "B".  So your oldest gets one dot, next oldest - two, etc.  Get it?)

I'm sorry I can no longer find the page I discovered this gem at, but there is lots more to discover at

I ♥ BEVARA

My new favorite item in my kitchen is my set of BEVARA clips from IKEA.  I used to keep twist-ties to use but they were a pain to keep track of and the younger kids had trouble with them.  I use these clips on everything I can think of: frozen veggies, crackers, bagged cereal, sugar, half-used seasoning packets, to make a quick towel bib . . . you get the idea!

Touch Up Paint & More

I have been spending a lot of time painting the walls of my house lately. I’ve found that Ziploc’s extra-small bowls are a perfectly sized container to carry around while doing the edging. What I like even more is that I can leave the paint in them for touch ups!

Dragging out the gallon {or worse, five gallon!} bucket of paint for a little touch up can be a pain. These see-through, air-tight bowls make the repair quick and easy.

As a bonus, they have also solved my problem of finding a sink stopper {that actually fits and can easily be pulled out} for the garbage disposal.

Or, if you’d rather just use them for food their one cup portions are perfect for calorie counting brown-paper-baggers.  Either way, I find them to be well worth the less than $3 I paid for a six pack!

And no, I was not paid -- or even asked -- to review this product.  I just find them extremly useful and thought you might, too!

Go Green, Bleach It White

I hate highly dislike kitchen sponges.  They are so gross to me.  Instead, I use these white bar rags and bar mops.  They are inexpensive (find them in the kitchen section of any Wal-Mart) and I can bleach them to use over and over again.  As you can see, I have a drawer in my kitchen just for them.  When rolled, everything stays nice and neat -- a tip that also works wonders for sock drawers.

The Great Garage Clean-Up

BEFORE

This was also before Grandpa visited and bought the boys 3 new bikes to add to the chaos! At one point we had 8 bikes, a jogging stroller/bike trailer, 2 Razor scooters, 1 electric scooter, 2 skateboards, and a pogo stick -- but no car -- in the garage! As you can see, the mess had taken over my supposed studio as well. It was time for a change!

SHELVES

OK, so those of you who know me well, know I love to organize. The first thing I did was make a to-scale map of the garage and the major pieces I already had and larger items that would be staying. What became immediately clear is that I did not have enough shelving, nor was I able to utilize my vertical space very effectively.

We are renting this home, so any solutions would be temporary. Therefore the idea of spending very much on the 2-3 new shelving sets I would need did not sound too appealing. I also really needed to be able to keep my floor space for all those bicycles. The solution was to build and hang my own shelves. They were cheap enough that I could leave them for the next renter or I could take them with me if I want to when the time comes.

I am very proud to say I built these shelves completely on my own! I navigated Home Depot with a 2 year old and in heels (by the way, this an excellent way to get all the associates and older customers to help you; you just look so out of place they think you must be helpless!) I had them cut the 4x8 sheets of plywood in half for me, but still had to rip off six more inches when I got home. I love my circular saw! I was even able to get Sam and the neighborhood boys to pass off some Cub Scout requirements by naming the tools and their functions, and then let them help screw in the brackets. Yes, I know, I AM SUPER-MOM!

BATTLE OF THE BIKES

First things first, we gave away all the boys' old bikes. I then decided that I wanted a bike rack that sits on the floor so the kids could just ride their bike in and park it. There are quite a few that can fit 2-4 bikes available online for $80 to $150 each. That is not my idea of affordable!

I Googled homemade bike racks and discovered an awesome website for all things do-it-yourself HERE.

That lead me to another site with blue prints for the bike rack you see in the pictures. That's right folks, I again schlepped my 2 year old to Home Depot, bought a bunch of PVC and in a few hours built myself two custom bikes racks for a total of $23, including tax!

I think at this point my husband is thinking I'm pretty handy to have around and may very well be worth keeping ;P

You can find the plans for this bike rack HERE (this link was updated 06/17/2010, when the new page opens, the plans are listed in the third column, fifth up from the bottom as "Truck Bed Bike Rack").

A PLACE OF MY OWN

I also gave away a lot of clothes that I had been storing. I figured that even if I have more boys, I will probably not want to dress them in the same stuff that we dressed our now almost 10 year old in! I limited myself to one bin of boy clothes and one bin of girl clothes. Once I did this I actually found I had space to create a zone just for me and my many projects.

I love having a desk that I can keep all my sewing stuff set up at, but also still use for my art.

On another wall just to the left is my favorite new piece! I found this set of lockers at a Goodwill months ago for only $20. I brought it home and cleaned it up. It now stores ALL my paints, brushes, backdrops, etc. I also love that I can lock the cubbies to keep the rats, I mean my lovely perfect children, out of my paint! I even have a locker labeled "Pyromania" for our matches and lighter fluid. If you're asking yourself why I would do that, you apparently haven't met my boys.

Lastly, I have to say that I LOVE my LABEL MAKER! Everything in my garage is now labeled and will hopefully stay looking like this . . .