Tuesday 20 October 2015

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (6)

After a bit of a break, here I am with more lunch ideas for school kids for you. Don't get me wrong when I say 'ideas for kids', they could be just for anyone's outing or work day too, really. If someone made me these everyday, trust me, I would not complain at all! In saying that, it is true that I am the one that makes these for my kids every school day, but I just can't manage my time or energy around preparing one for myself too. Mine is often so much more boring. I know, it is disappointing. Hubby also gets quite jealous of our children's freshly made foods that are mostly homegrown or homemade, since the best he can get out of me is pretty much the homemade bread that I bake that he can make himself some sandwiches or toasts with. Oh no, thinking about it, it sounds a bit cruel. Anyway, lets not get into too much unnecessary detail here now and lets move onto the lunchbox ideas of this post.

1. Lunch and Snack
  • Cream cheese, chia seeds and linseed wraps
  • Red and green capsicums
  • Kiwi 


2. Lunch and Snack
  • Cream cheese, chia seeds and sunflower seed wrap
  • Red capsicums and celery sticks
  • Apple 
  • Mandarin


3. Snack (for two)

  • Avocado dip
  • Carrot sticks
  • Celery sticks


3. Lunch and Snack

  • Avocado and chia seed sandwich
  • Cucumber sticks
  • Capsicum sticks
  • Apple 
  • Banana


Thursday 1 October 2015

Guest Post: Clever Storage Ideas to Organise Kids' Rooms

Patricia is a cleaning expert from Hire Cleaners Acton . She is always looking for creative and time saving ways to clean.


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Organising your children's belongings can be a real pain. Considering that your kids probably have more stuff than you do, it is pretty challenging to find a place for every toy and every item in your kids' room. But luckily, nowadays shops offer such a wide variety of storage organizers that you only need to check them out and spend some cash. 

storage ideas
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Wire Wall Bin
Keep your kids' favourite books in a visible and easy to reach place by stacking all reading material in a wire wall bin. Place it near the bed. Storing books in an easily accessible nook will encourage your children to read more.

The good thing about wire wall bins is that they are easy to clean. Put them under running water, add dish soap, sponge them and rinse.

Cabinet Storage
 If the cabinets are too overcrowded, make use of cabinet door storage. For example, store your kids' favorite video games in a homemade storage cart or a store-bought storage bag. In fact, using vertical storage is a clever trick to expanding your storage space.

Wipe down your storage cart or bag with a wet sponge or disinfecting wipes to keep it clean.

Shoe Racks
And speaking of vertical storage, how about you use over the door shoe racks to store not only your children's shoes, but also their toys and other belongings? Shoe racks come in many sizes and materials, so it's easy to get one that suits your preferences. And if one shoe rack doesn't do the trick, hang another one on the door of the closet/wardrobe.

Shoe racks need to be wiped down with a wet cloth on a regular basis.

Canvas Catch-all 
Use DIY catch-alls to store all your kids' tennis balls, footballs, yoga mats, baseballs, sneakers, baseball bats, tennis rackets and other sports equipment. Place them on the floor near a cabinet, at the side of the bed or by the window so they are within easy reach. If you want all these things out of sight, using a canvas catch-all is a great idea.

Depending on the type of catch-all you use, you can either machine wash it or spray it with an all-purpose cleaner and rub with a sponge.

Bench
Adding a small bench in your kids' room, probably by the window or – why not – at the foot of the bed will allow more storage space for your kids' stuff. Just to clarify – all the stuff can be placed under the bench and the seat itself can be used as additional seat storage. Keep as many items hidden and out of sight as you can. For example, you can place your kids' school books and materials, sports equipment and toys, not to mention some shoes.

Vacuum the bench on a regular basis to keep dust and dirt off.

Rolling Crates
Using rolling crates, storing your children's belongings has never been that easy. Use as many crates as you need and place them on the floor near a wall, desk or your children's beds. This is a great way to keep all the stuff within easy reach. Plus, moving the crates around the room is a cinch, which means you can rearrange them if you don't like where they are installed.

Items you can store in rolling crates include footballs, toys, sockets, books, stuffed animals, hats, cushions, etc.

You can make one yourself.

Use wood cleaner to clean your rolling crates.

Mesh Hamper/Laundry Basket Bag
Who says that laundry baskets need to be used solely for your dirty clothes? If you have a large pile of footballs, baseballs, stuffed animals or other bulky items, you can keep them in place by using a mesh hamper. That way, your children will be able to easily locate their stuff and take out the items they need without turning the room upside down.

Considering the bounteous supply of storage bins and containers available on the market, nowadays it's very easy to keep your children's stuff organized. Surf the net or make a trip to the store and buy the stuff you need. Or get crafty and make your own storage containers.



The article is kindly contributed by Hire Cleaners Acton