Here are some easy solutions to a few of life’s little irritations:
- When removing your window screens to clean or paint, number each one and the window to which it belongs to make them easier to put back. This also works well if you are painting a chest of drawers with several drawers of the same size.
- If you are tired of having sugar spill all over your table or seeing a spoonful or two of sugar floating at the bottom of your kids’ cereal bowls each morning, try putting your sugar in a large salt shaker. It won’t spill and your family won’t use nearly as much sugar because they will stop shaking after a few shakes.
- If you are hanging clothes on the clothesline on a hanger to air them or dry them, use two hangers instead of one and turn them in the opposite direction. This will help prevent them from blowing off of the line.
- When placing a fitted sheet on the bed, it is easier to put the sheet on if you fit the diagonally opposite corners on first.
-Jill
photo by: calliope
I’ve also seen suggested coloring the sugar so that the kids can SEE the sugar going on better than the white, then they don’t use so much. I haven’t had to use it yet as my little one is just a toddler.
The one problem with adding dyes to your sugar is the uncertain health risks of artificial dyes. I simply remove the sugar bowl or shaker from the table. Most cereals have plenty of sugar already in them. If they must have sweetener I use honey or sugar syrup (sugar boiled in to water. And the are allowed 1 tiny teaspoon.
my “making life easier” trick- when my girls were younger i would mark the backs of their puzzle pieces, and also the box. for instance- one box would have a red x and on the back of each piece was a red x also. another box would have a blue dot, and the back of each piece of that puzzle would have a blue dot. i think my system came about when my daughter was about 2 yrs old and a friend’s daughter was about 3, and the two girls dumped two or three of my puzzle boxes on the floor and i had to put the puzzles (340 or 500 piece ones) back together so i knew which one went in which box.
I have found when I make cooked oatmeal, by putting your brown sugar in the boiling water we don’t use as much sugar. Also we put our rasins or dried cranberries in at the same time. You get more sweetness this way. I add the oatmeal last and cook as directed. Add some chopped nuts to your bowl and you will have a wonderful breakfast. Enjoy!
Sugar shakers were common items until World War II. You can look for them at garage sales or purchase one for an unexpected gift at an antique store, after all the children are old enough not to drop it.
Love the sugar shaker idea! Thanks!
I saved a cinnamon spice bottle, and filled it with cinnamon sugar. Since I am diabetic, I use a lot less sugar, and get more flavor in the bargain. (Very limited sugar is allowed for controlled diabetics.) I also use it to top breakfast muffins before putting them in the oven.
The idea with using cinnamon sugar is great. Must look for sugar shakers
I just use an old spice bottle for my cinnamon and sugar shaker.
You don’t have to look for sugar shakers. If you buy spices they often come with a sieve on top. The other thing you can do is use an ole salt shaker or a jar with holes punched in the top. NEVER buy when you can re-purpose something.
What does a sugar shaker look like?
Like a salt shaker but a bit larger. I find using a smaller shaker works better for the kids. Look for an old spice bottle or make your own.
I fill an old Salt shaker with a mixture of half cup sugar with a tablespoon of cinnamon to use for making cinnamon toast. I keep the shaker in my spice cabinet.
My sugarshaker is actually an old herbalife-shaker (Used for healthy milkshakes). It looks like this: http://www.perfectbodyandhealth4life.com/item1200.htm but mine is transparent… :) Also, in Norway you can buy spice shakers of pre-mixed sugar-cinnamon:)
You can find the sugar shakers at Dollartree for 1 buck. I use mine for parmesan cheese.
Works great. Love your website.
Hey, I think the large, over sized cinnamon (cinnamon is such a miracle, thermogenic spice) containers would be great, once they are empty to either use as a cinnamon-sugar or just as sugar shaker–they have the sprinkle side, not just the spoon-out side. I’ve gotten my lg Cinnamon shakers at COSTCO.
My tip is kind of backwards from your sugar shaker tip. When we first moved into our house, I bought a glass container with an automatic stop fill on the top, like ones used on tables in restaurants for sugar dispensers. When you tip the jar over, a gadget inside of the lid only dispenses and allows one half of a teaspoon of sugar to flow, per tip of the container. I filled mine with table salt and kept it by the stove for years, to salt water, and for all kinds of cooking. Each tip was half a teaspoon. This was especially handy when I did baking in large quantities. If I needed a teaspoon of salt, I just tipped the jar over and back twice.