Friday, February 26, 2010

I Love Bed Bath and Beyond

I have a confession. I really love Bed Bath and Beyond. Perhaps too much. It's really a dangerous place, though. It is full of thousands of things that you didn't know you needed until you saw them there. When you do see them, you think "I can't believe I don't have one of these! How did I ever live without??" If you have better self control than I, BB&B is a great store for making space.

Hang it up.
Hooks really do make life easier. I just bought some little hook racks for hanging belts on a wall. I already had one, but decided to get a second one for organizing my long necklaces. Not the delicate ones - the chunky bead types. I've tried putting them all in a basket, but I usually forget that I own the ones on the bottom and miss out on wearing them. I've tried a traditional necklace stand, but found that it is really meant for shorter "collar length" strands. The long ones just pooled on the dresser top and tangled. You can hang these little versatile hook racks on the wall inside your closet, for belts, or inside a bathroom cabinet or directly on a wall of your choosing for necklaces. Now maybe I won't wear the same necklace everyday because I don't feel like digging for another!

While I'm lauding the virtues of hooks, I have to ask why no one told me sooner that it is much easier to have towel hooks in the bathroom rather than a towel rod?? We just moved. Our old house had two bathrooms. Both came well equiped with towel rods. All good bathrooms do.
Our children could not reach the towel rods and I'm pretty sure that even if they could they would probably not have hung the towels "nicely". So, after every bath, my husband or I would hang their towels on the hooks behind the bathroom door. We hung our two towels on the towel rod. Nicely - otherwise they wouldn't fit. In our new home, the master bathroom only had one dinky towel rod fit for a hand towel. No place at all for bath towels. Seriously, what did the previous owners do with their towels? Left them on the floor, I guess. Looking at our options, we realize that there wasn't a good place for a towel rod anywhere within reach of the shower. So, we used our only (I thought inferior) option. A double, side-by-side hook. I love it. So easy. Quicker to use and you can't do it wrong. I'm getting another one soon for the hand towel. The little towel rod is on it's way out. By the way, it is very difficult to find really big double hooks like this one. I searched near and far before I stumbled upon this one at (where else?) B, B & B. Most of the other hooks that I could find were short ones, only about an inch long. The towels would not stay on them.

The kid's bathroom is also getting hooks for their bath towels. That bathroom is getting the board with the four hooks already attached and it is going behind the door. And I'm going to be smart - I'm hanging it low where they can reach it. Yes, it looks strange hanging in the middle of the door, but if they can't reach it they won't use it and I've given myself another job to do.

Have a great weekend,
Tamara

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Moving forward

My new acquaintance, Tim, is going to be helping me make this idea official. I have the idea and the work ethic, but none of the business "know-how". Tim tells me that to get the most out of a new business, and not let it falter, a focus group is in my future. Although I am completely uncomfortable with this, I am going to step out and do it. He knows better than I in this case. It will be interesting to pick the brains of my target demographic.

Tim is also the one who tells me that I MUST have a blog. It is essential in today's small business world. Perhaps. But I draw the line at twitter. If no one reads my blog, I will be blissfully unaware. I'm pretty sure that if I was sending off tweets, I would need subscribers and that would just be depressing if no one wanted to receive them! My fragile ego couldn't take that. ;-) Plus, Twitter is annoying and a bit narcissistic.

But what exactly am I supposed to put in a blog? Apparently tips and ideas. Alrighty then.
Here are a couple to start my zero readers out:

Don't throw out the training potty!
It's so simple you'll be shocked you didn't think of it before.
Keep your training potty in the trunk of your car or back of your van for emergencies! The “under-five” set is notorious for urgency. Our 4 year old always needed to go “right now” a mile after we pass the rest stop on trips. We’ve also used it many times at the older brother’s soccer games and our favorite school park that has no bathroom. Necessary accessories: a handful of plastic grocery bags (pre-checked for no holes to use for liners, wet wipes or a roll of t.p. and hand sanitizer. When you are done, you can just tie it up and toss it out.

Why are puzzle boxes so big?
Gather up all your puzzles. Notice how the box is many times larger than the puzzle pieces inside? I think puzzles take up WAY too much room and they keep falling open and losing pieces - but - kids love them and they are really great educational tools for preschoolers and young gradeschoolers.
What to do?
Depending on the size of the puzzle, use either a gallon or quart -sized zip lock baggie as a new home for each puzzle. (The key is having the sliding zipper top that little hands can do or you will gain space, but still lose pieces.) Cut out the picture from the front of the puzzle box and put it inside the baggie with the pieces - you need that so you know what the finished puzzle should look like. It's OK to trim it close or even fold it to make it fit in the bag. Put all the puzzles in bags in a basket or other container and place them within your child's reach. You'll be surprised how often they will use them.

This is a picture of our basket full of puzzles. I didn't count, but I bet there are at least 20 of them - in all sizes.


Make your stuff fit in your space, don't try to make your life fit in your stuff!

Tamara






Monday, February 22, 2010

The adventure begins.

Am I crazy? Do I need more to do? Yes, no, maybe so?
It's not work, though. It's fun. If there must be work, it should be fun.
More to come...