Create space for Self-Service Snacks

One thing no one ever tells you to prepare for when you start a family is how to make sure you have enough snacks in the house! School snacks, afternoon snacks, “grab something quick while we jump in the car” snacks….just to name a few. Once your kids are old enough to trust on their own do yourself a favor and make your snacks self-service. I keep all of ours organized in my pantry drawers and backstock them with monthly Costco trips – but even a higher shelf (like the one we keep our cereal on) can be accessible to kids with an easy to grab stool.

Blanket Baskets

I’m pretty incapable of being able to snuggle up on the couch without a blanket no matter the time of year so I keep them all over the house and there’s really no easier way to store them then in a basket. Not only are they practical but they also help fill up empty floor space and add some height differences to a space. For added texture I love using woven baskets either out of natural fibers like seagrass or rope.

It’s almost CSA season again so the few times that I got to cook this spring I really tried to use up as much of the frozen product I had saved from last summer:

• Being Beef + Black Bean Noodles
• Crispy Mustard Chicken + Broccoli and Cheese Rice
• Roast Bone-In Pork Loin With Potatoes
• Easy Zucchini Bread (I always add Chocolate Chips)
• Chicken Stock (I saved and froze tons of scraps from the summer veggies – celery tops, green onion tops, potato peels, parsley/dill stems – and used them along with a few packs of chicken legs)

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IKEA Mudroom Locker Hack

Using a combo of IKEA 24″ and 80″Sektion cabinets to create individual lockers for your family:

• Cut the back of the 80″ cabinets to size to keep the “locker” section open; if you choose to add the upper cabinet door you will be able to use the middle shelf as open storage for each locker.
• Use simply white trim to fill the space between the wall and the cabinets and caulk the whole thing to make it look seamless
• Painted the wall white to match your cabinets
• Add your hooks directly to the drywall using anchors if needed.