#mamalifehacks

You all should stop by M is for Mama.  She's got 7 kiddos, she's funny and you can tell she just loves Jesus.  I appreciate her wisdom and transparency as she walks out her daily life.  Her #mamalifehacks posts are practical and helpful, so I thought I'd share some good mama life info with you too.

#1 - Flashlights

Ok, so that's not earth-shattering... but remembering to throw them in your duffel bag when you're planning on sleeping in anyone's house but your own, that's big.  Why?  Because you don't know where the light switches are, where the obstacles are and you don't want to wake up the whole household, right?  So, FLASHLIGHTS!  Anytime I'd spend the night at my parents' house after the girlies were born, Dad would always hand me a flashlight at bedtime.  Huh?  Well, it always came in handy.  I got hooked and then, I took it a step further.

(Note the Paw Patrol temporary tattoo.  

Just this morning, poor little Blossom4 was wailing because it was... wait for it... temporary.) 

I discovered that whenever the girlies are sick and we're already running kinda short on sleep, I keep a flashlight near my bed.  (In the case of Blossom4 puking the other night, I slept with it in my hand.)  You don't want to keep flicking on the lights to check on them.  You may not have time to get to the light.  You might need to locate miscellaneous items without waking the whole house or you might want to get around the house to find whatever it is you need to make them comfortable, but you do need some light, so the handy flashlight comes through for us again!  Get the small ones and stash them here and there (and away from the Littles who adore running down the batteries) to make night time parenting way easier!

#2 - Stuff Basket

I've seen these things all over Pinterest, but I can attest that it's a system that works.  The stuff basket.  In our case, it's a dollar store laundry basket at a central location - the dining room - in our house.  Any item found on the floor, that can't be left to be picked up later, is thrown in the basket.  It isn't my job to put it away, but it can't continue to be a danger to all who wander through the kitchen, so I take a second and pitch it into the stuff basket.  Yes, I do mean "pitch" and yes, I have startling accuracy, even left-handed.  Maybe I should try out for the 76ers.  Later, I assign somebody to put everything in that basket away, so the stuff eventually makes it back to its home.  I didn't have to clean everything up AND I got the clutter-danger out of the way.  Since Blossom2 has taken to practicing sprints in the stretch between the piano in the schoolroom and the island in the kitchen, this  "stuff basket" habit is a very good practice.  #sprintsinthehouseareabadidea

(Obviously my experimental will-this-work Dollar Store version has seen much use... 

perhaps we'll go with something classier and  more durable since this is a system that definitely works for us.)

#3 - Pantry Moth Traps

Ya'll.  We deal with an unfathomable about of animal feed on a daily/weekly basis.  About two years ago, I declared war on the pantry moths.  We were having ebbs and flows of pantry moth hatches.  We'd see a few moths.  We'd dustbust (again) really well and then, AGAIN...  Then, nothing and then a few moths.  I was frustrated, embarrassed and grossed out.  The best advice I found on the internet was to "clean my house."  Are you kidding me?  My house IS clean.  If this current state of clean isn't good enough, I was gonna need a 24 hr maid service.  I found out that these moths love grain and feeds (and wool - GAH!).  And, you could have your house completely moth free and one teeny, tiny egg can come in the house with a fresh bag of dog food.  I was even more determined to find a solution after I witnessed a moth flying around in Walmart.  Additionally, the girls could track a moth egg in on their boots after they were done feeding.  I felt like the moth odds were completely against me.  I had to realize that it wasn't a lack of cleanliness in our house, it was just a constant moth pilgrimage to our micro farm.

Out of sheer desperation, I found these.



Problem solved.  These wonderful little traps last a LONG time.  I now hang one near the (huge) dog food container, bird seed container and in the pantry.  And it baits them in with pheromones and then, they stick.  Genius.  I'd hug the person that invented them if I could.

Gotta love #mamalifehacks!

Dominique