Category Archives: To Go

Jan 23 2013

Austin, Year 4, Day 170: Organizing the Van

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From the moment I saw Heidi Castro’s super awesomely organized minivan, I wanted mine to look just like it.  Unfortunately, my van is older than Matthew, so it doesn’t have quite the storage space or the cool little hooks that hers has.  But, as usual, I did the best I could with what I had.

I’ve always had an emergency first aid kit in our van.  We also have a weather radio, a seatbelt cutter, a window breaker thingy, and flashlights.  But it all just kinda hung out in the center console and wasn’t cool like this.  We’d have a bag with extra clothes in it, but then Bizi would decide she liked that shirt better and put it on over the one she was already wearing and there went that idea.  Because the kids are actually pretty excited about how nice the van looks, I’m hoping they will be inspired to keep it nice!!  The really cool thing is that even if they don’t, everything is easy to put away and restock.  YAY!! Continue reading »

Jul 21 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 350, Part 2: Mosquito Repellant

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As you know, I try to avoid using a lot of chemicals when I can.  Insect repellant is one of those things that make me especially nervous, so when I saw a recipe for homemade mosquito repellant, I was excited to give it a try.

Our inspiration came from Surviving the Stores.

You will need:

 

If you have a small spray bottle like the one in the picture, use these amounts.  If you have a larger one, double it.

8 drops lavender essential oil (preferably organic)

2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice

 

Put all your ingredients in the spray bottle.  Fill the remainder of the spray bottle with water.  Shake well.

 

This stuff smells so good that we are using it for a lot more than mosquito repellant.  We used it to make the car smell good, as an air freshener, and I think I’m even going to use it as a linen spray.  I love it.

 

I sorta accidentally used a bit too much vanilla…  Or more than a bit…  Anyway.  Don’t be alarmed if yours is lighter in color than ours.

UPDATE:  We have discovered that while this wonderfully smelling concoction is very good for some things, repelling mosquitos isn’t really one of them…  Try it as a room freshener, car freshener, or linen spray.  Of course, you are free to continue using it as mosquito repellant.  You just can’t blame me when you get eaten.

Jul 21 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 350, Part 1: Toothpaste Headlights

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Do you ever see a handy tip and think, “I wonder if that really works.”?  That happened to us yesterday and so Jose took his little self outside to see if toothpaste really cleaned the headlights.  And guess what?  It did.

Here’s our before (no judging us for having dirty headlights…):

 

We put some toothpaste on a dry rag and Jose started scrubbing.  When he was done, he rinsed with water.  We didn’t get quite the turnout we could have because our headlights need cleaned from the inside, too…  (Can you even do that?)  But it was definitely an improvement.  Look:

 So, yes, it works.  Give it a try and let me know how you like your results.

Jul 3 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 332: When We Made On-the-Go Crayon Boxes

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Today we made On-the-Go Crayon Boxes.  We have a trip to Galveston coming up and I think these will work very well for the drive.

Our inspiration came from Simply Frugal Mom.

You will need the following materials:

Johnson & Johnson First Aid kit ($0.97 at Walmart or Target in the travel section–look for $1 off coupons and get these FREE)

Elmer’s Glue or Mod Podge

3″ foam brush

Crayons

Post-It Notepad

Tape

Paper, scrapbooking paper, stickers, rub-ons, etc. to decorate the top

 

Step 1) Mix equal parts of glue and water to make homemade Mod Podge.  (If you bought/already have Mod Podge, you can go ahead and skip that step.)

Optional step: Use a nail file to file down the Johnson & Johnson logo on the top of your box.  This will help your decorations stay flat.  I skipped this step and somewhat regret it, but not much.  Bizi’s looks fine.

Step 2) Apply Mod Podge to the top of your box.  Lay paper in center.  I simply used Microsoft Word and some clip art to design Bizi’s top.  I printed it (yes, I got the color laser printer out of storage on our last trip!!) and it worked fine.  You can do the same or use scrapbook paper or cardstock and decorate with stickers, rub-ons, etc.  My scrapbook paper, cardstock, and stickers/rub-on stash is momentarily, uh, unavailable…so I did this and it worked out fine.

Note the colors I used.  Pink and black have a special significance around here.  If you know why, let me know via comments.  I’ll have a drawing among those who guess correctly for what else?!  A free bar of soap!  Chocolate Spice, I think.  And one of these fun little boxes.

And don’t make me post my Ryan Gosling picture again about no one entering my giveaway.  Then again, it’s okay if you don’t guess because this is a hard question.  You have to either know us, live around here, or have been following the blog for awhile.  So this is more of a reward than a giveaway.  A reward for putting up with me!!  :)

Step 3) Apply 2-3 layers of glue/water or Mod Podge to paper.  Dry 10-15 minutes between layers.  (The glue is still drying in this picture.)

 

Step 4) Attach Post-It Notepad inside with tape (double stick or just fold it over).  Fill inside with crayons.  It holds about 18 with a new post-it pad, but I think as the paper is used, the full box of 24 will fit.  I’m not sure, though.  Haven’t gotten that far.  :)

 

 

And there you go.  Once again, our inspiration came from Simply Frugal Mom.  This is just my take on her project.

You can enter to win the soap and the crayon box until Thursday, July 5 at 5:00 pm.  I will announce the winner shortly thereafter.