Our New Lunchbots Bento Boxes

We have been looking at the stainless steel lunchbots for some time now. I think I had held off because they can't be put into the microwave. Then I stopped and thought... how much do we really put food in them that need to be microwaved anyway? Well, we don't!

I do not love our plastic bentos only because I am always afraid of them leaching plastic. I know the ones we purchase are BPA free but I always have that irrational fear.

We ordered a lunchbots duo and uno from Amazon and had them in 2 days. I then filled one for Emma to take to school and one for Eryn to use at home with Grandma.

This top one with the blue lid is the duo. It has a divider in the center. The card that came with the bento box says that the divider is not liquid tight. On the left we have red seedless grapes with a small pink dog pick and Snikiddy chedder cheese fries. The right side has sliced deli turkey with a yellow elephant pick. The pink silicone cup holds 1/2 a Shaklee Cinch Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Bar. 

Eryn has the same thing in her bento box as well just not with the metal divider. This orange bento is done using the Lunchbots Uno.


Honestly I like the Duo better for regular lunches since the divider helps contain the small items. I think a little 1/2 sandwich and Snikiddy fries might fit into the Uno.

We ordered a larger one and three smaller Lunchbots for snacks. Can't wait for them to come!

Last Day for FREE SHIPPING for New Members to Shaklee!

Members receive 15% off the purchase price and NEW members who join and put in an order before midnight tomorrow (January 14th) will receive FREE SHIPPING! This can save you a minimum of $7.99!
 You must become a member to get in on this deal. Membership is $19.95 and you save 15% off on ALL products from then on!

Now might me your chance to try my favorite Basic H2 at the member price of $10.35 plus FREE shipping! Remember just one 16 oz bottle of Basic H2 makes 48 gallons of all purpose cleaner!

Divide that by the price and we're talking $.22 a gallon! That is incredible! Most cleaners are packaged in 16-24 oz containers and organic cleaners are priced anywhere from $2.99 for Seventh Generation to even more!

Or purchase my favorite scrubbing paste Scour Off for just $7.25 with FREE shipping! Plus I think it smells like Twizzlers (don't ask)

Click HERE to become a member or a distributor.

My Dirty Garage Door!

All of us who "DIY" things that you get dirty! The floor gets dirty, your clothes get dirty, and usually your entire garage or craft room. For me, most of the real dirty work gets done in the garage since we have no craft room.

Today is a snow day (yeah!) and I decided to put away some tools I had still floating around the house here, there and everywhere. As I was putting away the tools I reached for the garage door and what do I see? EEEEWWWWWW! Just look at that door! I don't even want to know how long that has been that way (and please don't tell me if you know).

 After I gasped and shivered at the sight, I grabbed my bottle of Shaklee H2 (mixed for the all-purpose cleaner) and sprayed away. A little wipe with a rag and voila!

 

Now that it is so clean I find myself seeing the horrible paint job the previous owners did and wondering if I should repaint my garage door too! Great! Now I've got one more DIY project. 

To find out more about Shaklee products visit My Website

My Organization Station + a FREE Printable Calendar

I first saw this great idea on House of Hepworths and then went to check it out on A Bowl Full of Lemons. Here is my own take on the great organization station.

I started off with my messy counter. Don't judge me it isn't pretty. Everything gets dumped on the counter when we get home. Everything also gets piled there when we clean off the kitchen table. Yup, more than one place to drop your stuff.

I took everything off and trashed some of it. I put the Christmas decorations back in the new red box I purchased in the garage and put the tools back in the garage too. I put the toys back in the bin in the girl's rooms and then  threw away any outdated coupons or empty envelopes.

Then I sprayed the counter top down with my new Shaklee Basic H. 

Then I took a file box from Target (my favorite store) and hanging file folders and the sticky tabs from Post it and created my own organization station. I also used the FREE printable calendar from SWITCHEROOm She will email you the printable calendar when you comment on the post. It is adorable I promise.

I put the binder clips on to hold up the calendar and filled the box with the following categories:

1. Bills (ones from the mail I need to pay)
2. Coupons (ones I print out, newspaper inserts, and ones that come in the mail)
3. Shaklee (anything from the mail, pending orders, etc)
4. Chris (anything paper wise he has dumped on the counter)
5. Emma (anything school or project related she has)
6. To File (bills already paid or things from the mail I need to file)

I have no file for myself or Eryn because my file is mostly the Bills/ Coupons section and well Eryn is three and she doesn't go to school so no papers for her. I need to add a PTA/ School file for myself since I do a lot at the school I teach at and want to keep it organized.

Household DIY Goals for 2011

My husband and I do not make New Year's Resolutions but we do sit down and make goals (when I can get him to sit down).  I We have come up with some projects to do this year to improve our home as we save up the money. We also have a list of financial goals as well so some of these tie in.

#1: Remove all TOXIC CLEANERS from our home entirely!

I have used 7th Generation and some Method cleaners for years. I tried the vinegar and water and making our own laundry detergent (that didn't go well). I even did a basket for our Valentine's exchange of "Green Cleaners" with directions and materials for all the girls to make their own. Since all of that I have discovered Shaklee.  I still have a little bit of 7th Generation cleaner left but the smell of it is so off-putting I hate using it. I still do have some actual TOXIC cleaners in the house and am in the process of purging them all! My husband and I have devoted our home to Shaklee and are loving it!

#2: Get rid of our ugly KITCHEN FLOOR!

Our house was built in the mid 90's which means that most things should have been pretty updated. Well, let me tell you whoever picked out the kitchen floor wasn't thinking 90's. This ugly linoleum combination is enough to make anyone grab a hammer and crowbar! Also, the person who put down our Pergo (before we purchased the house) put it down wrong. They matched all the seems so it looks like a bunch of plywood. It doesn't help that it is light wood either. I'd love for both floors to match but that means replacing our kitchen, dining room, living room, and hallway floors all at once. We'll have to save up for that chunk of change.

#3: Buy a New KITCHEN STOVE!

Our kitchen stove is original to our house which makes it about 16 years old. It has really seen better days! One of our burners doesn't want to always work and our oven is now finicky (it is just so temperamental) HA!

#4: New CARPET in the bedrooms!

Our bedroom carpet is also original to our home and was originally a light gray (from what I can tell).  It is now a disgusting gray even after we steam cleaned it to death. The only carpet in our house is the 3 bedrooms and there is none in the new bedroom we are currently creating a room.

#5: Finish the 4th BEDROOM MAKEOVER!

We tore apart a wall between a HUGE walk-in closet and our laundry room to double the room size and hopefully move the washer and dryer to the other side of the wall (the garage) and make this room the 4th bedroom the original house plan called for. We're working on it but not a lot right now.  It looks much better than this picture. There is no mess left on the floor. The wall is still open like that for now until I cut drywall. :o)

#6:  Figuring Out What to do with our KITCHEN BACKSPLASH

We put up this crazy stainless steel tile squares up as our back splash but I am SO reconsidering it. I just haven't decided what to change it too. We have also discussed painting the kitchen cabinets. My husband says no but as I reminded him he wouldn't be the one doing it, it would be me. So.... we'll see.  You can see the lovely back splash behind my Shaklee Basic H2. If you look really closely you can see we didn't finish the edge of it either. I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I'm fickle like that sometimes.

#7: Whatever else I can find to do :o)

I am SURE I will find something else to do this year. I'm just like that!








One of our financial goals for the year was to produce more income without losing time with our children. My husband and I have taken the plunge and are now Shaklee Distributors! Take a moment and check out our site: Pembroke Lane Shaklee

 

The Winter Mantle Plus a New Mirror. Finally!

I have been looking for a mirror for months as we redid our living room. I saw two potentials today at Target and then my mother called. She said Kirklands at the Prime Outlets was having a sale and I hopped in the car and picked her up. Once there I found all sorts of great things! I went a little crazy but I was able to purchase my mirror for only $39.99! I also found some great picks for the vase on the floor and 3 great matching picture frames to be hung in the living room later.

It took some measuring, remeasuring and then calling my step-dad but finally we got the mirror hung up and straight.

Then I put up some Christmas white lights and covered them with a white gauze scarf. Then came our word for the year WISH.  Dream will be next if I can find one. I love word art but it has to be just so and this word was just beautiful.

Then came some glass jars, a few Longaberger baskets just cuz, a blue and brown vase, some of my grandmother's books and a topiary. I will spray paint the bottom of the topiary silver but for now it adds dimension and height.

Yes I am aware that our heat vent is not back in place at the top right hand side of the picture. It will be done tomorrow. I promise. I am ashamed to say it has been out for a month! I forgot to put it back in for our Christmas eve party after painting that wall and then doing the picture molding and it has sat in the corner of our room ever since. I guess I just don't notice it. But it will be fixed.

Stay tuned for a our new Project Pembroke Linky where each Saturday we feature projects done by YOU! 

TatertotsandJello

Organizing: Day 7 The Pantry

Our house has a pantry that was originally supposed to house the washer and dryer. The original builders of the house decided to move them into the fourth bedroom and split that in 1/2 and create 1/2 a laundry room and 1/2 a walk in closet. We are in the beginning stages of remodeling that space back into a 4th bedroom for the house and the washer and dryer will go into the garage (eventually). So... that means we have the closet area where the washer and dryer should have been (which is in the middle of our dining room no less) for our pantry. We also have the small closet next to our garage door but we use that for the trash and recyclables.

Here is the before picture. What is sad is that this space was organized way back when on Our Frugal Future  and looked great! It has since fallen from grace and needs a facelift.

 

The first thing I did was pull out everything at the bottom. The vacuum and steam mop really don't belong in there. They are supposed to be in the trash/recycling closet but have found their way here. I put those where they belonged and then dealt with the candles and lunch boxes. The dog food needed to be dumped into the container for it (the bag was behind the Dyson).  

Someone wanted to help (but with the yard stick?)

Then the kitchen table got everything! Then we scrubbed the floor and prepared to put new drawer organizers in the bottom and guess what? They don't fit. They are about 1/2 an inch too tall. 

I'm pretty sure the dilemma is because this was originally intended for a washer and dryer and then the contractor just threw up shelves. There is a HUGE gap in the top to the ceiling which makes organizing a nightmare. 

So..... off to Target to get smaller containers or..... rip out the bottom, shelf cut off a piece and reinstall higher up? Oh the options (and I do have a nail gun)

So, yeah, I did it. I ripped out the bottom shelf. This gives me the excuse to redo the whole thing as soon as I get a chance.

Instead of ripping out the entire pantry I just re-organized what I could sans last shelf plus new organizers. Eventually I will buy another drawer organizer to complete the bottom and then put new shelving into the entire pantry. Believe me I am actually very excited to do this myself.

My label maker is out of labeling film and I didn't realize it until too late. I will need to label these drawers but for now here is what they contain. The organizer on the left has all my teas in the bottom drawer. The middle drawer contains all of our snacks (100 calorie packs, popcorn, fruit leather, etc).  The top drawer has all our drink mixes. The blue Tupperware container sitting on top has our oatmeal packages. The right organizer has straws and paper plates in the bottom drawer, candy melts and marshmallows in the second drawer, and crackers in the top drawer.

These little lovlies are bins I picked up at Ikea. I had them shipped a while back since Ikea is 1 1/2 hours away and I wasn't driving there just for pantry bins. They are labeled with my label maker.

On the right hand side are my baking supplies. They are in Tupperware canisters. The potato bin is next to it.

The cans are on the top shelf (until I redo the pantry that is. When that happens they are moving down).  The top shelf (the wasted space) currently holds our excess couponing purchases. They include: extra juice, canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, juice pops, cereal and condiments. I hope when the pantry gets redone to move them down as well so I can put paper towels, toilet paper and tissue at the top. They are currently in a cabinet in my kitchen.

Well, here you have it. A torn out shelf so my organizers could be used, an organized pantry (for now) and the birth of a new DIY project yet to come! Aren't you glad you stopped by?

Don't forget FREE SHIPPING for NEW members ends at midnight Monday 1/17/11!  Click on the picture below to go to the website.