PSA ::. Remove washed-in sticker residue

I'm sure many of you know this fact... but I JUST RECENTLY came across this awesome tidbit of information.

I have 3 girls under 6 and wouldn't you know they love stickers. They get them everywhere - home, the grocery, the dentist, the doctor, etc and since I don't really look at each piece of clothing before it heads into the washing machine (sorry Mom, yes you taught me better than this) and into the dryer.  I have ended up with SEVERAL shirts with this sticky residue that does not come off no matter how much I pick at it. They were ruined... or so I thought!

Finally, (probably should have done this sooner) I went to google and searched, "How to get rid of washed on sticker residue from clothes". Wouldn't you know I came up with an actual result (here).

So for those of you who haven't done that google search yet and figured out how to remove the sticker residue... here is my PSA for the day!

1. Take sticker residued clothing
2. Spray with Goo Gone
3. Use old toothbrush to brush away residue (it comes off very easy)
4. Tada - residue is gone, but Goo Gone is on shirt
{wash and dry shirt as usual}
5. Sticker residue free shirt!

This was my dear daughters actual shirt and I did a little happy dance when it came out of the dryer sticker free!

Linking up: Elizabeth and Co , Homework ,Bowl full of Lemons , Vintage Gwen, Handyman Crafty Woman, Gingersnapcrafts , Vintage Gwen , My GIrlish Whims ,DIY by Design , Flavors by Four, Shaken Together , Remodelaholic, Lolly Jane , I heart naptime . Crafty Moms Share. Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff,

Reward chart and treasure box!

Charlotte's preschool class started using a reward system for getting the children to behave in class. She was only in twice a week, so they started the week with 2 gold doubloons - they gained or lost doubloons depending on how they acted. If they ended up with 6 at the end of the week they got to choose a small price from treasure box (like the party favor packs at the dollar store like magnifying glasses, bubbles, colored hair braid clips, etc). Charlotte loved it and her teacher told me she was so polite and well-behaved.

Moving over to the Moore Babies house... I was getting to the point where I was PO'd frustrated every evening at the mess in the girls rooms and the shoes and clothes strewn about the house.

We had moved from a one story small house to a 2 story much larger house. So picking up shoes and toys after 4 (yes, husband is included in this, no offense hubby) kids is a lot more time consuming in the new house.

I finally decided to start our very own "Treasure box", but instead of gold doubloons, I found (and tweaked) a sticker chart. I actually just googled "free toddler chore chart" and found one that I liked and then added a column in photoshop. (I like the Modern Toddler Chore Chart from dandee)

The girls have to:
1. make up their beds (Jillie gets help)
2. Put their clothes in the hamper or if we are downstairs, into the washing machine
3. Bring their breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates over to the sink
4. Pick up their room (the play room is a different story)
5. Put their shoes in the closet in the hang-up rack (I found mine at bed bath and beyond)

At the end of each day, we go through each item, and they get stickers for the chores they have completed. If they don't do a chore, they get an "X"... 3 "X"'s means NO treasure box.

 

On Saturday evening, they get TREASURE BOX! I filled my treasure box with stuff from the target dollar section, dollar store, etc. (ok so some of the items are more than a dollar, but they were SOOOO cute!) I flip a coin to see who gets to pick first (although I may just alternate!).

And then it was Jillie's turn...

We have been doing this a month or so now and it's going pretty well. This past week Charlotte had some attitude and got 2 "X"s. But after reminding her what was at stake, she changed her tune and has been making up her bed first thing in the morning ever since! (score 1 for mommy)

Reorganizing closets...again!

So just the other day I discussed reorganizing my daughters closets (turning coat hangers backwards and whatnot)... well guess what fun I am doing today.

This WAS the closet...


ps - ok so it IS bowed under the weight of the clothes

Here it is now...

Apparently, when those closet extenders say 30lbs is the max, they aren't kidding.

My youngest was having a hissy fit and pulling the clothes off the rack in her sisters closet (even though I told her that HER clothes were in HER closet) and the whole thing not only came apart and fell down (which has happened before), but BROKE!

Needless to say, I was NOT happy.

{Pinned there, Done That} [ish] Wear ALL clothes, not just favorites

So the other day I was putzing around on pinterest (of course!) finding ideas and dreams for our new house and I came across this post 52 Totally Feasible Ways to Organize your Entire Home so I pinned it! Not necessarily for the new house... but who doesn't need "totally feasible ways to organize [their] entire home"?! Right? It's mainly for this too-small house that we kind of outgrew 1 kid ago that we have been stuck in!

See we have been trying to move into a new house for.. oh... 10 months now. We have had an offer on this one house since January. Don't get my wrong, we've looked for other houses, but this is a short sale and it's a 5 bedroom, 3 bath, plus bonus room, 2 story house, with screened in pool plus large back yard, in a gated community with 2 playgrounds IN the gates. Plus, a high rated elementary school is right outside the gate. I mean, really?! So anyway... we have held onto this through liens (yes... multiple), loan issues, and all sorts of crud.

Anyway, back to this list... quite a few are really good ideas! But my favorite, that I have (somewhat) already put into practice, is:

15. Turn Your Hangers to Find Out What You Really Wear

Source: rayandjen.com

 Brilliant, really! I actually put it into practice for my kids closets, not necessarily to see what is still backwards by the end of the year (they grow out of it too quick) but to make sure we are using all the clothes in the closet. 

My daughter tends to stick to a few favorites... which is fine, but she wears her princess or Hello Kitty shirt like 4 times to some other shirt's 1... or none. My daughter has quite a bit of clothes; between freecycle, consignment, and my mother-in-law, she is not in need of clothes. But some stuff she hasn't worn and I want to either wear it, or get rid of it if I got it for free and decide it's not my... um.. her... style! 

I've been only doing it for just over a week... but I kind of like knowing what she hasn't worn in a while so I can try to suggest those outfits. Her closet is separated my clothing type so we have some backwards and forwards in each section. Here's what we've got so far...

dresses (left) and skirts (right)

Outfits (Far left, not really pictured) and tops (right)

Once I am no longer pregnant, I think I'll give this a shot with my own closet :) It would help me (a) diversify my wardrobe and (b) purge my closet.

 

{Pinned there, Done That} Cleaning your Dishwasher

I was putzing around on Pinterest the other day and came across this pin that one of my college sorority sisters had pinned on "How to Clean your Dishwasher". I immediately realized that my dishwasher was not working like it should... actually... my dishwasher is SERIOUSLY slacking!

Every time my parents come visit, my mom comments on how foggy and dirty my dishes end up after they are washed. Soooo... when I saw the "How to Clean your Dishwasher" pin I dropped everything and started working on it right then.

Want to see something gross? No?

Oh... sorry.

Yes, that is my filter in the door. Clearly I did not know this needed to be cleaned. YUCK! I have been in this house for nearly 6 years and this is the first time it has been cleaned. Who knows if the previous owners ever cleaned this filter either. Sheeesh!

So anyway, I cleaned the filter with an old toothbrush and water, scrubed the ledge right under the door (where all the food gets stuck), and checked the holes in the spinning arms. I haven't removed the spinning arm on the bottom of the dishwasher yet to clear out the drain... I'll do that soon.

The dishwasher is not running perfect yet... but it's much better, see...