Keep Your Home Stocked All School Year

If you have a large family, keeping your home stocked with enough supplies throughout the school year can prove to be a difficult challenge. There are many ways you can ensure that all of your children have plenty of tools on hand to tackle any project no matter what subject it might involve.



Consider the following tips to help keep your home stocked from fall to summer.

• Invest in Craft Supplies - Go out of your way to stock up on common craft supplies and keep them available in your home for surprise school projects. Popular supplies may include construction paper, paper confetti, yarn, felt and beads. Buy more than you think you're going to need when the Back-to-School sales are in full swing - or better yet, when all those extra supplies go on clearance after school has started (like now!) If you missed those sales or still feel there are things you will be needing, see if you can buy art supplies online to fulfill your needs. Buying in bulk often gives you the best prices.
• Get Plenty of Paper - Make sure you always have plenty of paper on hand for restocking binders. In addition to looseleaf notebook paper, you can keep extra wire-bound notebooks, notepads, composition notebooks, and memo pads.
• Keep Extra Binders and Folders - Get more binders and folders than what your children need when school first starts. Throughout the year, you may find yourself replacing them as their supplies become damaged, are submitted and kept by the teacher for projects or as they run out of space. You can buy basic binders and folders in bulk packs to help protect your wallet.
• Get Printer Refills - Make sure you always have printer refill cartridges on hand. If one of your children has an important assignment due the next morning, the last thing you want to happen is having your printer run out of ink before they are able to print it out. Make sure to invest in both black and color ink cartridges.

By taking the time to prepare before the school year starts, you can help your children succeed in school.

Easy T-Shirt Necklace

I saw this tutorial for making a necklace from old t-shirts a while back.  Actually, I think one of my facebook friends shared it.  Now, honestly, I'm not a crafty person at all, but this project looks kind of fun - and like something even I could do.  I'm sure I have some old t-shirts around here somewhere...

Doesn't that look cool? Just click the picture to get instructions on how to make one for yourself.  Basically you just cut 1" strips from the bottom of your old t-shirts, stretch the strips, lay them together and twist into a figure-8 to double the rings, bind them all together with an extra strip, and wear.  That does sound easy, doesn't it?

Will I ever get around to actually making one?  I don't know, but I'm sharing this with my mother-in-law who is very crafty - she's always making neat things - and I'm sure she'll be able to make some of these.  Maybe she'll even make me one?

Now, there was another craft I was going to share with her.  What was it, where was it?

I Liked this Rug

Dear Mom,

I thought you said the rug you gave me was machine washable.  So I washed it.  And it fell apart.  (insert sad face here)

Love, Anna

If I wasn't craft-challenged, I might be able to sew it back together, but as it is, I have no idea where to start.  I'm great with html and scanning software, and I make a great loaf of sourdough bread, but when it comes to anything that requires a needle, I'm useless.  Maybe I can get Beth to do it?

Alpaca Yarn

I never learned to knit or crochet or do any of that crafty stuff, but Beth likes it. Luckily, she's had other women in her life who have been able to help her along. I bet if I send her the link for Alpaca Direct that she'll be able to find some Alpaca yarn she'd like. I just want to touch it. It's soft like cashmere and strong as wool, make that stronger than wool. The site offers free shipping and a 100% quality guarantee. They have a great selection of yarn, patterns, and accessories, and a brand new yarn estimator to help you figure out how much yarn you need for a particular project. Like I said, I don't knit, so I would have no idea, but they even have something for me - DVDs to help me learn.