Okay, I realize that this isn’t exactly a “priority” area of the home to be decluttering, nevertheless, if you have kids, then you probably have the same problem as I do of stacks of used up coloring books and buckets of broken crayons. In my home, cleaning them out was long overdue! And since I just cleared out my daughter’s collection of useless coloring paraphernalia, I figured I’d pass along some helpful little tips.

My first clue that her coloring books needed to be tossed, was when she would sit down to color and would flip through the whole book, then complain that there were no clean pages to draw on. Why in the world did I keep putting it back into the overstuffed coloring box? I finally got the hint, and went through all of her coloring books. The books that were mostly colored, I pulled out the pages that were still good. And the books that only had a few pages that had been colored on, I pulled out the used up pages. Here is my before and after:

These are the ones that I tossed, and the pages that I pulled from them that were still useful. Now I can actually close the plastic container that holds all of the coloring supplies! And Jada doesn’t have to flip through twenty books to find one clean page to color.

Next I took a look at all of her crayons filling their box. Just about all of them were broken, mostly into tiny little pieces that I know she wouldn’t pick up and color with. I decided they had to go. I set aside two sets of big, full sized crayons (two of each color), then I took the rest out. Now her little box is nice and tidy, and she doesn’t have to swim through waves of broken crayons just to find one big enough to color with. Here’s my before:

I did not get rid of the broken crayons though. No, I have another purpose in mind for them. I filled up three large yogurt containers with these crayons, and put them in the craft drawer. For Jada’s next birthday, I plan on her helping me make Crayon Muffins with these, to give to her guests as party favors. I think she will really enjoy making them, and I think it will make her feel good to give her guests something from herself.

Glad that little project is over! And now Jada can actually sit down and color without having to sort through a bunch of trash.

Maybe you’ve been inspired in some way to clean out the junk from your home as well. If so, I’d love to hear from you. Just write a post on your blog, and then link back here to tell us about it! Hope to have you join in! Minimizing our homes, one section at a time.

This is an excellent way to re-use broken crayons. And they make great gifts for children too!

Crayon Muffins

• Muffin pan
• foil muffin liners (or regular liners, stacked three deep each)
• broken crayons

First remove all of the paper from each crayon.

Heat the oven to 350*.

Put liners in pan.

Fill each cup with broken crayons (only about half way full). All different colors is fun, but I think similar colors together looks prettier for a gift (like red+pink, yellow+orange, blue + green, etc.) This would also be a fun “sorting” activity for young children.

Place pan in oven and watch carefully.

When the crayons have melted together, remove from the oven.

You can use a toothpick to make a swirl effect in the wax before it cools. Just be careful, the wax is very HOT!

Let them cool. Remove the liners and voila! Beautiful new crayons!

Better late than never!

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A while back, I reported visiting a CVS in town and finding that they had milk for 1/2 off. They had a note taped to the door of the refrigerator that said “Milk expiring within 3 days is half off”. Of course I dug through the fridge to find every gallon of milk that was expiring, and ended up freezing like 4 gallons!

A couple of days ago, I was in another CVS, and just out of curiosity I looked to see if they had any milk expiring in 3 days. They did… they had one gallon, just for me! But they didn’t have any kind of sign advertising the “deal”. So, I went up front and asked to speak to a manager. They called him up, and I told him about the other CVS’s deal, and asked him if they do the same thing. He told me, “We do, but we aren’t supposed to be advertising it.” I said, “Great!” and went to fetch my gallon. It cost me $1.99 (plus $.04 tax).

I thought I’d let you guys know about this, so that you could see if your local CVS is doing the same thing. I don’t know if it’s regional, or what, but it’s worth asking about! I’m going to keep my eye out from now on for expiring milk at CVS, and hopefully I won’t have to keep paying almost $4/gal. any more!

And if you find a lot for a good deal, remember you can always freeze it (remember to pour a little out first to make room for expansion); and you can also add a pinch of salt to make it last about a week longer. Happy hunting!! For more money saving ideas, visit Crystal for Frugal Friday.

I’d be interested to hear from those of you who have found that you can or cannot get this deal at your CVS.

I’ve been going crazy for the past couple of months trying to figure out how to decorate my work-in-progress, new-to-me home. I’ve scoured the internet for design ideas, paint tips, etc. Tonight I just happened to come across this FREE 120+ page full color book by KraftMaid packed with ideas for kitchens, baths, home office, entertainment centers, bedrooms, laundry rooms and more. It looks like it might have some great decorating and design ideas to check out. Hope it comes soon!!

My sister has been working hard on her home business, Sashwhy’s Studio, and has enjoyed working on a number of new design. A few of her most current jobs have been:

Money Saving Mom

Freebies 4 Mom

Common Sense with Money

She has added a lot of new packages, including website designs, to her business! If you are a small business and need a website to get your name out on the web or need an online boutique, you should check her out! She’ll create a great design for you and will do it for cheaper than you think!

She is running a sale on two packages this week!

$75 – Informational Website

$200 – Brochure Website

Don’t miss out on this sale! You will have a hard time finding website designs like these at such a low price.

Also, if you are looking for a fresh new look for your blog, she does great blog designs (including this one! ). If you don’t want to do a full-blown makeover, she also offers “Ready-2-Order” headers.

So, if you haven’t visited Sashwhy’s Studio yet, go check her out!

(How’s that for shameless promotion for my sister! ).

I found this awesome idea at my new favorite site, Tipnut.com. It gives a very detailed tutorial on turning cereal boxes into gift boxes. What a great idea! Check it out when get a chance!

Okay you guys, it’s that time again! This week my challenge to you all is to clean out your jewelry boxes! Somehow most of us girls end up with a ton of jewelry, the majority of which we really don’t wear. Now, I know some of you LOVE to accessorize, so maybe this is a two-part challenge. If you are one who loves a lot of jewelry, remember what the Lord told us in 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God”. Don’t you see? You don’t need to dress yourself up with flashy jewelry. It is so vain to carry pride in how you adorn yourself. Perhaps it is time for some of us to begin embellishing ourselves with the beauty of who we are inside, instead of hiding behind some sparkly “bling”!

So hopefully now we are prepared to purge the unnecessary. Now, I’m a pretty simple girl when it comes to jewelry. I wear my wedding band, and my hoop earrings. Everyday. That’s it. Well, except for special occasions. But, I still had a lot of jewelry just hanging out in a big jewelry box that I’ve had forever. When I started getting my yard sale stuff together a few weeks ago, I decided it was time for that big ‘ol jewelry box to go, along with most of the stuff in it. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the purge when I did it, but I’ll try to make you feel like you were there . When I started going through my jewelry collection, I was really surprised at how much of the stuff that I had been keeping was actually things that I have not really worn in many years. Here are some of the things that I was able to clear out:

• Jewelry from ex-boyfriends.
• Stuff that I’d been hanging onto just because I’ve had it forever.
• Duplicate style things (ie: blue stone necklaces, dangly diamond earrings…)
• Things that didn’t “go with” any clothing that I own.
• Broken pieces; an earring without it’s match.
• Stuff I haven’t worn in the past year (or two).

And here are the things that I kept:

• Anything legitly sentimental (like jewelry from grandma).
• Things that I wear often.
• One or two sets of fancy jewelry for special occasions.
• One or two casual, cute pieces for times when I just feel like wearing a little more.

And now is a great time to be purging your unwanted gold. I ended up with a palm full of gold necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings that I plan on selling for a little extra mula. Here is an excellent resource for how to sell your gold jewelry wisely. I haven’t sold mine yet, but I’m anxious to see what it’s worth.

And, like always, if you revisit your jewelry box again for a second and even third purging, you may, like me, find that there are even more things that you are willing to let go of.

Thanks for reading along, and if you have joined in the fun, I’d love to hear from you! Just write a post on your blog, then link back here to share your accomplishments with us all! Minimizing our homes, one section at a time. I can’t wait to see how you did!

NBC is having a live vote on their site right now on “Should ‘In God We Trust’ be removed from U.S. currency?” This is our chance to let them know what us Christians think! I don’t know how long the voting will be open, so please go HERE quickly. If you have time, read the related article on the Atheist man causing all of the controversy. How very sad.

Through all of the trials we’ve been facing lately, the Lord has really spoken to my heart regarding praying for others. Sometimes we become so engrossed in our own burdens of this world, that we forget that the smiling faces of those around us are actually hiding sorrows of their own. We are so quick to share our problems, and ask everyone around us to pray for our situation without even giving a thought as to what may be troubling that very person before us. I am so guilty of this, as I have asked for prayer so much lately. I’m not saying it’s wrong to ask for prayer, not at all, but my confession is that before now I never even wondered what was going on in my friends world that may be deeply troubling her. I never stopped to ask anyone what I could pray for them for.

So, I believe the Lord has used this time in my life to make me realize that I need to be more prayerful of the affairs of my friends and those around me. When my husband broke his leg and lost his job, we were really in a tight spot. I felt so burdened at times. But then when I would hear from others, I realized that so many other people have been, or are going through similar, and even much worse things than this and I haven’t even stopped to ask them how I could pray for their situation. For example, I have a close friend seriously contemplating divorcing her husband. How burdened she must feel. Another stay-at-home mom friend has been abandoned by her husband, left to raise her three small children on her own after having to file for bankruptcy and losing everything they owned. Another friend of mine recently got married, just to find out that for the entire next year she will be without her husband as he fights across seas. I am sure that these things weigh heavily on the hearts of my friends. These are BIG burdens. Huge. I am so ashamed of myself for not being a better friend and praying for them more fervently. Sure, I’ve listened to their stories, shared my sympathy, and said something like, “Oh, I’ll pray for you,” and I do, but at the end of the day, it is my own struggles that I think about and cry over. How very selfish of me.

This is just my truth. But I’ve decided that from now on I will be better about asking others what I can pray for them today. Everybody has a struggle in their life. Everybody has worries and burdens. We need to stop being so overwhelmed with our own situation, and open our eyes to the troubles of those around us. So the next time you are talking with somebody in your life, remember to ask them, “How can I pray for you today?” Maybe if we all start praying for each other, we will find the answers to our own prayers much sooner.