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How to Organize Family Household Chores

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March 28, 2020 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Facebook, Frugal Living, Instagram, Parenting, Pinterest, Social Media Leave a Comment

I cannot do it all and to get it done, I have to involve the kids and husband. Follow these hacks and tips for How to Organize Family Household Chores – timers, zones, music, charts, rewards and more!

How to Organize Family Household Chores

In the pass couple years, my “work” has exploded. I don’t mean business, I mean the responsibilities I hold. I learned, from friends, that would happen with older kids. There are more assignments, activities, responsibilities and more stuff. My bigger issue, though was there was also more kids. I had three kids in fourteen months. Yes, that is possible with twins. That took our family from a family of four to a family of seven rather quickly and I needed help. I had to involve my family to get things done.

Getting your family to help with household work doesn’t need to feel as though you are pulling teeth. Believe it or not, but there are methods out there that get your whole family involved! You don’t have to do everything yourself.

Make doing chores something the whole family gets involved in. Here are ways to how to get the whole family involved in Household Chores!

How to Get Your Family Involved in Household Chores

The more important jobs of the house shouldn’t only fall on mom. Of course, it’s easy to get frustrated when you feel as though your family isn’t helping you like you need them to. If you’re a busy mom and need some creative way to get the kids and husband to help with chores, I’ve got some ideas for you!

Set a Household Timer

Can’t get your family to help clean? Why not set a timer? Timers are great for getting something big done in a short period of time. When a timer is set, you don’t have time to get distracted. Plus, even the little ones enjoy having the time set. This is a cheap inexpensive way to get your family involved in housework.

Consider adding on our Daily Cleaning Checklist or Deep Cleaning checklist (found in our Busy Mom Binder). You can assign each person an area of the home (from the list) during this time.

A household timer let’s your kids know, something won’t last forever! Consider adding music during this time. It just makes it more fun.

Shop The Busy Mom Binder

Assign a Zone

A friend offered me this tip. Each child (depending on their age) had a zone of the house. For mom it as the kitchen and master bedroom. For dad it was the porch, patio and garage (and offer flow of the kitchen). For my oldest it was her bedroom, the living room and the dish washer. For my second oldest it was her bedroom and the shared bathroom. For some of my younger children it was the playroom and they could do that combined. Set a timer for 10 minutes and everyone gets to work daily for cleaning up their zone.

Don’t Expect Things to Change Too Fast

Your family isn’t going to automatically wake up on a Saturday and start cleaning. When it comes to family household work or chores, it’s going to take time to make these changes happen. Start implementing smaller tasks at a time.

Start by having your family help with one thing at a time.
Change things slowly and not all of a sudden.
Expect a little pushback from your family, they’re not going to love these changes at once.

Give it time for these changes to take place. You’ll be glad you didn’t go into this whole household chores thing thinking the whole family was going to jump on board right away. Lower your expectations.

Give Rewards When They Are Due

Kids who do chores shouldn’t necessarily get paid, but they can be rewarded. You don’t need to pay your kids with money to get them excited about doing chores. If you have younger kids, they may not even be at an age where they get excited about the money.

Find what really motivates your child and reward them with that. Rewards can be stickers, a favorite show, or even an ice cream treat. Our screen time tickets are very popular and might be the perfect fit for your child. Finding out what motivates your family will help save your sanity.

My Kids Need These Screen Time Tickets

Make it Fun and Not Stressful

If you are yelling at your family to help you clean, it’s not going to turn out well. One of the best things you can do for your family is to make it fun and not stressful. Think of housework like working as a team. The more you do together, the faster it will all go! Turn on the music and have a dance party while you clean.

Don’t Forget the Chore Chart

The chore chart may be an oldie, but it’s still a goodie. There is a lot of creativity in chore charts! In our our Busy Mom Binder you can download this detailed chore chart which tells kids HOW to clean their room so you aren’t busy hovering like the helicopter mom you don’t have time (or desire) to be. You could also make your own chore chart to personalize it to your home and needs.

The Busy Mom Binder to Fix Your Organizational Needs

Stick with It

As a mom, it’s easy to see that getting everyone to help you is harder than it’s worth. NOT. Don’t give up on this and stick with it. Hold your family accountable and they will come around. Consistency is key! Make them help you do it every single time.

You don’t have to nag, scream, or cry to get them to help! Stay positive and stay consistent and you’d be amazed at how much you can get your family to help.

Show Don’t Tell

While no one is going to come close to doing it HOW you like it done, you can still teach them your way. There is going to be a learning curve with anything your kids learn, however, they can still get it done.

Do the chore with them the first couple of times, so that they KNOW how to do it. Doing it this way means there are no excuses for them not knowing how to get it done.

How do you get your family involved in helping with household work? Do you have secrets to share about getting your family to do chores?

Our Pinterest community and I would love to see how this worked out for you. Share your chore chart. Leave a comment and/or add a photo here on Pinterest!

Get help with chores with many of the printables in our Busy Mom Binder. Pin to Pinterest.

You are busy! I get it. Take a look at these Busy Mom Life Hacks. Pin to Pinterest.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Get inspired this Spring with Dollar Store Easter Decor.

Also access our Free Frugal Coupon Living Printables to help you find joy through embracing the chaos of motherhood more easily!

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Work Life Balance Tips

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March 21, 2020 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Facebook, Frugal Living, Instagram, Parenting, Pinterest, Printable, Social Media Leave a Comment

Work Life Balance Tips – How this working mom creates quality time with family while balancing a career, spouse, the home and more! A busy mom… achieving it all… like a boss!

Work Life Balance Tips

I am not going to lie. Working full time and being present with family often feels like a juggling act with too many balls (and bills – wink.) I don’t always do it gracefully. While I’d like to be perfect at both, it’s not always possible. Below I share my tips for creating quality time with family while trying to balance a career to best of my ability.

“I think every working mom probably feels the same thing: You go through big chunks of time where you’re just thinking, ‘This is impossible — oh, this is impossible.’ And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.” Tina Fey

Grab the work-life balance that you’re aiming for or change the perspective from which you come! You too can do the impossible.

Get Up Early or Stay Up Late

I figured I would start with my least favorite time. I love sleep, but sometimes the solution is taking away part of something you love – just not all of it. Whether you work from home or you work outside of the home, it can be hard to balance it all. During an especially busy season, I have noticed that getting up earlier or staying up later (within reason) is a great way to balance life a little more. This allows you more time to do the extra stuff when the kids aren’t able to disrupt your productivity. While I would tell you I would rather stay up late to work, this is the truth. I am much more productive in the morning and I do not take away evening time with my spouse – the juggle of being present for everyone one.

Let Go of the Guilt

If you work full time, you don’t need to feel guilty about it. As long as you’re not working yourself to death, you should not feel bad about working and providing for your family. Letting go of the guilt is so important. You will not be able to move on to a good work-life balance if you don’t let go of the guilt of being a working parent.

How to Let Go of Guilt

The best way to let go of guilt is changing your perception of the situation. You feel guilty about working too much and not having enough time with the kids. Learn to turn those feelings around. Don’t dwell on the negative, less time with the family: dwell on the positive. Quality time when you are together and how you are providing for your family through work. Look at the blessing of having a job so you can give your family xyz – shelter, food, or even the added vacation. What is your long term goal with this income? Anytime I see myself going to that negative place, I quickly turn my perception around to let go of the guilt.

Schedule your Time

Stop. This is really the best advice I can give. Block schedule your time as much as you can. Create blocks of time throughout the day to get work done. If you can’t work for longer periods of time because you need to be present with your children, then this works wonders. Block scheduling allows you to work on what you need to get done, but in smaller increments. It makes managing a to-do list a lot easier. I also suggest you do not make a generic block schedule. Each block should be specific. For example, for my blog of work time, I don’t just write “work time.” In this block of time, I am specific about what I am doing.

If my block schedule for work is from 9 AM to 12 PM, on my to do list, my schedule might read like this.

9:00 – 9:20 – read and respond to emails
9:20 to 10:00 – compose email for blog audience
10:00 – 10:30 – repin post content
10:30 to 12:00 – write new post content

This time schedule helps me adequately fill my time without wasting time on tasks that are not as important or on social media. You can print our Daily Plan organizer in our Busy Mom Binder. If you are working from home with the kids, use our incremental time sheet for mom, baby and toddler. If you have a project coming up, our big goal planner will help you achieve your final project.

GET YOUR BUSY MOM BINDER

Incorporate the Kids

There are times I schedule my day and I don’t finish. There are times that one of my five children needs to sit beside me while I work. There are times, where I have asked the older kids for help. Call it an electronic hour and pass out the Kindles, the tablets, the game systems, etc. Let everyone “work” together. Hire one of your older children to do one of the mundane tasks you hate (for me, re-pinning content to Pinterest or editing spelling mistakes in a post.) There are times you have to work when the kids are around and you can do this successfully but involving them in their own electronic activity or promises of exciting activities when mom is done!

Don’t Over Do It

It’s impossible to create a good work-life balance if you have too much work. Sometimes you just need to scale back for the sake of your sanity. You are only one person, but you also have children. If work consumes your life, it will be impossible to create a work life balance that makes sense! Read how to let go of quilt above.

Do One Thing at a Time

Have you ever tried to do two things at once? You probably weren’t very good at it. When you focus on doing one thing at a time, you are going to do it better. Separate your tasks into what needs to be done and then do them, but don’t try and do everything at once. A well-balanced work life and home life happens when you are able to focus on one thing at a time.

Take Care of Yourself

Trying to be there for your job and then trying to be there for your kids will wear you out to no end. You have to take care of yourself. Your kids will see that you are run ragged if you don’t take the time to take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep well, and do fun things! What’s the point of a good work-life balance if you don’t take the time to take care of yourself? There is no point. It’s challenge to do, but try to get away from a couple days. Away with no kids and work. Even if it is a weekend stay-cation. Split the kids up with friends or have family visit for just a weekend.

Quality Time with Family

Remember I talked about how to let go of the guilt. When you work, you work and you are dedicated. When you are off work, it’s important to create quality time with family.

Hacks for Putting Aside Work to Focus on the Family

There are some hacks out there that can help you put away work and only focus on the family. You can’t have work on your mind 24 hours a day. Well maybe it is on your mind, but it does’t have to be in your hands on on your lap. You have to be able to put down the work and focus on the family without the stress and anxiety of work following you around.

Here are a few hacks to help you out!

Turn Off Your Phone

This is hard for me but I know my phone can be a huge distraction when it comes to work and family life. You can easily set aside work and focus on family by turning off your phone. Turning off the electronics in your life means that you get to focus on those around you and not what emails might be coming in. It also is a reflection to your older kids who are raised in an era with electronics and want to be just as connected as you. If you can put the phone down, it might show them they can put the game system down for a bit too.

Schedule Days Off

When you have a day off work, keep it a day off work. While it’s nice to be productive, you need these days off to focus on your kids and your family. Schedule days off and keep them days off! This will allow you to really set aside work and focus on the family. If that day off is not consistent, add it in your family command center. Have a calendar that shows the kids when that day off is. For my kids, they know that every Tuesday mom doesn’t work and we start the day at Dunkin’ Donuts. It is tradition and it gives them a day, other than the weekend, to look forward to. You could have a breakfast tradition or schedule other things like a visit to a museum, library day, an ice cream afternooon or even a family game night.

Perspective

Sometimes a nice hack for putting aside work and focusing on family is perspective. Know that your kids won’t be this age forever and you NEED to take the time to spend with them now. Although everyone tells you the days are long and the years are short, we don’t truly understand until the kids are grown and gone.

If positive quotes and mantras are hard for you to remember, put a post-it note on your mirror. I actually have a hanging art work at the bottom of my stairs that reads “Today is a Good Day to Have a Good Day!” I am naturally a negative Nancy (sorry Nancy) and this reminds me to focus on the good in each day. I have to read it every time I come down the stairs – which is many times a day!

Work-life balance does take some effort, but you can do this! While it’s not possible to achieve the ultimate work-life balance, you can make small improvements to eventually get to where you want to be.

What tips would you add to this list? Let’s share in the success of balancing family and work with one another!

Having trouble balancing your life? Feel like you are in survival mode? Our Busy Mom Binder will help you balance your work life and home. Pin to Pinterest.

Date Night Ideas – How We Do It With Five Kids!

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February 29, 2020 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Baby, Facebook, Instagram, Kids, Parenting, Pinterest, Social Media, Valentine's Day 1 Comment

We do it! We have weekly date nights even with five kids. Take a look at these Date Night Ideas for the home, for free, or even for special occasions out of the house. Where to find a babysitter, why date nights are important and more!

Date Night Ideas

This post isn’t late. I know Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but having a date night is more important than just on February 14th. When my husband and I first got married, date nights were not very important to me. I know that sounds silly. Honestly, coming from being a single mom, I was just grateful to have a partner to sit at home with me at the family table. I had had my fair share of dates during that time I was a single mom.

My husband, however, he wanted to court his wife. That reads incredibly sweet but it was a bit of a stressor to me. So I didn’t initially view it as sweet. I viewed it as adding something additional to my plate, I viewed it was having to get dressed and put on makeup, I view it as work to prepare the kids and try to get out the door… you get it moms, right? The perfect date for me was more like April 25th – not too hot and not too cold! Haha!

However, he was right. It wasn’t a date on the calendar, it was what we invested in each other. The more infrequent our dates become, the more I can feel the stress on our marriage. We needed to invest at least a few hours of alone time in our marriage without the distraction of kids, tv, chores, etc in the home.

Thus, began, our weekly date nights.

Date Night 101

When you need a date night, but don’t know how to go about it, you may need Date Night 101. Dating your spouse is important, especially if you have kids. It’s easy for your relationship to fall to the wayside. Focusing on each other for a certain amount of time each week can really help your relationship grow. I’ve tried to cover every aspect of a date night to help make it successful for you and your spouse.

Date Night Bucket List

What if you have a sitter but you don’t know where to start with WHAT to do? I want you to check out my Date Night Bucket List. This is a list of items will help you narrow down exactly what you want to do! It’s fun to get ideas from a bucket list and then execute those ideas.

Free Date Night Ideas

What if you have a sitter but need to stay on budget? There are lots of free date night ideas out there. Some ideas that I have for a free date night is making dinner at home, taking a walk at the park, taking a hike in your favorite park, head to a local book store and look at the books, go to a free museum, head to the beach, play a sport together, or just sit and talk!

You can see more free date nights in our Date Night Bucket List.

Elaborate Date Night Ideas

Sometimes you need a fancy night out. Maybe you and your spouse haven’t been out in a while and you just want to do something fun together without worrying about money. We do a date like this at least once every few months.

Do a weekend away
Wine tasting
A night out on the town
Go to a fancy restaurant
Ballroom dancing

Date Night at Home Ideas

A few truths. It’s possible that you won’t be able to find a babysitter, but you still need that quality time with your spouse. Go ahead and look into date night ideas right at home. Dating your mate is important, and it doesn’t need to be difficult.

Here are a few date night ideas at home to help you out:

Have a BBQ after the kids go to bed
Cook a dinner together, right at home
Have a dessert night where you eat your favorite desserts
Have a game night at home
Order takeout
Have a movie night
Have a game night together
Sit on the patio and have cocktails
Tell Alexa to play romantic music.

If you are feeling the love, try a Date Night Box Subscription or Date Night Cards.

Some of these Date Night at Home Ideas are creative and fun, also make an effort to go out. I really fought my spouse hard to have more date nights at home, but he was right in his rebuttal. I exclusively focus on him if I am away from my home. I am tried at home, I have a long list of things to do, and the kids will all fight for my attention. While, on the occasion or even season, it is okay, hire a sitter to help you get out of the house.

Where to Find a Babysitter

Finding a babysitter can be well… interesting. We have had a few that clearly were not a fit. You have seen that Luvs Second Kid Babysitter commercial, right? On some nights, this was me!

If you don’t have family close and can’t rely on someone you know to watch your kids, this can be hard! There are some solutions to finding a babysitter.

Split Your Kids Among Friends: It may be hard for one friend to take on all of your kids, so split them up! All the kids don’t need to be together in order for the parents to getaway.

Trade Babysitting Nights: Trade babysitting with another mom. While this can be harder, it is possible to make it work.

Word of Mouth: You can ask friends for a referral to one of their favorite babysitters. Word of mouth is always the best way to hire someone. I have also asked around and found babysitters in church nursery and have even found some on local Facebook groups.

Stalk the Park: Don’t think I am kidding. My kids were playing at the park one day and I observed a babysitter with another child. She was doing great and I thought, she would be a perfect fit for my kids. She was with a a year before going to college!

Care.com

Sometimes the best way to find a babysitter is to head to Care.com to find one. If you don’t have family in the area, it’s best to choose a platform like this that can help you find someone that fits your style. Not all babysitters are easy to find. Care.com will help cut out the middleman and help you find a babysitter that can make those date nights a reality.

Care.com is how we found our Nanny. We had a nanny for two years before our three boys were old enough to attend preschool. For us it was more affordable than full time preschool. She also was so incredibly helpful by making dinner, running errands, doing small chores, etc.

Have you heard someone say, we or I don’t have time for that? The truth is as moms, there are some things we really don’t have time for, but we do have time for what we put first. My advice to you is to make date night a priority. If you don’t, they will never happen. When they have time to happen (like the kids are all finally out of the house), you might look at your spouse and think – who is this man? Don’t let that happen. Don’t grow part, make your marriage first.

Whether you do date nights at home or hire a sitter, use these tips to help you date night happen with your spouse.

Print this Date Night Bucket List – Ideas for home, for free, and unique ideas. Pin to Pinterest.

Have a great babysitter? Take a look at these Nanny and Babysitter Appreciation Ideas! Pin to Pinterest.

The Busy Mom Binder – A Family Command Center Printable!

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February 15, 2020 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Facebook, Frugal Living, Hacks, Instagram, Parenting, Pinterest, Printable, Social Media 8 Comments

The Busy Mom Binder. Thirty-five printable pages that will reorganize your home, your kids and you! Consider this your family command center in one easy location, a 3-ring binder. Includes pages that can printed over and over to organize your weekly meal plans, cleaning, savings, grocery list, chore chart, notes for the baby sitter and more!

The Busy Mom Binder

I have been squatting on something. I have been so excited to share something new with you that I have been working on it (for what feels like) forever, I eventually finished with it and then I became too frozen to share.

Without further wait, here it is… The Busy Mom Binder!

This is a binder you won’t loose. It will be considered your home bible (lowercase). The place that holds all your answers and resources. A binder that you can reference frequently or lead others to reference when they have questions. You guys, it took us out of the struggle. Away from survival mode and it turned me back in to the old me I once knew – an organized woman in her home, within her family, and within her life! The woman before five kids!

Before the binder began, my favorite Busy Mom Quote actually came from a man (laughing), Ed Wiley was my spirit animal because he summed my life, best.

It’s so true, you guys. I am not sure what “it” is, but I assure you that whatever it is, it WAS NOT getting done. After our fourth and fifth children were born (twins), it was survival mode. Their first birthday party was even a survival theme. The party wasn’t for them, it was for mom and dad (my husband and I). While we didn’t hold a second birthday party, year two had us surviving, as well. Once they turned two, I felt like I began to re-organize my life… really, to reorganize our family’s life. Consider it my 2020 New Years Resolution (only I don’t typically make conscious resolutions.)

If succeeding at “it” is also something you want to do with one or one hundred kids, we have the perfect family organizer for your home. This organizer will help you achieve it, maybe not all of it, but a piece of it. The Busy Mom Planner includes organizers for the home, the family and even for mom.

I WANT TO SUCCEED AT IT WITH THE BUSY MOM BINDER

What the Busy Mom Binder Includes

I created three sections for the binder. These sections cover busy mom solutions for the home, for the kids, and of course, for mom too! It is your printable Family Command Center to organize your home.

Organization for the Home

This section covers your needs for the home.

Password Keeper
Weekly Meal Plan (with grocery list)
Monthly Declutter Challenge
Daily Cleaning Checklist
Less Than 1 Hour a Day Deep Cleaning Checklist
The Dishes are Clean/Dirty (dishwasher magnet)
Laundry is Clean/Dirty (laundry magnet or basket tag)
Daily Laundry Schedule (blank)
Daily Laundry Schedule (complete)

SHOP THE BUSY MOM BINDER

Organization for the Kids

Mom’s life becomes easier with a kids organizer. This section covers it all!

Babysitter Notes
Notes for School
Toy Storage Bin Labels (3 pages)
Daily & Weekly Chores Checklist
How to Clean My Room Checklist
Kid’s Saving Tracker
Stay-at-Home Schedule for Mom, Baby & Toddler
Family Bucket list (blank)
Weekly Lunchbox Planner

SHOP THE BUSY MOM BINDER

Organization for Mom

Lastly, all things mom.

Daily Planner
Weekly Planner
Big Goal Planner
52 Week Savings Challenge
Spending Tracker
Debt Payment Tracker
Grocery List (blank)
Birthday Tracker
Emergency Contacts
Family Medical Information

I NEED THE BUSY MOM BINDER!!!

What Others Are Saying

I gave an audience of busy moms the Busy Mom Binder to test before bringing it live to you. See what others are saying about the Busy Mom Binder.

Sarah also added how aesthetically happy her eyes were – haha! Glad it was easy on the eyes, Sarah!

Need the Busy Mom Family Organizer?

Do you need this family organizer? It was my organization solution to getting my home out of survival mode. Before you pick up your copy of the binder, hear how it changed our home – a quote from yours truly!

Through the Busy Mom Binder I was able to structure my own to dos, inspire and teach my kids to do the same, and quickly direct my husband to one resource for the home – Our Family Organizer in one place. With this new game plan, I was able to get time back in my day, bring our family out of survival mode and accomplish it (whatever it is – wink)!

Do you need to accomplish it? (whatever IT is!)

Do you need to come out of survival mode?

Our Busy Mom Binder is your Home Organizer Solution!

Free Printables

Two of the thirty-five pages in our Busy Mom Binder are free today! Pick up our 52 Week Savings Challenge and/or Monthly Declutter Challenge today. Subscribe and look for a link and password in our inbox. The password allows you to access and download all of our free printables.

With all of these printables, by downloading you are accepting the terms that this is for personal, non-commercial use. Please contact Frugal Coupon Living with any questions. I am happy to share printables. When sharing with others, please lead them to my website instead of emailing them the file(s). It takes time, effort and money to put the freebies forth and I earn when you visit. Thanks for visiting and thanks for sharing with others!

I have a video and step by step instructions to show you how I print my PDF documents at Staples. After downloading, I ordered this binder twice from Staples and paid about $20 to have them print it for me.

Recommended Accessories for Your Binder:

There are a few optional accessories for your home organizer. You may want to laminate your toy bin labels. We have had this Scotch Brand Laminator for years and it has held up very well. I also used an Avery white 1.5 inch 3-ring binder with clear cover (in my video), though I would recommend a 1 inch.

Our Pinterest community and I would love to see how this worked out for you. Share your Busy Mom Binder. Leave a comment and/or add a photo here on Pinterest!

Visit our everyday Busy Mom Life Hacks. Pin to Pinterest.

Memorial Crafts for Loved Ones

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

January 15, 2020 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Crafts, Facebook, Instagram, Parenting, Pinterest, Social Media 1 Comment

Loosing family and friends can be hard, especially when children are involved. We pulled together some of the best Memorial Crafts for Loved Ones. Remembrance ideas for deceased including how to save a voicemail, children’s books about death, memory keepsakes, celebration of life ideas, and deceased loved one’s clothing ideas.

Warning, grab the tissues. This post had me in tears!

Very quickly an entire generation was gone in my family. It happens like that, right? One after another. Loosing grandparents my first introduction to how to cope with death. I first learned to cope with the passing of a family member in my 20s. However, in my 30s when I lost two more grandparents, I had to learn something new. How to teach my kids to deal with death of a loved one. It is much easier when you are coping with it on your own. It is more challenging when you are coping with deceased loved ones while comforting a child.

Do you believe in death from a broken heart? I do now. Below is a snippet of a story of my grandparents passing.

My grandfather died of a broken heart. Five months to the day of my grandmother’s death, my Pop entered hospice. He made it another 48 hours before his body surrendered to life on earth. In his last months of life, he would let anything that would get him see her sooner, take over. It did. While his heart broke on earth with the death of his wife, I believe his heart is whole again entering heaven’s gates and embracing my grandmother….

Just a small anecdote of our past year. Loosing my grandmother and then loosing my grandfather a few months later. Through their passing, I have taught my older children how to grieve through memory keepsakes.

Memorial Crafts for Loved Ones

If you took are looking for suggestions for coping with loss, look at these Memorial Crafts for Loved Ones. From how to save a loved one’s voicemail, grief books for kids, to celebration of life ideas, we have a list of crafts and unique keepsakes to honor your deceased friends and family.

How to Save a Loved One’s Voicemail

First, the OCD in me wants a clean voicemail account. You too? Don’t. Save important and/or last voicemails of loved ones. My last one from my dad is so silly. He forgot to say I love you, so I am holding on to it and sending him to voicemail the next time he calls (winks!)

Memory items don’t have to be tangible. Very rarely are they able to be audible. The power of hearing a loved one’s voice can make a greater impact than keepsake photos, favorite clothing, or other mementos of a deceased loved one.

Follow these steps to save a loved one’s voicemail two ways. First, save their outgoing message (to people calling them.) Second, save the voice message they left you in your voicemail inbox.

How to Save a Loved One’s Outgoing Message

This option allows you to save your loved one’s voicemail inbox welcome message. The message they have to welcome those calling them when a voice mailbox is reached. Not the message they left you.

First Go Here
Enter your phone number and push get started.
Enter your email and push make a call button.
VMSave will call your number and record the outgoing message.
Download your loved one’s voicemail as an MP3 file.

How to Save Voicemail of Deceased Family

This option allows you to save the recording you have in your own voicemail inbox of the message your deceased loved one left you. Even if you plan on saving your voicemail for ever, do this before it accidentally gets erased.

Open your audio recording software on your PC/Mac. Be prepared to press record.
Open your phone’s voicemail inbox.
Go to your messages.
Simultaneously press start (record or play) on your computer audio recorder and your voicemail inbox message.
Immediately make sure your phone’s voice message is on speaker.
Record your loved one’s voicemail as an audio file.

You can save your audio recording on your computer in in a back up location with a service like Google Drive or Amazon Cloud to save it forever.

Best Sellers in Children’s Death & Dying Books

Talking to a child about death can be difficult. You can began the process through the discovery of books. Take a look at these Best Sellers in Children’s Death & Dying Books.

These children’s books about death are available for kids of all ages.

The Crossover Series by Kwame Alexander
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
I’ll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm
God Gave Us Heaven by Lisa T. Bergren
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
I Miss You: A First Look at Death by Pat Thomas
The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr

Memory Keepsakes Craft Ideas

Turn hand written recipes into framed kitchen heirlooms. Display your family’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe in your kitchen to remind you of the great times you’ve had making it together. | Mad in Crafts

You can also turn handwritten recipes into tea towels. So easy to do with the click of a mouse! We love this frugal-friendly handwritten tea towel recipe from DixieLoveCo.

Create a DIY Photo Pendant for under $2.50! Add the memorial photo pendant to the Christmas tree, to a necklace or even to a charm bracelet. | Saving with Sarah

This one pulls my heart strings. Take unfinished candles from your loved one and melt them down and re-pour the wax to create a new homemade candle that will remind you of that person with every burn. (Insert sobs as the story was of a husband doing this for his late wife.) | Country Living

Do you have flowers left from a funeral or memorial service? Follow this tutorial for DIY Dried Flowers in a jar. | The Capricious Club

A great way to preserve the memory of a loved one is to preserve their handwriting. This can be done in a handwriting necklace, bracelet, or key chain. We especially love this Handwriting Memory Sign from Aimee Weaver Designs. I have seen a similar DIY tutorial creating this Family Tree Chalkboard.

A shadow box memorial is one way to preserve and display precious memories and honor a loved one’s life. Find Shadow Boxes on Amazon or in craft stores. | Morena’s Corner

Deceased Loved One’s Clothing Ideas

Bre created a loved ones clothing keepsake using a clear ornament for crafts. Using her father’s favorite shirts, she cut them into strips and placed them inside a clear ornament (cue tears.) She added a hand written note. What a beautiful way to have a loved one present during the holidays. | Average Inspired

Want to make something out of a treasured button-up dress shirt? How about an heirloom pillow that you can snuggle with any time you Using your loved one’s favorite clothing, make this no-sew pillow (pillow video tutorial) or purchase a personalized memorial pillow shirt like this one from Dawns Quilting and More.

Upcycle loved neck ties and turn them into zip bags. This tutorial is perfect for the sewer. | Polka Dot Chair

This memory bear craft will be one you send off. Create a Keepsake Bear from Adult Clothes and My Sew What Shop.

You can also turn shirts made from loved ones clothes into celebration of life keepsake. The turn around might not be in time for the funeral but can be mailed to spouses, kids, parents, friends and extended family. Available from Memory of Events on Etsy or make yourself with a sewing machine and Poly-fil pillow filling.

Celebration of Life Memorial Ideas

Man! All these memorials pull my heart strings so much. I really love how beautiful this photo memory idea is. Take a picture of then and now with this photo challenge. Even have your kids (those who were never present) holding these memories pulling together the past in the present. You can submit your photo to the Dear Photograph Challenge or save it for your own personal family use.

Jessica has a great tutorial on how to create a frugal-friendly photo board for celebration of life memorials and funerals. | The Mom Creative

At the celebration of life or at the funeral reception try this memorial idea – have your loved ones favorite things. In this case golf and sweets (ice cream and brownies)! | Your Home Based Mom

One funeral idea for kids is to have coloring sheets. Than can not only be a therapeutic exercise but can be their own way of loving their grandfather, uncle or other deceased family member. Have coloring sheets “What Papa Dave Loved” and have coloring sheets of sail boats, golf, Jesus, dogs, etc. | Michelle Paige Blogs

Have a gathering? Don’t forget our Empty Chair Poem found in our High School Reunion Ideas Post.

Sometimes people grief through writing. Allow your child to write a letter and insert it into a balloon or write a message directly on the balloon. Amazon sells Biodegradable Remembrance Balloons | Source

Memorialize a Living Loved One with a Recording

If your older generation loved ones are still alive, do me a favor. Record a video of them. Ask questions. What was your favorite vacation as a family? What was the most challenging time in your life? What was your greatest lesson… etc.

If you need guidance, look at this Toss ‘n Talk-About Family History Ball (Family Reunion Question and Answer Ball) we shared on our Family Reunion Ideas. You won’t regret it! You will only regret NOT doing it!

Getting the family together? Visit our Virtual Family Reunion Ideas. Pin to Pinterest.

Also create traditions. Traditions make memories stronger. For the holiday season, look at our Family Christmas Traditions To Start Now! Pin to Pinterest on your Christmas and Holiday boards for later!

How to Hide Amazon Orders from Kids

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November 28, 2019 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Amazon, Birthday, Facebook, Instagram, Kids, Pinterest, Social Media 1 Comment

How to hide Amazon orders from kids (and husbands!) Easy, one step, tutorial on how to keep nosey kids from discovering Christmas purchases, birthday gifts, and adult orders.

How to Hide Amazon Orders from Kids

So it’s difficult to write this post because I realized I also have to hide my Amazon purchases from you all too! Haha. Honestly, they are not bad, I just am asking myself do I really want to show my audience all the junk I am buying!?… Well here it is, in all it’s glory!

How many years where you when you….

So this year (with my assistance) my pre-teen girls have started shopping on Amazon. They got gift cards for their birthday and when something comes to mind that they want, they slowly have been using their Amazon gift card money. I have taught them each to create wish lists of their likes, but often times things end up in the cart and I have to be careful not to buy their “toys” the half a dozen times a day I shop on Amazon myself.

Realizing they were all up in my junk on Amazon, I had to do something. I actually though of contacting corporate. As if I had any pull to reaching the top ranking officials at Amazon… but it occurred to me. Then a friend totally saved the day! If that fact that you can hide your orders makes you mind blown, don’t worry, I have been shopping on Amazon since 2008 and I learned this yesterday (that is ten years later!)

I was yesterdays year old!

I have five kids. Going out into the public is not an option. I tried to enter the public the other day at my child’s chorus performance and I had my two year old pegging cars at my daughter’s elementary peers. In addition to throwing the cars, he was screaming during the entire performance so that half the audience had their head turned to him, not the chorus singers. Why would a shopping trip to Target or Walmart be any better? Hence my daily visits to Amazon.

I digress.

Full disclosure before starting. I am not for hiding things from your spouse. These are for hiding gifts and presents, not for living a secret life! If that’s your goal, please move on to another resource for your Amazon orders.

How to Hide Amazon Orders from Kids*:

In order to hide Amazon Orders from kids, you first need to sign into your Amazon account on your desktop or laptop. (I have not been able to get this to work on my phone.)

Second, on the right hand side of your Amazon bar (at the top of the screen) choose orders.

View your orders.

There are buttons beside each order. You are looking for the button that says Archive Order. Select that.

You will get a pop up message that says, “The archive limit is 100 orders.” This is true as of the time this post was written. Continue with choosing the Archive Order button in yellow.

There you have it. Your order is archived!

How to View Archived Orders:

You are limited to 100 archived orders. I definitely order more than 100 gifts. There is an option to view archived orders or to unarchive your orders. This is a little more hidden from kids, which makes it kind of nice.

First go into your account.

Look for the section Ordering and shopping preferences. Find Archived Orders.

Here you can see the items you archived. You can also unarchive your items if you are reaching your 100 count limit.

It is a good idea to unarchive items that you have already gifted making room for future gifts and items you never want the kids to see.

*Note: This post was written December 2018. Things change on Amazon. This is the directions for hiding orders as of the time this post was posted.

How to hide @Amazon orders from kids (and husbands!) Easy, one step, tutorial on how to keep nosey kids from discovering Christmas purchases, birthday gifts, and other adult orders. #Amazon #presents

Celebrating the season? Take a look at these 25+ Christmas Traditions to begin now. Pin to your Christmas and Family boards.

We have so many ideas for you and your family! Take a look at these Family Game Night Ideas plus Family Game Night Snack Ideas. Pin to Pinterest on your Family and Game Boards.

ABCmouse Fall Flash Sale | Great School Supplement

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October 6, 2019 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Back To School, Back to School, Education, Entertainment, Kids, Summer Leave a Comment

How is the school year going? Before Halloween hits, want to trick your kids? Do so by “tricking ” them into ~~studying~~ ~~learning~~ playing games than this ABCmouse Fall Flash Sale!

ABCmouse.com is ready to get your little one prepared for school with this year long membership at the lowest price I have seen of $45. Typically it is $15 a month, sot hat is like paying for 3 months and getting 9 months free!. ABCmouse.com offers full online curriculum for kids Preschool and up with 6 levels, 450+ lessons, and more than 3000+ individual learning activities to keep their minds exploring – for hours!

ABCmouse Fall Flash Sale

Core Education Subjects Include:

Reading(the alphabet, phonics, sight words, children’s books)
Math (numbers, shapes, patterns, measurement)
The World Around Us (basic science and social studies)
Art and Music (drawing and coloring, tracing, paint-by-numbers, children’s songs, and more!

My household took advantage of this program for years. I can not express the fun we shared around the family desktop. With so many lessons and learning activities it kept the little ones laughing and progressing with every click. My children loved to roam from the classroom to the zoo, to the farm and back to the classroom. Their laughter even made me, the mom, happy. I was surely able to get a lot done!

Each day, after a parental login, your child will be greeted with a home-menu like the one below offering them multiple ways to start their day. They can discover what is NEW or take part in the days Feature Active, explore the classroom, or choose to work ahead on their Things To-do. Your child’s page will map his or her progress in an easy to understand method that will keep them moving along.

ABCmouse.com curriculum includes six different types of activities to address the way your child learns:

Children’s Books
Children’s Songs
Games
Puzzles
Art Activities
Printables – great for taking it to the restaurant, car, doctors office and more

ABCmouse.com offers the largest collection of online education activities for young children on the web:

More than 250 online children’s books
More than 100 online children’s songs
More than 650 online children’s art activities, including online coloring and online paint-by-numbers activities
More than 250 online educational games for children, including online phonics games, online number games and other online math games
More than 550 online children’s puzzles

For your comfort, mothers, ABCmouse.com creates a safe online learning experience with no advertisements, no pop-up ads, and no links to other websites. With the Step-by-Step Learning Path it was easy for me to allow their online teacher to progress their minds for Guided Learning, or to even turn them loose for some Independent Learning – knowing they were secure with ABCmouse.com.

A few of my favorite features I have only seen with ABCmouse; for my smallest child to be able to break each word up by syllables, record his voice, play it back, and then pronounce the word correctly was great! My oldest loved to give each lesson a try to earn tickets. Then cash the tickets in for rewards and prizes for their room, hamster, fish, and etc. Collecting tickets kept them both playing and asking for more learning time day after day!

This is a limited time offer.

ABCmouse.com Flash Sale

WHAT’S TRENDING? Get inspired this Spring with Dollar Store Easter Decor.

Also access our Free Frugal Coupon Living Printables to help you find joy through embracing the chaos of motherhood more easily!

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Year-round Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids

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September 22, 2019 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living Filed Under: Facebook, Instagram, Kids, Pinterest, Printable, Recipe, Social Media 3 Comments

Year-round Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids (and youthful adults). Seasonal downloads for both individual players and larger group scavenger hunt ideas.

Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids

Some of my most favorite memories are via scavenger hunts. First, it got me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to meet other people. Second, I love a good challenge and a good gift so I will work hard to be a winner. They are great ice breakers for large groups or fun ways to shower someone with love when creating an individual hunt.

What is a Scavenger Hunt?

Scavenger Hunt is an engaging game played by children (and adults alike). Organize the game in advance by creating a list of objects to find and clues to help the players locate the items. To play the game, divide the players into at least 2 teams, and give them the first clue.

What are the Scavenger Hunt Rules?

Scavenger hunts can be played individually or in groups (who finishes firsts). There are two types of hunts. Hunts can be consecutive where a team (individual) is given the first clue which leads to the second, third, and fourth… or hunts can be done using a checklist where the full list of “must dos” are provided at the beginning.

Individual Scavenger Hunts

Individual scavenger hunts are a great way to busy a child or give them individual gifts. At each stopping point, before the next clue is given, gift your child a piece of their larger present. You can do this on birthday or even collecting their Back to School Supplies. Who said back to school supplies are boring? To begin, supply the player with the first clue. The first clue will lead them to the second. The second will lead them to the third clue and so on until the scavenger hunt is over. You also can have a scavenger hunt checklist where the entire list must be completed before a prize is given.

Group Scavenger Hunts

Group scavenger hunts are perfect sleepovers, lock-ins, class parties, and more. Even adults can find their inner youth and can have fun challenging each other in outdoor venues likes parks and concerts, or perhaps at the mall or in a cityHUNT challenge around town.

Either supply your groups with clue #1 or provide them a list of things to get on a piece of paper. This list is their checklist and must be completed in order to declare a winner. A checklist Scavenger Hunt is typically easier for large groups.

Use some of these Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids below or search Pinterest for scavenger hunt ideas for adults. Make sure to follow us on Pinterest too!

Scavenger Hunt Prize Ideas

Base prize ideas on if you are having an individual or group winner(s). If you have a lot of people winning, have smaller prizes. If you are doing an individual hunt, you can make the prize larger.

Scavenger Hunt Prize Ideas include:

Cheap trophies (fill with candy)
A cheap medal
Candy Bars
Gift Cards
Carnival prize toys
Seasonal prizes based on the scavenger hunt theme.

Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids

First up, our Rainbow Scavenger Hunt for Toddlers. Lead the kids through a color challenge finding objects with specific colors throughout the home.

We have another gift for you. Print our Road Trip Scavenger Hunt. This is our gift to you!

Get all of our free printables including these Scavenger Hunt Printables. Subscribe and look for a link and password in our inbox. The password allows you to access and download all of our free printables.

To get your Rainbow and Road Trip Scavenger Hunt:

1.) Enter your email address HERE.

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By downloading you are accepting the terms that this is for personal, non-commercial use. Please contact Frugal Coupon Living with any questions.

I am happy to share printables. When sharing with others, please lead them to my website instead of emailing them the file(s). It takes time, effort and money to put the freebies forth and I earn when you visit. Thanks for visiting and thanks for sharing with others!

Birthday Scavenger Hunt Printable | Play. Party. Plan.

Find this in our Family Birthday Celebrations.

Selfie Scavenger Hunt Printable | Faffy Tea

Museum Scavenger Hunt Printable | Frugal Coupon Living

This is also in our Spring Break Staycation Ideas.

Math Scavenger Hunt Printable | Learn in Color

Fall Printable Scavenger Hunts

Back to School Library Scavenger Hunt | The Dating Divas

Halloween Scavenger Hunt Printable | Stuffed Suitcase

See our Halloween Printables!

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt Printable | Moritz Fine Designs

See our Thanksgiving Printables!

Gratitude Scavenger Hunt Printable | Natural Beach Living

Winter Printable Scavenger Hunts

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Printable | Play. Party. Plan.

Outdoor Winterscape Scavenger Hunt Printable | EDventures

Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt Printable | Mortiz Fine Designs

Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt Printable | Lil Luna via 30 Handmade Days

Spring Printable Scavenger Hunts

Easter Scavenger Hunt Printable | My Sister’s Suitcase

Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable | A Thrifty Mom

St. Patrick’s’ Day Green Scavenger Hunt Printable | Happy Home Fairy

Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt Printable | Food Fun Family

Summer Printable Scavenger Hunts

Camping or Backyard Flashlight Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids | Frugal Coupon Living

Get all of our free printables including this Nighttime Scavenger Hunt Printable. Subscribe and look for a link and password in our inbox. The password allows you to access and download all of our free printables.