We North Americans sometimes forget how lucky we are!

A comment on my blog prompted me to discuss an issue that has been on my mind for a while. It saddens me that people in poorer nations have to leave family behind for months, sometimes years at a time because of employment opportunities they cannot find at home.

One such example is overseas nannies many of which have young children of their own they must leave behind. I admire their courage in coming to a foreign country to help provide for their family at home and the sacrifices they make that we in North America take for granted. Although there are quite a few nannies who are single, many do have young children back home. I cannot even come close to feel what it must be like to tuck in someone else's child nightly, but only on occasion say goodnight over the phone to my own child. There are many people with some horrible child custody arrangements here in North America who see their children more often. If these women are fortunate enough to find an employer who will buy them a ticket home occasionally,(once maybe twice a year) they are the fortunate few.

Many parents for financial reasons, both have to be employed and there are single parents as well. These parents do need Day and sometimes Night care providers, so employing a nanny is a cost effective solution. A few nannies though are employed because some parents (who do not work) feel they need to pursue a hobby or socialize often. This saddens me the most because, while these parents are out enjoying life without their children for a few hours, their nannies must be away from their children for months at a time!

There must be a better way! We throw food, toys, clothing, extra junk we buy, away while many live with very little.(some of us do recycle though) We few have more than enough so many can have very little!

We can start by being thankful for what we do have, be it little or more than we really need. We should give any extra to those in need and help those in need to provide for themselves. One way is to buy fair trade goods. Many people for example; work very hard to pick and sort the coffee beans for less pay a day, than it costs to buy the coffee that many throw away half finished. We buy dollar store items that get thrown away daily. We are many generations of wasteful people. let's teach our next generation to be THANKFUL and to really THINK about what consequence, be it good or bad, that their action may produce!

Could we all GIVE more?

Christmas is soon approaching ... we need to remember to GIVE in the hope of empowering others to improve their lives.
That little bit we give may help just one. If more people just helped ONE person
think of how many lives we could improve! There are many ways to GIVE, volunteering your time or money is great. We also need to encourage self reliance, LISTEN MORE - talk less, support ideas and pass on a skill / knowledge.
Empowering people to be self reliant is one of the greatest gifts! That I think, is what we all hope to pass on to our children. If we took the time in our busy lives to stop for a moment and just listen, what a difference that would make. Supporting each other and teaching others what we know strengthens our future generations.

My tools for organizing

Fitting a toddler bedroom in a corner of our Master suite. ( hopefully not for too much longer.)


Baskets for toddler/preschool books under the coffee table in the living room.


Tackle boxes for small organizing jobs, put up high on an armoire away from little fingers.


Polly pocket and horse accessories work well
in these tackle boxes.




Divide light brite pieces by colour. Organize a sewing kit. Arrange Lego in large and small divided boxes.




Our daughter's Duplo bus (now passed down to her brother) comes with a cover to keep dust out. The cover also has grooves to accommodate the wheels. (for times when you don't want the bus to move.) The two green play mats are removable as well.

On a Horticultural note: My spider plant (Cholorphytum comosum) has a baby!


Family room toy storage.
IKEA cupboards are great!
They can hide a lot of the mess.
Wheeled storage works well for Thomas train pieces and car tracks. Note the handy IKEA stool near by.





Dining room hutch : books,craft supplies and playdoh storage. Only one drawer actually holds kitchen towels etc.

Organization... we all could use more of it.

I picked up an issue of ORGANIZE the other day. I am always looking for new ways to get more organized. There was an article about a mother of 5 making a toy/media room for her children. The idea was great but, we don't all have that much space! (a custom shelf with plastic storage compartments 3 high by 8 wide to store all the toys.)

In our home play is in many rooms. Game cube and toys in the girls' room, computer in another, shelves and baskets for books and crafts in the dining room. (more in the family room.) A friend's husband once commented that even our bits of clutter are neatly organized. I know that is not always the case but, that is my goal. Paper clutter is one of the worst... Why do we keep so much! I'm slowly reducing the paper volume. Clearing the clutter really does free the mind! I looked at my kitchen this evening after dinner dishes were done and felt relaxed.

One of my favourite tools for organizing is plastic tackle boxes. I like that you can adjust the dividers to accommodate different items. The containers work great for organizing different sizes and colours of lego, craft supplies, polly pocket toys etc... They come in many different sizes to store in craft boxes or on shelves.

Ikea is also great for their plastic containers. We picked up a couple with wheels for road tracks and wooden Thomas train pieces. Now our two year old can roll them
to the mess to help clean up. When our first daughter was 2 we purchased a lego bus to store all the duplo, our son enjoys pushing the bus and will sometimes pick up the blocks. (we need to work on that)

I would like to work on my closets next, I know I can get them more organized. We need more storage shelves in the main hall closet (our misc storage) When we first moved into our townhouse our first daughter was 7 months old. My husband and I put up shelves in the garage as she slept. (it took us 3 hours, she slept right through what a nap!) We filled them and I am happy to say now, purged as well. (to free up some space) Who says you have to park a car in a garage! Do bikes and kids riding toys count?