Summer Time and Bucket Lists

It's that time where we are all getting excited about all the fun things to do around town!

I know I have so many things I want to do that sometimes I don't know where to start.  I think if you are having a hard time starting your bucket list, then instead of thinking of things you want to do.  Start thinking of a theme you want for your summer.

 Do you want a book nerd theme where you go to the library and all you do is check out book, after book, and read 20 books to your kids?

Do you want this summer to be one of adventure and exploring different parks, playgrounds, lakes and  hiking all over nature parks?  Maybe you want to check out the zoo and ride the skyline over Africa? 

What about a Foodie Summer.  You coould hit up all the food trucks known to man.  Or you try out as many different doughnut shops as you can think of; and try to find the perfect doughtnut.  (Who are we kidding this will not be a hard challenge).  I have rarely had a bad doughnut.

Do you want to teach you kids to serve, cook, make beautiful art, sew, swim?

The possibilities are endless.

But what if you want a slooooow summer?  What if you are wanting to relax at home and kick up your feet and eat popsicles?  This is a good option too.  I am hoping to find a good balance of both worlds.

I am going to come up with a list for our family; one list that is a laid back list and one that is a little more involved.

Laid back Summer ideas
1.  Finger Paint
2. Play dough Party.  Invite some friends over to enjoy some homemade play dough and see who can come up with the best creation.
3.  Eat popsicles on a blanket at the park and look up to see what shapes you can see in the clouds.
4.  Go on a nature hike around your house and spot as many birds, leaves, flowers, bugs.  (Bring them home and tape them to a paper and identify them.)  (not the birds and bugs of course!)
5. Sprinkler-buy a cheap sprinkler and let the kids run wild.
6.Water balloon fight.
7. Sidewalk chalk
8. Make the best home-made chocolate chip cookies (then deliver them to friends or family)
9. Draw family portraits and them buy some cheap frames from the dollar store and frame them.
10. Go play in the sand at a nearby park and pretend you are actually at the beach.
11.  Play dress up and pretend.  Yes, moms you have to get dressed up too!  Even if it's just a silly hat or scarf!
12.  Roll down the hill at a nearby park.
13.  Catch lady bugs and butterflies
14.  Go ice blocking
15.  Pick up trash at a local park/walking trail
16.  Play Frisbee
17. Play catch and or wiffle ball
18.  make cards and take them to a nearby nursing home
19.  Have friends over for lemonade and popcorn
20.  Play in the rain on a rain day of course!  But watch out for that lighting!
21.  Let you kids be florists for the day; buy some flowers and cheap vases from the thrift store and use any outside greenery and flowers you might have and let the kids get to work.  Deliver flowers (anonymous if possible:)
22. Fly kites on a windy day
23. Play tag (my kids love when I play tag with them at the park)  it is the simplest yet most entertaining game!
24.  Movie marathon day (what kid is going to say no to this)
25.  Go on a bunny hunt.  Count how many bunnies you can find in your neighborhood.


More involved Summer ideas:
1.Art museums
2.Art classes
3.Splash Pad
4.Sno-cones, custard, ice cream
5. Kansas City Zoo
6.Deanna Rose Farmstead
7.State Captial
8.Topeka Zoo
9.Strawberry Hill Museum
10.Aquarium
11.Explore Brookside
12.Mall carousel
13.Camping
14.Road trip
15.  Lemonade Stand
16. Spa day, face mask, manicures, pedicures.  Don't forget to buy cucumbers this is the best part of any spa day!!
17.  Have tea time at a local tea room
18.  Go explore the downtown of one of the suburbs you have been wanting to get to  know better.
19.  Do face painting art on your kids.
20.  Dye Easter eggs if you didn't get around to doing it at Easter Time! (Like me)
21.  Tye die shirts
22.  Paint rocks and hide them at the park for others to find.  You can put inspirational quotes on them as well!
23.  Go blueberry picking and get their blueberry Lemonade!


Good luck this Summer.  Hope you found some summer ideas that are right for you!  Pretty sure we won't get to all of these but hopefully we will be able to check  off some!

Also comment and let me hear some of your great ideas!! 

Laundry- money and time saving tips!

Well I'll have you know laundry isn't on my list of fun these days; but with that said laundry does tend to get a bad rap at times. 

I sometimes enjoy laundry, and I sometimes loathe laundry.  However I do feel at times that laundry can be grounding.  It can cause you to slow down.  Stay indoors and chill back, and do some mundane tasks.  I know some people who watch movies while they fold and do it all in one day, and others who do one load a day and call it good. 

I can be either or.  Sometimes I do it all in a day and sometimes I do it through out the week.  I think I do prefer to do the majority of it all in one day.  When I focus on one task at a time I can get more into a groove/rhythm.  Mondays seem to be a good day for laundry.  Catching up from the weekend, and trying to figure out how all of these clothes got strung out all over the floor?

Here are a few things we do around our house to cut back on laundry time, no matter how much I might enjoy it ;)

1.  Keep the kids clothes to a minimum-  This is easier said than done.  Kids are constantly changing sizes, and it seems like the weather is so fickle at times you never know what clothes to have around.  Or there is a gift from friends or family that adds to the clothing pile. Being up on my clothing game is hard.  My goal/aim is to have 4-5 outfits for my kids.  2 church outfits and 2 pairs of pajamas.  That is all I feel they need/ all I feel I can handle with laundry.  

2. Having a designated towel-  One thing that has helped cut back on towel laundry is having our own designated color of towel.  My kids know which one is theirs and there is never any fighting over who gets who towels. Or she/he stole my towel.  It is a simple concept and I am glad we took the plunge to do it.  Now only if my husband and I could get on board with that concept!  We will end up washing the towels about 1-2 times per week.

3. I prefer to use a more natural type of detergent.  I will splurge more on a good laundry soap one  like seventh generation and just use less soap when I put it in the washing machine.

Seventh Generation™ Natural Liquid Laundry Detergent - Blue Eucalyptus and Lavender (150 oz)

Seventh Generation

shop all Seventh Generation

 

I am a huge fan of lavender and could smell this scent all day!   

4.  Washing clothing in cold water.  I heard once upon a time that a lot of the electric bill was from the use the hot water heater.  This way I am not using more electricity then I have to.  I am sure my clothes could possibly be a littler cleaner if I would wash them in hot water but unless the load is really soiled, I stick with cold water.  

5.  Short cycle-  Somtimes I will also save time and money by using the 15 minute washing option on my washer.  I love it.  It is fast and I haven't really noticed a difference in cleanliness.  However if the kids have some clothing that is pretty bad you can bet that I will put if for the full cycle!

 

*oH and last tip, I know my mohter will cringe when she reads this....  I would say 80% of the time I don't fold my kids laundry or my laundry.  I will hang the dresses/ nicer items of my kids and then the rest I just put in their drawer unfolded... I do hang a lot of my clothing as well.  I feel like it can be easier/faster to hang then to fold.

 

 

Hope this was helpful for you.  What are some of your laundry saving money and time tips?  Let's hear what ya got for me!