5 Eco-Friendly Ways for Busy Moms to Save Time and Money

Being "environmentally friendly" is one of those things that pretty much everyone agrees is a good idea, but most of us aren't able to practice as often as we'd like because it requires an investment of time and money that we just don't have right now. Maybe when we're richer, or when our kids are older, or.....

Today I've got 5 small ways to save the planet that save time and money (and don't require a large initial investment of either). None of them are going to save the world on their own, but they are small things that each of us can do that, hey, will at least make your life better if nothing else! If you're hoping to make some environmentally conscious changes in the new year, these are a great place to start.

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1. Reusable shopping bags

OK, let's start with the most widely-used (and widely-available) one: reusable shopping bags. You can get these almost anywhere. Most grocery stores and general stores sell them (I got mine at Trader Joe's). My recommendation is to just make sure you get ones that are waterproof and have nice big handles. The advantage of having waterproof ones is obvious- any spills are at least contained in the bag- but the handles are something I didn't realize I would love until after I started using mine. When you have multiple young children in tow on a shopping trip, you need your hands free as much as possible. Pushing a cart and carrying bags in your hands are not things you want to be doing. With the longer handles, I am able to carry all of my groceries on my shoulders so that my hands are free to hold little hands or grab my keys- I don't even take the cart to the car anymore (another annoying part of shopping with multiple small children- moving the cart to the cart area when you have kids to get into car seats)! I keep my shopping bags permanently stored in my trunk so that I always have them with me. After 4 years of using them almost exclusively, my bags are just now starting to need replacing, and they were 99c each. 

2. Reusable "ziploc" bags

This is another one that I use all the time- fabric versions of ziploc bags. I have them in every size that you would normally see the plastic versions- snack size, sandwich size, and gallon size- and I use them for everything from food to crayons. These are another item that are pretty widely-available but maybe a bit less well known. I have some made of oil cloth that are really nice- they are water proof and are dishwasher safe- here are the ones I have in sandwich size and snack size. The advantage that these have over plastic baggies, besides being reusable, is that they come in lots of fun colors and patterns that kids love, and they are much sturdier. I use these as pouches for my daughters' coloring supplies to take to church and they hold up just fine. 

3. Wash rags

I have used these to replace 90% of my paper towel usage. Of course for a lot of cleanups there's the regular old rag, but these are nice because they are much thinner. I use these mostly to clean up small spills and wipe down countertops or the dining table, and because they are sturdier than paper towels but larger than sponges and thinner than towels, they are much easier to use than anything else I've found.

4. Dryer sheets

These to me are a no-brainer: reusable dryer sheets! I use these, but there are also dryer balls, which I hear will make your laundry fluffier. I love my reusable dryer sheets because I save money (because of the number of times you can reuse them), but also it's one less thing to remember- I literally leave them in my dryer and don't even have to think about it! One less thing to worry about, especially when it comes to laundry, is always a good idea in my book.

5. Feminine products

OK, I've saved the most "out there" option for last, but I had to include it because I have saved so much money by switching to these, and they have made my life SO much easier! If you're a man, or someone who's squeamish, now's the time to stop reading. Go get yourself some reusable bags and dryer sheets and call it a day. 

Are you ready?

I use reusable feminine pads and a menstrual cup. The menstrual cup seems to be entering the "mainstream" more and more lately, so if you're curious about how it works, how to use one,or which brand or size is best for you, just google it. You'll find tons of helpful information. I have been using this one for over 3 years now and basically it has replaced my tampons. I won't get into the gory details here, but it has made my life so much easier. As a teacher I don't get to go to the bathroom very often during the day- the menstrual cup solves that problem. Tampons also made my cramps worse, and the menstrual cup doesn't. I always had to worry about making sure I had tampons on hand before, and now I don't. And I don't have to tell you how expensive tampons get. 

The reusable pads are definitely.... still less mainstream. BUT let me tell you, these have made my periods so much easier. I don't generally need them with the menstrual cup, but on my first day, let's just say it's best for me to wear one just in case. Regular pads are just awful- they smell bad, and they are itchy and sticky. Gross. The reusable pads I have are more absorbent with less bulk, don't smell as bad, and are SO much more comfy. Plus they clean easily- I just throw them in the washing machine! I've been using these for over 3 years as well and they are still almost like new. Like the menstrual cup, they have saved me a ton of money and prevented the problem of having to worry about having enough on hand. (If you want to privately ask me more about my experience with reusable feminine products please feel free to email me or contact me on social media! My email address and social links are in the blog header.)

How many of these do you already use, and which ones are you inspired to try? I hope you'll give at least 1 of these a shot- I promise you won't regret it! What other eco-friendly items have you found that save time and money, make life easier, and are not too expensive? Leave a comment! I'd love to get some new ideas to try!

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Small Goals: December 2016

I love setting small goals for myself each month, and this month is a good one to slow down for a minute to get my priorities in order! I'm linking up with Jennifer from The Yellow Brick Road again this month to share my small goals for the month ahead. Click on the picture below to check out her small goals and see what everyone else is up to as well!

First a quick look back at last month's goals:

1. Get some Christmas shopping done

2. Survive report card writing and parent conferences

3. Make an update list for next year's teacher planners

How did I do? Well, I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping, so that's a plus :) I have a few more friends to buy a small gift for, but that's about it. Report cards and conferences were not my favorite thing but yes, I did survive, and I did make an update list for next year's planners, thanks to the awesome planner lovers in my Facebook group (here's the link if you want to join- we have lots of fun sharing ideas and answering questions about our planners!). 

Alrighty, on to this month's goals!

1. Enjoy our Advent activities with my daughters

I am having so much fun with our Christmas activities this year! Every year it gets more and more fun as the girls get older :) If you want to see what's on my list for this year (trust me, it's all simple stuff and most of it is stuff I would be doing anyway) here's my blog post on that, and if you want to see what we're up to each day, I've been sharing photos of our goings-on on Instagram :)

2. Have fun with my winter concert

I'm surprisingly feeling really good about my upcoming winter concert. I was really worried at the beginning of the school year that my choirs would not be able to handle the same level of music that I had done in the past, but these groups have surprised me every week and they are SO READY. I really hope the concert goes well, for their sake, because they have worked so hard for it! I'm actually feeling slightly ahead of the game with all of my concert preparations so my goal is to try to relax and just enjoy the music with my kids!

You know, I think I'm going to stop with just 2 goals this month. Better not get ahead of myself- I am a music teacher in the thick of December craziness after all! What are you up to this month? What are you hoping to focus on most this holiday season? I'd love to hear about your plans and thoughts in the comments below!

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Music Lesson for My Many Colored Days

I love using storybooks to reinforce musical concepts, especially with my younger students, and today I am sharing one of my most treasured lessons that I use with students to reinforce the concept of tone color, or timbre. I use the most un-Seuss-like Dr. Seuss book ever, "My Many Colored Days", to teach this lesson, and I have used it successfully with every grade from kindergarten through 5th grade. Besides being a great way to teach tone color, this book provides a starting point for a very meaningful discussion about emotions to which I have found students respond very positively as well, no matter what their age. If you want a lesson to help foster a more positive classroom environment, this is an excellent place to start.

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If you've never read the book before, the premise of the story is summed up in the first line of the book: "Some days are yellow. Some are blue. On different days, I'm different too". The book goes through descriptions of the way we feel on different days, using colors and animals to describe each one (like, "On bright red days how good it feels to be a horse and kick my heels!"). I have found that for many of my more emotionally challenged students, this book is very comforting because it provides validation for their experience of a wide range of emotions, including "negative" ones. Here is how I typically structure my music lessons around this book:

1. Read through and discuss the story

The first step, of course, is to read the book. After reading through it, I ask students to explain the message of the story: Is the author saying we actually change colors on different days, or turn into different animals? What is he really talking about? Once we've established that we're actually talking about emotions, we have a brief discussion about how it's OK and normal to feel different ways on different days (or even within the course of a day), and we give some examples of things that might make us feel sad, lonely, excited, busy, quiet, happy, angry, etc.

2. Use props and/or movement to show the different colors

Depending on the age of the students, I will either split this part up into different steps (for younger students) or combine them into one (for older students). I assign small groups of students to each color in the book, and give them some kind of prop (I like to use colored scarves like these because I have all of the colors, but you could also borrow colored t-shirts or jerseys from the PE teacher, or use other props they can hold like balls, bean bags, or even colored paper) to show their color. When I read their assigned color, I have them stand up and hold their color up, and at the end of the story when it talks about days where all of the colors are mixed up, I have them all hold up their colors at once. Then (or simultaneously for older students), I have each color do a motion or movement to show the feeling and/or animal to go with their color. For younger students I just ask them to move like the page describes the animal (like kicking their heels like the horse for red), but for older students I tell them to try to be creative with expressing the mood of each color with their movements.

3. Assign a timbre to each color

Here's where we really get musical! The movements, colors, and discussions of emotions all lead nicely into a discussion of tone colors, or timbres. Again depending on the age (and what they are studying), I will either limit the sound options to only classroom instruments, or expand to all instruments, use vocal timbres,  found sounds, or all of the above! After spending time thinking about how to convey mood with more concrete things like colors, animals, and movement, it makes it much easier for students to understand how different timbres can convey different moods or "paint different colors" as well (and helps students remember why we call it "tone color", if you use that language with your students). After assigning students to a color, I have each group choose a timbre to perform while I read their color.

4. Discuss dynamics and/or tempo (and/or articulation)

Depending on the age of the students (and how much time you have), this is also a perfect opportunity to bring in a discussion of dynamics and tempo. After having students choose and perform their timbres with the story, ask students to reflect on how they adjusted the volume and speed of their playing (or vocalizing) to further match the mood- I guarantee most of them will have adjusted them both without you ever telling them to or even thinking about it, and if they didn't, they will have noted that it wasn't as effective as the others- and discuss the role that those musical elements play in conveying mood as well. If you're discussing it with older students, you can throw articulation into the mix as well. The possibilities are endless!

5. Put it all together

To make the lesson most effective and memorable, I love putting the whole thing together for a final performance. This would be perfect for a class performance, especially if you can get the homeroom teachers involved by including it as part of their reading lessons: assign some students to move and/or hold the colors, some students to perform the timbres, and even have some students recite the words to the story.

Have you ever used this book in your classroom? I'd love to hear what you've done with it as well- leave a comment below to share your ideas!

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Music as a Parenting Tool

I'm sharing one of my favorite tools from my parenting toolbox today: music. It seems fitting, as a music teacher, for me to use music all the time as a parent, but to be honest I don't use it as often as I'd like. I have found music to be a great way to teach time management, deal with tantrums and arguments, ease morning wakeups, and spend quality time together as a family, so today I'm sharing how I use music as a parenting tool in all of these areas!

1. Teach time management

One of the biggest causes of stress and arguments in our house is time management. I am that person who shows up early for everything because I hate to be late, but getting 2 preschoolers to get anywhere on time can be a serious challenge! I often end up standing over them, nagging them to hurry up, which doesn't help them AT ALL.

The other time management issue that often comes up for us is ending a fun activity. When we're at the park, or even doing an especially fun activity at home, telling them that they have 2 minutes left and then they need to stop doesn't always help them emotionally prepare for leaving since they still don't have the best concept of time. The worst time for this? Bed time, of course! No matter how many warnings I give them of their approaching bed time, I am so often met with whining, pleading, and bargaining when bed time arrives.

I have found music so effective for these situations! When we're trying to get ready to go somewhere, I turn on an upbeat song and tell them we have until the end of this song to get dressed. Then instead of us getting frustrated, we are all singing and smiling as we hurry to "beat the song"! The same thing works for ending an activity, including ending play time to go to bed. I turn on a familiar song and tell them that we are done at the end of the song. Now we are literally ending on a good note (ba dum ch!) and the kids can anticipate the ending time better because they know how the song goes and when the end of the song is approaching!

2. Deal with tantrums/ arguments

I think this technique is probably most effective for toddlers, preschoolers, and maybe lower elementary age kids, but could be used with older kids as well depending on their personality. I find music a very effective tool to use when my kids are stuck in a bad mood or have painted themselves into a metaphorical corner with an argument and are feeling trapped. You know, those times when you know the only reason they're saying whatever ridiculous thing they're saying because they are cranky and/or don't want to admit they're wrong, but telling them that just makes it worse? I've heard before about using distraction in these situations, which works with really young toddlers, but the older they get the less likely they are to be happy about me pulling out a favorite toy or talking about an upcoming holiday, and the more likely they are to just dig in their heels even harder!

With my daughters at least, music seems to be a good way to break the mood and give us all a chance to reset. I stop and tell them I am turning on a song. In this case, I usually turn on something calm but positive. Then we just sit and listen to the music. It gives us all a chance to have some space without sending anyone to time out. By the end of the song, usually everyone has had a chance to gather their thoughts so that we can have a more rational conversation about what happened.

3. Ease morning wakeups

I have one daughter who wakes up easily, and one who does not. As a morning person myself, I've had to learn that when I'm waking said daughter up for school in the morning, I can't just expect her to jump out of bed and be immediately chipper. No matter how gently I try to wake her up, it's hard to avoid making her angry for having woken her up!While I still sometimes get an evil glare or two, music has definitely helped with waking her up more smoothly. After nudging her a little bit, I turn on some quiet music and just sit back and wait. I find this is a much more peaceful way to help her gradually wake up, and it puts the blame for waking her up on the music instead of me ;)

4. Spend quality time together

Of course, music is also just a great way to have fun together! It's easy to get caught up in the business of life and realize that we're all just running around completing tasks instead of enjoying each other's company. We sing songs together in the car, play instruments together at home, or have our own dance parties in our living room. Besides just being a good way to have fun in general, making and enjoying music together helps us build up a list of songs that we all know well, which I can then in turn use for other parenting situations I already mentioned!

If you are curious to see which songs I use, especially for upbeat music, here's my kid-friendly dance party playlist ;)

Do you use music as a parenting tool? I know I need to remember to use it more often at home- so often I look back and realize I could have handled a situation so much better if I had just turned on a song! I'd love to hear your ideas for using music as a parent- leave your thoughts in the comments.

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