Keeping track of children’s toys

If you have kids, you might be dreading how many new toys you’re going to have to find room for come the next birthday, Christmas or other gift-giving occasion. Reader Beth has a great toy-inventory balancing system that’s sure to please everyone, even the kids. DEARMARY » Family friends of ours have a great system that solves the problem of an evergrowing inventory of way too many toys, most of which the kids no longer play with. Their children know that each year after Christmas, they are required to count and create a list of new toys they received as gifts. Then, the kids go to their rooms and find the same number of toys that are still in good condition that they no longer play with, which they need to give away to create space for the new ones. Of the toys they designate to be purged, they are allowed to select one to be put away and kept in a memory box.

As a family, they load up the car and drive the toys to a local charity that accepts donations (many churches, preschools and shelters are grateful to receive toys). Doing this each year helps to keep their house less cluttered. But more than that, the kids learn a valuable lesson about making choices and allowing other children to benefit from things they once enjoyed but have outgrown. — Beth

•Sweet skin care. I have a great home recipe for an exfoliant that uses what I have in my pantry. I mix equal amounts of honey and cornmeal and apply it to my face, elbows and heels. It leaves my skin feeling wonderful, and it smells nice, too. — Lee

•Rubber band grip. Instead of using those rubbery disks designed for gripping a jar lid to make it easier to open, simply put a rubber band or two around the lid and twist! It gives you a great grip on the lid, and it’s much handier than keeping one more thing in your kitchen that only serves one purpose. — Mara

•Grinding the grounds. Instead of purchasing whole peppercorns for use in a grinder, I just fill my grinder full of regular ground black pepper. The grinds are big enough that when ground again, I get a fresh ground pepper taste at a fraction of the cost. And a bottle of coarse ground pepper lasts a lot longer than those tiny bottles of peppercorns. — Jennifer

•Wrap up a bouquet garni. If you make soup, a bouquet garni (spices and herbs tied into a little bundle so they can be easily removed before serving) is a wonderful thing. But instead of buying cheesecloth for this process, I wrap the herbs and spices in a coffee filter, roll them or fold them in, and wrap it with string. I drop it into the soup pot and fish it out easily with a spoon when the soup is done. — Jessica

•Foil scrubber. One morning, I faced a tough job cleaning the dried-on pancake batter in a bowl. Instead of reaching for a scrub pad, I balled up a piece of used aluminum foil, and it worked perfectly to scrub the bowl clean. — Brenda

•Handy charcoal lighter fluid. I’ve discovered that charcoal lighter fluid works well to remove the residue that stickers leave behind. A little on a cloth does the job. I also found that it does a great job getting oil-based paint out of brushes. It has very little odor, and it’s a lot cheaper than the stuff you buy in the store for that specific purpose. — Grace

Healthy eating with less fuss

Got picky eaters? Don’t get mad. Get clever! Use these simple techniques to get your kids to eat a greater variety of healthy foods without resorting to mealtime confrontations, or worse, force-feeding.

•Be prepared. Keep a cooler in the car that you keep stocked with carrots, pretzels, yogurt and water for when you’re out with the kids. This trick will head off the “I’m starving to death!” syndrome that can cause an otherwise reliable automobile to veer off into a fast-food drivethru lane.

•Plan dinners. If planning menus for a full week is too daunting, start with only two or three days. Keep it simple but balanced: whole-grain bread, rice or pasta; a fruit or vegetable; and a protein source like lean meat, cheese or beans.

•Have fun. Giving leftovers a newname and a newlook can make all the difference. My boys loved Bits and Pieces, a highly anticipated and often requested lunchtime treat that was nothing more than leftovers cut into tiny pieces to be eaten with a toothpick — cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables, pasta, bread, hardcooked eggs and so on. Anything in the refrigerator was a candidate.

•Dip it. Kids love to dip, so use it to your advantage. Dip cooked carrots in a tiny dish of maple syrup; fresh broccoli florets and other veggies into Ranch style dressing; chicken into yogurt and honey; apples and bananas into peanut butter. Introduce hummus and mild salsa as “dip.” Both are highly nutritious and go well with veggies, chips and wholewheat croutons.

•Get sneaky. Soy milk is a terrific source of healthy phytochemicals. Most kids who are not allergic to milk will not prefer soy, so hide it in a recipe that calls for milk — oatmeal, mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. Throw a handful of chopped fresh spinach into the spaghetti sauce, and call it “spices.” Sprinkle a bit of wheat germ into a tossed salad.

•Allow treats. It’s OK to have special treats occasionally. Instead of forbidding sugary cereal forever, make it Saturday Cereal. Fruit juice, water and milk most of the time make Sometimes Soda more appealing. Movie Candy helps to make your very special family times more fun.

•Try not to comment on what your kids eat. Bite your tongue to make sure you don’t slip and blurt something like “Eat your vegetables!” A parent’s job is to serve nutritionally balanced meals. Your kids are responsible for eating them. If you turn into a food enforcer, your kids will resist, and soon mealtime will become a battleground. Before you know it, lifelong food attitudes will be set.

As long as you balance smart food choices and physical activity with occasional treats, your children will be just fine!