Big Like #5: All These Uses For The Simple Binder Clip

More office supply love this week and a little secret we came up with that has saved us big money and some serious frustration. We buy Binder Clips in a office size box from the office supply store and use them not only in the office but on every item in the kitchen that we might use a Chip Clip on.
And guess what, they last forever unlike their cheap plastic kitchen cousins.

We keep a box of them in the kitchen next to the fridge where we can easily grab one to close up on bag of cereal, chips, chocolate chips, nuts, freezer waffles...you name it, if it could use a chip clip we are sticking a simple black binder clip on it. Then when we're done with them we just toss them back in that box in the kitchen drawer and they get used indefinitely.

For the cost and extended life we're saving a ton not buying plastic kitchen clips. You can find them in all sorts of fun colors and sizes tailored just to your needs and preferences and buy them in varying lot sizes so you get just what you need or a few years supply for not much more than that. I also use them sometimes to hold together small art projects I am working on. They work great as clamps while gluing things together or to hold things together while you make adjustments so that everything is evenly spaced. You can also loop one over a magnet hook to organize papers on a fridge or magnet board. You can even use them to clip and display art. They can be great for holding open coloring book pages that might frustrate children to keep flat. I've used one for a bookmark before too.

We keep a few in the car too and we seem to find uses for them all the time. You can use them to clip a blanket up over a window if the sun is blazing down on sleeping kiddos (keeping in mind driver visibility issues of course!) You could clip needed items to the visors or use them to clip a blanket around a kiddo to keep them covered and warm in the car. (Use your creativity here there are a few ways I can see this working.)

They would probably be a great addition to a 72-hour kit in a variety of sizes. You could use them to create a shelter if you had some rope and a tarp or to create a water catcher by clipping up the edges of a jacket or tarp or plastic bag. You could use them to create a temporary outdoor shower with some fabric or tarp. So along with the clips, you should definitely get a tarp it sounds like! Ha. You could also use them to construct a survival oven if you had some foil or something metal. You can also use them to hold a spoon on the side of a pot by clipping one to the edge and sliding the spoon handle through the clip prongs. They could also be useful in a myriad of ways in the garden.

So very versatile, so inexpensive and so great to have on hand when you need one. From the tiniest size to the largest size there is a good use for every one and having a pretty collection of them on hand can make life a little simpler and happier.

Lilacs And Garden Planting Season

Last year when I was in that dumb cast I missed out on enjoying all the lilacs we have in our yard. To get to them I would've either had to hop down a crazy, loose dirt path or climbed down some steep and unven natural boulder stairs to get to them and that just was not possible. So today was my day to walk happily on two working feet down to the lilac bushes to cut a big box full of blooms to bring into the house.

I was reminded that lilacs are pretty messy but I thought to myself some of the greatest joys in life bring messes with them. You can't have the sweet scent of fresh flowers without a bit of a mess when they crumble. I'll clean it up when it's time. Meanwhile I have a vase of blooms on the kitchen windowsill, on my desk, on our dining table, the foyer table and in our powder room.

There are still tons of blooms to come so I hope I'll make time to go out and retrieve more as these die and new blooms come on the bushes. We had some good rain this week but our backyard is not looking so hot. Needs some attention. Of course I'm thinking there are snakes just waiting to jump out at me from behind every rock. Agh. I think I need some study leather cowboy/work boots to protect my ankles.

It's an adjustment to me to think of lilacs the last week of March and first week of April. Growing up they were Memorial Day blooms and my grandmother would gather jars of them to take to the cemetery to decorate graves that weekend.

We have had a very odd year with our forsythia bush in the back yard. It should bloom tons of bright yellow flowers in February or early March and then leaf out for the summer. Our front bush did bloom but our back bush only didn't. It got about five blooms on it just about the time it started to leaf. Last year is was full, vibrant and flowered early in the Spring. Not sure what's going on with the back yard, but it needs some love.

I also need to brush up on taking care of some of these plants I'm not that familiar with. I'd also like to get rid of a few weedy-looking things that are meant to be there but just look ugly. We also have a far back patch of dirt that could/should be grass of something. This house was empty for a while and before that lived in by older people who just let the yard go pretty much. Yards are a lot of work. I did well to keep up with a little garden patio in our last house.

I am itching to get some planters going with sweet peas, herbs and tomatoes. Having a fresh herb garden is just the best. My family has been so spoiled to have fresh tomatoes the past few years that they can't stand grocery store tomatoes - and they both love tomatoes. Hopefully this year I'll buy some better plants and we'll get a little bit bigger harvest. I should grow some peppers and chiles if I can too. We need to plant a bunch of mint in pots around the yard to ward off bugs, especially ants and mosquitos - although we don't get too many mosquitos here.

I also read that there are herbs to help ward off fleas. Last year we had a couple of weeks of pure misery with fleas. They didn't bother the dog at all because he was medically protected but we humans took the brunt of it. I've never dealt with fleas before but it was awful and we don't want to experience that again this year!

Gardening is so much fun. We certainly have the space but the upkeep is a lot of work, although the rewards are delicious. We still have about two weeks until recommended planting season - after the last frost traditionally. After being able to garden year round in California this waiting to plant business makes me antsy. I'm going to start preparing my gardening beds and pots now and then in a couple of weeks I can just start popping in seeds and plant starts. I think I'll start planting some seedlings this weekend and that'll give me a couple of weeks head start on planting outside. Fun stuff! Are you planting anything this year? If so, what are you most excited about growing.