Just a quick PSA that if you were ever considering taking a class or course in something but the schedule or distance put you off, to look into it again. So many courses out there that were in-person only have been converted to online-based during the pandemic. College courses, continuing education, licensing for various things, etc. Of course not everything is available online now but a lot is, making it more accessible than ever - so stop putting it off and get to it, whether it’s something personal or professional.
What courses have I done, you ask? Well, nothing too crazy - but I was able to finally check a few personal goals off of my list. For years I’ve been wanting to get my OHRV (Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle) License and Boating Safety License but never seemed to find the time to line up taking the courses on a weekend. However our state is now letting you complete these online which was great, so over the summer I was able to complete both of them as well as my Paddling Safety Certificate (for canoeing/kayaking) all online and at my leisure which was wonderful.
I really enjoyed finally checking these courses off of my to-do list and hopefully you will find something you’ve been wanting to accomplish available online too!
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
Being home 24/7 and trying to limit grocery trips and ordering really makes you evaluate how quickly you’re going through supplies in your home. With two little kids, paper products were something we were blowing through and made me wonder how we could change this for the better. | This post is not sponsored but does contain affiliate links |
Now when I say "paper products" in this post I'm talking about paper towels and paper napkins. To greatly reduce our usage of these things we made the switch to reusable "unpaper" towels and aren't looking back.
(And before you ask... yes, reusable toilet paper/wipes do exist too - but that's not for us, though if the toilet paper shortage continues who knows...).
“Unpaper” towels are cloths that you can use like paper towels but wash and reuse for a long time. You could really use just about any kind of cloth - wash cloths, tea towels, cloth napkins, pieces of flannel, etc. Hopefully you have something around the house already that you can use, but if you don’t and decide to purchase some we’ve found them to be worth the investment. For the price of a large package of throw-away paper towels, you can purchase of set of reusable ones that will last you a very, very long time and will eventually pay for themselves.
We thought about just using our current dishtowels but we use them regularly already for dishes and big spills (which happen a lot with two small kids). We were primarily looking for something smaller that would function like a paper towel and also wouldn’t fill our washing machine quickly (something else to consider), which is why we settled on these modestly-sized, organic bamboo cloths.
Some people will roll them on a paper towel holder and use them in place of ALL paper towels, completely eliminating paper towels in their home. For our household we decided to fold them and place them in a basket on our counter, next to our roll of paper towels. That way we’d be constantly reminded to grab a cloth instead of a paper towel whenever we had to wipe a dirty face or sticky fingers, but we’d still have paper towels at the ready if we really needed them. I even hung a little note over the paper towel holder to remind us to use less of them.
Since starting this system we’ve cut down on our paper towel usage big time. This has saved us money on our grocery bill and we feel like we’ve made a positive long-term change that’s more eco-friendly.
Cleaning Unpaper Towels: I hung a small mesh laundry bag on the doorknob of our laundry closet, which is conveniently right off the kitchen, to toss the used unpaper towels in to be washed. Whenever I start a load of laundry, I just throw the mesh bag in with the rest of the washing. You could also easily hang a mesh bag or small basket on the inside of a cupboard door with a Command Hook too if that is a more convenient spot.
Hopefully I’ve inspired you to find a reusable, money-saving solution to something in your home like we have found unpaper towels to be for us.
This post is not sponsored but contains my personal opinion as well as affiliate links.
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
We’re still social-distancing very seriously but all our favorite outdoor spaces (hiking trails, lakes, beaches, camping areas, etc) have been totally overrun lately with people looking for a change of scenery. This unfortunately makes it impossible to social-distance safely, so we tend to just stay home. | This post contains affiliate links |
In order to make our weekends more special we started a weekend tradition early on during Quarantine to “camp at home” every weekend. During the colder months and bad weather, this meant camping in our living room every Saturday night with sleeping bags and staying up late watching a family-friendly movie. Sunday mornings we make a special breakfast, usually of pancakes or egg sandwiches.
Now that the weather is warmer, we’re doing more backyard camping. Our large tent is nice and roomy for all of us to spread out - and the extra large screen areas on the top mean we can leave the rainflap off in nice weather so we can see the stars and watch the fireflies (which is what we typically do). It feels really magical and the kids love it!
When we set up the tent we typically try to camp for at least two nights in a row to get more out of it.
(Pro-tip: Put a doormat outside your tent to help keep grass and sand from getting tracked in - We purchased our mat from one of our favorite companies, Maine Rope Mats.)
We may be stuck at home, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t make special memories. I hope you can find a fun tradition to start at home during this time too - stay well!
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
We’re definitely living in different times right now… and it’s becoming clearer that it looks as though we will have to co-exist with the COVID-19 virus for the foreseeable future. Because of that anything we can do that might mitigate the risk of virus transmission, like always wearing face masks or face coverings when outside our homes, have become a part of our “new normal.” Since mask-wearing should be part of your new routine whenever you leave your house, it’s a good idea to have a system in place to make sure you always have clean masks at the ready and you never leave home without one. | This post contains affiliate links |
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations on mask wearing, storage, and care. Cloth masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… check with individual mask makers/companies on the best way to store/wash/care for your masks.
It’s a good idea to keep your clean masks in a designated area of your home, preferably in a place where you’ll be sure to grab one on your way out the door to do errands, go to work, etc. At first glance it might look like we have a lot of masks, but we really don't considering we're a household of four and it's essential to have enough masks to get through between laundry loads. We're still staying home and social-distancing very seriously, but whenever we have to do an essential errand/appointment or just go for a drive to get out of the house, we always make sure to have a clean mask for everyone that’s leaving the house.
In our home, we've designated a special basket that sits up high on our mudroom shelf, full of clean masks. We put the adult masks towards the back, and then kids masks in the front. I was unable to find a basket the same size on Amazon to link to, but I did find this
sleek bamboo box that looks to be the perfect size. If you don't have shelf space for a basket, you could alternatively use wall-mounted baskets for storage.
Our masks are a mix of ones made with love for us by family members, as well as ones purchased from
Old Navy
and
Miss Harlow VT
(one of the local makers I featured in my "Masks by New England Makers" blog post).
If you don't like the idea of using a basket like we do and would rather hang your masks by the door, another option would be using
a small set of hooks
such as a set of compact coat hooks or key rack - or even just simple
Command Hooks.
We have found a
slim wipes container
is the perfect size for holding several face masks on-the-go! In fact, we always make sure to leave our case packed with an extra mask for each family member in the car. That way we're always covered if we forget one or need to change masks while we're out of the house.
I think this would be a great way to carry extra face masks in your bag for work, or your child's backpack whenever they return to school. It would probably be a good idea to also keep a ziplock bag or separate sealed container in your bag in case you have a dirty/used mask that needs to be brought home to wash.
And if you wanted to take it a step further and have an organzied mask system on-the-go to put in your work bag or child's backpack, you might want to consider having two cases - one for clean masks and one for dirty masks. I ordered these clear mask cases from Amazon and cut labels for them on my Cricut. We'll be packing one with extra clean masks, and the other will be empty for dirty masks to come home in. Since we recently invested in some better quality masks I wanted to make sure they stay in cases when not in use to keep them in good shape.
Alternatively, if you don't have any slim wipes containers hanging around you could also use
Small Craft Storage Cases
, which come in clear and a variety of colors. This might be more cost effective too if you needed multiple cases - especially if you needed one or more cases for each family member, or if you were a teacher and wanted to make a case for each student in your class.
You can also easily label any of these cases with a
label maker.
We always make sure to keep the car stocked with our plastic case of extra face masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes to help protect ourselves when we’re out doing errands.
Always refer to individual mask makers/companies on the best way to care for each of your masks (hand wash only vs machine wash, line-dry vs dryer, etc.) But in general, all masks should be washed and allowed to thoroughly dry in between each use.
Since all of our masks are machine washable, we've found using a mesh lingerie laundry bag is perfect for keeping the masks from getting lost in the wash or caught on other items.
If you feel like your face mask is a little large or isn’t fitting as closely to your face as you would like, you can typically adjust it very easily by making a small knot in the ear loop elastics (as shown above) to make it smaller.
One mask accessory that we've found super helpful lately are
Mask Lanyards. We personally use them most often when we're out hiking or going for a long walk, that way the time we're out alone we can keep our masks down, however in the event we see someone coming up we can easily put them on if we need to pass others on the trail. We made a point to choose lanyards that have a breakaway safety feature, but use at your own discretion/risk.
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations on mask wearing, storage, and care. Cloth masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… check with individual mask makers/companies on the best way to store/wash/care for your masks.
Vaccination Card Protector
Vaccinated? You may want to consider getting a Vaccination Card Protector for your vaccine card to help keep them protected and clean at home or while you're traveling. These are nice because you can remove your vaccine card to record updates/boosters if needed.
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
We’re definitely living in different times right now… and it’s becoming clearer that it looks as though we will have to co-exist with this virus for the foreseeable future. Because of that anything we can do that might mitigate the risk of virus transmission, like always wearing face masks or face coverings when outside our homes, are becoming a part of our “new normal.” Today a lot of small businesses are hurting, including small local makers, many of whom have pivoted to also offer masks for sale. As we move forward into our new normal, consider supporting a local maker and purchase masks from them.
| This post is not sponsored or an endorsement. Makers are listed in no particular order and I plan to continue to add to this list as I come across more makers who request to be added. |
Masks by New England Makers
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations. These masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… please see each individual mask maker regarding details, care instructions, pricing, and current availability.
Scrub Caps for Scholars
Scrub Caps for Scholars is an Etsy shop recently started by Marissa of One CrafDIY Girl (who’s also an ICU nurse in Massachusetts) looking to give back to frontline nurses who are struggling to pay their student loans. Proceeds from sales of masks and scrub caps will go towards that fund. Masks are available in different styles in child through adult sizes with different fabrics to choose from; there are also some matching scrub caps available too.
Masked in Style
Nicole has created 615+ masks so far - including donations to local businesses and healthcare workers across the country. She has many fabrics to choose from, with masks in tie and elastic styles. (*If there's an essential worker you want to surprise with a free cloth mask, send her a message and she will send it out with a thank you note!)
Think Greene
Think Greene is a Maine-based company best known for their eco-friendly items and apparel. They are offering boldly designed masks in adult and kid sizes made with organic cotton. Masks are tie-style.
Singer Vintage
Singer Vintage is a Maine-based Etsy stop, which normally sells vintage sewing machine parts, but now offers a wide variety of summer-inspired masks (gingham, chambray, lobsters, etc) in different styles and sizes.
Little Green Pear is run by a Vermont-based mom and best known for hair bows and baby accessories, but is now offering a variety of masks in different styles, fabric patterns, and sizes from toddler through adult.
Maine Mom Boutique
Maine Mom Boutique is a highly-rated shop on Etsy, best known for baby-related items, now offering elastic loop style masks for adults in a variety of fabric patterns.
Sea Crow Company
Maine-based Sea Crow Co. is best known for their popular colorful bags and accessories and is now offering masks too. Masks are pleated-style and available in a variety of fabric patterns and in both ear loop and tie options (child sizes are available upon request).
Miss Harlow VT
Miss Harlow VT is a Vermont-based crafter best known for her sewn baby items and gifts and is now offering masks as well in many different fabrics, in both child and adult sizes. To date she has made over 500!
Jackie’s Boutique
Jackie’s Boutique are two “brick and mortar” shops located in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire known for resort wear and accessories. Right now they are also offering masks with vintage Lake Winnipesaukee map patterns on them. The fabric is made and printed in New England.
The Artsy Fox is New Hampshire-based and known for crocheted and knit items as well as quilted items, and is now also offering masks in different patterns too.
Two Little Beans & Co.
Two Little Beans & Co. is a Maine-based company best known for their baby booties, bibs, and other baby items but is now also offering ear loop style pleated masks in many fabric options, in both kid and adult sizes. She has also been making mask donations for healthcare and frontline workers. (*There is a tutorial on her website if you’re looking for instructions to make your own mask.)
We Fill Good.
We Fill Good is an eco-friendly shop in Kittery, Maine known for selling reusable products that can help you achieve a low-waste household. Right now they are also offering masks in a variety of fabric pattern options in both adult and kid sizes.
Red House VT
Red House VT is best known for their waxed canvas and leather bags and are now offering simple modern style masks, currently as a wait-list item.
- All photos used with permission -
If you are a New England Maker who is also making masks and would like to be added to this list, please send me a message and I would love to add you. Thank you all for your hard work to help keep our communities a little safer.
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice or endorsing any particular seller - purchase at your own risk. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations. These masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… please see each individual mask maker regarding details, care instructions, pricing, and current availability.
Interviews from New England Makers:
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
Just wanted to hop on here and share this ADORABLE KidKraft Cabana my sister bought for our kids as a fun, very thoughtful gift. We’ve been trying to turn our home into an oasis of sorts for the kids since we’re home 24/7 now. Mostly just rearranging their current toys and books to create zones and make things more efficient for play, remote learning, and relaxing - but this Cabana takes the cake! It’s absolutely adorable and perfect for relaxing outside for snack, reading a book, or taking a rest after they get out of the kiddie pool. We might not be able to go on vacation this year, but they can certainly pretend they’re at a beach resort now - though I must confess, I’m totally jealous and wish I had one in my size too!
The Cabana also has cupholders and a little storage cubby which the kids absolutely love! It’s definitely been a huge hit and now I know where the kids will be hanging out all summer long.
Thanks again Auntie Suz for such an awesome gift for the kids! :)
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
With the Covid-19 Pandemic still persisting and school in our state cancelled for the rest of the school year (and maybe longer), average parents have been thrown into the role of becoming teachers too and most of us weren’t prepared at all. While I have a degree in Art Education, I went a different career route after graduation and my teaching/classroom management skills are now quite rusty. So I pulled from my own classroom and remote teaching experiences - as well as polling many teacher friends, homeschooling parents, and regular now-remote-teaching-parents for ideas on what’s working for them and what supplies have been lifesavers as they navigate this new remote learning world. | This post contains affiliate links |
Give Yourself Grace
This is probably the biggest takeaway from everyone I’ve talked to…. remote learning during a Pandemic is definitely uncharted territory and everyone is trying to figure things out - readjusting roles, schedules, expectations, everything. Most of us weren’t cut out to be teachers, and it can be incredibly hard to motivate and focus your own kids as well as their teachers are able to. Ultimately, it’s a matter of doing the best that you can in the circumstance you’re currently in… and don’t beat yourself up if everything isn’t perfect.
Communicate with Teachers and Administrators
If you have a lot going on at home (working from home yourself, several kids schedules to juggle, other personal hurdles to deal with, etc) or if the teacher’s expectations for remote learning are just unrealistic, definitely reach out to them to voice your concerns and come up with a plan. Maybe deadlines can be extended, or the workload can be reduced to the essential assignments. Maybe the big group Zoom meetings are too overwhelming and frustrating for your young child and they need a one-on-one meeting instead. Maybe the schedule the teacher came up with won’t work for your family with your own work and other school schedules.
The point is - if you or your kids are feeling overwhelmed and stressed about about the whole remote learning process, it’s worth discussing with their teachers and administrators so that you can come up with something that works for everyone and still meets all the learning requirements.
Come up With a Schedule that Works for Your Family
This will take some trial-and-error. And if you have older students with a heavier workload, their home school day might just look very similar to a regular school day schedule-wise and time-wise - especially if they can work pretty independently. But for us with younger kids, mom or dad needs to be there to walk them through each assignment, activity, and online meeting.
If you’re also working from home or juggling other kids schedules too this can be particularly challenging and exhausting... if you need something to buy periods of occupation from your kids (maybe so you can do an uninterupted confrence call, or you can concentrate helping one child with an assignment while keeping the other kids busy), consider giving them something they will enjoy doing and keep them safely occupied (but always under some parent supervision of course). Maybe it's educational games on the Kindle, or perhaps low-mess craft projects, or an hour of TV time, or reading a book series on their own that they enjoy, etc. Or maybe you find school work or office work done in fragments at unusual times is what works best for your family.
For us personally with younger kids, we’ve fallen into a good rhythm and schedule over the last two months of remote learning. For our family we’ve found it best to buckle down in the mornings and get the work done first thing when attention spans are at their best and everyone is well rested. So our daughter works through her assignments one-by-one every morning with breaks for snack and classroom meetings. Our goal is to have all her work completed for the day by lunchtime, and while some days that doesn’t happen and things need to be finished after lunch, most of the time she’s done by noon which leaves the afternoons for “free choice fun.” Typically, spending the whole afternoon outside if the weather is nice or inside playing legos or watching a movie if it’s raining (and while the kids are playing I can chip away at whatever work I need to get done too). Our days have consistent expectations and a nice rhythm to them now which helps a lot.
Set Snack and Meal Times
As anyone with kids home 24/7 can tell you, they can and WILL eat you out of house and home if you let them. By having set snack and mealtimes it will help your pantry and wallet by not blowing through all your quarantine snacks in 2 days flat. I’ve seen some parents even pack their kids lunch box every morning, just like they would for school, so the kids have a finite amount of snacks and lunch food for the day.
Designate a School Space and Stay Organized
Having a designated “school space” that has all the supplies your kids will need to complete their assignments at their fingertips can be crucial to success. Ideally having a desk or separate workspace would be ideal, but any designated space can work. For us, we set up one end of our kitchen island - it has a laptop where our daughter completes most of her assignments online and a small basket where we store paper, workbooks, flashcards, and a few ziplock bags containing different supplies that she uses often (markers, counting chips, etc). By having everything ready to go each day, there's no excuse when it's time to get to work.
I polled many friends, both teachers and regular parents who are now remote teaching, and compiled a list of things they have needed or found to be extremely helpful during this time. Younger kids definitely tend to need more learning aides so the list has many items geared to younger students but there are also some items that can be useful for older grade levels listed too. Click the button below to browse our picks, which I will be periodically adding to as I get more suggestions:
Is there anything you’ve found to be helpful during this time? Please comment below or send me a message.
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
Yesterday the kids finger-painted some big sheets of paper and today we cut hearts out to hang in all our windows as a way to say THANK YOU to all the heroes out there - especially medical personnel, but also mail/package carriers, truck drivers, and our neighbors and community that are staying home.
I hope everyone can find some small way to help spread some hope and gratitude in your neighborhoods too. Thank you all!
KEEP UP WITH BIRCH LANDING HOME
| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Hometalk |
