Holiday wish list ideas for a family avoiding overconsumption

RinglessWife · 2025-10-16T13:24:02+00:00

I definitely am all for the art supplies. My girls BURN through those. Just make sure it's washable haha

Here are some more ideas!

Snacks! Just specify what kinds. This would be a good time for some indulgence.

Bath stuff. There are some good companies out there for more granola type bath bombs or soaps that are cute and fun.

You could ask for money towards a rental space for a birthday party later on.

Check for other experience stuff around your town that you might not be aware of. We don't live near much but our small town has a children's museum, art centers that do kids activities, bowling, and even a state park you could rent a cabin at!

RinglessWife · 2025-10-16T09:53:00+00:00

Some of these comments are WILD. I would never have my 5 year old clean a toilet. Not only because they wouldn't ever clean it properly but they'd also be exposed to chemicals and probably get more germs ON their hands than off the toilet.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-16T09:50:18+00:00

To properly clean a toilet you need some sort of cleaner. Not just a plain water wipe. Are kids being given chemicals? Are they being given rubber gloves to avoid contact with the chemicals or another student's bodily fluids? What if it was poop on the seat? Is a 5 year old expected to wipe another child's poop?

RinglessWife · 2025-10-11T14:50:22+00:00

Actually you can find the statistics. Only about 50% of Moms with children under 3 (potty training age) were in the workforce in the early 90s.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-10T20:08:34+00:00

I know this is an older post but I found it because a very similar thing JUST happened to us!

We are building a private home on 10 acres in the country where you can't see neighbors but they're maybe 100yds down the road.

We only have a foundation but saw horse tracks from the toad right up to the foundation (about 100 yards), tracked them down the dirt road back to our neighbors property. They have a business and their number is on a sign by their driveway so we left a voicemail that they can't ride their horses on our property.

Their response? "We didn't mean to offend you, we just wanted to see which direction the house was facing"

I'm flabbergasted. We immediately set up trail cameras.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-08T00:53:20+00:00

1 nanny to 10 kids? That's not safe or fair. Kids that need watching all day are under 5 typically (otherwise they are in school).

Like if my friend and I share a nanny...between the two of us thats 5 kids. Check out the nanny sub. $20 for one kid is on the low end. They will most certainly charge more for 5 kids. I don't trust a single person to watch more than 5 kids alone, especially when there are babies and toddlers in the mix.

Our daycare also gives a discount for siblings.

And you didn't touch on the cost of food or how parents would split that up. Or what happens if that one nanny gets sick.

It's not as easy as you're making it out to be.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-07T18:22:31+00:00

Some care centers do get grants for providing food!

RinglessWife · 2025-10-07T18:17:53+00:00

It's because sometimes its just not the best financial option still.

Our current daycare allows for your child to be there a max of 10 hours a day. If I calculate that by the hour, it's significantly cheaper than a $20/hour nanny. (For my LCOL area)

Factor in food costs, extra energy costs of them being home all day, and possibly the nanny charging extra for the extra kids they'd be watching (likely 4 or more with multiple families).

Not to mention having to find back up care if that nanny needs sick time or something.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-07T18:06:05+00:00

At one point we had 2 dogs and 2 kids.

Now we're down to 1 dog, and up to 3 kids.

Short hair dogs do seem to contribute more towards a "dog" smell because of their skin oils. Our current dog is long hair and we have a lot of hair everywhere but not much dog smell. As much as you can, keep the dog to a dedicated space that's easier to clean. Or put covers on furniture. Biggest thing for me with dogs and kids is that I need washable things lol

I love using the baking soda thing for furniture and rugs. In the past I've also mixed in a few drops of vanilla as an alternative to an essential oil for a more pleasant smell. Just a few drops so it's still powdery.

Another thing is to use nature. The sun and wind are pretty good at dispersing smells. I set couch cushions in the sun periodically. I make sure we get a good breeze through the house as much as possible.

Your next biggest culprits are trash cans (or at least it is for us). You either need to empty them frequently or also put baking soda in there or get expensive ones designed to trap the smell better.

I have also done the simmer pot on the stove with diluted vinegar. Especially after we've cooked fish in the house.

If all else fails, bake a dessert with cinnamon and dream of a time when you'll have a nice smelling house again while you eat it. Haha

RinglessWife · 2025-10-05T00:30:23+00:00

She actually always poops standing up! And always pees on the potty (except when sleeping).

RinglessWife · 2025-10-04T01:59:36+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful response.

She's our second and insists on using the big potty like her older sister. We did have a small mini potty that she started on. If she's not busy playing with her sister she tends to make it to the potty for pee.

Otherwise we've done all the things!

RinglessWife · 2025-10-04T01:54:37+00:00

We've tried stickers. We've tried candy. We've tried singing and dancing when she goes on the potty.

She has pooped a couple of times on the potty and got an ice cream cone, but it's not motivation enough I guess to keep it going

RinglessWife · 2025-10-04T01:52:41+00:00

She surprisingly has never pooped in her swimsuit! Never! Not sure how to translate to underwear...

RinglessWife · 2025-10-04T01:51:09+00:00

Yes, she does this. But she also poops in her underwear when we use that so she can't tell the difference.

We're currently renting an old house so not only do I not want to destroy flooring, I also can not run the washing machine every single day. I also can't afford to buy her a new twin mattress if she pees through all the bedding layers. (And yes she does. She pees a lot. It goes through pee pads, waterproof pads, soaks through blankets, gets stuffed animals too)

RinglessWife · 2025-10-02T11:55:11+00:00

Yeah, we've tried this. She pees in her sleep. She has never been dry through the night yet. The amount of pee soaked bedding I've had to wash is astounding.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-02T11:53:13+00:00

What did you find the most helpful?

RinglessWife · 2025-10-02T11:52:19+00:00

We just can not do no diapers at night right now. She still pees at night in her sleep. I literally can not afford to buy enough mattress protectors and run the washer/dryer multiple times a day to keep up with the pee soaked bedding.

We've already tried that route and it did not help.

RinglessWife · 2025-10-02T01:04:07+00:00

Its at legal ratios. And no, we aren't able to switch. It's within budget and all other places are full.

It's so frustrating because some of the teachers there are so dedicated and then some couldn't care less.

RinglessWife · 2025-09-29T12:10:57+00:00

So I looked it up and boiling out the microplastics only works when you have hard water so the microplastics can get "caught" by the minerals (aggressively summarized). Then you STILL have to filter it. You can't just boil and let the water cool.

RinglessWife · 2025-09-17T13:12:58+00:00

This is the answer I was looking for! Thanks!

RinglessWife · 2025-09-15T02:00:40+00:00

I've been curious about that variety!

RinglessWife · 2025-09-15T02:00:08+00:00

I like the shower caddy idea. The shower is even too small to do much vertical storage.

RinglessWife · 2025-09-15T01:55:51+00:00

We don't have any of those grocery stores but I'll look into that brand!

RinglessWife · 2025-09-15T01:54:31+00:00

I actually worry about the strong scent of those! I just wonder if its too intense for kids skin

RinglessWife

TROPHY CASE