Archived Ideas for August, 2010

IDEA 32: MAKE HEALTHY WORK FOR YOU

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Our family has taken to trust supplements and vitamins in a big way. It’s a great solution when you have kids running everywhere and you want to make sure they are getting their fair share of the good stuff. But if your kitchen counter is like mine, it has a way of looking cluttered even when you tidy up. The myriad bottles of vitamins, fish oil capsules and kelp were one thing, but when we started buying the mega-jars of whey protein it was getting a bit unsightly.

My solution? First, I found a sweet old basket with a lid at a tag sale. It used to be a picnic basket, I guess, but you could use any container with a lid that fits your decor.

All the little items went in without problem, then I found square jars that fit in the basket. I used peanut jars from Cosco. They are plastic and have large plastic lids. I cleaned the jars and removed the labels from the whey containers and taped them onto the smaller jars. Of course I had to cut the labels smaller to fit. I wanted to use the labels rather than just writing on the jars for two reasons: First, I wanted to keep the nutrition info, and second, I knew I would need the visual of the actual products so next time I would remember which one to buy! I scooped out enough of the whey to fill the smaller jars and the mongo ones went in the pantry.

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I used another empty jar to house small packets, and there was also room for a carb counting booklet. Everything fits inside and is easily accessible, then with a flip of the top, it’s all out of site!

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On the subject of ways to organize keeping the family healthy, we found a set of tiny, colored melamine bowls at the big box store. They came in a set of six, in six different colors. Since we have five in our family, we had each person pick their color. Now, in the morning, I divvy all the vitamins and supplements into the bowls. They sit there as a reminder to each family member whether or not they’ve taken their vitamins that day. By dinner time the last straggler has taken theirs and the next morning they all get refilled. An idea that not only beautifies your space but keeps you healthy? Now, that’s a very BellaPamella idea!

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