Money In Your Pocket

In just 3 short weeks, we'll have a first-grader in our house. As another way to mark that new stage in Lily's life, we plan on starting her on an allowance.

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With Lily being our oldest, she oftentimes ends up to be our "lab bunny". We agreed to give her a euro a week for personal necessities like extra candy or, if she decides to save up, a small toy. At the same time, we will probably add a chore to her duties around the house, probably engaging her more in taking care of the dishes (set the table, help loading the dishwasher, etc.).

If you have kids yourself or in your family, when have they first received an allowance? Did the kids have to help out more in exchange or was it a benefit without duties attached? I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice  :-)

The Imperfect Housewife

I should make this a series, because if I'm good at anything, it's failing to run a smooth, organized household. But more than anything, I hate ironing. To the point that it simply does not happen in our house, except if Richard needs his dress shirt ironed for a concert.

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Today, you could see an unusual sight: me equipped with a bath towel (no ironing boards in our house! yes, it's that bad!!) our iron, and some moist cotton dish towels, ironing some slacks like a little mad person, with creases and all. Yes, one could say I'm slightly nervous for the training session I'm scheduled for on Wednesday.

But on regular days, how do we keep our clothes neat and tidy without ironing if I'm not going to stand in front of a bunch of international colleagues?  First of all, we mostly don't use the dryer but air-dry our clothes. Once the laundry is coming out of the washer, I straighten out the clothes before putting them on the drying rack; they come off there much straighter than from the dryer. Tons of time saved on the ironing board. Let the procrastinating continue!