Ten Tips to Save Money When Building a House

As you may or may not know, we are in the process of starting to build a new house.  Our dream home in the country.  We have most certainly outgrown this current home even though we love it.  It was never built for 7 people (yet I always think of the days gone by when this house would have held more than 7 for a very long time).  We would like a new house, not because of dissatisfaction with our current home, but because we feel limited in what we can do because of the size.  3 little girls sharing a room that is 9x9 in size works when the girls are only 3' tall.  What about when they grow?  So, this dream has been in the works for years, really.  We said when we moved into this home we would live here for 10 years.  In 10 years we would build our country dream.  This September will be 10 years.  This is what we have been aiming for for the past decade.  So, as we are trying to work out all the many details required to build a home, like who to hire, which windows to buy, what will the kitchen look like, etc. we are trying to save money along the way.  Now, we don't want to cut corners to save money.  This house is supposed to be our forever home.  The home our kids bring our grand kids to for sleepovers.  We anticipate staying in this next home until we are too old to live there well.  We don't want to cut corners.  Save money?  Yes.  Cut corners?  No.  So, how does a family of 7, living on one income, build a large dream home in the country without mortgaging our self to death? Well, some of those choices started already many years ago in the way we have managed our money.  But for the sake of this blog post, I will share some tips I have been using to try to save us some money while we build this home.

Tip #1 - Buy new items on Kijiji or Craigslist

It is unbelievable to me the number of people that buy something new and either decide they no longer like it or find out it will not work for the intended purpose. They cannot return the item so they sell it for cheap.  I have just purchased a stainless steel under mount kitchen sink for $60.  That is waaaaay cheaper than I would find in stores for the same item, never mind cheaper than a drop-in stainless steel sink.  The reason it was being sold?  The sink wouldn't work with the granite they had cut and they couldn't return the sink so they sold it.  We have also bought a couple of brand new vessel sinks for half the retail price.  I have seen brand new windows, doors, toilets, sinks, faucets, showers, tubs, etc - many, many items one would need to build a home for way less than retail price.

Tip #2 - Scour second hand stores for new and gently used items

I love second hand stores.  And you just may be surprised at what you will find, new and used.  I bought a brand new toilet at the local MCC Thrift Store, just taken out of the box for display purposes for cheap, cheap, cheap.  I bought a slightly used but still beautiful pedestal sink at that same MCC store.  I found 2 boxes of brand-new 4"x4" white tiles by Dal Tile.  I have bought tempered glass shelving.  I found a brand new mirror by Umbra.  At the local ReFit store, I have found many beautiful pieces of tile in quantities large enough for my needs at a fraction of the retail price.  We just purchased a 7-month old Electrolux front load washer and dryer set for about 50% of retail off of Kijiji.  We also bought a gently-used-but-still-looks-brand-new air massage tub on Kijiji for 1/4 the price it would have cost new.  These are very easy ways to save money when building a home. 

Tip #3 - Shop liquidating stores

Some stores exist only to liquidate other stores' items.  Sometimes these other stores have gone bankrupt or they sell unclaimed orders or many other reasons perfectly lovely and brand new name brand items end up on these store shelves for a fraction of retail price.  I have found AMAZING bargains at our local Liquidation World (now owned by Big Lots).  Our Weiser entry door handle set ($88.88 - retails for $165), all our Weiser interior door levers($28.88 - retails for $50+), my Price Pfister roman tub faucet ($78.88 - retails for over $500 [my best deal EVER!]), Delta towel bars and glass shelves and toilet paper holders ($12 each - retails for $30+), our kitchen faucets, chandeliers - so many amazing finds at unheard of prices.  These stores can bring big savings if you take the time to look.

Tip #4 - Shop on sale

Patience is almost required (unless you have unlimited funds and can buy everything at full price the first time you see it!) when purchasing items for your home.  One example - I looked and looked and looked for the right fixture for our main floor powder room.  When I found it, I was so excited!  It was pricey but it was just what I wanted.  Did I buy it immediately?  No!  I knew this store where I found it would eventually put it on sale so all I had to do was wait.  And watch the sales.  When it finally came on sale, it was 40% off the regular price.  That is when I went to buy it and saved about $80 just by being patient.  We have bought faucets and interior doors and exterior doors and tile all on sale because we knew what a good sale price was.  There is a particular type of hardwood flooring I want for our main floor area and it comes on sale occasionally in varying sale prices.  From past experience though, I know exactly what the lowest sale price it will come to yet and I am just waiting for that right price to buy it - when it does you can bet we will buy our flooring.  If you get to know a store's sale rotation, watch their flyers and have some patience, you will save yourself some big money!

Tip #5 - Shop scratch and dent

As we went to pick up the washer and dryer we bought, we discovered the guy selling the machines worked for an appliance repair store that specializes in Frigidaire and Electrolux machines and sells scratch and dent models.  To be honest, scratch and dent hadn't entered my thoughts but when I gave my head a shake, I realized it was the perfect solution.  Appliances can be terribly expensive but they don't have to be.  We just picked up a brand new scratch-and-dent Frigidaire All-Freezer and Electrolux All-Refrigerator for less than half the price they would have cost none scratch-and-dent.  Since Electrolux owns Frigidaire, the appliances look like the same brand from the outside plus you will never notice the scratches or dents since they are only on the sides or the tops which will be completely hidden by the kitchen cabinets.  For an amazing deal, I was able to get the exact appliances I wanted for a fraction of the price.

Tip #6 - Use in-store credit points or gift cards

Both credit cards we own are store credit cards and allow us to collect points on each purchase.  With one card we collect points to buy groceries but with the other card, I was saving those points for an unknown time in the future when I would find something I really wanted for the house.  I was accumulating those points for a while when I suddenly found the time I wanted to use them.  Remember that chandelier I was waiting for to come on sale?  Well, when it did come on sale, I redeemed the points on my card and ended up saving an additional $100.  That beautiful light cost me $12!  As for gift cards, I have been accumulating gift cards to Home Sense (equivalent to Home Goods in the USA) for a number of years.  People know I love that store and so they have given them to me as thank you's for various reasons or as gifts for other occasions.  Though I did use a little to purchase another beautiful chandelier, I have been saving the majority to use when it comes time to decorate the new house.  I can see myself buying new towels or throw pillows or other accessories to make the house look beautiful and new and it won't cost me a thing, thanks to the gift cards!

Tip #7 - Shop clearance sections

Pretty much every time I go to a hardware store or big box store that may carry home building supplies, I check out the clearance section.  Rarely are those items advertised.  In one store I found our beautiful kitchen light fixture that will be hanging over the island.  It was almost 75% off the regular retail price.  I assumed they were getting rid of a certain style but I was more than happy with the style and the savings.  Funny thing is, in another city, that exact same light fixture was still the same full retail price.  It pays to check the clearance racks!  I also found a beautiful drop-in porcelain sink on clearance at one store.  They only had one so I bought it.  Turns out I found an identical sink on clearance in another store in another city.  That took care of both sinks in the kid's bathroom.  Though it may take an extra few minutes to wander past the clearance section in a store, you never know what bargains you will find.  Don't be afraid to open nondescript cardboard boxes that have yellow clearance stickers on them.  We were able to buy the vessel sinks for our master bath at substantial savings because I was curious enough to open a plain cardboard box that had a yellow clearance sticker on it.  There was no picture on the box so I had no idea what was in it.  When I opened it up and saw the beautiful sinks, I knew I struck gold!  The savings are even better when you find things on clearance at a liquidating store.  It is like the clearance items are on clearance!  I love bargains like that!

Tip #8 - Know your prices and price compare

Being a homeschooling mom of 5 kids, I spend a lot of time at home.  I don't have time to run around to stores to check out what they have or what things cost.  That is where the wonderful world of the Internet comes in.  It is a great place to check out prices so you have an idea of what the regular price of items is so you will know when you find a great bargain.  I knew when I saw our fridge/freezer that it was a great deal.  My husband wasn't so sure.  So, I went online and printed out the regular prices for them - it didn't take him long to realize it was, in fact, a bargain worth pursuing.  Sometimes we have found things on sale and were unsure if it was really a deal worth checking out, especially if we are shopping in the USA.  A little time spent online quickly confirms if the price is a good one or not.  Plus, if you are looking at prices, you can quickly compare which places have the best price for certain items.  We don't have unlimited funds so it is up to us to spend what we do have in the best way possible.

Tip #9 - The sooner you start, the better deals you will find

We have known for a long time we would be building this house.  But only since we purchased the property (2 1/2 years ago) have I been collecting building items for our house.  When you have the time to start soon and start early, you are able to get the best deals because you are not forced to buy something RIGHT NOW!  I am not in a hurry for a kitchen sink so I don't need to buy something at full price just because I need it.  I can wait and look and wait and look.  When I do find a bargain, I can buy it and store it until it is needed.  I may be spending my money a little sooner but I am spending less of it!  I know that takes some forethought in your finances - you need to be in a place where you can afford to buy items for your house long before you have your mortgage plus you need to find a place to store those things.  But if you can do that, you will save big money in the long run.

Tip #10 - Be flexible

This may be the most important tip to saving money.  Be flexible.  I have an idea of what I want my new house to look like.  I want it to be beautiful and warm and inviting but I also want to be able to afford it.  When I find something on clearance or on sale, I usually ask myself if I love it, if I hate it, could I live with it, could I live without, etc.  If I really can't stand the item, I won't buy it.  If I am not sure, I think about it for a while.  But, in general, I make decisions quickly and can adapt my vision of the room in question to whatever it is I find.  If you must only have certain items and you won't flex from that view, you will probably end up spending more money finding those exact things. If you allow room for flexibility, you will save yourself some money.

Well, there you have it!  Ten tips to help you save money while building a home.  Actually, these are tips you can apply to your life in many other areas, not just when it comes to building a house.  Tell me, what are some tips you follow to try to save yourself some money?  I would love to learn even more money-saving secrets!

Guest Article - Acquiring Sign Language

So, a little while ago an email showed up in my inbox asking if I would check out this article and post it here if interested. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was about signing, something we totally believe in here at our home. Without any further ado, here is the article sent to me by Emily Patterson, Communications Coordinator at Primrose Schools.

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Early Childhood Education – Acquiring Sign Language


Signing Before They Can Speak

Research has shown that teaching different modes of communication and language is most effective at the early ages of 2 to 5. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well. This can be taught at home or some child care programs incorporate it into their curriculum.

While 2 years old seem pretty young, it's not that odd. There are many indigenous peoples around the world in fact, including American Indian nations, who have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language.

In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. Backing this up is an article published by the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 which presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:

"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)

Signing and Autism

The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).

One of the most frustrating part of raising an autistic child is the breakdown in communication. Autistic children have a hard time with the complexity of the spoke language, signing gives them an avenue of communication which at the same time helps to strengthen speech and language development. Sign language allows parents to break down this barrier with their children (actually regardless of whether they are autistic or not).

The Best Time To Start

The sooner children learn sign language (or any other language for that matter) the better. Young children who are taught sign language at an early age, it has actually been shown, develop better verbal skills as they get older.

Not learning to sign give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond. Signing helps to lower levels of frustration in the child, it gives them a way to communicate with the caregivers exactly what is going on in their mind. Which in return helps the parent and makes them feel even closer to their baby.

Looking To Their Future

There are many reasons for people to be interested in and to learn sign language. Many may need it they work with disabled children, some are learning it because of the career opportunities available with it, and others are learning it just so they can have a wide variety of communication.

The ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience is a unique skill that not many have. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.


Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the Austin child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of child care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.

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Personally, we love sign here, as I mentioned before. It is a vital part of communication for a non-verbal child. Some of my kids were able to use the signs earlier than others but it was so great to see each of them use and understand them in their own time. Now, we don't use sign for all of our language, though that would certainly interest me. In fact, when I was in Junior High and High School, I would bring home books on American Sign Language and attempt to teach myself. I would still be interested in learning ASL. We just use sign for some of the more basic communication needs at this point like "milk", "all done", "please" "thank you", "excuse me" "sorry", "more", etc. I found this website that allows me to search for many different ASL signs and sign them properly. So, I am in agreement with the above article and would encourage you to use sign in your home with your wee ones. It makes a world of difference for them to be able to communicate in a way that we as caregivers understand. The frustration level is certainly minimized. Finally, my favorite signing story: Pepe had learned some of those basic signs and was fairly good at using them to communicate. One day we went to visit Grandma/Grandpa. As usual, whenever we saw them, Grandpa would open up his wallet and empty all his change into his grandkids' hands. Once empty, Grandpa put the wallet away and continued on. Pepe turns to me and - get this- signs " more please" then points to Grandpa! Ha! How I laughed!

Quick Cooking with Homemade Mixes

Life has been super busy around here with schooling taking a better part of the day (until 3pm)and the rest filled with household chores, cooking, cleaning, etc. It is at times like these I am especially appreciative of the homemade mixes I rely on to continue providing home baked goodies in a fraction of the time. These are three of our favorites.

HOMEMADE PANCAKE MIX

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda

For Pancakes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

For Blueberry Banana Pancakes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup blueberries

In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. YIELD: about 6 3/4 cups (6-7 batches of pancakes)

To Prepare Pancakes:
In a bowl, combine egg and milk. Whisk in 1 cup pancake mix. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. YIELD: about 6 pancakes per batch

To Prepare Blueberry Banana Pancakes:
In a bowl, combine egg, milk and banana. Whisk in 1 cup pancake mix. Fold in blueberries. Cook as directed above. YIELD: about 8 pancakes per batch

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• I always make a double recipe of the dry ingredients, putting everything into an icecream pail, putting the lid on the pail and shaking until well mixed. You can label the pail with the directions for pancakes.
• When I make pancakes for the whole family, I always make a double recipe of the plain pancakes and a single recipe of the Blueberry Banana. That provides enough for the meal plus a few extra! Hey, we are pancake lovers!
• My personal favorite are the Blueberry Banana pancakes - they taste excellent!
• My mix never lasts 6 months, not even 6 weeks, its that good! :)

When Pepe was only 5 months old, we made a trip to the West Coast to visit Jay's relatives I had not yet met. What a wonderful time I had meeting these delightful family members. I now wish we lived closer so we could see them more often as they have left an indelible mark on my heart! Jay's gracious Aunt L let us stay with her for a while and she always made these muffins fresh every morning. Although I believe they are called 6 Week Bran Muffins, I call them Aunt L's Bran Muffins.

AUNT L'S BRAN MUFFINS

2 cups Nabisco 100% Bran
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 litre buttermilk
5 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups bran flakes cereal
2 cups raisins

Pour boiling water over 100% bran and let stand while creaming sugar, shortening and eggs. Add buttermilk. Add bran/water mixture. Sift flour, soda and salt in separate bowl. Add bran flakes. Fold into wet mixture until moist. Add raisins. Store in ice cream pail for up to 6 weeks in refrigerator. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• You can switch the amounts of the bran and bran flakes cereal if you so desire.
• You can also substitute wheat bran for the 100% bran
• These make excellent snacks throughout the day. I bake about 9 fresh in the morning and they are usually gone by supper.
• These are really really good with peanut butter spread on top! Mmmmm!
• Ideally, after these are mixed, wait to make the muffins until they have sit in the refrigerator for one day. If you make muffins right away, they tend to be really flat and hardly rise at all. Wait a day or more and they turn out much nicer!

Finally, fresh baked buns are such a treat around here but I rarely have time to mix a batch each time we want them! Welcome to the world of refrigerator rolls! Oh, these yummy buns sure hit the spot and take so very little time to prep. I can usually form them during morning recess and have fresh baked buns for lunch or I form them right after school and have fresh baked buns for supper. Now I just need to tweak them a bit to include some whole wheat flour and maybe some ground flax.

REFRIGERATOR ROLLS

2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 pkgs dry yeast (or 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup warm water
2 beaten eggs
7-8 cups all-purpose flour

Mix boiling water, sugar, salt and shortening together and cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in 1/4 cup water and stir into first mixture. Add beaten eggs. Stir in 4 cups flour and beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to make a fairly stiff dough. Place in greased bowl and cover then place in refrigerator. This dough will keep for up to 6 days. When wanted, roll into 24 evenly-sized balls. Place on greased pan and allow to rise until double in bulk, about 1 -1 /2 hours. Bake in a 400F oven for 15 minutes.

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• I make this recipe x 1 1/2 then store it in a large Tupperware bowl in the fridge.
• I make 1 dozen fresh buns daily then whatever dough is left over at the end of the 6 days, I make into buns and freeze if necessary (which it hasn't been!).

We Survived Week One!

Well, we have completed our first full week of homeschooling for this 2010-2011 school year and what a week it was! It was a full week but a really great one! If the rest of the year could go this smoothly (which it probably won't), then it should be a breeze!

Some of the highlights of the week:

• RJ is only 4. She turns 5 in February. She would only be going into Kindergarten next year according to all the government regulations. Well, I like to ignore those and do what I want when it comes to schooling. She started kindergarten this week with a bang! I bought a number of workbooks for her thinking if she was kept busy all morning she would want to play all afternoon, right? WRONG! She spent all Monday afternoon crying because I didn't have more school for her to do! So, we upped the amount of pages for her and that seemed to make her happier - at least until Friday when she insisted she was doing school in the afternoon just like the boys. So, I just may add some grade 1 books into the mix and see how she does with those!


• The boys are enjoying both geography and science. For geography, they are studying Turkey and they look forward to those days. Yup, they actually enjoy it! And they love making the lapbooks. I did learn that their cutting-with-scissors skills are a bit wanting - the perfectionist in me has to work hard not to cut out the little books for them so they look perfect!
  


• Pepe wants to be a zoologist thanks to science. He has taken to writing notes in little notebooks about the frogs he has been catching. Actually, we have now set up an aquarium in their room with 2 American Toads and 1 Leopard Frog. Turns out, you really do need to cover any small holes in the aquarium lid no matter how unlikely you think it is that the frog can escape. Cause it can. Just ask the boys! (When we left the house at 5:30 all 3 amphibians were present and accounted for. When we returned at 8:30 the frog was gone. Jay thought it was burrowed in the dirt. So I dug up the dirt. No frog. Yup, I spent the next 2 hours cleaning the house and searching for it while promising the boys the frog was not in their room and would not jump on them at night. It was found. I returned it to its home. I covered all holes and weighted down the lid! Trying escaping now, oh little jumping wonder!)
  


• I was super excited to teach composition to Pepe this year, following the program designed by the Institute for Excellence in Writing. I wasn't sure how he would do but after this week, I am convinced he will thrive! He is loving it so far and has given 3 oral reports about his work. He was scared at first to present the report to us but by the third time he was looking at us while speaking, smiling, raising his eyebrows and using excellent expression. I cannot help but be overwhelmed with pride when I see how well he is doing under my tutelage!
  


• Lunch times are so much easier if you actually make school lunches for them either the night before or the morning of. I never thought I would make school lunches for my home-schooled kids but when I was reading this post by Mama Jenn I decided to give it a go. Now, she uses these really cute colored lunch dishes called Easy Lunchboxes that cost way too much to ship to Canada. (Sorry, Easy Lunchboxes!) I had to think of a more affordable alternative so I found perfect sized 2-compartment plastic containers at Dollarama. I also bought a few other smaller-sized containers for vegetable dip, fruit salad or jello or pudding, etc. These have come in so handy and make my day run that much smoother. Now I make their lunches ahead of time and label the dishes with their initials. They can get their lunch on their own and whatever they don't finish goes back in the dish and is handy for snack time! It really does save a tonne of time and they can use that extra time for more playing. I get to use that extra time for chores around the house or getting supper in the crock-pot, etc. I absolutely love making them lunches thanks to the extra time it saves and guess what? When you make the lunches ahead of time you don't serve KD! Imagine that! :)


• Finally, I have been using the workbox system as Mama Jenn describes (Hey, what can I say? She has some great ideas!). I have no idea how you are "supposed to" use the system but I like what I am doing. Everyone knows what to do next and the day seems to go very smoothly. It takes a bit more organizing than usual but the results are worth it. I have all 3 kids working on their assignments and it is so easy for me to go around and help them as necessary. They know what to do when they finish one assignment and don't have to sit and wait for me to tell them what to do! So, I love this part of schooling as well! And, I use the planning sheets Mama Jenn has created also! They keep me organized and on-track at all times! My day would be complete chaos without them!


• I love how we can be flexible with our schedule! We accomplished everything school-related we needed to do plus we attended a doctor's appointment in the city followed by some shopping, we helped my in-laws dig potatoes one afternoon and I took the kids to a bookstore one morning. A great, great week!

Well, that is the recap for the week. I don't have any pictures to show you since all 3 of my camera cards are full and need to get developed! That should happen this week! I hope your week was as good as mine and I hope this coming week is even better!

Potty Training Success!

On June 22 (2 weeks ago), I decided it was time to potty train almost 3 year-old Ali. I had actually thought about doing it way earlier, like in winter, but decided summer was a better time with dresses and shorts and she could comfortable run around in underwear if necessary. I was trying to cut down on all the laundry I would have to do when she would frequently wet herself. Turns out, I need not have worried. That little lady was a big girl in hiding! On day one, she wet herself once, day two she wet herself once. I think she has been dry every day since! By day three, I was no longer using a timer and she was coming in from playing outside on her own to use the bathroom. Unbelievable! None of my other kids were that easy to train! Not only has she been dry during the day, she is waking up dry at night. Not once, ever, did she wake up with a dry diaper previous to this. Now she is dry at night! However, her being dry at night is causing a lot of tears on the part of big sister RJ because she is still not consistently dry at night. Actually, before training Ali, RJ was always wet at night. Now she will be dry for a couple of nights, then wet a couple, etc. I am really hoping that when we go to Minneapolis in about 2 weeks, I will only have to bring diapers along for baby girl Ari.

So, what is our technique for potty training success? Well, I have used the same method for all the kids and this is what works for me.

• First, you put out the potty a long while before you are planning to train. Get them used to it. Let them sit on it whenever they want. If they pee in it, great! If not, no big deal. You are just getting them used to it and letting them explore it. Our potty has sat out for a long while already and she would come and pee on it every once in a while. We weren't pushing anything.


• Pick a day when you are going to start the training and tell the little trainee all about it. Let him/her know what day it will be and make a big deal of it. Choose a day when you will be home all day. Ideally, choose a weekend when you will be home all weekend. Training a child to use a washroom while you are busy running around from here to there is asking for trouble! I usually wait until the child is at least 2 years old (obviously with Ali I waited longer than that - I didn't feel like training her when she turned 2) because success requires a little less work.


• Gather your supplies. You will need training underwear (it is thicker and contains pees a little better than normal underwear), a timer, a potty chart, lots of fun stickers, a basket of books and some Smarties.

On the morning of the first day of training, put underwear on the child, take them to the potty and let them sit for no more than 5 minutes. You don't want them to hate the potty by banishing them to it all day! Read a book to them from the book basket. If they are successful in peeing, whoop and holler, clap your hands and make a big production about how great it is they peed in the potty! Allow them to choose a sticker to put on the chart. Set the timer for 30 minutes. When the timer beeps, repeat the process. If they do a larger job in the potty, whoop and holler, make a big celebration, give them a sticker and 3 Smarties. Set the timer and repeat the process.

Now, about the timer. Some children have larger bladders and pee less frequently. You know your child - adjust the timer accordingly. Some of my kids went pee every 15 minutes when they were training. Ali could go at least an hour, if not more.

If the child wets themselves, don't punish them. Don't get mad at them. Just clean it up. They feel bad already - don't make them feel worse. Most certainly don't call them a bad child for wetting themselves. They are just learning and their self-worth should not be tied to whether or not they can pee on the toilet (this is speaking from experience!). Remember, some days will be better, some will be worse. If you wait until the child is a little older, like I did with Ali (she will be 3 in August), the training will be that much easier. So, you can either fight the battle when they are younger or wait a bit longer and see how much easier it is. Your choice!

Some people give their trainees a lot to drink to encourage the peeing - never worked for me. Some people give the trainee special underwear, like Buzz Lightyear or Princess, as incentive for staying dry. Never worked for me. Some people use pull-ups during the day instead of underwear so there is less to clean up in the case of an accident. Just so you know, kids are smart. They see it is a glorified diaper and peeing in it makes no difference to them. Skip the pull-ups and use the underwear. It works better (in my opinion). Actually, the same is true at night. My oldest son, when he was training, kept calling the pull-up a diaper. We decided to go straight to underwear at night (which meant washing wet sheets) and after 2 wet nights, he stayed dry. I guess I should try the same thing with RJ!! Some people make the child use a potty seat on the toilet instead of a potty on the floor - your choice but my kids couldn't get down from the seat afterwards. So, for us it is a potty on the floor.

Now you know how I have successfully trained 4 of my kids (yikes, that means only one left in diapers! Yippee! Though that makes me a little sad because I do so love those itty bitty babies!). Best of luck to you! And remember this, they will eventually learn how to use a toilet - all successful business men and women, all mothers and fathers, know how to use the bathroom. And your little one will learn,too!