It has now been over two months since I've been here to my good ole blog. It has been a crazy time of moving our family of nine from our rental house on five acres to our own home in a neighborhood. In what became a rather fast-paced event, we began looking for a home, found one and then moved 30 days later. Since I really can't do-it-all, some - no A LOT - of things had to go and anything social media like was at the top of the list.
We're moved now and all settled in so I'm back to share again. I mean really, I had just decided that turning 50 warranted more blogging and look what happens? Sheesh. I'm still 50, though, so I guess it is better late than never.
There's so much to talk about that's happened over the past two months, if I can just remember it all! Like I said, we were down to a bare bones lifestyle for awhile so I thought I'd share how we handled the whole "move your family in 30 days" thing. And just to be clear, when our offer got accepted, we had not packed ONE box. Not even one! Also, we did all the packing and moving ourselves. Here's how it went down.
1. I knew that we needed to keep schooling as long as possible. With two high-schoolers and two grade-schoolers, I did not want to take off too much time. The high-schoolers kept to their schedule pretty well, it was the two younger ones that needed a revamp since much of what they did required me. Right off the bat we put our non-essential subjects on hold until the second semester. That included geography (which was taking up a lot of time), map skills and Latin. That right there made a huge difference.
2. My three college aged girls all have classes and jobs, so I knew they wouldn't be much help. When they were home and free (about 20 minutes over 30 days :), they were required to help out as much as possible, which they did.
3. My other four kids were an immense help, especially the two in high school! We got into a great rhythm of doing our school work in the morning and then packing and moving things in the afternoon. Because of their hard work, we only ended up taking two weeks off of school!
4. I made a firm decision to add nothing new to our schedule. We kept up with what we were already involved in but we rarely did any other activities or events beyond that. Saying NO was not fun, but crucial.
5. Once we got in the new house I spent the first week working like a mad woman to get it into a state of readiness. I knew that that was all the time I had, so we worked morning till night that first week so that everything was put away and in order. I knew that I wouldn't be able to function for very long with everyone wondering where things were.
So that is how we survived our 30 day moving adventure. Being organized was crucial. Also, the fact that I have decluttered on an ongoing basis made things a lot easier. That's not to say that we still didn't get rid of a lot of stuff! There were MANY bags of garbage as well as multiple trips to the local Goodwill. Hopefully everything that made the cut into the new house is stuff that we need and use and not much that is superfluous!
It's good to be back here and, God willing, I hope to continue on a much more regular basis. I say that, but we'll see what The Plan really is :)
God Bless!
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
A New Room and An Instagram Announcement
For about the past five years or so, Ms 11 yo and Ms 16 yo have been sharing a double bed on the lower portion of a bunk bed set. When they began this journey it was easy because they were both small. Let's just say that the past few years haven't been a cake-walk for Ms 16 yo, who most mornings I would find sleeping on the edge of the bed as Ms 11 yo would be sprawled across the rest of it.
Ms 16 yo and I have been brainstorming for awhile on how to get her her own bed...and then how to fit it in the room! Well, things worked out recently in her favor and we were able to snag a twin sized bed. This meant, of course, that her other four roommates had to be in agreement about removing some furniture and changing things up.
Here is where we started (or at least close to where we started as we had already begun taking things apart here):
We put the double on the bottom back to a twin to make room for the stand-alone twin bed. See all the stuff on the desk and the night stand? Guess how much stuff was in all those drawers? Yep, a lot. It all had to go somewhere. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure where it went, but it's not in the room!
Here we are mid-way through the project. Bed shrunk, most of the stuff vacated. Now it's time to move that desk. Here's where having a strong, teenage son comes in handy.
And finally, the big reveal.
We ended up switching two of the other girls around, too, just to make things easier. Here is the new bed set-up. It looks a little out of place, but in a few days, I suppose, it will look normal to everyone.
Here is the other side of the room. Ms 11 yo had her bed shrunk so she needed to get new bedding. She's my flashy one. Can you tell which of the beds is hers?? Yikes, I don't know how it won't keep her awake at night :)
This was perfect timing for a new project I've decided to start. I've been thinking about other ways to promote my book, "A Plan for Joy in the Home", so I thought it might be fun to use Instagram. I'm planning on posting photos that have to do with organizing, planning, help for the busy mom, joy, fun and many other things. If you'd like to follow along (I'll follow back), you can find me by searching: aplanforjoy. I hope you have fun following and find it useful.
God Bless!
Ms 16 yo and I have been brainstorming for awhile on how to get her her own bed...and then how to fit it in the room! Well, things worked out recently in her favor and we were able to snag a twin sized bed. This meant, of course, that her other four roommates had to be in agreement about removing some furniture and changing things up.
Here is where we started (or at least close to where we started as we had already begun taking things apart here):
We put the double on the bottom back to a twin to make room for the stand-alone twin bed. See all the stuff on the desk and the night stand? Guess how much stuff was in all those drawers? Yep, a lot. It all had to go somewhere. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure where it went, but it's not in the room!
And finally, the big reveal.
We ended up switching two of the other girls around, too, just to make things easier. Here is the new bed set-up. It looks a little out of place, but in a few days, I suppose, it will look normal to everyone.
Here is the other side of the room. Ms 11 yo had her bed shrunk so she needed to get new bedding. She's my flashy one. Can you tell which of the beds is hers?? Yikes, I don't know how it won't keep her awake at night :)
This was perfect timing for a new project I've decided to start. I've been thinking about other ways to promote my book, "A Plan for Joy in the Home", so I thought it might be fun to use Instagram. I'm planning on posting photos that have to do with organizing, planning, help for the busy mom, joy, fun and many other things. If you'd like to follow along (I'll follow back), you can find me by searching: aplanforjoy. I hope you have fun following and find it useful.
God Bless!
Sunday, November 9, 2014
When Life Gets Hectic....Part II
Remember that last post I just wrote? The one with the cool spread sheet that clearly detailed our driving schedule for play practice? The one that was so nicely laid out that, surely, it would work like a charm?
Well, herein lies the pitfall. While we can do everything we can to be as organized as possible; while we can make pretty, little spreadsheets to help us along the way, some things are just out of our control and we have to have the grace to just roll with it.
Let me explain. We planned out our Sunday morning so that both families that needed to car pool together would be going to the same Mass that morning. At the conclusion of Mass, the appropriate people would hop into Ms 18 yo's car and off they would go. The timing was such that they would be about 30 minutes EARLY. Did you catch that? EARLY.
That is until Ms 18 yo's car was running a little warmer than usual. Of course, my husband was not with us this morning as he had gone to an earlier Mass and then scooted out of town for the day. We consulted via cell phone (what DID we do without those???) and decided she could go on her way and just get some more coolant when she stopped for gas.
Except that's not how it worked out. About 10 minutes down the highway, her temp gauge shot up close to the red zone. Yikes. Well, suffice it to say that we were able to get her the coolant she needed, get back to her car on the highway, put in the coolant (all still dressed in our Sunday best, mind you) and get them to practice 10 minutes LATE.
Now, some might scoff at all that planning and say, "I told you you don't need to plan so much". However, had we not been this organized and had that much lead time built in (which, believe me is not always the case, so God knew what He was doing here!) they would have ended up being much later than 10 minutes.
It was a good reminder, however, of the need for flexibility...and a lot of grace! Hopefully the rest of the schedule runs more smoothly.
God Bless!
Well, herein lies the pitfall. While we can do everything we can to be as organized as possible; while we can make pretty, little spreadsheets to help us along the way, some things are just out of our control and we have to have the grace to just roll with it.
Let me explain. We planned out our Sunday morning so that both families that needed to car pool together would be going to the same Mass that morning. At the conclusion of Mass, the appropriate people would hop into Ms 18 yo's car and off they would go. The timing was such that they would be about 30 minutes EARLY. Did you catch that? EARLY.
That is until Ms 18 yo's car was running a little warmer than usual. Of course, my husband was not with us this morning as he had gone to an earlier Mass and then scooted out of town for the day. We consulted via cell phone (what DID we do without those???) and decided she could go on her way and just get some more coolant when she stopped for gas.
Except that's not how it worked out. About 10 minutes down the highway, her temp gauge shot up close to the red zone. Yikes. Well, suffice it to say that we were able to get her the coolant she needed, get back to her car on the highway, put in the coolant (all still dressed in our Sunday best, mind you) and get them to practice 10 minutes LATE.
Now, some might scoff at all that planning and say, "I told you you don't need to plan so much". However, had we not been this organized and had that much lead time built in (which, believe me is not always the case, so God knew what He was doing here!) they would have ended up being much later than 10 minutes.
It was a good reminder, however, of the need for flexibility...and a lot of grace! Hopefully the rest of the schedule runs more smoothly.
God Bless!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
When Life Gets Hectic...
Make a spreadsheet!
I can't tell you how much my life has depended on spreadsheets. I learned how to make them early on and I use them often.
Here is a spreadsheet I created for one day of play practice. One day, mind you, although this encompasses ten people from two families. Still...
Instead of complaining, and since it is the month of thankfulness and not crabbiness, I'll just say how thankful I am that I enjoy creating organization out of challenges such as this: How to get 10 people to and from practice (which is a 35 min drive) in the fewest amount of trips (and cars) possible so as not to cause children and adults to hang around for hours doing nothing.
God Bless!
I can't tell you how much my life has depended on spreadsheets. I learned how to make them early on and I use them often.
Here is a spreadsheet I created for one day of play practice. One day, mind you, although this encompasses ten people from two families. Still...
Instead of complaining, and since it is the month of thankfulness and not crabbiness, I'll just say how thankful I am that I enjoy creating organization out of challenges such as this: How to get 10 people to and from practice (which is a 35 min drive) in the fewest amount of trips (and cars) possible so as not to cause children and adults to hang around for hours doing nothing.
God Bless!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Peace in My Kitchen
When life gets hectic, I really need to have my surroundings be as peaceful looking as possible. For example, if I've spent the day (or several days) running around and I come home to a disaster of a house it just sends my mind askew. Of course I know it is that way because we've not been home to keep up with it, but still, it makes it hard for me to think.
That is why I'm always looking for ways to make it easier to keep things as neat as possible. The kitchen is one place I hate to go into and see a big mess (or even a little one). We don't have a dishwasher, which I truly think is a blessing, so that means dishes are to get done after every meal. This helps keep things under control so that when you have to go in there to cook, everything you need is already clean and tidy.
There was one part of the kitchen, however, that had been grating on my nerves for a long time.
It seems as if the glasses multiply when people aren't looking. There would be at least eight glasses on the counter at any given time and, miraculously, they didn't belong to anyone.
Over the years we've tried various ways of keeping track of whose glass was whose, but none of them really worked for very long. Until one day I thought about how nice it would be to have a tray where everyone would have a designated spot for their glass and it would be their responsibility to make sure their glass stayed in their spot.
A few weeks ago I was at Good Will and I found this lovely blue tray for a whopping .50. I knew the time was now. I got my tray home and placed everyone's glasses on it and threatened them with their lives if I saw a glass on the main part of the counter.
And guess what? It worked. We've only had one infraction thus far. Beyond that, everyone has remembered to place their glass in their spot and now I can walk into my kitchen and see this:
This clean counter top brings me peace. I know it sounds silly, but every little niche in the house that can bring peace is a good thing. Pretty soon those places start to add up and they outweigh the areas with messes.
See, little things can make all the difference in the world, and this little thing only cost me .50! Can't beat that for a little bit of peace of mind, can you? Now, on to tackle other areas, like LEGO STORAGE!
God Bless!
That is why I'm always looking for ways to make it easier to keep things as neat as possible. The kitchen is one place I hate to go into and see a big mess (or even a little one). We don't have a dishwasher, which I truly think is a blessing, so that means dishes are to get done after every meal. This helps keep things under control so that when you have to go in there to cook, everything you need is already clean and tidy.
There was one part of the kitchen, however, that had been grating on my nerves for a long time.
It seems as if the glasses multiply when people aren't looking. There would be at least eight glasses on the counter at any given time and, miraculously, they didn't belong to anyone.
Over the years we've tried various ways of keeping track of whose glass was whose, but none of them really worked for very long. Until one day I thought about how nice it would be to have a tray where everyone would have a designated spot for their glass and it would be their responsibility to make sure their glass stayed in their spot.
A few weeks ago I was at Good Will and I found this lovely blue tray for a whopping .50. I knew the time was now. I got my tray home and placed everyone's glasses on it and threatened them with their lives if I saw a glass on the main part of the counter.
And guess what? It worked. We've only had one infraction thus far. Beyond that, everyone has remembered to place their glass in their spot and now I can walk into my kitchen and see this:
This clean counter top brings me peace. I know it sounds silly, but every little niche in the house that can bring peace is a good thing. Pretty soon those places start to add up and they outweigh the areas with messes.
See, little things can make all the difference in the world, and this little thing only cost me .50! Can't beat that for a little bit of peace of mind, can you? Now, on to tackle other areas, like LEGO STORAGE!
God Bless!
Monday, April 29, 2013
On Preparing for a Party
How do you prepare to host a big party? I begin by making lists - and lists for my lists now that I have Evernote! After making my "To Do" list for the week, I break down the things that need to be done by the days in which I have left to do them. If I'm still a week out, I put the least important things first.
For example, this past weekend we did some pretty important things like clean winter out of our garage. Gone are the dead leaves and snow sleds. The floor is swept clean and things are put back where they belong because the garage is going to be an important space for our event.
I also deemed it necessary to have the inside of the car cleaned. Not because we will be using it for seating during dinner, but because I thought it might be nice to drive to my son's First Holy Communion in a clean and pleasant smelling car - not one that smells of a winter's worth of crumbs.
After we finished outside, my next important task was to clean out the hall closet that holds all of our shoes and coats; because really, who doesn't do that before they have people over? It makes sense, doesn't it? In order to clean up the shoe/coat area in the mud room, I had to have room in the closet to put it all in, thus the reason for that important task.
Next it was time to attack the dust behind the washer and dryer. No, really, this was an important task because I had the vacuum cleaner out and the hose attachment on it and it was in the back hall area where the washer and dryer are and, since all of these things rarely align, I determined that it was meant to happen. So now, if a guest accidentally drops something behind my washer or dryer, I won't be embarrassed and they will be amazed at my incredible housekeeping abilities.
As we get closer to our big event, the tasks will be a bit more relevant and stressful. Things like finding the right clothing to wear, making that run to Sam's club to get those big boxes of plastic silverware (you know the ones where you run out of forks WAY before you run out of knives and spoons) and then the BIG clean of the rest of the house and food preparation will happen.
Through it all I will continue to add to and subtract from my oh-so-important lists. I really couldn't do something like this without them. They keep me focused and allow me to think about other things - like wondering what this week's Theme Thursday theme will be. Maybe, if I'm lucky, it will have something to do with a clean shoe closet!
God Bless!
For example, this past weekend we did some pretty important things like clean winter out of our garage. Gone are the dead leaves and snow sleds. The floor is swept clean and things are put back where they belong because the garage is going to be an important space for our event.
I also deemed it necessary to have the inside of the car cleaned. Not because we will be using it for seating during dinner, but because I thought it might be nice to drive to my son's First Holy Communion in a clean and pleasant smelling car - not one that smells of a winter's worth of crumbs.
After we finished outside, my next important task was to clean out the hall closet that holds all of our shoes and coats; because really, who doesn't do that before they have people over? It makes sense, doesn't it? In order to clean up the shoe/coat area in the mud room, I had to have room in the closet to put it all in, thus the reason for that important task.
Next it was time to attack the dust behind the washer and dryer. No, really, this was an important task because I had the vacuum cleaner out and the hose attachment on it and it was in the back hall area where the washer and dryer are and, since all of these things rarely align, I determined that it was meant to happen. So now, if a guest accidentally drops something behind my washer or dryer, I won't be embarrassed and they will be amazed at my incredible housekeeping abilities.
As we get closer to our big event, the tasks will be a bit more relevant and stressful. Things like finding the right clothing to wear, making that run to Sam's club to get those big boxes of plastic silverware (you know the ones where you run out of forks WAY before you run out of knives and spoons) and then the BIG clean of the rest of the house and food preparation will happen.
Through it all I will continue to add to and subtract from my oh-so-important lists. I really couldn't do something like this without them. They keep me focused and allow me to think about other things - like wondering what this week's Theme Thursday theme will be. Maybe, if I'm lucky, it will have something to do with a clean shoe closet!
God Bless!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Taking Control...
of the Lego's, that is. I am far more motivated to do Spring cleaning right after Christmas than I am in the Spring time. This time the Lego's were the object of my organizational flurry! I'm sure many of you out there can relate to the Attack of the Lego's when it comes to finding them in every nook and cranny of your home. Lego's are everywhere and they hurt when you step on them in the dark. They are perched on every available flat space in my home, so I decided it was time to tame them. We went from these (which were taken on a good day)
To this:
I am so happy with this new arrangement! The three youngest each get three drawers to house their Lego kits and creations. I'm really hoping that this will help contain these little rascals (the Lego's that is...not the kids). Even if it doesn't, it sure looks a lot nicer than the previous system.
Now, on to conquer other areas where toys have gotten out of control and chaos runs amok!
God Bless!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What About Your Kitchen?
In our previous house, it seemed that I spent most of my day in the kitchen. In this house, I don't. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it is because my older girls are doing more cooking than they used to. In fact, right now, Ms. 15 yo is starting a crock pot lasagna recipe we just found that is very yummy!
No matter if I'm in the kitchen cooking or baking, or just walking through it, a messy kitchen is another thing that just drives me crazy. I just can't stand to walk in there to do something and see dirty dishes in the sink, food on the counters or the stove looking a mess. I think the best thing that ever happened to us in the kitchen was the day our dish washer broke. Before that day, the dirty dishes would stack up in the sink because no one would empty the clean dishwasher until the afternoon. Now, someone is assigned to wash dishes after each meal. Others are assigned to wipe counters, put the food away and sweep the floors. This insures that the kitchen will be clean after each meal.
A clean kitchen puts a smile on my face. A happy mom means a happy household :)
Another thing I learned about the kitchen was from my mother after one of our moves. She helped me organize the cabinets and drawers into related areas. I must confess that prior to that I had never really given it much thought. Now, whenever I organize a kitchen, I make sure that all of the items we need for meals are close to the table, all the pots, pans, lids and cookie sheets are close to the oven and all of the items I need for baking are in one section.
That is the part I love the most about all of this. In one corner of my kitchen I have all of the main ingredients I need to bake, as well as my mixer, utensils and all of my cookbooks. Since I love to bake, I LOVE my baking center! It makes it so much easier and faster!
So what does your kitchen look like? Is it organized? Is it clean? Does it make you smile when you enter it (or at least not frown)? I hope you answered yes to all of those questions. If not, what are you waiting for? Happy organizing!
No matter if I'm in the kitchen cooking or baking, or just walking through it, a messy kitchen is another thing that just drives me crazy. I just can't stand to walk in there to do something and see dirty dishes in the sink, food on the counters or the stove looking a mess. I think the best thing that ever happened to us in the kitchen was the day our dish washer broke. Before that day, the dirty dishes would stack up in the sink because no one would empty the clean dishwasher until the afternoon. Now, someone is assigned to wash dishes after each meal. Others are assigned to wipe counters, put the food away and sweep the floors. This insures that the kitchen will be clean after each meal.
A clean kitchen puts a smile on my face. A happy mom means a happy household :)
Another thing I learned about the kitchen was from my mother after one of our moves. She helped me organize the cabinets and drawers into related areas. I must confess that prior to that I had never really given it much thought. Now, whenever I organize a kitchen, I make sure that all of the items we need for meals are close to the table, all the pots, pans, lids and cookie sheets are close to the oven and all of the items I need for baking are in one section.
That is the part I love the most about all of this. In one corner of my kitchen I have all of the main ingredients I need to bake, as well as my mixer, utensils and all of my cookbooks. Since I love to bake, I LOVE my baking center! It makes it so much easier and faster!
So what does your kitchen look like? Is it organized? Is it clean? Does it make you smile when you enter it (or at least not frown)? I hope you answered yes to all of those questions. If not, what are you waiting for? Happy organizing!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Ugly but Frustration Alleviating White Board
Does this sound familiar?
~ I tell my son that he cannot play Wii unless he cleans up his room. I say this in the morning. About 3:00 I tell him that, yes, he can play Wii without ever checking his room because....I FORGOT!
~ My husband tells me that the girls should cut the grass the next day. When he arrives home the next day he asks why the grass hasn't been cut. Ummm....I FORGOT!
~ My children are not allowed to go on the computer until all their chores for the day are done. I notice that one of my daughters has been on the computer for the past hour and then I realize that I never checked that all her chores had been done. Heck, I don't even remember what all her chores were!
I know that my brain is overloaded. I know that I am trying to keep too much information sorted in an organized fashion up there. What with all of the things that we try to accomplish on a daily basis, not to mention just the sheer amount of chaos created by seven - nine people being in the house, and the fact that I am getting older and have even more accumulated memories that I try to house up there, it is no wonder that I can't remember much.
This is where I was at a few weeks ago. Frustrated because I was always forgetting important things. Frustrated because my children tend to take advantage of my lack of memory. Frustrated because I was feeling completely overwhelmed by my duties. Something had to change. Thank God for my mother.
My mother is my sounding board. She is the one who will listen to me go on about all of my woes. I know that if I call her and need to talk about something, she will listen and offer whatever suggestions she can. I am truly blessed to have her! During this time, then, I called and spouted my frustrations to her. We spent a few phone calls like that, actually, and by the end of the week we came up with this:
An ugly white board that is sitting in my entry way because I have nowhere else to put it! But, boy, does it do the job I need it to do. We started by putting all the kid's names on the board and listing all of the things that they need to do on a daily basis. Things like:
Morning offering
make bed
pick up their rooms
brush their hair and teeth (yes, I still have to remind some of them :)
drink their Reliv shakes
do their meal chores
School work
As soon as each task is completed they put a check mark next to it. Each evening I add extra things they have to do the next day. Things like:
cut the grass
cook dinner
fold laundry
If there is something that either needs to be done by multiple children or is not assigned to a particular person, I might just write that in a blank space so that I remember it needs to be done.
Now when they ask me if they can watch a movie, go on the computer, go to their club or play Wii, all I have to do is walk over to the white board and see what their status is. Sometimes I take their word that the items have actually been done, while other times I will double check, or I will occasionally just take a tour of the house to see if everything is up to date.
We've been doing this for about a month now and it has been wonderful. There is no more guessing and no more frustration for anyone! It is either done, or it isn't and I just have to look at the board to tell. I don't have to remember all those tiny but important things every day.
I've tried variations of this before. Things like writing a list every day, writing items down on my calendar or sticky notes, but the fact that I had to write these things down every day got too tedious and I would forget about it :) The white board, even though it is unattractive and cumbersome, really makes a big difference. I don't know if you struggle with any of this, but in case you do, I thought I would offer this as a possible solution to the problem. It might be just the thing you need to alleviate a little stress from your daily life!
~ I tell my son that he cannot play Wii unless he cleans up his room. I say this in the morning. About 3:00 I tell him that, yes, he can play Wii without ever checking his room because....I FORGOT!
~ My husband tells me that the girls should cut the grass the next day. When he arrives home the next day he asks why the grass hasn't been cut. Ummm....I FORGOT!
~ My children are not allowed to go on the computer until all their chores for the day are done. I notice that one of my daughters has been on the computer for the past hour and then I realize that I never checked that all her chores had been done. Heck, I don't even remember what all her chores were!
I know that my brain is overloaded. I know that I am trying to keep too much information sorted in an organized fashion up there. What with all of the things that we try to accomplish on a daily basis, not to mention just the sheer amount of chaos created by seven - nine people being in the house, and the fact that I am getting older and have even more accumulated memories that I try to house up there, it is no wonder that I can't remember much.
This is where I was at a few weeks ago. Frustrated because I was always forgetting important things. Frustrated because my children tend to take advantage of my lack of memory. Frustrated because I was feeling completely overwhelmed by my duties. Something had to change. Thank God for my mother.
My mother is my sounding board. She is the one who will listen to me go on about all of my woes. I know that if I call her and need to talk about something, she will listen and offer whatever suggestions she can. I am truly blessed to have her! During this time, then, I called and spouted my frustrations to her. We spent a few phone calls like that, actually, and by the end of the week we came up with this:
An ugly white board that is sitting in my entry way because I have nowhere else to put it! But, boy, does it do the job I need it to do. We started by putting all the kid's names on the board and listing all of the things that they need to do on a daily basis. Things like:
Morning offering
make bed
pick up their rooms
brush their hair and teeth (yes, I still have to remind some of them :)
drink their Reliv shakes
do their meal chores
School work
As soon as each task is completed they put a check mark next to it. Each evening I add extra things they have to do the next day. Things like:
cut the grass
cook dinner
fold laundry
If there is something that either needs to be done by multiple children or is not assigned to a particular person, I might just write that in a blank space so that I remember it needs to be done.
Now when they ask me if they can watch a movie, go on the computer, go to their club or play Wii, all I have to do is walk over to the white board and see what their status is. Sometimes I take their word that the items have actually been done, while other times I will double check, or I will occasionally just take a tour of the house to see if everything is up to date.
We've been doing this for about a month now and it has been wonderful. There is no more guessing and no more frustration for anyone! It is either done, or it isn't and I just have to look at the board to tell. I don't have to remember all those tiny but important things every day.
I've tried variations of this before. Things like writing a list every day, writing items down on my calendar or sticky notes, but the fact that I had to write these things down every day got too tedious and I would forget about it :) The white board, even though it is unattractive and cumbersome, really makes a big difference. I don't know if you struggle with any of this, but in case you do, I thought I would offer this as a possible solution to the problem. It might be just the thing you need to alleviate a little stress from your daily life!
Monday, January 24, 2011
My To-Do List(s)
In response to my last post about planners, a friend had asked me about how I manage my To-Do list(s). Since I'm always looking for ideas for the blog, I thought I'd make a post out of it instead of emailing her my response :)
First let me start by saying that this year I changed our general calendar around. With Ms 18 yo being in college, it seemed to add another dimension to our busyness, so I got one of these this year:
It hangs in the kitchen and is right there where everyone can see it. I used to keep a weekly calendar on my desk where everyone could see it, but since we've moved here, my desk isn't in the kitchen anymore, so it made the family calendar a little less accessible to everyone (meaning they had to walk farther to look at it :) I love being able to see the entire month at once. It really helps me to get the big picture and plan things out better. I wish I had done it sooner.
I also decided that I can't stand electronic calendars! I really tried to use the calendar on my phone, but I hate not being able to flip the pages. I know that sounds weird, but I'm sure some of you out there can understand what I mean. I need to physically flip through the pages (whether they be the month pages or the week pages) of my calendar. It helps me sort things out.
So, to that end, I bought myself a small daily planner and I leave that on my desk. I can flip to my heart's content now, and it is still small enough to fit in my purse so I can take it with me when I need to set appointments. Yes, I have to remember to copy the information onto the big family calendar, but I'm okay with that.
So what about the To-Do list? Well, how I handle my To-Do list varies depending on how busy I happen to be. If it is a relatively slow time, then I will just jot down in my planner what needs to be done on the day that it needs to be done. I usually write things down as I think of them, but at night I'll make a mental run-through of the next day to make sure that I didn't forget anything.
If it happens to be a busy time for us, I will take a piece of paper and just start writing down all of the things that I will need to do for that week. As I think of them, or as they come up, I just add them to the list. Then, I go back and, if possible, assign a day of that week on which I am going to accomplish them. For example, if we have a big party coming at the end of the week, my list might look like this:
dust house (W)
go to WalMart (TH)
go to Sam's (TH)
get haircuts (T)
bake cake (F)
frost cake (S)
cut grass (F)
clean basement (T)
clean bathrooms (S)
set up tables and chairs (S)
make the food (F, S)
clean up the yard (TH)
Each day I scan the list and do what I need to do. Once an activity is done, I cross it off. I've had lists that are a full page long, but it makes it much easier to manage when I organize my tasks this way. I also find that once I write it down, I don't have to give it much thought until it is time to do it.
I hope that helps! I'm always looking for new organizing ideas, so if I missed something that seems obvious to you, please share it with the rest of us!
First let me start by saying that this year I changed our general calendar around. With Ms 18 yo being in college, it seemed to add another dimension to our busyness, so I got one of these this year:
I also decided that I can't stand electronic calendars! I really tried to use the calendar on my phone, but I hate not being able to flip the pages. I know that sounds weird, but I'm sure some of you out there can understand what I mean. I need to physically flip through the pages (whether they be the month pages or the week pages) of my calendar. It helps me sort things out.
So, to that end, I bought myself a small daily planner and I leave that on my desk. I can flip to my heart's content now, and it is still small enough to fit in my purse so I can take it with me when I need to set appointments. Yes, I have to remember to copy the information onto the big family calendar, but I'm okay with that.
So what about the To-Do list? Well, how I handle my To-Do list varies depending on how busy I happen to be. If it is a relatively slow time, then I will just jot down in my planner what needs to be done on the day that it needs to be done. I usually write things down as I think of them, but at night I'll make a mental run-through of the next day to make sure that I didn't forget anything.
If it happens to be a busy time for us, I will take a piece of paper and just start writing down all of the things that I will need to do for that week. As I think of them, or as they come up, I just add them to the list. Then, I go back and, if possible, assign a day of that week on which I am going to accomplish them. For example, if we have a big party coming at the end of the week, my list might look like this:
dust house (W)
go to WalMart (TH)
go to Sam's (TH)
get haircuts (T)
bake cake (F)
frost cake (S)
cut grass (F)
clean basement (T)
clean bathrooms (S)
set up tables and chairs (S)
make the food (F, S)
clean up the yard (TH)
Each day I scan the list and do what I need to do. Once an activity is done, I cross it off. I've had lists that are a full page long, but it makes it much easier to manage when I organize my tasks this way. I also find that once I write it down, I don't have to give it much thought until it is time to do it.
I hope that helps! I'm always looking for new organizing ideas, so if I missed something that seems obvious to you, please share it with the rest of us!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Get A Plan!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
(Note: This has nothing to do with St. Patrick!) We received a newsletter in the mail the other day from the nuns in Hanceville, AL. (Sweet Home Alabama - my heart has been yearning to go there again.....) Anyhow, in their newsletter they gave their daily schedule and, after analyzing it, I was in awe of how balanced it was. Here is their day:
5:20 Rise
6:05 Prayers
7:00 Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
8:00 Thanksgiving
8:20 Holy Rosary
8:50 Breakfast
9:00 - 11:30 Work
11:30 Prayers
12:00 Dinner
12:30 - 2:00 Free time
2:00 - 4:00 Work
4:00 Lesson
4:30 Spiritual Reading
5:00 Prayer time
5:30 Supper
6:30 Recreation
8:00 Grand Silence
I like how they have about 4 1/2 hours of prayer a day balanced by about 4 hours of work and 3 hours of free/recreation time. (By the way, this is an order of contemplative nuns). In the newsletter they comment, "The daily monastic schedule is the sturdy anchor of the religious house. Each hour of the day is determined, enabling us to embrace the present moment with certainty and freedom, always knowing when and where we are supposed to be." (italics added)
Isn't that beautiful. You better believe this schedule and that quote is going to find its way into my "A Plan For Joy in the Home" workshop. It sums everything up so wonderfully. When our day has a plan, we can focus on the moment, not worrying or thinking about what else needs to be done or what we would rather be doing, knowing that everything will be allotted its proper time during the day.
If you have been thinking about being more organized in your day or have gotten away from a schedule, maybe this will give you some food for thought about getting one in place!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Our Homeschooling Plan
Well, we spent the first day of school getting organized because I just couldn't manage to get it done before that! I don't know if I should publicly announce that or not, seeing as how I lead workshops on organizing your life, but it just goes to show you that I don't always have my act together.
Anyhow, I managed to put some thoughts together about our next topic of study and actually organize a schedule for the next couple of months. I'm trying something a bit different this time around. I split some of our subjects into different groups to be covered only on certain days. For example, our unit study will be done on Tues and Wed, while more independent studies will be done on Mon. and Thurs. Friday is usually our catch-up and errand day.
I'm mainly trying this because our morning mass schedule varies from day to day and I never seem to have enough time to do all of the group things that I'd like to do. Since we go to mass in the evening on Tuesday and early on Wednesday (thus opening up more time) I'm setting aside a good portion of those two days to do our "together" subjects. I know it goes against my "Never have more than one schedule" rule, but I decided I had to try it. We'll see how it goes.
As for our topic of study, we seem to be coming across a lot of information lately about becoming a bit more self-sufficient. That magazine I was reading last week had a lot of articles about moving in that direction. I thought it would be interesting to learn about what it would take to keep our family afloat if food or other items became harder to get. Can we take advantage of things we find in nature? What are the basic nutrients we need to stay alive and healthy? What are some things we can do right here, right now?
First, we are going to start out learning the basics about our bodies. In order to know what we need to survive, we need to know about how our body works. After we have some background there, I'd like to move on to learning about herbs and "weeds" - how to look around our area and find out what is edible and what is not. We'll also look into gardening (again!) and possibly animals we might be able to raise.
As usual, I'm not sure of the exact path we'll take. I like to leave some room in my plan for God to direct us where He wants us to go. I find it is more fun that way. At least I finally have an idea of where to start! If anyone has some good ideas or book recommendations, I'd love to hear about them! I hope you're school term is off to a good start, too.
God Bless!
Anyhow, I managed to put some thoughts together about our next topic of study and actually organize a schedule for the next couple of months. I'm trying something a bit different this time around. I split some of our subjects into different groups to be covered only on certain days. For example, our unit study will be done on Tues and Wed, while more independent studies will be done on Mon. and Thurs. Friday is usually our catch-up and errand day.
I'm mainly trying this because our morning mass schedule varies from day to day and I never seem to have enough time to do all of the group things that I'd like to do. Since we go to mass in the evening on Tuesday and early on Wednesday (thus opening up more time) I'm setting aside a good portion of those two days to do our "together" subjects. I know it goes against my "Never have more than one schedule" rule, but I decided I had to try it. We'll see how it goes.
As for our topic of study, we seem to be coming across a lot of information lately about becoming a bit more self-sufficient. That magazine I was reading last week had a lot of articles about moving in that direction. I thought it would be interesting to learn about what it would take to keep our family afloat if food or other items became harder to get. Can we take advantage of things we find in nature? What are the basic nutrients we need to stay alive and healthy? What are some things we can do right here, right now?
First, we are going to start out learning the basics about our bodies. In order to know what we need to survive, we need to know about how our body works. After we have some background there, I'd like to move on to learning about herbs and "weeds" - how to look around our area and find out what is edible and what is not. We'll also look into gardening (again!) and possibly animals we might be able to raise.
As usual, I'm not sure of the exact path we'll take. I like to leave some room in my plan for God to direct us where He wants us to go. I find it is more fun that way. At least I finally have an idea of where to start! If anyone has some good ideas or book recommendations, I'd love to hear about them! I hope you're school term is off to a good start, too.
God Bless!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hanging up the Clothes
I had a chance to catch a few minutes of Relevant Radio today and Dr. Mark Miravalle was discussing what we can do to help ourselves during this turbulent time - especially after the bad day on Wall Street today. He pointed out that many of us can take these turbulent times as a chance to evaluate where it is we get our peace from. Is it from the material world or is it from Jesus? One of the things he said we could do is to evaluate our lives and voluntarily enter into a more simple lifestyle. In our case, we have had to enter into this lifestyle on a not-so-voluntary basis.
One way we have chosen to cut back in these difficult times is to finally put up a clothes line. I know it is late in the clothes-hanging season, but at least I can save on a few less trips through the propane-eating dryer!
What I didn't expect from this change was the enthusiasm that my children expressed about actually hanging up wet clothes! Yesterday, due to much rain over the past week, was the first day we could hang our laundry and they actually were arguing about who would hang it up. After we "ironed out" the details as to who would actually be doing the hanging, some of the other kids felt it was necessary to go outside and watch while the laundry got hung :)
Amazing. I hope they keep up their enthusiasm. Today when they hung up the towel load they even organized it so that like items were hanging in the same area. My organizing genes must have gotten into some of them at least! I wish I would have thought to take a picture!
So often we think that by removing material things from the lives of our children we will be causing them pain and heartache, when in reality, maybe they can deal with it better than we can as adults. I know that my kids aren't really all that attached to the dryer, but it still amazed me how excited they were about the change. Maybe we should look to our children to see how they deal with change. We might just learn something.
God Bless!
One way we have chosen to cut back in these difficult times is to finally put up a clothes line. I know it is late in the clothes-hanging season, but at least I can save on a few less trips through the propane-eating dryer!
What I didn't expect from this change was the enthusiasm that my children expressed about actually hanging up wet clothes! Yesterday, due to much rain over the past week, was the first day we could hang our laundry and they actually were arguing about who would hang it up. After we "ironed out" the details as to who would actually be doing the hanging, some of the other kids felt it was necessary to go outside and watch while the laundry got hung :)
Amazing. I hope they keep up their enthusiasm. Today when they hung up the towel load they even organized it so that like items were hanging in the same area. My organizing genes must have gotten into some of them at least! I wish I would have thought to take a picture!
So often we think that by removing material things from the lives of our children we will be causing them pain and heartache, when in reality, maybe they can deal with it better than we can as adults. I know that my kids aren't really all that attached to the dryer, but it still amazed me how excited they were about the change. Maybe we should look to our children to see how they deal with change. We might just learn something.
God Bless!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Letting Go and Letting the Kids Help
Jen had a great post the other day about accepting imperfect help. I got to thinking about that again in my own life. A while back I realized that I could not keep up with all of the children, all of the schooling and all of the household chores. I also realized that I couldn't afford a nanny, I wasn't going to send them to school and I couldn't afford a housekeeper. For the longest time I thought that it was just easier for me to do the work than it was to take all that time to teach my children how to do it. I finally reached a point where I figured the only way to maintain my sanity was to give in and teach my children how to help me with the upkeep of the house.
I tend, by my nature, to be a very organized and, yes, anal person. I like things done the way I do them, with the care and attention that I put into them. Naturally, with children, this is not going to be the case. It is very hard for me, and quite often I fail, to hold my tongue about the way in which a job is done.
I also find that my knee-jerk reaction to a little one who wants to help with something is NO. The other day my five year old wanted to wash the dishes. I had to stop and have a brief conversation with myself about the pros and cons of this request. Pro - she could try to wash them and feel good about helping and about her accomplishments and I could have some help with the dishes. Con - She could make a mess that I would have to clean up and I would probably have to wash them over anyway. Well, I gave in and let her wash the plastic stuff, and guess what, she did a fabulous job. I didn't have to clean up anything, nor did I have to rewash one plate. It was then that I stood back in amazement at how industrious she has become.
Over the years, I have also realized that there is a big difference between a child who is doing a job half-heartedly and a child who really does try and complete the job to the best of their ability. The challenge comes for me in stopping to figure out which one it is and then responding appropriately. I know that there are many times when I should have praised or kept my mouth shut, but because I was trying to do 10 other things at the same time, I took the easy way of criticism.
My advice: Mothers, let your children, no matter what age, help you with something! Go against that urge to just do it yourself and get it done faster. It really is a win-win situation. You get some help with the chores and they gain some valuable confidence and a good feeling that they are being helpful. I have seen the benefits in my own house as I have some very capable and industrious children (when they want to be, of course :)
God Bless!
I tend, by my nature, to be a very organized and, yes, anal person. I like things done the way I do them, with the care and attention that I put into them. Naturally, with children, this is not going to be the case. It is very hard for me, and quite often I fail, to hold my tongue about the way in which a job is done.
I also find that my knee-jerk reaction to a little one who wants to help with something is NO. The other day my five year old wanted to wash the dishes. I had to stop and have a brief conversation with myself about the pros and cons of this request. Pro - she could try to wash them and feel good about helping and about her accomplishments and I could have some help with the dishes. Con - She could make a mess that I would have to clean up and I would probably have to wash them over anyway. Well, I gave in and let her wash the plastic stuff, and guess what, she did a fabulous job. I didn't have to clean up anything, nor did I have to rewash one plate. It was then that I stood back in amazement at how industrious she has become.
Over the years, I have also realized that there is a big difference between a child who is doing a job half-heartedly and a child who really does try and complete the job to the best of their ability. The challenge comes for me in stopping to figure out which one it is and then responding appropriately. I know that there are many times when I should have praised or kept my mouth shut, but because I was trying to do 10 other things at the same time, I took the easy way of criticism.
My advice: Mothers, let your children, no matter what age, help you with something! Go against that urge to just do it yourself and get it done faster. It really is a win-win situation. You get some help with the chores and they gain some valuable confidence and a good feeling that they are being helpful. I have seen the benefits in my own house as I have some very capable and industrious children (when they want to be, of course :)
God Bless!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Organize your Schoolwork
I was visiting a good friend of mine last week when I saw something in her eating area that made the organizing freak inside of me have heart palpitations (good ones, mind you!). My friend has eight children, all of whom are homeschooled. She has persevered through a full Seton curriculum for the entire time! Her oldest daughter is now in college. I was so impressed by the organized way in which she keeps her children's schoolwork that I thought I would pass along pictures of it. She designed the case, her husband and daughter built it and then set it on some bookshelves that they already had. Each child has their own color folders with each subject neatly labeled on the spine of the folder with the corresponding books for that subject behind it. I love it. Hope this helps anyone who might be either pressed for space or organizationally challenged.
God Bless!
God Bless!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Spiritual Side
So why spend all this time talking about the kitchen? Well, I have found that the more organized I am in a certain area, the less I have to think about it and so therefore, I have more time to think about other things. The last thing I want to spend my entire day thinking about is what to have for dinner. I also don't want to spend more time in the grocery store than I absolutely have to. By making my life easier in this area, I can spend my precious brain power trying to keep up with everything else in my life.
Of course we know that there is a spiritual side to keeping an orderly and neat kitchen. As F. Fernandez states in "In Conversation with God", "There are no jobs that have nothing to do with the doctrine of Jesus Christ: even for very technical problems within a firm, or in the way a mother runs her house, a variety of solutions will offer themselves." And then later he states, "With God's help, the Christian will endeavour to turn each ordinary thing into something noble and of great value: he will try to turn everything he touches, not into gold, as in the legend of King Midas, but rather into grace and glory." So let us strive to turn our kitchens into portals of grace and glory. Doesn't that sound wonderful!!!
As an aside, I got to wondering if there was a title for Our Lady that had to do with kitchens so I Googled "Our Lady of the Kitchen" and I actually came up with this post from 2006 from a blog entitled "Our Lady of the Kitchen Sink". It was quite good, so I would recommend checking it out.
God Bless!
P.S. We are off to the final dress rehearsal for a performance of "The Seven Last Words of Christ" that our local Girls Club and Choir are performing. Please say a prayer for the success of the performances on Saturday and Tuesday. If you are interested in attending, check out this website for the location and information.
Of course we know that there is a spiritual side to keeping an orderly and neat kitchen. As F. Fernandez states in "In Conversation with God", "There are no jobs that have nothing to do with the doctrine of Jesus Christ: even for very technical problems within a firm, or in the way a mother runs her house, a variety of solutions will offer themselves." And then later he states, "With God's help, the Christian will endeavour to turn each ordinary thing into something noble and of great value: he will try to turn everything he touches, not into gold, as in the legend of King Midas, but rather into grace and glory." So let us strive to turn our kitchens into portals of grace and glory. Doesn't that sound wonderful!!!
As an aside, I got to wondering if there was a title for Our Lady that had to do with kitchens so I Googled "Our Lady of the Kitchen" and I actually came up with this post from 2006 from a blog entitled "Our Lady of the Kitchen Sink". It was quite good, so I would recommend checking it out.
God Bless!
P.S. We are off to the final dress rehearsal for a performance of "The Seven Last Words of Christ" that our local Girls Club and Choir are performing. Please say a prayer for the success of the performances on Saturday and Tuesday. If you are interested in attending, check out this website for the location and information.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping
How about some ideas for streamlining your grocery shopping and meal planning? I don't want you to think that I think I have all the answers! I just know from experience that I learned a lot from seeing the way that other people do things. I'm the kind of person who learns visually. Don't spend a lot of time telling my the WHY of something, I like to know the HOW. For example, don't spend much time telling me WHY my body can't tolerate wheat, just tell me HOW to live my life without it!! Anyhow, that is why I would like to show you my method of shopping and planning. It is probably just one way in a hundred of how to do it, but maybe it will help you streamline your own method.
I began this whole process by taking a pen and paper with me to my favorite grocery store and writing down, in the order in which they appear in the store, the items that our family uses most often. For example, the first aisle I come to is the bread aisle, so in that section I have things like: bread, bagels, peanut butter, jelly, coffee. I did this for every aisle, as well as the dairy, produce and frozen food sections. The unfortunate thing is that I shop at Wal-Mart and they are FOREVER moving things around the store. Oh well, my list gives me a general idea of where everything is. I then took my notes home and typed all of this into an Excel spreadsheet. I print off a bunch of copies at once and put them into my binder on my desk. This way, throughout the week, whenever we realize we need something from the store, everyone knows to flip to the current grocery list and either circle or write in the necessary item.
I usually go to the grocery store on the same night each week. So, that afternoon, I sit down with my current grocery list and the copy of my calendar for the month that I keep hanging on the refridgerator. I then decide what dinners I will be making for the following week. I write each dinner on the corresponding day of the calendar and then enter any items I may need to make it onto my grocery list. After I do that for all of the dinners, I take a walk around the kitchen to see what type of breakfast, lunch or staple items I may need to add to my list. This does a pretty good job of making sure that I do not forget anything - although not a foolproof job. I can only imagine the number of things I would forget if I didn't have this system in place!
When I am really on a roll, I am able to plan an entire month's worth of meals at one time. More often than not, however, I work on a week by week basis. And, just because I can't stand spending half an hour arguing about what is for breakfast and lunch, we have implemented a set breakfast and lunch schedule for each day of the week (although our lunches have been off this Lent since we gave up wheat and, as you know, there is basically NOTHING to eat for lunch that doesn't have wheat in it. So, each day of Lent, lunch time has been true penance!). For example, on Monday's for breakfast we have muffins and yogurt, Tuesday is waffles, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday are cereal, Thursday is oatmeal and Saturday is baked oatmeal.
Hopefully all this talk of food has not made you hungry, but eager to get in there and streamline your own system. Or, maybe it has made you sit back with a smile on your face knowing that you already have a system that works well for you!
God Bless!
I began this whole process by taking a pen and paper with me to my favorite grocery store and writing down, in the order in which they appear in the store, the items that our family uses most often. For example, the first aisle I come to is the bread aisle, so in that section I have things like: bread, bagels, peanut butter, jelly, coffee. I did this for every aisle, as well as the dairy, produce and frozen food sections. The unfortunate thing is that I shop at Wal-Mart and they are FOREVER moving things around the store. Oh well, my list gives me a general idea of where everything is. I then took my notes home and typed all of this into an Excel spreadsheet. I print off a bunch of copies at once and put them into my binder on my desk. This way, throughout the week, whenever we realize we need something from the store, everyone knows to flip to the current grocery list and either circle or write in the necessary item.
I usually go to the grocery store on the same night each week. So, that afternoon, I sit down with my current grocery list and the copy of my calendar for the month that I keep hanging on the refridgerator. I then decide what dinners I will be making for the following week. I write each dinner on the corresponding day of the calendar and then enter any items I may need to make it onto my grocery list. After I do that for all of the dinners, I take a walk around the kitchen to see what type of breakfast, lunch or staple items I may need to add to my list. This does a pretty good job of making sure that I do not forget anything - although not a foolproof job. I can only imagine the number of things I would forget if I didn't have this system in place!
When I am really on a roll, I am able to plan an entire month's worth of meals at one time. More often than not, however, I work on a week by week basis. And, just because I can't stand spending half an hour arguing about what is for breakfast and lunch, we have implemented a set breakfast and lunch schedule for each day of the week (although our lunches have been off this Lent since we gave up wheat and, as you know, there is basically NOTHING to eat for lunch that doesn't have wheat in it. So, each day of Lent, lunch time has been true penance!). For example, on Monday's for breakfast we have muffins and yogurt, Tuesday is waffles, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday are cereal, Thursday is oatmeal and Saturday is baked oatmeal.
Hopefully all this talk of food has not made you hungry, but eager to get in there and streamline your own system. Or, maybe it has made you sit back with a smile on your face knowing that you already have a system that works well for you!
God Bless!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Keeping the kitchen clean
Like I mentioned yesterday, the kitchen is probably the most frequented room in our house. That fact has its good points and its bad points. We can all gather together and enjoy the fragrant aromas that are wafting out of the oven (except during Lent, when I can't bake). We can learn new things together, like how to cook and what makes a healthy meal. We can explore cookbooks together and ooh and aahh over all of the delicious looking desserts. However, I have also noticed that we can all walk through the kitchen and set down our school books, our keys and purses, our jackets, our shoes, our socks, other various items of clothing, our papers, our colored pencils, the latest novel that we are reading, our birthday cards.......So, how have I come to grips with the kitchen being a dumping ground? A friend of mine told me that she had a small bin in her kitchen for each one of her kids so that they could put their small miscellaneous items in there. Since there are nine of us, I decided to go with those medium-sized, three drawer stackable bins. This way everyone has a drawer to put a bunch of their papers or books into and it doesn't really take up that much counter space. If it doesn't fit in your bin, then it is not allowed to stay in the kitchen. The person who is assigned to straightening up the kitchen has the job of distributing all of the rest of the stuff to the correct person's room.
Another thing that I try hard not to let pile up is the mail. I make a point of dealing with it as soon as it comes in, or, at the latest, by the very next day. I file my bills in the order in which they will be coming due, I throw away any sort of junk mail immediately, and most of the time I throw away any catalogs that come in. This way I'm not tempted to buy things I probably don't need and then my counter is not cluttered with catalogs I hope to get around to looking at. If there is a catalog that I think I might need, I have another spot on a shelf in the den that I put it on.
A big morale buster is letting the dishes pile up. Nothing brings me down faster than walking into the kitchen and seeing a pile of dirty dishes staring back at me. About two years ago our dishwasher broke. At the time we didn't have the money to get a new one, so we started assigning people to dishwashing, drying and putting away duties. Do you know what I discovered? I discovered that my kitchen stays much neater now that I don't have a dishwasher. Before I used to have to wait all day before someone would remember to empty the clean dishes. That meant that the breakfast and lunch dishes would be piling up. Here is how it works now: I am in charge of washing the breakfast dishes since I would rather have everyone else finish getting ready to start school. One of the girls is then assigned as lunch and dinner dishwasher for the month. One girl is assigned to clearing the table, one is assigned to drying the dishes and another is assigned to putting them away. My son sets the table for dinner, and the final girl sweeps the floors. Of course, a set up like this only works if you have older children. If you don't, then try to enlist the help of your younger children as much as you can. Start them young and make it seem like fun and you'll raise willing helpers that can take over in a few years.
Don't you just love the outfit?
God Bless!
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Heart of the Home
I would like to spend some time writing about what I think is the heart of the home - the kitchen. I don't know about you, but some days we spend so much time in our kitchen that I wonder why we have other rooms in our house. When people come over, there are many times that we never even leave the kitchen. By the time we prepare, eat and clean up three meals I would have to guess that almost half the day has been spent there. Now add in those times when it is too cold in the basement to do school so we do it in the kitchen, it is no wonder that I become disoriented when I walk into other parts of the house.
I firmly maintain that my kitchen is the window into the state of my mind. If you want to know how I am doing, don't ask me, just come and look at my kitchen. If I am uptight or anxious, then my kitchen tends to be super organized and clean. If I have not been home much or my mind is a-whirl with too many things, then you will notice that my kitchen is very cluttered and disorganized. If I seem to be functioning on a fairly normal level then my kitchen is neat and tidy, but you will notice a few things out of place here or there.
I remember when we moved into our first home, my mother asked me how I was going to organize my kitchen. I looked at her as if she had spoken to me in French. I had no children, so I did not concern myself with such trivial things as being efficient and organized. I think my mother organized the first two kitchens I ever had. By the third one, I think I had it figured out and she left me on my own. Now my kitchen is one of my favorite rooms to reorganize. I'm always on the lookout for ways to make it more efficient and more pleasant to be in.
What about your kitchen? Do you enjoy spending a lot of time in it? Hopefully over the next few days I will be able to share some ideas and tips that will help make spending time there much more enjoyable.
I firmly maintain that my kitchen is the window into the state of my mind. If you want to know how I am doing, don't ask me, just come and look at my kitchen. If I am uptight or anxious, then my kitchen tends to be super organized and clean. If I have not been home much or my mind is a-whirl with too many things, then you will notice that my kitchen is very cluttered and disorganized. If I seem to be functioning on a fairly normal level then my kitchen is neat and tidy, but you will notice a few things out of place here or there.
I remember when we moved into our first home, my mother asked me how I was going to organize my kitchen. I looked at her as if she had spoken to me in French. I had no children, so I did not concern myself with such trivial things as being efficient and organized. I think my mother organized the first two kitchens I ever had. By the third one, I think I had it figured out and she left me on my own. Now my kitchen is one of my favorite rooms to reorganize. I'm always on the lookout for ways to make it more efficient and more pleasant to be in.
What about your kitchen? Do you enjoy spending a lot of time in it? Hopefully over the next few days I will be able to share some ideas and tips that will help make spending time there much more enjoyable.
Monday, February 18, 2008
How to Organize Your Laundry
Well, it's Monday again. Time to face the mountainous pile of laundry. I used to dread laundry day. It seemed as if I could never even get the clothes sorted let alone washed, dryed and folded. Then, one day, I came across a tip that revolutionized the laundry chore for me - hire someone to do it. No, I'm just kidding. What I did find was a recommendation to get one tall laundry basket for each of the loads that you normally do. That meant I went out and bought four bins, one each for light, dark, towels and cold water laundry. It took a while to train the kids (and even my husband) which basket to put what laundry in, but once I did, it was so much easier to approach laundry day because the laundry was already sorted. All we have to do is grab one basket and drag it to the laundry room. It also makes it easy to see when one load is getting really full and might need to be done ahead of schedule.
As you know, every year circumstances and family structure change and so do a lot of other things, including how we handle our chores. Now that I have older children, I assign one child a year-long tour of duty to learn how to wash the laundry. We wash one type of load each day: Monday is light, Tuesday is dark, Wednesday is towels, Thursday is cold water, Friday is work clothes and Saturday is sheets and blankets. The child in charge of washing is responsible for starting the load and changing it over to the dryer. Three other children are each assigned a load that they will fold (even the little kids help with this by folding towels, washclothes and underwear). I would like to tell you that each load is folded and put away the day that it is washed, but I can't. Instead what usually happens is that by Wednesday night we are all clammoring for more socks and underwear so that is the night everyone sits down with their respective bin and folds the clothes. The folding child is also responsible for placing everyone's folded laundry on their respective beds. At which point I would like to tell you that the person whose clothes they are immediately puts them away so as not to confuse clean from dirty laundry, but I can't. (Okay, I know I'll get grief for that one: two of my kids put their clean stuff away, the other five do not!)
Even if you don't have kids old enough to be in charge of washing and drying and folding, I found that splitting it up like this does make it much more managable. Having a set day for each load makes it easy to make sure that no one runs out of anything important. I'm rarely behind on my laundry and I never have to face a mountain all in one day. For now, this system works very well for us. Hopefully it will help someone else, too.
God Bless!
As you know, every year circumstances and family structure change and so do a lot of other things, including how we handle our chores. Now that I have older children, I assign one child a year-long tour of duty to learn how to wash the laundry. We wash one type of load each day: Monday is light, Tuesday is dark, Wednesday is towels, Thursday is cold water, Friday is work clothes and Saturday is sheets and blankets. The child in charge of washing is responsible for starting the load and changing it over to the dryer. Three other children are each assigned a load that they will fold (even the little kids help with this by folding towels, washclothes and underwear). I would like to tell you that each load is folded and put away the day that it is washed, but I can't. Instead what usually happens is that by Wednesday night we are all clammoring for more socks and underwear so that is the night everyone sits down with their respective bin and folds the clothes. The folding child is also responsible for placing everyone's folded laundry on their respective beds. At which point I would like to tell you that the person whose clothes they are immediately puts them away so as not to confuse clean from dirty laundry, but I can't. (Okay, I know I'll get grief for that one: two of my kids put their clean stuff away, the other five do not!)
Even if you don't have kids old enough to be in charge of washing and drying and folding, I found that splitting it up like this does make it much more managable. Having a set day for each load makes it easy to make sure that no one runs out of anything important. I'm rarely behind on my laundry and I never have to face a mountain all in one day. For now, this system works very well for us. Hopefully it will help someone else, too.
God Bless!
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