Join me with SimpleMom.net and Project Simplify

I am jumping on the bandwagon with SimpleMom.net and her Project Simplify!

This weeks hot spot is kids stuff...

I don't know about you, but we have a lot of that!  I am so excited about this one!  I'm actually involving my kiddos in this.  We are planning to tackle a new area every day this week.

Here's my plan:

Monday - Dresser tops and their "junk drawer."  Each of my kids has a small drawer in which they can keep their stuff.  We are clearing it out, because they are overflowing!  The dresser tops too!  I figure we are going to start small.

Tuesday - Keeping with the dresser theme....clothes!  Clean, sort and purge!

Wednesday - Clothing again, this time closets.

Thursday - Toys, toys, toys!

Friday - Toys, toys, toys! (We have a lot of toys)

Saturday - Donations.  They are coming with me to drop the stuff off!

I hope you will all join me in "Project Simplify!"

Organization {Part 5: Daily To Do List}

As I'm sure you've figure out by now, I'm a list maker.  I enjoy the satisfaction crossing off things so that I have something to show for what I've done all day.  

Here is a link to my daily "to do" list.  I print it off on the back of scratch paper. Then cut the paper down the middle so that its 4 1/4" x 11".  It has a section for Call, To Do and Errands.  I usually have one of these per day.  Sometimes I'll start a bunch for the week, so that I can spread what needs to be done throughout the week.  When something comes up, I add it where it needs to be during the week.

Hope this helps at least one of you! ;)  

Organization {Part 4: Cleaning and Meal Schedules}

Preface: Cleaning, laundry and meals.  The bulk of running a house.  I've included some of the spreadsheets I use to help make this a bit easier.  I'm working on getting downloadable documents, but until then, if you'd like them email me at bugaboogifts{at}gmail{dot}com


CLEANING SCHEDULE 


In addition to my weekly maintenance routine, I have a deep cleaning routine.

My jumping off point is the flylady.com.  Check her out sometime....but read the whole post first! ;) She starts off the with the basics (get dressed to your shoes and shine your sink everyday.)  There are some days I don't leave my house and I'm homeschooling kids, so I'm ok staying in my jammies some most mornings.  Also, I tell the kids "no shoes in the house" so I kinda have to abide by that rule too...

She breaks a house up into zones and I did that.  I have broken mine up into 6 (manageable) zones and have tailored the schedule to what we need and what works for us.  Take a look at your house and everything you want to/can do.  You might have 4 zones, which means you'll get through your house 3 times a year.  This does not mean you can give up on your daily/weekly cleaning and just hit the zones as prescribed.  This just means that your baseboards and blinds will be cleaned more than once a year. :)

Here's my Jan and July zone.  

As I go through this, I'm constantly adding or changing things.

Getting help from the kids....something I don't do enough of.  I'm working on this, though.

(Tomorrow I'll include links and pictures of chore charts around blogland and pinterest.  This is an area that is highly deficient in our home and one in which I intend to fix soon!

LAUNDRY

I start a load first thing in the morning.  I mean....I get up, get my workout clothes on throw a load in before I head out the door at 5:45. By the time I get back, it goes into the dryer.  Another load will go in mid morning.  Throughout the day I fold and put it all away.  If its mostly the kids clothes, they will come help fold (not usually willingly) but they always put away their own clothes.  Even the 4 year old boy! 

Its much easier to do a load or two every day than spend an entire day doing all the laundry.  Honestly, It takes about 5 minutes to fold a load of laundry.  That's it.  Dont' believe me?  Time yourself.  Granted, if you are doing a lot of little baby clothes, it might take a little longer.

Just cuz I like pictures in posts....this is what I did to my laundry room so it was a little more pleasant to be in.

Another little laundry trick with stains....I put a safety pin through the tag of an item that has a stain on it.  The hubs and I use to go round and round because he would say in passing, "This (fill in the blank) has something on it," but would never show me what and where.  He'd throw it in the dirty clothes, I'd wash and put it away.  He'd then get up and iron it to wear... 

{Side note.....yes, my hubs irons his own clothes.  I'm not ashamed.  I'm busy.  He's particular.  Its something we settled into very early in our marriage and it works.  Come to find out that a lot of hubs iron their own clothes!  We've been married 11 1/2 year so, luckily its not a deal breaker!} 

During his ironing, he'd find the stain and mention it again.  Finally I gave him safety pins and a bottle of spray and wash.  He was instructed to spray and pin.  When something comes through that's pinned, I look it over too find the stain and see if its has been removed, if not, it goes in a separate pile that I'll deal with later.

COOKING

This the the area of your budget that you have the most control over.  Well, this and leisure/entertainment....but eating is a must.  I have found that in the past, we have spent way too much money eating out.  My goal this year is to cut that in half!  Its so easy to let someone else do the cooking and cleaning, but really, does it take less time?  By the time we get all four kids in the car with jackets and shoes, drive to the restaurant, get seated, order our food, maintain a little control over said children, eat, and get back home, does it really save that much time?  Plus its a whole lot less expensive to stay home and no one finds out that your kids aren't always perfectly behaved! :)

Every Sunday I sit down and meal plan.  I have a 2 week plan.  On the off Sunday, I adjust my plan, if needed, and review the grocery list.  When you start to plan, keep in mind any produce/perishable items you already have on hand and plan around those first.

I write down the main course, the side, and the veggie.  For the main dish I include what book the recipe is in and the page number, or I put a hyperlink if its a recipe from the www.  I do this on my computer, then print it out and for my binder.  I also write it on our chalkboard.  This way my family always knows what is for dinner.

The next step is my grocery list.  I made up a list on the computer of the things we most frequently consume.  I set the list up in the order that I usually go around the grocery store.  Each week, I review my meal plan, and get my grocery list together.  I shop my own freezer, fridge and pantry first so that I'm not buying duplicates of items.  I keep my weekly list in the front pocket of my household binder so that when we run out of things during the week, I simply add it to the list.

I print it out on a scrap piece of letter size paper.  Its formatted so that I can fold it in half width-wise, which to me seems easier to carry??? :)

I try to make at least one extra freezer meal a week.  I do this by simply doubling the recipe. Its just as easy to make two meals as one, right?  Make sure you label and date it.  After its made, I add it to my freezer meal inventory.  Freezer meals are great to have on hand for those busy days.  Plus, if someone is ever in need of a meal (all my friends are in the baby-having stage right now) I have some prepared!

Batch cooking is something I've done occasionally, making 4-6 meals in one sitting.  Also, I was part of a cooking club for about 2 years. We did ours on Mondays.  I cooked and delivered one Monday for 4 families, then the next three Mondays dinner was delivered to me.

Any leftovers get packaged after dinner into lunch size containers.  I send those with the hubs over the next few days or freeze for later.

SUNDAY PLANNING DAY

This is supposed to be a day of rest, but I actually enjoy planning so does fun count as work? ;)

I pay bills on Sunday's...or at least check in on our finances every week.

Meal planning happens over the weekend too.  I usually sit in the living room with my computer and a couple cookbooks.  I find a lot online, but am trying to get through the files of recipes that I've stashed away over the week.  My goal is to try a new recipe every week.  If it works and we like it, it stays.  If we really liked it, it goes in my favorite recipes folder.

I also plan my homeschooling week on Sundays.  I created my own weekly calendar, so fill it in each Sunday so I'm ready for the week.  I'm still tweaking this as we are only 7 weeks in on our homeschooling adventure

I also look at the week ahead and see what's going on.  

Phew!  Next.... :)

Organizing {Part 3: Household Binder}

This is my household binder.  It's great having everything in one place.  It contains...

Food section 

Bi-weekly meal plan

Extra copies of my grocery lists

Freezer meal inventory

Cleaning 

Schedules for daily, monthly, quarterly and annually

Zone cleaning (6 zones)

Kids

School information (use to be all school, but now just the boy's preschool)

Extracurricular information

Emergency contact information

The kids and I are putting this together for a school project but its also helpful on the rare occasion that we have a babysitter.

Household Repairs 

Who to call for what

My calendar is kept on my computer, otherwise that would be in there too.

My to do list is tucked in the front pocket as that is updated daily.

Want to make your own?  This is what you'll need:

Clear view binder

Scrapbook paper 

(the paper for all my binders goes nicely together...not that they are ever in the same place at the same time :)

Adhesive

Sheet protectors

Printables
(I make my own, but will post links at the bottom of the post of where you can get some pretty ones)

This is what to do:

Measure and cut out scrapbook paper to fit in front, back and spine of your notebook.

In Pages (or use Word or Publisher) I created the front and side labels, in addition to the divider labels.  I printed this on card stock, the cut out.  I matted the front, adhered it to my precut scrapbook paper and slid them in place.

 I die cut the mats for the divider pages.  I used card stock inside a page protector as my divider.  I haven't made tabs (yet), but that's because the page protector goes to the edge of the binder and the tabs would stick out the side.  If you want tabs, a way around this is to punch a hole in the top of the dividing page and put a ribbon tie through it.

 I keep most of my pages in sheet protectors.  The 2 week meal plan (more in my next post) I just slide in and out when the two weeks is up.

Here's an example of my "Zone Cleaning" page.  The sheet protectors work well with a dry erase marker.  I just check off as I go, and wipe off at the end of the month when I move to the next zone.

 I make my own inserts on the computer.  They aren't pretty and colorful, but they work.  Here is a link, that a friend found, to free basic printables but if you want really pretty ones check these out and the rest of her blog!

I'm happy to email mine out (if anyone wants) until I'm able to figure out how to post a downloadable version on here.  Email be at bugaboogifts{at}gmail{dot}com.

Here's a sneak peak at another upcoming post using the same concept....

The binder was in place, but I finished it by making it "pretty" and I finally printed out all the schedules instead of keeping them on my computer.

Organization {Part 2: Calendars}

Calendars are a wonderful thing!

I write everything down.  Ev. ry. thing.  My schedules, my calendar (they are different), phone numbers addresses, birthdays, to do lists....you get the point. In my world if I don't write it down, its not going to happen.  I have too much going on to remember everything! ;)  (4 kids will do that to a girl.)

I have an ongoing electronic calendar, but I also have a:

Daily schedule

Weekly schedule

Monthly/quarterly schedule

Yearly schedule
Cleaning schedule (more to come...)
Meal schedule (more to come...)
and

Birthday calendar (which is part of my main calendar, but you'll see why I separate this at the end.)

I did warn you that I'm a bit Type A, right???  Stay with me here...

I update my calendar daily and carry it with me.  Nothing like going to the Doctor/hair dresser/school/where ever you go and not being able to schedule something because you can't see what you have going on.  Worse...double booking!  Not good.

These are the things I do on a DAILY basis and why.
...

Throw in a load of laundry.

Workout - need I explain?  This is really 3-4 days a week.
Bible Study - a great way to start the day, plus I lead a bible study

Make my bed (and kids, too) - my house feels more put together when that's done

Commit to dinner in the morning.  This could be lay food out to thaw or begin some of the prep.  If you don't commit, your less likely to follow through with your plans.  Its too easy too forget, then have to scramble at the last minute and end up making less healthy choices for mealtime.

Clean up after every meal - Its much easier to do it right then, instead of letting it pile up.  Also, spills are easier to clean when they are still wet vs. letting them dry and get really stuck on.

Run a load of dishes (so they can dry overnight) - I don't use the heated dry cycle on my dishwasher.  I have way too much plastic in there and that cycle doesn't dry it anyway.  I run the load in the evening, open the door and let it dry overnight.  Saves money and I don't have to hand dry all the little people's plastic dish ware.

Check tomorrow's schedule (mine and kids) before I go to bed.  This way, I never wake up in the morning and get sideswiped with something.  Also, everything needed for whatever is going on tomorrow will be laid out i.e. library books, permission slips (when kids were in school), etc.

Before bed, make sure the kitchen is clean - nothing like waking up and starting your day with a messy kitchen, right?  You have a crazy enough day as it is to start off with that!

This is a summary of my basic WEEKLY cleaning schedule

Mon - Dust and Vacuum

Tues - Floors (wood and tile)

Wed - Bathrooms

Thrs - Kitchen, sheets and towels

Fri - Complete some zone cleaning

Sat - House projects and catch up (if needed)

Sun - Planning (meals, bills, homeschooling)

My MONTHLY/QUARTERLY/ANNUALLY things

Touch up painting (much easier to do every few months than once a year...especially if you have kids!)

Changing the batteries in the smoke detectors

Cleaning the phones and doorknobs (especially during cold/flu season)

Changing the filters

HVAC tune

Dryer vent vacuuming

and the seasonal clothes swap out

The last thing on my calendar list is my BIRTHDAY calendar

I'm a fan of sending out REAL birthday cards.  I might FB someone (if and when I'm ever on....which is rare!).  I love to make cards so I make and send my own cards.  Isn't it nice to get a real piece of mail, especially when its from someone that has remember your special day! I keep birthdays in my calendars.  I check next month's Birthday's and Anniversary's the last week of the current month.  I make or pull cards for each person and pre address them.  I pre-address them and put a date up in the corner (so I know when to mail them) where the stamp will cover it, then stack them all up in order of needing to be sent and then write and send when the time comes.

Write is all down!  It might seem silly to write something down that you do everyday, but it helps.  I keep this all on my computer and in my household binder.  I'll show you that tomorrow, then my cleaning and meal schedules after.  (Yes there will be pictures and documents!  Enough of these wordy posts with no pretty pictures, right?)

Organization {Part 1: Prioritizing}

I'm often asked how I do it all.  The easy answer....I don't! :)  As the title of this blog says....maybe I should be sleeping more???  Actually, its combination of a few things.  

1)  I multi-task...A LOT!

2) I'm rarely idle

3) I'm hyper organized

I grew up in a house that was always moving.  Neither of my parents are sitters.  We were lucky to get my dad sitting down long enough to eat a meal.  I'm starting to wonder how my mom kept track of the three of us kids and all of our activities.  She, like me, is organized and to this day, still has a calendar out on her desk keeping track of everything.  

I was that friend that went to other people houses to play and clean their rooms, organized their closets....for fun.  When dad was out cleaning or working out in the garage, I was sorting nail and screws.

At our Steering meeting the week before the MOPS meeting, I ran the outline of my talk by the team and was told that "God made me special" and "they have medicine for me."  I am admittedly Type A, so that could have something to do with it!?!?  

With everything going on in my life, how do I decide what to do???  Its a process that I do when new things come up, when life has a major change, when we move, when a new baby comes into our family (after I've caught up on sleep), or when I'm asked to take on something else. 

First you have to list all the things in you life.  Everything from being a wife to running the house to running the kids around...and even the   Everything.  Write it all day.  

Second, pray.  Pray for a clear level head when prioritizing all your responsibilities.

Third, write all your things down in order of importance.  Mine goes something like this: God, Hubs, Kiddos, Homeschooling, Family Time, Kids Activities, Running the house (cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.),  Exercising, MOPS, Etsy Store/Furniture Painting/Taxes (read: earning extra $), Blogging, House Projects/Repairs, Crafting/Me Time (notice its at the end ;)

For the big picture, the above sets you up for how to organize the 24 hours a day that you have.  An easy example: If your day is coming to a close and you have the bills to pay and a scrapbook page to finish and you can't figure out what you should do...look at your list.  While I would like to finish that scrapbook page (because doesn't that sound like a whole lot more fun than paying this bills), I can't really scrap in the dark if I don't pay the electric bill, right?  

Tomorrow - Schedules (Daily, Weekly, Quarterly)

The next few topics:

Meal Planning

Organizing a Space

Labels

Kitchen/Pantry/Fridge/Freezer

Junk Drawers

Linen Closets and Baths

Laundry Room

Coat/Entry Closets

Your Closet

Kids Closets

Playrooms and Toys

Office

Party/Event Planning

I hope to get to a topic a day....I hope!  I will include links to wonderful sites, lots of pictures from my home and homes around blogland and Pinterest (of course!)

MOPS Organization Talk

Among other things, I am the coordinator for our local MOPS group.  I gave a little talk this week on organizing.  I promised my moms that I would post everything on the blog, so will be doing that over the next week. 

I covered every area of a typical house, cleaning and meal schedules, to containers and labeling.  

Plus....on the blog....I'm able to link to all the cool organizing pics out there on the www. :)

So....check back for some great ideas!

An organized pantry

Everything in containers and labeled.  That's the way its supposed to work.  With the crazy busy schedule I lead, I have sorely been neglecting some things.  Things that make for a much smoother life. Little things, like my pantry.  This started about 6 months ago, which is also how I started selling the chalkboard lables. :)  That just took over!

Not a huge change here, but just better.  

I started here.....

Not too bad....But those containers with the white lids on the left.  Those worked great in my last pantry....and the ones before that....but not this one.  I had to stack them two deep and every time I needed a baking item, I would have to move them around to see what I had behind.  

Now everything is visible right when I walk in and labeled with these. (Yes, that's my shop.)  The baking section....

(From this picture, you'd think I actually bake! ;)

The big tubs at the top and bottom hold chips, lunch coolers, coffe/tea bulk items.  Stuff I don't use everyday.  The medium tubs in the middle (left) are my lunch and breakfast tubs.  I store "lunch fruits" like applesauce, ftuit bars etc, "lunch snacks" like animal crackers, cheeze-its, and pretzels, "lunch desserts" and "breakfast" items like instant oatmeal or cereal bars.

I grab the lunch bins and let the kids choose when packing lunches every morning.  They got to choose one from each bin, then I added a "dairy" and a sandwich...or use to when I sent them to school.  

The snack section before....and after

And now....

My system...when I'm out of something I turn the canister around so I can see what is supposed to be in  it, telling me what I need.

Before...

After....everything in containers and on lazy susans in the corners.

 While I would love something like this.....

I can't change the layout of my pantry and its not the room in need of a total overhaul.  Someday (if we stay here) I will gut the builder shelves, repaint, and add custom shelves, but for now....a clean out and organization will do!

Framed Magnetic Chalkboard {tutorial}

This project has been 18 months in process, maybe longer.  It started one day drooling over the looking through the pottery barn magazine when I found something similar to this.... 

...and being the DIYer that I am I thought....I can make that!  So I approached dear hubs with it and he begged and begged and begged me (well, not really that much) to JUST BUY IT ALREADY.  (I think its was like $150+ before shipping.  Hmm....hubs telling me to buy something at Pottery Barn and I'm actually have to think about it?  (It's  a sickness, really....icanmakethatitis.)

So, after careful consideration, I actually bought it.  Yep.  I hit "add to cart" and then "checkout" and then I waited and waited and received the email that said it was on back order for 5 weeks and then waited and waited and waited and received another email that it was on back order for 8 weeks and then  waited and waiting and then finally....

I got the email that said it was discontinued and my card was not charged.

This is the world telling me that its ok to want to make things, right???

So I did.  And I love it!

Here's what you need to make your own:

Backer board (MDF, plywood, whatever) cut to size

Sheet metal, cut to size

Metal primer

Chalkboard paint

Baseboard or trim moulding

Paint

Finishing nails and glue

Here's how ya do it:

First go buy your backer board.  (Then let it sit in the garage for a few months because its like 115 degrees all summer and too hot for hubs to work outside, plus he won't let me use the circular saw....which I don't get because I use the compound miter and jig saws just fine, plus the drill and nailer, and I drive his 4 children around in a car all day which is much more dangerous.)

It would probably just be easier for the store to cut it for you then you can skip over step 1b.

Or you can just wait until your BIL comes to town so he can cut it for you. 

Mine is 4' x 5' (yes its big!)

Call a sheet metal place and have them cut you a piece of sheet metal slightly smaller than your board.  (I live in small town USA, so I'm sure your city/town will have a sheet metal place.)  I ordered mine to be 45"x57" to give me an extra 1 1/2" border all around (you'll see why later).  

Adhere your sheet metal to your backer board using heavy duty construction adhesive.  (Pardon the picture taken at night with my cell phone.)

Using an automotive primer, prime the sheet metal in a well ventilated area.  Its kinda stinky.  I did two coats.

On your next free day(s), paint it with your chalkboard paint.  If two coats are good, three are even better.  I knew this was going to be a permanent fixture in our kitchen and with four small kiddos in the house I thought it safe to ensure its longevity with more coats of paint.

Here's the part where I can't find pictures.  My children have been playing with my phone lately and I'm thinking they might have "accidentally" deleted the pics of the trim etc. so I will try to explain thoroughly.

Measure and cut your baseboard trim to size.  I mitered my corners and dry fit it first with clamps, to make sure it fit.  Measure twice, cut once, right?  Then I painted them before I attached them.  I was not about to create an extra step of having to tape off the chalkboard and risk the paint pulling up with the tape. 

Using the same construction adhesive you used to attach the sheet metal, draw a line of glue on the wood border, place your trim down and then clamp.  I used a finish nailer to nail in place.  I made sure I put my nails towards the outer edge (where you can see the wood in the above picture).  This is why you want your sheet metal cut smaller than your backer board.

Then fill and paint any holes and the mitered corners.  Here's a shot before I filled the corners.   

I decided that I didn't want to wait for the hubs to return from his business trip so carried it into the house myself.  Wow is this sucker heavy!  It sat like this for a few days because I didn't have the heavy duty hanging hardware I needed.

I found the right hardware for the weight and then hung it....once again by myself.

I wish I had a nice pretty before picture with the chalkboard surface all crisp and black, but this is what happens when said children are in the house....

Here's my version....and the whole reason for the board.

Our weekly menu gets put up so there are no questions about what is for dinner....except this week....on M/Th/S/S  (must get planning).

The kids weekly bible versus and "book-it" pages are on the other side...

...put up with these cute fabric button magnets (another tutorial to do.)

And its all tucked nicely in the alcove of our breakfast nook.

Here's the cost breakdown:

Plywood $15 (and I have some leftover for another upcoming project)

Sheet metal $29

Chalkboard paint (already on hand from a past project)

Baseboard $20

White paint, on hand

Nail and glue, on hand

Total cost: $64

Not a super cheap project, but it sure beats the $150+shipping for the PB one, plus mine is much bigger and the exact size I wanted.

Here was the push to finish it....I used it as a scoreboard for a friends sports (soccer) themed baby shower.

Laundry Room Counter

Its finally done!  My laundry room counter.  This is a project that I have wanted to do since we moved in over 4 years ago.  I knew I wanted some sort of counter over the washer and dryer, but didn't want to pay for it...so I made it myself for about $40 in lumber.

Here's the before.  I had the hubs cut a sheet of MDF to use temporarily, but temporarily turned out to be a long time.  Let me just say that this room is tiny!  So tiny that the door from the living room into it and the door to the garage out of it almost touch when they are both open.  Its really hard to get a picture of the room.

I've been looking at wood table/counter legs to use but they were too expensive.  Luckily I happen to come across these beauties at the antique store where I sell my painted furniture.  They were a titch dirty, but for $5 a piece...Yes.  Please!

Tried them on for size to see where I needed to cut and started building.  

But....since I was getting a new counter, I needed a new color on the wall first.  This is an oops color that I slapped on and LOVED!

Here is the structure underneath.  Screwed into the studs in the back and the legs in front.  (I would love to give you more specifics of exactly how to build it, but I just kind of wung-it.)  I added a couple more cross supports than are showing...just in case.  I knew I wanted the farmhouse table look, so cut and  dry fitted the planks, then painted the boards and built the top in the garage. 

I ended up securing the two strips at the end to make the top removable and not have to worry about scraping the walls if/when I needed to remove the top.  If I made it permanent, something would go wrong with the washer and we'd need to rip it apart.  So...getting a little creative I made the top able to completely lift out.  (Oh and last night....our washer started leaking. :)

The top is one piece, supported with boards perpendicular underneath and put together by pre-driling and screwing from the underside (does that make sense?).  

The best part.....its all level! :)

Here's the after again! 

 Check out the chalkboard labels (which I now sell here.)

This is also the room that I made this pendant light and shade for...

Now on to the other side....its bad.  

Really.  Really.  Bad.  But I have plans.....and I guess it'll make for a great before and after! :)

(I'm sure my mother is grimacing that I dared even post these pictures! ;)