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organization

School Year Organization: 10 Things I’m Doing Now to Keep Myself Sane Later

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Yesterday, I was lamenting about my internal struggle about how this time of year seems to be quite difficult for me as there is so much to do and not do all at the same time. In an effort to make the beginning of the year go smoothly, I organized some parts of the house over the summer so that we can spend the last bit of summer relaxing.

Here are ten things I did while the kids were home to get ready for back to school.

1.) Got Rid of Old Clothes: There is no sense cluttering up the kids drawers with clothes that are too small or clothes that have tears or stains from summer. I typically don’t do any “back to school” clothes shopping until the weather starts to change a bit (and I can hit up sales) as they have plenty of clothes to get them through those first few warms weeks of school. This way it is easier for them to find what they want to wear, and there is room for new clothes.

2.) Organized High Traffic Areas: The craft table, desks, and front hall closet got an overhaul. These are areas that typically see a lot of traffic during the school year. The kids tend to drop school bags, shin guards, ballet shoes, homework, and everything else in these places. I tried to make sure that everything has a place so that when we are in a hurry, we can find everything in a jiffy.

3.) Found a Place for All the Papers: So much for the digital age! Since my kids have started school, I cannot believe the amount of paper they come home with every day. Try as I might to get rid of a little bit every day, there are still some papers that I have to hold onto. I found a way to organize everything perfectly, while still allowing me to save time.

 

4.) Got the Kitchen Ready: I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like my kitchen get a break in the summer, and when school starts I am back to cooking, baking, fixing meals multiple times a day. Since I was cooking less this summer, the kids helped me do a little kitchen organization.

5.) Went Through the Toys: Once the school year starts, our family doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room in our schedule. So, I try and take an afternoon to talk toys with the kids and talk about what they don’t play with anymore and what can be donated. This helps make room for upcoming birthdays and holidays too.

6.) School Supplies for Home: When I do decide to go school supply shopping (I’m the worst), not only do I try and purchase school supplies for school, but I also try and purchase a few extra of everything for home. This helps especially for homework or craft projects at home, and everything is cheaper and can be bought in bulk this time of year.

7.) Got Everyone Back on Schedule: Over the summer we are all going to bed a little later and sleeping a little later. The last part of summer, I am slowly but surely trying to get my kids to bed a little earlier and to wake up a little earlier too. I don’t want to their teachers to experience how cranky they can be when they are sleep deprived that first day of school. We have been doing this in about 20 minute increments, little by little. Rome wasn’t built in a day after all.

 

8.) Got Myself on Schedule: This school year, I will have pockets of time where I will be alone, so I want to be able to fill those with productive things so that when the kids are home I am able to make time for them.

9.) Bought a Surprise: I bought each of the kids a special surprise for their first day of school. It is nothing expensive or lavish, but it is just a little token to let them know we are thinking of them that day. These are things I keep my eye out for over the summer and buy when I see them. This year, I got them each a book about the grade they are going into this year.

 

10.) Pack in the Fun: I scheduled a ton of playdates, events and fun for the last few weeks of summer as I could so we can spend time playing and enjoying the nice weather and each other.

If you like this post and would like to read more about all things domestic with a touch of humor, become a Home Everyday follower! For blog updates or to see other places I write such as ChicagoNow or Chicago Parent follow Home Everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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5 Practical and Funny Spring Cleaning Tips

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If you scour
(see what I did there?) Pinterest you can find hundreds of
printables with Spring cleaning schedules, organized lists, and advice for how to
clean and organize your home this time of year. If you follow me on Pinterest, you will see, I am no stranger to obsessively
pinning these types of things. Here is the caveat though, I was finding that
these lists and plans were good in theory but were hardly ever actually put
into practice in my home.
Why?
I discovered many of these lists had few things that made them worthy of my time. Overall, they were missing the mark for what worked for my home and my family. So, I
decided to come up with some SPRING CLEANING TIPS that got our house lemony
fresh just in time for Spring. 

 

1.) Plan a Party: I am the type of person that usually works better with deadlines and
sometimes under some sort of pressure. My family is like that too. Also, whether
the party be big or small, I always invite at least ONE PERSON that a.) it his/her first time to my home or b.) he/she will slightly judge me on the
cleanliness of my home. I realized this is not a time to be having a BBQ with my family
or my best friends who don’t care if there toys strewn about. This helps
up the ante a little bit. Every time I want to give up, I remember so and so is
coming and they haven’t been to our house yet, and I will most definitely
continue on my cleaning journey.

2.) Get the
Family Involved: When I start on my SPRING CLEANING, I try to make a list of
jobs, and figure out who can do a particular job best. For example: who has the best skills for the
job? or Who will complain the least? I also try and figure out who might be
good helpers for a particular job. Like, my husband complains the least
about bathrooms, so he does them. I complain least about deep cleaning the
kitchen so I get that job. The kids are limber and small so they get jobs like
cleaning under the couches and washing baseboards.

3.) Break Up Each Room Into Smaller Tasks: I really needed to stop thinking that I could get all of my SPRING CLEANING done in one day or even one week. With all we have to do as a family, I really needed to break things up. For example, I know I have to sweep floors anyway, so one day, I took a spray bottle full of 2
TBS Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, 1 ½ Cups Distilled Water and while you swept the floor, I sprayed the baseboards in the kitchen with the solution. I, then, and asked the kids (who were playing on the floor anyway) to wipe them down with a rag. Another example: The next time you
empty the dishwasher, set the timer on your phone for 15 minutes and clean out
the junk drawer in your kitchen. Doing one or two of these little tasks every
day really helped go a long way to accomplish each task on our SPRING
CLEANING list. 

 

4.) Reward
Yourself: I am the type of person who is more likely to do something if I know
there is going to be a reward at the end. For me, sleep is the ultimate reward.
I love going to bed early. I know it sounds absolutely lame, but for me if I
can knock a few things off the To Do List, I will go to bed and get an extra
hour of sleep. It is glorious and I love it! Next time you have something to do, hold off on watching your favorite show until you complete a
task on your SPRING CLEAN list. Better yet, check off 5 tasks in a week and
allow yourself a night free from cooking. 

 

5.) Don’t
Get Trapped: When you live in a house with well… anyone, it is easy to get
frustrated and caught up in the clean house trap. I am often catching myself saying things
like, “I just cleaned this place!” or “I’m never cleaning again, what’s the
point?” I have found though, there are a few things that can help in situations
like this: a.) alchohol or chocolate and b.) a little perspective. The alcohol
or chocolate is to calm those nerves and the perspective is to remind yourself
that it is better to be living in a home with people you love that is a little
messy than to be living alone in a house that is immaculately clean. 

 

There you have it! Five practical and (sorta) funny spring cleaning tips!
If you like this post and would like to read more about all things domestic with a touch of humor, become a Home Everyday follower! For blog updates or to see other places I write such as ChicagoNow or Chicago Parent follow Home Everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Spicey: Cabinet Organization

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This time of year, I seem to do more cooking and baking so I thought one of my Pre-Thanksgiving organization frenzy days should be dedicated to kitchen organization. I also stocked up on a few things I know I need on hand like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and poultry seasoning.

 

 

Here is the cabinet stocked up for the holiday season.

 

When we moved into this house, it came without a pantry so I had to get creative with how I used my cabinet space. I bought a plastic tiered spice rack, some Ikea spice jars, and used my scrapbook skills and tools to make little tags for labeling everything.

 

As for the other shelves, I bought some baskets for around $3 at Target to keep all my baking supplies organized.

 

And let’s not forget the glass jars from Target that I keep on my counter.

 

I am officially ready for a season full of cooking and baking.

Anyone else stocked up for the season?

Linking up at Serenity Now.

Helping… sort of: Impromptu Photo Shoot

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Last week, I told you of the adventures of buying our first DSLR camera. I know there is a lot to learn. The word on the street is shooting in manual allows more freedom and has so many more benefits to the photographer, but so far I’m taking it one day at a time.

I also mentioned yesterday how things have been busy around here. Over the weekend, we winterized the yard. At our house this means, cut the lawn one more time, make sure all dead annuals are dug up, put all the patio furniture and ceramic pots in the shed, and put the snow blower in the garage. While Brian and I were doing a few tasks the kids played in the back yard, and instead of helping Brian finish, I ran and grabbed the camera to take a few pictures of the kids playing.

Look at that smile!

 

My super hero has no problem posing.

 

She let me interrupt her leaf collecting.

 

Then I walked around the yard and just shot some pictures of randomness.

 

Not all the pictures I take are winners, but it is definitely playing with the camera, and getting some cute photos of the kids.

A Day in the Life

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As a new blogger, I sometimes am amazed at the work and dedication of other writers. I also struggle with a sense of perfection. In the back of my mind, I do realize that no one is perfect all of the time. However, in the world of blogging, we only get to see the “pretty” things. The beautiful table settings, the painted walls, the fluffed pillows, the beautiful desserts do happen… just not all the time.

No one likes to talk about the sticky floors, the mis matched socks, the chaotic bath time routine, or the piles and piles of laundry.. PILES… everywhere. I digress.

I’m joining a link up today on Adventuroo called “A Week in My Life.” What an eye opener that not everything is perfect for everyone, and I feel like it really helps us all be more understanding and have a sense that we are all in this together. As much as I would love everyone to see the craziness that is my life for an entire week, I wasn’t quite ready for that. So, I decided to just share one day. So here is a day in the life:

7:00 a.m. Snoozed too many times… no workout today oops. Everyone gets ready, and eats a quick breakfast. Brian takes the boys to school.

8:00 a.m. Coco and I stay back so I can make a grocery list, and look up a wedding registry for a gift I need to buy.

9:00 a.m. Off to Target to buy a wedding gift. Then back home to drop off huge wedding gift, and then to the market for groceries. My girl was a little sick of being in the car.

 

11:00 a.m. Leave Target, switch cars with Brian (we have a system so we don’t have to buy another Britax carseat), and pick up boys from school. Since we have a little bit of a drive, I make sure to have snacks and juice boxes for the ride home.
12:00 p.m. – Unload kids, back packs, groceries, clean out fridge, and prepare lunch. Lunch is on the table, and we eat together talking about school.
1:30 p.m. – Naps. My youngest two get tucked in and pass out instantaneously. My oldest has some quiet time while I check some email, and attempt to fold some laundry.
2:00 p.m. – Door bell rings with a package. My oldest takes this as an invitation for quiet time to be over so we play for a little while, then I unload dishwasher and wash my new cutting board.
3:00 p.m. The others wake up and it is snacks and juice and my oldest breaks out the puzzles. Hands me the box for the 1,000 piece puzzle of the ocean. I make a half hearted attempt and then recommend the 24 piece train puzzle hoping that will be more their jam.
4:00 p.m. My gal pal, Colleen calls to chat. Kids play quietly.
5:00 p.m. Dinner prep begins. BBQ Chicken, salad, broccoli and home made mac and cheese. Kids help… sort of.
6:00 p.m. Brian walks in the door, changes, and we talk about his day while I finish up dinner and get plates ready.

6:30 Dinner.

 

 

7:30 p.m. Brian and I clean kitchen and I ask the kids to please pick up toys one more time. This time they quickly pick up cars, dolls, puzzles, knowing if they do a good job they will be rewarded with a show.

8:00 p.m. Kids watch 1/2 an episode of Phineas and Ferb. Jammies, snuggles, book, prayers, bed.

9:00 p.m. Brian and I turn on our DVR’d Thursday shows and simultaneously open our laptops for work and writing.

9:30 p.m. S’mores break. Yep, that just happened.

 

 

11:00 p.m. Good Night.

So there you have it. A day in our life. I swear that laundry will get folded, and I will work on my next blog project.

This is Embarrassing: Small Space Organization

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Ok, admit it. Everyone has the space. The space that you cannot get a handle on. Right? Please tell me this is true. I cannot be the only one. I was almost too ashamed to post this, but then I realized I wanted to keep it real around here. Plus, you’ve seen a few of my other embarrassing moments here and here. So here goes… don’t judge.

 

This is my top dresser drawer. This is the space for me. I can never seem to get a handle on it. You’ll notice everything is in tiny boxes to help minimize tangled jewelry etc. However, I would then have to look in every box to find something and then would end up just throwing the boxes back in the drawer. Totally inefficient, and basically a joke.

Then, (cue Alleluia Chorus) I saw a few ideas on Pinterest for how to organize jewelry and accessories. After about 30 minutes of organizing, here is what my drawer looks like now.

 

So much better. The first thing I did was take everything out of the drawer, and line it with some wrapping paper.

 

Then, with a little help from Coco…

Ok, she wasn’t much help again. She has been more of a moral support system lately. Anyway, I sorted my accessories into some small ceramic dishes that I had. I was going to sell these dishes in our garage sale, but remembered I could use them to sort small things, and held on to them. Also, I bought some ceramic egg trays at JoAnn Fabrics awhile back on clearance to sort earrings. All of these dishes keep my accessories right where I can see them, and minimize things getting all jumbled up together.

 

Not bad for 30 minutes of my time, and less than a $5 investment. I cannot believe I didn’t do this sooner.
One last after photo, to get that awful first image out of your our brains.

Linking up with A Thoughtful Place for Keep C.A.L.M. and Organize On.

Finding My Stride: Establishing Routines

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Today is the second week in the Mom of 6 Organize My Life Boot Camp. This week’s topic is establishing routines.

I am a creature of habit. I love routine. Repetition. Predictability. Don’t get me wrong, I love the spontaneous outing or change up to the every day norm, but I feel that change ups come much easier when there is some sort of normalcy.

You know I’m a dork already so I have no fear sharing this with you, but even when I was unemployed after college, I made up routines for myself to keep my sanity. Wake up, eat breakfast, go for a run, job search and set up interviews, eat lunch, more job searching, nap, even more job searching, dinner, IM friends, watch nightly sitcoms, Golden Girls reruns, read, bed. I felt that even in a time of no schedule and really nowhere to be, I had something to do.

Now that I am a Mom of three all born in a span of 33 months, I have figured out how to establish routine that works for our family. That my kids find helpful. That Brian helped to establish. That even allows me to still enjoy my sitcoms.

I just want everyone to know that in our house the schedule is loose. The time frame is not set in stone, however, the routine does not waiver. Schedules are good, they are helpful, but sometimes they are unrealistic and constrictive to follow. I feel that it is unrealistic for anyone to believe that they can get any kid to bed at 8:00 p.m. on the dot every single night. I think it is unrealistic to assume that you won’t get caught in a traffic jam, soccer practice will run late, or the check out at the supermarket will be packed. I mean, you might even burn dinner while on the phone, supervising kids and Play-Doh and folding laundry and might have to find a plan B for dinner before the husband gets home (true story). Time is sometimes unreliable. The routine, however, helps to give everyone some comfort.

For example, my kids don’t go to bed at the EXACT same time every night, but we do the same thing before bed every night, and end up in bed between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. consistently.

All the routines in our house are this way. It started when they were babies. Nurse, play, change diaper, sleep. Nurse, play, change diaper, sleep. Then, as they would grow things would evolve. Naps got further apart. Play time got longer. Nursing turned into table food.

Right now, we have a few standard routines that keep us on task, and allow us to have flexibility when we need/want it.

So here is a little day in the life…

Morning
Alarm Goes off at 4:30, I hit snooze button and debate about working out and try to make a decision before next alarm goes off at 4:40. If I decide to work out, I hit the gym and shower and am back in time to take a power nap. Then 6:30 alarm goes off, and Brian gets up, showers, and starts getting ready for work. Kids hear Brian and proceed to wake me up. I get them something to drink, and flip on a show for them while I get breakfast ready. Kids and I eat, then head upstairs, get dressed, brush teeth, get shoes, glasses, socks, coats. Everyone heads out the door. Brian to work. Boys to school. Caroline and I to Mom and Me activities.

 

Afternoon
Coco and I pick up the boys, and since it is kind of a long commute, I try to pack a snack and something to drink for the way home. When we walk in the door, everyone removes shoes, empty and hang up back packs, and wash hands. I make lunch sometimes with a little help from the kids. We all eat together and talk about school. While they have a little down time, I go through school papers and mail and sort it out and look to see if there is homework that needs to be done after naps. Between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. everyone (sometimes Mom too) takes a nap. My oldest really only needs a nap about 3 or 4 days a week, but he does have at least an hour of quiet time which includes looking at books while resting. This is my time that I do laundry, do some cleaning, catch up on a project, or blog. When everyone wakes up from naps between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m., I usually have a little snuggle time with everyone (while I still can) then, we grab a snack. Then it is homework time, (if there is any), play outside time, or park district activity time. Then dinner prep begins.

 

Evening
Kids will play independently, watch a show, or help me make dinner. Brian is usually walking in the door at this time, and changes clothes and will do a few things around the house like switch up laundry. Dinner is on the table between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Brian and I will sometimes clean up the kitchen together and do baths together or we will divide and conquer. Then it is finish up playing, pick up some toys, and pack backpacks. Next, we pick out clothes for the next day (sometimes this is when I pack my gym bag). Then, it is baths, jammies, brush teeth, find lovies, story time, prayers, kisses, and bed. Brian and I then collapse on the couch, do some work, blog, and watch sitcoms and try to be in bed no later than 11:00 p.m.

 

Then we start again.

Some notes:
– Times are not set in stone. These aren’t schedules, these are routines.
– My kids are amazing when we travel or do anything a little different, because they always have the comfort of the routine. No matter where we are we always have something to drink when we wake up. No matter where we are, we always wash hands before lunch. No matter where we are, we always have lovies and storytime before bed.
– Routines evolve as the kids grow.
– When someone is “not having” the routine, I let the kids make some decisions. Such as what kind of fruit we will have with breakfast. I will let someone pick what story we are reading at bedtime. Sometimes I will give special jobs like prayer leader, table clearer, or have them put toothpaste on everyones’ toothbrushes. Then, I give lots of praise. I have found my kids are much more cooperative when they feel they are part of the decision making and helping.
– Sometimes, we don’t follow everything perfect. We make mistakes. Sometimes, Brian and I leave the kitchen mess to play tag in the backyard instead. Sometimes, we skip baths to play Hi-Ho Cheerio. Sometimes, we put on Dolphin Tale and eat finger foods in front of the TV. Sometimes, everyone needs a break from the day to day, but I know that even though we have skipped a step or switched it up, the overall important parts of the routine have stayed the same.
– This is what works for US. I’m not saying that OUR routines will work for everyone, but I do advise having some sort of routine.

 

Getting Down to Business: Front Hall Closet Organization

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This project has been a long time coming. With three little kids who are pretty active, and who are now about to start pre-school, I was starting to stress about an area for them to put backpacks, lunch pails, shoes, coats, not to mention soccer cleats, shin guards, swim goggles, and all the other crap stuff that kids come home with. This is what our dumping ground looked like last week.

 

Martha Stewart would be appalled. I’m appalled, and honestly cannot believe I’m sharing this photo.

Anyway, the first step was to find a place for mail, keys, and papers. I painted an old dresser for all of those things, which you can read about here.

Then, I decided we should have a place for everything else that comes in the door. Since my kids are too little to do the hanger thing, I decided on hooks for coats and backpacks, and plenty of baskets for shoes, hats, and other gear. I also thought it would be nice to have a place to sit and put on shoes or set things down. So, I made our closet into a mini mudroom.

I bought three Ikea Lack tables for $8 each, and put them in the closet to create a bench with a place for baskets and boots. Then, I added some shelving which I turned sideways to create cubbies for more storage. Next, I removed the hanger bar, and added lots of hooks.

 

 

Now, the kids are ready for school. We all have places for our things, and we have extra hooks and space for guests.

 

 

 

 

I think I would like to make some cushions for the top of the bench, but I am just happy we are organized.

I am so happy to be linking up with Honey We’re Home. There is a home organization link up party going on there now. This is one of my favorite places for ideas!


I am also linking up with I Heart Organzing. Today is a link party sharing everyone’s back to school organizing ideas. I think I’m going to be on a Pin frenzy today!