If you are like me and subscribe to magazines, or just get them, you must have faced the challenge of keeping them neat and organized. Well, a few days ago, I came across a great recycling idea that helps in taking care of that problem.
We all know about the concept of repurposing (my son is really good at that with all his crafts). Well, this project goes right along these lines.
Reuse these nice cereal boxes, or wholesale cracker boxes into magazine holders. Works great and works for me. This is what I did today. Made 4 of them. I think they need some decorating but they work. No more loose magazines hanging around, and they are all sorted by titles; one for my Canadian Living, Homemakers (which subscription I stopped), one for my Today's Parent and one for the other odd ones that i get from different places.
My mother -in-law, from the Philippines, was here back in April during my hubby's radiation. She noticed the overflowing drawer of clothed in the boys' bedroom and gave me an incredible tip which I have been putting into practice since then (unless I get lazy...).
Instead of folding the clothes, roll them. They take less space that way, and do not leave wrinkles on them either.
No more overflowing drawer, now I can see all the shirts in there, and I do not have to go under anything to find the one I want (which always resulted in leaving a bit of mess behind).It can be done with pants and shorts as well, if desired.
The theme today at We are that Family is organization tips. This is still an area I am working on, but with all the reading and research I have been doing I have accumulated a few tips and I'll share a few that i actually use in my home
After reading a lot about the benefit and use of a Household binder, I have finally made up one. There is plenty still to do on it, but I have been using it with success for filing lots of my homeschool stuff. You can read about it here.
I have been making use of a Junk box and I say box, not drawer. Preferably a small one so as not to fill it up. I try to restrict this box to rubber bands, odd and ends that are difficult to find a spot for, without losing it in the pile. i have one in one of my kitchen drawer, my desk drawer and on one of my entrance book shelf.
A few years ago I read about this great idea of making a list of jobs that can be done in 5-10 min, and then make a point everyday, or even several times a day to accomplish 1 or 2 of them. That has really helped keeping the house in order and seemingly clean (especially if you do not clean often like me).
Repurposed containers are great storage places. Be creative!
I have read recently about a great way of manning the Lego monster. Put all the Lego pieces on a blanket or sheet. When it is Lego time, pull out that sheet. let them play. When Lego time is over, fold the sheet over and place it in a contained et voila. You could keep them in containers as well still inside the sheet. the goal is if for them to have a contained area where the Legos would be, namely that particular blanket or sheet.
Here are two websites I have found useful for organization:
Cozi which is a site with lots of organizing lists, schedules, calendars and the likes.
Organized Home is a great site with printables as well and articles on everything organizing.
I Need More Time is another nice sites with lots of organizing tips and ideas.
I have been working on putting together a household binder to keep all my home and homeschooling related papers in one place, easy to locate. So, here is what I have done so far.
I have divided a binder into sections to include:
a Household section which has things such as schedules for me, chore charts, planning forms, budget and printouts about keeping house, organizing etc ...
Homeschool section which has my school schedules and forms and everything school planning oriented.
Homework section which includes their school and non-school accomplishments and activities as well as their certificates.
I also have 2 separate sections. One with inspiring and encouraging printouts, goals etc... as a homemaker and wife, and one with thoughts and printouts on homeschooling.
My last section is for project paraphenelia like magnet sheets, laminating sheets, velcro strips etc...
It is still a work in process but this is what I have come up with so far.
In place of the sticker on there, I am planning to put a verse which I am still to decide on
All the sections are separated with a
All the papers are inserted in protector sheets
As this project gets perfected I will post more pictures (probably not in a few months, of course . . .)
I have not posted my daily household schedule because, even if it is up I have not been really following it. If you are interested in seeing it, let me know and I will post it.
I have a new recently found gadget: it is called OneNote. It is a microsoft office software that was already on my computer and I did not even know it. I first heard about it on Kris' Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers blog. It is pretty handy and easy to use.
Are you one of those people who have paper with notes on them hanging all over the house? Are you one of those people always looking all over the house for that one piece of information that you wrote somewhere, and can't seem to locate? Well OneNote can be your answer.
I am one of these people, and I have found OneNote very handy in helping me keep track of my notes. Now, every time I find something that I want to remember I write it on my OneNote page. I keep it open on my computer, that way I can easily move from my browser to it. I copy and paste links, information, anything you name it, piece of information. You can even organize it the way you want. I have made notebooks for personal, homeschool, household. And, within my homeschool notebook, for example, I have made sections on the different subjects. Within these sections I have made pages like, curriculum, library resources, internet resources, articles etc.... The different sections, notebooks or pages, are easy to navigate through, the names are on tabs that you click on at the top or on the sides.
So, go and check out if you have that software on your computer and I would definitely encourage you to try it out.
If you don't, you can always use a manual notebook that you keep on the side of your computer. That is what I have been using till I discovered OneNote. And, even if I really love OneNote, I will hang on to my little notebook as well. I actually recommend having one of these notebooks, that you can get at the dollar store, in all the strategic places at your house, computer desk, kitchen, bedroom etc...)
For a little while we have been trying to have our boys help at home and be more involved in the household tasks (more commonly called chores). I have tried using charts and the likes but for some reason these never worked. So, on my mission to working on dilligence with our boys, we have instilled a few tasks that they have to do. They are: putting away their toys and setting up the table. They usually put away the toys together, and they set the table (one in the morning and the other one for dinner) on alternating weeks.
More recently, due to an interest in washing dishes (probably caused by a love of water), I have given them the task of clearing the table and washing the dishes. I purchased some plastic plates and bowls and now they wash and put awayin the dishwasher (we have a countertop one), alternating morning and evening. It's been working so far. I do not use charts anymore, since it does not seem to motivate them. What i do instead is do a lot of talking about being diligent, our need to do our part and the whole complaining mentality that pops up more often than I would like.
I have thought about giving allowances for chores, but somehow, in accord with my husband, don't seem to settle on doing this; mainly because we feel that we want them do do their part out of love and a sense of responsibility, and not reward motivated. So, we agreed to just start giving them allowances every week (25 cents for Joho and 30 cents for Zach). It will not be directly connected to the tasks that they do, but we will make the point (we have not started yet) that since they do help in the house they will start getting their allowances.
For those looking for systems, there is a very nice one at handipoints. I did not use it myself, just because it would not work for my kids, but it does look pretty useful. A few other sites are also, Workingmom.com and Notebookingnook (scrool down to the page there is a nice school and chore chart free printable).
With my husband being sick and therefore at home for the past few months, he took charge of the menu planning. This has been working quite nicely. He will make a menu for 2-3 weeks in advance, and I love that I do not have to worry about that. We love menu planning at our house, but I never actually liked sitting down to do it. I hope he will keep doing this once he returns to work.
Menu planning really helps in saving you time and grocery, as you have an idea in advance of what you need or not need. Plus it totally cuts out the stress of wondering what's for tomorrow, or worse, what's for dinner.
The next step would be this once-a-month cooking thing as I can see the benefits of it, especially time wise. But i just can't get around the idea of having just a few options of meals. I like variety, something different everyday for at least 2 weeks, with the occasional once a week leftovers day. Plus, we have no freezer space. In any case may be one day, when the kids are older and i have no time for daily cooking, I'll turn to it.
I have been trying to organize the house in a way that will help me to keep it organized. I have tried to apply the principle "everything must have a home" and it's been working ok. I have re-arrange the master bedroom, the living room, the 2 storage rooms, the dining room and the boys' bedroom.
One book that has been very helpful and which I am still going through is Keeping It Simple by Marcia Rampsland
Another one I would recommend is To Love Honor and Vacuum by Sheila Wray Gregoire
I am a christian wife and mother to 2 beautiful young boys who just started on the homeschooling journey. My desire is to train my children in the ways of the Lord while giving them a good education, all for the glory of our great and wonderful God. The road is not easy, specially when you try to do things God's way but the reward is well worth the effort.
To God be the Glory!
