Picketfencemom posted a link to a blog called Warm Pie, Happy Home.  The author of the blog, Ruthann, has greated a checklist to get your home in order for Autumn.  It is a fabulous blog and I encourage you to visit it.!

Also, AussieinAmerica found this recipe for Homemade Instant Oatmeal from Stretcher.com.  I look forward to making that soon.  We love oatmeal!

I follow Motivated Moms.com for my daily cleaning and organization routine.  But, there are a few items that I like to do (or WOULD like to do), but they are not a part of my regular routine (yet.) Soooo, without further ado, here are my miscellaneous activities that finally have a home!

MON- Menu Plan Monday
           Bakery Day (If I can pull this off, I will have a fresh baked good made on this day)
           Family Fun and Meeting Night- This night, our family wil have a family devotional and worship time,  with time for dealing with family items of interest.  This will be especially important when the kids are older.

TUE- Homeschool Co-op
          Swim Lessons
          MYNIGHT OFF!

WED- 7 Things Project
            Letter Day- The boys draw a picture or write a letter to send to one family member.
          

THU-Swim Lessons
          DH Worship Practice-Evening

FRI- DH Band Practice-Evening

SAT- Date Night 2 twice a month

I had last weeks items in the back of my van and got those donated today.  It felt so good!

The weather was beautiful this weekend, so we spent it all outside, working on they yard.  As much as I complain about yardwork, there is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

-I transferred many piles of yard waste to a master pile for the dump

-We are tossing all of our old outdoor furniture

-We are tossing the inflatable pool that stayed out all winter and is no longer usable.

-My mom came up and helped on Sunday.  We prepped a huge pile to cardboard to transfer to recycling and started to clean up the deck.

-We have a many items in the yard that have been waiting all season to be taken to the dump.  DH hired a neighbor kid to do dump runs.  It should all be gone some time this week.  YAY!

Our family cleans the first two hours on Saturday. Well, we went beyond today. DH tackled his clothes and donated two full plastic garbage bags.  I transferred my winter clothes to storage and brought out my Spring/Summer items.  I also went through the kitchen a little.

I am donating:

-2 aluminum sheet cake pans
-1 glass pie pan
-1 round cake pan
-1 Denby Harlequin pottery pitcher with a small crack on the lip
-1 coffee cup
-4 skillets (1 has a lid)
-a bag of misc. clothes
-3 winter coats

I have a file cabinet that is next to my computer.  It is three drawers, plus a few three ring binders, and a portable file folder bin.  I tackled it today and:

-gave five  fridge magnet clips to a friend

-recycled a garbage bag full of paper

-threw away a variety of small tinkets that made their way into this "catchall"

I have created a file system for:

*financial (bills/Statements)
*Family goals and dreams
*MOPS
*Women's Ministry
*Compassion International Correspondence (we have three sponsored children)
*Company Paperwork (I work part time for my husband's company)
*Health and Nutrition
*Homeschool
*Roots and Wings Homeschool Co-op
*Vacation/Travel

DH and I teamed up this weekend to tackle the boys room in a big way.  The boys share a very small bedroom and we needed to be more streamlined in our organization.  I don't want to be cleaning up after my kids all the time, and they needed a system they could handle.

The Issue
The clothes that hang in the closet often end up on the floor when the boys get toys from below or dress themselves.  The clothes on the shelves end up on the floor when the boys dress themselves.  I have a hard time figuring out what is clean, yet dropped, and what is dirty.

The toys are cluttered in a variety of bins and baskets, the small bookshelf in the closet is packed with games and puzzles.

The Solution

Clothing

• We created seven sets of outfits for each boy (shirt, pants, undies, socks)
• Six outfits are for every day, two are for Sunday
• Each set of clothes went into one small plastic container and labled with the boy's name
• The boys choose which outfit they want to wear for the day and pulls the container from the closet
• We placed about 4-5 pairs of pj's for each boy in a plastic bin under the bed
• We have an additional small bin for a few extra undies, socks, and a couple of shirts
• We went through the summer clothes, and the items we did not donate ended up in a bin in the garage.
• The remaining clothes that did not make it into a bin were donated.  We donated FOUR plastic tall kitchen garbage bags!

Toys

• We divided the toys into three groups
  • A-Toys the boys play with often and/or have educational value
  • B-Toys we will rotate to the garage
  • C-Toys that will be donated or tossed
• The 'A' toys went onto the bookshelf or into a couple of bins
• The'B' toys went into plastic bins and placed in the garage
• We donated ONE plastic garbage bag of toys and tossed 1/2 of  a bag

Misc.

• We bought two floor lamps for better lighting of the room and closet
• We are donating the dresser, creating more floor space
• We are donating the small bookshelf

I  keep all my (current) homeschool items in a tiny closet in the hallyway.  It has kind of become a bit of a "catch all"  Here are the items I am throwing away, donating, returning, or giving:

- donating my FIL's phone

-giving a gift I was supposed to give my friend for Christmas

-recycling a bunch of misc. used craft paper

-throwing away over a year's worth of "dust bunnies" that accumulated under the file drawer

-In cleaning the book shelf, I moved the homeschool books to the boy's bookshelf and am donating some of the boy's older books to make room for these.

-I am going to donate or consign a few Abeka preK items I have, but do not use.  RNW ladies are welcome to them!

(This week is dedicated to you, Jen G.!)

I have two pieces of furniture that I store things in the entry room.  This week, I:

Discarded:
1. Correspondence that was for my decease FIL
2. Receipts from an even I already attended
3. two pair of kid sunglasses that have seen better days

Donated:
3. FIL's hearing aids
4. FIL's prescription glasses

Returned:
5. A bag of shorts that were loaned to me for the boys

Getting Developed:
6. Six disposable cameras the boys got for Christmas

Some more items I am giving my cousin:

-Holiday pitcher and large bowl
-Bud Vase
-10 remakins
-Small glass pedestal or cake stand
-glass divided nut or candy dish
-four cookbooks
-2 small gravy boats
-sugar dish
-large glass bowl
-glass vase
-cookie cutters
-ceramic pie plate
-2 baskets
-Long rectangle serving tray

There is a cupboard on top of my fridge.  It is kind of a "
catch all".  I cleaned that out and am donating:
-a glass candy jar
-Chutes and Ladders game
-Candyland game
-Some kids plastic measuring cups
-an angel ceramic figurine
-a hanging wall plaque
-2 plastic plates
-some silver bracelets
-some little gift type items I will never use

My cousin just bought a house, so this is a great time to pass on some items from the kitchen.

I am giving ( or donating if she does not want them) her some glassware, a glass pitcher, some entertaining platters, and a big mixing bowl.

A friend of mine made me a custom home notebook for Christmas.  I love it and have been adding, adjusting, etc. to make it work for me.  She did an incredible job, and I want you to take a look:

The cover.

The inside cover with her homemade card, 'to do' sheets. The index tabs say: dates, contacts, addresses, notes, menus, misc.

As a part of the deep clean of the bedroom, I took the opportunity to purge seven (plus) things:

-A stack of magazines I kept planning on collecting recipes and articles from, but never for around to it.

-2 decorative pillows that have lost their shape

-2 books (One will go to the MOPS library)

-2 framed prints I no longer want

-My 2 MOPS handbags

-Give back a Harry Potter Book I forgot I had

-a scarf

Round two: I could not resist going over my clothes again and shoes.  I got rid of:

-3 pairs of shoes (1 pair to sell)

-2 pairs of Pajamas

-1 skirt

-6 tops

-3 pairs of pants

-1 poncho (CAbi; I will sell)

-2 sweaters (They are Cabi; I want to sell them.)

I signed up for thehomemakersmentor.com, a printable notebook that has homemaking tasks.  The first lesson was a deep clean of the bedroom.  I just completed it.  This included scrubbing down the window sills and baseboards (that I could reach).  Can I just say 'ew'?! 

Anyway, the bedroom is sparkling clean.  DH loves that it smells like a hospital room.

DH ran across this tip and liked it.  We might implement this at some point.  Maybe once a month?

Tell your kids you are going to have a "Cinderella Saturday".

You all commit to cleaning or doing some sort of house or yard project during the day.  Then, you all get dressed up and go out to a nice, very special, dinner or go see a movie.

It seems like a fun way to shake up the monotony of duty.

Some of you have asked what exactly is my 'morning routine'?  I mention this in conversation and has piqued some interest.

Well, assuming that we are not running off to Roots and Wings, MOPS, or Bible Study, here is what our typical morning looks like:

-Breakfast
-Brush teeth
-Hair
-Get dressed
-Make bed
-Clean room (as in tidy)
-dishes (empty and load)
-cleaning (tidy kitchen, dining, living and family rooms.  Wipe down sink and counters)
-clean bathroon (wipe down sink, counter, and toilet surfaces)
-sweep (bathroom and hardwoods)
-vacuum (3 small bedrooms and two area rugs)
-empty all trash baskets
-laundry
-feed cat and water/check litter box
-vitamins

After vitamins, we begin homeschool lessons

FAQs:

Q: How long does this take? It depends on how much I involve the kids and what the rest of our day looks like, and how motivated I am to get it done.  If I really want to complete the routine quickly, I will begin before the boys get up.  If I do it on my own, this will be completed within an hour.
However, I want to teach my boys these valuable life skills and their contribution to our family.  I also like to break to talk to friends, answer emails, or check blogs.  So, the morning routine may last all day!  I like that I can look at what is next and not have to think about it what else needs to be done.

Q: What about the days when you have a commitment in the morning? If my afternoon is open, we will do some of the items then, or we might forego it altogether.  Typically, we will always make the master bed, do the dishes,  tidy each room, and keep up on laundry.  I sacrifice sweeping, vacuuming, and wiping down the bathroom when necessary.

Q: What about the other chores not listed above? Those items are listed to do in the afternoon or on the weekend.  I try to follow those through motivatedmoms.com.  I do have an 'afternoon routine', but I do not follow it enough to write it down.  Maybe someday!

Q: How do you get the kids involved? First, and most important (IMO), adjust your standard of what is acceptable.  'A' makes his own bed.  It is not perfect by any means, but it is 'made'.  'R' gets frustrated because he can't get the sheets and blankets to cooperate, so I help him.  He takes one side and copies what I do.  They both know where their toys, books, and dirty clothes should go and can clean their room to my satisfaction.  They are responsible for putting all the plastic dishes and silverware away.  They take a vinegar and water bottle and help wipe down counters as I play back up.  They try to sweep up my dirt piles into the dustpan with the little dust broom.  This is about 75% successful.  They bring clothes from the hamper to the laundry and take dry clothes from the dryer to the table.  They sort the clothes into the owner's pile.  They feed the cat with my help.  I praise the attitude and effort over how well they complete the task, and how well they work together as a team.

This does not apply to me because I only have one set of sheets, but if you have more than one set, store the sheets inside the matching pillowcases.  Everything stays nice and tidy.

(Tip from thehomemakersmentor.com)

I have an online friend who is committed to no recreational spending for one year.  She ia also decluttering and posted about "The Seven Things Project".

Basically, you commit for one year to give up, sell, throw away, or donate, seven items a week.

I am going to do this and will try to follow the guidelines as set forth by the Project's author.

Starting tomorrow...

I plan to spend this year tightening down the home systems and organization.  I will pass on items that have helped or inspired me.

Here are a few links to explore for home management.

Motivated Moms- I try to use this everyday.  It is the best system that has worked for me to date.  It is a checklist with chores to be done daily, and others for each day of the week.  They also have a daily Bible verse you can read on the checklist, if requested.

Accountable Kids-We are currently using phase one of four phases for Accountable Kids.  It helps the kids to understand structure, routine, and their contribution to the family.