Organizing & DIY Monday Link Party – Week 1

Organizing, DIY & Craft Projects

I decided to change up the Organizing Mission Monday just a bit and make it “legal and ok” to link up your DIY and Craft posts, along with your organizing posts.  

 

Organizing and doing it yourself go along together. We come up with so many good ideas to organize things .. all the time!  Crafting often ties in, but more importantly; it is just fun!

I’ve not had much time to DIY, organize or craft lately… so I want to “live through your posts!”

Here are a couple of my past favorite DIY, craft projects – My chalkboard jar labels were my most popular post last year.

I had so much fun with this project and still love them on my counter.

I loved my easy and cheap cord organizing solution

And also the organizer I made out of the toilet paper rolls & duct tape to keep all those link cords & connector cords organized.

Feel free to link up some of your old favorites from last year.

Link up to My Linky Party

Share your DIY, crafts, decorating or organizing projects!!

You can find the link for my button on my top “Buttons” Tab. (right now I only have the Organizing Mission Monday button, so it is fine to continue to grab that) 
1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) I’d love if you’d follow me on google and/or FB. The google is new and I’m trying to build it
4) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or crafts or decorating are WONDERFUL!
5) No sales pitches or web sites.
6) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click Here.
This party will be open until January 8, 2012

Organizing Mission Monday Link Party – Week 48

Thanksgiving – What are You Thankful For?

I think so often we don’t really know how thankful we are for some things, until they are gone.  Loved ones in our lives, the health of our families and ourselves etc. Don’t you think?

I don’t know that it is because we are selfish, I think it is because we don’t really know what life will be without those things, people or health.

But those people who have gone through loss, serious loss of family, health, job or more have a better idea. They have lived it.   Have I? To an extent I have, but not like some.  I had the loss of my first marriage.  I didn’t want anything to do with a divorce and I was a mess for several years.  I can look back on it now and be thankful it happened. I have found a man that I have a better relationship with than I ever did my first husband.

I have lost my mother after an almost seven year battle with cancer.  But it was gradual and I had time to grieve along the way, time to prepare for what was to happen.  But I have my father, and today is actually his 81st birthday. He told me he doesn’t want to celebrate being 81.  I said, “But Dad, you should then celebrate that you are still alive to have another birthday! lol” He laughed so hard at that one.

Thank goodness I’ve not had to go through a sudden death or tragedy with my family. My family is healthy and happy.  We don’t have oodles of money, but we blessed to have what we have.

I know that I take things for granite, and I try to appreciate what I have and how wonderful it is.

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on those things, be thankful for them and know how truly blessed we are.

 

Link up to My Linky Party

What are you thankful for? You can link up a Thanksgiving post or something you are thankful for,  but as always you can link up any organizing or cleaning or DIY post to my link party.

You can find the link for my button and also my “Proud to Be Featured Button” on my top “Buttons” Tab.

1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) I’d love if you’d follow me on google and/or FB. The google is new and I’m trying to build it
4) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or decorating
5) No sales pitches or web sites.
6) If I feature you I will use one or more of your pictures with a link back to your blog.
7) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click Here.
This party will be open until November 27, 2011

Organizing: How to Get Started

Getting Started can be the Hard part of Organizing!

But this is actually the 3rd step in my process to Organize a space. The first step is to Visualize and Plan out your space. Then your next step is to know how to sort and make your sorting cards.
Now you are ready to actually walk into that room and tackle the clutter. This is the scary step. I know… you look at that pile of stuff and think…”There is No Way!!”. But guess what? “Way!”. You can do it!
Just little by little. If you try to jump in and don’t have a plan or know what you are going to do with things… .then you might have more of a problem.  Don’t forget that when you start working on one room… you can cause a bit of a “domino effect” and have some mess build up in another room that you are moving things too.  Don’t let that stop you. It is just a part of the process and once you have one room under way or finished… you will get inspired to keep going. It will just feel so good to have your space back again.
Hopefully my video will give you a little guideline to go on too. But if you have the Sorting process down, then the rest of it is just going through each item. Just pick up that first item…and start.

Here is another post I did awhile ago on Getting Started to Organize . You might see some things there that I didn’t mention in the video that might help you.

Please let me know if you have questions.  I will do my best to help you answer them… just leave them in the comments, or you can contact me via contact form to ask me.

Prioritizing and Organizing Your Schedule

I have to heed my own advice here. I am needing to do some prioritizing and organizing in my own schedule!

I have to admit that I am feeling overwhelmed this morning.  I just got back from Type A Mom Conference yesterday evening, and looking at all I need to do this week and realizing I don’t have enough hours in the day to do all of it.

October is a very busy traveling month for me. I actually have an event each week and I’m planning on going to Indiana, Las Vegas, Detroit and then finishing by taking my Dad to see my Sister in Virginia at the end of the month.   Oh…and I have my  huband’s 50th birthday this month! I took on a photoshop class this quarter too.  My first project is due on Sunday and because I was sent the wrong software, I didn’t get the correct one until last night. So…I’m already behind in that class on week 2! lol

Why am I telling you this?  Because I want you to know that I struggle with organizing my own schedule at times. I have a lot on my plate right now and I need to do some prioritizing.  I am working on my schedule this morning and trying to decide if I need to give up one of the trips, or give up cleaning my house and taking care of my family or give up writing as many posts on my 3 blogs!!  (kidding on the family part, although by looking at my house this morning you might think I was serious)

I have been thinking of making a series of video tapes for this blog on some of the basics…. If I don’t edit and make them the way I like to make videos now, then I will have no problems and I think that would be helpful…. but I dont’ think I can do that.

SO….what I think I might be doing is to be running some of my old blog posts.  But I will make note if I am rerunning something. Thanks for understanding.

Organizing One Step at a Time

It doesn’t have to be hard to Organize, just break down the steps

You have now blocked out that time on your calendar to Get the Job Done.

What is the next step?  Get Prepared for that day.  How?

Try and decrease distractions.
I suggest black and white trash bags.  Black for trash, White for donate.

Change the mind set.

Stop thinking about it as drudgery, but think of it as organized space coming!

So crank up the music and get in the mood to have an uncluttered area….use positive thinking here.  Visualize what you would like the space to look like.  Think how good it is going to feel when you have accomplished the task.

Start with sorting.

Each item has to be looked at and a quick decision has to be made.

Keep – Do you USE it, do you LOVE it, does it FIT?
Donate – Don’t like it, Doesn’t fit, Don’t use it, Still in good shape
Move – It doesn’t belong in this room. Move out of this space.
Store - Use it but only once or twice a year. Holidays, camping etc.
Pitch – Broken, in no shape to donate (recycle if possible)

Clean

You should have less to put back in your space now.  This is the time to clean out those cupboards or the space good. It isn’t very often that it is probably empty.

You can measure the space to see what kind of organizers you may need (if any). It isn’t a good idea to go out and buy a bunch of organizers unless you have already measured the space and have an idea of what you need.  If you do not want to waste the time here and have an idea of what you think will work, please make measurements before you buy anything.  Then keep your receipts so that you can take the item back if it doesn’t fit or work like you thought it would.

Organize – A few tips

Now put the items that you are going to keep back.

Remember:  Like with Like!
Keep the cans together in your kitchen. Keep the extra office supplies together in your office. Don’t have some of this and some of that in the space.

Zones
Think in zones for your space.  What do you do?  For instances…in an office.  Your Zone A or zone 1 would be the space around your desk chair and desk that you can reach. Things you use daily and often, such as your phone, your pens, your stapler and letter opener.

In your kitchen you can do the same. For instance for your stove area, you should have your pot holders within reach of your stove. Your pots and pans should be near your stove.  For your dishwasher, your plates and glasses should be near it if possible.  Decrease steps when making the space functional.

Have fun organizing and let me know how you feel after a space is done.  It is like a “feel good” moment for me!

Playroom Organizing – part 2

Do the Kids Help or Not?

When it comes to sorting and organizing – Getting through the toys and being able to discard them (donate or trash) are your kids going to be a help or a hinder?

You need to decide if you want your children to help sort and organize or not. There are pros and cons to both methods. You know your children best and know what will work for them.

Pros

*Teaches them the importance of organizing at an early age

*Teaches them others are not as fortunate.

*Teaches them that cleaning up and clearing out can feel good

Cons

*Tantrums over giving things up

*Not as productive – it will take longer to have the kids help you. So if on a limited time frame it could be a problem

*Giving in and keeping more than you should because your child decides they want to keep everything

My Thoughts on the Subject

Some children will not handle giving up their toys easily. They can sway you to keeping everything and accomplishing nothing. But….they also need to LEARN that they do have to give up things and it will help them later in life. So it is a balance. My suggestion for these kids is for you to do the bulk of the sorting before they get home. They do not necessarily need to see what you are donating or getting rid of. But I would leave several things that are broken or they have out grown and then sit down with them when they get home and have them help you sort those things. Teach them that they need to share with other children who have less. Teach them they

What worked for me

For my 4 older boys (now ages 17-26) I did all the toy sorting myself (without their help).  I get a bit driven when I am in my “organizing mode” and personally I just like to go go go…so I prefer to organize by myself at home. I can honest say that there was never a time that my boys missed something or were upset when they got home.  They were always happy to see things neat and in order. I think it was that same “relief” feeling we get when we walk into a space that has once been too cluttered and now is neat and organized.  They didn’t have problems with giving up their toys and liked that most of the things were donated to other kids.

Now with my  4 step kids (ages 9 – triplets and a 16 year old) I have had them help me.  I don’t know why the difference.  But they are very good at helping and do not have problems with giving things away.  They crack me up because they tell me their mom doesn’t want to get rid of any of their things at her house and they are the ones that want to get rid of some of the clutter over there. (they are learning!)

Which way works best for you and your children?

The 12 Step Program for the Surface Abuser

I love this desk, family work center. But what a desk CAN look like

The 12 Step Program for the Surface Abuser.

1) Admit that you have a problem.

2) Ask for help with your Surface Abuse problem. (Professional organizers are everywhere!)

3) Remove ALL surfaces in your home.  (Only kidding!)

4) Realize that this will take on going maintenance to maintain.

5) Visualize what you would LIKE this space to look like.

6) Start the process with one surface.

7) Get a black trash bag for trash and a White trash bag for donate.

8) Begin the Sorting process. Clear everything off your counter and clean it first.

9) Realize that clearing your counter will lead to some organizing in other areas of your house. (this is a Good thing)

10) Decide what to do with all the papers and clutter.

11) Plan daily to clear  off anything that might have accumulated in this “hot spot” zone and place it in the folders or cubbies you created.

12) Be sure to take before and after pictures so help remind yourself how you want to keep your new clear counter.

Disclosure: The above picture is not from my home (I WISH!) It was from a Parade of Homes model that boasted like the best family organizing center ever!!  But you can find these products at The Pottery Barn.

Organizing a New You! …but how do I start?

Organizing a New You….So what does that mean?   Organize your home, organize your schedule, your kids, your life? Does it seem like the impossible?  It can be done! But be careful not to bite off more than you can chew and end up in “it is too overwhelming and I don’t think I can do it” land.

Here is how to start.

Planning

1) Sit down with a pad of paper, pen, calendar and cup of coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

2) Make a list of all the things you would like to organize.

3) Now number them in order of importance. (at least the top three areas that drive you the most CRAZY)

4) Put a date beside those top 3 of when you would like to have them completed by.

5) Block out at time on your calendar to start #1 on the list.

Supplies

Do not go out and buy a bunch of things to organize with. Until you know what you are going to end up with after your “sort” you don’t know what you will need. (unless you want to purchase some clear storage bins..but if you do be sure you have shelves to store them on and measure to be sure they will fit.

1) Black trash bags – trash

2) White trash bags – Donate  (separate colors so you don’t throw out your donate items in the trash)

3) Labels for boxes or bins (masking tape & sharpie marker will be fine)

4) Boxes for storage (my favorite are clear bins)

Sort

Make 5 signs for each of the piles you are going to make while sorting. Then for each item only give yourself 5-10 seconds to make your decision (no time to wander down memory lane). Be tough if you want to reclaim your space.

1) Keep – Love it, Use it, Can’t live without it.

2) Donate – Others would put to better use, doesn’t fit, don’t like it, don’t use it (use the white trash bags)

3) Storage – Holiday decorations, speciality items you use (camping, skiing)

4) Move – Items that need to be kept but don’t belong in this space.

5) Trash – Broken, un-donatable. Try to recycle if possible. Use the Black trash bag.

Tips

*It will seem messier before it gets better. Don’t get discouraged and keep going.

*This takes time, don’t think you will get an entire room done in 2 hours. Start with a small area.

* Once you have sorted your items you are ready to reorganize them in an orderly way.

Organizing to Traveling

I have started my traveling this year….in a big way.  So I really have been organizing to travel!  I just went to Austin, TX to be a judge for the Genesis Today Bloggers Immersion. I got to help pick one of the 5 finalist for the Genesis of a Great Idea Contest.  Debba Haupert won by the way from Girlfriendology.com

I leave on Wednesday to go to Nashville for the BlissDom conference. I am going to see my boys who live there on Wednesday and go to the conference the next day. I will be driving there. I flew to TX.

I come back from there on a Sunday and leave again on Wednesday for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference. I will be flying there also.

Here are a few tips that I have used to make getting ready to go easier.

1) Make a packing list.  Ok..I always do this. But I took it a step further and have it on my computer now. So I just have to print it out and tweek it for each trip.  It has all the items that I am always worried I will forget…like the phone, computer, camera chargers and sync cables, business cards.  I have a section on it for things to take on board the plane.

2) You can also make another list like the above for things to do before you leave.  Cooking meals for the family, make a copy of your itinerary for your husband or wife, leave insurance card and schedule for kids activities.

3) If possible use a little larger suitcase to go with, so you will have room if you get things on your trip to bring home.

4) Pack a base color of clothes and use accessories to change your look to reduce clothing. Scarves are great accessories (I am just learning how to use them myself)

5) Be sure all your electronic items are charged before you leave.

Organize Your Family with Cozi

Here is a Free solution that can help you keep your family organized, yourself organized and so much more!  This is a simple site to use and can do so much for you.

You can create a page that you can keep your family updated with pictures of the kids and events.

You can make a grocery list and have it texted to your phone or you can even call and get it verbally!

Your whole family can use and be a part of the family calendar

There are dinner ideas

There is a place for lists (To Do’s)

There are all kinds of ideas and solutions for helping you to organize.  Why use it? Here are a few reasons why.

There have been many reviews done on COZI…don’t believe me? Check these out!

Five Simple Steps to Help Organize Your Christmas Morning Craziness

Paper everywhere….boxes with pieces and parts laying half opened…dog’s wearing bows that got stuck to their fur? Sound like a typical Christmas morning at your house?
So how many Christmas days have you NOT had to try and find something in the trash that probably got thrown out?
Either that card with money from Aunt Ethel or the back of the new toy that Jimmy got. You KNOW it here somewhere but, now it is gone.

There are a few things that might help you cut down on some of the craziness Christmas morning.

1) Get several black trash bags. Station them around the room so that everyone has access to one for their trash. Immediately after opening their gift, have them throw just the paper away.

2) Have one place each person places their opened gifts near them.

3) If you know that your family members are getting gift cards or cash, then have a large colored envelop that they can place their gift cards or money in that has their name on it. You can pass those out after they receive their first one.

4) Have one central bag if you keep the ribbons and bows to recycle. The kids can have fun tossing the bows your way.

5) You can also use white trash bags and have them out in case someone wants to open a new toy that has many pieces and parts. They can put the extra pieces in the bag if the box gets torn apart too much to use. Then make sure that all trash throwing adults KNOW that white trash bags DO NOT go in the trash.

Try these methods and see if your Christmas morning can go a little smoother with clean up being much quicker.

BedZak Bedside Organizer Winner!

Barabara from Barbara Beat won the BedZak organizer!!

You can still order one for yourself if your not Barbara from Barbara’s Beat!  Just go to BedZak.com and order one.

Unpacking the Christmas decorations – Scary or not?

Does your decorations look anything like this?  So many things, just a mess!   It makes you think …..”It is just too much to get out and put away, I don’t really need to decorate.”  Those are the years that you may either have too much clutter, too many commitments going on or you know what a mess it was last year when you put it away and you don’t want to open that box!

Just like you can have too much clutter in the rest of your house – you have have clutter in your decoration supplies too.

Think about it:
Do all your lights work?
Do you use everything that is packed up?
Are there things each year that you don’t really want to put up anymore?
Do you have broken or ragged looking ornaments or decorations that you just can’t throw out?

The solution is simple (but not so easy) You need to sort through and declutter your holiday decorations.
Follow the same steps for any sorting. As you unpack your supplies evaluate (quickly) each item.

1) Keep – You love it, you use and decorate with it, it works and is not broken
2) Donate - It works and looks good, you just don’t like it, or can’t use it now.
3) Pitch – It’s broken or not fit to donate. (recycle if possible)

Remember, if there is something you haven’t used or can’t use….why keep it in a box all the time?  That isn’t honoring the memory. You can take a picture of it to have, then give that space it takes up to one of your other decorations.

Organize for Black Friday Shopping

Check out my Whrrl Story for some great deals. Also go to My Black Friday Deals and check out what others are finding for you.

Love me that Card Cubby!

I love the Card Cubby!! I have been using it close to a year now and think….wow, this is another product that I wish I thought of. (same with the pouchee..wish I came up with that one!)

I use mine for all my “cards”: discount cards, gift cards, library cards, insurance cards and special coupons..either free things or like 20% off Kohls card. I do not use it for all my coupons.
I also have one for business cards. So when I go to conferences I pull the other one out of my purse and throw in my business Card Cubby.
Pair this with the pouchee and you have one very organized purse.

I actually had 2 girls come up to me at the Type A Mom Conference and ask to see in my purse. They wanted to see if I really was organized. I was a little nervous wondering if I was going to pass the test (I am certainly not perfect and I can be known to throw something in my purse in a hurry when stressed!) But I did pass their test..{phew}. It basically looked just like this, except I have the brown croc card cubby now and my fall purse is that cool yellow gold color.

Full disclosure: I am an affiliate for the card cubby and I sell the pouchee (but I wouldn’t do either if I didn’t think these were the coolest purse organizing tools ever…duh!)

Laundry Room Organizing

I tour of my laundry room.  You can really add a lot of space to your laundry rooms. Look up…look at any wall space that may be available.  Even if you have a closet for your washer and dryer..look at the space above them. There may be one shelf, but could you add a couple of shelves above or below?

Dress up your laundry room with fun colors!! Its a easy, inexpensive and can make your laundry room feel a little cheerier to go into!

Walmart $500 Bedroom Makeover Giveaway! *CLOSED*

I was lucky enough to be asked by Walmart to do this bedroom makeover  and I am thrilled to be able to pass it onto you. They provided me with a $500 gift card to redo one of my teens rooms. I have to present a video of the finished product to them and they will feature it on their “Get Inspired” area of their web site.

Walmart has a great line of products for Teen bedrooms called Your Zone. These are all mix and match, very reasonable priced products that make it both easy and affordable to completely redo a bedroom for a price that most of us can handle.  I know for me, bedrooms are lower on the list of priorities for spending much money on…so this was so much fun to do. They have a really cool tool on their site that lets your virtually design your room.  We were able to use the make over section and Tim helped to figure out what he wanted in his room.  (Of course I had to make sure I had some organizing features in it too…you will see when my video is complete.)

We have 5 children living in our 2,000 sq ft home.  We are a little cramped…but its all good. We have had our two teenage boys sharing a bedroom. Tim 16 years old and Drew, 15 years old have had a set of bunk beds, two dressers and not much else in this 12×12 room (approximate). I discussed this project and the two of them made the decision. Tim was going to stay upstairs and have his room redone by Walmart.  Drew was going to go to the basement and have an unfinished portion of the basement made into his “Man Cave” (as he has nick named it) So off we go. Stay tuned to my blog as I will have pictures of Drew’s basement transformation too.

I will soon have Tim’s room complete. We have his bed up and most everything purchased, walls painted and we are almost ready to go. Stay tuned for the completion video.

RULES TO WIN (Please follow if you want to be eligible to win)

To have a chance to win this $500 gift card from Walmart to be used to purchase Your Zone products to redo your teens bedroom..this is what you need to do.  I am going to include a little younger than teen also. I have 8 year old triplets and they love the products. So since I do need to pick a cut off age, instead of going 12- years and older (this is really geared more for the 12-17 year age group)….I am going to go down to 8 years old (by August 20, 2009) and no older than 17 years old…be eligible for this giveaway.  The winner will not be picked by a voting process because I want all of you to have a fair chance.

You must agree to spend the $500 to redo the bedroom  if you win.  I would like a before and after picture that I can  post on my site.

THESE FIRST 3 HAVE TO BE DONE TO BE ELIGIBLE.

1) Go to the Walmart Your Zone site and tell me if you would be remodeling for a girl or boy…their age and which bed is your favorite.

2) Your e-mail address has to be easily accessible either on your blog or preferably  in one of the two above comments.

FOR EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN: (Each of these has to have a separate comment.)

1) You can  subscribe to my blog either by e-mail or by feeder. Come back and comment in a separate comment that you have done so.

2) You can  blog about this contest with the link back to this post. (10 extra chances…make sure to add a comment for each. (example…blog#1, blog#2…)

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Tweet this contest. You can do this up to 3 times per day – leave a comment with link for each one.

5) Facebook - follow me.

6) Facebook - Tell about this contest on your wall. You can do this up to 3 times per day – leave a new comment with link for each one.

7) Stumble Upon This

8) Recommend to Technorati

9) Follow me on Linked In

10) Pick up any of my 3 buttons and put on your sidebar (Blog, Review or Pouchee). For each one – leave comment

11) MomTv – (5 extra chances to win)  Sign in and join me on my live show Monday nights at 8:30 pm est.  Leave the name you signed in with for the show, so that I will know it is you. Be sure to add 5 comments…MomTV #1, Momtv#2..so that you get credit for all.

See there are lots of ways to enter!!

This contest will be open to US residents only.  You must respond within 48 hours if you win.

This contest ends on Thursday September 10th, 2009 at 11:59pm est *THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED ANY COMMENTS AFTER 11:59pm est on SEPT 10th WILL NOT BE COUNTED**

Organizing your dogs? LOL… NOT!!

Organizing Your Dogs?

Organizing and dogs don’t really work! LOL You can organize their things of course…but not them.
If they are properly trained, going outside to potty is not a problem. But when they are sick…thing are different.
I am writing this because “things are different” in this house in the last few days.

Gizmo 0r Gizzy for short

Gizzy (above) has been sick. She started getting sick Saturday night and had me up 3 times through the night. She had both V and D. (I really don’t want to write them out…I think you get the point…it is breakfast time you know)
I ended up taking her into the vet hospital yesterday morning. She had blood in both her V and D yesterday am. She has been in since yesterday and getting IV fluids to hydrate her. They think she has either pancreatitis from the high fat content in the steak bone we gave her Thursday night or an obstruction. They are holding off doing x-rays and all kinds of labs and just watching her (I appreciate that $$$)

Sadie

Enter Sadie – She has been fine, just worried because her sissy isn’t here.
But I came down to find two (one on linoleum but the other in the boys bedroom carpet…ggggrrrrhhhh)places where she had had D. No not her too!! (she is my soul mate doggie)
I called the vet and they said to take her food and water away. Give her ice cubes to keep her hydrated and cook up some hamburger meat (drained) and give her little bits and that helps with the D.
Dog hair to clean up, vet bills, ruined carpet (Gizmo chewed up a red ink pen 2 years ago and we had to replace the carpet in the family room because of it)from pens and D/V, rolling in poop at the farm, bad breath….WHY DO WE LOVE THESE ANIMALS? LOL I don’t know…but we love them and they are a part of the family…so we deal with the bad along with the good.

Back To School Organizing – Are you Ready for the Routine to Start again?

Many of us have kids starting school within the next two weeks. My kids start next week..they are excited. I have the “mixed emotions” going on. I am not excited about the morning routine, homework, crazy mornings and after school….BUT I am excited that I will have some more time freed up during the week to spend with my organizing clients.
I discussed what Peter Walsh had to say about the school organizing. He talked a lot about “routine”.
But what is the routine?
My Morning Tips.
1) Get up at least 15 minutes earlier than you “think” you need to. There will always be a glass of spilled milk or a “melt down” when you least expect it.
2) Have a “job board” if needed to help your child remember their morning routine.
3) PREPARE the night before!!!
* Pack lunches or lunch money
* Lay out clothes
* Have book bags ready to go
* Homework inside in the bookbags
* Library books inside the bookbags (you get the point)
* Take your shower the night before if possible.
* Have breakfast planned and table set

My After School Routine Tips
1) Routine…Routine….Routine. (kids need it)
2) Book bags emptied when they come in the door. Have a specific spot for their papers where you can go through them.
3) Snack
4) Homework time (don’t delay it, get it over with..they are still in school mode..not play mode yet.)
5) Have a quiet place, with low stimulus for homework. Desk in their room without tv, or a kitchen table.
6) Put their book bags away in a set spot. Hooks on the back of a door can work great.

Get Ready…Get Set…here come the school projects!!

Card Memories – Greeting Card Keeper Review and Giveaway *CLOSED*

I’ll tell you what…some of the great ideas that people come up with! This Card Memories Greeting Card Keeper will solve a lot of problems for those of you who love to keep their greeting cards.

For an organizer…Greeting cards can be one of those…”Oh no…she has all the greeting cards that anyone ever gave her from the time she was a baby” ….moments.
People have a hard time getting rid of them.
What do I normally tell them and what I am still going to stick to even with this product?
Save only those greeting cards that are VERY memorable and that have personal messages inside. If it is card from graduation 20 years before and it was from a friend of your parents that you hardly knew…throw it out! (recycle is best)
But if it was a Mother’s Day card that your child wrote a special heart felt message in to you…then it is ok to keep it.
But here is a solution to the “keeping it” cards!
These albums not only let you slid your greeting cards into a sleeve to protect…it lets you slide your OPEN card into a sleeve so not only can you see the front…you can see and read the inside. So simple…yet ingenious!

She has 2 size albums – Large albums hold cards with a closed dimension of up to 9-1/4″ X 5-3/4″ in size.
Medium albums hold cards with a closed dimension of up to 8″ X 5″ in size.
There are several colors available and they are very reasonably priced. $10-$16.99 and that includes the card sleeves.
I really think these are great! You can keep your special cards protected from damage and be able to look at them anytime you want to enjoy. They are not stuck away in some box in the basement or stuffed in drawers.
To me the only negative I see is that even the large is not going to fit some of those really large cards you get, but the majority of your greeting cards will fit into one of these 2 albums.
The other issue I noticed was that I had a card that had several folds in it (one that stretched out) But I just put it so that the front showed and then the end page where the personal message was written and that is what is most important anyway. So the couple negatives I noticed really aren’t negatives at all.

I would highly recommend these albums if you are someone who does like to save some of your greeting cards, then your can keep these albums on a shelf or place them on a coffee table where they can be enjoyed.

*THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED*

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