365 days to an organized life - Day 31

The ruffled capelet for my daughter's Christmas gift is coming along. Only three more ruffles and a bit of finishing.

I have noticed some posts on Twitter about Cre8time. It is a neat concept of claiming 8 hours a month  for creativity. It is easy to let the busyness of life to take over the things we are really passionate about.

365 days to an organized life - Days 29-30

Yesterday, I made a paper copy of my list. I divided it very much like a Flylady control journal with a morning, afternoon, and evening routine. I also included a School list and Spiritual list. I like having a list that can range from Morning offering to Evening Family prayers with many other options for days when I may need more strength and grace.

Today, I need to find a solution for pots and pans that won't fit in the smaller kitchen we have. This may not get addressed til Saturday but I am thinking of trying to organize them on the top shelf of the pantry. Most of these items are cake pans and such that are used infrequently. Halfway considering getting rid of the cake pans. I wish I was a great cake decorator but honestly, I really don't have the patience for it. I've tried but in the end, I think my time might be better spent in other ways. I will have to think about it a bit more because I really do like the teddy bear and hello kitty pans. Regardless, I do have some clothes, mismatched lids and odds and ends that need to go to the Thrift store tomorrow.

365 days to an organized life - Day 28

Well, I fell off the wagon a bit for days 26 and 27. I still got a few things done but I have some catching up to do today. I am going to make a paper version of my lists so we can all check the next to do while another is on the IPad. I am also going to try to (as much as possible) wear one hat at a time. Saturday seems to be the best day to get cleaning done so I will not worry about more than the daily basics when I am wearing the homeschool teacher hat. Trying to wear all the hats all the time just means nothing gets done well. Besides, Mamaw told me that was bad luck anyhow.

I have a stack of worksheets for Katie Rose from Sing Spell Read and Write. We are doing A-Z first then a number of misc sheets then A-Z again. We are almost through the first set of abc's and she is learning to trace a dotted line really well.

There are a lot of skills a preschooler can work on. So I have the activities divided by day.

Monday -  Scissors activity - It is easy to forget how much strength and dexterity is needed just to cut with scissors. Magazine pages are an easy medium to cut.

Tuesday - Lacing cards - this activity also works on the fine motor skills that are needed.

Wednesday - Pattern activity - You can make a pattern for them to repeat using Pom poms or blocks.

Thursday - Painting activity - with four kids in a rental house, I can't leave paint out all the time. So one special day a week, we can do an art project.

Friday - Matching activity - this can be matching flash cards or magnets or small toys and such.

These activities keep the toddler busy while the older boys do their school work.

365 days to an organized life - Days 24 & 25

Organizing goal - Organize one drawer a week. I have drawers in the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms. Organize one at a time and then start over maintaining. I'll start with the kitchen. I have some drawer liners I can put in as I get them organized. We've only been here a few months so they aren't in bad shape but the liner will definitely cheer it up.

Cooking goals - I have a weekly dry erase board in the kitchen to keep important appts and our dinner menu on it. I know when I haven't updated it because my second child gets very concerned. My husband likes that he can come in late from work and see what we had for dinner and look for those leftovers in the fridge.

Friday - Red Beans and Rice (I needed a task for soaking the beans this morning)
Saturday - Pizza (I need a task to start the sourdough crust dough Saturday morning)
Sunday - Roast Chicken (I should have had a reminder to remove this from the freezer yesterday. I did it today so we'll hope it's thawed out. If not, I'll just switch Sunday and Monday)
Monday - Mac and Cheese - will go great with the Roast Chicken
Tuesday - Quiche Lorraine
Wednesday - Spaghetti
Thursday - Lentil tacoes

365 days to an organized life - Day 23

A great idea for keeping UFO's (un finished objects) from piling up is to keep a set of tasks in a craft list. I set these due dates to never so I don't have to continually postpone til I get time to complete the tasks.

I can divide out sewing projects as such.

Cutting

Ironing on interfacing

Gathering

Sewing on Velcro, buttons or embellishments

Sewing seams and hems

Cleaning up Trimming threads and such from the project.

With all the steps listed, any amount of time can potentially move the project forward. I recently did four of the same sewing project. I did one start to finish first to make sure I was doing the project right. I then made three more in almost the same amount of time that it took to make one. For gift giving, this can make great use of your time.

365 days to an organized life - Day 22

Today is a short post since my husband is off and we are taking care of several errands.

Mirrors - A weekly task that works best with newspaper. Using newspaper instead of paper towels eliminates streaks.

Windows - a separate task that doesn't need to be done quite as often, maybe quarterly.

365 days to an organized life - Day 21

To be able to maintain blogging throughout the year, I divided each day into specific goals.

Sunday - spiritual
Monday - homeschooling
Tuesday - cleaning
Wednesday - crafting
Thursday - organizing
Friday - cooking
Saturday - personal

Here is my foundation. I keep my lesson plans and record their completion in Home School Inc.'s free planner. I do this because it allows you to print reports for their cover school. Also, you can definitely tell it was designed by a homeschooler. It really anticipates what you need. I can say that I want 3 pages of geography completed each day. I enter the start page, end page and the number of pages for each day and it automatically calculates it and adds it as the objective for each day. Completely fabulous!

I also have a list of subjects for each child in Remember the Milk including things that I don't record in Home School Inc like their Body Test in Wii Fit and their Brain test in Big Brain Academy.

Let's talk about math. I have them working in Splash Math which is a very extensive math app. It also has reports that help me know where they need to focus. There is an app for each grade level.

This weekend we learned how to do Waldorf multiplication. Very cool! I don't want it to be a intense focus but I would like them to practice a couple of problems each week. Same goes for the abacus.

Source: lapappadolce.net via Christy on Pinterest

So, Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have a problem with the abacus. Tuesday and Thursday will have a Waldorf problem. A small addition to keep things fresh and interesting but not taking away too much time from fractions, decimals and pre-algebra.

365 days to an organized life - Day 20

Today was a day of rest, crocheting and beignets. Still fighting sinus crud with some fever so maybe going to the dr tomorrow.

Another spiritual goal could be the habit of morning offering. You can search for some beautiful ones but I like the simple straightforward one that I taught the kids.

My God, I offer You this day, all I think and do and say
Uniting all with what was done on earth by Jesus Christ Your Son

It is simple but establishes the purpose of the day. Not simply to complete a list of to do's but to bring Him honor with a spirit of love and service.

365 days to an organized day - Day 19

I left the second load of clothes in the washer three times this week so they would have to be rewashed in the morning. I was feeling a bit out of sorts with my sinus crud and the baby's ear infection. I feared I was falling too far behind.

But all it took was an hour to pick up in every room, unload/load dishwasher, sweep, vacuum, clean bathrooms, fold laundry and wipe down surfaces. A couple more minutes added to put away all the laundry. So even a plan halfway followed is better than no plan at all.

Today, let's think about something to pamper ourselves. I need to remember to moisturizer my face. Daily seems too much and ends up causing breakouts so I'll set it to every 2-3 days and we'll see what works. I also feel good when I do an avocado mask so I'll set that to a monthly treat.

365 days to an organized life - Day 18

Today is a sick day! Thus why I am writing this a day late and back-dating it. I had been taking OTC meds for three days. I remembered to take some apple cider vinegar with apple juice at lunch. Within an hour, gobs of drainage was coming down my throat. Glad that it was getting it out of my head but it made me feel rough with nausea and a sore throat. I ordered pizza and went to bed right after supper.

So let's schedule things that we need for our health.

1) Vitamins - we usually take these at night.

2) Prescriptian meds - I tailor this for whatever we need. I can set a schedule for antibiotics for a set amount of days. Most other meds can be set with the vitamins, but one of the kids has an allergy med that needs to be taken in the morning so I make a separate task in my scheduler.

3) Apple Cider Vinegar - I don't know how it helps but it does. I take a couple teaspoon to 4 oz of apple juice or water with stevia.

4) Nasal spray - I had a tendency to forget this when giving out the vitamins so I added a separate task to help me remember.

365 days to an organized life - Day 17

We had snow in the South today! Rare sight, so the schedule wasn't followed to the T. We had play time in the snow. I let the baby pull bits of snow off the shrubs. We had hot chocolate and whipped cream. We still did school work but enjoyed the rest of the day.

Today, let's think of regular activities with cooking. My two main repetitive actions in the kitchen is making tea and baking bread. Bread is every 3-5 days. So I have the actions associated with bread set to repeat every 4 days.

My husband takes a big jug of tea to work each day so we need to make sure we have plenty in the fridge. I don't have to make a gallon daily but I have it listed daily to make sure I check to see if I need to make it.

You could also use this to schedule making yogurt, kombucha or sprouting. The options are limitless and doesn't require keeping it all stored and kept track of in your head.

Thanks for the fun, Winter Storm Iago!

365 days to an organized life - day 16

Today, let's give the house a good dusting. A turkey feather duster is great for moving the dust quickly and easily. I like to try to vacuum afterwards so whatever fell to the floor gets picked up so it doesn't re-deposit back on the furniture. I have this set to a weekly task.

Short post today but really, how much can you expand the topic of dusting? 

365 days to an organized life - Day 15

Let's look back at the laundry today. There is more than just the daily clothes and linens we use. Set each item to a frequency that works for your household.

1) Wash bedding - I find I can wash the master bedroom sheets with my daughter's and then all the boys together. We don't have a dryer so weekly seems too much so I have it set to every two weeks. The comforter can be washed quarterly since it really should be dried at the laundromat.

2) Wash baby seat and swing covers - Most cloth covers even of car seats can be thrown into the washer every few months.

3) Curtains - This could be a task to do twice a year.

4) Slipcovers - anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on how much traffic they see.

5) Stuffed animals - They really should be put through the dryer or in the freezer for 24 hours or so to kill any dust mites.

6) Bath mats - maybe every 2 months.

365 days to an organized life - Day 14

We are at the two week mark. How are your resolutions holding up? Last week, things didn't flow as well for me. But I did most of what I was supposed to do. This morning, I was back on track and whizzing through my chores.

Yesterday, I had another 2 hour craft time. I really had fun with the iron and the glue gun plugged up. I made 3 more Christmas gifts for my kids. I am so looking forward to giving them to them. I also made a big birthday gift for Katie Rose and two smaller gifts to go with it. I'm looking at also finding some patterns for crocheted or sewn clothes for her Disney Princess Barbies. Those will make wonderful stocking stuffers. I also drug out the three quilts I have cut out and half-way pieced and never got put together. I can't work on gifts when Katie Rose refuses to nap but I can piece a few quilt blocks.

Today we're gonna dig a little deeper to keep things organized.

Sort through 25 items in your closet - This can be clothes or shoes to determine if they need to go to Goodwill. After moving, I still have a few boxes of what-nots hidden in my closet that need to be sorted and found a place for or  purged. I had originally set this up as a weekly chore but at that rate, it may take me over a year to get it done. So I think I will attempt to do this as a daily chore until the boxes are empty and then switch back to weekly.

365 days to an organized life - Day 13

Today is a day of rest. I will be reading 1 John, praying, cooking a ham and crafting. We have been reading 1 John as part of our family Bible reading in the evenings so I'll read that start to finish today. I like reading chunks of the Bible at a time. It's so much easier to understand the meaning when you have all the context. I was able to plan out some projects and get a few things done like cutting and pinning. So today, I should whiz through several things.

I also need to journal my thoughts through the Daily Examen. I have Prayers/Bible Study in my scheduler. But I often check it off for our family prayer and Bible study time. I need to divide out my spiritual goals so that I don't tend to forget the Daily Examen.

I really love St Ignatius of Loyola. His simple premise of following in Jesus' footsteps led to the founding of The Company of Jesus or the Jesuit priests. He led the Counter Reformation and brought many back to the Church. The Daily Examen is an opportunity to look over our day and recognize where God was inviting us to unite our actions with His will. And noting our response or lack or response to it.

It's not particularly an easy task. It's so much easier to look over the day and say, "Well, I didn't do everything right but the good outweighed the bad." But it doesn't work that way. God doesn't want us to be holy a little more than 50% of the time. He is the perfect parent and wants nothing less than the best from His children.

So while looking over the dark, flabby parts of our spiritual lives is about as pleasant as a full length mirror to a mid-thirties mom to whom gravity and time have left it's mark, it is a valuable spiritiual exercise. If we acknowledge where we fall short even if it's a seemingly minor thing, then we are inviting the Holy Spirit to show us how we can do better. We can make goals towards eliminating the temptations to sin. We can look for spiritually healthy exercises to do instead.

Enjoy this Lord's Day!

Break it down

Today is a day of rest, Scripture, prayer and fellowship.

But is there something needing to be done that is bothering you? Some area of disorganization or poor planning? If so, write it down. Don't be tempted to address it today. It will still be there tomorrow.

Break it down into small steps that can be tackled easily. Repeat the task at appropriate intervals so it stays the way you want it.

Enjoy this Lord's Day!


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Monthly menu planning

I did this once in November. I spent about $400 and got lots of basics. But I ended up using all the easy meals first and forgot a few things. So I figured this time needed a good bit more planning out.

1) Start with what you got - My husband works at a surplus-type store so he got a great deal on pasta and cereal. I also had rice, potatoes, onions and most baking needs.

Cereal - takes care of most breakfasts and since I have baking ingredients, I can make muffins, pastries, pancakes and such.

Potatoes - I will use them as sides for barbecue chicken and ham meals

Onions and rice - Go with lots of bean dishes

Pasta - Mac & Cheese, Chicken Alfredo and Spaghetti

2) It's ok to repeat a meal - We love pizza so that is a weekly meal. I had all the ingredients for the crust. I also had the pepperoni. All I needed was the sauce (spaghetti sauce), olives and mozzarella cheese.

Pancakes is also a weekly meal. When my husband works late nights and I have plenty of leftovers in the fridge, I make pancakes for me and the kids.

Most of the other meals repeat twice throughout the month.

3) Plan out ways to stretch your meat - I would like to be a vegetarian, but others in my household would not hear of it. The bad thing about not wanting to eat meat is that I really don't care to cook it either. But I've figured out how to add a little bit of meat to dishes so that I don't have to cook it as often. My meat purchases this month was a large ham (man, I miss holiday ham prices), two family packs of chicken breast and 4 packs of smoked sausage.

This Sunday, I will cook the ham. That makes one meal. Leftovers make two. It will probably do for leftovers for 2-3 days. Then I will cut up all the remaining meat and divide into freezer containers. Then a little bit of ham will go in to flavor at least two Country Creole Peas and Corn dishes and 2 Quiche Lorraine dishes. If there is enough, it will also go into the Cuban Black Beans and Rice.

There are about 8 big chicken breasts. I will take two and divide up into strips, cover with BBQ sauce and cook in the oven. My husband and second son are the main ones who eat the chicken so that will be plenty for them. The other six will be grilled on the George Foreman grill. I will divide that meat into 3-4 containers to go with the Chicken alfredo.

I use sauce, olives and parmesan cheese to jazz up spaghetti noodles and do without the meat.

4) Think about different meals that use similar ingredients - I love Broccoli Rice Casserole that uses half a box of Velveeta cheese. So I bought a can of rotel and bag of chips to use the other half.

5) Use as many beans as possible. - Ten out of 33 meals use some sort of legume as the main ingredient. I vary it up by using different kinds. I have kidney beans, black beans, black eyed peas, lentils, and pinto beans in the menu plan. If you go with less meat, you have to add another protein source.

6) Shop sales or private label  - You can use the sale items to make your list. My van is in the shop so I had a friend take me to the Save-a-lot. I've also heard Aldi's is good. I really love the one-stop shopping for most of what I need. They didn't have lentils so I have to go to Walmart whenever we need a milk run.

7) Drink lots of water - We got a few bottles of juice for the kids and tea bags to make sweet tea for us. But the majority of our fluid comes in the form of just plain water. Much better for you. We will have to get milk for the little ones but even the toddler drinks some water.

8) Look at Amazon Mom - I signed up for the free trial for 3 months and got some super deals on diapers and dog food.

My totals
Save-a-lot $215
Amazon $70
Future milk runs budget (and the lentils that Save-a-lot doesn't carry and the tea that is better and cheaper at Walmart [National Cup brand 100 ct for $1]) $30

Feeding a family of six + a dog + diapers = $315 for the month.

Not too shabby!

365 days to an organized life - day 12

Life is full of ups and downs and for a mom, that can include financial, health, hormonal, relationships and more. It seems just as you're getting things lined up right, the dominoes are tapped and it all falls apart. I've known this struggle for many years. I've solidified a few things in my life so that when things fall, everything doesn't fall. But it's still frustrating.

My "ups" are awesome. I get big ideas. I've committed myself to finishing more things so I get great accomplishments. I feel like I'm running on adrenaline and I wear myself out but I love it.

But what goes up must come down. Recently, I began to feel the crash coming on. I was beyond frustrated. Could it be that I could only be the wife and mother I want to be with the help of adrenaline? And really, that can't be good for my health. Why do I have such ups and downs? What triggers them?

When I am up, I am energetic, motivated and feeling good. When I am down, I am lethargic, indecisive and somewhat depressed. Then it hit me. My feelings......my emotions had become my master. And what a heavy yoke, it had given me. But Jesus says in Matthew 11:29-30 that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

As I schedule my life, I am going to schedule things that will allow me to show Jesus' love to those around me and promote the attitude of a servant. And do them, no matter how I feel. I'm kicking the old master to the curb.

Today, add a regular reminder to connect with someone. It may be to write a note, make a call or visit them. Focus on how you can be Jesus in a tangible way to them.

365 days to an organized life - Day 11

I need to go grocery shopping today so let's clean out the fridge.

1) Empty the dishwasher.

2) Make sure you have room in the trash can for any expired or past their prime foods.

3) Check the door for any expired condiments or foods

4) Check the rest of the fridge from top to bottom

5) Trash goes in the trash can and dirty dishes into the dishwasher

6) If there are any other items in the fridge that need to be used, list them in your schedule. If you need to save some meat or veggies and can't use them in a dish right away, put them in the freezer. Make sure to label.

7) If you threw out any staples, be sure to add them to your shopping list.

8) Use a warm soapy rag to clean the fridge surfaces inside and out.

9) Add a cup of baking soda to absorb odors or a jar with a bouquet of herbs to make you smile.

Set the task Clean the fridge to repeat monthly.

365 days to an organized life - Day 10

We're back in the kitchen today. My kitchen gets a lot of use so it needs a lot of cleaning. I divide the surfaces down into several different tasks so that I can tackle what I have time for. Here are some daily tasks that I check to keep the kitchen in good shape. I wipe down the surfaces and put things away.

1) Clean sink - Don't forget to clean around the faucet

2) Clean stove - Remember the back splash or wherever food might splatter.

3) Clean sink counter - Clean the area around the sink

4) Clean bar counter - This is a major hotspot so I try to get quite a few things put back where they belong.

5) Clean stove counter - Wash the countertops around the stove.

A clean kitchen creates more homemade meals. It's so much easier to start a dish in the crockpot when the crockpot is clean and there is room on the counter to plug it in. I'm more likely to roll out the biscuits to make a flakier bread instead of just spooning them into the skillet if the marble slab is clean. I'm more likely to let the boys help make a sweet treat for snack if I have the room for all of us to work.

365 days to an organized life - Day 9

Let's look at the floors today.

1) Sweep - This is a daily task for me. Some days, everything needs to be swept. Some days, I just sweep the kitchen. Other days, I sweep just the bathrooms. I like this method that makes it consistent because it is done every day but flexible so that things are done that are most needed.

2) Mop - This is another daily task in the same flexibility as sweeping. If the house looks like it can do without mopping, I postpone that task til the next day.

3) Vacuuming - I have a travelling 11 month old that is in the everything-must-be-tasted phase so what normally would be a weekly task for many, is at least every other day task.

Here are some crocheted dishcloths and Swiffer cloths. I use the Swiffer cloths with the Swiffer WetJet. I took the cleaning solution bottle and dipped it in boiling water for 20-30 seconds to melt the seal. I opened it and filled it with my own cleaning solution. I can mop for practically nothing.

I think I will also add a monthly task for deodorizing the carpet. Let baking soda set for at least 24 hours with a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Sprinkle over carpet and let set while we have nap time. Then vacuum thoroughly.

365 days to an organized life - Day 8

You would think that with the fourth child, I would have this mom thing down pat. But I am often reminded that I am no Supermom. One reminder comes from the diaper bag. I've packed it hundreds of times over the past 9 years. More often than not, I forget some vital piece and wonder, "Why?"

So, let's make a list. It can be a laminated checklist, a list in Remember the Milk that repeats after a day, or a list in your day planner. So let's think about what we need.

For the Baby:
Bottles
Formula
Diapers
Wipes
Teething tablets
Change of clothes
Extra socks
Snacks
Teething toys

For the Toddler:
Pullups
Wipes
Snacks
Sippy cup
Change of clothes
Her baby doll

For Mom:
Hand sanitizer (for when you are juggling a baby and can't wash your hands as well as you would like.)
Lip balm
Bottle of water
Wallet
Cell Phone
Keys

For the older kids:
(If I plan to be gone more than half the day, I pack some things for the 7 yr old and 9 yr old)
Extra set of clothes each
Snacks
Bottles of water
Activity books
Pencils/crayons

Now let's just make sure I check my list as we are walking out the door. What was forgotten today was ready but didn't make it out the door.

365 days to an organized life - Day 7

I really enjoyed my time yesterday to craft uninterrupted. It was so nice just to be able to leave the iron on to press my seams and such. I was able to finish a medium size Christmas gift and cut out the pattern for three more. It's going to be so hard to keep the secret from the kids til next year.

I also found an old quilt block and decided to make a hot pad out of it. It was just stuck in a trunk. Now it has a purpose.

I also started these this morning. I love buttons and will really enjoy wearing these.

A lot of what I have made over the past week, I can't share because I'll spoil the surprise. But here's the tally, 11 embellished felt gift bags, 2 medium size gifts and 5 small gifts. I've cut out three more medium gifts. I've made heating pads and coaster/cozies for our family. Plus the hot pad and earrings. I'm also two rows away from finishing a crocheted wrap.

I have a big trunk full of craft supplies. I have a box in there holding the gifts. My goal is that by the end of the year, the trunk will be emptied of craft supplies and full of gifts instead.

I've listed my tasks to complete craft projects in my scheduler. I hesitated doing it because my crafts are artistic expression, not simply a list of to do's. One day, I scheduled four things, thinking it would take all week to complete. That day, I completed 6 things. Getting the stuff out of my head and into my schedule, keeps me on track. It keeps the plan from flying out of my head when the next great idea pops into it. And frees me up to think of new projects.

So today, let's think about activities to add that we enjoy and that our family enjoys. I read a book called I Love You Rituals which is basically songs, fingerplays and rhymes to have fun with your kids. I try to do one of those a day. I have it listed as a daily task. I wish I sat down to play more board and card games with the older boys. So I'm going to list that as a weekly goal.

So look for enriching activities to schedule. It doesn't turn your lives into robotic following of the schedule. It just makes it more likely that it will actually happen.

365 days to an organized life - Day 6

Today is Sunday, a day for rest and worship. God took a break from His work in Creation to show us how much we need a break. We need to unwind and enjoy our family. We need a day that is a bit more unstructured.

My husband and I try to give turns to each other to get a nap. Sometimes four kids don't always comply with the nap idea so having a couple of hours to let someone else get up to quieten them is a treat for us. I think I will use my nap time today to work on some gifts. I have been making Christmas gifts for others this week and I have a good jump on my holiday preparation for 2013. But the kids are always asking, "What ya making, Mom?" and "Is that for me?" So to make gifts for my immediate family, I need some time with the door locked. But it's a lot of fun and a rest from the daily chores.

The Jewish way of observing the Sabbath involved reading the Scripture half the day and praying the other half. So Sunday for us, would be a good time to incorporate more Scripture reading and prayer. More than just what we hear at Mass. Prayers for a successful week. That we grow in righteousness. That we show Christ's love to everyone we meet and to those closest to us. I love to crochet so crocheting is a great task to incorporate prayer. If you crochet for others, it's a great way to bless an item with prayers for that person. Especially true with crocheting hats and blankets for preemies and cancer patients.

Now, do you throw your list to the curb for today? Well yes, for at least part of the day. While I'm cooking a meal or making a cup of tea, I will take a few minutes unloading and loading the dishwasher. As I move from room to room, I take a few items that belong elsewhere like trash and dishes.

The Jewish day began at sundown. We still observe that principle in the Mass times for holidays like Christmas Midnight Mass and Easter Vigil. So what works best for me to ensure that I rest as we are commanded to do and that I also don't go crazy worrying over what I will face Monday morning is to declare 6pm the end to the day of rest. I can take a couple of hours to finish cleaning the kitchen, pick up and put away and wipe down surfaces. Then I am able to go to bed at a decent hour without worrying over how long it will take to get caught up.

Enjoy the Sabbath in celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord on a Sunday morning long ago!

365 days to an organized life - Day 5

Today, let's talk menu planning. I keep a list for Cooking on Remember the Milk app.

We never plan breakfast or lunch. Lunch is usually leftovers. Breakfast is usually some sort of cereal and fruit. So all I'm focusing on planning out is dinner because that is the meal that fuels our lunches as well.

Step 1) I take a notebook into the kitchen and look through my freezer and pantry. I make note of what meals I can create using mostly what I have and I also make a note of any missing ingredients.

Step 2) List all the dinners on the planned days in the Cooking list. I set them all for low priority which is my mark for evening tasks.

Step 3) List all the ingredients in the Shopping list. I set the shopping due date as never because some things on the list like waterproof glue are not necessary to get today. Don't forget to include any breakfast items, cleaning, personal care products, etc.

Step 4) Look at the menu plan. On some days will you need to start bread earlier that day? Do you need to defrost something? Do you need to soak beans? Add those tasks to the Cooking list for high priority for that morning or low priority the night before as needed?

Now, you are set up for success in providing home cooked meals to your family all week.

365 days to an organized life - Day 4

It's amazing what can be accomplished just by being purposeful about it. Yesterday, I had a relatively clean house. We got schoolwork done including preschool activities with the 2 yr old. They practiced piano. We baked sugar cookies for the boys to decorate. I baked the sourdough bread I had started yesterday. I cooked italian for supper. I cut hair for all five, even the youngest needed a small trim. They all got baths. I almost finished crocheting a second cozy/coaster like the one I did yesterday. And I'm still going to bed with a clean house. Nothing is slipping through the cracks because I got on a wild hair or something.

Today's featured task is Pick up/Put away.

This needs to be done all over the house. Combine smaller areas into one task if there's not enough in one area to call for daily attention. I added hall to my list of areas to pick up and put away because the children's toys have a tendency to spill out of their room. But after a few days, there really wasn't much to do besides pick up carpet fuzz. So I combined it with the entry way. The entry way has all the shoes and winter gear so that can always be straightened a bit.

Pick up and put away is not major deep cleaning. If you have a desk or shelf or corner that is particularly troublesome, divide that project into small tasks in your scheduler until it's clean. Pick up and put away is just for the daily things that get left where they don't belong. The toys on the floor, the socks/shoes by the chair, the cup on the table and the trash on the desk are some examples. You can use a time limit or a number limit. Eight items is my minimum but on days like after Christmas when wrapping, gifts, and more had been strewn all over, 15 minutes of everyone pitching in got things back to normal.

Just start with something even if it feels quite unnecessary or even grossly inadequate. Whatever you do every day will build up and become big things before you know it. And I guess that goes for good and bad habits alike.

365 days to an organized life - Day 3

Sometimes, we need a reminder to take care of ourselves. A simple way to start is water. We greatly underestimate the importance in being properly hydrated. So I added six tasks to my schedule to repeat daily on Remember the Milk app.

Drink 1st glass of water
Drink 2nd glass of water
Drink 3rd glass of water
Drink 4th glass of water
Drink 5th glass of water
Drink 6th glass of water

I set the first two to High priority which lets me know I need to drink two glasses in the morning. I set the next two to Medium priority which need to be drank in the afternoon. The last two are Low priority for the evening hours. I have been having a soda or sweet tea in the evening when I'm sure that I have or will have all six glasses of water drank that day.

The first day that I did this, I had lost 2.5 lbs the next morning after eating holiday candy the day before. Yes, I know it's water weight. But my pants aren't as snug so it feels great.

I set this up for my older boys and are reminding them to drink their water. I gave them smaller glasses, but I'm finding it is hard to get them past 4 glasses. We'll keep working at it.

365 days to an organized life - Day 2

Next item to add to the schedule is laundry. Different households have different needs as far as laundry goes. For our family of six, just our clothes make a load each day. That doesn't count towel, rags, sheets, etc. So some days, I can get by with one load but it is usually two loads a day.

We don't have a working dryer so we hang the clothes on hangers from the shower rods and on drying racks. Some sheets and things get hung over the bedroom doors. It works well but I think you have to have a good washing machine for it to work.We bought a washing machine a year or so ago and it spins out the water so splendidly. In fact, some items like my crocheted dish cloths can almost go straight to the drawer. I also use an extra rinse to get all the detergent out of the clothes. This prevents them from being so stiff.

So my schedule has all four aspects of laundry

1) Start a load in the washer - I do this as soon as I can in the morning. I keep a laundry sorter in the utility room and I gather the hampers from both bathrooms as I am going to the kitchen in the morning. I quickly sort the new dirty clothes and start the load before breakfast.

2) Fold clothes - After breakfast, I gather all the clothes that have been drying since yesterday.Since many of the clothes are already on hangers, I can quickly put those away. The folding usually takes no more than 10-15 minutes.

3) Hang clothes up to dry - Don't you hate it when you wash a load of clothes and then get busy with this and that until you have to rewash the load of clothes you forgot to dry? Yeah, me too. So I make sure I have this on my list of to do's so that I am not wasting water and energy washing something twice.

4) Put laundry away - With just a load or two to deal with a day, it's not a big chore to put it all away. I have one basket for the older boys' clothes for them to put away and I put away the rest.

So let's say goodbye to Mt Washmore and Mt Foldmore. We've got laundry under control!

365 days to an organized life - Day 1

I'm going to start off with three basics today. If you are following along with me, add whatever tasks you do today and repeat at an appropriate interval for your life. But here are three areas that I think are an important start. I am using Remember the Milk but use whatever works for you.

1) Prayers/Bible Study - Add whatever you feel led to do this year. You could add the Rosary for the morning, Office of Readings for midday and Daily Examen for night. Or simply 15 minutes of quiet time. Or you can change up the study and prayers month by month. I just feel it is important that God is at the top of our priority list. I also find that as I am adding more things to my schedule and not trying to keep track of them in my head, my thoughts are more focused on God.

2) Sort your mail with your scheduler handy - Anything that comes into your house needs to be checked for deadlines and to do's. If your child has a party to go to, add the event to your hanging calendar and scheduler. But also think of anything that needs to be done before the event. If you need to make cupcakes or a costume, add those steps to your schedule. If you have a bill, mark when you will pay or mail a payment. If there is a fair, festival or other event that you would like to attend, add that as well.

3) Dishes - I add two tasks related to dishes.

Load Dishwasher

Unload Dishwasher

I separate the two tasks because on crazy days, I can usually just do one part at a time. Depending on how much I cook that day, I may have to do another load or two of dishes. But those two tasks seem to keep it on track.