January 19th's Photo - Organizing My Receipts!

Today I put together a box to store all my receipts. Click here to go to the "Simply Organized" blog for the original idea & directions. The best part is that I had everything on hand and didn't spend a penny!

Have Fun!

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30 Spaces in 60 Days!

One of my goals this year is to clean things out, get rid of what we don't need and organize what we do need.

With that being said, below is my list of 30 spaces that I want to attack over the next 60 days . . . by the end of February.

I originally called it my "30 Spaces in 30 Days" but who am I kidding?? I work outside the home 5 days a week so I am gone for 9 1/2 hours a day. That with adding the normal weekly chores of cleaning, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping and taking care of my daughter, 30 in 30 was being a little ambitious!

Hopefully, I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I am excited to get this done!

I think if I post every so often with my progress, it will keep me motivated. And if you don't hear from me, please shoot me an email asking how it's going.
I might need the accountability!

30 Spaces in 60 Days!

1. inside my van



2. entry way dresser



3. kitchen junk drawer



4. pantry



5. "catch-all" kitchen basket



6. under the kitchen sink



7. closet command center



8. file boxes



9. "paper to be shred" box



10. top of computer desk



11. computer desk drawers



12. magazine shelves/baskets



13. linen closet



14. bathroom vanity & medicine cabinet



15. bathroom cabinet



16. make-up drawers



17. jewelry armoire



18. my closet



19. Curtis's closet



20. Allison's closet



21. scrapbook area



22. basement landing



23. basements stairs wall



24. bottom of basement stairs



25. basement shelves



26. laundry area



27. laundry closet



28. paint closet



29. gift wrapping center



30. holiday closet
    

Have Fun!

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Step #1 to a Clutter Free Path!

One of my goals for the new year is to have less clutter in this house. I know I have talked about it before but it really is a never-ending-battle for me!

So. Here I am again.

There are probably many reasons why we have clutter. I personally think the main reason is that we (as in Curtis, Allison and myself) have trouble getting rid of things. My Mother said it once years ago that I was her sentimental Cindi. I would definitely have to agree. The problem is that if you take my sentimentality and times it by 3, it's a big problem.

If you are thinking we could be featured on an episode of hoarders, I'm painting the wrong picture. It's not disgustingly bad as it is on that show. It's just that we have a lot of things that we do not need but have been unable to get rid of.

I keep saying we need a bigger house but the truth is that we just need less stuff. I refuse to get a bigger house just to store our "stuff."

The truth is that we have kept more things because of sentimental reasons than any other reason.

Let me give you a few examples:
~ We kept a car for 12 years because it was the car we brought Allison home in from the hospital. We sold it last year but it sat there for over a year before we could let go. Wait. Let me clarify that . . . before "he" could let go. Seriously?
~ We have a supply of those bubble things that prizes come in when you buy something from a bubble gum machine. Allison thinks she'll find a use for them. Seriously?
~ We have storage totes and boxes filled with every school paper that Allison has brought home. I just couldn't get rid of something in my baby's penmanship or something she made with her own hands. She's in 5th grade so you can imagine how many totes and boxes we have. Seriously?

Okay. Now that I have established that my house does not look like the picture below, it's time for me to attack my clutter problem.

Once more before I go on . . . the below picture is NOT MY HOUSE.

I found the picture on Google images and I am using it for effect and to make myself feel better about my own clutter.
So my first step in attacking clutter is my third example from above. Allison's school papers. It's time for me to address them. At first it was hard to throw any of them away but after 5 1/2 years of school and the growing mounds of paper, the time is now! Well, the time was the last 2 days. Yes, it is done and I feel so liberated!

I decided to use one of these portable plastic filing storage tote thingies. I used it because I had one on hand in the basement and I didn't want to do my hair and make-up to go to Staples. I never go anywhere without my hair and make-up done. Wow, that sounded vain! It's not because I'm vain or some beauty queen. I'm just old and getting wrinkly and need all the help I can get!

So, truth be told. I started with this project on my way to a Clutter Free Path because I need to start on Allison's School Scrapbook. Yes, I know. She's in 5th Grade!

Anyway, I filled the tote with hanging file folders that I had on hand and made labels for each grade along with church, Girl Scouts and a file for "other" stuff that she has done and or collected.

I filled each file with her school pictures, report card, certificates and awards, pictures, samples of her handwriting, artwork, samples of her papers and anything else that pertained to her grade.

I am actually kind of excited that this project is done. First, because 4 bags of trash went out of this house. And second, because I had bought a Becky Higgins School Album kit several years ago and with this tote, I'll be ready to go!


Visit Hope Studios every Tuesday for some great Tutorials!

Have Fun!

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Binders Can Organize Your Life Series! ~ Part 4

Hello Everyone!
Sorry, I'm a day late in posting this. Yesterday got away from me!

Welcome to Part 4 in the "Binders Can Organized Your Life Series." Today I'll be showing you my Home Management Binder.

If you missed Part 1, you can click on the first link below to take you there and to see why I'm doing this series and how I store my binders. The second link will take you to Part 2 and the third link to Part 3.

Part 1 ~ Manual & Warranties, Holiday Ideas, Decorating Ideas & My Recipes.

Part 2 ~ Crafts, Gifts & Tips and Christmas Planner.

Part 3 ~ The Child Edition - Girl/Boy Scouts, Catechism/Sunday School and School Information.

Next week I'll be finishing up this series with my Financial Budget Binder so be sure to stop by for a visit.

Okay. Let's get started on this week's binder!

Some of you may be asking "What is she talking about? What exactly is a Home Management Binder?"

Well before I started reading blogs, I had no idea what one was either!

A Home Management Binder is basically a place where a Mom keeps all her schedules, lists, menu planning info and any other information she needs to keep track of so she can run an organized home. They are all different . . . no two will be alike. Make yours your own. For example, you may want to keep your child(ren)'s school schedules in it while mine doesn't include any of it since I have a system that works for me. Some call it a Household Notebook or a Control Journal. Call yours whatever works for you!

Here is mine. I use a 1" binder. I have seem some online that use a 4" binder. That is just too big for me. I don't want all that stuff in it. I like using my other binders while some add what I have in my other binders to their Home Management Binder. I think it would be hard to handle if it had that much information in it. That's just my opinion so do what works for you. As you can see, I made mine a little pretty. I just used a piece of card stock, a piece of patterned paper, a piece of ribbon, a silk flower and a brad. I figure if I'm going to be using it a lot then I want something pretty to look at. Looking back, the one thing I thought was odd was that I put our name on the front. It's not like it EVER leaves this house. There is just too much personal information in it that it stays put so there is no chance of losing it!

In the front of the binder I keep a pencil pouch with a couple of pens and dry erase markers (for crossing off weekly chores on my lists).

My index tabs are: housekeeping, projects, lists, menu planning, birthdays/anniversaries, church, to-go menus and A-Z.

Directly behind the pencil pouch is a sheet protector with frequently called phone numbers. I have them grouped by categories. Those are: Mom & Dad info, Family, Neighbors, Church & School, Doctors and Friends. I also have the same list in another sheet protector on the inside of a kitchen cabinet by the phone.

The index dividers I use are made of poly and have pockets in the front and back of them. This one is directly behind the phone list. I put papers or notices of upcoming things and then I put them on our bulletin board when they become closer. Seriously. Do I really need the family reunion notice on the board for 4 months? No, but I do need to know when it is so I can plan out my summer.

The first index tab is where I keep all my Housekeeping stuff. I do better when I have a list to check off so I've been working really hard to put this house on a schedule. The items I have in here are: Daily Chore List, Weekly Cleaning List, Monthly Tasks, Spring Cleaning List for May, Fall Cleaning List for November, Allison's Daily Routines & Chores and cleaning lists by room.

These next two pictures are of one of the cleaning lists for each room. On one side it has the steps for a GOOD CLEAN and the other side has the steps for a QUICK CLEAN. I love these lists! Anyone will be able to clean any room in your house to your liking if they have one of these lists. Allison isn't quite old enough yet to do a whole room by herself but I'll be getting these laminated so she can take it with her to the room when she is old enough. Before you say that I'm a genius for coming up with these lists, stop right there. I lifted the idea from Heather D. White's blog and she got the idea from her Mom. Here is a link to where she first wrote about it and then here is the link to where she scanned hers. I took her lists and changed them to fit me.

My next tab is Projects. It's just basically a list of all the projects I want to do and more sheets where I sketch out ideas. It's nothing exciting so no pictures.

The next section is a sort of catch-all for me. It's where I keep all my Lists. Some of them are: Needs/Wants, Songs for Ipod, Movies to See (broken down into Grown Up and Family), Vehicle Maintenance Log (one for each vehicle that shows the date the work was done along with what the work was, the mileage, who did it and the cost). I also have a picnic checklist, yard sale checklist and first aid kit checklist in this section too.

This next section is my Menu Planning section. On the left in the pocket are the most current grocery ads and on the right is a calendar for monthly menu planning which as you can see I didn't do. I don't know if I could plan a month at a time but I keep trying.

Behind the monthly calendar is my "Menu Ideas by Ingredient" and on the back of that is my "Menu Ideas by Type" to aid in my weekly menu planning.

These two lists have helped me immensely! It keeps me from making the same things over and over again. It also prevents me from making for example casseroles all week. It took some time to put it together but I am so glad I did!

The next section is Birthdays and Anniversaries. I have a sheet for each month with birthdays in the left column and anniversaries in the right. I like that when I get a new calendar at the beginning of the year, I don't have to sit down and transfer them all over to the new one. I just do it at the beginning of every month.

My next section is Church. Anything church related goes here. I put our weekly bulletin in the pocket for easy reference. One a side note here...I file everything for that tab behind it. In this pic it looks like I put the bulletin in the to-go menu section but I didn't. You see when you pull the tab that is labeled "Church" and move the sections in front of it to the left, it opens the church section up which shows the front pocket of the next divider. Make sense?

This next section is for To-Go Menus. I like they are here in one place and not crushed in some drawer someplace.

Okay. My last tab is A-Z. Hmm, what do I put here? Well this is probably the best section of this whole binder. This one section purges all that information from my brain that only us Moms know. I have found putting all of that info here helps to clear my brain of all that unwanted stuff and if anyone else needs to know it, they can find it here!
A lot of it is personal information but I did find one page where I could show you how I record the information. This is my "V" section and here is where I record our Veterinarian's phone number, address and hours of operation. I also have our Vacuum Cleaners bags and belt info.

I keep this on my computer in an Excel workbook with a page for every letter. This allows me to update or add to it. Some of the items I keep in here are: When I changed the batteries in the carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarms and what kinds of batteries they take, the phone numbers to all of our utility companies along with our account numbers, all of our doctor information can be found under "D", what size filter our furnace takes, the brand, name and number of my hair color, insurance company and policy information, what magazines we receive and when the subscription expires because they always send the renewals months and months in advance, the list of the Willow Trees I already have (for easy shopping for my honey) and so much more!
See how cool this section is? Trust me, it will make your life easier!

For other examples of a Home Management Binder, click here, here and here to see how others have put their binders together. You can also google "Home Management Binder" and find a ton more links!

Have Fun!

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Binders Can Organize Your Life Series! ~ Part 3

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Part 3 in the "Binders Can Organized Your Life Series." It's the Child Edition - Girl/Boy Scouts, Catechism/Sunday School and School Information.

If you missed Part 1, you can click on the first link below to take you there and to see why I'm doing this series and how I store my binders. The second link will take you to Part 2.

Part 1 ~ Manual & Warranties, Holiday Ideas, Decorating Ideas & My Recipes

Part 2 ~ Crafts, Gifts & Tips and Christmas Planner.

There are 2 more weeks of binders and here is the schedule for the next 2 Wednesdays:
Part 4 ~ Home Management Binder
Part 5 ~ Financial Budget Binder

Okay! Let's get started on The Child Edition!

If you have kids, you know they bring enough paper home to wallpaper the whole house. . . on a weekly basis! Seriously, it can just pile up if you don't take control.

I created binders for each activity that my daughter participates in. However, as I was taking this picture, I realized there wasn't very much inside these binders. Each activity certainly doesn't warrant having a binder of it's own. So with that being said, this week I am going to downsize it all into one binder with tab dividers. I've been needing to make a binder for her gymnastics anyway, so now I can just consolidate all of Allison's activities into one binder.

What do I keep in these? I keep anything that has to do with that activity. Phone lists, schedules, copies of forms filled out, etc. If you have more than one child, make a binder for each one. It will definitely cut down on all that paper clutter!

Let's get on to the "School Info" binder!

This binder has saved my life! Well. Not really. BUT it has kept me organized with all the goings on of school stuff. I have made one of these binders every year since Allison started school. I will tell you that I touch this binder every day! It is my most frequently used binder. I don't keep them every year because as you'll see, it's not necessary to keep all of what I put in there. I just keep reusing the binder every year. A little note here is that I use a 2" binder for this one. I use to use a 1" but as she has moved along in school, there seems to be more that comes home.

This is the cover. I have Allison's name, the name of the school, the grade, the teacher and so on. You could probably leave it plain but I like to pretty things up. :)

This is the inside front cover. In the pocket, I keep all the report cards for the quarters, any certificates, results of any assessments and any receipts for monies sent (i.e. yearbook, logo merchandise, after school activities, fundraisers, etc). I also keep anything that I haven't read yet that came from the school. As you can see there is a letter from the Principal about the upcoming PSSA which is next week. I have since read that and moved it to it's appropriate section.

Here is the right side when you open the front cover. I keep a 3 hole punch right in front. This keeps me from laying things down until I can run and get the big 3 whole punch and then never going to get it. . . and then I end up with a big pile on the counter! Under that and in front of the first tab divider is where I keep the school calendar. I just cut it apart and 3 hole punched it. We have 11 elementary schools in our district so I go through the calendar at the beginning of the school year and highlight in yellow anything that pertains to our school. If it's a very important thing like early dismissal or a no school day, I trace the outside of the yellow highlighted item in green highlighter so I will be sure not to miss it. I also transfer those important items into my calendar that I carry with me so I have it on my "main" calendar when I'm making appointments and such. Since I write notes about snow days and when we make them up, I move the page of the month we just ended to the back of the other calendar pages.

Also, behind the school calendar, is the monthly school lunch menu. Allison takes her lunch every day but I still keep it just in case and throw it out at the end of the month. This has come in handy for the 3 times she did buy her lunch this year.

My 5 tabs for this binder are: Class Info, Spelling Words, School Info, PTO Info and Handbook.

I didn't take pics of every section but here is the first section. It's Class Info and I keep any items that pertain to her class. Announcements from the teacher, family letters on what they are working on, their daily schedule, etc. The Spelling Word section is just that. . . their spelling word lists so I can go back periodically and spot quiz Allison. The School Info section is any letters or information that comes home from the school itself. . . bus assignment, letters from the Principal, etc. The PTO Info section is for all the newsletters and info that come home from the PTO. The last section is for the school Handbook. They send home a new one every year so I just tear it apart and 3 hole punch it and put it in the back so I know where it is when I need it.

The back pocket of the binder holds the PTO Handbook since it's too small to 3 hole punch it.

That's it. That's my binder! I keep it on the corner of my kitchen counter. It's just under the bulletin board where I keep the current spelling words or papers of upcoming activities before they get filed in the binder.

What? What's that you ask?
Where do I put all of the work papers and tests that Allison bring home?

Ooooh, you are asking about the 876 papers that come home in ONE DAY?

Well. Do you see that basket in the picture above?

Yes, that's the one. The pretty one.

It houses all of my active files that I use frequently. That's a whole other post but a couple of folders in that basket are for Allison's work papers and tests. I look at them when they come home and then place them in the files. At the end of the quarter, I go through them and decide what I want to keep and then the keepers get put into my file box that I keep in my Command Center. If you can throw them out, more power to you. I'm a little more emotionally attached to anything my daughter completes. I find that if I wait and have a whole stack, I become more detached to them. However, I would recommend not throwing out the tests until after the grading period. Everyone makes mistakes and a teacher can make one recording your child's grade. You want to make sure you have the back-up to support any incorrect grade.

I hope you enjoyed Part 3 in the "Binders Can Organize Your Life Series" and be sure to come back next Wednesday for Part 4.

You can become a follower or just come back to:

Works-for-me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family
or
Show and Tell Wednesday with Blue Cricket Design.

I'll be sharing this series at both places.

Have Fun!

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Binders Can Organize Your Life Series! ~ Part 2

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Part 2 in the "Binders Can Organized Your Life Series."

If you missed Part 1, you can click on the link below to take you there and to see why I'm doing this series and how I store my binders.
Part 1 ~ Manual & Warranties, Holiday Ideas, Decorating Ideas & My Recipes

This week I'm sharing my "Crafts, Gifts & Tips" binder and my "Christmas Planner" binder.

There are 3 more weeks of binders and here is the schedule for the next 3 Wednesdays:
Part 3 ~ The Child Edition ~ Girl/Boy Scouts, Catechism/Sunday School and School Info Binder
Part 4 ~ Home Management Binder
Part 5 ~ Financial Budget Binder

First let me say that I'm so sorry I'm late in posting this today. I usually like to post in the morning but yesterday I was a bit under the weather and didn't feel like getting to the computer. I'm sorry about the quality of these pics. The camera and the sunlight just didn't want to cooperate with me today. :(

This first binder up today is my "Crafts, Gifts & Tips" binder. It is where I put all of those amazingly clever ideas that I love and know I will use or want to reference some day. Again, I use a front view binder and made a cover and spine insert using images I found on Google Images.

My sections for this one are: Mom's Tips (This isn't tips for Moms but tips for this Mom. Things like painting tricks, organizing ideas, etc.), Cleaning Tips (everything from how to clean windows to how to whiten doilies), Gift Ideas (self-explanatory), Kid Stuff (any craft ideas for kids or good ideas to do for kids) and MCNO Ideas (Mom's Craft Night Out which is a craft night I do with my friends and I'm in charge of the craft. You can read more about it here.)

Here is a view of the inside. This is a page in the Kid Stuff section. As you can see, I just cut the idea out of a magazine. If it's not a whole page, I use glue stick to paste it on a piece of copy paper.

This is "My Christmas Planner." It's where I keep everything I do for Christmas so I don't forget anything that's important. It drives me crazy when I forget something and this binder helps me to remember all those things my memory forgets.

My sections for this one are: Gift List, Card List, Tradition/Memories, Decorations and Recipes & Menus.

When I converted my closet into a Command Center last month, I cleaned out this binder so there really isn't a whole lot to show you. I actually got the idea of a Christmas Planner in 2003 from a Family Fun Magazine (love that magazine!) and modeled mine after their suggestions. Here is a link that will take you to the online article. A couple of differences I made to mine were: 1. I added Traditions to the Memories section because traditions are very important to me and I don't want to forget one in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. 2. The other difference is the Decorations section. This section holds all of the decoration ideas and such that I currently do. Any ideas that I've cut out of magazines and such, go into my Holiday Ideas binder that I shared with you last week. After I've tried them and liked them, they get transferred to here.

Here is the inside back of my binder. It holds a zippered pocket that I use to keep my receipts so they are easily found for returns or exchanges.

I hope you enjoyed Part 2 in the "Binders Can Organize Your Life Series" and be sure to come back next Wednesday for Part 3.

You can become a follower or just come back to:

Works-for-me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family
or
Show and Tell Wednesday with Blue Cricket Design.

I'll be sharing this series at both places.

Have Fun!

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Binders Can Organize Your Life Series! ~ Part 1

A couple of weeks ago I found out I won 1st Place in the Organizing Junkie's 28 Day Organizing Challenge for making over our hall coat closet to a new Command Center.
Of course I was so excited because I don't win anything. So let me take a minute to toot my own horn. Toot, Toot!

Okay. Now that that is over, let me get on with this post. As a result of my win, I had dozens of comments and questions on my binder system which has saved my life! Well, not really but you know what I mean, right? So in an effort to help all the women out there (and some men) have a little peace in their lives, I am going to share with you what my Binder System is all about. Since there are so many, I will do it in a 5 Part Series over the next 5 Wednesdays.

Binders Can Organize Your Life Series
Part 1 ~ Manual & Warranties, Holiday Ideas, Decorating Ideas & My Recipes
Part 2 ~ Crafts, Gifts & Tips and Christmas Planner
Part 3 ~ The Child Edition ~ Girl/Boy Scouts, Catechism/Sunday School and School Info Binder
Part 4 ~ Home Management Binder
Part 5 ~ Financial Budget Binder

Let's get started with Part 1:

This is one of two of my Manual & Warranties Binders. Why do I have 2? Well because it tends to get a little heavy if you put them all in one binder. I use HEAVY DUTY 2 inch binders. I didn't spend the money on view binders since we rarely use the manuals but you know you need to keep them. As you can see they are nothing special. I just put a P-Touch label along the spine as you can see in the picture above.

Here's the side view showing you it can get pretty thick. If it was a bigger binder, it becomes hard to handle. Trust me on this, I know from experience . . . well, it just makes sense, right.

So here is the guts of the binder. I put HEAVY DUTY sheet protectors in there and fill them up. It is so much easier to flip through a binder when you are looking for a manual or warranty instead of rummaging through a box or file folder. Another great tip is to put your receipt with the appliance right with the manual. I just put them inside the front cover.

Next up is my Holiday Ideas binder. As I've said in a previous post, I'm a ripper. I like to rip ideas out of magazines, newspaper or print ideas off of the computer. Now, what do you do with them once you've done the above. Do they go in a file folder or a box never to be seen again? That is exactly what used to happen to mine . . . until I created my Binder System. As you can see, I used a front view binder (I got them all on Target's clearance of the back to school stuff for under a $1) and made them pretty with a cover and spine inserts. I pulled these images off of Google Images but if you want me to email you mine, just send me an email asking for them and I'll get any or all of them out to you. They are all word documents.

I like 5 Tab index dividers. It gives you more room to write or type your tab tile than an 8 Tab index divider does. My tabs are: Winter, Valentine's Day, Spring, Easter, Summer, 4th of July, Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas.

Anything that relates to the holiday goes in that section . . . such as ideas I print off the Internet like how to make cute votives out of small jars.

Here is an example of something I "copied & pasted" from a website onto a word document and printed because sometimes when you print something from online, you get all the advertisements and junk. Isn't this Halloween costume cute? I made it for Allison several years ago but I've kept it because hopefully one day I'll have grandchildren!

In this example, I printed something off but there was all this dead space at the bottom so I just pasted with a glue stick something I cut out of a magazine.

Now in the spotlight is my Decorating Ideas Binder. There are a million and one ideas out there about decorating that I love so I've created this place to have all of my favorites in one spot.

My index tabs are: Foyer, Kitchen, Dining Room, Living Room, Bedroom, Kids, Bathroom, Craft Room (I don't have one now but maybe someday. . . Allison will be going to college one day!), Garage/Storage and Outdoors.

Same idea as before . . . I cut out, paste down and then I add what I like about the pic or my idea on how I would change it.

The last binder I'm going to share with you today is "My Recipes" binder. It's nothing fancy but it serves it's purpose. I would like to make a pretty page for each recipe but I'm a realist. I have SO many recipes that I know a pretty page for each is not going to happen. I also don't use sheet protectors because my kitchen is so small, there is no room to lay the binder out in there. When I use one of the recipes, I use a magnetic clip on the refrigerator to hold the individual recipe page. In the future when I get a bigger kitchen, I'll transfer them to page protectors and get one of those pretty cookbook holders to hold my binder.

My index tabs are: Appts (Appetizers) & Party Foods, Soups & Stews, Salads & Side Dishes, Main Entrees, Cakes & Cookies, Desserts, Beverages, Kid Recipes, Holidays and Miscellaneous (tips & serving ideas like different ways to fold a napkin and such).

I use the same idea in this binder as the others. I three hole punch recipes that I've printed from the Internet. The recipe below is in my Mom's handwriting . . . I love that I'll have this forever!

This particular recipe is one of mine from my cooking blog, From The Heart of My Kitchen. I open a word document and put the picture and recipe on it and then print. I also save all of these recipes in a file on the computer so I can put together a binder of all my recipes for Allison. I'll give it to her when she moves into her first place.

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 in the Binders Can Organize Your Life Series and be sure to come back next Wednesday for Part 2.

You can become a follower or just come back to:

Works-for-me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family
or
Show and Tell Wednesday with Blue Cricket Design.

I'll be sharing this series at both places.

Have Fun!

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