What is saving my life right now? My planner!

What planner do I use? 

I have tried several planners over the years.  Last year I tried out a Happy Planner and my heart fell in love!  I like the ability to easily customize what is in my planner from month to month. I girls are also fascinated with the ability to "tear" the pages out and put them back in again.  

What is in my planner?

I use the vertical layout.  Each week has its own two-page spread.  Each day has three large boxes that allow you to divide up your day in a variety of ways: morning, afternoon, night; a box for each member of your family; or possibly work items vs home items.  

I use the top box for each day to record events/appointments for that day.  I also write down what we are having for dinner that night.  The other two boxes I use to create to-do lists for that day.  Sometimes both boxes are used, however, most days only one of the boxes is use.  

I currently have added to my planner the following sections:

• Quarterly: This contains my goal planning and brain dump for the current quarter.  More to come on this process later!
• Routines: Here I create pages for each of my routines including my planner routine, cleaning routine, and meal routine.  More to come on these as well.
• Entertainment: Right now, all this section contains is my list of movies and TV shows I would like to watch.  

My Planning Routine

I usually sit down every Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and all of my planner supplies and calendars to plan out the upcoming week.  

The first thing I go is choose the stickers and color scheme for the week.  I don't use a lot of stickers, but I like to have just a few to give a little decoration.  The stickers I am currently using are Bloom Daily Planner Seasonal Sticker Pack , Bloom Daily Planners Inspirational & Motivational Quotes Planner Stickers, and Dot Stickers.  I then take out my favorite Flair pens and highlighters and pick a color that matches these stickers.  I plan out the week using a black pen, but then use this colored pen to make adjustments as the week go and to check off my to-do list.  

Next, I use my dot stickers to add in the events and appointments for the week.  I gather most of these items from our shared family Google Calendar however I do look at my girls classroom calendars as well. I also add in our meals for the week. 

Finally, I add in my to-dos for each day.  This list is determined by what events are happening that week and my daily to-do list.  I also include a post-in note on the bookmark in my planner titled "Next Week" where I can record things that pop into my brain that I need to do, but can wait until next week.  One more spot I check is my email for additional to-dos. 

As I am listing out my to-dos I keep in mind everything that is already happening that day and I try to be realistic with how much energy and extra time I am going to have that day.  For example, Tuesdays are extremely busy with with dance for my girls and meetings for my husband.  It is all on me to get the kids back and forth from three different dance classes and to find a way to feed them some dinner.  I don't have much time or energy left once we get home for the night!

I hope that you have gather some ideas for your planner or if you don't use one currently will think about giving one a try!

Kitchen Drawer Organization

Who doesn't need a little organization in their kitchen drawers?  I need to organize/reorganize mine at least twice a year.  I most recently organized my junk drawer and utensil drawer.

Our junk drawer, like I am sure all of your's, is a catch all for everything left on the counters that I don't know where else to put.  Here is the drawer before:

You can see that on one of my organizings, I started to use silverware tray to house different items.  This works great, it just needs to be cleaned out.  For example, one area of the tray is used to house different size batteries.  When we purchased more, we didn't talk them out of the cardboard container they came in.  We just stuck the entire thing in the drawer.  Well, the cardboard container doesn't fit in the tray so then we had batteries all over.  This is something that we are going to have to work on.  

To reorganize this drawer, first I took everything out and put them in different groups on the counter.  I had a trash pile and then I grouped like items together.  I ended up throwing a lot out!  Here is the finished, newly organized drawer:

The next drawer to be reorganized was one of the kitchen utensil drawers.  This drawer holds different kitchen items such as the can opener, measuring cups, measuring spoons, whisks, etc.  Here is the before:

At one time I tried to organize this with little black baskets.  This worked for a short time, but then either the baskets where too small or I still had too much stuff.  I ended up with a very disorganized drawer where I had to dig around to find anything.

I again took everything out of the drawer and put them in piles with like items.  As I was taking the item out, I thought about when was the last time I used that utensil.  If it has been over year, I really thought hard on if I needed to keep it.  I also go rid of duplicate items.  If they were still in good condition, they went into a donation pile.  I was able to really pare down the items I had.  Here is the finished drawer:

I continued to use the black baskets, but hopefully I have gotten rid of enough stuff that they will work and will be able to keep the items in them contained.

What kitchen drawers do feel always need to be reorganized?

My Teaching Binder

I am a full time high school teacher who happens to teach in three different rooms throughout the day, plus have an office that is not located in any of these rooms.  My goal this year was to find a system that would help me have everything in one place that could easily be taken from one room to the next.  Enter the teacher binder.

I love having my important documents all in one spot.  It is also nice for a sub if I happen to be unexpectedly absent.  Everything the sub needs to know is located in this binder.  Here is what the inside of the binder looks like:

When you open it up you see my class schedule for the day.  This is more for a sub then me :)  Then I have the following tabs:

• Seating Charts - here are the seating charts for each of my classes.  On the seating chart I also have a student highlighted.  If I am absent, this is a reliable student that could help answer any questions a sub may have.  
• Calendars - I like to roughly plan out my semesters to I know that I am going to fit everything in.  I have a calendar for each class with the curriculum penciled in for the semester.  I also have the school event calendar here as well.  
• Lesson Plans - Here are my lesson plans for the week.  I also include here any answer keys that go with the lessons.  
• Parent Contact - Here I contain a log where I can keep track of any parent contact that I make.
• Meetings - I have a meeting log here where I can keep notes from all of the meetings that I have to attend.
• Standards - I keep a copy of the Power Standards for the different classes that I teach here for easy reference as I am planning my lessons.
• IEPs - I have a quick reference IEP guide that lists all of my students that have an IEP or a 504 Plan and what accommodations I need to be making for them.  Mine looks similar to this one.

Another new piece of organization that I am using in my classroom are clipboards containing my grade book instead of having one large grade book.

I have one for each class that I teach.  The clipboard contains color coded grade book sheets printed from our grade book program.  Each class has its own color.  The clipboard also contains a binder clip numbered with that class period's number.  I use the clip to attach any papers that need to be graded for that class to the clipboard.

I have really tried to go as paperless as I can in all of my classes.  This means that I grade a lot more off of the student's computer screen then collecting papers to grade.  It is a lot easier to right on a clipboard as I am walking around then a flimsy grade book.  It has also been a lot easier to grade papers as I am standing in the hallway during passing periods, breakfast break, etc.

So far the teaching binder and clipboards have increased the organization and ease of life at school this year.  I wonder what I will come up with for next year :)

Spring Cleaning

It is that time of the year when in Wisconsin you want to clean all the winter dirt, dust, and grim off everything and open up the windows to let the spring breezes freshen up the house.  This year, the days of warm spring breezes are far and few between, but hopefully we will get there :)

Usually spring cleaning happens when I am home on Spring Break from school so I have one week to deep clean the house.  Here is the post about my spring cleaning routine and a check list that I use.  However, this year because I am on maternity leave yet, I have some more time to complete my spring cleaning so I am participating in the Spring Clean in 30 Challenge put on by A Bowl Full of Lemons and Clean Mama.

Each day they give a different thing to clean in your house.  For example, Day 1 was to dust all the edges and corners of the ceiling level.  I like that there is just one thing to clean each day and depending on how large your house is, it really doesn't take that long.  I don't feel like I am spending all day cleaning.  I get to do other things throughout the day,  like caring for a newborn :)

Each day they ask that you take a picture of you completing the task and then share the picture on Instagram using the hashtag #springcleanin30 and to tag them in the picture - @cleanmama and @abowlfulloflemons.

The challenge started on April 1 and ends on April 30.  Feel free to join in.  It's okay if you missed a few days or can't do a task each day, just double up on some days.  This challenge has made spring clean fun!

Updating the House To-Do List

When we first bought our house, I didn't think we would be in it forever. I thought it would be our starter house.  We have fallen in love with our house - the location and the layout.  We have decided that this is going to be the place we raise our kids. However, that does mean that it is time to do some real updating.  We have done little things over the years, but the entire house could use a good freshening up.

Below is everything that I would love to do to our house.  Most areas have two phases.  Phase 1 I feel that my husband and I can handle doing on our own and Phase 2 contains things that are beyond our expertise.  I am going to use this as my checklist and hopefully share the makeover results as they occur.

Outside

 

Phase 1

• Replace faded shutters
• Put shutters on garage window

Phase 2

• Replace siding
• Replace wooden porch and deck with vinyl
• New windows on the garage
• Cut down ash trees
• Replace garage doors

Kitchen

Phase 1

• Paint cabinets
• Paint woodwork white
• Install TV

Phase 2

• Replace cabinets
• Replace counter-tops
• Replace laminate floor

Dinning Room

Phase 1

• Paint wainscoting 
• Paint woodwork white

Phase 2

• Remove wainscoting
• Replace laminate floor
• Replace step into living room

Living Room

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint walls 
• Update furniture

Phase 2

• Replace carpet with laminate / hardwood floor

Playroom

Phase 1

• Paint - maybe do one wall in chalkboard paint?
• Replace desk
• Paint woodwork white

Phase 2

• Replace front door
• Replace carpet with laminate / hardwood floor

Laundry Room

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint doors white

Phase 2

• Put cabinets above the washer and dryer and above counter-top
• Replace doors with six-paneled ones
• Replace cabinet and counter top

Downstairs Bathroom

Phase 1

• Paint
• Fix crack in wainscoting
• Update art work

Phase 2

• Replace door with six-paneled one

Hallway

Phase 1

• Paint
• Update art work
• Finish crown molding
• Paint woodwork white
• Replace railing

Phase 2

• Replace carpet

Bedrooms

 

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint doors white
• Replace mirrored closet doors

Phase 2

• Replace doors with six-paneled ones
• Replace carpet

Upstairs Bathroom

Phase 1

• Paint
• Paint wood work white
• Update light fixture
• Update toilet paper holder
• Install shelves above the toilet
• Paint vanity
• Frame out mirror
• Replace corner shelves

Phase 2

• Refinish shower and tub
• Replace vanity counter top
• Replace faucet
• Title floor
• Replace door with a six-paneled one

Spring Cleaning!

It has been a long cold winter here in Wisconsin and unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.  Spring has been teasing us, but doesn't want to seem to stick around.  I had Spring Break from school this past week which as been such a blessing.  I have been able to get caught up on so many things both at home and for school.

One big item that I was able to check off of my to-do-list was my spring cleaning.  Boy did the house need it!  Last year I created a Spring Cleaning List as I completed my cleaning to help me remember everything that I do.  Since that time I changed my weekly/monthly cleaning routines so I was able to take some items off of my spring cleaning list because I was now doing that on a monthly basis.  You can check out my weekly cleaning schedule here.  I do my monthly cleaning on Mondays.  This schedule is as follows:
1st Monday - Appliances (Stove, Refrigerator, Microwave, Washing / Drying Machine); 2nd Monday - Window Blinds; 3rd Monday - Throw Rugs; 4th Monday - Deep Clean Showers.  If there happens to be five Mondays it the month, that means I have a free night :)

Here is my Spring Cleaning Checklist.  I have divided it up by room in my house.  I clean some of the same things in each room, however I find it easiest to completely clean one room before I move on to the next.  I start with the top of the room (the lights and ceiling fans) and work my way to the bottom (the baseboards).  It is not on my list, but I usually also vacuum each room when I am all done to collect anything that may have fallen on the floor in the cleaning process.

I also give the house a good deep clean before I start school in the fall so maybe I should change this to my Fall/Spring Cleaning Checklist.  It feels so good to have the house nice and clean!

Summertime Bucket List

I really miss summer.  It is too cold here in Wisconsin.  Winter seems like it is never going to end.  Everyday it is either snowing or so cold, you do everything you can to stay inside. To try and perk up my mood a little, started to create a list of activities to do with my daughter this summer; a bucket list if you well.  Most of the activities are done outdoors, however it does rain once in a while so I tried to include some that we could do inside on a rainy day.

Summertime Bucket List

1. Run through the sprinkler.
2. Go to the local swimming pool.
3. Roast s'mores.
4. Go to the zoo.
5. Go to the fair.
6. Go to the lake.
7. Paint a picture on the driveway with water.
8. Take a nature walk.
9. Go to the park.
10. Go on a color scavenger hunt.
11. Go to the children's museum.
12. Go on a picnic.
13. Have lunch with dad during during the work week.
14. Have an outside "toy" wash.
15. Grow sunflowers.
16. Build a fort.
17. Have a PJ and movie day with snack necklaces.
18. Have a tea party.
19. Play chalk hop.
20. Make ice cream.
21. Play in the rain.
22. Have a water balloon fight.
23. Pick strawberries.
24. Go to a concert in the park.
25. Have an alphabet treasure hunt.
26. Go to a baseball game.
27. Go to the library.
28. Go to the circus.
29. Paint with ice cubes.
30. Go star gazing. 
31. Go to the Train Museum. 

Organizing the Spice Cabinet

My spice cabinet has always been very cluttered.  Awhile ago I bought some baskets and a tiered rack hoping that those items would help clean up the cabinet a bit.  It helped more in grouping the clutter then organizing it.

What I needed to do was really look at what was in this cabinet.  Basically, I need to get rid of some stuff.  First I took everything out.  I grouped the items into three categories - 1.  Baking  2.  Cooking  3.  Oils.  Then I really looked at the items in each category.  If I haven't used it within 6 months I got rid of it.  I have heard that spices should be replaced every year.  Some of mine I have had since I got married - much longer than a year ago :)  

I then started putting what was left back into the cabinet.  The top shelf I designated for my baking items.  I don't back a lot so this is a good spot for them.  I put all of them in a white basket and was able to place my containers of powdered sugar, white flour, and wheat flour.  

The bottom two shelves are for all my cooking spices and oils.  I placed all the oils behind a white basket that houses the back-up spices that I use to fill the spice rack that is on my counter.  Next to that basket I placed larger boxes and spice containers that didn't fit in the basket. On the bottom shelf, I placed the tiered rack with all of my WildTree spices on them.  Next to that I placed the salt and pepper.  On the cabinet door I have a hook where I hang my monthly meal plan and any recipes I will need for the week.

Here is the finished look:

It doesn't look like a huge change, but I can already see that this is going to be easier for me to find something when I need it.  I now know exactly what spices I have so I wan't be purchasing doubles anymore.  

Organizing Project Life

I have been doing Project Life now for just about four years now and I absolutely love it.  You can read about how I got started with this great scrapbooking system here.

What I want to talk about today is how I am planning on keeping all of my Project Life stuff organized this year.  I would love to have a whole room I could dedicate to scrapbooking, but I only have a shelf in a closet to store my supplies.  When I want to scrapbook, I take what I need to the dinning room table and do it there.

In the past, I have kept all the cards that come with the kit that I am currently using in the box that they came it.  When I want to scrapbook, I put that box and my scrapbook binder on the table and get busy.  Now, I have more supplies that I use instead of just the box of cards for a certain kit.  I have cards left over from other kits and specialty cards (holidays, ones from Pinterest, etc) and I have stickers and filler paper as well.  I didn't know how to keep this all organized so I would know where everything was and not have to carry a hundred boxes to the table when I wanted to scrapbook.

Here is the system that I have come up with to try this year.

First is how I am planning on recording the memories.  Last year when something happened that I wanted to put into my scrapbook, I jotted it down on a calendar and then every Saturday I would go through my pictures, pick the ones I wanted to include and complete the journaling for each one.  The pictures would go into a "To Print" folder on my desktop and would stay there until I found a good deal on print them through Snapfish.  This meant that when I did print pictures I would have a least 100 of them at a time to put into my binder.

I liked this system because I could journalize while the memory is still fresh in my mind.  However, this year I would like to really have the colors of my journal cards flow with the colors of my pictures.  Therefore, I am not going to complete the journal cards until I have the pictures in the binder.  I am still going to wait and develop a ton of pictures at time to save some money, so I needed to come up with something to help me plan a little a head of time.

I designed this template (click here for a printable).  It is pretty simple, but there is plenty of room to to journalize on this planning sheet plus jot down where on the page I want to place this picture and journal card plus any other "fluff" like stickers, memorabilia, etc.  I printed these pages back to back and have put them in a binder.

I also went through all my project life cards and grouped them by type of card and then by color.  This way, if I need to find a blue journaling card, I have them all in one place.  I found this plastic storage bin to hold all my cards, some stickers, my pens, pencils, etc.

I took all of the rest of my stickers and grouped them by theme.  I placed each them in a food storage bag and labeled them.  I don't use these a lot, so they will stay on a shelf in the closet.  However, when I need one, all I have to do is grab the theme that I need instead of having to page through many packs of stickers to find the one I need.

I am hoping that this system will work well this year :)  How do you keep all your scrapbooking stuff organized?

Family Cookbook

I love to try out new recipes.  I have accumulated such a collection of ones to try, that I created a recipe binder to help organize them.  You can see how I did that here - Recipe Binder.

What I need now is an organized way to store my families favorite recipes.  The ones that I go to on a weekly basis because we love them so much.  I decided to create a family cookbook.

I set it all up in Microsoft Word.  I have a title page and title pages dividing up the different sections - Breakfast, Appetizers / Snacks, Soups, Dinners, and Desserts.  I then created a standard layout for each recipe.

I typed each recipe up in the appropriate section and printed it all out.  I placed the pages in page protectors before putting them in the binder.  I liked this idea because I can pull the page out of the binder when I need the recipe and it will be wipe-able if I happen to get the recipe itself dirty while cooking.

As we try different recipes out, if it is a family hit after making it a couple of times, I open up the cookbook on my computer and add it to the cookbook.  I only have to print out the page with the new recipe on it and then replace the old one with the new one in the binder.

I think this binder system better than a recipe box because it is easier to keep the recipes organized in categories.  If it falls off the shelf or a two-year old gets a hold of it, it can't be dumped all over the floor and have to be reorganized again :)  I also don't have to worry about having to find new recipe cards that I like or that will fit into my particular recipe box.

How do you organize all of your recipes?

Organizing the Arts & Craft Supplies

My mother had these green plastic containers that she was going to donate.  She used them to store dried goods in her kitchen.  When I saw them, I thought they might work well to store all the arts and crafts goodies that I have now collected to use with my daughter.

So far, they are working great!  I made some labels for them so my husband and one day my daughter will be able to know what goes inside each one.  Right now, my daughter pulls them all out and looks through the clear covers until she finds the one she wants :)

Here is what they all look like lined up on the desk in our playroom.  It really helps keep everything neat and organized leaving plenty room on the desk for some great creative work to be made.

Elf on the Shelf Ideas

Last year I really wanted to do Elf on the Shelf with my daughter, but she was only 1 so I figured she was a little too young.  Her grandma got her the Elf on the Shelf kit for Christmas last year so that I could start it this year with her.  So far, it has been a lot of fun!

In November, I started to plan out what Elf was going to do each day starting December 1.  I created a calendar on Google Drive and starting looking at different pins on Pinterest to get the ideas flowing.  Here is the calendar that I have created - December 2013 Elf on the Shelf.

On the first day, he appear sitting on the coffee table in our living room with his book.  I read the book to my daughter and at the end, you need to come up with a name for your Elf.  She decided to name him Jeff.  Throughout the entire month of December, I will come back here and add more pictures of Jeff and the cute ways he greets my daughter morning.  Enjoy!

Preparing for Black Friday Shopping

I am not one of those crazy people who gets up extremely early or never really goes to sleep on Thanksgiving night so that I can hit up the good deals on Black Friday.  My mother and I do go out every year, but it is usually not until 8:00 a.m. when most of these people have probably retired home already.  I usually try to get all my Christmas shopping done on this day so we still find great deals, we just don't have to deal with such big crowds.

Here is how I prepare for this big shopping day:

1.  I gather all the Black Friday shopping ads and my iPad together on the kitchen counter.  I also have my Christmas list and a notebook to create my shopping list in.

2.  As I go through the ads, I compare them to my Christmas list and jot down anything that is on my list onto my shopping list.  I also look for possible gift ideas for the people on my Christmas list who I don't have anything for yet.

3.  When I jot down the item that I would like to get, I also jot down what store I need to visit and if the sale only goes until a certain time.

If there is something that I really want that is one of the early morning sales, I will see if I can order it online on Thanksgiving.  This way I don't have to fit the big crowds and some stores will have Black Friday prices earlier online so I can order the items on Thanksgiving or even earlier.  Some stores even offer good deals on shipping if you purchase a certain dollar amount.

4.  After I have gone through all the ads, I look at the shopping list I have created and use this to compile a new shopping list categorizing the list by the hours of the different sales I need to hit.  For example, if there was a sale that ended at 9:00 a.m., I would list that store and the items I need to get there first.  This becomes like my agenda for the day.

On Thanksgiving, my mother and I will sit down after dinner and discuss a game plan for the next day.  What time do we want to leave? What stores do we need to hit up first? etc. 

The morning of the big day, I grab a smaller purse that is easy to carry and only holds my wallet, phone, keys, and shopping list.  I also try to dress a little warmer than usual because I don't want to have to carry a coat around with me.  Usually this means that I am wearing a vest, long-sleeve shirt, and jeans.  

It is a long day of shopping, but I enjoy spending time with my mother and kicking off the holiday season with this tradition.  How do you prepare for Black Friday shopping?

Does a clean washing machine mean cleaner clothes?

I realized this week that my washing machine was really dirty.  About a year after we bought our house, my parents purchased a new house and didn't want the washer and dryer that were in the house.  They were newer then the ones that we currently had, so we bought those and donated ours.

When I first got the washer, it smelled terrible!  It was very musty smelling so my mom suggested just leaving it open for a while to air out.  I tried this and it helped a little, but I could still smell it.  At that time, I purchased the Tide washing machine cleaner and it worked like a charm.

Well, that was three years ago now and when I looked at the washing machine this week, this is what I saw:

Pretty disgusting!

After searching around online, I found a couple of solutions to try.  I first took apart the fabric softener container in the middle of washing machine and could not believe how dirty that was.  I don't know how my clothes were coming out clean!  I soaked that in a bucket with a combination of white vinegar and hot water. I had to take an old toothbrush and scrub to really get it clean.

I then filled the washing machine with warm water and added about 2 cups of white vinegar as well.  I let it soak for 1 hour and then turned on the machine.  After an hour I was again shocked at all the stuff floating in water.  I also took a wet cloth and wiped down the spot where you would pour in bleach and the inside cover of the washing machine.

Here is what my new washing machine looks like...

Hopefully with a clean washing machine, I will get even cleaner clothes.