Christmas Countdown Planner

I got a burst of holiday spirit today and decided to get my Christmas Notebook organized. I follow the 100 Days Til Christmas prompts to keep me motivated and on track for savouring the holiday season instead of worrying that I’m missing something and ending up doing it at the last minute. I try to keep my Notebook simplified so it is small enough to grab if I am going shopping. I have the following contained in it: Calendar with tasks sorted by week List of Christmas Gifts to make (I update the status weekly) Budget and Gift Idea list

6 October 2013 No Comments

Digitizing the Children’s Art and School Work

Next Tuesday (September 3rd) is the first day of school for my little people. I’m excited for them to start a new year but I’m still trying to recover from all the papers that came home with them in the spring and all the art that they created this summer. You can read more about how I coped with the art and created a homework center in yesterday’s post. In June I set an aggressive schedule and detailed plan to organize digital photos and the children’s art. I started out pretty strong and got one year of photos organized but then the laptop

29 August 2013 No Comments

Organizing Homework Station and Art Supplies

It’s been driving me crazy all summer. In preparation for the summer I gathered all the kid arts and crafts supplies and put them in one space – on the dining room buffet. Then came all the homework and art papers from school. Then the kids came home and summer pulled us ahead and we made new crafts to add to the pile and then it was just a big hot mess. These photos are taken after I had pulled a lot of it off of the buffet and floor to organize like-with-like but it gives you a sense of

28 August 2013 No Comments

Manual and Warranties Organization

The Back StoryMy laptop is giving us trouble. We can’t log on. Hubby is trying to fix it but we need the Windows key number that would have come with the laptop when we bought it. Problem: we can’t find the information for the laptop. It’s somewhere in the house but we can’t find it. The Original SystemWe generally keep manuals in a clear bag over the oven in that high small cupboard that is cut into a small usable area by the fan exhaust vent. Usually it works great but you have to dig through the entire contents to

17 June 2013 No Comments

Giving Some Baseboard Love

While I was on my hands and knees to clean the grout on my floors using the amazing grout cleaner recipe I found on Pinterest, I got really up close and personal to the baseboards. They had really taken a beating from our own little people and the daycare children I care for. The scuffs started bothering me more and more as the month progressed so I decided to clean them. I scrubbed at the baseboards and they still had that scuffed look to them. Today I got out the trim paint and touched up the baseboards and the trim

28 May 2013 No Comments

Amazing Grout Cleaner

I should be finishing off the last two items on my April list of crafts (watching a Craftsy serger course and finishing top quilting a baby quilt). I got to checking Pinterest and found an “Amazing Grout Cleaner” homemade recipe by Unique. Just Like Everyone Else. I (foolishly) didn’t really believe it was as amazing as was claimed. I also didn’t have ammonia so I replaced it with bleach (note I did NOT MIX as this is toxic, I REPLACED). I started on a small spot. In the middle of my front hall (duh!). Thankfully it is a small space, but still

30 April 2013 No Comments

Making Room for Christmas

It was wonderful to have a week off and then a few days with the children before school started. It’s great to have them home but routine is nice also. Yesterday we took down the Christmas tree and most of the decorations around the house. We were able to declutter the decorations a bit but still somehow managed to need to add a bin of decorations. How did that happen? (Oh wait! It’s from my parents throwing stuff our way as they downsized!! At least they passed on nice items and I could get rid of some of our more

7 January 2013 2 Comments

The Christmas Beast Revisited

I took antibiotics last week (after about 6 weeks of being ill with a bad cough and various colds in between) and I feel like myself again! My dilemma with the Home Organization 101 challenge and completing the King-Size “2011 Christmas Beast” (that is now becoming the 2012 Christmas Beast!) has split my time and attention. I have been dedicating one hour per day (at least) on the quilt and get it done. This will allow me to complete the Office/craft room organization goal that I have because it will clear up a lot of space and give me a

8 November 2012 No Comments

Home Organization 101 ~ Kids Rooms

I’m still fighting this cough and cold and barely have energy. Today I do have a little so I’m cleaning the kids rooms. I don’t have a before for my 6 year old daughter’s but it is now thoroughly cleaned and decluttered. It’s a haven again. Just picture no cleared surfaces. Her drawers have also been organized plus the windows have been thrown open to air out the bedrooms. I didn’t realise it at the time but it only took me 30 minutes to get through it. The dread of tackling it took days and then for only 30 minutes?

25 October 2012 No Comments

Home Organization 101 – The Garage Update

I’m doing a bit of a “cheat” on the garage because I thoroughly cleaned it up and posted about it in June and July of this year. It’s still in great condition. I did a quick tidy up of the few things that had gotten out of place but they were not nearly as dramatic as what it once was. For your viewing pleasure on my now delightful garage, please find my original before and afters on this post about my garage challenge.

14 October 2012 No Comments

Category: household management