Art Gallery

This year, my budding artist was asked to have her art work displayed at the Art Show.  She was so excited. We went to the show and saw many talented little people. We brought the art home and it felt like a shame to just put it in a folder where we wouldn't see it again until she went to college.  She was very proud of her work and wanted to put it up in her room.  Up she went with the tape and her picture.  It looked nice up on the wall, but it also looked lonely.

I started thinking about framing her art work but the thought of having to change each picture out was daunting. (She makes a  lot of pictures.) I was looking through frames that I had and found one that was missing the glass and BOOM, I thought if there is no glass it was easy to change. But I only had one :(

So I decided to ask for help. (If I have a broken frame surely others do too.) I posted my Facebook status asking my friends for broken picture frames they were willing to part with, and I hit the mother load. I easily had about 15 frames.

Alex wanted to help.

Alex picked 10 frames and spray paint and we started painting the frames. ( Remember to do this in a well ventilated area. We used the garage)

Her Art Show picture is the fish with the pink background.  She used pointillism to create the fish :)

I have to say it looks pretty good and she can change the pictures as many times as she wants to.

Posted with Blogsy

Garage Purge: Tools Corner

 We worked on a corner of the garage this weekend.  We cleared out ALL the tools and sorted them into pile.  We had: tools, painting, electrical, plumbing, and car maintenance. Then we found bins to put it all in.  I am proud to say that we used bins we already had and I did not spend a dime :)

I still have a couple of finishing touches to do.  I have to print labels, and I would like to spray paint the shelves white or brown to make it pretty.  We aren't at the pretty stage yet.  We are still at purge and organize stage.
 

Posted with Blogsy

Time to Consign

After we took all the baby stuff out of the attic the next step was to decide what to do with it all.

This is only part of the "stash", there is more in the basement and living room

Luckily, this year I was introduced to the wonderful world of consignment. What is consignment? Consignment is taking the things you have stored away and selling them at shops or events. I was introduced to this concept by Michele Fredricks from FairyTagmother. Her motto is "Turn your stash into cash".  She offers a service where she preps and sells your goods at consignment sales at least twice a year.  I love the service because all I do is hand over my "stash" and she does the rest.

So I sorted out all the "stuff" and two car loads later,

 Michelle has my "stash".  She tagging and inputting it the computer as we speak.
 The sale is in September so I will update this post afterward.

Summer Purge: The Garage

After taking everything out of the attic we decided the garge would be next.
So we stalked the weather forecasts until we had a couple of sunny days and started to empty the contents of the garage onto the driveway.

We should have had a garage sale.

Ahhh, it's empty.

We will slowly but surely put everything back BUT it will be in zones.

Garden Zone

The garage is currently in the organizing stage.  Basically, I put everything into piles and decide what kind of bins, baskets, or buckets will work best to coral like items. Then we will start the beatification stage but we aren't there yet.

I am working on the sports zone, tool zone and seasonal zone.  I'll post as I go.

So here is my To Do list for the garge:

• create zones,ie. sports, gardening, tools, etc...
• find a spot for the lawn mower and snow blower.
• create overhead storage for seasonal decorations(I'm thinking loft like)
• put up drywall and paint
• new garage door
• fit the car

Back to School: Week 3 Routine

During the summer we go to bed at 10pm, wake up at 8:15 am.  Sometimes we wear our pjs all day and the pool counts as bath time.  Not anymore.  This week back to school routine is in full effect.

Our routine looks like this:

                 Kids                                                                      Me

Our Morning: 
6:00                                                                          Wake up and
                                                                                 HAVE COFFEE!!!!
                                                                                  get dressed
6:30 Wake up and get dressed                     Make breakfast and lunch
7:00 Eat breakfast and pack lunches         Pack my work bag
7:30 Off to school                                              Off to work


Our Afternoon:
2:00                                                                         Leave work to pick up kiddos
2:30 Give mommy a big hug                           Pick up kids
2:35 Start bickering with sibling in the back seat car  Try not to stop car and let kids walk home
2:45  Snack                                                             Go through school folders and put in a load of laundry
3:00  Start HW                                                     Work on Blog ( help w/ HW)
4:00  Play/Read/Whatever                                  Start dinner and put laundry in dryer
4:30 Dad is home, the kids cheers!!!                        

4:35 All heck breaks loose, kids start bickering AGAIN!     I go hide in my room and let dad deal with it 

5:00 Alex sets table                                                   Dinner is ready

5-7:00 Family time.  This changes once sports start.

7:00 Bath time and Chores                                    Fold laundry
8:00 Family Time
8:30 Bedtime/Read/Study                                     Scrapbooking
8:45                                                                                Cleaning Chores
10:00                                                                              Bedtime!!!

Wow, that looks really good written down.  This off course changes as the year goes on. Eventually, Josh will start basketball, Alex will start gymnastics, Jack usually coaches, and I teach stamping classes once or twice a week.  It is good to have a basic routine and more importantly expectations.   Our routine is not written in stone and is pretty fluid, but our basic needs are laid out and taken care of :)

Back to School: Week 1- Supplies

This week the kids and I purchased their school supplies. I armed the children with their supply list and shopping cart and off they searched to find the item on those lists. They did a great job comparing prices and decided if the cheaper versions was the better choice. They also buy extra, at the cheaper price, so they can use it as they run out of supplies during the year. I am raising good consumers, pat on my back.

We brought our bounty home and sorted it in to piles.

Then we put it away to pack another day :)

 

Once their backpacks are packed for the first day of school, we keep the extra in these bins. I like the bins because when they run low on something during the year they know where to go to get more.

 

Next week we start planning lunches.

 

Posted with Blogsy

August 1 or D day

August 1 reminds me that there are about 4 weeks until school starts.  I know it seems crazy to think that summer is ending but I will admit that I have always loved the smell of new school supplies.  My children (ages 10 and 8) on the other hand may not share my same joy ;)

I like to break the children in slowly with the whole back to school thing.  My hubby is a cold turkey kinda guy but that doesn't work out for us.  So in an effort to ease the transition each week we tackle a back to school project.

Week 1: Supplies
This let's my little people know that summer time is starting to wind down.  They enjoy back to school shopping so I like to start there.  Break them slowly :)

Week 2: Lunches
I start to think about what they will eat.  This year I want to pack healthier lunches so I am making a list of their favorite foods.  Then I'll figure out a school lunch schedule and what to buy.

Week 3: Schedule
This week I put the kids on there back to school bedtime and wake up calls.  It takes about two weeks for us get back into the groove of things.

I also take this time to start them on chore schedules.  We have fall chores that they start.

Week 4: Clothes
I wait to last minute on this because I am terrified they will have some crazy growth spurt and they will not fit their clothes.  

Each week I will let you know our progress and how it works for us :)

Spring Cleaning 101: Car Chaos

I love to clean.  Yes I know that sounds weird but I do enjoy my clean and organized house.  I especially look forward to spring cleaning.  My house never looks as good as it does on a bright sunny day with the smell of Pine-Sol in the air. 

I have a list for everything and everything on a list, and the first thing on my spring cleaning list is my car.  

With the weather being crazy this time of year; one day it's snowing and raining, the next its bright and sunny, my kids and I tend to have impromptu trips to the park.  My kids love these trips but the very first time we did it I learned we can't just stop at the park we have to be prepared. So every spring I get my car "park" ready.

 I start be emptying and vacuuming the car. I like a clean interior and after a winter of not being able to clean the car in the driveway, it gets pretty gross in there.  The kids are in charge of decluttering their sides. The rule is "If it is still there when I vacuum it is going in the trash".  The kids hate this part but I especially love when my kids clean their side of the car and find things they have been looking for all winter.  We find toys, books, socks and shoes (yes SOCKS and SHOES, I am not even sure how that happens) 

My super cute spotted bag, and not so cute black bag

Once my car is nice and clean, I refill the trunk.  I know that sounds weird but my trunk is separated into zones: shopping and play.

 

In my super cute spotted bag I keep all the reusable and thermal bags we use for grocery shopping.  I clean out the bags and throw out any that have wholes in them.  I also only keep ten bags. Honestly, if I didn't put a limit on how many bags I have I would buy I new bag every time I went to store and that just defeats the whole purpose of reusable bags.

Super cute First Aid kit in the not so cute black bag.

In the not so cute black bag I keep our very important First Aid kit. The trips to the park can get dangerous with fearless a 8 and 10 year old.
The First Aid kit is in a super kit bag :).  The bag is actually one of those fold out cosmetics cases, but I don't wear that much make-up (just blush, mascara and chapstick) so in the interest of being green I repurposed the bag.

This bag is the perfect size to fit a First Aid kit.  I take this time to clean out the kit and replace anything that has been used or expired.

The other thing I have is a clean up kit.  This is also super handy to have when they eat or make a mess.  The park doesn't always have bathrooms that should be used by humans so I have them clean their hands in the car. 

And last but most importantly we have a basketball, jump rope and blanket in the car.  The blanket is for me to sit and watch my little angels as they go have fun.  

My car is ready for spring!  Now we just need nice weather.

I linked in at what-we-accomplished-wednesday #9l 
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-128/and
http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net

Kitchen Chaos: Oil and Vinegar

Just quick before and after in the kitchen.

This is how I stored my oil and vinegar before:

Here it is after:

 So nice and pretty.

Responsibilty Chart

This post is an extension to a previous  Getting Organized post. 

Thank you to Leisel for asking to see more about our Responsibility chart. She wrote:

Leisel

I'm interested in your responsibility chart. I'd love to see a post on that.

In the previous post I showed how I try to keep my family organized everyday. With four people living in one house heading in all directions, we need to know who has to be where and doing what.  We are lucky because we have two children, one boy one girl; so we have man to man to defense in our house :)

So here it is. This is what our fridge looks like:

We don't have a fancy stainless steel fridge so I don't mind putting stuff on it.

Our responsibility chart is the most important chart in the house. I found the chart at Target .  I chose this chart because I love that the first column is for things we do everyday, and I don't have to write it over and over again.

The everyday chores are written in wet wipe marker, so that I don't have to rewrite it every week.

On this chart I put everything that is going on for the week, ie, school, sports, classes, etc.  

It's a slow week.
 I write the weekly things in dry erase marker so that it is easier to erase and change.

This is a usually a jumping off point for the family.  We keep track of four main things on this chart:

1. School-  My children's school has a website where I can see there homework, test dates and projects.  I go there on Mondays a fill out the chart so the kids know what subjects they have to study for during the week. 

2. Sports- My children play basketball and my hubby coaches both teams so this where we keep track of games and practices.

3. Work- We put any meetings or classes on this list too.  This helps me know when hubby will be late from work.  I teach stamping/scrapbooking classes from my home, so this gives my husband warning what days the house will be full of women scrapbooking.

4. Family-  This is also where I post any plans we have for the weekend.

The chart is great because it keeps everyone in the know.

Paper Chaos: To bin or not to bin

Well, we had another no big project weekend, unless you count bake sale, basketball, family and friends. 

I try to keep our mail, dates and events organized but lately its been a little hectic. I had a little time Sunday afternoon (last weekend) and decided to tackle the paper bin. I have a bin in near the kitchen that I use to put all the mail, and school papers.  My idea was that once a week I would go through the papers and sort them into piles.  Well that did not happen.  The bin became a catch all for everything  paper and non paper.  I think the biggest problem with the bin is that it is big and deep. 

 I did not take a picture of the bin before I cleared it, but here it is empty:

I started with emptying bin's contents on the dinning room table.

Yes, the basketball was in the bin.

By Sunday night the table was an overwhelming mess. We ended up eating dinner in the living room for a couple of days. I must admit that this mess was a little to much for me and sat on the table until I could muster up the courage to sort it out.

Finally, by Wednesday the kids were tired of eating at the coffee table and I had to figure this out. I knew I wanted to put everything in separate file folders but I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to put the folders back into the bin without them falling over or creating a big pile of folders. I also knew I wanted to keep the bin.  It is nice a nice fuax leather bin I picked up at Target.  I really like that it isn't plastic, which means I don't mind having it where people can see it.

 A trip to Staples and 11 dollars later. 

I found a frame that will convert my bin into a file cabinet. Brilliant, I tell you.

Now my bin looks like this:

 You can't even tell there is metal insert in there.

A couple of labels and . .  .

Voila.  My new paper storage.

 I still have to add the school calendar to the front and find it a permanent home 

but I love the way it turned out. 

I linked to what-we-accomplished-wednesday-6.html