Daily Living Archives - Page 2 of 2

Organizing in the New Year

January 4, 2013Tracy

Every new year, I’m totally inspired to get my life back under some semblance of control, to pilfer through the clutter and forge a new path toward organization.

Often, I ricochet between success and failure in this department. So in high hopes of making strides toward a new me, I’ve embraced my new year’s tradition of an organizational overhaul.

I just finished reading a tremendously helpful book entitled, Organizing for Your Brain Type. (link includes more about the book, plus a free quiz to find your organizing personality) LOVE it! It helped to break down my personality and what organizational approaches will work well for me and what will most likely fail. Nice to know that before you get started. I am the “innovator,” the creator, the lover of all things fun and beautiful. I also organize by stacks; everything must be out where I can see it or it might as well not exist. This totally explained why keeping a household binder with my planner has been such a struggle. I like the idea of the system but it takes oodles of discipline for me to actually make it work. It’s either always open on the table adding to the daily clutter, or it’s tucked away and absolutely useless (I never remember to open it).

The solution? A vertical system of organizing. In other words, the “command center” approach is much more likely to be successful than the binder approach, because I can have all my must-have info right in front of me at all times. So, I’m in the process of converting the side of my fridge. I’ll show you the finished product later, but for right now, I thought I’d share a few printables.

You see, as part of my innovator/creator personality, organization cannot be merely functional; it has to be either fun or beautiful (and ideally both!) So, I’ve devoted the time and energy to actually embrace this aspect of my organizing personality.

The first printable is my new cleaning schedule (inspired by a few different Pinterest posts) on 4×6 cards. I’m going to place these in an adhesive pocket on my fridge and daily switch to the next card. It will have both my repetitive maintenance tasks and my special cleaning task for the day.

The second printable is my new To-Do system on 3×5 cards. Each day, I’ll have up to 6 items on my to-do list that I’ve chosen from my longer list of Projects and To-Dos (this longer list will be on a dry erase board—pics coming soon—that way, Hubby can easily add any projects that he needs me to tackle).

Click on the images to download the printables. I’m so exited! Now, I’m off to make my home both functional and beautiful.

**UPDATED** for new designs

Organizing with a Weekend Planner

September 5, 2012Tracy1 Comment

After creating my printable week planner, I started working on a printable weekend planner. My husband is a pastor, so our weekends look much different from the rest of the week. Often, preparations for Sunday really get in the way of Sunday worship; they are a logistical nightmare. So, in an effort to reclaim worship, I’m organizing my weekends with this planner page.

Projects & Errands

This is the section to record those special Saturday projects, the bigger to-dos that usually wait for a weekend—weeding the garden, grocery shopping, deep-cleaning, etc.

Weekend Preparation

This section is the heart of this planner page. It gives me a spot to plan both physically and spiritually for our day of worship. “Prepare Physically” gives me a place to list and check-off those tasks that get me ready for the day—defrosting the chicken or roast, prepping vegetables, laying out clothes, gathering Bibles, packing the diaper bag, etc. “Prepare Spiritually” gives me a list of prayers to prepare my heart and spirit for the day.

Events to Plan

Our weekends often have us attending or planning a variety of events. Whether we are having someone to our house or participating in a church function, this gives me a spot to write a reminder.

People to See

There are often specific people I need to see and talk with when we get to church, to ask about upcoming events, to check-up on prayer updates, to visit with someone who may have been absent for awhile, etc. But at this stage in my life, relying on my memory is a dangerous thing. It’s not that I don’t care enough to remember; it’s that I care enough to write it down so that I won’t forget.

Items to Bring

It literally may take me 3 or more weeks to remember to bring something extra to church with me. Returning someone’s dish, bringing a book or resource to someone, giving a shower gift or card—I usually remember until the rush to get out the door. Writing it down will help me to prepare for it, to have it waiting with our Bibles and ready to go.

The last thing on the planner is the “Notes” section. Nothing special, just an extra place to jot down things that might not fit into the other categories.

I’m really excited about this planner. I’m really excited about getting my Sundays back under control. And though I know my situation is rather unique (not everyone is married to a pastor), I also know that Sundays are difficult for most moms: there’s a lot to coordinate! So, I’m sharing my weekend planner as a free printable, hoping that it will help someone else reclaim Sunday as a day for worship. If there is a way that I can customize it to better fit your needs, please let me know in the comments section and I’ll see what I can do.

Weekend_Planner

Weekly Home Planner Download

September 3, 2012Tracy

I’ve been working on trying to organize my home as the new school year swings into gear, and part of that overall has been my household/homeschool planner. Because I just can’t seem to find a planner that has all I want, I’ve been working on creating my own.

When I first started using a household notebook four or five years ago, a daily planner worked really well for me. Now, I really need something that covers me for the week and doesn’t add a lot of extra work to my day. I need structure and organization not more work.

A weekly to-do list, a place for a few routine tasks that need to be checked off (I’ve coordinated my planner with the alarms I set), a place for specific weekly tasks (cards to be mailed, calls to be made, or appointments to be kept), and then a simple cleaning schedule were a few of the items I really wanted in my planner. Also, I wanted a little inspiration at the top—some Scripture paraphrases to help me focus my week. I have four different inspirations for each week of the average month.

Diligence: She eateth not the bread of idleness. (Prov. 31:27)

Faithfulness: Serve the Lord with gladness for the abundance of all things. (Deut. 28:46)

Purpose: Do all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)

Perseverance: God finished the work which he had done. (Gen. 2:2)

Because my weekends look much different from the rest of my week, this planner is really for Monday through Friday. I intend to make a separate planner for the weekends and print that to the back of these sheets. But for now, I’m really liking the new approach. I hope you do, too! Enjoy!

Weekly_Planner

Mud Memories

July 26, 2012Tracy1 Comment

I remember the time my sister and I decided to make chocolate milk.

Our ingredients were dirt and water.

Unlike other older sisters who wisely have their younger sibling sample the fare for them, I indulged right alongside.

We both ended up with a mouthful of mud—and vivid memories.

So when Middlest came into the house with her pail of dirt and asked for some water so that she could make a cake, you bet I cringed. But then, I also couldn’t resist. After all, every child needs a mud memory, right?

I was surprised when Oldest, my neat-freak OCD child, decided to join in the fun.

And though I tried to just set them loose on their mud escapades, I soon realized that my daughter needed a little instruction in the art of mud-caking. I had to empty her pail of rocks, bark, and leaves and help her add dirt to the right consistency. She couldn’t make up her mind at first what to make. First, it was cake; then it was tea; back to chocolate cake; and finally a batch of cookies.

Oldest wanted to make a cake and keep it in his pail until it had “baked” in the sun. Then he emptied his creation into his wheelbarrow for minimal mess. But I was proud when I saw his hands caked with dirt.

Then, Oldest suggested some music. Last summer we had a Handel’s Water Music party; this summer, it’s Bach and mud cakes! And after all that hard work making decadence you can’t eat, there’s got to be some refreshment.

(By the way, the popsicles were made from instant pudding! Make the pudding according to box directions, pour into molds, and freeze! So simple and so delicious!)