Getting Organized for the Week

It has been suggested that I write a post detailing how I get started planning each week.  So, here goes!

Get yourself a calendar.   Make a schedule.  You'll thank me.

First of all, I have a permanent calendar which I save with routine items, like my Daily and Weekly Basics.  I haven't used an hourly time line so far because I am afraid it will make me feel guilty if I stray from it, and then confined when I don't.  So, for now it's a general Morning, Afternoon, Evening layout.  As new things come along it's easy peasy to add them.  (FYI: While I don't post every little detail of my schedule here for a variety of reasons, having general skeleton of it out there in public is quite motivating.  After all, now my friends know I'm scheduled to clean my floor at least once a week.  If they come over and it's crunchy they know where I got off track.) 
 
Next, I plan our dinners.  (This week's meal plan is posted here.)  When outlining my plans for the week, I've found it's easiest to get into organizing/planning mode by starting with a meal plan.  Then I'll move on to making my shopping list (so easy with a custom Pocket Mod!)  I also know how urgent it is to schedule the grocery shopping  for the week.  I generally put it off as long as possible, but if I have a meal I need several ingredients for I know I have to shop before that day so I schedule a trip to the store.

After that I think about things I want or need to do with the kids. Whether it's a special homework project or simply knowing someone needs a little extra time, I make a little note in my schedule reminding me about it.  Then, I think about my own projects or jobs that have suffered from my procrastination.  I decide how urgent they are and pencil in the really pressing ones.

Once those things are filled in, my schedule is pretty complete.  It's really not hard and having things like meal plans or special things for the kids in writing really helps me make sure they happen.  I must say, after Miss M was born almost six years ago I really developed some bad habits.  It's been quite a dig out of them, but organizing my time through this type of scheduling has done more for me than I could ever explain.  If you're struggling to juggle all the demands of a family or just to get out of a rut I highly recommend a written plan of your own.  I think you'll be pleased with the results!

Refining Grocery Shopping

In the last six months or so I've been a little obsessed with how quickly we can complete our grocery shopping.  I've spent a few more minutes organizing my shopping list, and I challenge the kids to guess how long it will take from the time we enter the store till the time we exit.  For some reason just asking them how fast they think we can finish makes it so much easier to zoom through the store without stopping to look at every little thing.

We have to hit the store today, and have a pretty big list.  I'm guessing it will take us about an hour but I'm really hoping it will be much less. I'm organizing my list and coupons right now, and I'd love shop and return home before lunch.  The faster we get this out of the way, the better!

I've written about shopping with a Pocket Mod before (here and here).  Today I customized the shopping list Pocket Mod I made last month a bit more.  I used my scrap booking software to add headings organized by section of the store I shop most often.  I figured the headings would make organizing my list that much faster.

I think you can click this image then drag it to your desktop so you can print it for yourself.  Visit Pocket Mod to make your own and for folding instructions.

I am really in love with these little booklets.  They honestly do help me speed through the store, and since I've started using them I haven't overlooked a single item on my list or just decided to buy something on the next trip because I don't want to go back to a section of the store I've already left. 

Later today we have friends coming for a play date and dinner.  We're all very excited!  It should be lots of fun!


*I receive no compensation for continuously writing about Pocket Mods.  I just think they're awesome and have had lots of fun with them.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

I don't know about anyone else in the world, but I still have Christmas ALL over my house.  Not only are our decorations still decorating, but opened gifts are strewn around my sofas because no one wants to put away their new stuff.  It's nice to see all the fun, new things, and it helps the girls remember what hasn't been played with quite yet when they wander past.  I've had quite enough of the big piles of "new" by now though.  I've enjoyed the Chrismas lights and nativity scenes and advent calendars, but it's time for them to go away.  We still have puzzles to put together, and a new board game to play and stacks and stacks of new books we haven't read.  Miss M has a new doll that hasn't even come out of her box.  I'd hate to put those in their new homes quite yet because they'll be totally forgotten if they're not enjoyed first, so I devised a FUN plan that will also clear the clutter.  We're going to have a "Good bye Christmas" New Year's Eve. Today we'll play the new game - and put it away.  We'll puzzle out the new puzzles - and put them away.  We'll read the new books - and put them away.  We'll keep going till the sofas can be sat on again and each gift is in it's new home.  I also plan to record each gift in our family journal along with the giver's name so we'll be organized to write our thank you cards tomorrow, right after we pack up all the decorations.  Gosh, I love it when organization and FUN come together!

Happy New Year everyone!  May 2011 bring you loads of FUN and enjoyment with your own families.

A link too good not to share.

This link came in a newsletter from Family Fun last week, but I just got around to reading it today.  It seems everyone is grateful for tips and tricks for keeping their families more organized so this list of ten simple ideas is something most mom's will want to read.  A few of the ideas for weren't right for us for one reason or another, but I did get four great ideas so I thought I'd pass the whole thing along.  My favorite was using priority mailing boxes to store kids' art.  I currently use expandable file folders for their papers right now, but some art projects just don't fit so I have big boxes for them in the basement. The boxes I'm using don't stack, and they are also not always the right size so lots of stuff still ends up folded or worse.  I'm thinking that instead of the mailing boxes I'll get those under-bed boxes for each of the kids and then I won't have a problem fitting the larger items. 

One last tip - I label each paper with the artists name and date created before I put it in the boxes.  Because I just stack the new art on top of the old, it's kind of like looking back through time when we look through the boxes.  The girls love looking at what they created years ago and I love being able to say "look what you did when you were two!"