Task Management Tuesday: Week 5

Sorry this is a day late. Our week has been pretty hectic around here already with my son's preschool days being switched from Tuesday/Thursday to Monday/Wednesday. We are just sort of out of our element here!

Last week I shared some free printables from my Household Management Binder that I had made up. Since I cannot leave well enough alone, I redid them and made them pretty. I know it really makes no difference what this binder or the sheets in it look like, but I feel like the whole thing is more cohesive now!

The first sheet is a place to write down your utility company's name, account number and phone numbers all in one place. There is a place to write two phone numbers as you sometimes have a customer service number and a separate number for repairs or billing. Having all this information in one place is great for not having to wade through a stack of bills if your electricity goes out or your water isn't working.

Utility Numbers Blank

Next is a sheet is to record emergency contact information for you and your family.

Emergency Numbers Blank

Following is one is for recording any pertinent information about your children. Print out one sheet for each child. This sheet is very handy for figuring out the right dosage for medicine. Most medicine dosages are based on age or weight and now you will have it all on one convenient sheet. Plus you will have the information handy for when someone else watches your child.

Child Information Blank

Lastly, I have a babysitter checklist. It has a space for three children with different needs. If you have more than three children, but they will be eating/sleeping, etc. all at the same time you can just put both of their names in the same column. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old, so their food needs and bedtimes can be different. This sheet goes hand in hand with the above sheet when someone else comes to watch the kids!

Babysitter Checklist Blank

The easiest thing to do with any of these sheets is to place them in a sheet protector. You can then write on the sheet protector with a dry erase marker and change it as needed! 

Hope this helps you get a little more organized. If you do not want all the fancy sheets, I have some similar sheets that are done in all black and white and are a little more basic found here.

Linked up here:
Tip Junkie
Not JUST a Housewife

Do you Pinterest?

If you blog or follow any blogs, you probably know what Pinterest is. If not, it is basically a virtual "pin board". Like a cork board you would have hanging on your wall with magazine cut outs or ideas from books that you have "pinned" up there. Once on Pinterest, you download this little "Pin It" application for your browser and then any webpage you go to you can "pin" any picture you see on that page.

It is oh so addicting!

When I first heard about it, I thought - oh, what's the big deal? But it is awesome. Instead of trying to write a description to bookmark something, you actually see a picture of what the item is. And you can organize these pins into different boards. I am a visual person so this really helps me.

Some of my boards are:

Want to follow me on Pinterest? Click here!

I get a ton of great ideas for projects when checking out other blogs and this is a quick easy way to keep track of them all. And then I don't have to worry about thinking, "Now where did I see the idea for that really great ________." The best part of it all is it keeps the original link to where the picture came from. So easy!

Here are a couple of projects I have in the works that were inspired by other bloggers that I plan to do soon:

Garden of Eden

Creations by Kara

Just Pleased as Punch

Oh, and if you blog, you can add your own projects to a board (mine is called 'Laura's Crafty Life'). It is one more way to lead people to your blog. That is always a good thing!

I still have some invitations left if you need one. Just shoot me an email at laurascraftylife@gmail.com.

But don't say I didn't warn you that it is a huge time sucker, especially if you are a procrastinator like myself!!

{Winner} My Memories Suite v2

The winner to the My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software is . . .

9. Courtney said...

I am a follower of your blog!

courtney.flipflopsandpearls@gmail.com

August 22, 2011 6:03 PM

I will be sending an email to Courtney with instructions on how to claim your prize! Congratulations and enjoy your new software.

Didn't win? You can still save!

Enter code STMMMS30543 at checkout to receive $10 off the My Memories Suite v2 Software. You will also receive a $10 coupon to use in the My Memories store. (A $20 value!) {Copy and paste the code to avoid typos}

Task Management Tuesday: Week 4

Do you have a Household Management Binder? Do you know what one is? Basically a 'Household Management Binder' is a binder in which you keep important information that keeps your household running smoothly. If you follow Flylady.net, she calls hers a Control Journal. You can keep calendars, daily/weekly checklists, phone information, family information, etc. in this one convenient spot. Mine is somewhat of a work in progress, but I thought I would share with you some of the print outs I have in there.

My binder is divided up into 5 categories:

• Planning
• Household
• Children
• Family 
• Contacts

In coming weeks I will share some pictures of my binder, plus some of the information I keep in there, but for today I am going to focus on the "Children" and "Contacts" section.

Following is an information sheet you can print out and fill out for each child. It is especially helpful to have all this information in one place when you have someone else watching your child. It has a spot to record important medical information and your child's weight. This number is particularly important when giving your child medication.

Child Information Sheet

Next, is a helpful checklist to print out for your babysitter. I have a spot for two different child's food requirements. If you have more than two children, you can just print out an extra sheet. Two sheets will print per page.

Babysitter Checklist

Another chart I have in my "Children" section is an OTC (over-the-counter) dosing chart I received from my doctor. Here is a helpful link I found online with similar information:

Over the Counter Dosing Charts for Children

The next sheet I keep in the very front of my binder, as it has all the important phone numbers we need to have on hand at all times. If I am not home, then anyone in my house can easily access these phone numbers.

Emergency Numbers

Lastly, I have a printout of phone numbers for all the utilities and repair phone numbers we might need to call. This sheet goes into the "Contact" section of my binder. 

Under the 'name' heading, I have a space for the name of the company along with the account number. I have a spot for two phone numbers for each company as sometimes there is a customer service number and a separate number to call for repairs/maintenance. 

This sheet is very helpful when something goes wrong around your house. It is not always possible to dig up an old bill with all of your pertinent information on it, and here it is conveniently listed all in one place.

Phone List

Feel free to download and print any of these sheets for your own use. The easiest thing to do is to print out a blank copy of each and put into a clear plastic sheet protector. You can then use a dry erase marker and change the information easily as needed.

Also, don't forget . . . today is the last day to enter the giveaway for the My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software! Click here to enter, and good luck. 

Refinished Ceiling Fan

I have this hideously ugly brass and white ceiling fan right smack in the middle of my house. My house was built in the 90's, so it is not entirely surprising. But, it needs to go. Do we have $200 to buy a new fan that would be the appropriate size for our living space with all the bells and whistles this one has? Nope. Our fan has a remote control to adjust the dimness of the lighting and the speed of the fan. These types of fans are not cheap. So I needed to figure out a way to redo it without breaking the bank.

Hello, Ugly!

The most unfortunate part about this fan is you see it from almost every room in our entire house. You see it when you first walk in the front door. You see it when you sit on the couch watching TV. You see it when you are looking from the kitchen. And there it hangs, with all it's ugly brassiness just mocking me with how ugly it is. 

Not anymore!

I saw this ceiling fan re-do on a blog I love called Choose to Thrive. 

Choose to Thrive

I pinned it right away for when I finally got around to being able to redo our fan. 

Her tutorial is very well written, but since I was not painting the entire fan (like she did), I needed to do some disassembly. I originally asked my husband to take the fan down. When he opened up the top part and we saw all the wiring, I told him I would try to take apart the pieces I needed to paint instead of taking the whole thing down. If that still wouldn't work then we would talk about un-wiring it and taking it down. Luckily with a few screws taken out I was able to take all the brass pieces off the fan.

I got a nice surprise when I took the blades down. They were wood grain on the back side. It is a little lighter than I would like, but I still like the woodgrain look much better than the white that we had up there.  If you need a quick change up for your fan, look at your blades and see if you can flip them over. It can really change the look of your fan dramatically! Almost all fans have a different blade pattern on the flip side.

Can you see the wood grain under the inch layer of dust?

After I had all the pieces removed, I laid them out on a drop cloth on a table outside ready to be painted.

Last time you will see the brass! :)

This was the only piece I had to tape off with painters tape. There were wires
and I didn't want to get paint on the part that the bulbs screw into.

I decided since I was able to take the pieces off and wouldn't be painting the fan right there in the living room that I would do a coat of primer on all the pieces first. Hopefully this helps to keep the paint on there better. I was not about to sand all those pieces. I used some Krylon spray paint primer in White that I had on hand.

To paint the brass I used a product called 'Sophisticated Finishes' by Triangle Crafts in Blackened Bronze Metallic Surfacer. It worked great. You can buy this product at Michael's for about $9.99 for a 4 fl. oz. bottle. I didn't even end up using a half a bottle for this project. (And I used a 40% off coupon for it! Not bad, right?)

After one coat

I ended up doing three light coats. Since I had so many pieces to paint, by the time I had done one coat on each piece the piece I started with was dry enough to do the next coat. I let the pieces sit outside for about 3 hours before I reinstalled the fan back together.

And here is the finished fan.

And since I love a before and after to really see the transformation:

Crazy what a little paint will do! This fan looks so great, and I spent less than $6.00 on the project. Even better!

Linking up here:

Tatertots and Jello

The Shabby Nest

The Girl Creative

Tip Junkie

Not JUST a Housewife

Sugar Bee Crafts

The Creative Spark

Storage Solutions from Wasted Space

I am not sure if you know this about me, but I coupon. Now don't get freaked out and think I am one of those hoarders like on TLC's Extreme Couponing, buying 60 bottles of mustard just because I can. However, I do have a small stockpile of bath products that I have gotten for very inexpensive or free. I was running out of space to put this stuff. And I could not bring myself to start storing things under my kids bed or having some storage shelf full of crap in the middle of my living room. We don't have a garage so that option was also out. I had to get creative!

One day I looked up in my closet and it hit me!

Look at all that wasted space up there!

We have very tall, angled ceilings throughout our house. Our closet is no exception. We have this big blank spot on either side of the top of our walk in closet. So a trip to Lowe's was in order. For right around $20 I was able to buy a wire shelf that would fit into the space above my folded clothes. (Some handywork by my hubby was needed to cut the shelf to the right length). 

(Sorry the lighting is so bad, it is the closet after all)

I would have loved to put in a wooden shelf, but that would not have fit with the rest of the metal wire shelves we already have in our closet. And a total closet renovation is out of the budget at this time. The pink bins are foldable fabric bins I had purchased to organize my daughter's room that were not being used. They house the extra small stuff that would fall through the wires.

Dental supplies (pretty much all free)
Toothpaste, floss, toothbrushes

Razors (usually less than $2.00)
Sample sizes of soaps and lotions and pantyliners (all free)

I still store some of the overflow under my husband's side of the sink, but at least I don't have ALL that stuff shoved under there anymore!

Basket under the hubby's sink (purchased from the Dollar Tree)

Do you have wasted space in your house that can be used for storage? At the top of a closet? By installing some extra shelves? Maybe install a shelf above a windowsill or door?

What creative options have you come up with to get organized and store your stuff?

Giveaway: My Memories Suite v2

** UPDATE**

This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced in a post on Wednesday, August 24, 2011.

Today's giveaway is from My Memories!

For those of you not familiar with this software, head on over to their website and check it out. From the My Memories website:

"My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece."

They offer an easy to use digital scrapbooking software that you can use to create beautiful scrapbook pages in just minutes. And sharing your pages is as easy as a click of your mouse. You can build a page from scratch or use one of their many pre-designed templates.

I was able to create this calendar page in under a minute using this free kit, Easy Calendar 2011-12.

The following two pages were made using the 'Design Your Own Album' feature. This allows you to add your own layers to the page, much like traditional paper scrapbooking. Each of the items on the page (other than my own pictures) were included with the software or part of one of the free kits you can download from the My Memories website.

I think this would make such a cute card!

This is my first time doing digital scrapbooking and I really enjoyed it. This would be a perfect tool for making albums for family members. I don't always have time to sit down and paper scrap individual albums for family members. With this software, I can make one album and have it printed into a separate book for each person.

From downloading the software to creating a page, My Memories Suite v2 software is easy enough for a beginner but has enough elements to make even a seasoned scrapbooker happy. 

Want to win your own My Memories Suite v2 software? 

GIVEAWAY:

One lucky reader will win the My Memories Suite v2 software (a $39.97 value).

TO ENTER:

Visit My Memories and come back here to tell me (leave a comment) which scrapbooking kit is your favorite. {required, one entry}

BONUS ENTRIES:

• Follow Laura's Crafty Life via Google Friend Connect {one entry}
• Follow Laura's Crafty Life on facebook  {one entry}
• Follow My Memories on facebook {one entry}
• Subscribe to the My Memories blog {one entry}
• Tweet/facebook/blog about this giveaway {one entry}

**Please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry** {6 entries possible}

Giveaway ends Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 8:00 PM (MST). Winner will be chosen at random.

DISCOUNT:

My Memories is offering a special deal just for my readers. Enter code STMMMS30543 at checkout to receive $10 off the My Memories Suite v2 Software. You will also receive a $10 coupon to use in the My Memories store. (A $20 value!) {Copy and paste the code to avoid typos}

Discosure: I received a complimentary copy of the My Memories Suite software in return for hosting this giveaway. All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.

Task Management Tuesday: Week 3

Okay, so I know I promised to share my cleaning schedule with you this week, but it is not going to happen. I still have not figured out what will work yet. But I promise I am working on it.

I do, however, have some of my schedules worked out. These are a work in progress (as is life). But they do seem to be helping create some order in our day. I find this to be very challenging as a stay-at-home-mom. There is no clocking in and out. There is no definite times that things have to be done. I really have struggled with this ever since I started staying home with my firstborn.

For me: The following are my morning and evening routines. This is the stuff I try to get done between taking care of my two kids, age 4 and 1. You will notice for the most part I don't have specific times listed. This is because I try to get it all done while the kids are busy playing and this can vary from day to day.

Morning Routine

Feed dog/fish/cats

Make beds

Start a load of laundry

Empty and/or load dishwasher

Defrost something for dinner

{T and Th} Thomas to school (8:10 - 11:45)

     (Run errands while Thomas is in school)

Chores

Outside time (walk, play outside) (9:00 – 10:00)

During Olivia’s nap (12:00- 2:30ish)

-          laundry in dryer

-          start another load of laundry {if needed}

-          workout

-          one on one time with Thomas

-          computer work

  

Afternoon/Evening Routine

Start dinner between 4:00 – 4:30

Feed dog (5:00)

Dishes, wipe kitchen counters

Pick up house

Sweep or vacuum floors

Fold laundry, put away {if needed}

Bath time for kids

After kids go to bed (7:00)

-          finish any chores that need to be done

-          work on crafts/projects

-          time with my husband

Following are a list of additional things that I do on certain days of the week or month: 

Weekly/Monthly list

Sunday

        Empty all trash cans and recycling

        Clean cat box

        Water outside shrubs/trees

{Summer – every week, other seasons – once a month}

        Update planner/calendar for week

       

Monday

        Trash and recycling to curb

        Wash dog’s bowls

        Refill cat’s water dish 

        Clean & fill hummingbird feeder {Summer}

Tuesday

        Errands

Wednesday

        Clean cat box

        Plan menu

        Write grocery list

Thursday   

        Grocery shopping

Friday

        Balance checkbook

        Pay bills

        Clean cat box

Saturday

        Pick up dog poop

        Wipe down table, chairs, grill {outside}

        Sweep front/back porch

               

1^st and 15^th of month   

        Water inside plants

        File/shred papers

For the kids: I purchased a chart called a "Class Scheduler" at the Dollar Tree for only $1 that I listed the schedule for my kids on. This makes it easy for everyone to know what is happening next in the day. I might make a nicer one someday, but for now this is working fine (you write on it with a dry erase marker). 

I was able to draw the big and little hands on the blank clocks as well as the numbers for my son. I might try to add some clip art pictures for him, since he can't read yet. But again, this is working for now.

There is a lot of playtime on this schedule, but Thomas is allowed 2 hours of "screen time" per day that fits in during the play times. In an ideal world I would love for him to watch less TV but since he doesn't take naps anymore, this keeps my sanity.

What do your routines look like?

Lake Mary, Arizona

This last weekend we went camping and fishing at Lake Mary, Arizona with some great friends of ours. It was beautiful up there! I feel so blessed to live in an area where we can get to so many beautiful places in less than a two hour car drive.

Lake Mary, Arizona

The boat really wore out my littlest one. (I am just grateful she took a nap, or it would have been a REALLY long day for the rest of us!)

Hard to sleep with the life vest on, but
we managed to get her to go down

Up from her nap and ready for boating! 

My hubby caught the first fish of the day! 

Meet Mr. Pike - he had scary teeth

The grand total of fish caught was 2 (and my hubby caught them both). Not the best day for fishing, but the best day for fun!

Super excited about fishing

The weather threatened rain all weekend, but we ended up with only a few sprinkles. We were blessed by this beautiful rainbow. (We did, however, get poured on as we made our way out of camp).

Can you say, dirty? This is what camping is all about.

We love to be outdoors as a family and we are trying to squeeze in some fun before the end of summer. (Although I am secretly looking forward to the fall, my favorite time of year).

Task Management Tuesday: Week 2

In Week 1 I wrote about how I have a bunch of "systems" set up to run my household that are not working. So, for the past week, I have been working on trying to get it together a little bit more. With being a stay at home mom to two small children, 1 and 4, my life is far from predictable. I can't just do whatever I want, when I want to.

This last week has not included setting up any new systems, but here are the top 10 things that I have been doing this week that seem to be making a big difference creating some order around my house.

via Google Images

1. DO IT NOW!
This one is pretty self explanatory, but for a perfectionist, Type-A personality like myself, does NOT come naturally. For example, let's say the toilet in the bathroom is dirty and needs to be cleaned. Most people would just clean the toilet, right? Me? Not so much. If it is not "bathroom cleaning day" or if I don't have enough time to clean the entire bathroom from top to bottom, I wouldn't do it. Silly? Yes. Practical? No. So this week I have been working hard to focus on the things that really need my immediate attention. I am not waiting for the perfect space and time to get these things done. If I have the time, I just do it. And you know what? By cleaning that toilet even if the rest of the bathroom is not getting cleaned - actually makes a difference. The rest of the room doesn't look so bad.


2. Keep counters/surfaces cleared
What is it about clutter that attracts more clutter? I am less likely to set something down on a clean counter top if there is nothing else there. If there are already piles and piles of stuff, one more thing doesn't seem like such a big deal.

3. Put it away the first time
Are you guilty of this one? I will be cleaning/picking up, and instead of actually putting away whatever item needs to be put away, I will just set it in the room it goes in. This just creates more of a mess in all the rooms of my house. I have been consciously trying to put things away completely, instead of just shoving them into a pile to be dealt with later. It usually only takes a few extra seconds and the messes are not piling up like they used to.


4. Nightly pick up time
We used to be really consistent with this, but for some reason had not been doing it lately. The whole family comes together and picks up the house before the kids have their bath at night. There is no actual cleaning involved, just picking up and putting away. It is amazing how much stuff my kids can drag out in one day. It usually does not take us longer than 15 minutes to pick up everything.

5. Do one to two loads of laundry each day (excluding the weekends)
This keeps the laundry under control and is manageable for me. Some people like to do the laundry all in one day, but that just does not work for me right now.  


6. Fold laundry and put away right when it is done in the dryer
This goes hand in hand with No. 5. I am really bad about leaving clothes in the washer and/or dryer. Now, I try to get the load out right when it is done (if I can), fold it right away and put it away. No more leaving clean clothes in the dryer to re-fluff two or three times. No more having to run an extra rinse cycle because I forgot the laundry in the washer. (Please tell me I am not alone on this one!)


7. When finished with a project - clean it ALL up
I am bad about this one. I will drag supplies out to work on a project - be it a craft project, activity for the kids, something I am working on outside - and then I am done. I will pick up and put away the majority of the mess but leave out some of my supplies to be put away later. This just creates a huge mess down the road after all these little projects pile up. So now, part of working on any project is to clean up all the supplies right away. Amazing how much less stuff I find lying around. See No. 3 above!

8. Deal with papers immediately
I have a paper clutter issue. I am sort of a paper hoarder, so that does not help. I don't like to throw stuff out. Now, I am not talking about sale ads, or used envelopes or anything like that - these get recycled. But that electric bill? What if I need it!? I am trying to deal with the mail right when it comes in. Shred junk mail, recycle anything I have no intention of reading or looking at again. The bills go in the bill folder and any other mail that needs to be dealt with goes in the "to do" file. I am s.l.o.w.l.y. going through my files and purging old stuff.


9. Make the bed every day
This seems like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it is. If I make my bed in the morning, it sets the tone for my room (and my whole day really). It puts me in an organizing, get it done kind of mind set. Every time I walk into my bedroom for the rest of the day it looks neat and orderly. It is a small thing that makes a big difference.


10. Routine/Schedule
I have been trying to get the kids and myself on some sort of schedule again. The summer wreaks havoc on this one, but with my son starting preschool we need to get back in gear. This has been the hardest thing for me with managing my time since becoming a stay at home mom. I don't have anything nailed down yet, but we are tweaking it every day. Once we figure out what really works for us, I will post our morning and evening routines.

I am super proud of you if you made it through my long-winded post. Thank you for coming along with me on my journey to becoming a calmer, more organized person. I have found that lately I have been just going through the motions instead of really enjoying my life. I want to have memories of joy and laughter from when my kids are little, not how much time I spent on cleaning the house and how resentful it made me feel.

Stay tuned next week for my cleaning schedule and daily routine.

What do you do to create and maintain order in your home?