Storage Shelving & Organizing Bins | eHow.com

Storage Shelving & Organizing Bins eHow.com

Home Organization Help | eHow.com

Home Organization Help eHow.com

Good Chores for Kids | eHow.com

Good Chores for Kids eHow.com

Some Favorite Books About Home Stuff

I love this book.  I have an earlier book by these authors and really loved it -- it's listed below.  This one is literally 30 days of projects around the house, and each has a sort of beginner step and then an "extra" sort of step.  I need to revisit this old favorite.













Here's my old favorite.  Very thin book, very concise, excellent pointers.















Here's the Flylady herself.  This is a good one, and in my opinion, much easier to start with than the website is, although I'm a fan of the site too.  (http://www.flylady.com/)












This one is so funny and lighthearted.  Marla Cilley took this system and finessed it when she came up with Flylady.  Pam and Peggy are the original deal.  They're all terrific.












This book is a tremendous help.  Must I confess that the last time I returned it to the library, it was ironically very overdue?!!

Elsewheres

OK now to the part I dislike.  :)  I need to take this couch full of stuff and send it off to whence it belongs.

My preschool son picked up all his trucks and stashed them on the couch so he could vacuum. Time to send them to his room. I have some other items which are straightforward - they go to kids' rooms.

Then there's Sockland. I have a big Lands' End tote full of odd socks. My daughter calls it Sockland - and now we all do. Someday I mean to have the kids actually go through and match up socks, and then discard what doesn't have a mate. However, right now, it just gets brought out, dug through, and pillaged for socks. (We have a big issue keeping up with everyone's socks! It's dreadful.)

Finally, I have a full basket of items which do not go in the family room but do not go in the bedrooms. These represent trickier decisions. For instance - there's a pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees. I keep thinking they could be cut-offs. I hate to waste things. However... then there's an old backpack, a vacuum cleaner wand, some clothes that don't fit the kids.

These are the crux of the issue.

We have three purple bins aka "The Purple Baskets" which sit on the couch. Kid #1 has one, #2, and #3. I toss things in there as I come to them and they periodically take them to their rooms, put stuff away (or cram it under the beds) and bring back the empty baskets. At least they bring them back when I threaten them.

However, the basket of random items... not so easy. What is really the problem here, I wonder? There's a flip flop that doesn't really fit, is b-ugly, and I don't know the location of the matching one. There's a small pile of linens.

I guess all of these things represent either messy areas I don't want to face (i.e. the linen closet) or they represent guilt and procrastination (such as the hole-y jeans).

Time to decide now about the contents. I know, I'll look at frequency of use.

1. Back-up backpack. Keeper. My oldest kid loves backpacks and will dump his school one out on the floor and use that for play or travel if I don't keep a spare. Frequency? Not weekly. Probably monthly or every few. For now, I'm pretending every few -- winning it a spot in storage in the basement with the luggage. Ding ding ding.
2. Flip flop. Eh. Kid likes it. Might grow into it. No longer flip-flop weather - will stick in w/ swim clothes/toys for now. If mate shows up, will put there too.
3. Shorts. It's November. But they still technically fit the kid.  But he's four. They won't fit him next year, right? Or will they? OK I'll store them wrapped as "#3's Summer Clothes" and put the year on the bag. Likely they'll be donated.
4. Two shirts which have stains even after laundering. I love love love Shout stain gel. I'll take them to the laundry, pretreat them, let them sit, and launder them again tomorrow.
5. Vacuum wand. Once again I will put it on the vacuum. Hopefully Kid #3 will leave it there. (Ha.) We did have a discussion about that.
6. Firefighter's dress-up outfit. I think I will keep all kids' dress-ups in the playroom. Need to hang hooks but for now, will just store in closet there.

I'm off to scatter things.

Planning Lists, Part I

Based on this list of lists, LOL, I'm going to do some holiday planning.
Here's the link, because this is word for word:  Additude magazine: Planning for the Holidays by Marla Cilley

List 1:  Holiday Traditions -- I need to ask the kids and the hub what they all love about Christmas.  Since I ask them every year, I'll just take some guesses right now.  Also, need to explore Turkeyday.

Thanksgiving

1. Eh, it's all about the dinner. 
2. Every year, I think I'm going to have the kids help me make little packets of Blessing Mix and give them out to friends and family, but we never do.  Maybe this year?

Christmas

1. Going to church on Christmas Eve.
2. Giving everyone cocoa and cookies, blasting Christmas music, and driving around to see the lights.
3. We gift-wrap a bunch of Christmas storybooks and open one and read it each day starting Dec 1. 
4. Gotta make candy/cookies at some point.  Musts:  mint-brownies, fondant pinwheels, buckeyes, fudge...

List 2:  Holiday Menus and Recipes --

Thanksgiving

1. Turkey -- we have a 5-person family and usualy only have 2 guests.  I like to have some leftovers but none of us love love love brown meat and even though it's nontraditional, what works out best is a cooked turkey breast.  My favorites have been the Butterball ones that come in the bag that you cook them in -- the boneless ones with gravy.  (Pausing for the outcries against this.)  To salvage the presentation, I've sliced it and put it on a platter.  It looks nice that way -- nicer still with some good garnish.  (I've done all kinds of turkeys -- my favorite-tasting one was the Rachael Ray recipe with the herbs under the skin.)
2. Mashers -- I like the kind w/ sour cream and cream cheese and butter mixed in.  My better half prefers plain but would not say so until pressed.  I'll do plain.  I like to do them early and keep them warm in the crockpot (on low) w/ a lot of butter and a buttered crock.
3. Green beans -- best ones were fresh, steamed and then seasoned.  We'll see.
4. Carrots -- my bro-in-law loves these.
5. Scalloped pineapple -- a warm pineapple-y casserole.  My family has it for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year.  Must have.
6. Rolls -- I've accepted that either the frozen dough ones or the Sister Schubert ones are the way to go.
7. Pumpkin Pie -- for the hub and his daddy-o.
8. Chocolate something-or-other -- for the rest of us.  :)  I've done apple pies, pumpkin choc chip cheesecakes... but we might just do something different and all chocolate this year.
9. Standard Issue Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly -- we all love it.  All of us. 
10. Beverages -- assorted

List 3:  Gifts

1. I'm making my list and checking it twice. 
2. Do you really think I'm going to post this on here?  People would know what they're getting!
3. Every year I do make a spreadsheet w/ a code name (stop peeking people) and list the budget for each person, then put in what I plan to get and then mark when I get it and deduct the price from the per-person budget so I stay within it and keep track of gifts.  This is the only way I can manage it.
4. One year I had all my shopping done by Dec 1.  One year.  Every other year?  Up into the wee hours of Christmas Eve.  And even if I have it bought, it ain't wrapped.  Goal:  Change that.  It really wrecks me to do that last minute.  And then have to call my sister surreptitiously to borrow extra wrap because I run out.

List 4:  Dates To Put on Your Calendar

1. Neighborhood party -- TBD
2. Christmas pageant at church
3. Christmas program at preschool
4. Last day of school for everyone
5. Thanksgiving days off for everyone
6. Time off from work!
7. What dates family is visiting
8. Any dates friends are visiting
9. Plus-one's office party -- TBD
10. Any dr. appointments in December -- I always forget those!
11. Any haircuts -- those too!
12. What am I forgetting?

Cleaning Up

I picked up the family room.  But it's heavy and I don't know where to put it down.  Ha.  Really, I did those last 5 steps. Weirdest/most annoying thing I found: my son's Halloween bucket with a bazillion empty wrappers in it. Threw those away, put the bucket out of reach on the fridge.

All right, now that I've picked up, it's time to clean. I did leave Little Guy's toy trucks on the floor because he's still playing with them and we're hanging out in here right now. I'm no toy nazi. Not at the moment at least.

Time to:

1. Dust
2. Wipe glass
3. Vacuum and/or sweep

If you're joining me, let me know how it's going!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here I am back again.  My preschooler wanted to muscle in on the cleaning action so he chose to vacuum.  (Begged me.)  He had fun w/ the vacuum which is as tall as he is.  Vac'd the area rug in the family room and it looks sooo much better.  (I don't have the heart to go over it again or it would be even more fab.) 

I swept about 50 pencils and pens off the floor, and we both wiped up some spots and splatters on the hardwood. I dusted the furniture (just a quick dust) and he used a windex cloth on the tv, computer, and glass door on the entertainment center.  So it looks a LOT better -- even though I haven't yet distributed all the stuff in the "other room" basket which is sitting on the couch.  Or put in the laundry from picking all of that up. 

Right now I'm eating soup and popcorn and making sure to hydrate so I'll get back to it soon. 

Meanwhile, future plans for this room:

Sometime *after* I quick-clean the rest of the common areas in the house, I'll return to this room and do some decluttering.  Then perhaps some redecorating.  Someday.  I feel some lists coming on:

Declutter Spots -- Fam Rm

1. Top of entertainment center (again)
2. Top of computer cabinet
3. Mantel
4. Hubby's little computer table
5. 2 end tables
6. Filing drawer/end table
7. Yes we have wayyy too much furniture in a smallish/medium room
8. Hearth (I know I know)
9. Built-ins and alcove -- there's a jot off the corner of the family room which has built-ins.  They'd be nice but the floor all in front of them is crammed with stuff the kids pull from the game cabinet (base of the built-ins), plus some of my file stuff.  Hi I'm Jen.  I have a bigtime paper problem.  Different post.
10. Bookshelves

Decorating Needs -- Fam Rm

1. Smaller couch or perhaps a cover for the existing couch (gonna have to thrift-shop to get one, or something like that)
2. 86 the entertainment center.  I'm sure we're the only people left in America with a huge (25" ha) tube tv, plus some huge outdated audio equip that my +1 is soooo enamored of.  This was the center of some recent, pretty rare, marital spats.  I'll do what I dare.  Dream is a small, current-style entertainment table to put the TV on.  Not sure where to send the audio.  Must.  Tread.  Carefully.
3. Computer cabinet.  Dammit, they went and replaced tube stuff with flat screens, so our computer monitor is now tiny.  So is the CPU.  Don't need that once-coveted computer armoire.  Plus the kids yank on the doors and we pile crap on top.  We need a student desk a two wall-mounted shelves.  Period.
4. Need replacement lampshades.  Don't ask.
5. I'd love to 86 the brass/glass doors on the fireplace but that ain't gonna fly w/ the mister.  I'll settle for switching out the shiny brass hardware on the end tables.  Need to scratch-cover those end tables too and then someday refinish them somehow.
6. Hang better wall art.  TAKE DOWN THE BORDER I CANNOT STAND.  People who lived here prior were truly lovely people.  (I knew them.)  The geese, I don't like so much. 
7. Must remove metal mini-blinds from exterior door and big window.  Must replace with neutral roman shades or something like that.  Valences have to go.  Very 80's.
8. My dad made me a beautiful, HUGE bookshelf/cabinet.  Then we moved here and there are built-ins.  So the cabinet is in here too.  Need to relocate it.  Where?