Crush

Yeah, I think I have a serious Blog Crush!  I visit this one Blog EVERY SINGLE DAY & I think about it ALL the time---even when I'm all tucked in my blankets and starting to nod off....I'm thinking of this certain blog....Last night, for example, I said to Hubbz--"I want to redo our new place like the house on my favourite blog..." yeah....I've got it bad!  Here's a link to my  Blog Crush

Home Office Organizing Tips and DIY Projects

I dunno about you, but for me there never seems to be quite enough desk space to keep the clutter at bay without daily filing. And drawers tend to eat important necessities that I need for running my office life smoothly.
Sooo...to solve this problem I've taken to searching the 'net on the subject of office organization. Following are some of the tips and projects I've found.

Source: marthastewart.com 

For me, desk space is always an issue, so the key to finding more space is looking up. You can use the walls to hang clip boards with notes, schedules and other important papers and to do lists you need to keep up with. Utilize the hooks above the clip boards for small, less often used objects. A roll of tape, scissors, rubber bands...whatever your mind can conjure up.  Bring an inexpensive, plastic pegboard into the home office to hang over your desk or on the wall beside your desk. You can add hooks and containers to the pegboard and bring everything you need on a daily basis right in front of you, just above your computer.

If your short on desk space then you don't want bins stacking up for incoming and outgoing mail. Instead, you can create a diy mail sorter with this simple tutorial from bright and blithe blog. It's made from unbleached cotton, this mail sorter can be hung on a neighbouring door or wall. The tutorial includes printable labels for "action required," "to be paid," "to be filed," and "to be sorted."

I LOVE this idea-- if you're looking to create more desk space, look up, and organize with a wine rack. Attaching under the shelf wine or stemware racks to a wall bookshelf, gives you more room for those everyday supplies. Simply insert glass cylinders in the racks then fill with pens, pencils, markers, and even paint brushes. And hey, you can always have a bottle of wine in your office...some days momma NEEDS it! Right?!? hehe ;)

I Heart Organizing offers more insight into ways to create more room for more concise organization. Attach baskets to walls for folders, reference guides or craft papers. Attach a towel bar or rail above your desk space with hooks for hanging scissors, tape, and Asker Cups from Ikea that can hold pens, pencils and more. (I think this looks SOO pretty)

You can always hide your filing cabinet inside a chest when not in use by creating a Mini Office in a Chest. Oh Martha you're so wise--- Not only does this allow you to hide important papers out of view in a room that you might not want to look like an office, it can also double as extra seating by throwing a few throw pillows on top. This chest is large enough to hold a mountain of files, plus it allows for extra storage on TOP of your files with a removable tray that stacks neatly over files for extra paper clips, staples, etc. The inside of the chest drawer doubles as a cork board for pinning important notices. *Just be careful not to stub your toes....knowing me I'd have to wear steel toed boots in my home office if I had a big ol'chest in it!

Oooh...and don't forget to use the side of your desk for more storage room and places to tack notes. Install a magnetic knife wall mount to the side of your desk or a shelving unit and attach magnetic hooks. Use it to hang your keys, purse, or even binder clips with notes.

Do you have ideas to share? I'd love to hear them. Just leave your favorite tips in the comments!

I think I may...

 K, so when I'm not packing boxes or cleaning out cupboards (I HATE the cupboard over the fridge btw--TOTAL waste of Space in MY opinion!)I drool peruse the ol' internet at beautifully decorated/organized homes!  SERIOUSLY, how do these women do it all?!?! *sigh*  They're amazing (or robots!)

Anyway...I came across this lil' bloggy A Simply Klassic Home and beside the wonderful tips (change up pillow shams, add a this or that) to "freshen the living room" into a "Summer" feel...I got to thinkin'....I need to include some "Sea" type stuff in our new home---since Hubby is a Newfie and his father is a REAL fisherman I feel we SHOULD represent him/them somehow.  I won't go all crazy with lobster traps and lighthouses....but it's really got me brainstorming that's for sure.

Do you have any suggestions for me?  What about your home--any plans to "freshen" it up for Summer?

Easy Recipes for Natural Homemade Cleaners

With our new move just days away I'm starting to get my collection of "cleaning supplies" ready for action!  Since the people we were renting from for the last 4 years are total jerks I don't feel like paying big money for cleaning supplies either.

In doing some research I've found that contrary to what the cleaning aisle at the supermarket might say, you don’t need a lot of different specialty products to get your home clean. And when you look up homemade cleaners online, a lot of recipes call for many different ingredients for different types of cleaners. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. With just a few basic items, you can do the vast majority of your household cleaning, save money, and keep your home free of the toxins found in many store-bought cleaning products.
White vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda are about to become your new best friend.
Here are a few recipes that will help you do most of your everyday cleaning.

 All-Purpose Cleaning Spray:

For countertops, sinks, toilets, and for spot cleaning floors
Mix 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water in a spray bottle. Spray and scrub.
For really tough soap scum or mineral deposits, warm the solution first, spray, and let sit before scrubbing, or use straight vinegar (but avoid straight vinegar on tile grout – it can cause the grout to break down).

Bathtub / Sink Scrub:

In a bowl, make a paste with baking soda, a squirt of your dish soap*, and a squeeze of lemon, to the consistency of frosting. Dip cloth or sponge into paste and scrub.
For really stubborn grime, allow to sit 10-15 minutes before rinsing.

Mirror & Glass Cleaner:

2 tsp vinegar
1 quart water
Mix in a spray bottle. Spray on mirror or glass, and wipe clean with old newspaper. (The ink doesn’t smear, and it leaves no lint!)

Floor Cleaner:

1/4 Cup dish soap*
1/2 Cup white vinegar or lemon juice
2 gallons warm water
Combine in sink or large bucket, and use with mop.
You can use this on any floor, unless the manufacturer has specified to avoid all detergents.

Photo by Scott Feldstein

Some other tips:

• Don’t use vinegar on marble – it can damage the surface.
• If you’re concerned about the smell of vinegar, you can always add a few drops of essential oil to your mix, but know that the odor of vinegar disappears as it evaporates.
• Vinegar is a disinfectant, but for raw chicken juice and other clean-ups involving bacteria, you will want something more powerful, like hydrogen peroxide. Read more.
• For really dirty toilets, you can shake in some baking soda in addition to using the all-purpose cleaning spray, and add a little lemon juice, too, if you like.
• If you don’t want to cut up fresh lemons, keep a squeeze bottle of lemon juice in your fridge. You can buy this, or make it yourself by squeezing some lemons ahead of time. If you buy it, make sure it only contains 100% lemon juice, with no added oils or essences.
• Use 100% cotton microfiber cloths for your cleaning – they will not leave lint behind, and you can throw them in the wash afterward and re-use them.

*About dish soap: when you purchase dish soap at the store, look for words like biodegradable, septic-safe, and non-toxic. Don’t buy anything that contains petroleum distillates or phosphates. Some good brands are Seventh Generation and Earth Friendly Products (this is what I use and I love it – it’s cheap and lasts forever).

These basic recipes should take care of 95% of your basic housecleaning needs. They will also save you money and most importantly, they are safe and non-toxic, so you and your family can rest easy.

The Home Management Binder

I'm lucky to have both grandmothers alive and well--one is 97 and the other is 90.  Both ladies have lived in the same homes for 25-30+ years.

Every time I walk into their homes I'm fascinated with how spotless, organized and comfortable they always are!  By comfortable I mean that despite the apparent "perfection" you can sit on the couch and not worry about messing something up!  I realize they have 70+ years of schedule management down pat--and don't have numerous children & acquaintances in and out of their homes--but that doesn't mean I can't strive for the same thing right?!

To help me get on track I've decided to start a home management binder.

Time to gather:

 Binder

Labeler

Hole Puncher

Pens

Pencil pouch

Dividers

Printer/paper

And get ready to create your home Management Binder! This will be my first attempt and I'm sure over the next little while it will evolve!  Be sure to make YOUR Home Management reflect YOU & your HOME/Family.  You're unique--so be creative and have fun!

The categories that apply to our household are:

Calendar

Schedules

Cleaning

Menu Planning

Finances

To Do

School

Medical

Contacts

Child Care

My first tab is"Calendar"... I used this free printable for my "week at a glance" because it's super cute. I fill this out every Sunday--though I add & subtract things periodically throughout the week too.

You can create your own home keeping printables with various home publishing applications (MS Publisher; MS Excel;) I have Stampin up Digital Studio too. I'm sure there are others I've missed--feel free to post those in my comment section.

For those of you who would rather have something "ready made" you can sift through numerous "free home management printable" blogs/sites or you can just check out this wonderful shop on etsy:

"The best place to get homekeeping printables that REALLY work for you AND make your life easier! Clean Mama Printables specializes in original organizational documents designed to take the work out of organizing your life."

In my binder I like to have the "SCHEDULES" tab next.  This is where I place all of the girls schedules (swimming, dancing, lunch menus, running club, Science club, Kindergarten days etc... and my schedules for work, sorority, running club, etc...& hubby's stuff too!) Its a never ending list!  Make sure you hole punch everything and throw it out when it no longer applies.

The next tab is "CLEANING".  It makes life so much easier to follow along with the cleaning schedule.  

Running a home daycare I HAVE to be organized.  I would be LOST without my Menu Plans.  I find that when I ignore them--like now, because we're so busy packing for our move--meals happen when they happen--and we all know that children don't function as well when they're eating breakfast at 8:30am-lunch at 2:30pm and dinner at 7pm!  (and yes, sadly, that's happened lately!)  Meal plans not only help with running little folk smoothly hehe...but it's one less stress to worry about in the morning--I KNOW what I'm going to be making/baking/cooking well ahead of time and I don't waste time humming and hawing.  Oh, and of course it helps on the old grocery lists/grocery shopping...and actually SAVES you money in the long run.....and who doesn't like that?!? (I'll blog more on that later).

I'm a TOTAL "A" personality and because of that I am constantly making lists/marking things down & keeping track---I'm also one of those people who HAS to write things down and see it in front of them to remember it!  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the BEST with "numbers" so I NEED a "financial" section to keep me in the know!  I NEVER worry about when something is due/coming out of an account.  I do all of my bill tracking & budgeting here.  In this section I also keep bill acct. numbers & phone numbers on a list. So if I have to make a phone call to a creditor, I don't have to look the numbers up every time.

The next tab is "TO DO"... Pretty self explanatory.

Next tab... "SCHOOL".  This section holds the girls teacher welcome letters, phone numbers, school calendars, newsletters, permission slips etc. Anything pertaining to "school" goes here. It's been very convenient to have all of these papers in one place.

The "MEDICAL" tab is next.  All medical & health insurance information goes here. Phone numbers, copies of health cards, immunization records (copies) & physical records (copies) are kept here.I also like to keep track of any illnesses (type/length of).  I have a "home remedies" section too.

"CONTACTS" is next... The list of contacts you should have in your binder are:

Family

Friends

Neighbours

Doctors

Dentist

Vet (if we had a pet)

Insurance

Schools

Take-out

Work

Local Businesses

Coaches

Kids "friends" Parents

Gas, Electric, Water, Cable, Cell, Mortgage #'s

*I created a spread sheet in "word" and typed up all of the names & numbers.

 

A little bit of planning and organizing makes your life SO much easier, less stress, more time with family/friends and you're rarely "out of the loop" b/c you know EXACTLY what's goin' on where & when and then you can sit back and relax.

A Binder for Everything

Sometimes life catches up to us and things fall to the wayside. Soon we get "pile-ups"... From laundry , to bills, or the trash, to the schedule, or the dishes - ugh I HATE washing "the big things" by hand-- the list goes on and on. It's confusing, and stressful (for me at least) especially if you need it ASAP and can't find it!

Perhaps you're one of those people, like me *blush*,who have several "organized" places/stations throughout their/our homes full of wonderful intentions but not in one set place. Look at those sticky notes everywhere and those important phone numbers on the backs of numerous old envelopes and/or school newsletters! Perhaps you have a recent recipe from your favourite food blog printed & surprisingly "lost it" in that pile on your counter/table/desk....Let's not forget your wallet that's about to explode with one more receipt any day now! 

Sound familiar yet?

I've been doin' some research into "household management"--yup, Google it, it DOES exist! And have come across a wealth of ideas, tips & wisdom. Some of which I'll share with you now.

Must have Binders:

• Receipts

• Medical Records

• Food Storage

• Recipes

• Home Management

• Household Documents

• School Stuff

• Pet Records (if we ever get one)

Supplies Needed:

• Binder(s)
• Labeler
• Hole Puncher
• Pens
• Pencil pouch
• Dividers
• Coffee/tea (or somethin' stronger if you're REALLY disorganized! hehe)

 Looks like I have some shopping to do--now, where did I put that envelope list??