HB Day 1: The Story of My Hawkes Bay Day Placemats

This is a great solution ... EVEN for boys ;)

As with all decisions we make, each has its ups and downs. One of the downs for our decision to move to the Hawkes Bay has been "the work compromise". As a home schooling mum, we live on one income, which needless to say we value greatly! My husband, Steve, has a great job that he enjoys located in Auckland and we didn't want to give that up moving here, so we haven't. It's a one hour flight commute he does at the beginning and end of each week and lives in what we affectionately call "the box" while he is in Auckland. It is a tiny room in an apartment building, it isn't ideal but it works well enough for him to continue working in Auckland.

We miss him heaps during the week, but things like Skype, phone calls, and emails really help.  Each day Steve chats with the kids and always asks what they have been up to ... it's fair to say he gets a mixed response to this question depending on how tired the peeps are and how distracted they are by other things ;)  I wanted to make sure that Steve didn't miss out on the everyday things from not only my point of view but also from the peeps.  As always I found the answer on Pinterest!

Positively Splendid had a guest post from Kiki Creates for dinner time doodle mats that were designed to keep kids entertained before dinner was served.  The idea is also pinned to my Ideas for Organisation board on Pinterest.  She has several free designs that are free to print off and laminate for your own peeps.  I loved the placemat she designed as a comic strip so kids could draw the "story of their day".

I figured this was something the peeps would love to do as they enjoy drawing and it would provide a visual aide when they Skype with their Dad and he asks the inevitable question "so what did you get up to today".  I have limited supplies at the moment with the household in storage so I went to the local library and created a comic strip for telling the story of "our Hawkes Bay day" and printed several off for the peeps to use. No laminator at hand so the peeps, are using a new print each day.  Once the laminator finds its way to Otane I will make permanent placemats, which they will use whiteboard markers on and clean off each morning.

My thanks to Positively Splendid and Kiki Creates for sharing this awesome idea. I love ideas that provide kids with different ways of communicating and this one definitely fits that bill!

Pollyanna busy at work .. Uh, I mean play!

day 308: home management binder

my new command centre ... in a binder :)

day 308 and the peeps start back their schooling after a two week holiday on monday.  after some time out of the home management loop due to injury (thanks steve!) there are A LOT of things to catch up on and start controlling again for me and the the house including:

• the need to start exercising, losing weight ... after such a sedentary month on my back the weight has packed on and the fitness is non-existent  :( 
• winter sports starting for both peeps so that means trainings, games, and all the things that go along with that
• rehab for the almost as good as new back
• managing and organising the daily routine and learning of the peeps
• healthy menu planning for the family
• the finances ... that's just scary after a month that had way to many medical bills :)
• the household cleaning, which is REALLY important given our house is on the market!
• pinterest projects, i would so love to be more organised for this ;o) ... yeah, after 300 days of creating one might have thought i could have got to this earlier!
• all those other things that keep the household sane if they don't get done ... you know the ones i mean, they appear out of nowhere, can't be categorised but only get done if they are on a list

it's no wonder i feel a tad overwhelmed going into this new schooling term.  it definitely came to a head today as i started making lists and then making lists of the lists ... i needed a solution and luckily pinterest had lots of options and plans available :)  my absolute favourite starting point was this one from kelly at the complete guide to imperfect homemaking.  she has 5 children so she has to be organised and i loved the folder she created to keep herself on top of everything, including home schooling her children, so it was a really good fit for my needs as well.  not only that but kelly also provides a number of free printables to help get you on your way with your own home management folder ... thanks so much kelly!

i used kelly's idea of adhering a cork tile to the front of the binder so you can pin things in the folder ... love that idea as often i have things written on bits of paper that i want to keep for a little while but don't no where to put them so i don't lose them!  kelly also has lots of other ideas for what you can use this space for pinning :)

she then uses dividers to compartmentalise all the areas of her life so they are organised and not overwhelming.  i am going to use 10 dividers as i have so many things on my plate at the moment, it's going to take a few extra compartments ... its no wonder i was making lists for lists today!  my groups for this folder are:

• menu planning (using kelly's printable available here and this lunch menu plan from anything but perfect)
• home school plans (using donna young's printables available here ... there are all types of home school plans available on her site and they are all free too!)
• bills (a place for current bills to be paid)
• household cleaning (using this printable here, i have been using this printable since day 21!)
• daily to do's  (using kelly's printable available here)
• projects (using kelly's idea here of sticky notes and only having two on the immediate to do list only)
• pinterest creations (using kelly's blog organisation printable available here in free printables)
• extracurricular activities for the peeps, including my hockey manager things
• reference section (for all those bits of paper you know you need to keep but generally end up in a pile on the bench before being condemned to a drawer never to be found again despite hours of searching ... you are all nodding aren't you ;)
• misc (this is where i am going to put birthday ideas, holiday bits and pieces, and things i need but i just don't know why)

the free printables i used :)

the most important parts, the binder and the cork tile :)

outcome: and when you put it all together it's going to end up looking something like this :)  

the finished binder, i've got the weekly checklist at the front because it has a bit of everything on it :)

the additional printable duplicates i put in a clear file at the back of each section

i am loving the fact it is all in one place because that means the chances of me losing something are diminishing!  i love that i will no longer have to hide all my organised lists piles of STUFF off the table, computer desk, and classroom before our open homes!  i just love that my mind is now clutter free and i can get on with the "doing" rather than trying to organise the chaos that was unfolding with so many things on my plate!

and for making me a far less stressed mama i need to sincerely thank kelly at the the complete guide to imperfect homemaking .. she has a wonderful blog full of awesome home decor, crafting, party making, baking, sewing, and clearly organising ideas and tutorials that have had me following her for some time now.  i would also like to donna young, life as mom, and anything but perfect websites for also providing free printables that helped me finish my own home management binder.  and if any of these links aren't working, these ladies printables and ideas are all pinned to my ideas for organisation board on pinterest where you can link to them from there also :)

day 252: key issues

the nail polished keys ... no more guessing for me :)

day 251 and we have lots of keys for our house ... there's front door keys back door keys, shed keys, store room keys and they all look the same, especially to our peeps!  it is very tiresome constantly looking at my keys to find the right one so i am going to use one of the cool ideas i found on pinterest to solve this problem :)

this idea of painting your keys with nail polish i pinned from a day in the life of miss kranz onto my ideas for organisation ... i loved reading that she too got the idea from pinterest!  who ever did this first ... genius.  i am seeing a lot of time in my future simply because my keys have pretty nail polish on them ;) so the family and i are all at the same page with our keys, i did everybodies ... all colour coordinated and finished them off with some hardening top coat nail polish.  i did do both sides of the keys, painted the first side then turned them over and painted the other side.  to make the process a little quicker i used fast drying nail polish!

the before of my keys!

my sweet mum was on hand for photo taking!

outcome: no more having the peeps come with the keys asking which key is for what door, no more stumbling at the door with my packages searching for the right key for the door, no more *&^%&;%^*(% because i got the key choice wrong ... yes, it is fair to say today's creation is going to enhance the quality of my life no end!

my gratitude to miss kranz for finding the initial pin so we could both make our lives less complicated by using nail polish, and, of course, my favourite friend pinterest for always providing me with life simplifying solutions!

 don't forget to keep those comments coming, every comment goes in the draw to win a box of new zealand goodies :) sneak peek number two is coming right up ...

day 241: library book storage

the finished library book storage .. happy days

day 241 and the final touches are going on in the classroom today so it is all finished for tuesday when we start back at school after the summer holidays.  today i am using a pinterest found solution for library book storage as my creation.

i am always chasing library books around our house in order to return them before they are due, it drives me absolutely barmy as both peeps use the library A LOT.  that means LOTS of our time is spent finding books and i am sure it's because we have never had a proper place to store library books once we bring them home.

i went on a picture tour of lisa's home school classroom from pieces of us and found heaps of ideas for our classroom and was completely inspired by her family of 8 ... yikes!  i pinned her library box idea to my ideas for organisation board on pinterest, knowing that i would begin one this school year.

instead of using a box, i found these wire baskets at the hardware store that will fit the books for each child perfectly.  i really liked the idea that it wasn't another thing to house on the floor or on top of a table.  we have put them up next to the reading area in the school room and i made name tags for each one so they would know where they were to be returned to.  to reinforce this putting back idea, i have added clips to the front of each basket so they can attach their library loans printout so they will know what's to be returned to the basket ready for library day.  for those peeps that are able to do this and all books are accounted for on a friday (our library day), without the need for a full scale treasure hunt, there will also be an addition reinforcement of $1 rewarded to them.

the 'handy'  baskets for the library book storage :)

i put them right next to the bookcase in the classroom and also next to the reading area which is on the left of this picture 

finished and ready for all ben's books, we go to the library once a week so this will hopefully save us a lot of searching time!

outcome:  here's hoping that having an immovable place to store, retrieve, and return library books to will stop the valuable time we lose looking for library books.  i am hoping the addition reward will help them remember to return the books to the baskets.  i will let you know in a couple of weeks just how that is going ;)  the good news is at least we now have somewhere to store them that's also away from their own books so the two lots don't get muddled up in the chaos their bookcases are ... looking forward to when that appears on the 52 weeks to an organised home (currently we are in the kitchen organising recipe books and binders)!

my gratitude goes to lisa from pieces of us for this great idea.  i absolutely loved reading what she had to say with regards to her home schooling schedule and the organisation of there things, it was brilliant and so inspiring :)

day 207: 52 weeks to an organised home

this is where taking a "before" picture would have been helpful, sorry for today there
is only an "after" photo!

 day 207 and today i wanted to put organisation into plan for the year ... i think it's probably a great time to start anything new and hope that some things will continue, while others will give way to the daily chaos.  i always find the things i start fall into two categories ... totally awesome and easy to continue or will work but requires too much work to make it happen consistently.  i am hoping today's creation will fall into the first group as it's 52 weeks to organise your home.

i follow lots of people on pinterest because so many people have cool ideas for pins!  most people that i follow appear to have pinned this 52 weeks for an organised home as i have seen it floating around SO often i had to take the hint today and sign up :)  the challenge is pinned to my ideas for organisation board and comes from home storage solutions.  i love their motto "a place for everything that matters".  so true and words to live by ... well for when i'm organised in a years time anyway~!

the first week is all about organising your kitchen bench tops and sink.  the idea here is that you declutter everything that isn't in use daily, thus, making plenty of space for the common kitchen use, ie: cooking.  i started today with this job and got so motivated i finished it as well.

i even cleaned the top of the fridge off :)

i even scrubbed the sink till it shined!

outcome:  week one was a breeze, i can see further down the track that this will need to be continued to have total success but bite size portions of organisation are a much better approach for me.  it is definitely working with the emergency kit from day 98, which continues to get its weekly item :)  i love that it didn't feel overwhelming to start this organisation drive.  being a new year, it felt right to start this challenge now ... wish me luck for the next 51 weeks!  i will try and update and let you know how things are going each week to help motivate me (and anyone else who has signed up!).

my thanks to home storage solutions for this great series and the fact you will also email me each week to let me know where my organisation is heading next.  the handy tips are fantastic and i love that you explain "why" to totally reinforce the changes i am making :)

don't forget this week's give away ($80 worth) of my memories digital software to one lucky reader just for commenting this week ... and let me know which kits you like so i can download them and show you the results ... i have some awesome ideas for later this week ... i'm thinking it might be time to start some valentines day goodies :)

day 145: no spend november

downloadable cash envelopes from today's nest :)

day 145 and the family and i are embarking on no spend november so we can all spend in december :)  i absolutely love and adore and treasure and embrace christmas ... it truly is my favourite time of the year.  that means i also spend a lot of money on christmas, lucky for me my husband never complains but it does put a strain on our budget big time :(

inspired by all the wonderful budgeting advice on pinterest, i came up with the no spend november motto for our family. literally this means we have decided to give ourselves a weekly allowance for petrol, milk, fruit, vegies, rhooibos, and the emergency items required for the survival kit over the next month.  the remaining money will go to paying off debt and saving for christmas.  more scarily this also means for the next month my pinterest creations will all have to be from stuff we have at home ...eeek!

that said, i am really looking forward to this as we have a ton of food in the freezers and pantry that would otherwise go off because i fail to use it because it's so easy to pop to the grocery store and buy everything for dinner rather than scouring the cupboards and freezers! i hope at the end of november mother hubbards cupboards will be bare and clean of chaos, clutter, and unloved foods.

to help with this task i am going to use the cash envelopes from today's nest that you can print out and make up with a register of money outgoings on the front and a handy pocket on the back for receipts. theses envelopes i found on pinterest and pinned them to my ideas for organisation board. each fortnight during november i will fill these up with my allotted money for each thing and that will be it until the following fortnight.  i am also freezing my credit card and eftpos card so i am not tempted (think of the movie confessions of a shopaholic!)

outcome: SO VERY VERY PENDING, but please wish us the best :)

my thanks to the pinners of pinterest for all the wonderful ideas for making life more frugal but still fun.  it has totally inspired me to curb the spending of this family and get the budgeting of my family sorted.  granted, no spend november is rather extreme but so is doing 365 days of pinterest creations and i am almost halfway through my year!  my thanks also to today's nest for the freely printable envelopes which will no doubt come in very handy for dispersing the fortnightly money so petrol money doesn't get chewed up by the fruit expenditure!

day ninety eight: emergency preparedness kit

the start of the emergency kit with a 52 week plan to
complete :) such a great idea

day ninety eight and embarrassingly i must admit to the fact we do not have an emergency survival kit.  i have thought about doing one many times, especially after christchurch's terrible earthquakes and realising that no matter how well organised your country is for a major disaster you need to be able to survive on your own for 72 hours. the major reasons for not doing it have always been the overwhelming amount of things to organise for it and the cost that goes along with that.

fear not any more as the very sweet stefanie from the blog lovely little snippets has given you a week by week guide to putting one together over a year .... for me this alleviates that sense of overwhelming i get every time i see a disaster on the news and realise my family is not prepared.  so today's p365 creation is the start of our own emergency disaster survival kit.  i knew i would get a lot out of doing 365 days of pinterest creations but this is one of those days when you realise its also having a really positive effect on your life!

i started with stefanie's list and then adapted it according to the information i found here on parents.com and then also made some small adjustments to the list with the information i found here for new zealand emergency preparedness.  my final week-by-week guide for putting together my emergency survival kit is pictured below.  if you would like me to email you the word document just drop me a note here.

my 52 week plan of attack to complete
the emergency kit

i then found a storage container to house the kit and laminated a refresh list and stuck it to the top.  this refresh list is such a great idea as it makes sure your emergency kit things get renewed according to expiry dates of items in the box ... how organised is that! i also laminated a list of all the important phone numbers and stuck that inside the box.

the refresh list glued to the top

some of the items we did have so i could start adding
straight away ... a seven week head start!

some of the items (not many) we did have around the house so i added those things to the container ... with  seven 'bonus' items in the container, i'm only 45 weeks from completing the kit ... COOL!

i am SO excited to have this weight lifting off my shoulders
and to have a positive plan to solve the problem :)

outcome: pending ... we will see if i am ready in 365 days time! while it might not be completely ready for a year i now know each week i will be getting closer to being prepared for a disaster and that is better to me than not being ready at all!  i hope never to activate this emergency kit but i will rest easier knowing i am on my way to being organised if one did occur and that is awesome!

i can't thank stefanie at lovely little snippets enough for putting this post up on her blog, it has given me the ability to prepare my family in case of emergency without being overwhelmed by it ... thank you so much stefanie from the bottom of my heart :)

day ninety six: chore clipboards for the peeps

the chore clipboards ready for tomorrow :)

day ninety six and we need some organisation for the kids re: pocket money and jobs to be done.

 i am incredibly lucky because i home school i don't have to deal with the chaos involved in rushing out the door first thing in the morning but the kids still have jobs to do (make bed, tidy room, clean teeth etc) and these jobs get done every morning because of the dangling carrot at the end of them!  in our house that carrot is computer time and the kids get computer time before our schooling starts but only if their jobs are completed ... this has revolutionised my mornings from grumpy mother to calm, happy mother :)

however it's the "pocket money" jobs that have gone out the window recently.  i want the kids to have the ability to earn money so they understand the synergy between working and having money :)   i used to have a job sheet on the notice board and the peeps had to chose at least two jobs a week but could do more if they wanted to earn more money.  since the big goal of having money to spend overseas has gone, i need to resurrect a new way of earning money because the peeps currently aren't interested!  i thought i could incorporate what stacy julian from playful.productive.present has done with her kids and their morning clipboards but with the ability to have some choice.

materials for the clipboard

the first part of today's creation was making the clipboards ... i wanted small clipboards as i didn't want the size of a big A4 clipboard to visually overawe them.  i used some 5 x 7" mdf boards, paint (for the edges), some scrap paper, letter stickers, and bulldog clips to create the clipboards.  the clip down the side of each board is for the money earned ... hopefully ;)

clipboards ready, now for the list

i then set to work on the computer making a list of the things i wanted them to do each day and then added a couple of blank lines along the bottom for things that needed to be done that day but weren't necessary every day (eg: putting their washed clothes away).  i also liked how stacy's idea was that they tick them off and then she returned later to assess and add the money to the clipboards. this is definitely what i intend to do - leave the peeps to make their own choices for what they do and then attach the rewards at the end of the day hoping for a positive outcome!

list done, now all i need is some eager peeps :)

the finished product, clipboard and list
combine to form dangling carrot!

outcome: pending ... for me i am hoping the daily presence of money attached to these jobs will help motivate them to do them ... especially my little boy peep who often has to be told 5 times to put his laundered clothes away :} i really hope the dangling carrot works for these jobs as well as it works for their morning routine ;)  in the meantime the clipboards look pretty sitting on the kitchen bench and i feel very positive about this new pocket money system working ... hopefully my wants will match their wants and all will work happily ... wish us well!

my thanks to stacy julian at playful.productive.present.  this is one of those ideas where you wish you had seen it sooner because the possibilities of making it work to fit your home and peeps are huge ... seen it now, and i have big hopes it will work really well :)

day seventy nine: flip flop/jandal buckets for summer and nz bottle winner :)

jandal/flip flop bucket :)

day seventy nine and it was a gorgeous day and felt like spring was coming ...  i felt inspired to start getting ready for the change in seasons :)  for most of the year i live in jandals (as we call flip flops here) except winter when my toes would freeze, the rest of the time i love my toes poking out of my footwear!  and today was a day worthy of having my toes free to the air and the warm sun ... and actually so did everybody else in my family, which caused an overflow of jandals by the front door AND the back door :(  i hate clutter and decided this was all the inspiration i needed to make the flip flop bucket i pinned to my ideas for organisation board on pinterest.  this wonderful idea is from jeri's organizing and decluttering news blog ... this blog is like heaven for those that LOVE being organised but don't have enough time to come up with cool ideas ... me!

it was late in the day when i discovered the mess at each door, so the shopping time was limited :) i tried my hardest to find some metal buckets so i could give spray painting a whirl but that will have to wait for another day.  what i did find was some very summery coloured plastic buckets for $2 that were the ideal size and price!  i also purchased some american crafts thicker letter stickers for the naming of my buckets so no family member will be left wondering what the buckets are for!

happiness is organisation ... right!

outcome:  i made two, one for the front door and one for the back door ... love the colours and while its a little early for summer i think the colours will work for spring as well.  i am a happy lass with my buckets holding the jandals, its cleaned up each door and ... even better i feel like some spring decorating now!  i just have to hope my delightful family remember to use them.

hoping these colours will work with the spring and summer
decorating i plan to do!

today's thanks goes to jeri and the wonderful decluttering and organising idea for jandals/flip flops, i am totally loving all the wonderful ideas for all sorts of storing and organising, this will not be the last one i use ... far from it!

it was really late last night when i realised i had not organised ben to find a winner for the nz bottle of mailed goodies ... so we did it today .... and the winner is DANIELLE :)  congrats to you, please send me your postal address to kahoonz@clear.net.nz and i will mail off the below drink bottle (this one is unused!) with your goodies.

it was early ;)

this is the bottle of goodies!

have a fabulous day everyone :)

day thirty nine: 15 bags in 15 days clean out!

the 'bag' of clearing from the tv room bookcases!

found this cute pin for day thirty nine 40 bags in 40 days and as we are about to put our house on the market, i thought this type of clean out would be very timely :).  the pin comes from a really neat blog  little lucy lu ... a little bit of pink in the country (her blog had me at the title!) and you can find it on my ideas for organisation board at pinterest.

working on my list :)

 i don't have that many spaces to clean out ... small but quaint is were i live! so i am doing 15 bags in 15 days ... this will work really well with the spring clean i have going on :)  made my list in word and then printed ready to tackle today's bag!

the finished list with one crossed off!

outcome:  ok it ended up not being a bag but a table full of books and a couple of kids toys but the tv room bookcase now has about a third less books than it did have ... love the list and hopefully one a day won't seem a burden ... super hyped about this organisation list!

many thanks to bec's from  little lucy lu ... a little bit of pink in the country, for the fantastic idea which is totally going to help me unclutter my house without in being a major burden ... love great ideas and blogs and bec certainly fits into both those categories :)

day twenty two: the cleaning caddy

my new cleaning caddy :)

day twenty two and i haven't cleaned the house this week! really unusual for me, i'm not good with disorganisation and uncleanliness! tomorrow is a big day however, it's mid winter here and i'm starting my spring cleaning tomorrow!  yes tomorrow, i hate the thought of using all those beautiful spring days to clean so i have decided to start in winter so when i get to spring it should be pretty much done with the exception of some outside jobs!  this brings me to today's creation ... my first ever cleaning caddy to storm around the house with in an effort to make my cleaning more efficient ... while i like cleanliness and organisation, i really DISLIKE the actual, physical get in and clean it side of things :)

any cleaning product that has 'amazing' on it needs to be in
my cleaning basket!

todays pinterest 365 creation was pinned to my ideas for organisation board and it originated from the complete guide to imperfect homemaking ... LOVE the name of this blog, just makes me smile! anyhoo, she has the most COMPREHENSIVE spring cleaning checklist on her blog along with a photo of a very cute caddy of cleaning products!  totally up my alley this, love the idea of having all my cleaning products in one container that i can move with me as i speed round the rooms. so while we were out doing our groceries today, i added in all the items necessary for a kick-ass cleaning caddy :)

the three (there would be six if i hadn't printed at a5 size)
 pages of cleaning to do .. yikes!

once home, i copy and pasted the spring clean  list into a word document and then copied the lounge twice and the bedrooms three times so that i had each room the right amount of times.   i did this so i could cross off as i completed a task ... yip i'm a visual girl and like to see progress!  ... ooohhh ..... yip you betcha i also laminated the list because well i love my laminator and if its paper it should be laminated, right!

outcome: while it only takes its virgin voyage tomorrow, i can already tell i am going to LOVE my caddy totally, even looking at it makes me happy!  while i don't like the look of the LONG spring clean list, i am really thrilled i will get to the end of my early spring cleaning knowing i have all my bases covered ... well cleaned! ya know what i mean!

thanks goes to the complete guide to imperfect homemaking for making the oh so comprehensive cleaning list ... there is no doubt about it, when i have finished this list i know my house will be well cleaned and organised and for that i am incredibly grateful!  (anyone with a spare weekend, i am happy to have cleaning volunteers ... i will feed you ;))

day twenty one: weekly organisation sorted

the new home-made planner

day twenty one and it is beautiful outside ... i am hoping it stays that way tomorrow as its grocery shopping day!  speaking of grocery shopping, i was busy making my list (using day eights eat sheet creation :)) and trying to figure out all the things we have to do over the next two weeks and which meals would be best for which nights given how busy we are going to be .... and then i was struck with a brainwave, i have pinned some very helpful looking organising planners to my ideas for organisation board over at pinterest!

 i went through the options and decided on two: one is a daily organiser for all parts of life and the other is a weekly cleaning/chores checklist ... both are equally relevant to me and they are both highly usable for a home schooling mum! i printed out 21 sheets of the daily organiser from simple organized living and three sheets of the weekly chores list from another great site life as mom ... both were free downloads which was a total bonus :) i also grabbed an unused exercise book and the cutter and glue.  as with most things i wanted to give these a decent go so have opted to use the organisers for three weeks to see if they work.

materials needed :)

i glued seven pages of the daily planner in and then one of the weekly checklist and then repeated this pattern twice over in the exercise book ... making my very own portable planner!

so good to have everything written down in one place!

outcome: this planner has already made a difference in my life ... as soon as i had glued everything in i wrote down all the things that had been on my mind and immediately i felt the weight that had been getting heavier on my shoulders disappear ... writing it all down and seeing how the weeks would come together (and where i had too much happening on certain days!) was a huge pressure off and i feel very positive about seeing everything in one place, something i can take with me, and add to with ease.  as for the weekly checklist, so happy for this, while i haven't checked anything off yet, i know seeing a list disappear is very rewarding and if the kids wanted to earn some extra pocket money i can now tell to them find something on the chores list to do that hasn't been done!

simple organized living and life as mom are both wonderful sites to go to for inspiring ideas for organisation, even while i was there printing out todays creation, i found more ideas from both sites that i hope to implement in the future ... check them out if you need help clearing your mind, i can highly recommend it!

photo fun challenge day 16: mason jar

all our school stationery is kept in mason jars .. love them!

day eight: the eat sheet outcome

the boy in the middle of his shopping

outcome: these were fantastic, they worked a treat, and the kids totally loved having their own list to be responsible for ... the actual users (the peeps) couldn't have been more happy with them according to the survey i took once the shopping was complete!

the girl working through her list

the hands of the shoppers

photo fun challenge day three: hands
ben, polly, and i are all in this photo, which couldn't be more apt for today, they were HUGE helping hands with all the errands and shopping we had to get through today ... thank you peeps :)

day eight: the eat sheet

the eat sheet grocery lists and the smart snacking list

day eight and we are up early! busy day with grocery shopping and all the errands i have saved up over the last week all need to get done today along with the library and the kittens need their first vaccinations done!~  today's creation was repinned from the pinterest gallery onto my ideas for organisation board and it originated from the mommy tracked website.  it is of course a new grocery/menu planner that i downloaded from this great site. if you need help getting organised with lists, tips, and tricks this is a great place to go.


and it's another double deal as i have also used the smart snacking shopping list from be healthy, be happy downtownn blog, another really sweet site. i gave the kids the list and they got to choose a snack each from it to add the grocery list.  i printed it out half size and laminated it so we can use to again and again, now i just need a pinterest project to sort out a place to keep this type of thing!


i home school our two peeps and every second friday they have a list and collect the groceries from around the store.  each grocery item on the list has a budget next to it and they have to work out how much they need to buy of the grocery item while remaining under budget.  they do a much better job than i do because they don't get taken in by all the specials and multi buys available that i do!  they usually work together, but this week with the new lists and because i think pollyanna is now old enough, i have split the groceries onto two lists so they can have one each.  the lists have worked well so far and i will let you know later in the day how we went at the supermarket!


outcome: pending :)

thank you so much to the mommy tracked team and also to the downtownn blog for such lovely downloadables, they have certainly helped me and the fact they are free is truly awesome and a wonderful reason to keep visiting your sites for more tips and tricks