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| Haven's New Weekly schedule |
Sunday night, Haven and I spent at the table together creating a "calendar". He helped me decide on pictures for each of his activities to help him know what "day today is". Monday is Preschool so we decided on an apple, Tuesday is daycare so we drew a cute little stick person "friend", etc. Wednesday is his HUGE day this year. He goes to preschool in the morning, Wednesday school in the afternoon and we can ALL go to 611 at Church on Wednesday nights! I'm super excited about this... more to come on it later! :) So we really had to get creative with our "pictures" for Wednesday's! Wednesday school and 611 are both at church... but both different Churches. Haven thought that a cross was the only fitting picture so we decided on 2 different colored crosses. I found a cute little heart magnet that he can move each morning to see what "day today is". It's nothing fancy, by any means...but he was as happy as a pig in mud!
Luckily Haven is the only one with *BIG* schedule changes, but all of us have some adjustments to make, like: daycare days being switched, arriving to work early on Wednesday's, adding in new activities, etc. I'm really thinking at this point that *I* need a picture chart! LOL I'm really struggling to find a good "central command point" in my house. I am struggling to find a way to successfully store art supplies that they boys are using more and more frequently. I'm struggling to find a way to keep school papers close by that are important (ones to keep, ones to return, ones with snack ideas on them, ones with reminders, etc. etc. etc.), and store worksheets and artwork that comes home, and keep the budget balanced and the house cleaning on schedule and done. I need a place to keep the mail so it doesn't invade EVERY corner of the house. I need...well...help! I'm in need of an organizational makeover! What types of solutions have you seen used for school papers? What types of "Central Command" zone type of shelving/storage do you think would make the most of what LITTLE extra area we have...and STILL be very affordable?! I need a place for all of these "little" things that add up to one big disorganized problem!!!
The one thing I mentioned before that I'm UBER excited about is "611" at our new church. I'm so impressed because I'm used to the days of parents driving up to the door and dropping their kids off to run in for an hour of "class". I'm not exactly sure ALL the specifics because tomorrow is the first night, but it looks like 611 is a time for ALL church members Newborn-Adult to enjoy fellowship and the opportunity to grow in faith and knowledge! Hudson can go to the Nursery and enjoy "Christian Play and Fellowship". Haven will celebrate "God's Garden" in the preschool room, and I can attend either a "Knowing your Bible" or "Going Deeper" a group to discuss our upcoming church spiritual growth campaign called "40 Days of Community" and to discuss further the sermons given at worship each Sunday! I absolutely LOVE that they have opportunities for EVERYONE to be involved! It's FAMILY church night.. not just push your kids out of the car so you can watch an hour of TV uninterrupted night!
Not only do they offer 611 but there is also "Sunday Morning Club". Hudson can again, visit the nursery. Haven can be part of the "Hero Headquarters" preschool program at 9:30 and/or "Celebrating God's Word" at 10:30. Houston and I are signed up to attend a "small group" based on the "40 Days of Community" spiritual growth campaign. I'm really interested to see what this is all about. I'm so eager to learn more and grow in my faith right now that I'm thankful for this opportunity! And those are just the tip of the iceberg of what all is available and offered to Church and community members alike! (I'm also really looking forward to the one-a-month"Health Awareness" support group, starting on the 9th!) It's really amazing to see such great things happening. You can really see God working through these people and experiences! I, daily, find myself thankful that Cassie and Josh invited us to go to church with them just randomly one Sunday. I really feel like I have so much to offer to and learn from our new church! It's amazing, uplifting, and leaves my heart feeling very full!
~Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
John 4:8
Oh I can help with your organizing problem. :) And it will only cost a few dollars (if anything at all)! I think you first need a desk or bookshelf and call that "headquarters". If you don't already have one check back to school sales, thrift stores, or garage sales. Maybe someone at work is willing to sell one cheap.
ReplyDeleteAbove this area I would put a bulletin board, calender, and a dry erase board. The dry board would be perfect for leaving messages since you guys work opposite shifts. Then for organizing papers I have one of those office stackers thingies *LOL* that has three different shelves. Label what type of paper goes in each. I always have a pencil cup sitting on the desk (I upgraded to the carousel kind) where you have a few pens, pencils, scissors, and letter opener. This way you can grab when you are in a rush to write something down.
Then I would get some small totes for art supplies. I really like those "shoe box" sized clear ones you can get really cheap. This way you can see inside them and you can label them. Maybe draw a picture of what goes in them for the boys.
Onto the mail portion of your problem. I too struggled with this for years, but no more. I have a very cute basket I set on the desk. All the mail that enters our house goes into this basket (mostly bills *ugh*) and then once a week I set them all out for Tim to pay. :) It works like a charm for US because I know where they all are and nothing is getting misplaced.
If you don't already have the items I mentioned now is the time to get them. I love back to school sales. Sorry my idea isn't "high tech", but I believe it is affordable and HIGHLY effective. If you have the room a small desk with a small book case next to it would be perfect. I have all our stuff on the desk, book case, and in the filing cabinet.
HOPE THAT HELPS!
I have also started binders (gotta love the CHEAP 1" binders right now) for certain things. Tim has all of our finances on the computer, but I am an old school girl and like to have paper in my hands. To compromise I let him keep the finances on the computer, but I organize all our tax info during the year.
ReplyDeleteI have a tax binder with folders in it. One folder is for all medical receipts, one for adoption expenses, and another for charity. I just started the charity one on Sunday. :) I put a piece of note book paper in it and wrote down the check number and the amount we put in the offering basket. :)
Then when tax time comes around I have everything in one spot. I know the number of folders will grow over the year, but this is what I have so far. I love it!
I also keep all of our our envelopes, address labels, and stamps all together. That way I am not scrounging around to find them when I am in a hurry.
I will keep writing things as I see them around my house, or think of them. LOL.
I also keep a stapler and 3 hole punch on the desk. I really am all about convenience! I like knowing everything has a place. It helps our house run smoothly.
ReplyDeleteIn our bookshelf I keep all our extra supplies I stock up on before school starts. I only really set out what we need at the time and then when it runs out I head to my stock pile. I have found that this keeps the clutter to a minimum. I don't really need 10 notebooks at once. I don't need 5 stacks of sticky notes out at once either. :)
That brings me to another thing. I ALWAYS have a small sticky note pad on the desk. Makes it easy for jotting things down, so I don't forget. It also comes in handy since desktop is on the desk. I am always writing down websites, ideas, or scribbling. :)
I think you have AWESOME simple and CHEAP *YAY* ideas!! I have a corner that's pretty barren in my livingroom/entry way. Maybe I can unstack all of my scrapbook misc. boxes from there and find them a new home, and work at finding a desk or shelf to put there since it's where we walk by each time we go in and out of the front door?!
ReplyDeletewhat are your suggestions for crafts or art things that are made and brought home? What type of storage works best for these when they're all different shapes and sizes? I can never throw things away RIGHT away, because they're are ALL adorable and special at first. But later I go back through and pick the ones that are most significant to keep. I need a spot for "before" and one for "after" weeding through! LOL
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of those long under the bed totes. They fit all size kid art work and papers. I would keep them all for about a year. Then go back and see what you REALLY want to keep and then you can store it differently. My mom used those office boxes that came with a lid. You can fit about 2-3 year worth of special papers and crafts in them.
ReplyDeleteInstead of the box with a lid you can also use a tote and just label the outside with their name and grades/ages. You can cut a piece of cardboard to fit as a stand up divider for each year. I like the totes because they have a tight lid and you can store them in the basement.
I do highly recommend those long thin totes for stuff until you pair it down to those few special memory items.