May 2015 Wrap Up + Summer Organizing Ideas!

Its hard to believe that May is over and its already summer time!  I hope you have been inspired to get to your projects no matter if they are big or small.  

Planning Summer Vacation

I asked Lisa Woodruff, who is a professional organizer, blogger and podcast host at www.organize365.com, to share how she plans her summer vacation! She's sharing how she does it! 

Every Sunday night I sit down and go through my Sunday Basket to plan my week and catch up on my mail. This week I am planning our summer.

   

Last Chance for FREE offer from ePantry!

There is only a short time left to get in on the amazing offer from ePantry that I told you all about! It's ending TODAY in just a few hours! {at 6 PM Pacific Standard Time}.

How to Save Money on Natural Cleaners - Mrs. Meyers and Seventh Generation {+FREE Printable}

So, if you've read my blog for any amount of time, you'd know that I am pretty passionate about using non-toxic and organic products to keep your home and family well and organized. I'm also not big on cleaning - that's no secret either. But, it's important to me to have a CLEAN and environmentally safe home - and, of course, clutter free too! 

15 Ways to Get Organized this Summer

It's SUMMER {or just about}. I have officially been blogging for FOUR years as of last week and I have been telling you every summer all kinds of ways to stay organized through the summer. So, I am going to put all those ways here in this post, since most of you probably haven't been with this blog since the start of the year. 

Summer Organizing: Getting kids to do more

When summer comes, naturally we think of free-spirited days. Days filled with nothing to do, any place we want to go, and no work that must be done. But, in reality, that doesn't happen.

Getting ready for camp! A Label-Land giveaway!

Last month I was introduced to Label-Land - and they have a wonderful array of special labels for your clothing, bags, and other items for kids or for you!

Summer Organizing: Heading to the amusement park

Summer time organizing means keeping yourself and family organized while having fun and enjoying the time together!

Summer Organizing: Pools, swimsuits, and more!

This month I am having a series called "Summer Organizing" where I'm going to give you ideas for keeping things organized in the summer!

Summertime organizing: Summer schedule

Like I told you a few days ago, our summer has begun. I like having a simple schedule to follow during the summer. I continue to do my 15-20 minutes a day of cleaning, as usual. It's a simple way of always keeping my home clean...even though it's not perfect. Here is a free printable of my summer schedule, should you want to print one up to keep on your fridge, also. I know some of you do your laundry everyday, but I it all once a week.

Click here to link to printable

The first week "off" from school {which for us is the week right after Memorial Day}, I like to take it easy and do pretty much nothing - no schedule! It's good for me to go from the craziness of school schedules and end of school year madness to pretty much nothing. After a week of having no schedule at all, I'm pretty much ready to get myself back into business and have some type of organized schedule to feel like I'm accomplishing something again.

So, my main goal this summer is to try and tackle several areas of my home. I'm only going to spend a couple of hours on each small area at a time. Re-organize and clean it out - then stop and put it back nicely and call it done! I don't really do the whole "spring cleaning" thing. Spring cleaning comes at a bad time for me - I'm so knee deep in spring break, kids year end projects, cab-driver for my kids, piano teaching, etc. So summer is my chance to "spring clean" my house - summer cleaning!

I've had a hard few months these last few months. I've had my mom in and out of the hospital in chronic pain and rushed to be by her side for days {or a week} at a time. I've had two kids to figure out what to do with while I left {when hubby was at work}, and find a house sitter to care for the house and dog. Plus, I went away with my hubby on a conference for a week - the problems of being gone so much and people still living in my home is that it was being used and no one has been here to keep up the cleaning! So, as you might guess, getting caught up has been hard for me - I sympathize with my many readers who have emailed me about getting caught up when things happen. Remember, I also work 30+ hours a week from home - running my blog {20+ hours per week} and as a piano teacher {to 15 students}. I don't teach piano lessons during the summer and not having to get to school to pick up kids makes my life a breeze! My kids are going to be helping me out a bunch, too!

Here is my list of areas/projects I want to tackle - one each week {in no particular order}:

• Clean oven {big task} thoroughly
• Clean inside of cupboards near kitchen sink area and re-organize
• Clean cupboards on other side of kitchen and re-organize
• Linen closet needs tweaking and a few things re-organized
• Find an organized place for wine glass set hubby got for Christmas! 
• {After construction} Wash all 31 windows inside and outside! This is such a big task!
• Work on organizing and cute-ifying my craft cupboard in the family room.
• Thoroughly clean fridge, pull everything out, wash down, re-organize and throw out bad stuff.
• Go through kitchen pantry and clean out unused food and wipe everything down
• Clean extra stuff accumulated under my bed from office re-do. 

Wow! I have more....but there are *only* ten weeks in our summer to do all this! If I tackle one a week for a few hours that will help the house get into shape. I'm still keeping up my 15 minutes a day of cleaning {in my sized house it's more like 25 minutes for some cleaning areas} and my yard has suffered greatly from all our roof and outdoor construction. Plus, I have this other big project coming this summer that I will be revealing to you soon! I'm certainly busy!

There's one more thing I want  you to know, as I have been learning this throughout these last few months: Don't be afraid to ask for help when trying to get caught up with housework/organizing. Hire someone to do your windows or whole house cleaning, see if a teenager needs money for camp and have them help with yard work, get your kids to do more, ask a friend who's good with organizing to come over {maybe swap something you're good at with her}...there is no shame in hiring someone to help you get caught up or, if you just can't afford it, asking a friend to help you with it. We can't do it all - I can't, that's for sure! 

What are your "organizing plans" for this summer? Would you like more summer fun? See my post on summer schedules and kids!

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Summer fun...

What are you up to this summer? Well, we have a special ministry we do every summer called "Backyard Thursdays" and we start tomorrow! Find out more about how it works....

I'm over at The Better Mom today with the full run down!

Goodbye School, Hello Summer: Summer chore charts and schedules

Summer in our household is officially here! The kids finished up their last day of school last week and it is so wonderful to be "sleeping in" for an extra 30 minutes a day! Ha, ha - I still get up to walk every morning, but instead of getting up at 5:30 AM, I'm now up at 6 AM.

Anyway, I am determined to be more organized in the area of summer activities, chores, and media time with my kids. I've been pretty organized before, but I've noticed some problems and I wanted to tweak my plans again. That's the beauty of keeping schedules, you learn to be flexible when it's just not quite right. As they grow, so must your flexibility!

Click HERE for FREE printable

My kids have daily chores to do every morning before school. Personally, I have found that they have more energy to do them before school, but if they don't finish them they have to do them after school. They have done pretty well at them and, for the most part, I haven't had to push too hard to get them done.

Click HERE for FREE Printable

So, for summer, I decided that they would have to continue getting their regular morning chores done - minus having to make a school lunch, of course - but added that they have to do TWO more chores each day because this Momma is SO busy now that I need more help around here. I made extra chore cards that they can choose from {above FREE printable}. There are ten cards. They can choose two each day, but then they have to put the cards back into the cup so they don't repeat the same chores that week. It starts all over the next week. {Yes, I know there are two of the cards that are the same, and that's on purpose so they do it twice in one week, but must choose a different area to organize}. They like this part because they can choose their own chore and have some part in deciding what they want that day. 

I've also got to get their time in front of the screen under control. I have always restricted their time in summer to two hours a day of media time, but haven't had a good way to keep track of it. Media, in our household, is defined as: TV, Wii, Ipad, or computer. You could also call it "screen time" or something like that. I don't have a problem with media on a small scale. I DO when they get obsessed with it and act like zombies and it rules their whole day. So, I came up with this idea. I made these "media minutes" sticks {well, laminated cardstock} and they get 8 of them each morning. Each one if is equivalent to 15 minutes. I have their first initial on them and they can decide how they want to use it - use up all their time at once, or a little at time. I also give "bonus" media minutes for various things and for reading. Whatever they don't use up at the end of the day gets put back and start with two hours the next day - they don't get to save up those 2 hours. However, if they got bonus time {I mark these with an asterisk} they can hang on to those and use them. So far, they love it and are doing well with them. 

Let me tell you what this is teaching my kids. It's teaching them that media is fun, but not necessary. It's teaching them how to save - for instance, saver vs. spender. Are they going to use a little throughout the day or all at once? It's a great prep for money useage, too. They are finding lots of other ways to keep busy - alone or with each other. My kids are 13 and 8. Could they have done this many years ago? I believe so. I think these visual sticks are going to help them and we can all keep track of how much time they spend in front of the "tube" watching and doing stuff.

The last kid things I've done are money making chores. I know a few of you don't believe in paying your kids to do things. I also don't pay my kids to do regular household chores - we all have to pitch in and I'm not going to pay you $1 to clean up after yourself. But, those harder chores are great ways to teach them to make some money and learn great life-long skills. I asked my FB readers last week to help me out with this, and they gave me some great ideas:

• Mow the lawn
• Pull weeds for an hour
• Rake leaves for an hour {or a certain area} and clean up
• Sweep for 30 minutes
• Scrub walls in the house 
• Scrub BBQ and outdoor furniture
• Wash windows
• Wash the car
• Vacuum the inside of the car
• Special projects that come up

I have another big list of more chores too that they came up but they are more of just a list of chores that may or may not be paid. The list above is the one I came up with for my own kids to do for some extra money. I have made it a printable, should you want to also make your own $$$ chore cards, but if you don't like these {or want them personalized} I will be posting soon {like next week} about how to make your own chore charts and schedules. Once you learn how to make your own chore charts, you can tailor it to your own family needs...won't you like that? Has your summer officially started?

 

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Parties:
Tip Junkie
Women Living Well

How I organize: for Backyard Thursdays!

I've mentioned our "Backyard Thursdays" here at OMF a few times.  I told you last summer about this ministry we do at our house.  Well, many of you were not even around on my blog last year, so I'll fill you in again!

Here are my kids, sifting the sandbox of the bark in it, in preparation for Backyard Thursdays.

Our yard, for Los Angeles standards, is pretty big!  I became burdened with the many families at our church who had NO yard at all back in 2006 {when we first moved in}.  Those that lived in apartments and their kids couldn't just run outside and play.  So, I started Backyard Thursdays and opened up my yard to all those who had no yard to come over and let the kids run around for each Thursday in the summer.  I have now opened it up to anyone I know who wants to come over.

It has been an amazing ministry that my kids absolutely love to be a part of.  They love having lots of kids over - it's like a gigantic playdate very week!   

But, they have to help out too - and sacrifice some of their play stuff.  You see, not everything gets well taken care of, so sometimes their stuff gets broken. It's taught them to share and not be concerned about things - they have no eternal value. But, their service to others, does!

So, we got ready for our summer Backyard Thursdays by re-organizing all the stuff.  I buy helmets at garage sales and some have been donated - so we have lots of helmets when the kids come over.  We sorted them by size {we'll see how long this works}.

We also got rid of many old balls that were cracked or broken and pumped up the ones that were flat.

Then, we sorted everything again. We did it last year but the labels were a bit worn out.  So, I took pictures of the contents inside of the bins and made new labels.  I went to Kinko's and laminated them for durability.

I cut them out and then I use cable ties to secure them to the bins.

The children {and Moms} never wonder what goes where.  It's easy to read and to see the picture!

 We also have the attached "shed" {that's what we call it} to our garage, but the little ones can get in there with the big tools and such and it's just dangerous.  We used left-over lattice and attached a couple of screws and now we have a way to keep them out!

So, we can slide it out of the way, but when the little ones come we slide it and hook it up! Now it's safe! Below, you can see this old shelf - this was in our son's closet before we put in his new closet system.  It works great in the garage and my hubby has it screwed into the studs.

And I even put my signs up around the yard with our rules.

We have one strange rule, which is we don't allow the boys in the playhouse {I know it's weird, but trust me when I say we have good reasons} so I tried to make the playhouse less appealing to boys...plus, there is plenty of other stuff for the boys to do without needing to be in the playhouse.

...without being nasty and saying "no boys allowed" or "boys, get out!"  Anyway, I have a definite beginning and ending time - 10 AM to 12:30 PM.  This way you can be prepared for everyone to come, and then everyone knows when it's time to leave and don't impose on the rest of your day.

This is a friend's pool who invites lots of Moms over one day a week for swimming during the summer, too!

If you have a space like this - a yard or even a pool - really think about opening it up to your friends or church on a regular basis, even if it's not fancy or huge.  Share what you have with others.  We Mommies have a WONDERFUL time - we sit back and relax and talk and enjoy sweet fellowship under our large avocado trees! I send them expectations and rules before the day comes - put sunscreen on your children, bring snacks/lunch, go over rules with kids, what time to come, etc. - and all that stuff is out in the open.  No one is mad or weird about it.  It's just wonderful and relaxing.

Isn't this the neatest bike rack we got last year? I just roll it out for Backyard Thursdays and help the kids take off the bike they need, then roll it back and it fits a LOT of bikes in a small area of the garage!

I am just getting back from a week on vacation with my family in the mountains. I am so relaxed now and ready to get back to Backyard Thursdays and get some projects done around the house! What will you be doing this summer?

Summer is here!

Summer has officially started for us now.  The kids start school in mid-August, so they are out before Memorial day {and we don't have snow days here in L.A.}!  Yippee!

Source

So, even though summertime may give us all the idea that we can lay around and do nothing all day, the house will not clean itself {nor the laundry} and the kids will eventually get bored!  Trust me, it will probably happen in the first few hours "Mom, I'm bored..."

Source and tutorial to make

I make a summer "schedule" for us just to keep us sort of on par for what's going on. Just because we're on vacation from school, doesn't mean chores stop.  Life happens, laundry is still here, the house still needs to be cleaned, and the yard has to be kept up!  

Source

Last summer I pretty much kept my same schedule as I did during the school year, but modified and switched up a couple of days.  It didn't work as well as I liked, AND I'm tired of having a "cleaning day" - I spend every Monday cleaning and doing laundry.  I like doing all my laundry, once a week, and then being done - it's the "achiever" in me!

During the school year, it's the only way I've had to keep up with my cleaning- since two days a week I'm teaching piano lessons from home.  But, I don't teach piano lessons all summer and I want to go back to my "15 minutes a day" cleaning schedule like I had when the kids were little!  

Source

Now you get to see my brain in action, and my life out in the open!  Here is my plan {amidst the summer activities} of how I plan to keep my house clean:

Mondays - My laundry day {I will keep this the same}

             - Dusting 

             {15-20 minutes, have kids do their own rooms}

Tuesdays -  Vacumming 

             {20 minutes if I hurry, 30 if I go slow}

Wednesdays - Mopping

             {5-10 minutes for kitchen, 5 minutes or less each bath, 5-10 minutes for family room - my daughter will be helping with this chore, also}

Thursdays - Bathroom Day

             {Mirrors, tub/shower, counters, toilet 5-10 min. each room}

Fridays - Kitchen clean up day

             {Clean sink, wipe down stove/oven, thoroughly wipe counters and all surfaces} 

Here is a FREE printable at my Scribd!

Summer 15 Minute Cleaning Schedule

I plan to try and tackle at least one area of organizing each week {unless we're on vacation!}.  This may be just re-adjusting something I already organized or re-doing something altogether!  I also have noticed some areas in my house that need some attention - dusty and dirty.  I will still try to tackle at least one project a week, if possible, like I usually do on Fridays.  

Keep in mind, when I do a schedule like this, stuff comes up!  If it does, I can easily skip that chore for the day and either combine it for the next day or just do it the following week. Skipping every once in a while isn't a big deal - my house won't fall apart!  I'm not a perfectionist and I just don't need to vacuum my house every single day - I don't have time and it's just not that big of a deal.  Yes, if someone comes in and dumps a shoe full of sand on the floor, of course I'll clean it up.  But, the dog's hair is always around and keeping him {the dog} in his own bed and washing that regularly helps immensely!

Source

On top of this, I do plan to do fun stuff with the kids - since this should only take 15-20 minutes a day to do my small chore!  Yippee!  This gives us days to run errands, go to the beach, hang out at swim lessons, or just sit around at home.  After all, we've got Backyard Thursdays coming, too!  More on that later...



I'll be re-doing the kids' schedule, so I'll try to make that up and show you that when it's done.  I know many of you like seeing that and it might help motivate you, also.  Do you have any fun plans for this summer?