Organizing the Home

I'm all about my post-it notes, to do lists, menu planning, etc. Sometimes, I think I'm more so into the lists and the planning than getting the items on those list completed!

I still have a year before state laws require my eldest child to be 'in' school. I am making all my plans now. Getting our routines (schedules and chores) figured out, home organized and all that jazz.

Here are a few things that I have found helpful in my little organizing phase.


Menu Magnets :: Balancing Everything


Chore Pockets & Tickets Part 1 & Part 2 :: Balancing Everything

Lastly, this one I just came across today and thought it would be lovely to create it to match the Innovative Closet in my previous post.


Chicken Wire Organization & Calendar Download :: The Project Girl

I have a few other things going on that I'm testing out around here that I will share soon. I'm working on our daily schedule for meals, chores, school, activities, naps/bedtimes, work at home, etc. When I figure that one out, I'll be glad to share it as well.

Our Daily Routine

This plan is for myself, a stay at home mother that is trying to create a work-at-home biz in the little time that I do have. Also included are my children, almost 4 year old son and 1 1/2 year old daughter. This is always a work in progress and fits our needs & lifestyle. Not all routines/schedules with work with every family.

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THE GOALS

1. To have the kids on a routine that they can count on for structure
2. To make time specifically for work, play and chores all in one day
3. To coordinate kids nap and bedtimes with Mommy's work & free time to create sanity.
4. To plan chores/quick cleans to be done with kids watching & helping along the way no matter their age.

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THE NOTES

HomeSchool related activities are in teal.

• The School Activity session that is 1 1/2 hours long would include a basic plan that I have created specifically for my son. That plan is below as well. My daughter can join in the activities that she is capable and willing too or have age appropriate activities set aside for her to keep busy.

• There are two story times in the day which is before nap & bedtime which both of my children can participate in.

• An Arts & crafts / music time as well as an outdoor play / excersice time that can be considered PE included. Both children will participate in these.

Quick Clean is on the schedule in purple.

• Quick clean is 15 minutes of time to stop everything and do a quick sweep of the house. It helps in keeping tidy and not having as much to do at the end of the day. For this, you need 3 boxes, baskets, or other container. Label with Donate, Toss and Store.

• Go through the house and place items to donate (clothes not worn any longer, books already read,* toys outgrown, etc) in the "DONATE" box.

• Items to toss (worn out clothing, broken toys, torn books, etc) in the "TOSS" box.

• And Items that need to be put back into their original places (toys, books/mags, clothing, videos/dvds, etc) into the "STORE" box.

• Of course at the end of the 15 minute period or at the end of the day, throw away everything in the TOSS box, put the items from the STORE box away where it goes.

• And first chance you get, drop the DONATE box off at your local Salvation Army, Goodwill, women/kids shelter or other charity center.

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THE SCHEDULE

MORNING

08:30 Breakfast

09:00 Hygiene: Wash face, Brush teeth, Get Dressed, Hair/Makeup

09:15 Kids Free Time: Play, Tv, etc. Mommy get activity ready.

10:00 School Activities

11:30 Lunch

AFTERNOON

12:00 Quick Clean: Crafts, Lunch, toys

12:15 Story Time

12:30 Kids Nap / Quiet Time. Mommy work, chores or free time.

03:00 Snack

03:30 Arts & Crafts and/or Music Time

04:15 Free Time For All: Outdoor play if permitted.* Include Excercise.

06:00 Dinner

06:30 Kids Indoor Free Time. Mommy work, chores or free time.

07:30 Bath/Shower

08:00 Quick Clean (Dinner, Bath, Toys, etc)

08:15 Story Time. Snack (optional)

08:30 Kids Bed Time

08:45 Next Day Prep: Clothes laid out for all. School Activities planned.

09:00 Free Time til bed. If work at home, complete needed tasks.

NOTE: We use the same schedule 7 Days a week however on Sat & Sun instead of School Activity we just have quality family time and shopping. We of course adjust to appointments, meetings, etc -- which we try to schedule everything for Mondays so it's only one day a week that's being 'broken' by schedule.

TIP: When you get back from appointments, meetings or something else that may have thrown you off track of your regularly scheduled routine, just pick up your normal daily activities based on the present time; do not try to go back in time and have to play catch up. This also will allow the kids to continue staying on track to the schedule and no need in having to get them 'back' on schedule.

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THE SCHOOL

Monday

Alphabet & Animal Science - http://LittleNummies.net/?cat=469

Bible Study - Verse & Word of the Week from Character Qualities

Tuesday

Math Worksheets - http://donnayoung.org/math/counting-shapes.htm

Bible Study - Verse & Word of the Week from Character Qualities

Wednesday

Writing Readiness - http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/redines.htm

Bible Study - Verse & Word of the Week from Character Qualities

Thursday

Reading - Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Bible Study - Verse & Word of the Week from Character Qualities

Friday

Cooking - LittleNummies.net and IttyBittyBistro.com

Bible Study - Verse & Word of the Week from Character Qualities

*DAILY IN ALLOTED TIME SCHEDULED ABOVE*

Art - Collages, Playdoh, Paint, Scissor Practice,

http://donnayoung.org/art/k-1-colors.htm (colors, shapes, tracing, writing)

PE - Outdoor play *weather permitting* or Indoor excercises

Reading - Story time before nap and bed.

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THE CHORES

After lunch and dinner are two opportunities for chores. This is the list of chores to be done daily in this order for it to take less time & run smoothly. Instead of cleaning one room at a time and swapping from one cleaning supply to the next, the chores are done by task through the entire house using the same supplies at a time before moving to the next.

FABRIC

Straighten pillows & throws on furniture throughout house. Make beds; change bedding when needed.

LAUNDRY

Toss clothes in washer. Check in 25 minutes.

GLASS

Wipe all glass throughout house(mirrors, windows, tvs, computer monitors, etc.)

SURFACE

Clean dishes. Spray sinks/tubs/toilets throughout house; let sit. Wipe all counters & tables. Go back to wipe down all sinks/tubs/toilets.

FLOORS

Clear floors throughout house (Use quick clean tips w/boxes). Vaccum all carpets then sweep and mop all tiles.

LAUNDRY #2

Dry clothes then fold/hang and put up.

FINISH

Take out all trash. Check & bring in mail.

Innovative Closet

Better Homes and Gardens has a great article with lots of pictures and information on how to create this closet "office". In their write up, it's used for a crafting area, but this is a great idea to use for a homeschool area for families that do not have a spare room. View the full article.

Safe Search For Kids

Many people know that I was homeschooled through my high-school years. Those years were definitely a success for myself and I plan to homeschool my children when they are of age. My son is almost 4, so I’m always on the look-out for books, software, supplies and tools. By tools, I mean anything that will be of use in their education.

The internet can play an important part of learning these days. From educational games and print outs to videos and research, you can find just about anything you would need online; you can even save money by not having to invest in an expensive curriculum.

Whether you homeschool or have a private/public school child that is doing research online for homework, I suggest this nifty kids search engine. Kids can enter their keyword or phrases of choice and find the information they need through a number of trusted kid safe search engines. These search engines are preset to filter out bad words and topics that you would not want them to access.

This kids search, http://www.kigose.com, is free and effectively used by K-12 students and particularly for those between the ages of 6 – 12. There is a video tutorial on how to use the site available for new users which is helpful for those children and parents that are new to the web. There is nothing to download (like many of the search tool bars) and the navigational search bar stays at the bottom of your browser page so that you can perform new searches at any time without having to stray away from this page.
As always, for added precaution, parental supervision is suggested when children are using the internet.