organize

Each morning as I have my first cup of coffee, I’ve developed a habit of writing out a top ten list. This list is comprised of the little tasks I’d like to get accomplished through the day. Things I may otherwise forget or not make time for. Things like buying stamps or painting my toenails or knitting with my daughter.

Having a separate list for these things has helped me accomplish a lot more during the day. I found that I always had a little time between tasks that was getting wasted. Waiting for cookies to finish baking. Supervising the children’s chores. A few minutes here or there that could get put to use if I had a focus. And this is where the list comes in.

I keep my list on a clipboard next to my desk so I can see it often throughout the day and take it with me as I perform my tasks. It is separate from my planner, which houses appointments and goal-oriented tasks. This one is for odds and ends I’d like to squeeze in as I find the time. If you’d like to give this a try, I have made my list available as a free printable HERE!

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Ever feel overwhelmed by the number of ideas, recipes and potential projects out there? All the great blogs, books and magazines (not to mention Pinterest!) filled with amazing projects…

Relying on my memory when I got to the craft store or thrift store never worked very well. I tried using the tiny screen and inadequate internet service on my phone to look up the ideas I’d saved. Still not good enough. I decided I needed to create a binder for the projects I was planning on using in the near future. Which is where the idea for this handy book was born.

My binder contains an organized collection of recipes, diy projects, craft projects, decorating ideas, gardening ideas and gift ideas I plan to do in the near future. At the beginning of each month, I pull out the project I want to accomplish and make a plan for getting it done.

Here’s how you can create your own idea book. You will need:

• 3 ring binder
• tab dividers
• page protectors

Step 1: Decide on Your Categories

Think about the things that are highest on your priority list.  Things that you’d most like to get done.  Be sure to choose projects that are realistic given your time and budgetary constraints.  If you’ve been wanting to sew more, add a sewing category.  If you’d like to put together a home decorating plan, you can make a decor category for keeping track of DIY projects, paint colors and dream rooms for inspiration.  Wanna learn how to make homemade breads and rolls?  Consider a baking or recipes category.

My categories are:

• Dinner Ideas – This is where I keep the recipes I haven’t tried yet but want to.  I try to pull out one per week when I’m making my grocery list.
• Crafts – Various projects I’d like to try.
• Gifts – I keep all my teacher, neighbor, birthday and holiday gift ideas in one place.  This has been a particularly handy category, because I have been able to find things on clearance or free with coupon for these projects.  If I didn’t have them all saved in one place, I’m sure I wouldn’t have remembered to be on the lookout for them.
• Sewing – I especially like having printed copies of these projects so I can remember every detail when I’m at the store.
• Home & Garden – Here I have paint samples, diy projects and pages from magazines of the room styles I like.  I can’t tell you how helpful it has been to have my “style” and color preferences defined.  I have been able to focus my thrift store and clearance shopping purchases only on items that fit my overall vision.

Step 2: Slowly Add Your Projects

Now that you’ve decided on a few categories, it’s just a matter of keeping your eyes peeled for projects and ideas you can add.  This is where it can be easy to get carried away. I love Pinterest, but I have pinned more ideas than I will ever have time to get to. This book should not be another version of that. Rather it should be small enough to be do-able. This is your Ideas-I’m-Actually-Gonna-Do book. I have even placed a self-imposed limit on how many ideas I allow myself to put in it!

Step 3: Make a Plan

Once my project for the month is chosen, I move it to the front of the binder and create a plan using this printable. Writing it out gives me a sense of ownership to the project and prevents me from putting it off.

And there you have it!  A super easy way to get your ideas and projects organized in one tidy place!  I have used my book so much this year, that I don’t know how I did without it!

Thinking of making one yourself? Get my Projects & Ideas Planner (shown above) as a free printable HERE!

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Well, spring cleaning is starting a little early this year at our house.

I’d love to tell you that having five kids is what causes the clutter to accumulate around here. Truth is, the biggest culprit is me and my darn paperwork. I have coupons to clip, bills to pay, ideas written here and there, projects, recipes, school papers, books and magazines, and the list goes on…

So this year as I go through our house and purge, I thought I’d share a few easy ways I am going to keep control of the clutter. This is one of my favorites, because having the bills organized and in one easy location really helps make everything else feel more manageable.

Ours consists of:

• Photo Box – you can get these on sale for $1.50-$2 at the craft stores
• Envelopes
• Stamps
• Pen
• Calculator
• Address Labels – get them free from Vistaprints, just pay $3.60 shipping
• Checkbook

For a little somethin’ extra, I made a cute holder to keep my blank envelopes together.  I found some decorative ribbon that matched my bill box and attached a little velcro to both ends of it.  Then I glued a flower scrapbook cutout on top to cover the raw edge of the ribbon.

I just love photo boxes.  They’re just the right size, and come in plenty of decorative colors. And they’re cheap.  In the past I’ve used them for organizing coupons, craft supplies and even recipes.

Now if you’re like us, you pay most of your bills online.  But it’s still a good idea to have the paper copy available to write payment confirmation numbers on them before filing them away.  Plus we still have a few bills that don’t offer online pay (local utilities and medical bills) so having an organized spot for everything helps keep me on top of things.

How about you?  Do you have any tips for organizing bills?

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With five school age children, a quick and simple morning routine is essential to getting out the door on time. Here’s a trick I use that not only saves time but also saves money! Rather than buying the expensive single serve snacks, we purchase cookies, chips etc. in regular size packages and divide them into lunch size portions as soon as we arrive home from the store.

The children know that items contained in these boxes are off limits for snacking at home, and are only for school lunches, which is another great benefit.  This way, I know I have enough lunch items for an entire week or two, and I won’t be running off to the store every other day.

I keep these on the top shelf of the pantry so no one is tempted to break into them…including mom
Do you have any tips for saving time in the morning? Share them in the comments!

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