Systems Even a Child Can Get Into!

Cleaning and organizing have become a never-ending cycle in our household.  We installed the chore system that I pictured in the last post and so far so good.  It gets our kids more in a routine and they also have to realization that they need to do these activities everyday.  We used to hear, "but I made my bed yesterday" and now they know automatically that they need to make it everyday.  There is a bit of behavior maintenance on all of our parts.  As parents, we need to reset it every night, go over the tokens they earned that day and make sure we take them away when they are not behaving well.  I can explain it more thoroughly to anyone who is interested, just message me on Twitter @jamclevermama or on facebook "cleverly organized jorie 1148" and I will be happy to write back.

So back to our cycle, now that the kids are involved, we have a whole different problem.  They are "helping".  Here is a picture of my daughter's bookshelf after she has "cleaned" her room.  She is five years old so I should cut her some slack, right?  

Not really, let me explain.  Day after day I would sit her down, show her how to put her books away and essentially do it for her that day (extra work for me).  Then, the next day after she told me "it's clean", it looks like this.  She tried but this system is obviously not right for her.  When you want your children to help out, you need to make sure that the system in place enables them to do so.  It can be as simple as hanging the hooks at a length they can reach to hang up their coat.  In my daughter's case, I finally sat down and watched her try to put her books away.  As she tried to line them up like I showed her, the weight of the books already in place would be too much and they would all fall.  She then got frustrated and stacked as you see them. 

 

I decided to rethink the shelf entirely.  First, I went through all of the books.  I couldn't believe how many were not appropriate for her anymore or damaged and needed to be thrown away.  I sorted them into piles.  She has a younger brother and sister.  So we made piles to be given to them, a garbage pile, a donation pile and books that can go in the basement for her to read when I am exercising.  With the much condensed pile, I moved her books to a smaller location by her bed for night time reading.  With fewer books, she is able to line them up easily.

 

Then, I decided to use the bookshelf to help with her dress-up clothes problem.  She was always throwing her dresses into a trunk at the foot of her bed.  It made it very easy for her to tear them all out and be very rough with them when she was looking for one thing.  I removed the shelves in bookcase and added a tension rod.  I decided to put back one of the shelves for wings, crowns and other accessories.  Now, she is able to see all of her dresses, choose the right one and put it back without having to rummage, cram or stuff! 

 

Check out this after picture!  Love it!  If you have any projects like this you would like to share, please comment and let us know where to see it.  Hope this helps inspire some of you to get those little ones helping out and becoming responsible!

 

 

Systems for a Sane Home

Transitions and change sure know how to wreak havoc in our lives.  I have heard of friends posting about sleep patterns, new foods, potty training, new jobs, marriages and such so I know I am not alone.  In my own household we could describe almost that whole list and more and it is only January.  I apologize for not being as present here as I had hoped from the start.  It is a change for me and my home and I am still working on getting the time management in its place.  There are many things I want to share and learn so I am committed to getting more in this blog with the assistance of anyone who wants to contribute.

The routine... How do you SAHM, WAHM, part time and full time moms do it?  How have you worked your day logistically so that for the most part, everything gets done AND there is room for a little bit of extra?  I want to know what you have tried and what actually worked.  I love the idea of dry-erase boards or chalkboard calendars/daily schedules but how do you stick with them and make them work?  What baby steps can one take to help get there without setting them up for frustration or failure? 

Here is what I am attempting to do this week.  I am in an epic battle to get my kids to help out.  I think that their contributions would reduce my stress-level and then I could really get those tasks done!  I have a picture of the "chore chart" I recently purchased below.  I'll report back on how it works.  Any suggestions on how your "chore charts" or strategies have worked are very welcome.

Also, I am installing a "one major chore" a day schedule.  Laundry on Sunday, dusting on Tuesday, type of thing.  I am sick of waking up on to Saturday and having to gut out the whole house!  What type of cleaning regiment do you have functioning in your house?  Leo Babauta writes a great article on getting started.  He describes one of the steps to starting this type of system is starting with a clean slate.  Guess what my weekend has been and will consist of... (http://zenhabits.net/handle-chores-house-cleaning-and-errands-with-simple-systems/).  Looking forward to getting into it and coming out cleaner, happier and more sane:) 

So I am still on a food kick and definitely don't think we have exhausted this topic enough to move on!  My first thoughts are always to plan plan plan.  Although I know that even the most put together mommy has those moments where we forgot something, we ran out of time to run to the store or we just don't feel like making what we planned to make!  Last night, my kids were sick and trying something new and exciting would  not work!

For me, I personally have a few recipes/meals that I know by heart.  They require little ingredients or at least ingredients I can have on hand for a long time.  In my household these will usually come out because it is after 7pm and I haven't even made it home yet to start dinner.  Before I want to start working through a brand new recipe that might take me longer than expected to make, I will fall back on my "tried and true" to nourish the family that evening.  I will comment with one of my favorites and list the ingredients, etc.  As I commented on in the previous post, Kraft has a great easy to use recipe where you can plug in "chicken and corn" because that's what you might have on hand and it will give you some easy to make recipes to try.   

So my question this week is "what is your tried and true"?  What do you always have in your pantry that can make a quick meal and be your go to?  I think we all have pasta and sauce so lets move beyond that one.  Staples you always keep in the pantry because you know when all else fails, you can at least serve that.  Is there a website or book you use to find quick recipes with what you have on hand?  Thanks for sharing!!

Mom... what are we having for dinner??

Let's jump into the new year discussing one of my favorite topics ever, FOOD!!  With new year resolutions being sworn left and right, I am sure most of us are hoping to be more healthy and spend less.  In my household, I literally see rotten money being thrown away.  Food that goes bad or last minute stops to pick up something I forgot consume my budget.  I pick up a Sunday newspaper in the hopes that I will save the coupons, research easy recipes to use these coupon-saved items and then actually follow through and make the meal for my family.  Sometimes this all goes smoothly and I feel like super-mom.  Most of the time there is some stage in the process that doesn't go according to plan.  Does any of these sound familiar?  You forgot the coupon, the coupon was expired, you forgot an item from the recipe, the store was out of an item, you didn't have time to clip, plan, or go to store, you made a recipe and the children refuse to eat it, your meal gets burnt or overdone due to distractions.  I could go on forever where meals have given me grief!

Is this how it is with any of you?  What are your issues with food in your houses?  Did you discover some amazing system that gets you to a grocery store, get a great deal, make the meal that your whole family enjoys and not waste food or money? 

Here is my pledge for 2013.  "Food should be consumed, it shouldn't consume us"!!