Banishing a HOT Spot!

This stupid cupboard has bothered me for months and in just 1/2 hr I have brought organization and peace of mind!! Phew!! I'm sorry, but I have to keep saying it because it keeps surprising me, these tasks always seem more daunting then they really are. I mean just think about it, this cupboard has been this messy and has been bothering for MONTHS!! And in 30 minutes, months of irritation is now gone!! I seriously hope that when I get to the point that I'm ready to do my desk that I feel the same way!!! But so far so good!! Now I just have a couple things to put in their proper homes, some of the strangest things had found their way to this cupboard, like gift receipts, drill bits, squirled snacks!! HA!! Just wierd stuff!! But as you can see, it's much better now!!

Have an awesome and productive day!! GIT'R'DONE!!

Checklist for my kids!!

Every feel like things are bordering on out of control?! Ever feel like you've got one kid coming in the back door, one kid running out the front door and one kid tugging on your sleeve for the 14th time in a row?? Ever feel like all you've done all day is trashed in minutes after they get home from school and you just push through the chaos until all the sudden it's bedtime and you are now cleaning up the messes they left behind? Oh no, never right?! Several weeks ago I made up chore charts for the kids. They also include personal maintenance items such as brush teeth, make bed, etc. They can have an allowance based on their chores. They each have 1 everyday chore and 1 as needed, and if they want to earn more money I have come up with a few extra chores they can do upon request. Such a great system I thought I had created. I put them in sheet protectors and hung them using painters tape on the back of their bedroom door, along with a white board marker. I was SO proud of myself!! BUT, it wasn't getting done. How stinking disappointing!!

SO, yesterday I decided that I wanted to do something that would hopefully make it easier on them AND me. I came up with 3 checklists for each of my boys. One for morning, one for after school and one that's done before bed. I wrote them on index cards. Today I will be getting them laminated, I will punch a hole in the corner and put a binder ring so each kid has his own set of 3 cards. The instructions are simple, they truly don't take long to do at all, BUT it makes a tremendous difference. By the time the kids got home from school yesterday I had already done the After School Checklists. They followed each step and it flowed so nicely. I had done a rough draft of the Before Bed and Morning lists. Last night before bed they each followed all the steps and again it went over really well. So last night I wrote out the good copies for each of them. This morning they came in and grabbed their checklists and again it flowed. WOW!! I think I'm going to like this!!

On Sunday evenings we will take a look at each of their chore charts and evaluate what's going well, and what chores were accomplished. I will pay them an allowance based on the chores they completed, and possibly a bonus for completing every single thing for the week! I can feel peace and order coming into my home!! Aaahhh..I will update you in a few weeks on how this is working out!!

One thing that I thought was very sweet this morning, was that my 8 year old was reading the list to his younger brother. He said, "Mommy I'm reading it to him so he knows what to do!" He beat me to it!! I loved his initiative and willingness to help out his younger brother!!

I don't claim to have all the answers, and maybe what works for me wouldn't work for you! So, if you have things set up in your home, routines that work, PLEASE share that with me!! I would love to hear your input!!

Have a fantastic day and GIT'R'DONE!!!

Laundry room

I realize it's late, but I couldn't wait to post this!!

So it only took me 3 days..but I got it done!! HA!! I was at the mercy of getting permission from my landlords and then arranging a time with my Dad to come and install it!! BUT..VOILA!!

If money was no object I would rather have cabinets, but I am being frugal AND this is a rental! So this project was about $16 at Lowes! Not too shabby..now I have alot more space in there!! I'm happy with it!! Uhm yeah..everything but the vaseline..I can't for the life of me even remember why it's in there?! haha!!

Nice work Papa!! It looks bueno!!

So..needless to say I am ready for my next 'YOU CALL IT'!! So bring it on!!

You Call It's first hit...laundry room!!

Thank you Tabitha!! This is definitely an area that needs help!! I loathe my laundry room because it's one of those that's in a hallway on the way to the garage..stupid location, no space, nowhere to hang stuff, no where to sort dirty clothes..yeah..you get it!! Not to mention the fact that I have my cleaning stuff here too..so it's a little crowded and therefore...MESSY!!

This may need to be a 2 part project. I've been wanting to put up an additional shelf above the existing one ever since I moved in!! That will require permission from the landlords first, then purchasing it, then having it put up!! SO, before that happens I will pull everything down and sort it!

Here's how it is now..but since my boys are literally walking through the door..it will probably be tomorrow by the time I get the 'after' pic up!!

So, I may not be able to solve the issue of space, BUT I can make the best of the space I've got!! That means..uhm..maybe a little more organized would be nice!!

Time to do homework with my boys!!

It's 'YOU CALL IT' week!!

Ok, here it goes! So as I mentioned earlier I am going to try something new and probably crazy!! It's YOU call it week!! Here's how it works, I would like you to comment with a certain area of my home. I will go there, snap a pic and post it. Then I will give it any attention it needs and post an after shot too!! My desk and the garage are off limits simply because those would take the ENTIRE week(at least), and quite honestly I would need help for the garage!! For example, you could suggest things like master bath, closet, boys closets, boys bath, laundry, pantry, living, etc!!

This will be fun to see how long it takes to get any responses too!!

Put me to work!! Haha..I'm waiting!!!

Fridays Shoe Box Project

Hello friends!! On Friday I took some shoe boxes I had been saving and covered them with brown paper, you know the kind for parcels?! Then when the boys got home from school they decorated their own boxes. Lets just say my 8 year old got WAY into it and had a lot of fun, my 10 year old was thinking about how fast he could just get this over with and go play!!

Once they were done we took them to their room and used them for their rock and shell collections. Now these aren't all over their room, or the whole cotton pickin' house!! Heehee!! It's true!!

So yes I could of just bought some containers from the store for about $2.50 each or so, but these are personalized!! So I reused and recycled and it was a fun crafty project for the guys!!

So tell me how you keep all your kids's collections in order!! I would love to hear new fresh ideas!!

BUSTED!!

Ok..so yesterday I was totally busted by the Slacker Police!! (I can just hear the sirens, WOOOWOOOWOOOWOOO!!) I snapped a picture of the hot spot in my kitchen. Then I kicked my own butt for doing it!! Haha!! I couldn't believe how bad it had gotten in NO time!! Grrr..But I fixed it! *Big Toothy Grin*!

It's amazing to me how caught up I can be with the business of life to slack off in an area that needs consistent attention. That is the dump spot. But it should be just a temporary landing pad!!

This coming week I am going to be trying something new so I wanted to give you all a heads up!! This is an interactive project, meaning you folks get to be apart of my daily stuffs!! Haha!! So be on the lookout for the instructions, it's super easy!! I think we'll all have fun, well, maybe you more than me at first!!

I am about to start todays project! I am really excited about this one!! And I'm not even being sarcastic!!

As always, I am always happy to hear any hints, tips, ideas, etc that you have on keeping things neat and tidy!!

So ta ta for now!! Have a great day and I'll post todays project later on!!