A COLOR CODED FAMILY!!!! BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!

I came across this article and loved the concept, so I wanted to share it with you! It is from the Organized Mom. I thik it is a BRILLIANT idea. I hope you can use it!

Many people have asked me what is the simplest way to get a family (especially a large one) organized. My answer is always color coding! There are so many things you can get organized, and create order in your home just by simply assigning colors and sticking to them. If the children are old enough you can ask them what their favorite color is and use that, if they are younger you can assign it yourself. Don’t forget a color for Mom & Dad too!

Schedules – This is probably the most obvious one. Each family member’s appointments and tasks are written in their color so it is easy to see at a glance who needs to go where. In Daily Home Planner this is very easy as when you enter a family member you have to assign them a color.

Stuff – You can purchase tooth brushes in their color, backpacks, journals, anything that you will be buying for every member for the family, even sheets. This will prevent fights over who’s is this (unless you are my 2 year old who thinks that EVERYTHING is hers). Mainly it will help you keep track of what’s what without having to search for a name.

Chores – When you do laundry you can place the children’s clothes in bins marked (either with a label you’ve colored, or different colored bins) with their color. You will easily be able to see who hasn’t put their laundry away yet, and it will be easy to sort the clothes.

Paperwork – Homework, permission slips and any other type of paper that the kids need can go in color coded folders.

The benefit for smaller families – Now if you really don’t have a problem keeping track of your kids belongings (because you only have 1) then you can still benefit from the color coding process! Schedules still need to be coordinated (even if it is just your husband, you and your child). Laundry still must be sorted. And even Trevor and I need to keep our toothbrushes sorted out.

Pick your colors today and stop the “Who’s is this?” question!

Homework: Assign your family a color! Have a ORGANIZED and wonderful Halloween!!!

A BIG CRUSH ON MR. CLEAN!!!

I honestly have a CRUSH on Mr. Clean! He is pretty HOT!!!!! (Minus the earring!!) Anyway, many years ago I was introduced to the Mr. Clean Magic eraser and I have been hooked ever since.

This magical sponge will brighten up your home by helping to renew its surfaces. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will help your walls, baseboards, floors, switch plates, blinds and more look like new again by easily removing scuff marks and dirt.

To discover the cleaning possibilities, simply take a swipe. Its water-activated micro-scrubbers reach into the surface grooves, lifting away built up grease and soap scum. It has no harsh chemicals. Before long, you'll be back to the things you love best in a brighter, cleaner space!!

When you see the commercials, this white foamy pad seems too good to be true. But I’ve used it for 8 years now and it’s still my “go to” tool when there’s something in my home that nothing else will get clean. I use it in my showers and tubs to get them sparkling white!!

I know after you have one date with Mr. Clean, you too will think he is HOT!!!

Homework: Go out this weekend and BUY one!!! Have a great and Organized week!!

A HOME OR A PLOT OF LAND???

A few months ago on a bright and early Saturday morning, my good friend Crystal called me and said..."CALLI, I now understand completely why you say "does that have a HOME." So I asked Crystal to explain her theory of why she thinks I came up with that phrase.
Needless to say... SHE HIT IT RIGHT ON THE NOSE!!!! I have asked her to write down what she told me, because I feel that coming from someone who is just starting the process of making "a home for their things", will make more of an impact on you.

SO HERE IT IS...

“Everything has a home”, Calli says. And her words ring in my head often. I am trying to make changes for myself and my family with her help. We desperately need more order in our lives. So as I’m going throughout my day recently, I found myself hearing Calli’s voice. As I was setting down another object on our kitchen counter we affectionately call our C.C. (crap-collector), I heard her voice. “Is that it’s home”, she asked. “Yes”, I answered, “this is where I always put it”. But as I walked away I realized for the first time in all these years that it really, really wasn’t it’s home. In fact, I realized that almost ALL of the items in my house do NOT have homes, they might have a plot of land, but not a home.

Let me explain by asking what is a home for anyways? Well, in regards to my family, we live here, we gather, share love, different opinions, we grow and make memories of course. But our home also offers us protection, security, and consistency. So can we apply these last adjectives to the homes of our possessions? Do we provide a consistent place for our items where they are safe, secure and protected? Or are you stacking stuff on your C.C. (I know you have one somewhere).The items we place on our land plots are just waiting to be bumped, trampled, spilled on, or lost. If you are going to keep it, maintain it, keep a mental and physical place for it in your house and lives, you better find a home for it. Land does not provide safety from our life’s storms. It is just a spot where we stick things. Now I do believe in temporary homes for items. My winter clothes go to a temporary home (secured, safe, and not forgotten), until it’s winter again and they can join us in a more permanent home. But winter clothes thrown into a pile on a plot of land in the corner of my laundry room is not doing any of us any good. (I do have a plot of land in the corner of my laundry room that calls for things to stay awhile when I’m feeling lazy). Calli’s helping me with that.

So, I share this experience with a suggestion. Perhaps the next time you are sorting through your items, or just placing things down in a temporary spot- maybe you could ask yourself, “is that it’s home or a plot of land?”. If you love it, need it, care for it, please find it a home. Nobody likes to be homeless.

One more suggestion that seems to decrease tension in regards to my kids- in our home if I see my kids item left out, I will sometimes say, “ahhh, poor thing, it’s homeless. Won’t someone help that shoe find a home? It’s lost.”

SEE WHAT I MEAN!!! Thank you Crystal...YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

Homework: Get rid of your CRAP-COLLECTOR!!! (I know you have one.) Have a great and ORGANIZED weekend!!

Tip of the week #9

PAPERS PAPERS PAPER...How many papers do your little monkeys bring home in there backpacks?? TOO MUCH!!!! Don't you all agree?? So many papers, so little time...What do you do with them??

•Place a cute basket or bin by the door or on your desk or counter top, and teach your children to use it to put the papers that need mom and dad’s attention. This will prevent papers from piling up on counter tops. The cute and adorable crafts that your amazing kids bring home and want to save...SAVE THEM FOR A WEEK...HANG THEM UP, do whatever, but then throw them away. I keep 5 projects a year! If they want to keep more take a picture and label it. I have bins for each of my kiddo's to save their treasured art work!! BUT ONLY 5 A YEAR!! Then I take pictures if they can't live without their life size portrait of them selves!!! ;) It works out GREAT!!!

HOMEWORK: Make a basket or bin for your kids to place all their work they need us to look at! Have a great and organized week!!

Back To School Shooping!!!

I am finally back!! I had to get my kiddos ready for school!! Plus my teenager has been really sick for 3 weeks, so I have been taking a bloggers BREAK!!! I wanted to write something about getting ready for “back to school shopping!!” I know most of you have already had your kids in school for a couple of weeks…BUT there are still some of you who haven’t started yet!!! So here are some tips on “back to school shopping.”

This year I get to shop for a kid in High school, middle school, elementary and pre- school!! Yep that’s right 4 different stages of life…LUCKY ME!!!! Shopping with four kids, ages 15 and under, is not a fun adventure, that’s why I try to find the best deals and

have a plan of attack before I even leave the house.

Here’s what I do. I take all of my kids supply lists and highlight everything that’s the same on the lists this way I know to double my count. At their school they need typical things like paper, scissors, and glue sticks. I know that I will be able to find these at just about any store that sells school supplies.

I like to create one big master list with everything on it for the kids back-to-school needs, including things like backpacks, lunch boxes, and water bottles. Next to each items I include the quantity and any specific notes like brand names, specials like buy 3 get I free.

If you find that you really do have to go to more than one store make a separate list for each store. This will keep you on task and save you time.
I also must add that I started my list in June…I know CRAZY!!!! BUT I listed each of my kiddos names. Underneath I made a list. For example… Avery needed new socks and tennis shoes. I realized that back in June and I didn’t want to forget so I wrote it down right then. In July I went through each of their rooms to figure out what clothes they each needed, and listed them.

The best way to know that you are getting the cheapest price possible is to just head to Wal-mart. They will price match their competitor prices. Any store that will price match is a guaranteed best bet as long as they carry what you need.

Good luck with “BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING” I know it can be dreadful but you can make it fun!!! Growing up I always would looked forward to August because my mom would make it unforgetful, with lunch and a GREAT new outfit for the first day of school!!! I have since carried out that tradition, I take each of my kids to lunch and school shopping alone. They each love it and every year ask “when is it my turn to go school shopping?”

Homework: Make your supply list!!! Have a great an ORGANIZED week!!!

TIP OF THE WEEK #8

Tip of the week #8...

Find a home for all your electronic games!!!

How many of you have your WI game, Play Station, X Box, or Nintendo out for the whole world to see???

Find a place on your entertainment center, or somewhere in the room where you play them. So when company comes over they wont know they are even there.

Last week I had an organizational job, and she said her family doesn't play the WI very much...so I found a basket that fit all the accessories to the game, and also all her games she had for the WI. We found a HOME in a closet by her playroom, so when the family wants to play WI they just have to grab the basket...when they are finished they put everything back in its proper spot in the basket, and put the basket back in its HOME!!!

Homework: Find a home for all your electronics. Have a great an ORGANIZED week!!

3 MAGICAL QUESTIONS, THAT COULD HELP YOU!!!

From a site I was on, I came across 3 questions the writer would ask herself, when she was De cluttering her house. They are...

Do you love it?

Do you use it?

Do you have the room to store it?

Those are some of the questions you need to ask about your stuff on a regular basis. If the answer is no to any one of those questions then it’s time to share that stuff with someone else or trash it. Otherwise it’s just going to pile up in your home, you are going to trip over it, you are not going to be able to find what you need, the pile is only going to continue to grow and you are going to get frustrated and overwhelmed when the weight of it becomes more than you can bear…physically and mentally.

So when you are cleaning a room in your house, or helping someone De clutter...ask yourself or them those 3 wonderful questions!!!

Homework: Clean out your junk drawer, (we all have one), and put those 3 questions into practice!!! Have a great and organized weekend!!!

YES!! MY BABY LOST HER FIRST TOOTH...check out my blog http://www.fuzzystreasures.blogspot.com/ to read all about it!!!