School season is now well underway for the year; backpacks have been purchased and well-stocked. However, do you really think you're done buying supplies for the year? Probably not. In my house at least, it seeems like there is always a need for another notebook, index cards, or more pencils...
Why don't you clear a spot today in a cabinet or a closet to store extra school supplies that you might need during the year, saving yourself a rushed trip out to Walmart that always seems to come at the most inconvenient and busiest time possible....
I currently use the floor of my downstairs hallway closet to store notebooks, filler paper, extra pens and pencils, glue sticks, book covers, and a bunch of those duo-tang folders (not sure what the official name of those are...) How nice it is when a child asks (usually at bedtime...), "Oh, Mom, I need a new notebook tomorrow for English class," to which you can simply reply with a smile, "Just grab one out of the closet, dear." No frustration!
Right now is the perfect time to take advantage of a great school supply sale such as the one Target is currently having - 75% off all supplies, excluding backpacks and lunchbags!
This is one time it's "okay" to be a pack rat because it saves you time... and money!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Evening Routine Helps!
Having an evening routine in place can greatly enhance your morning and free up more time so that you and your family are no longer rushing to get out the door, but can move at a more leisurely pace (as long as you don't hit that snooze figuring that you now have "extra" time!)
An evening routine should be SIMPLE; otherwise, chances are you won't do it, will you? And consistency is the key. Easier to add an evening routine with only 1-3 steps than one that has you doing 6-8 things and causing you to feel so overwhelmed and tired that you don't even bother most nights.
My evening routine consists of about 10 minutes of prep time. Now granted, I don't have children I'm getting ready for school, except one... and he's a junior this year in high school... "You're on your OWN, buddy!"
1) I lay out my clothes the night before keeping in mind what the next day's plans consist of and what the weather will be like.
2) I make sure to clean my kitchen before heading up stairs, making sure there are no stray dishes in the sink that my family snuck in at the last moment - there's nothing worse than coming downstairs first thing in the morning to dirty dishes or a sticky table or a cluttered countertop.
3) I run the dishwasher each and every night, whether it's full or not. I just like the routine of having clean dishes in the morning to start the day. That's just me. :)
If you get up from the TV every time a commercial comes on, you can get your entire evening routine accomplished in pieces here and there by the time your favorite TV show is finished!
Families that have the busiest mornings are those with school-age children. Which is ironic... because if you have school-age children in your home, you have built-in "helpers" in your home. Use them!
Some suggestions:
1) Lay out their clothes (or get them into the habit of choosing an outfit the night before)
2) Have the kids set the kitchen table for breakfast next morning.
3) Have the kids empty their lunch boxes and set them out on the kitchen counter (you can have them begin packing their lunch the night before).
Speaking of lunches, I really do love those individual pre-packaged cookie/cracker packs... yes, they're a lot more expensive, but if you can hit a "buy one, get one" free sale, STOCK UP! Much easier for a child to reach into the pantry and grab an already pre-packaged container of 4 Oreos than to fill a ziploc bag with a package of regular Oreos, and yes, my sons would literally FILL the bag! Hmm... maybe those pre-packaged snacks aren't so expensive after all...
4) Shower/bathe (if you have a few children all getting ready in the morning, in addition to you, this becomes a necessity to stagger shower times!)
5) Set the backpacks, jackets, and all other needed school items by the front door ready to go. All you need to do is add the lunch pack in the morning.
Don't be afraid to get your kids involved. Turn it into a nightly family ritual and then enjoy that unrushed morning time together.
No snoozing allowed though!
An evening routine should be SIMPLE; otherwise, chances are you won't do it, will you? And consistency is the key. Easier to add an evening routine with only 1-3 steps than one that has you doing 6-8 things and causing you to feel so overwhelmed and tired that you don't even bother most nights.
My evening routine consists of about 10 minutes of prep time. Now granted, I don't have children I'm getting ready for school, except one... and he's a junior this year in high school... "You're on your OWN, buddy!"
1) I lay out my clothes the night before keeping in mind what the next day's plans consist of and what the weather will be like.
2) I make sure to clean my kitchen before heading up stairs, making sure there are no stray dishes in the sink that my family snuck in at the last moment - there's nothing worse than coming downstairs first thing in the morning to dirty dishes or a sticky table or a cluttered countertop.
3) I run the dishwasher each and every night, whether it's full or not. I just like the routine of having clean dishes in the morning to start the day. That's just me. :)
If you get up from the TV every time a commercial comes on, you can get your entire evening routine accomplished in pieces here and there by the time your favorite TV show is finished!
Families that have the busiest mornings are those with school-age children. Which is ironic... because if you have school-age children in your home, you have built-in "helpers" in your home. Use them!
Some suggestions:
1) Lay out their clothes (or get them into the habit of choosing an outfit the night before)
2) Have the kids set the kitchen table for breakfast next morning.
3) Have the kids empty their lunch boxes and set them out on the kitchen counter (you can have them begin packing their lunch the night before).
Speaking of lunches, I really do love those individual pre-packaged cookie/cracker packs... yes, they're a lot more expensive, but if you can hit a "buy one, get one" free sale, STOCK UP! Much easier for a child to reach into the pantry and grab an already pre-packaged container of 4 Oreos than to fill a ziploc bag with a package of regular Oreos, and yes, my sons would literally FILL the bag! Hmm... maybe those pre-packaged snacks aren't so expensive after all...
4) Shower/bathe (if you have a few children all getting ready in the morning, in addition to you, this becomes a necessity to stagger shower times!)
5) Set the backpacks, jackets, and all other needed school items by the front door ready to go. All you need to do is add the lunch pack in the morning.
Don't be afraid to get your kids involved. Turn it into a nightly family ritual and then enjoy that unrushed morning time together.
No snoozing allowed though!
Friday, September 5, 2008
New Season... New Routine
With the new season and the arrival of another school year comes the necessity of tweaking my morning routine. When something doesn't work for you, don't be afraid to make changes periodically until you find something that does work.
My new morning routine that I've recently printed out and placed into my binder looks something like this...
6:30 Wake/Dress/Make Coffee
6:45 Devotions/See Jordan off to school/Clean kitchen
7:15 Walk or Exercise
7:40 Shower/Wipe down bathrooms
8:00 Computer time
8:30 Breakfast with Brandon/Start laundry/School prep
9:00 Begin school
I then have another schedule/routine for once our school day begins, but I won't bore you with those details. :)
Remember, your morning is the key to how the rest of your day will go. Make the best use of that time!
My new morning routine that I've recently printed out and placed into my binder looks something like this...
6:30 Wake/Dress/Make Coffee
6:45 Devotions/See Jordan off to school/Clean kitchen
7:15 Walk or Exercise
7:40 Shower/Wipe down bathrooms
8:00 Computer time
8:30 Breakfast with Brandon/Start laundry/School prep
9:00 Begin school
I then have another schedule/routine for once our school day begins, but I won't bore you with those details. :)
Remember, your morning is the key to how the rest of your day will go. Make the best use of that time!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
My Results - 7 Minute Experiment
Motivated by what the mom that I blogged about previously was able to accomplish in a mere seven minutes, I put myself to the test. I set the timer as I was about to cook myself an omelette for breakfast. Here are the results:
Scrambled my eggs for omelette and started the cooking (took longer than 7 minutes to actually cook thoroughly)
Emptied the dishwasher
Printed four forms that I needed to fill out for school
Went out on my front porch and watered my flowers
Started a load of laundry on the way out
Wiped down my kitchen counters AND my kitchen table
I was hoping to finish cooking my omelette during this 7 minute experiment, but it needed a few more minutes to cook through thoroughly. But wow, I was amazed at what I could do in that small amount of time. Try it for yourself! All you need are 7 minutes.
And if you can't get 7 minutes, try 40 seconds! In the time it takes me to microwave a cup of coffee (sometimes I'm that desperate for a hot cup), I can empty my dishwasher or wipe down my counters.
If only I could teach my boys this amazing principle. Brandon is still just standing there watching his oatmeal cook in the microwave...
Scrambled my eggs for omelette and started the cooking (took longer than 7 minutes to actually cook thoroughly)
Emptied the dishwasher
Printed four forms that I needed to fill out for school
Went out on my front porch and watered my flowers
Started a load of laundry on the way out
Wiped down my kitchen counters AND my kitchen table
I was hoping to finish cooking my omelette during this 7 minute experiment, but it needed a few more minutes to cook through thoroughly. But wow, I was amazed at what I could do in that small amount of time. Try it for yourself! All you need are 7 minutes.
And if you can't get 7 minutes, try 40 seconds! In the time it takes me to microwave a cup of coffee (sometimes I'm that desperate for a hot cup), I can empty my dishwasher or wipe down my counters.
If only I could teach my boys this amazing principle. Brandon is still just standing there watching his oatmeal cook in the microwave...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Seven Minutes a Day
Think you don't have enough time during your busy day to organize and maintain your home on a regular basis? I recently came across a journal entry by a mom of 2 young children who realized the importance of what I call "double duty." She decided to make a list of all the things she accomplished during the 7 minutes it took to boil noodles for macaroni and cheese. These are her results:
-Put away clean dishes
-Assisted a potty-training toddler
-Cooked a grilled cheese sandwich
-Washed dirty dishes
-Sliced an apple
-Sent two emails
-Washed and dried two sippy cups
-Filled said sippy cups: one with milk, one with water
-Sock mopped the floor
-Assisted potty training toddler, again
-Planned dinner menu
-Mentally mapped out a scrapbook page
-Microwaved a cup of coffee
- All while carrying on a conversation with an over-talkative five-year-old, above the noise of a crying and whining toddler!
Holy cow! I think this mom travels faster than the speed of light in her home! I ALWAYS do something while cooking... other than just the cooking. But wow, this is a challenge that I am ready to try!
"Double duty" is something that I am constantly battling with my 11 yo. Almost every morning, he microwaves a bowl of oatmeal for himself - takes 1 minute to cook, another minute to cool. That's two minutes! Know what my son does during those two minutes? Absolutely NOTHING! He stands there and watches the bowl go round and round inside the microwave. Arg! I have told him countless times, don't just stand there! You're wasting time! Do something! I've told him that in the time he just stands there waiting for his oatmeal to be cooked, he could have gone upstairs and cleaned his room, he could have emptied the dishwasher, he could have taken out the recycling... If he moved fast enough, he could have accomplished all three of those chores! However, did he stand there again this morning? YES!
After reading about aforementioned Miss Super Mom, I'm now motivated to set a timer and keep track of everything I can accomplish in just 7 minutes.
What about you? Surely you can carve 7 minutes out of your busy schedule. What can you accomplish in just 7 minutes a day? You might be surprised!
-Put away clean dishes
-Assisted a potty-training toddler
-Cooked a grilled cheese sandwich
-Washed dirty dishes
-Sliced an apple
-Sent two emails
-Washed and dried two sippy cups
-Filled said sippy cups: one with milk, one with water
-Sock mopped the floor
-Assisted potty training toddler, again
-Planned dinner menu
-Mentally mapped out a scrapbook page
-Microwaved a cup of coffee
- All while carrying on a conversation with an over-talkative five-year-old, above the noise of a crying and whining toddler!
Holy cow! I think this mom travels faster than the speed of light in her home! I ALWAYS do something while cooking... other than just the cooking. But wow, this is a challenge that I am ready to try!
"Double duty" is something that I am constantly battling with my 11 yo. Almost every morning, he microwaves a bowl of oatmeal for himself - takes 1 minute to cook, another minute to cool. That's two minutes! Know what my son does during those two minutes? Absolutely NOTHING! He stands there and watches the bowl go round and round inside the microwave. Arg! I have told him countless times, don't just stand there! You're wasting time! Do something! I've told him that in the time he just stands there waiting for his oatmeal to be cooked, he could have gone upstairs and cleaned his room, he could have emptied the dishwasher, he could have taken out the recycling... If he moved fast enough, he could have accomplished all three of those chores! However, did he stand there again this morning? YES!
After reading about aforementioned Miss Super Mom, I'm now motivated to set a timer and keep track of everything I can accomplish in just 7 minutes.
What about you? Surely you can carve 7 minutes out of your busy schedule. What can you accomplish in just 7 minutes a day? You might be surprised!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
You Snooze You Lose
Can someone please explain to me what the purpose or benefit of the snooze button is on your alarm clock?
I'm amazed at the popularity of this button. Try to find an alarm clock without one! I don't know, to me it's simply a way to put off getting out of bed at the time when you're SUPPOSED to get out of bed. The snooze button is just a kinder way or "politically correct" way of saying procrastination button.
If you need to get up at 6:00 a.m., why not just set your alarm for 6:00 a.m. and be done with it. I know who you are ;) The alarm goes off at 6:00, you hit snooze.... alarm goes off at 6:10, you hit snooze again.... alarm goes off now at 6:20. AH!! You now jump out of bed and get moving! OK, so why not set the alarm for 6:20 a.m. then each morning?
By the way, my opening question is just rhetorical. I don't really expect an answer. First of all, you can't answer because I disabled the comment feature on my blog (a certain sister of mine was having way too much fun poking fun at me so I finally had to turn off that feature, lol) and second of all, I've already had many a conversation (debate?) with a friend who uses this procrastination...oh I mean snooze... button practically every morning.
You go ahead and snooze. I'll enjoy my morning coffee at a leisurely pace. ;)
I'm amazed at the popularity of this button. Try to find an alarm clock without one! I don't know, to me it's simply a way to put off getting out of bed at the time when you're SUPPOSED to get out of bed. The snooze button is just a kinder way or "politically correct" way of saying procrastination button.
If you need to get up at 6:00 a.m., why not just set your alarm for 6:00 a.m. and be done with it. I know who you are ;) The alarm goes off at 6:00, you hit snooze.... alarm goes off at 6:10, you hit snooze again.... alarm goes off now at 6:20. AH!! You now jump out of bed and get moving! OK, so why not set the alarm for 6:20 a.m. then each morning?
By the way, my opening question is just rhetorical. I don't really expect an answer. First of all, you can't answer because I disabled the comment feature on my blog (a certain sister of mine was having way too much fun poking fun at me so I finally had to turn off that feature, lol) and second of all, I've already had many a conversation (debate?) with a friend who uses this procrastination...oh I mean snooze... button practically every morning.
You go ahead and snooze. I'll enjoy my morning coffee at a leisurely pace. ;)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
It's Time to Leave!
Why is it on a Sunday morning when I announce, "It's time to leave for church!" the four members of my family scatter in every direction, none of which are even remotely in the direction of the garage door?
One son heads into the kitchen to grab a granola bar, another runs upstairs to find his Bible, another scrambles to the bathroom to "fix" his hair, and yes, even my husband begins a mad search of the house for his dress shoes.
Why does this happen when every one of them KNOW what time we are leaving... and they all know WHERE we are going. It's not a mystery to any of us, but yet my jaw drops every Sunday as this same scenario is reenacted over and over.
Am I the only one that thinks BEFORE it's time to leave - what do I need to bring? and then lay that stuff out on the kitchen table where it's handy to grab on my way through - my Bible, my cell phone, church library books that need to be returned, etc. Most items I place there the night before!
I've taught my children since they were young to always ask two questions of themselves as they head out the door since they (one especially) were prone to forget things:
1) Where am I going?
2) What do I need?
I think I've taught them well. However, there's one more thing I've realized that I neglected to teach them.... the importance of thinking through these questions ahead of time.
It's why I have learned over the years to announce "It's time to go!" ten minutes before it's REALLY time to go just so we are not leaving the house in a mad rush and arriving to our destination already stressed out. But I shouldn't have to do that. :)
Be prepared, folks. It doesn't take anymore of your time to set out things ahead of time. If you know you have to leave the house at 8:00 am, for example, don't wait until 8:00 am to collect your things. It's very simple. Lay out as much as you can as far ahead of time as you can, and you'll be more likely to get out the door ON TIME... or gasp... perhaps even a little early!
One son heads into the kitchen to grab a granola bar, another runs upstairs to find his Bible, another scrambles to the bathroom to "fix" his hair, and yes, even my husband begins a mad search of the house for his dress shoes.
Why does this happen when every one of them KNOW what time we are leaving... and they all know WHERE we are going. It's not a mystery to any of us, but yet my jaw drops every Sunday as this same scenario is reenacted over and over.
Am I the only one that thinks BEFORE it's time to leave - what do I need to bring? and then lay that stuff out on the kitchen table where it's handy to grab on my way through - my Bible, my cell phone, church library books that need to be returned, etc. Most items I place there the night before!
I've taught my children since they were young to always ask two questions of themselves as they head out the door since they (one especially) were prone to forget things:
1) Where am I going?
2) What do I need?
I think I've taught them well. However, there's one more thing I've realized that I neglected to teach them.... the importance of thinking through these questions ahead of time.
It's why I have learned over the years to announce "It's time to go!" ten minutes before it's REALLY time to go just so we are not leaving the house in a mad rush and arriving to our destination already stressed out. But I shouldn't have to do that. :)
Be prepared, folks. It doesn't take anymore of your time to set out things ahead of time. If you know you have to leave the house at 8:00 am, for example, don't wait until 8:00 am to collect your things. It's very simple. Lay out as much as you can as far ahead of time as you can, and you'll be more likely to get out the door ON TIME... or gasp... perhaps even a little early!
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