squeezing a minute

WTF

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:53:00 +0000

I think I try pretty hard to get readers to my blog. So I keep an eye on my stats to see what people are interested in so I can do more of it.

Source: amazon.com via Risha on Pinterest

I use blogger stats and google analyticals and I couldn't figure out why they were so different. Like a 50% difference. Apparently the one that advertisers look at is the google analyticals and of course that is the one that is so much lower. Hmm?
I went on google to try to figure out why such a difference and there was mostly articles from people who were wondering why as well. There was one article that I think explained it , if it was correct. They said that the reason that GA was so much lower was because if people used an advertisement blocking program those page views wouldn't show up in GA.

Source: skellyskindergarten.blogspot.com via Shawna on Pinterest

I didn't even know an advertising blocking program exists but apparently 50% of my readers do
So while it is frustrating that Google analyticals view register so low when that is the one advertisers look at but it makes sense that they want to be seen and not blocked

There is a HTML code in the article that may help with evening out your count but at this point in time it is beyond my knowledge to use.

Clean Up Competitons

noreply@blogger.com (Nicci) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Clean up competitions or how to make your kids think cleaning up is fun!

2 Minute Cleanup

see who can clean up the most in 2 minutes, it's quick and over before they have even figures out they are cleaning up

Find 10 things to Put Away

pick a room( their room maybe?) or let them do the whole house and see who can find ten things to put away- and have them put them away!

To Pay or Not to Pay

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:04:00 +0000

Do you give your child an allowance? Do you pay them for chores?

I recently blogged about redoing my children's chore charts. About trying to finding meaningful (real help) chores for my 5 year old.
Now I want some input on what other parents are doing/or not for allowance. I have read some articles on the Internet and apparently any money problems our future grown up children have can all be tied to whether we got the whole allowance thing right. Oh my LOL

The general consensus is that giving our children an allowance lets them learn how to manage money. My kids always seem to have money to spend from a variety of sources at different times of the year and I figured that is what they could be managing but as it is not a regular source it apparently doesn't help with the managing part. But then what are they managing? If they don't have regular expenses then what is the use of regular income? If they have $10 they have to figure if they spend it now or spend it later. Based on this idea ( regular expenses means regular income) none of my kids need an allowance as none of them have anything they need to pay for regularly. Phew because according to an allowance calculator I would be paying out $124 a month to them!

I am confused about what expenses a kid has anyway?

They need new shoes?
I want control over the purchases of my 5 and 9 year old so I also control the money. The 17 year old makes some of her clothing purchases and I make some of them but she also earns a regular paycheck and probably has more disposable income than I do- no way am I giving her an allowance!

Then there is the question of do we tie allowance to chores performed? I have chores my children are expected to do each week and they need to do them because everyone who lives in this house needs to contribute to its upkeep. But what about extra chores they ask? Nope there is no "extra" stuff all of it is part of keeping our household running

But my children do receive some reward on a regular basis that is not cold hard cash. The two youngest have a membership on their fave computer game site ($5 a month each) and my oldest gets money for her cell phone bill ($10 a month) which I think equals the amount of chores expected of them but I don't call it an allowance, I call it "empty-the-dishwasher-without-a-fight-or-I-am-cancelling-your-membership"

To give allowance or not, to pay for chores or not I still don't have it all figured out but in my house I have two children who are savers and one can't spend it fast enough which probably reflects one of their parents style ( I am the non-spender)

If it's Tuesday I'm Where?

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

With a work schedule that changes every 4 weeks it means that I am frequently reshuffling my daycare arrangements.
We are lucky that My sister-in-law will take them if I am on afternoon shift and my Aunt (who was a preschool teacher) will come to my place once a week when I work days shifts. The rest I trade so I work on weekends when hubby is home and use my teenage daughter to cover.
Once my youngest is in school full time we will also add the daycare at school to our rotation( and I will try to find a Mon to Fri job to replace this one)

I am always telling my kids who is watching them after school but if they need to go to daycare they need to be able to remember and get there independently. So I decided to make these childcare arrangement keychains

I plan on clipping them to their backpacks on the days I am going to work so they know where they need to go at the end of the day.

I cut out circles from shrinky plastic

then labeled and decorated them so even my non reader understands what's up

then shrink them according to package directions

added them to keychain hardware I already had then found a easy on/off clip to keep them attached to their backpacks

Update My Decor

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:43:00 +0000

I hang things from my ceiling above our dining room table ( mostly just cause I am too lazy to drag the chairs anywhere else)

Until recently we had leaves that I had soaked in glycerin hanging on thread.

A said that if the pieces of leaves fell in her food she would freak out ( drama queen).

I thought it might be time to update ( fall is so last October) with some hearts

Bought some card stock ( 40% off coupon from Micheal's)
and cut out various sized hearts, then decide to use my big hole punch to use up the extra paper around the hearts. Then sewed them together on my machine. Kids were impressed that you could sew paper

taadaa! heart banner

I think I am going to make some raindrops because that is all a west coast BC winter really consists of.

Cookie Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I'm working a night shift tonight and at about 3:30 am I decided I wanted to make oatmeal cookies. Went to my favourite eye candy and recipe source. Pinterest!

I repinned a bunch of recipes and then went to check them out in depth
These two made the grade and I will make them after a little (3 hours I hope) nap

YUM!

oatmeal chocolate cookie bars

no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies

I wanted to make these but that would involve stopping to buy a box of fudge mix on the way home so these will have to wait for another day

Source: annies-eats.net via NICCI on Pinterest

Housekeeping Printable

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:46:00 +0000

My (loose) theme this month is "children" and I was trying to figure out how this applied to children becuse I realy wanted to get this out there. So how about 'our children are probably the source of our -even worse-days'. reaching a bit? okay just enjoy the printable. The saying comes from a plaque my Grandma had on her wall for years.

click here to get the printable

I am going to print mine out as half a page. Then I am going to laminate it, stick on some magnets and it can get added to the chaos that is my fridge door.

Chores Chart Redo Time

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:37:00 +0000

I am about to redo my kids chore chart. They haven't been changed since the summer and watering the garden didn't seem really relevant any more.

My oldest is 17 so her chart is easy to fill out-meal making and housekeeping skills that she can use when she moves out on her own in a few years (she enters University next September).

The middle one is 9 so hers is filled up with house stuff at her skill level and her own room/school stuff

But my youngest is where I am having the problem. He is 5 and is not in school yet so there is no school stuff to put on his chart. He is not big enough to use the broom and I really don't want help folding the laundry. He likes to use the steamer to wash the floors but only cleans down the centre of the floor so that doesn't count.
So I find myself writing make-work projects on his chore chart. I don't think our stair banisters need to be dusted once a week but it is there. I would like him to be doing something that actually helps our house or gives me less to do but maybe that isn't going to happen at his age.

What chores do your preschoolers do around the house? Do they do them regularly? happily?

Even though I have always had the expectations that my kids do chores the younger two still fight them frequently, the youngest the most, I have actually started making my kids use tokens for computer time so I have something to take away when they have a big blowout about it.

link up closing soon

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:19:00 +0000

Only one day left
don't forget to link up your infographic here to be in the running to win $100 in amazon bucks
details here

linkup closes at 11:55 pm pacific time on the 8th

Teaching Children Time Mangement

noreply@blogger.com (Nicci) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:33:00 +0000

Did your parents teach your as a child about managing your time. Pretty sure mine didn't- I was told what to do and when to do it pretty much my whole live at home life.
When I moved out on my own I learned that procrastination was my best friend. It wasn't until I had my first child that I really had to learn how to get done what needed to be done and NOW.

So how do we teach our kids to be effective time managers so we can send them out into the world feeling organized instead of flying by the seat of their pants?

They need to learn 3 things:
*how to do "something"
* how long "something" takes to get done
*how to count backwards to give ourselves enough time to accomplish this "thing"

First figure out what you want your child to do (please include your child in this) and then break those steps down
Using getting ready in the morning as an example
*get up( some of us like to lay there for a bit and think about getting up) 5 min
*make and eat breakfast 12 min
*brush teeth 3 min
*brush hair 2 min
*wash face 1 min
*get dressed 10 min
*pack lunch 7 min (or did it get done night before?)
*pack knapsack for school 3 min
*getting outside stuff on for getting to school 5 min ( dependent on weather and shiny objects that distract children from task )
*get to school 15 min

Phew, there really is a lot of steps to " getting ready in the morning"

Now time how long it takes your child to do these things. Don't let them race and don't nag them to hurry . You want an accurate time count and then add another 5-10 minute for those little emergencies( I have no socks and need to scramble through the dryer to find some- not that I know anything about this,ahem)

okay add up those times -total: 63 + 5 min=68 minutes or about 1 hour and 10 minutes ( ok I was amazed by how long this really took and I can tell you that in our house I actually make the lunches). You now know how long it takes.

Now help your kids figure out what time they need to get up in order for all that to be done and at school on time. If I need to be at school at 8:30 I need to be awake at 7:20. You have now accomplished counting backwards to give yourself enough time.

We can't assume that our kids know how to do all these things on their own.

-do they know bagels for lunch are in the freezer?
- can they get up on their own? do they have a clock in their room?
-can they pour a big jug of milk or does it need to be in a smaller container
-can they do up all the buttons on their shirt? or should we stick with tops that pull over their heads when we can

lesson complete I can do it myself ( said with a sense of accomplishment by your child)

INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN CONTEST LINKUP

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Link up below to your post featuring your infographic

The linky is open from Feb 1st 5am pacific time till Feb 8th 11:55pm pacific time
all the deets about the contest here

Readers please let me know which infographics you like by clicking the "like" button beneath the picture. You may chose as many as you want. Feel free to vote everyday
voting is open until Feb 20th 11:59 pm pacific time

The top infographics( most liked) will go onto the next round

Feb 22nd

STOCKING A PANTRY

noreply@blogger.com (Nicci) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:18:00 +0000

Have you ever seen the tv show "extreme couponing"?

I am always amazed by those people's pantry,but it seems like a type of hoarding though don't you think.

Anyway do you keep a stocked pantry? what do you consider stocked?

I read an article that states the minimum a pantry should contain is a replacement for every item you keep in your cupboards- from tomato sauce to toothbrushes. This seems doable I think.

Then you work up to having 3 days of supplies-food and hygiene -for your family plus one person.

I'm not sure that I would have the room for storing anything beyond that. Do you only store your pantry items in the kitchen area or do you have other storage areas in the house?

This is about the size I have for a pantry but we don't have anywhere near this many shelves or this much food stored
Defiantly something to aim for.

"With a little help from my friends"

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Need some help getting started designing an infographic for the contest?

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/awesome-free-tools-infographics/

http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/how-to-create-outstanding-modern-infographics/

http://spyrestudios.com/the-anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-steps-to-create-a-powerful-visual/

go check them out and get designing I want to give some money away!

Decorating a Jar with Spray Paint

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:33:00 +0000

check out the Infographic Design Contest here

In continuing my quest to get control all those little flibbergidgets that young children collect I made a pink jar for A's room.

These are all over the web but I thought I would show you mine and tell you somethings I will do differently next time

the supplies
spray paint( left over from painting her side table this summer)
rubber bands ( left over from making my son a geoboard)
mason jar ( left over from spaghetti sauce)

You gotta love a free project that only costs you some time

wrap your jar in elastic bands, next time I wouldn't have them go from top to bottom as the ones that circled the jar left the best design

Spray paint the jar. I only did one layer of paint but you can make it as opaque as you want.

The first thing my oldest said when she saw me removing the elastics from the jar was that it would make a great light so I may make one for her room with a battery candle

*next time I would use more elastics, and only circle them around the jar
*this jar also had a lot activity in that it had a lot of raised or indented letters/writing which detracts from the design so next time I would use a smoother jar

infographic design contest

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Here at squeezing I am hosting a contest for the best infographic design

The deets:

This contest is to check out your infographic designing abilities.

What is an infographic you may ask?

Well the definition by Wikipedia is: infographic is a graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge

Check out some here burning fuel, student budget, life after college( this one is amazing so don't feel intimidated by it)

We are a society that appreciates our info in a quick and visual way ( ahem TV) and I have become fascinated by the many ways infographic designers share information we need (or so they think) in a fun visual way

This is your opportunity to show what you know in a graphic way ( pun intended)

This contest will be judged by the reader's votes.

Prize:

win $100 Amazon giftcard

How to

1)Design your infographic - turn complex data into a meaningful story using graphics.

2) Go here to link up your post about the infographic from Feb 1^st to 8th^th

3) Send your readers here to “like” it. The top 10 infographics with the most “likes” will go onto round two. Open from Feb 10 to 20

4) Vote on infographic finalists from feb 22 to 27

5) Winner(s) will be announced Feb 29 (Happy Leap Year)

I am also looking for sponsors for some secondary prizes . Sponsors will be featured in the 2 postings about the contest and hang out on my side bar for the duration of the contest(February).

please contact me at nicci@squeezingaminute.com if you have any questions or would like to sponsor this contest

Have fun and good luck

Easiest Drawer Clean Out

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Do you have a kitchen drawer that looks like this?

want it to look like this will the least amount of energy possible?

take everything out of the drawer, put it into a box. When you use the utensil put it back into the drawer(washed out now as well). When the month is over get rid of anything that is still in the box cause you aren't using it-less clutter/little work.

7 Steps to Make Goal Setting Easier

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:28:00 +0000

We all have things we want to accomplish in our lives, be it professional or personal, and often these things need to planned for. This is where goal setting comes in.

Goal setting is the action of figuring out "what do we want and how are we going to get it".

But even though we know we want to do something-

organize all your photos on the computer or get your work nemesis fired

we may not feel up to the work involved in setting those goals.

Here are 7 steps to make goal setting easier

#1 prioritize
sometime we have a lot of goals and they are flying around in our head so we need to write down all these goals and then label them-now, later, sometime

finish writing grant proposal-now

sew new dress for daughter- later

price out new carpets -sometime

focus on the ones labeled now, put the others aside

#2 know the benefits
What will the benefit be to me if I accomplish this?

The need to stop wearing armour to work to save you from the back stabbing

Knowing what you are getting at the end can make it easier to make that first step

#3 whose goal is it?
Is this for you, something you want, or are other people telling you what they think you should be doing and that has worked it's way into your head as your goal? Throw out other people's goals for you as there is no motivation in accomplishing them for you.

if someone else thinks you should start eating better let their goal be to do some grocery shopping for you

#4 be positive

when you write down your goal(s), and you will write them down to keep you focused on them, write them in a positive statement.

I will have all of the 2010 pictures organized into folders in 3 weeks

instead of

I will stop adding more pictures to the already overcrowded folder named "pictures"

#5 how do you eat an elephant?

answer to that question- one bite at a time

OK so you have a goal in mind

redoing the bathroom

you are motivated to do it because of what the end result is

you don't need to send company away before they need to use the bathroom

and you know that it is something you want.

you like to talk to people older than your children

Now you need to figure out the small step to achieving it.

convince husband of need for new showerhead

remove old fixtures

remove old tile

take class to learn how to install tile

repaint walls

install new tile

have burly man put in new counter tops

install new fixtures

#6 do some backward planning

if the steps aren't as easy to figure out as a bathroom makeover than maybe some backward planning is needed. This means to starts with the end, the desired result, and work backwards

Earn $500 more a month

ask for raise

take a class to improve a work related skill

find childcare for time you spend in class

search for class to take

ask boss what they want workers to improve at

identify what skills you think are needed at work

#7 celebrate your wins
give yourself a deadline for when you are going to accomplish these little steps that lead up to your goal, then celebrate each time you make that deadline and get a step closer to your goal

enjoy a drink as you watch those burly men installing your counter top within 3 weeks of starting reno

How to Make a Fabric Storage Container- a sewing tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Nicci) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:16:00 +0000

I like to craft, actually I need to craft to keep me a happy person. My two faves are fabric dyeing

or sewing

but I dabble in other forms as well, I am developing a bit of a thing for modge podge lately.

Aaanyway my point was actually to show you how to make fabric container to store things in. My son collects thing, small things, and they seem to end up on his dresser top. I wanted to make a little holder to throw these collections into at the end of the day.

I have made several of these before in a variety of different sizes, some hold my jewelry in a drawer or all of N's creams (he has exzema) on the buffet in the living room but this time I just wanted a little one so here we go.

FABRIC STORAGE CONTAINER

supplies: heavy weight fabric

light / med weight fabric

interfacing

thread and sewing machine

I usually use a fleece interfacing for stability but as I am out so I used jean for the heavy weight and iron on fusible web instead

You can make these to any size you want,
To figure out the size of your container double the length measurement and add one inch(length X 2+1"). For example to make a container about 8 inches around your fabric will measure 17"
The height measurement is height plus 2 inches(height + 2").

If you are going to fold your container over like this one remember to add the folded amount into your height measurement.

Cut one piece of fabric from each fabric and one piece of interfacing.

Fold your fabric in half , right sides together, lengthwise(long sides ends together) and sew down side top to bottom. Sew both pieces of fabric separately but when sewing lightweight fabric also sew
interfacing with it.

so you have made a tube shape

then sew the bottom of pieces closed

Now I will to try to explain this next step as well as I can.

Open up your pieces of fabric , still right sides together, and fold it so the seam is facing up. this will make the corners point up. Like in the picture below like peaks. Make sense?

sew across each of these peaks separately like the pic above, don't worry about being in the exact same place as picture just make the seam in the same place on each peak.

now turn the piece you want as your outside layer the right way around (not inside out anymore)

then tuck the other layer still inside out inside it

Because I knew that I was going to fold my top over I didn't bother to fold the top edges down a bit to create a non rough edge seam but of course you can. Now sew top edges together.

You now have your fabric container. Leave the sides up or fold over if you want.

A happy collection holding container

If you have any questions about my oh so clear instructions please email me. They are quite easy to make

Seizing some Basket Time

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Source: everydaypeoplecartoons.com via NICCI on Pinterest

I wrote about the Chore Wars article from time magazine before. This time I wanted to touch on free or leisure time. Here is a quote from the article
" how women are spending their free time, which is increasingly devoted to a blend of child care and leisure activities," says Sayer, who notes that this leads to leisure's being "contaminated" by less pleasurable activities or "fragmented" by interruptions — when you're reading on the couch, say, and get called away every 15 minutes to referee a squabble or find a missing Lego piece or administer a snack"
-Ruth Davis Konigsberg

I know that I would have to consider my free time 'contaminated' for sure. I have written before about how I will sit down with a book and tell the kids not to bother me for 15 minutes but all parents know that is a dream on some days.

We have all read the articles that tell us how we need to take time for ourselves - some non mommy time. But as a working parent I feel guilty when I take some time to myself out of the home and am spending even more time away from my kids. I haven't swallowed the idea of a happy mommy makes for happy children yet.

I go out by myself or with friends very infrequently and only when I can work it around my days off work- I would never extend my work day to meet friends for dinner.
I can count on one hand how many times my husband and I have gone out without the kids for date night and we have been together for 12 years! Beyond organizing the time and paying for a babysitter we often can't figure out what to do together- this doesn't bode well for empty nest syndrome does it?

What do you do to ensure your have some quality time without your children?
Do you have a regular night out?
Do you experience any guilt about taking this time for yourself but also time away from your children.

Anyone want to join me to take back our free time?
Time to go to the library-read-shop-exercise-watch a movie-eat a meal-visit friends-take a class-get a massage. We can call it

as in filling the apple basket or not becoming a crazy basket case.

We will make a regular date with ourselves, of course we don't have to be by ourselves but just doing something that doesn't involve our children. 'Regular' can mean anything you want- it can be daily, weekly or monthly.

Take this pledge for yourself and then come back and tell me what you have done to take back your free time. Lets inspire each other to have a little basket time.

Why Organizing Spaces Helps Us

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:21:00 +0000

There are five people in our house: 2 are packrats ( one is me), a 9 year old list maker who collects notebooks, one teenager whose room always looks like it exploded and a grown man who thinks piles mean organized. So my house is not completely organized, everything we own doesn't have a home and sometimes this gets me down. The chaos makes me a wee crazy and I do a flurry of decluttering until I can see the surface again. This may only last a day but it makes me happy at the time.

But of course having a organized house would make some things faster to do. So I cruised around pinterest-any excuse to view the eye candy- and found some ideas for organizing some spaces that would make our life easier or more enjoyable. I wanted ideas that would be free or inexpensive to do as well so you could go do them right now rather than wait till you had the equipment.

I am a sewer so knowing where my thread are and quickly finding the piece of fabric I want is important to me. I usually have more than one project on the go and I keep all that I need- pattern, thread, fabric, etc in a drawstring bag so I have everything together when I am ready to go.

Here are a few ideas for crafters

Source: blogs.babble.com via NICCI on Pinterest

toilet paper rolls and hangers to store ribbon. The tute is actually here from bee-inspired.

Source: storageandglee.blogspot.com via NICCI on Pinterest

or storing ribbon in a dollar store plastic holey container. The tute is here at spunky junky.

For knitters knowing where the right size needle was would be pretty important. There is a tute to make a knitting needle roll here at rosmademe.

Source: sewing.craftgossip.com via NICCI on Pinterest

I have plans to do this with my measuring cups. Mine are always falling of the shelf and landing in my recycling. I hope mine looks as pretty.

Source: infarrantlycreative.net via NICCI on Pinterest

how about organizing spices with some jars and chalkboard painted lids

Source: frugaldecormom.blogspot.com via NICCI on Pinterest

We love Lego in our house and we have recently added to it with a visit to the bulk pieces wall at a LEGO store in Bellevue- there is no such store in the lower mainland of BC so we really enjoyed that. I love how these people organized their Lego ( be sure to click over to their site it is photo rich).

Source: evilmadscientist.com via NICCI on Pinterest

This idea for keeping the gadget charger cords easy to find is great and if you already have binder clips it is free

Source: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com via NICCI on Pinterest

and if you want to make the clips blend into the decor better you can check out a tutorial for covering them with fabric or paper.

Homemade Cleaning Wipes Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:29:00 +0000

I am just about out of disinfecting wipes. I usually buy mine at Costco but I will be making mine next time.

The wipe recipes are from http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/make-your-own-cleaning-wipes and if you go there you can also view the instructions for making your own from paper towels.

You will need between 2 and 4 cups of cleaning solution to fill your homemade cleaning wipes container, depending on the size and absorbency of the paper towel product selected. These cleaning recipes make about three cups of solution; increase or decrease amounts if needed.

General Surface Cleaning Recipe:

· 1 1/2 cups white vinegar

· 1 1/2 cups water

Disinfectant Cleaning:

· 1/4 to 1/2 cup pine cleaning solution such as Pine-Sol brand

· 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cup water

Window and Glass Cleaning:

· 1/2 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol

· 2 1/2 cups water

· 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Organizing Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Time management is about organizing yourself. That means you not your closets and drawers.

Ther are many ways we can organize ourselves

Source: google.com via Alynn on Pinterest

Time budgetting or how to use your time to get done what you need to do.On any given day we have stuff to do.

Go to work-cook-spend time with our children-clean-laundry-be a taxi-walk the dog-refill our basket

And there is only so many hours in which we can do it (please don't loose sleep over unfolded laundry we are already sleep deprived).

This is when you need to time budget. How many hours are we out of the house for work? How much time will you spend on housecleaning? Don't forget to take some time to read a book or do a hobby so we have something pleasurable to do to refill our apple baskets.

Is there somethings on our list we can hand off to someone else-kids vacumn their own room, husband get kids through bathtime routine?

Is there something we can do faster or easier- cook two meals at the same time so we don't need to cook tomorrow, have the kids do their reading homework by reading to you while you fold laundry?

Source: allsorts.typepad.com via Portia on Pinterest

What about creating a to-do list. I love to make list, making them up in the morning or the night before. Sometime if I do something that isn't on my list I will add it just so I can cross it off (please don't judge me).They can be daily, weekly or monthly. I have a friend who has one that she keeps in a spiral notebook, she adds to the bottom of the list and crosses things off as she does them.

Do you have a family calendar to keep track of multiple schedules. I write each person's schedule in a different color ink so I know at a glance whose dentist appt it is and get the right absentee note off to the right teacher (once again organizing myself).

I created a housework checklist where I listed everything I needed to do in a month then made boxes to show how many times I wanted to do that chore that month. You can download a blank one here and read about why I chose this method.

Source: Uploaded by user via Daryna on Pinterest

Though sometime I look at my checklist on the wall and still walk away to go sit on the couch to read for a bit- usually while saying to my munchkins " this is the first time I have sat down today please don't ask me for anything for 15 minutes" and this is okay cause we need to schedule in me time so we can keep on going.

I keep all the equipment my kids need for their various out of school activities in bags ready to go. You can read about my bag system here.

These are few ways I organize myself. This month my posts are going to focus on organizing ourselves

Source: sageventure.com via NICCI on Pinterest

Expanding on the time saver "don't look"

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:12:00 +0000

I recently posted some ways to save time during your week.

I wanted to expand on the idea of "don't look" as I only gave a few quick examples in the previous posting.

My husband always seems to be looking for something- his keys, wallet, a receipt etc. Sometimes he wanders around the living room looking on shelves or in drawers and I'll ask what he is looking for "Nothing" he says " just practising". LOL but I figures he probably spends 5 minutes a day looking for something.
There is a great organisational idea that everything in your house should have it's own home- the place this thing always gets returned to. Now I don't have a home like that, all the surfaces covered in 'homeless' things tells you that. But I do subscribe to the idea that 'home' is where they are needed.
Maybe the disinfecting wipes tucked away on the counter beside the fridge doesn't enhance the decor but when I want to do a quick wash down of the counter they are only steps away. I keep a container of these wipes in both bathrooms as well for quick cleanups while the kids are in the tub.

*Hey I found recipes and directions for making your own wipes and I will post about these on Friday- My frugal inner me is jumping up and down in glee here*

-Sawdust stored near the laundry sink where my oldest cleans her guinea pig cage

-an extra stain removing stick in the kitchen for when I need to rewash something that didn't get clean the first time(I fold clothes in the living room and have a hamper in the kitchen)

Have you created homes for things that seem unconventional? Do you have a way to store these things so they don't stand out in their chosen home?

Another way I "don't look" is my bag system. All those reusable bags that come into our house now have a use beyond going shopping. Any activity that happens outside the house now has a bag assigned to it.
For swimming lessons there is a towel, swimsuit, extra underwear( for the ones that always seem to get dropped in a puddle) and a snack. These bags go into the laundry room when we get home from lessons and then get refilled after things are washed and dried, then put back in their rooms (hooks behind the door).
Same goes for Chinese school, preschool and any other activity we do that requires us to take stuff to. No more looking for soccer socks on Saturday mornings before the game.
This is also helpful if you are not the only person who may be taking your child to their class. The kids can just grab their bag and they are ready to go.

How often do your kids come to you asking you to look for something? My kids use to do this all the time. A quick glance around and "they can't find it". I would then stop what I was doing to go look in their bedroom and find it in a quick minute tucked under something. Now I don't mind helping them look for something but I wanted them to put some effort into it before coming to me for help. I started telling them that I would help look but if I found it first I got to keep it for 5 minutes. Usually whatever they were looking for they wanted now so needing to wait for 5 minutes to get it was horrible. They would then go off and make a real effort to find it. No more "looking" for me and maybe they learned to put their things away so they can find it easier next time.

I am all about faster and easier and my "don't look" philosophy is just that.

Radio Silence

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:02:00 +0000

Between holidays and a work schedule change and enjoying lazy unscheduled days at home there will be some radio silence this week.

I will be back to regular posting January 2nd

Monday- tip day
Wednesday- thoughts/ ramblings
Friday-fun/DIY

see you in the new year!

Subscribe and receive a free subway art download

noreply@blogger.com (nicci) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Have you seen the subway art that has been floating around? of course you have because they seem to be pretty popular.
Are they still? I always seem to jump on a bandwagon just before a wheel falls off.

Would you like to have one featuring housekeeping chores?

You can have one of the above colors or black letters on white background in a pdf file

You will receive a PDF featuring all of them by following me or subscribing by email to my blog.

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They measure 8X10 and print out on a letter/A5 size sheet of paper

green with white letters
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