Sunday, January 27, 2013

Week 45 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

This is week 45 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on keeping a family calendar.

Keeping a family calendar is a great idea when you have kiddos you need to take all across town. Since mine are still littles, they don't yet have much in the way of a social calendar. But I imagine that soon their dance cards will be filling up with scout meetings, dance class, soccer practice and all that other junk that kids tend to do once they hit school age. The only person I really need to keep track of right now is The Good Husband and most days I barely register when he is home.

If I *were* to keep a family calendar, however, a great spot would be in the Family Command Center/Launch Pad. A great trick for keeping everyone sorted out, is to make appointments and events for a single person is a separate color. So appointments and events for me would be written on the calendar in pink {duh} while TGH's would be in green, The Good Daughter's in blue and The Good Son's in yellow and family events in black. That way, looking at the calendar at a glance would reveal a when someone needs their ass on the soccer field at 6 pm while someone else is across town at piano lessons.

Stickers are also another great option, with everyone having the same sticker next to their event on the calendar. 


But the key to keeping a family calendar that won't have to leaving junior sitting outside dance class waiting to be picked up, is to keep it in a central location that all family members can see and edit if needed.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Turning my Daughter into an OCD Freak

I wanted to title this post "Turning my daughter into an anal (as in anal retentive) freak", but was scared of the traffic I would get. O.o 

The thing about being anal retentive/OCD is that I get to raise my kids that way. I am sure they will both love need therapy because of it. 

Like most parents, I suspect, the kiddos give me trouble listening and getting shit done. Especially in the mornings. So with advice from a friend, I made this chore chart for The Good Daughter to use.

It lives on the fridge, below our Family Command Center, so TGD can see it easily and follow it.


I included the simple chores she needs to do everyday. Some "chores" she does everyday already, so there was no fight there and it was an easy way for her to earn her stamps/rewards.


We use stamps that she got from Santa to mark off each chore. If she gets stamps for each chore for the day, she will get one sticker. If she gets 5 stickers, she will get a reward. A reward that she chooses- so far this is going to the park. 

I like to start the chart on Monday to give her a chance to earn her reward by the weekend and to get her into a routine for pre-k in the fall.

So far it seems to be working. There have been no meltdowns in the mornings while trying to get dressed, even if she does still take her sweet ass time. And it is a nice way to settle down at the end of the night, by stamping the chores that she did and talking about doing them again tomorrow.

If you like this chore chart and would like one customized, just shoot me an email - majorwife at gmail dot com - and I will be happy to make one for you.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Week 44 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

This is week 44 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on crafts.

I will admit that I like to get my craft on and on.

But I don't have a lot of crafty shit just hanging out. I tend to buy what I need for a project and nothing more. So I end up with odds and ends and a whole lot of tape.

But I keep it all fairly contained within a drawer in our buffet

If you have an entire room dedicated to crafting or just a drawer, the first rule is to contain, contain, contain. Keep all of your paints in one spot or container. Same for makers and pens and scissors and the like. Keeping everything together and grouped will make for less mess and easy retrieval when it is time to get your craft on.


Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Week 43 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

This is week 43 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on creating a personal home inventory.

This by far is the most intensive organization challenge but once you get in a rhythm, it will become easy. And once you get an initial home inventory in place, any time you make a big purchase - like a new couch or tv - you can just add it on. 



Why the hell do you need a home inventory?
It's a good idea to have one in case of anything happening to your house or you stuff. This way you have a record of all your stuff for insurance purposes. You will need to know the value of your stuff and just what stuff you have. 

1. Start with the Home Inventory Log (above) and checklist (see below). 

2. Go room to room and document everything in the room, staring with the big ticket items. Take photos or video and describe each item. 

3. If you have the receipts for the large items, keep them with the log. If you are just staring the Home Inventory project, and don't have the receipts, don't worry. The next time you buy something large - like a new flat screen tv - make a copy of the receipt and include it when you are adding it to your home inventory log. 

4. Make copies of your log and photos. Burn everything onto a CD or DVD and make several copies to store on your computer and external hard drives. 

5. And keep a copy outside of your house, like in your safe deposit box. And remember to keep it updated. 

Now, what do you need to inventory? 

Below are the things you should inventory, listed by room.
 


Living Room 
~Artwork
~Books
~Camera
~Collections
~Couches/recliners 
~DVD player 
~Family room furniture and contents
~Fireplace equipment 
~Game systems (such as Wii, Playstation, Xbox, etc.) 
~Living room furniture and contents 
~Musical instruments
~Piano/organ 
~Television 
~Toys and games

Dining Room
~China
~Crystal/glassware
~Dining room furniture and contents
~Table linens

Bedroom
~Beds
~Bedding
~Bedroom furniture and contents (master and all additional bedrooms)
~Clothing
~Jewelry

Bathroom
~Bathroom(s) furniture and contents

Kitchen
~Appliances
~Cabinets
~Dishes and utensils
~Food in pantry, refrigerator and freezer
~Freezer
~Kitchen furniture and contents
~Pots and pans, and other kitchen equipment
~Refrigerator
 ~Silverware/cutlery
 ~Stove/oven
 ~Tables/chairs

Home office/craft room
~Computer/computer accessories (i.e., printer, scanner, etc.)
~Craft materials
~Electronics
~Home office furniture and contents
~Hobby items
~Sewing machine
~Stereo
~Video equipment 

Laundry room
~Ironing equipment
~Laundry room furniture, appliances and contents
~Washer/dryer

Basement
~Basement furniture and contents
~Dehumidifier

Attic
~Attic furniture and contents
~Christmas (and other holiday) decorations

Outside
~Air conditioner window units / portable heaters
~Lawn furniture
~Lawn games
~Plants and landscaping

Garage
~Automobile equipment
~Bikes
~Garage furniture and contents
~Garden equipment
~Golf clubs
~Grill
~Ladders
~Lawn mower
~Tools
~Sporting goods and equipment
~Workbench

Whole House
~Carpets and rugs
~Ceiling fans
~Curtains and draperies
~Decorative items
~Fixtures
~Furniture
~Hall(s) furniture and contents
~Items in storage (within your home)
~Lamps
~Shelving


Hopefully, you can take a week - or three! - and soon have a complete home inventory system in place.

Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Week 42 of the Weekly Organization Challenge

This is week 42 of The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenge! This week focused on addresses/contact information.


I got this home address book years ago. It has been a staple in our house since.



I love that it has several different sections - as you can see. Quick reference, contacts, important dates, card list and directions.



I use this several times a year - when sending invitations out for parties, sending holiday cards, etc. This contacts the addresses and contact info for almost everyone we know. It is the long form home address book.

I think it is important to have on hand the address for that aunt that you only see once a year but still need to send thank you cards to occasionally. 

But I still wanted something that contained the information we use the most and that wouldn't necessarily go in a home address book.

When I first got the idea for The Brains of the Operations, aka Household Binder, addresses and contact lists were the first things I thought of and made a template for. To me, they very much are the brains behind the whole operation here. You can see when I talked about our Family Command Center, that I have both a home address book and Brains of the Operation, aka Household Binder

I feel like all I do is talk about our contact lists but really, I just love having everything within reach and right where I need it. 

Please tell me I am not totally insane. Right?



Organize along with me in The Good Wife's Weekly Organization Challenges

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Tiramisu

For Thanksgiving this year, I went Italian. So I needed a dessert that was classic Italian and with enough flavor to oust pumpkin pie as the traditional dessert.

So I made a tiramisu. And it was awesome. I might have eaten 99% of it myself. Screw the rest of my family that didn't want any. That was just more for MMMEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

I don't know why I had waited so long to make this. Lord knows it has been on my list since for-eva. I think maybe I thought it was too labor intensive. It was not. I was able to make this with half a bottle of wine under my belt and a 3 year old "helping". 

 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy cream 
2 large eggs, separated 
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar 
1 cup pound mascarpone
1 cup strong brewed espresso at room temperature 
1 7-ounce package dry ladyfingers
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting or 1/4 bar chocolate for chocolate shavings
  
Directions:
~In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 1/3 cup of sugar until light in color. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to the whites and beat until they're firm and glossy. In separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it is firm. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the mascarpone and one-third of the beaten egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

~Pour the espresso into a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of half of the ladyfingers in the espresso and line the bottom of an 8-by-10 baking dish. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and spread it in a smooth, even layer. Repeat until you have two layers of cookies and cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

~Just before serving, sift the cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu or using a vegetable peeler, shave a bar of chocolate over the top. Cut the tiramisu into squares and serve.

recipe modified from: here