Time to Get Organized

I've never been a big fan of Spring cleaning.  I usually just attack things when I feel inspired.  Apparently, I am feeling the urge to purge and declutter early this year.  Barely 2 weeks into the new year and I am already tackling this little gem that I have pinned to my or·gan·ized board on Pinterest.

My husband doesn't think I can find 400 things to get rid of in our house.  I told him I accept the challenge. Heh

One thing that is really difficult for me is managing paper clutter.  I'm not talking about just junk mail or newspapers and magazines.  Even my scrapbooking paper and construction paper tends to spread out like a vine sometimes.  So, I came up with a clever way to store construction paper that makes it easy for the kiddos to access and keeps it neatly contained for me.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this idea, but I thought of it on my own so I'm posting like it's an original idea.  Humor me, please. :)

I had an accordian file box lying around, leftover from my days of working as a sales rep.  I even had extra labels, which made this quick project a no-brainer.

I labeled the tabs with individual colors, then filed the construction paper away.  I really like this because I can easily see when I run out of a particular color.  Pink seems to be popular with the older diva right now, so I stock up extra on that color.

A quick 10-minute project and another item organized!

I'm not the only one who organizes their colors according to Roy G Biv, right?

Now, on to the next organizational project.  If I can just find that print out for the 40 days of decluttering....

Winning the chore war!

Here is my final entry for craft sticks for the week.  I am posting this in lieu of my Friday Favorites, as I simply ran out of time to post the last few days.

In a house with 6 family members, household chores are always a challenge to keep up with and are seemingly never done.  Laundry alone could be a full time job with two divas under the age of 3 - not to mention two mancubs who love to get dirty, plus mom and dad. 

We are all about each person doing their part to "help the family go", so each person is assigned chores as they are old enough to carry them out on their own.  Even our 2 year old knows the clean up song and helps put toys away in the playroom.

I wanted an easy way to organize and assign chores each day, so I went to the internet in search of ideas.  I found a great wooden chore block tutorial and enlisted my dad in helping me build one of my own.  I'm not afraid of power tools.  It's just that woodworking is his thing. :)

Here is what the body looked like before I painted it.

I painted the block white, but only used one coat of paint because I didn't want it to be blindingly white.  Is it weird that I like to paint with foam brushes?

 

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I printed up a sign for the block with the word CHORES on it and a scripture reference.  I've started a new habit lately of putting a scripture reference to just about everything around the house, so the kids will see that by being faithful in the every day things, we are also being faithful and obedient to God.  The kids really seem to appreciate it and a few really awesome conversations have come about because of it.

 





If you read my Prayer pot post, you learned that I have an abundance of decorative clay pots.  Another one got put to good use for this project, too.

Once the paint was dry, I glued the sign onto the section of the block where the clay pot sits.

On each section to the left of the chores sign, I personalized it with the kids' names (not shown below).  For now, the youngest diva doesn't have any chores - although, she is really good at making messes for the rest of us to clean up!

 

Each day, I place each child's assigned chores in their block.  When they complete the chore, they move it back to the clay pot.  It works well and I love not having to constantly remind the kids what their chores are every day!

Enjoy your weekend!

Prayer pot

As I began drafting this post, I paused to wonder just how many little clay pots that have been decorated have been given to me as a gift over the years.  The answer was... a lot!  I have received them as teacher gifts, Mother's Day presents, and even got one with those crafty flower pens in it as an Administrative Assistant's Day gift once.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has collected these little treasures over the years. 

Most of them have come with a plant or flower planted in them.  But, if you have visited my gardening board on Pinterest, I can tell you it is named My non-green thumb for a very good reason!  So, once the plant or flower meets its inevitable fate of being thrown out, I'm left to wonder what to use the pot for now that it's empty.

If you read this post, you saw that I used one for our Chores.  If you didn't read it, go read when you're done reading this! :)

Another idea I had was to use one for a Prayer pot.  As a family, we were often bringing prayer requests to each other - both for ourselves and for others around us.  So, I decided to convert one of the pots into a Prayer pot.  I filled it with blank craft sticks and added a Sharpie pen, then placed it in the center of our dining room table.

Each person can add a prayer request whenever they want.  We pray over them collectively after dinner and devotional time as often as possible.  When a prayer is answered, we remove the stick to make room for a new one.

I am considering writing the answer to the prayer on the back of the stick and saving them for 6 months - 1 year, so we can go back and see how God has worked in our lives and the lives of those we know and love over time.  Hmmm, I guess I need to go find another pot to store those in now!

Boredom Busters

My first post this week to show some love to craft sticks is my Boredom Busters tub. 

With 4 kids ranging 10 years apart in age (oldest to youngest), it can be challenging to keep them all entertained or occupied.  The older ones are 11 and 8, so they are old enough to entertain themselves.  This sounds simple, right?  Especially since they have acres to roam on behind our home.  Who would ever think that the words "I'm bored!" would cross their lips!

So, I searched the web and came up with some ideas of things they could do if they uttered the words "I'm bored".  I also asked the mancubs to come up with some ideas of their own to be included.  I was impressed with what they suggested.

 

 

Here is a list of the ideas we put in our Boredom Busters tub:

Stand on your head
Play a dice game
Make sun catchers
Create a dinner menu
Read the Bible
Pretend we are famous people
Read about a famous person
Re-read a favorite book
Make a poster
Make a puzzle
Learn about a job
Look at the clouds
Make up a new game
Play solitaire
Send a card
Play in your room
Do math
Help around the house
Draw what you imagine
Start a collection
Play/listen to music
Play with brother or sister
Make something
Play freeze dance
Draw
Play with toys
Take a nap
Play ball
Learn about an animal
Backwards somersault
Play outside
Make something out of cotton balls and Qtips
Do a game/puzzle
Make an obstacle course
Use nature to create pictures
Do exercises
Play a game
Read
Go for a bike ride
Give gifts
Make a Lego city
Color in a coloring book
Help someone
Find 5 books to read
Play ball
Make a jigsaw puzzle

By the way, the younger mancub was "bored" while I was drafting this post, so I had him help by reading off each of the sticks to me. ;)

The Boredom Busters tub now sits on the counter, next to the Chores.  They've been warned if they can't find something to do in the Boredom Buster tub they will be instructed to pull an extra chore.  I have a feeling they won't be bored as often anymore!

Friday Favorites

Happy New Year! I'm back after an unexpectedly long holiday break.  We have a large extended family, so our Christmas celebrations began about mid-month and ended on New Year's Eve.  It was an exhausting whirlwind, but we treasured the time we got to share with each family.  We are blessed with a lot of people who love us!

Friday Favorites this week is all about showing some love to craft sticks!  Totally strange, right?  I never said I was normal. ;)

I love using craft sticks.  They are versatile and inexpensive.  I will be posting tutorials throughout the coming week about ways that I have put craft sticks to work in our home/for our family.  My top 3 favorite ways to use them are:

> Prayer pot.  We write requests down on the craft sticks and then pray over them as a family.

> Chore "chart".  My dad helped me with the creation of this project.  It is on my hit list to put the final touches on it this weekend, so I am anxious to see the finished product!

> Boredom busters.  This is a new favorite for everyone in our house.  It can be a challenge to keep 4 kids of various ages all occupied and happy at once.

I hope you all have had a blessed week and enjoy your weekend!