It's a NEW YEAR's Give-Away!

Hi Ladies!
It's time for another "organizing tool" give-away! Everyone needs their own Momspace and I'm giving away a file organizer and 3 designer folders to help you stay sane in the new year.

This contest is a little different from last time. You can get your name in the drawing multiple times by completing the challenges below. Each time you've completed a task, leave a comment, let me know what you've done and your name will go into the hat! ON FRIDAY - I'll have one of my 5-joys pick a name out of the hat. (I promise - there's no peeking). So get going and ...
JUST ORGANIZE YOURSELF!

Challenges:
1. Purchase your 2009 Calendar
2. Fill in birthdays in your calendar
3. Calendar 3 family Activities for 2009
4. Find a Binder for a Household Notebook
5. Choose a place in your home for your MomSpace
6. Stock your Momspace with calendar and your household notebook.
7. Declutter a closet, cupboard, or bookshelf.
8. Make a list of your M&Ms - put it in your household notebook.
9. Develop a Week Plan - put it in your household notebook
10. Introduce a friend to this blog and have them sign up as a follower (you'll both get your name in the drawing)
11. Subscribe to my blog to recieve posts directly to your inbox.

Menu Monday

It's Menu Monday today! Don't you love my new graphic? - My blog fairy made another dream come true. You'll know when you see it that it's time to work on your Menu!

Yesterday I talked about the magic of meal planning. Today I'm going to show you a few different ways to plan your meals.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose – you can even rotate between the various methods - the important thing is you take a few minutes each week to PLAN!

• You can plan for the week - for two weeks or even monthly.
• You can make a two month menu and rotate all year long.
• You can plan your menu seasonally - winter menu & a summer menu.
• Or you can make a list of 10-15 meals and have all the ingredients for those meals in your cupboard. Then when you see what the day is going to bring, choose one of the meals.
  

My favorite method is to fill out a menu calendar for the entire month; then each Monday I go over the menu, write out a grocery list and then I'm ready to shop for the week on Tuesday. (errand day)

I have included the planning calendar I use. Click on this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=db465af54fc78a4f91b20cc0d07ba4d213e1243aceb5e436 to see January's Calendar

You'll see that I have some days of the week ear-marked for specific meals so my menu planning goes quickly and doesn't require too much thinking- like Pizza Day on Friday and Soup on Wednesday!

Menu Magic

I don't think there is anything we are responsible for that takes more time, energy and motivation than being in charge than of getting dinner on the table every night for the entire family!

Do you realize with 3 meals a day - that makes 21 meals a week and 1,092 meals a year that we have to plan, grocery shop, and prepare ? It’s pretty mind boggling!

How many times have you stood in front of your refrigerator with the 5:00 dilemma? One hungry family to feed and no idea what to cook.

I can't offer you a magic dinner pill, but I will give you one simple trick to help you perform some MENU MAGIC!

* Schedule a time each week to do your menu planning.

Spending a few minutes each week to menu plan will not only help you provide healthier meals for your family, but it will save you time, money and stress! Once you make meal planning part of your routine, you’ll wonder how you ever managed before.

I menu plan on MONDAY! Monday is a great day to avoid outside commitments. Staying home as much as you can that day, will help you get caught up from the weekend, (both mentally and physically) and give you a kick start for the week ahead. You'll notice in the weeks to come - I'll be dedicating Mondays to making your meal planning go smoothly.

Here's the Menu Plan this week:

Monday - Sunday Leftovers

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Wednesday - Corn Chowder w/ Sausage

Thursday - Abe's BBQ'ing for New Years

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Slow Cooker Pot Roast

For a copy of the recipes

Click Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=db465af54fc78a4f91b20cc0d07ba4d213e1243aceb5e436

Have a great week!

Calendar Crisis

Avoid getting caught without a calendar next week!

Purchasing your calendar is not enough - you must fill out your 2009 items!

SO find your favorite PENCIL (mine is Ticonderogo - thanks to Kellie) and your favorite corner and start filling in those dates! Pens can be used for things that won't change like birthdays and anniversaries. I like to use one color of pen for all birthdays to help them really stand out.

Be prepared and avoid Calendar Crisis! And you'll be ready for your NEW START on January 1st!

Say No to Multi-Tasking!

Many Organizational Experts have advised

us to multi-task to get more things done.

I, however don't agree.

This is the "not-so-peaceful "story

about what happens when one tries to multi-task:

I was so proud of myself – baking Cynthia’s “killer-gingersnaps” AND organizing my baking cupboard at the same time. I even enlisted my hubby and son to help me. We really got moving – emptying the cupboard, mixing the ingredients, Abe and Andy rolling the balls – me pouring the sugar to roll the balls in. Abe baking the cookies, -me putting all the items back in the cupboard in an organized way – taking pictures for the blog as I went along!

Then the cookies were done – ready to be eaten – yum, yum, oooooeeeeewww- Yuck, Yuck, and Yuck again! Dough balls rolled in SALT instead of sugar: FOUR dozen disgusting gingersnap straight to the trash. What a waste of time!

Being organized

does not mean getting a million tasks done:

It is about simplifying

& involving yourself ONLY in the most important things.

Don’t multi-task!

Instead – SAVOR the task at hand.

Do less, but feel more.

Enjoy the journey

& your life will become full of wonderful moments,

instead of a series of unbalanced blunders.

Cynthia's Killer Gingersnaps

1 cube butter
1 cup
shortening
4 cups
sugar
4 large eggs
1/2
cup
dark
molasses
2 tsp.
vanilla
2 tsp.
salt
2 tsp.
soda
1 Tbs.
cinnamon
2 Tbs.
ginger
1 tsp.
ground cloves
61/2 - 7 cups flour

Cream butter, crisco, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in molasses and vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and slowly add to sugar mixture. Mix until well combined. Form into balls and roll in SUGAR. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-15 minutes.

Decluttering 101

Here's the easiest way to de-clutter:

1. Enlist a volunteer to empty out the cupboard, drawer, shelf, or closet.

2. Group like-items into categories.

3. Make a plan by visualizing what you want your space to look like.

4. Now put everything back, starting with the items that are easiest to place. Keep items you use most frequently on lower shelves. Consider using baskets to corale small items. Be sure to throw out items you don't need and re-locate items that don't belong

5. That's it! Now enjoy the moment. If your crazy like me you'll open the cupboard about 25 times during the day to experience the "pure joy" that organizing brings.

Free-Day Friday!

Congratulations to Jennifer Wolff!

She's the lucky winner of a new 2009 Calendar.

I'll be dropping it by your house soon, Jenn!

Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun!

Don't fret if you didn't win this time-

There will be lots more give-aways coming up on

future Free-Day Fridays!

Ribbon Management

Is anyone's Christmas ribbon unrolled all over your floor? Mine was; until I decided to take 15 minutes to clean it up utilize the cool ribbon-holder Abe made for me.

It's amazing the peace you feel when you take a few minutes to clean up a mess that has been bothering you for months. Now instead of Christmas Chaos - I feel Christmas Clean (okay that sounds weird - but you know what I mean)

Try to spend 15 minutes today tidying up a spot that's bothering you - See if it helps you FEEL the Christmas Spirit. Let me know what how it went.

You gotta love this comic!

Minimum Maintenance

Have you ever come home after running errands all morning, walked in the door only to see... breakfast still on the table, newspapers spread across the couch, and dishes piled in the sink?

Don't you feel frustrated, overwhelmed, too tired to even know where to begin and all you want to do is flop on the couch and cry?

If you NEVER want to feel that way again - Make M&M a HABIT!

M&M stands for Minimum Maintenance (and a little chocolate doesn't hurt either). It's a short list of the bare minimum jobs needed to be completed to keep the basic areas of your home clean!

There's only one rule: You must complete your m&m BEFORE you start ANYTHING ELSE - before projects, errands or any outside commitments. (And especially before BLOGGING!?!)

This way you will always have the basics done. And when you get home from running your errands or when you finish the big church project, the basics will be done and you'll come back to a home where you can feel relaxed.

Don't forget to include your family members in your M&M - it's GOOD for your family's well being to help around the house. Click here to check out my M&M chart to see how I include my family.

As you practice your M&M everyday – you are creating habits - habits that will go to work for you - it's almost like you go into AUTOPILOT and all of a sudden you feel like your making progress towards an organized home; which means less stress, happy moms, happy wives, and happy homes!

So start developing your own M&M list! Start noticing what you do each morning to catch yourself up for the day - WRITE IT DOWN and keep your list in your household notebook. Remember this is not deep cleaning - it's the MINIMUM work it takes to keep the BASIC areas of your home clean. Take some time with this step - and feel free to keep adjusting your list until it feels like your M&M is covering the basics in your home.

Have fun with one of the most powerful tools in household organizing around - and it's FREE!

MomSpace.home

You've got your calendar. You've got your binder. Now you need a space to keep them! Carve out a little spot in your home to call your MomSpace. This area will be your control center or your base of operations. In the work place, a manager would typically have a cubicle or even a whole office to manage their work place efficiently. Why would you need anything less to manage your home?

The kitchen is the most obvious place for your MomSpace, given that the kitchen is the natural center of the home. At the minimun, your space should consist of two feet of counter space, near a telephone, and must be stocked with a few basic items in order to be efficient.


#1. A CALENDAR: This is not one of the decorative, cute-sy types that we all have hanging on our kitchen walls. This should be a basic monthly calendar with big squares (the bigger the better). This calendar is your appointment planner, your meal planner, your sanity saver. Everything that is going on or needs to go on should be written down on your calendar.

#2. HOUSEHOLD BINDER: It takes some time to develop a comprehensive Household Binder. But, as you add to it and make USING IT a habit, your Binder will be one of most effective tools to help you work towards being organized.

#3. PAPER PATROL: The next thing you need is a system to help manage all the papers that come through your home. Nothing makes you feel out of control faster than piles of paper spread all over your kitchen counters.

I suggest you invest in two types of files. Vertical and horizontal files. The vertical file can hold manila folders. The folders can be labeled with the projects your currently working one, as well as one folder for each child. Handouts that apply to each child can be stored there, as well as important records such as shot records or report cards. I have a file for member of my family, as well as one labeled physical fitness, recipes to try, and medical information. The horizontal files are stacking trays that can be used as an in-box or a to-do file.

I'll be more detailed about paperwork systems later - AFTER CHRISTMAS!

Enjoy!

First Things First

We are going to take this slow, especially because it's holiday time. No one can think about getting their homes organized during the holidays.

The first task is easy though, if want to get yourself and your home organized then you need to prepare for the coming year. You can do this by purchasing a calendar. So while you're out Christmas Shopping - make sure to pick yourself up a 2009 Calendar.

If you have kids at home - make sure it's a big one. My personal favorite is a page size calendar with large squares. You'll want to keep it in a central location. I keep mine next to phone in the kitchen. And the rule is - if it's not on the calendar - it's not happening.!

Happy Calendaring!

The Countdown

For the past month my "Christmas Countdown" buddies and I have been counting down to Christmas with daily e-mail tasks. We have been working on Christmas for 15 minutes each day and we are now about ready for the big day!

It's been so much fun that I've decided to expand the countdown to daily household organizing. Everyone who knows me knows I love to organize. I've been wanting to create this blog for a long time and now the BLOG fairy has made my dreams come true.

So get on the organizing wagon and subscribe to my posts and step by step we'll turn our chaos into calm together!

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