My Family Wall

So, I've finally gotten my family wall done!!!  We have been using it for about 2 weeks and I can confidently say that it is working for us!  My house is picked up, the laundry is getting done, daily chores are being accomplished, rules are being followed, and biggest bonus, the kids LOVE it!!!

Let me explain:

Here is the picture of the whole wall.  All that is at the bottom is a shelf for the backpacks.

The printables came from:  Family Rules

House Rules

Love and Be Loved

Here is the nuts and bolts of our wall.  Obviously the calendar has enough space on each day to note special events, changes in schedule, appointments, school functions, etc.

During the school year, the 2 eldest children are only with us every other weekend.  For that reason, I designed this system without them and focused on the 3 younger children and providing them set boundaries, rules, and responsibilities.

We have narrowed down the consequences of actions so that the adults in the house no longer have to cajole, scream, holler, repeat instructions, and otherwise lose our minds trying to get them to complete their chores!  We only have one rule so far - work before play.  If they choose to play before their chores are done, consequences follow.  For each warning the resulting consequence increases.  The length of the time out is measured by a 'Time Out Bottle' (many recipes - mine takes about 5 minutes); it gives them a chance to think about the choices they are making and to refocus their attention.  The orange sticks that they pull are chores that no one wants to do, like clean the trash cans, wash the baseboards, clean a section of wall, etc.  The purple sticks all revolve around acts of love toward their siblings, writing them a poem, doing a chore for them, etc.

Because there are three of them, it is easy to assign each of them a specific day.  J has even days, D has odd days, and A has days divisible by 3.  On each of their days, they get all the privileges: riding in the front seat, choosing what games to play, controlling the TV, served first at dinner, etc.  However, before they get to enjoy the privileges, they have to complete the responsibilities on their day.  While the list may look long, it only takes about 15 minutes to accomplish everything except the weekly chore and shower.

These are their every day responsibilities.   The 15 min. fling is done after PJ's are on and before the 1/2 hour reading/journal/meditate time.  We set the timer and everyone picks up and puts away as many things as we can.  It actually only takes about 5 minutes since it stays pretty clean.  The 2 sticks are red and they are quick chores, fold the living room blankets, dust the electronics, etc. - they take less than 5 minutes to complete.  The weekly chores are completed by the owner of the day.  Because the days rotate so much no one person is stuck cleaning the bathroom and it solves the "I did it last time!" argument!

This is my favorite part of our wall.  On the right side is a place for notes from the adults to the children.  On the left side is a place for them to write 'Love you' notes to other members of the family.  The rule is that the note has to stay for one day before it is erased and another is written.  {Whispering} This is so that I can take a picture of each one and then put them into a book! I plan on naming it, "See, I  DO Love You" and giving them each a copy!

Like I said, we've been at this for about a week and 1/2. Their rooms are staying clean, the chores are getting done, there is definitely less fighting, and I'm not 'Harpy Mom' because they have no privileges until they have completed their work!  I'll keep you apprised!  

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment!  Thanks for reading - until next time.

Navigating through molasses

Do you ever feel like you are trudging up hill - through a river of molasses - in February? Then you can relate to my current state of mind!!!  I could continue with many cliches about how I am feeling, but I think that pretty much sums it up! Let me tell you where I am at....

I started out the year with a clear vision in my head of how I wanted the year to go (organized, prepared, focused, etc.).  It has not gone so well!!  My house is a disaster - I still have my Christmas bottles on my mantle - they should have been painted for February about 2 weeks ago.  I'm supposed to have my laundry room and my office done and organized - not even started!  I'm supposed to have a routine and a schedule and a family organization center - um..... nope!! There's more.....

On the other hand, I have started exercising every day, whether its yoga, strength training, walking the dogs, its something every day.  I've been drinking the amount of water that I am supposed to be drinking.  I've started teaching art in two more classrooms and am interviewing for a paid art position next week. I threw Jaidyn a really, really cool birthday party.  I worked 17 days in a row to help cover a situation at work.

After reviewing the month of January, looking at my goals and my vision, reflecting of progress made or not, and looking ahead at where I need to be, I have come to the conclusion that my life plan needs to be way more flexible that it is currently!  So, my 12 week plan has become more of an as I get it done plan.  I don't feel the need to beat myself up for not sticking to a set timeline.  Life happens daily and sometimes I am motivated to get things done and sometimes I'm not.  Yes, my life is chaotic; yes, it stresses me out; yes, changes need to be made.  But, no more timelines.

I have a renewed commitment to my goals. I can do this; I just have to navigate through the molasses.

Week One - My Sanctuary

So, I know that this post is a couple days late.  I really did have my task completed on time and then life happened so ....

Anyway, I'm excited to share the before and afters of my sanctuary.  Please let me know what you think or any questions you might have!!

The Befores:  (I resisted the urge to clean before taking the pictures - it took everything I had!  Please remember, this is a judge free zone!)

Note, the mess on the dresser - it is a catchall!  My knick-knacks are stuck in the corner behind my jewelry box.

Mom should be proud, my bed is made at least!

Another catch all place!

The Afters:

My corner revamped.  My knick-knack shelves are organized and displayed nicely.  My jewelry box has been put up on the wall since this picture was taken.  I was tempted to take the TV out of the bedroom altogether since we have quit watching it there, but then I made a dvd of a fire burning and it gives off a nice ambiance.

When we first moved in together, Darin and I started this 'He said; She said' board.  It was cute and fun and romantic.  It was exciting to try and find something new written on it.

Instead of removing the TV, I tried to disguise it, somewhat.  The wine bottle is what we drank the night he proposed.  It holds our ticket stubs, wrist bands, and other mementos from that evening.  The 'Pink Taco' cup and Buzz Balls are from Vegas when we got married.  The water bottle holds the ticket stubs from the Queensryche concert we attended.  My one and only total rocker girl moment when Geoff Tate took a drink out of it, threw the rest of it on the crowd and then dropped the bottle into my hands - it will be forever remembered and cherished. I am not ashamed to admit that I screamed like a typical 80's groupie girl!!!

My bed and nightstands, (minus the weighted blanket, I keep that folded and in one of the drawers under the bed).  Darin's nightstand is his domain so I just kind of straightened it a little - mine is much more organized!

Board #2 and 'Our Story' board

He Said/She Said board #2 - it didn't work as well with the markers and the black board.  We couldn't seem to write as small or as many things.

Everyone has a love story, I like ours the best!

Our first year on a board.  Our rings, our first cards, little notes, mementos, reminders of  the whirlwind romance.

No more catch-all!  The black laundry basket is for dark clothes, the white for light clothes and when one is full, it gets washed, dried and put away.  I end up doing about 3 loads of laundry a week for us.

This is the new version of our love boards.  On occasion, we will write little notes to each other about the little things that we do that sometimes go unnoticed in our busy lives.

Now my room is a place that I want to go to escape the rest of the world.  It is peaceful and calm and quiet.  Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!!  Stay tuned, I'm working on my laundry room and system and it's going to be AWESOME!!

12 Weeks till Spring ....

I mean, 12 weeks until spring break is over.  At which time my house will be deep-cleaned and organized.  Let me share my plan:

Week One:

The bedroom should be an area of sanctuary in the home.  It should be the one place that everything is at peace and the rest of the world can be shut out.  Those reasons are why I chose to focus on my bedroom first.

Week Two:

My biggest challenge, hands down, is keeping up with the laundry.  I have tried the load-a-day system, the all-in-one-day system, the each person does their own system - fails, every single one!  I HATE laundry, so the thought of doing it every day is awful (I really tried to think of a more colorful way to say that but it just flippin' sucks!).  Doing 10 loads in a day inevitably leads to a load left in the washer, a load left in the dryer, a couple unfolded loads on the cedar chest (where I put them after I moved them from the bed so I could go to bed....), a tub of unmatched socks, stack of clothes that haven't yet been put away and maybe five loads completely put away.  I don't even want to tell you how the 'everyone do your own' thing didn't work out - suffice to say it was an epic fail.  So, in addition to deep cleaning and reorganizing my laundry room, I will also come up with some kind of laundry system.

Weeks Three and Four:

My second biggest challenge is keeping up with the paperwork.  My 'office' consists of stacks of papers, randomly placed craft drawers, bins of magazines, etc.  I cannot see my desk top and haven't been able to for a couple of months now.  I gave myself two weeks for this project because it is going to require purging and filing and sorting and.....

Week Five:

My bathroom

Week Six:

The Living Room

Week Seven:

The Dining Room

Week Eight:

The Upstairs Bathroom

Week Nine:

The Kitchen - I'll have to kick Darin out or do it while he is at work since I will be invading his territory!!

Week Ten:

The Shed - It's a small shed, meant to hold gardening supplies and yard equipment.  Unfortunately it leaks - something we didn't know until we had stored cardboard boxes in there.

Weeks Eleven and Twelve:

By far, the largest project is The Music Room.  It is a 10 X 14 metal shed that has become a storage place for whatever we couldn't find a place for in the house, including everything that came from my classroom - I accumulated a lot in 2 years!  Unfortunately, while storing things, order was not the first thing on my mind.  It is chaos - there isn't even a path from one door to the other - it's horrible!  The two weeks that I have slated for that project are the two weeks of spring break.  Darin is taking one of those weeks off; I think we can get it accomplished.

Each week I will post pictures of the before and after of each room and describe how I did what I did.  Please comment and make suggestions, I can use all the help I can get!!

Planning, Preparing, and Producing

I have been looking for the perfect planner to help me get and remain organized.  I do believe that I have found it!!  I have been able to adapt it to fit my lifestyle and needs.  The problem with a planner is that it doesn't maintain itself, therefore, it will required discipline and dedication.  The question is, how badly do I want the goal of being organized and prepared and ahead of the game rather than always chasing after.


The planner that I am using is called "The Passion Planner".  It is amazing!!  A few things that I love about this planner:

1.

It starts out with a 'Passion Plan'.  It is basically a 5 minute brainstorm that they then give steps to break down into smaller goals and these in turn translate into weekly and daily focuses.  Goal planning at its best!

 2.

It has the general monthly page but it adds places for goal planning, due dates, priorities and has small reminders to step back and make sure you are on track.  I don't have it all completed yet, I've only had it a couple of days!

 3.

It has a two page layout of the week with the times small enough to accommodate for what I need - like working the graveyard shift! - plus it ties into the goal setting and breaking down the focus into small, daily tasks.  It has separate to do lists for personal and work.  It has a blank space for jotting notes or doodling or whatever AND, one of the coolest things, it has a spot to list the good things that happen that week - I love the focus on the positive!

4.

At the end of each month, it has a built in journal reflection - how amazing is that!?!  It fits so perfectly with my need to see where I've been, where I am, and where I am going.  It serves as a way to get back on track if I have wandered a bit, which I will!

This planner has a lot more features that I am excited to explore and adapt. to my needs.  If you are looking for a way to help get yourself organized, check it out!

Check back on Saturday for my new series - Spring Cleaning in 12 Weeks!