To Do Thursday!

Hello Friends and Happy Thursday!  I have a few tackles to share with you today AND I have pictures.  Aren't you excited?  I did quite a few things in the kitchen this week...some exciting like organizing the school bin (well, exciting to me!) and some not-so-exciting like finally taking the canning jars to the basement.

I started with cleaning out the basket that we keep on the counter next to the door to the garage.  Here's the result:

This is sort of a catch all basket (which is why it can get out of control).  I usually keep batteries, tape, and various coupons and restaurant menus in here, but sometimes I'll stick something here if I can't put it away right away or if it's something that needs to have home created.  I cleaned out the basket and only put the usual things back in, finding a home for everything else.

I also worked on the school bin:

This bin really works because it keeps everything together that we would need for school or for doing extra educational activities at home.

 

I keep a note pad in the bin for notes that I need to write to the teacher or for information for any babysitters.  We also keep pens and pencils in a holder for writing notes or homework assignments.

This folder keeps anything that needs to go back to school.  It actually only has Caleb's pre-school application in it right now because I've been trying to sign/fill out and return things as soon as I see them in Jamison's take home folder.

Jamison loves to write so I always have sheets for her to create stories.  I found some writing sheets online and just printed a bunch off for her.

I keep things in here that I need to eventually file away in Jamison's memory bin.  Eventually I'd like to create a binder of all of the art work, assignments and cute projects that I want to keep.

This is a file that I created after I heard "Mom, have you seen my _____?" too many times.  I'm good for throwing something away quickly and sometimes it would result in Jamison being sad that she wasn't finished making that special letter for her friend or that book she was making (like seen below).  Now I put all of these kinds of things in this file and wait for a bit.  If she doesn't ask about it for a while then I throw the items away (which really makes me think we need to start recycling because she does a lot of writing and book creating).  It has worked really well!

Here's where I keep the blank paper for those special letters, books and now for drawing trains (Caleb is on a kick for having us draw trains for him).

The last file I have is for resources that I like to have on hand, like tips for helping kids with math, information sheets that come home from Jamison's school or things that I find on the internet about kid activities.  

And that's my bin.  It really does work for us and keeps papers all in one place instead of all over the house.

I also wanted to show you the tool that helps to keep me organized:

My Planner!

I absolutely love this thing and try not to travel without it.  I ordered it from erincondren.com.  I'm a huge paper calendar type person and this is perfect for me.  It's colorful and has a ton of space to write. 

It has monthly pages for me to write events that are coming up.  This way I can see the entire month at one time.  It also comes with a stretchy book mark so I can flip easily to the current week.

Here's the weekly view.  This is where I write more details about events or things I have coming up, like directions, items I need to bring if I'm going to a party, a short Target list, etc.

There's also a space to write my To Do list...gotta love that.

Lastly, it has these wonderful Notes pages for me to jot down other thoughts or major lists (like this one that I made when we were planning our Florida trip).  I keep all sorts of information on these pages and it comes in handy when I'm trying to remember that book recommendation that someone gave me (because most likely I've written it on one of these pages!).

So there you have it, the heart of my organization quest!

This Week's To Do List!

1.  Clean utensil drawer and find new organizer.

2.  Finish and send out Christmas cards.

3.  Clean off top of fridge (it's becoming a jungle up there).

4.  Make cookies for Lyndsey's cookie party.