Charting Chores

I think my kid is spoiled. Not spoiled in the sense that she's ungrateful or rude, but spoiled because I haven't given her any real responsibilities on a regular basis.

I mean she's been getting $20 allowance every month just 'because.' She's supposed to sweep the stairs . . . You know- the stairs I so geniusly had Jason paint black a few years ago?  You can read about it here.

On a side note, do NOT paint your stairs black if
 A.) You like to hide dust

 B.) You have forced-air heat 

C.) You have children

 D.) You have pets

 E.) You want to stay sane.

If you ignore these rules and go ahead and paint your stairs black, do not think your 11-year old will sweep them.

Even if you're paying her $20 per month to do so.

So it was Imani's job to sweep the stairs every day and she'd get $20 in return every month. I will say that she is expected to give 10% to a charity of her choice every month and she has to deposit 10% in her bank account.

The problem was, even though Imani rarely did her expected task, she had her beautiful little brown hand stretched out to me each month for the cash.

Somewhere along the way . . . (probably when Imani was in diapers and I was a young, single mom reading every child-rearing book possible to assure myself that I wouldn't mess up my child) . . . I read some financial advisor's advice to NEVER link allowance to chores.

Clearly I didn't listen.  In fact, not only did I link sweeping the stairs with allowance, but I was paying even when the job wasn't done consistently.

So Jason and I decided something had to change.  As much as we love that sweet little Imani with those big brown peepers, every month we were teaching her that she didn't have to work for money.

So we're revamping allowance . . . I'll post more about that later. 

And we've decided that there are certain chores that are non-negotiable. They need to get done every day by all of us (without pay).

There are mainly three things that we decided to split up:  Combing Maggie (and brushing her teeth), Setting the table (with drinks), and cleaning up the table (which includes putting everything away and loading the dish washer).

As you know, I love Pinterest.  I found the cutest idea on there to rotate these chores so that no one gets stuck doing the same chore each night.

I bought printable magnetic sheets that look like this
 

 

 

 

I printed a picture of each of us on the magnetic sheets and cut them out so they looked like this.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I made a chart listing each of the three chores.  I put our pictures under each of the three jobs and they just get moved over to the next column when you finish your chore.

 

 

We've been doing this for about two weeks and so far, it's working out great!

How is Ms. Imani making money, you wonder?  Stay tuned . . . I've got all the details for you (and she loves it, and so do we!)

Thanks for stopping by!

 

How to Save Mementos

Now that summer has come to an end, you probably find yourself with a whole lot of memories of summer vacations, picnics and family gatherings.

With those memories often comes 'stuff' you collect in an attempt to preserve those memories - to hold onto a piece of them forever so that you won't forget.

The part of me that still has Bea Johnson from "Garbology" whispering in my ear tells me to tell you to stop collecting stuff because it will only clutter your life and will probably just end up in a landfill at some point.

But another part of me - a bigger part of me - a part of me I am struggling to change- identifies with keeping every ticket stub and every seashell because each one conjures up a feeling I don't want to ever forget.

So what can you do with all of these  mementos?

 

 

Of course there's always scrapbooking, but I've told you a thousand and one times that I'm not neat.  Jason would have to be the one to make all those cuts and glue everything to the pages in straight lines. 

 

 

 

But there are some other ways to preserve memories.  Keeping mementos in jars is one that I really like (although I've never actually done it).

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: paleandinteresting.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

Of course that savvy couple John and Sherry over at Young House Love have done it:

 

 

Source: younghouselove.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

I like this one because of the uniformity of all of the jars:

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Stephenie on Pinterest

Maybe your objects don't fit nicely into a little jar.  How about a memory tree?  Here, family mementos are preserved on  little tree.

 

Source: bluemossgirls.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

Or maybe you have a bunch of things that trigger memories, but you don't want them on display?  You might consider a memory box.  You could have one for each memory, or one big box that houses a bunch of mementos.

 

Source: via Wajeeda on Pinterest

 

 

And what about storing mementos that aren't necessarily from vacations, but are daily items like child's artwork?  There are a million different ideas on Pinterest and all over blog land on the best ways to manage the pounds and pounds of artwork that comes home, but here are a few of the displays I like best.

 

 

Creating a wall to serve as a "gallery"  looks nice and will certainly honor your little artist

 

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

 

 

 

This chalk board is fun because you can change the art whenever you want and draw whimsical frames around the piece.

 

Source: artful-adventures.co.uk via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

Keep it simple with a series of clip boards

 

 

Source: craftytexasgirls.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

I love these white frames with all of the colorful kid's artwork displayed.

Source: bromeliadliving.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

And what about greeting cards, notes and other little mementos?

 

 

Here is a nice little booklet was created to keep a couple's wedding cards.  The details are beautiful (see the little cross at the top of the ring?  Love it!)

 

Source: somethingturquoise.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

 

Here an old shutter is re-purposed to display cards.

Source: bhg.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

 

I like this simple envelope idea to store kid's notes.

 

Source: stephmodo.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

Simply place the notes inside, put a sticker on the front and date it.

 

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

 

 

What do we do?

 

Well, we are big fans of real photos, so I try to get them printed regularly and put them in photo albums. 

 

You might recall that our seating arrangements at our wedding turned into a book of personalized messages from each of our guests.  You can read about it here.

 

The cover is a picture of us and inside there is a photo of each guest and the message they wrote to us on the back.

 

And for all of Imani's awards, ribbons, etc, I keep them in a 3-ring binder with clear sleeves.  It's nothing earth shattering or particularly beautiful but it's a place where everything is stored in one spot for her to look back one day and take with her if she wants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for children's art? We used to keep every piece but that got overwhelming quickly. So we have a couple of storage bins and we choose our favorite pieces and display them on the side of the refrigerator when they first come home. After that, they are stored in the bin in the basement. Some pieces of artwork have been turned into magnets, others have been turned into Christmas ornaments.

 

We also have decorative boxes - one houses mementos from Imani's infancy (like baby shoes, a frilly dress, etc) and one houses mementos from our wedding. 

 

What about you? What's your favorite way to store mementos?

 

 

Containing Kid Clutter

I've gotten a lot of requests from people asking how we contain all of the "stuff" that goes along with having kids.

Specifically . . . people want to know what we do with all the PLASTIC that kids play with.

No, we're not one of those Waldorf families that only has their kids play with toys made from natural resources.

I wish we were.

But I can't turn down good, clean, hand-me-down plastic toys.

And my sister-in-law Kim has A LOT of plastic toys that she's so graciously handed over to Noah.

Sure, wood toys look so much nicer, but there are some really cool plastic toys and frankly,
I'm not a toy snob.

Especially when I didn't have to spend a dime.

So how do we manage it all?

Well, like anyone else . . . it accumulates and accumulates and then I take a step back one day and realize my house has become one giant piece of brightly colored plastic that makes lots of obnoxious noises over

and over

and over

again.

I realize that Noah isn't playing with a lot of his plastic either.

And then I decide, enough is enough.

I'm going to get this toy situation under control once and for all.

So first, I pick out ONLY the toys that Noah plays with on a regular basis.  I don't spend a whole lot of time hemming and hawing about it. I just grab about 10 toys in his bedroom that he plays with.

I empty out his entire toy box and clean everything off the floor that he doesn't play with and I store it in a plastic bin in his closet.  These are toys that I will rotate out when he tires of his "most favorite" toys.

I place the toys I've picked out as his favorites and I put them in his toy chest.

I'm a fan of baskets, bins and things that close to hide the toys. 

Choosing only Noah's favorite toys has really been quite refreshing.

He doesn't feel overwhelmed by clutter and has actually sat down and played with his toys for an extended period of time.  He also knows where he can find his favorite toys quickly.

I also created a few baskets of some of the toys he plays with.

He has a basket of plastic blocks

 

And a basket of wood blocks.

A basket of balls (his absolute favorite)

And several baskets of books.

And of course, he has some larger, more obnoxious toys that cannot be stuffed in a box or bin.

And we have a damp, unfinished basement so there is no "play room."

We just put these larger toys off to one side of his room (and yes, he does play with them).

Puzzles are stored under his dresser. You can't see them when you're just hanging out in the room, but Noah knows where to find them.

 

Making sure everything has its own basket/bin/spot makes it easy for me to clean up quickly before it's time for Noah to go to bed.  I don't have eight million toys crammed in eight different places. It's easy: blocks, balls and books each go in their own basket, favorite toys go in the toy chest and puzzles go under the dresser. 

Easy enough.  And everything looks so nice when it's all stored in its own place.

As for other rooms in the house, Noah has a rocking horse that a friend gave him for his birthday. It's on display in our sitting room and he enjoys riding on it from time to time.  

We have a wicker basket with a lid in the living room that again has only a few of his favorite toys.  As he gets bored, we will rotate these with the toys that are stored in his closet. 
(Don't mind my spindly plant. I'm not sure what we're doing wrong . . . advice is appreciated)

Who would've known that basket houses this

And when you look into our living room, you don't see piles and piles of plastic obnoxiousness. 

 

But behind our piano is a little evidence that there IS a toddler running around. We have another basket of books (I love books and think they should be in every room) and Noah's favorite little toy to push around when he walks.

The kitchen houses one toy, which Noah has almost outgrown.  It's what I call his plastic babysitter.  We use it when we cook and want him to stay in one place so he doesn't hurt himself.

 

His other favorite "toys" in the kitchen are pretty simple:

 

 

It's true that kids don't NEED all the stuff they have now a days so it's important to simplify . . . but I believe there also needs to be a balance so that we're not so obsessed with keeping thing neat and tidy that we deny our kids an important part of development -- play.

And what's far more important than having a perfect house is having a happy child! 

What about you? What's your system for toys? 

 

Shopper's Club Chaos Solved!

In case you're wondering, Jason, aka "The Coupon Cowboy" is still in full swing. We get free stuff from Rite Aid weekly. 

And the Coupon Cowboy was finally successful in lassoing another couponer - his brother Joe.  That's right, my brother-in-law has become equally obsessed with Rite Aid deals.

How lucky am I?

And how lucky is my sister-in-law Shannon too?

It guess that depends on if you think having an abundance of shampoo and toothpaste is lucky.

I never have to think twice about donating to personal hygiene charity drives. 

I actually seek them out now!

Seriously though, I have to admit that I love a good deal just as much as Jason.

In fact, I'm a sucker for store savings cards.  Every time I'm at the register and the cashier asks if I want to join some shopper's club, if it's free, I ALWAYS sign up.   I like a good deal and most of the stores require you to have their shopper's card to get their in-store deals.

Some have special perks and will send you coupons in the mail depending on how much you shop there, like Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods. Even food chains like Panera and Subway now have cards.

The problem with having all of these Shopper's Club cards is that they take up so much room in my wallet. The truth is, I can't even button my wallet closed.

What's worse is that when the cashier asks me if I have a customer loyalty card, I fumble around looking for it. A couple of times, I've actually signed up a second time because I thought I wasn't a member, only to find two cards in my wallet later!

I know that some stores have key tags but I've found that not all stores do and I hate having a million little tags mixed in with my keys.

I once had a million dollar idea to invent a card that would electronically house all other store cards, but I guess I wasn't smart enough to see it to fruition so now it's out there for someone else to invent and make millions.

Instead, I got out my hole puncher and set to work so that my wallet would button closed once again.

Problem solved! Now I have a nice little stack of store loyalty cards conveniently on a key chain in my purse. 

And my wallet is happy because it's no longer exposed for the world to see.

  

I'll let you know how the new system works out. In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you're organizing your store cards -- or if you refuse to sign up all together.

Also - if you have an organizing dilemma - email me or comment below.

Linking up to:

 

Organzing Drawers

I'm still trying to figure out how to blog more frequently while holding down a full time job and having  a one year old and an eleven year old.  If anyone out there has any tips, please let me know.  I always think about tons of ideas to share with you all but can't manage to find the time to take pictures, upload them, edit them and write the post.

For those of you who know me, you know I have a lot of hobbies too. Jason and I both love to work out and I enjoy all kinds of crafts -- so balancing everything is a bit overwhelming at times.

But I truly enjoy this blog and all that goes along with it - the creative process, the friendships I've created all over the world, the sharing of ideas so I truly would like to make it a more regular part of my life; I just haven't figured out how.

I admire those who have.

Anyway - I've been trying to get organized around here.  I've gotten a lot of questions from people on how to stay organized with kids -- especially with all of the toys and "stuff" they accumulate.  I'll try to share some of what's worked for us in the coming weeks. 

For those of  you who have kids who are a bit older  - this post is for you.

Imani is constantly getting her nice clothes dirty by playing outside in them. Don't get me wrong, I want her to have fun and get dirty -- I just don't want her outside in a brand new pair of pants that we bought less than an hour ago sliding in mud (yes, this really happens).

Imani is the kind of girl who defies all gender stereotypes. From the time she was a toddler, I had buckets of Oxyclean  around my house with her clothes soaking in them because she found sticks and mud much more interesting than barbies and doll houses. I can't say that I blame her.

My nickname as a child was "Grubby."

Thankfully, I outgrew that.

What makes this more frustrating is that Imani chooses to grub up her clothes and then chooses those exact same ripped jeans and stained shirts to put on before we're about to go to dinner at a friend's house.  She has a little bit of trouble determining when it's appropriate to wear stained versus not stained clothes.

So I decided to try to help her with a bit of organization.

I busted out the good ole' label maker.

And labeled her dresser drawers accordingly:

We also labeled the inside of all the play clothes with by writing "PC" on the tags so there wouldn't be any question about what clothes belong where.

Imani usually puts her own laundry away so this makes it much easier for her to know where everything goes - and she knows what clothes to wear depending on what she's going to be doing.

After I finished with Imani's drawers, I realized I wasn't exactly setting a good example with my own disorganized drawers.  While I didn't need to use the label maker, I did need a new system. I have a lot of clothes and I tend to just cram them in my drawers.

I've confessed several times that I am not the organized one in the house -- Jason is. 

He's the Type- "A" - the one who cleans constantly and makes sure everything is in its place -- the one who neatly puts his clothes away and makes sure every dresser drawer is closed - the one whose hangers and shirt collars are all facing the same direction in the closet.

I'm the free spirit - the one who carelessly crams all of my clothes in my dresser and attempt to shut it with clothes hanging out -- the one who lets my closet become a disaster and then,  after about a month of living like a slob - decides its time to get organized.

This was one of those months for me.

I had seen an image on Pinterest that showed clothes stacked or "rolled" rather than folded and stacked.  Clearly the traditionally way wasn't working for me.

So I rolled all of my sweaters:

And stacked my t-shirt drawer too:

And after about three weeks, I'm happy to say that my drawers are still (fairly) organized.  It makes so much more sense this way because I can see all of my shirts.

What's worked for you to keep your drawers organized? Got any tips? I'd love to hear 'em!