Showing posts with label organized.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organized.. Show all posts
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Clutter Battle
11:43 AM | 
Posted by
Kristin |
So every once in awhile I get in these moods. I want all the junk that we haven't used in the past 6-12 months out of the house. It has gotten an official eviction notice. But I can't just Goodwill it. I have to at least try to get some of my money back. I'm a cheapskate like that. I mean frugal. Yeah. So I pull it all out of the closets. I bring it all up from the basement. And I decide what to do with it...
garage sale?
craigslist?
for sale or trade forums?
Then, I either price it for the garage sale that isn't for another month or I take pictures and list it either on craigslist or the forums. And it sits. In the hallways. In the bedrooms. In the living room. It just sits. Which is really worse than having the clutter in the first place- at least then it was mostly out of site.
Fortunately, the garage sale is next week. So that will take care of the piles in the hallways and bedroom. And I'm this close to selling the toys separately instead of as a big lot. And this baby stuff could go to the resale shops, really.
It's my goal to not only have the closets and basement uncluttered by the time I head back to school, but to have my hallways, living room, and bedrooms back as well.
Can I do this?
YES I CAN!
garage sale?
craigslist?
for sale or trade forums?
Then, I either price it for the garage sale that isn't for another month or I take pictures and list it either on craigslist or the forums. And it sits. In the hallways. In the bedrooms. In the living room. It just sits. Which is really worse than having the clutter in the first place- at least then it was mostly out of site.
Fortunately, the garage sale is next week. So that will take care of the piles in the hallways and bedroom. And I'm this close to selling the toys separately instead of as a big lot. And this baby stuff could go to the resale shops, really.
It's my goal to not only have the closets and basement uncluttered by the time I head back to school, but to have my hallways, living room, and bedrooms back as well.
Can I do this?
YES I CAN!
Labels:
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Teaching Tuesday: A new chore system for Luke
First thing this summer I created this beauty of a chore chart for Luke.
[insert "oooooohhhs" and "ahhhhhhhs" here]
It worked for a week. Seriously. ONE week. I'm horrible at remembering to remind Luke to do his chores. He's horrible at remembering to do them. Half the time I ended up doing them myself, out of habit. Which totally defeats the purpose of having chores. Right? Right.
So I came up with a new system today. I love it. It lets Luke make his own choices and makes him be responsible for remembering to do the chores. In other words... all pressure off mom! WOOT!
I made a new chart. But it's not really a chart. It's a list of chores that he can choose to do. And each chore is "worth" a certain number of rocks.
He can do all of the chores in one day. He can do nothing for a week. Or ever, really. It's his call. However, his mom and dad (that's us) will only be buying him things for holidays from now on. So if he wants that new Lego City set, he has to work for it. Whoa nelly it's gonna be a hard lesson to learn for him- this little boy who is so used to getting pretty much whatever he wants.
So you're probably wondering what these rocks are? Well, along with the chart (pictured above), we have two jars. Jar #1 is labeled, "rocks waiting to be earned." Jar #2 is labeled, "rocks Luke has earned." Before we started, Jar #1 was jam-packed full of river rocks. Jar #2 was empty. (see below)
We explained to Luke how the new system works. You do a chore, you get X amount of rocks in Jar #2. You don't do the chores, you don't get rocks. (Luke thinks, "Yeah so what's in it for me?) Now, when Jar #2 is full and Jar #1 is empty, Luke gets ten dollars!
Oh I wish you could have seen his eyes light up! He is so motivated right now. He got up and went right to his room and started cleaning.
Now there are some guidelines to this little game we're playing.
1. He has to do the chore on his own... without us asking him to do it. So if we try to walk in his room and can't get past the doorway because of the Lego fort blocking the way and we say, "Luke, you need to clean your room up." No rocks. (Aren't we the meanest parents ever?)
2. After his chore is finished, he has to come to us and tell us. We check it to make sure it's a quality job. THEN he can put his rocks in the earned jar.
3. There are opportunities to earn extra rocks. If he has a particularly good attitude about going to bed, for example, he may get an extra rock. If he offers to help with one of mom and dad's chores and does a superior job, extra rocks.
4. I've guesstimated that the earning time will be about two weeks, if he stays motivated. That's $5 a week, which is actually less than the old chore chart system.
I'm super excited about this... hopefully it will not only teach Luke to take on some household responsibility but also about saving his money and waiting to get something he wants. I'll keep you posted!
[insert "oooooohhhs" and "ahhhhhhhs" here]
It worked for a week. Seriously. ONE week. I'm horrible at remembering to remind Luke to do his chores. He's horrible at remembering to do them. Half the time I ended up doing them myself, out of habit. Which totally defeats the purpose of having chores. Right? Right.
So I came up with a new system today. I love it. It lets Luke make his own choices and makes him be responsible for remembering to do the chores. In other words... all pressure off mom! WOOT!
I made a new chart. But it's not really a chart. It's a list of chores that he can choose to do. And each chore is "worth" a certain number of rocks.
He can do all of the chores in one day. He can do nothing for a week. Or ever, really. It's his call. However, his mom and dad (that's us) will only be buying him things for holidays from now on. So if he wants that new Lego City set, he has to work for it. Whoa nelly it's gonna be a hard lesson to learn for him- this little boy who is so used to getting pretty much whatever he wants.
So you're probably wondering what these rocks are? Well, along with the chart (pictured above), we have two jars. Jar #1 is labeled, "rocks waiting to be earned." Jar #2 is labeled, "rocks Luke has earned." Before we started, Jar #1 was jam-packed full of river rocks. Jar #2 was empty. (see below)
We explained to Luke how the new system works. You do a chore, you get X amount of rocks in Jar #2. You don't do the chores, you don't get rocks. (Luke thinks, "Yeah so what's in it for me?) Now, when Jar #2 is full and Jar #1 is empty, Luke gets ten dollars!
Oh I wish you could have seen his eyes light up! He is so motivated right now. He got up and went right to his room and started cleaning.
Now there are some guidelines to this little game we're playing.
1. He has to do the chore on his own... without us asking him to do it. So if we try to walk in his room and can't get past the doorway because of the Lego fort blocking the way and we say, "Luke, you need to clean your room up." No rocks. (Aren't we the meanest parents ever?)
2. After his chore is finished, he has to come to us and tell us. We check it to make sure it's a quality job. THEN he can put his rocks in the earned jar.
3. There are opportunities to earn extra rocks. If he has a particularly good attitude about going to bed, for example, he may get an extra rock. If he offers to help with one of mom and dad's chores and does a superior job, extra rocks.
4. I've guesstimated that the earning time will be about two weeks, if he stays motivated. That's $5 a week, which is actually less than the old chore chart system.
I'm super excited about this... hopefully it will not only teach Luke to take on some household responsibility but also about saving his money and waiting to get something he wants. I'll keep you posted!
Tidbit Tuesday: a new system
Tidbit #1: I want to start blogging again. But I never know what to write about. So I have sat (sitted? sitten? satted?) myself down and made up a daily schedule to use just in case I have nothing else to write about. It goes as so...
Meals on Monday- anything from menu planning to favorite recipes to how would you use this ingredient...
Teacher Tuesday or Tidbit Tuesday, depending on my mood- Tidbit Tuesdays will be just that. Little bits of knowledge or randomness from me. Teacher Tuesdays could include a fun children's book, a math tidbit, or a funny story from school.
Wise Words on Wednesday- quotes, verses, etc. that are on the front of my mind that week
Thankful Thursday- there are millions of things to be thankful for... just a little reminder for me to take some time to thank God for those millions of things, but specifically
Family Friday- could be photos... family stories... I may even get all mushy-gushy on you.
Speechless Saturday- favorite photos from that week or I may take you back a few years and reminisce.
Scrapping Sunday- a time to share the layouts I did that week... if I did anything. :)
So there ya have it. We'll see how well I keep up with it. But if Joel can do it, so can I dang it.
Meals on Monday- anything from menu planning to favorite recipes to how would you use this ingredient...
Teacher Tuesday or Tidbit Tuesday, depending on my mood- Tidbit Tuesdays will be just that. Little bits of knowledge or randomness from me. Teacher Tuesdays could include a fun children's book, a math tidbit, or a funny story from school.
Wise Words on Wednesday- quotes, verses, etc. that are on the front of my mind that week
Thankful Thursday- there are millions of things to be thankful for... just a little reminder for me to take some time to thank God for those millions of things, but specifically
Family Friday- could be photos... family stories... I may even get all mushy-gushy on you.
Speechless Saturday- favorite photos from that week or I may take you back a few years and reminisce.
Scrapping Sunday- a time to share the layouts I did that week... if I did anything. :)
So there ya have it. We'll see how well I keep up with it. But if Joel can do it, so can I dang it.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Make a List Monday: Crazy Day!
Today is nuts. I need to list everything here just so I know what I'm doing!
AM
7-10 Laundry, make piles for trip, make a list of toiletries to grab, clean up house, get snacks & breakfast around for vacation
10-1015 Travel time
1015- 1045 Luke's kindergarten testing
1045- 1215 Library End of Summer Celebration
PM
1215- 1230 Travel time/eat lunch in car
1230- 330 New gradebook training
330- 530 Pack car, eat dinner (Chinese)
530- 730 Visit with aunt & cousins from Iowa
730- 930 Final prep for vacation
930- 630 SLEEP!
Chicago here we come!
AM
7-10 Laundry, make piles for trip, make a list of toiletries to grab, clean up house, get snacks & breakfast around for vacation
10-1015 Travel time
1015- 1045 Luke's kindergarten testing
1045- 1215 Library End of Summer Celebration
PM
1215- 1230 Travel time/eat lunch in car
1230- 330 New gradebook training
330- 530 Pack car, eat dinner (Chinese)
530- 730 Visit with aunt & cousins from Iowa
730- 930 Final prep for vacation
930- 630 SLEEP!
Chicago here we come!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tackle It Tuesday: The House Before
You would think we haven't cleaned in weeks. When, in reality, the house was spic & span on Thursday. Just four days ago. And it stayed clean through Sunday. Just two days ago. How so? Luke was at grandma's house Thursday night through Saturday afternoon. Joel worked and then had class on Friday and had class all day Saturday. Then, I struggle, once again, to stay on top of it. But really. Why should I be the one who needs to stay on top of it? As I look around I see clothes & shoes & dishes & empty cans & water bottles all belonging to Joel. I see pillows and blankets all over the floor, which are a sign that Luke was here. I will take the blame for the computer desk. That's my doing.
The laundry- as of Sunday evening I just had one more load to do. Then, Joel decided to clean up the bedroom. No WONDER he can't find any clothes to wear, even though I just finished the laundry!
So... today is Tackle It Tuesday. I will have this house decluttered by the day's end. Not clean. I'll save that for tomorrow. But uncluttered. Plus, I plan to go into my classroom and work. Should make for a busy day!
Here are my before pictures. I will be back later to post the after pictures. And maybe, just to humor myself, I'll post pics tomorrow to show the damage caused by just two males, in just one evening. hee hee.
The laundry- as of Sunday evening I just had one more load to do. Then, Joel decided to clean up the bedroom. No WONDER he can't find any clothes to wear, even though I just finished the laundry!
So... today is Tackle It Tuesday. I will have this house decluttered by the day's end. Not clean. I'll save that for tomorrow. But uncluttered. Plus, I plan to go into my classroom and work. Should make for a busy day!
Here are my before pictures. I will be back later to post the after pictures. And maybe, just to humor myself, I'll post pics tomorrow to show the damage caused by just two males, in just one evening. hee hee.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Make a List Monday: Things I'd Like to Do While on Vacation
The Sears Tower (I refused to call it Willis Tower)& the new glass balcony
The Field Museum
Lincoln Park Zoo- It's for FREEEEEEEEEE!
Adler Planetarium
Chicago Children's Museum
MOSI again. hee hee.
The Swedish-American Museum Center
Navy Pier
Rain Forest Cafe
Legoland Discovery Center
and I've got my list ready to shop!
And I want to figure out where that cool mirror rock things in the picture is. I've seen so many cool pics with this thing!
I'm sure there are more... can we do this in four days? I'm getting excited!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Make a List Monday
Here are the things I'd like to get done today...
*Wash kitchen floor
*Pick up clutter
*Take garage sale bins to the basement
*Give McCarthy a bath
*Clean & rearrange Luke's bedroom
*Go to library day
*Vacuum
*Dust
*Laundry- colors
*Take license to central office
*Wash kitchen floor
*Pick up clutter
*Take garage sale bins to the basement
*Give McCarthy a bath
*Clean & rearrange Luke's bedroom
*Go to library day
*Vacuum
*Dust
*Laundry- colors
*Take license to central office
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tackle It Tuesday
I have one ginormous job to tackle today. And that's getting the baby clothes & gear priced for the garage sale on Thursday. As I was working yesterday I thought to myself, "What ONE child needs this much stuff?" I mean seriously!? I have a bin for each size. The smaller sizes have a lot, but not as much as it could be because I've already weeded through and sold some stuff. The size 3s and 4s... holy pile overflowing out of the bin!!! Then there are the blankets, bibs, and burp cloths. Seriously? Thirty bibs? Twelve receiving blankets? No wonder we were overwhelmed with laundry! Ha! And don't get me started on the toys... and the bottles... oy.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Make a List Monday
A list of my favorite places to window shop and occasionally buy online...
Lisa Leonard Designs
The Vintage Pearl
Mama Made
Etsy
Sweet Shoppe Designs
Polka Dots & Pirates
Lisa Leonard Designs
The Vintage Pearl
Mama Made
Etsy
Sweet Shoppe Designs
Polka Dots & Pirates
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About Me
- Kristin
- I'm Kristin. Married since 2002 to a super cool guy named Joel. We have a super amazing boy named Luke and a super cuddly pup named McCarthy. I'm not a very consistent blogger (at all) but I do go in spurts. I like to keep people on their edge of their seats. Ha!
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