A New Weapon…

…in my organisational arsenal!

I cannot for the life of me remember where I read it but someone somewhere was saying that one of their organisational tips is that if it going to take less than one minute, she just does it there and then.

I didn’t think too much about it at the time but have found myself several times since thinking about it…like when I take some folded laundry to my bedroom and instead of putting it on my chest of drawers ready to put away before I go to bed like I usually do.  As I was putting it down my inner voice said “will this take less than one minute?” .

So I put it away.

And it only took around 30 seconds.

When my son came home with a permission form from school I went to put it in my correspondance folder.   That little voice said to me again “will this take less than one minute?”.

So I signed it and put it straight into my son’s reader bag.

And this took around 50 seconds.

To cut a long story short this kind of thing has kept happening and it is making a real difference to my day.  Especially when it comes to the time of night when I begin planning for the next day.

Try it yourself and let me know if it works for you!

Family Schedule for 2011

Creating a schedule that works for your family can often seem like am impossible task. Coordinating work commitments with school, kinder, music lessons, sport lessons, etc can be a logistical nightmare.

And just when you think you have worked it all out you realise that swimming lessons clash with netball practice and you have to start all over again.

Now while it is impossible to control some things such as swimming lessons only being available for your three children at different times on different days, you can make sorting out your schedule a little less stressful by having all the information in front of you whilst trying to book lessons etc for the new year.

I begin by printing out a calendar page from my computer.  Any dates will do, what you want is a diary type page with times printed on it for every day.  I print out a blank ical page but whatever planning calendar you use on your pc will be fine.  Alternatively you can use a blank week in an old diary.

I then start by marking in the activities I know cannot be changed such as work, school and kinder times.  I use a highlighter for these as they are permanent and must be worked around.  For us this includes some sporting lessons that are always held at the same time on the same day.

I then pencil in lessons that are preferred to be on certain days but are not set in stone. For example my son’s drum teacher asked if we could move lessons from Wednesday night this year to another night so he can take his daughter to swimming lessons.  He could do any other night but we have karate on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I make a note on the bottom of the calendar that my preferred time for drum lessons would be Monday night.

I also cross out Friday afternoon as we prefer to not have anything on if possible.

Now comes to ringing around to set up other standing appointments or lessons.  I start with the ones that are the least flexible and the most difficult to coordinate (in our case, swimming lessons) and mark them in on the calendar in pencil.

I then keep working through until I have all activities booked, marked on my ical sheet and not clashing.

Once I get to this point it is time to enter all the information into ical on my mac and set reminders.

Then I breathe a deep sigh of relief that all the phone calls and juggling are over for at least term 1.

How do you go about organising your family’s schedule for the new year?

Resuming Transmission…

The kitchen in our newly renovated home

Happy New Year!

I am very excited to be back blogging at org4me after a long break.

A special thank you goes out to all those readers who still check in here every now and then. The craziness of a major house renovation is over and life has gone back to normal (at least what I consider to be normal) so the blog can get back to business as usual.

For the month of January I am going to concentrate on getting everyone organised for a minimum stress 2011.  I will talk about getting systems in place to keep your household running smoothly and efficiently.

Of course if there is anyone who feels they could use some one-on-one help to get organised this year please contact me to find out how org4me can help you turn the chaos into calm!

As everyone has different goals when starting out in a new year I thought I would share some of the things I would personally like to achieve this year:

• to create a rotating monthly menu and to keep several pre-cooked meals ready to go in the freezer for the evenings the kids have after school activities and are starving the minute they walk in the door
• To have a healthy afternoon tea ready to go when the kids get home from school
• to keep on top of my filing
• to fit more exercise in my day
• to make org4me (the business, not the blog) more accessible financially for more people
• to decide on a secondary school for my son, who is in grade six this year

If I achieve all of the above I will be a very happy camper.

What are your goals for 2011?

An Announcement…

First of all a big apology for my absence.

Unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I am going to have to take a break from blogging for at least the rest of the year.

An enormous thank you to all my clients, readers and  subscribers, your support has been overwhelming.

Hopefully I will be able to return to blogging in the new year.

Essentials for your Car

Travelling with children can be stressful at the best of times.  It is easy to find yourself in sticky situations whilst travelling and not have the right things on hand to deal with the problem.

The easiest way to deal with this is to put together some “car essentials” kits to keep in your car at all times.  Keep one in the glovebox or centre console and one in the boot and you will be prepared for whatever your littlies throw your way.

Glovebox Esssentials : Baby Wipes.  This is probably obvious.  Most mums I know keep baby wipes everywhere.  They are not only brilliant for cleaning sticky hands and faces but they are useful for cleaning stains off clothing and for wiping public toilet doorhandles and taps before using.  They also come in handy for cleaning grotty playground equipment.

Tissues.  Another obvious one.

Large Snap-lock Bags.  Very handy for sick bags, rubbish bags and soiled clothing.

Peppermints.  Good for travel sickness.  Sometimes just sniffing peppermints can calm an upset tummy.

Notepad and pen.

Fruit Tingles.  I read somewhere once about these being good for travel sickness and they do seem to work.  As an added bonus they tend to keep the kids happy when we are on a long trip and nerves are being frazzled by whingeing and bickering in the back seat.

$20 note – I cannot tell you how many times we have been in the back of nowhere with hungry children and no cash.  There are still quite a few places around that only take cash and $20 is enough to get all five of us something to eat if we are caught out.

In the Boot : A change of clothing for each child and yourself.  I had always carried the spare clothes for the kids but after being vomited on for about the fourth time without a change of clothes it finally dawned on me that I too could do with some spare clothing.

Paper Towel.  To clean up any spills.

Some Small Blankets.  Good for tired children to snuggle up with.  Also handy if the sun is belting in one of the kid’s windows and irritting them.

First Aid Kit.  Basics such as adult and child panadol, antiseptic cream, band aids, sunscreen, insect repellant, skin soothing cream and tweezers are essential.

A Torch.

A stash of snacks.  Things like individual packets of rice crackers, dried fruit, nuts, museli bars, etc will fill tummies and cost you much less than the golden arches.  And are much better nutritionally.

Reuseable shopping bags.  Other than their obvious use, these bags are great for storing things in as they don’t tend to roll around in the boot.  Get into the habit of grabbing one of these after every trip and filling it with everything in your car that doesn’t belong there. This is a great way to stop clutter accumulating in your car.

Remember to re-stock your car supplies every now and then and you will always be prepared.

Menu Planning Monday – Welcome Spring!

Hooray for Spring!

I have had more than enough cold, rainy weather for this year.  Bring on the sunshine.

As well as warmer weather, spring also means lighter food.  Time to get rid of the winter stodge and start incorporating delicious salads into the menu.

Here is my menu for the first week of Spring:

Monday Asian chicken salad.  Shred some cabbage, snow peas and carrots.  Toss with a couple of sliced spring onions, some blanched asparagus and some snow pea sprouts.  Pan fry a couple of chicken breasts and add a couple of tablespoons of ketjap manis to the pan when the chicken is nearly cooked through.  Turn a few times to coat the chicken.  Remove from the pan and let cool.  Shake together some soy sauce, castor sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar and olive oil in a screw top jar.  Toss this through the salad, top with the sliced up chicken and some toasted slivered almonds.

Tuesday Soft tacos and cheesy rice.

Wednesday Lamb cutlets with warm potato salad.  For the potato salad roast some cubed potato and sweet potato until tender.  Put in a bowl and add some thinly sliced red onion and a dressing made from 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup whole egg mayonnaise (I like Best Food’s), 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of water to thin a little. Sprinkle with some fresh thyme to serve.

Thursday Roast Tomato Spaghetti.

Friday Family meat pie and potato bake.  I buy the pie from the local butcher.  It is delicious, made with fall-apart chunks of beef in flaky pastry.  For the potato bake I cube about 5 large potatoes and parboil for 5 minutes.  I then place the potatoes in a greased casserole dish with a tub of light cooking cream and a packet of french onion soup.  Mix it all together and bake for around 1 hour.

Saturday BBQ.  I usually cook some sausages, rissoles and some marinated chicken tenderloins.  Add a green salad and some bbq’d corn cobs.

Sunday Homemade pizza.  Already made and in the freezer.

Next week if all goes to plan I am going to have a guest menu planner for the week to provide everyone with some more meal ideas.

If you would be interested in sharing an example of your weekly menu please leave a comment.  New ideas are much appreciated.

Have a great week.

Organise Your Kids’ Wardrobes

Kid’s wardrobes can be a nightmare.

Mountains of clothes in a jumbled mess.  You have no idea whether they are dirty or clean and it doesn’t really matter anyway as they are so crushed and musty-smelling that they will need a wash.

Some fit, some are too small and some your child is waiting to grow into.

You want your kids to be independent, choose their own clothes and dress themselves but your daughter continually chooses to wear her best dress when it is a kinder day.

What is needed is a system that can be managed by both yourself and your child.

Here are my top tips for kids’ wardrobe organisation.

1. Separate Clothing so it is easy for your child to choose appropriate clothing to wear. For hanging clothes I recommend separating them into sections such as good clothes and everyday clothes.  I like to separate them with empty clothes hangers.  Make sure you show your kids the clothes they can choose from everyday.

I also like to have three plastic tubs or baskets up high in the wardrobe to store clothes that are too small and need to be put into storage or passed on, clothes that are too big and clothes that are surplus to your needs.  I prefer for the baskets or containers to not have lids so it is easier to put clothing in.  Remember that too much clothing provides too many choices and unfortunately gives you the opportunity to get really behind with your laundry.  Read this post on having too many clothes.

2. Have a Dirty Laundry Hamper of some description in your child’s bedroom so it is easy for them to put dirty clothing in the appropriate place.  I guarantee you’ll have a much better chance of your kids putting their dirty clothes in here than taking them to the laundry.  My favorite type of hamper is the type with the folding metal frame with a plastic bag hanging in it.  Steer away from using ones with fabric bags as they get dirty and mouldy and are difficult to clean.

3. Make it Easy for your kids to put their clean laundry away.  Use separate baskets in drawers for socks and underwear.  Make sure there is adequate room for the amount of clothing your kids are expected to store, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to shove clothing into a drawer that is already overflowing.

Use sticky hooks on the back of wardrobe doors to hang items such as hats, scarves and bags.

4. Show Them How it’s Done Show them where to put their clothes and how you expect it to be done.  Make a chore chart to ensure that piles of clean, folded clothing don’t accumulate on your kid’s beds.  My children need to tidy their room, put away all clean clothing and put any dirty clothing where it goes before bed each night.  If you are having trouble getting them to do it make them a sticker chart and provide a reward until they get into the habit.

Too often I see people make the mistake of spending a fortune on a wardrobe system only to find that the wardrobe is still a mess because your kids do not clean up after themselves or do not know where to put things.  The secret to an organised wardrobe is a combination of clever storage and instruction on how to use it.  Even the best wardrobe in the world will be a mess if the owner doesn’t know what to do with it.

5.  Maintenance It is inevitable that life will become busy, clothing will be thrown into wardrobes and baskets will overflow.  Set aside a little time every month or so to provide some maintainance in the wardrobe.  Remove clothes that are worn out or no longer fit, empty the too small basket and either pass it on or place it in a sealed plastic container in storage.

Tidy messy drawers (get the kids to help) and just generally give the area a bit of a spruce up.

Take note of anything you need to replace and take any mending and dry clean only items to the dry cleaners (or mend them yourself if you possess the skill).

A quick note on storage:  When we were planning our house extension a very wise builder/friend asked me why I needed so much storage in my house.  I replied that you can never have enough storage.  He said yes, that’s true but why waste premium space in your house when you can store things in your garage or shed?  Since then I have always tried to store things I don’t need regular access to in the garage.  It makes so much more sense than cluttering up the house with it.

Product Praise – Russian Doll Measuring Cups

Aren’t these cute?

These Babuska-type measuring cups are one of my favorite things in my kitchen as they are not only functional, they look gorgeous sitting on my kitchen bench as well.

I am not one for knick knacks that serve no function, but these measuring cups provide a stylish addition to my kitchen that earn their keep.

There are three dolls in the set and each half is a measuring cup that measures 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 full cup.  The dolls nest neatly just like traditional Russian Babushkas and they’re built from heavy-duty, food-safe, long-life engineering plastics.

Why have boring old measuring cups when you can have these cuties?

Russian doll measuring cups are available online here.

Menu Planning Monday – Using Leftovers

Image by Vincent Ma via Flickr

Welcome to another Menu Planning Monday, and please ignore the fact it is actually Tuesday, I am still catching up!

Since everyone I know is trying to both save money and waste less food I though share my favorite ways to use leftovers.

Some of the most obvious ways to use leftovers are of course to have them for lunch the next day or to pop them in the freezer ready for a meal.  I am slightly fussy and don’t like to eat the same thing two nights in a row or even for lunch the next day so here are some ideas for making leftovers into something a little more interesting.

Leftover plain pasta – Can be frozen and then refreshed in boiling water before serving. Toss in butter and herbs and serve as a side dish or mix with a pesto or your favorite pasta sauce.

Bolognaise sauce – Can be made into pies or used to top baked potatoes (which are particularly yummy when you top the hot potatoes with garlic butter before the bolognaise sauce.)

Spaghetti bolognaise – Put in a greased casserole dish, top with cheese sauce and bake until bubbling.

Chilli con carne – Also good on baked potatoes or place on tortillas, roll up and top with salsa and cheese and bake until hot.

Leftover chicken – shred and mix with salsa, roll in a tortilla, top with salsa and cheese and bake to make enchiladas.  Shred and mix with shredded cabbage, carrot, fresh coriander and sliced spring onions, then toss with an asian-style salad dressing.

Leftover roast meat – Chop, mix with gravy and top with mashed potato for shepherd’s pie.  Fry some curry paste, add chopped leftover meat.  Cut a sheet of puff pastry into quarters.  Place curry meat mixture on half the squares of pastry, fold over to form a triangle and press the edges together.  Bake until golden.

Risotto – Mix a beaten egg and some grated parmesan through the risotto.  Cut some mozzarella into cubes and use the risotto to form a ball around the cube of mozzarella.  Roll the balls in breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden.

Sausages – slice in half lengthways but not quite all the way through.  Open out flat and spread with fruit chutney, then top with thinly sliced bacon and tasty cheese.  Grill until bubbling.

Leftover vegies – Chop and place in a greased dish.  Add some beaten eggs mixed with a little milk.  Top with grated tasty cheese and bake until no longer wobbly.

What is your favorite way to use leftovers?  Please share, I can always use some inspiration.

Spring Cleaning Party – Week 6

First of all a big apology for the delay on our last spring cleaning post, I have been experiencing all manner of technical difficulties but I’m sure it is all sorted out.

How is the spring cleaning going?  I am absolutely thrilled we are up to the final week of our spring clean, my home is looking much cleaner and tidier!

This last week is going to concentrate on the areas outside your home.  This has the potential to be a huge job if you include gardening, cleaning and decluttering any sheds or garages, pool cleaning, driveway cleaning, etc, but I am going to concentrate only on the areas immediately outside your home such as any outdoor entertaining areas, eaves and windows.

TOOLS NEEDED : Broom, cleaning rags, rubber bands, bucket, sugar soap for walls, warm water, vinegar, methylated spirits, squeegee, spray bottle, paper towel, chux magic erasers, windex, toothbrush, mop, lavender oil(optional), washing basket.

Begin by tidying your outdoor entertaining area.  Put anything that doesn’t belong there in your washing basket to be put away later.

If you have plaster ceiling and walls wrap a rag around your broom and clean as we have in the previous weeks.  If not, you can use your broom without a rag to dust and clean away any cobwebs.  You can also add a little lemon oil to the rag or broom bristles if you like, it smells lovely and acts as a spider and insect deterrent.

Give the floor of your outdoor area a good sweep and possible mop depending on the flooring.

Use your broom to get rid of any cobwebs under the eaves of your home.

Lucky-last job is the one I dislike most – windows.

I use the Shannon Lush recommended method of cleaning the outside of my windows.  Add one cup of methylated spirits to a half bucket of water and transfer this solution to a spray bottle.  Spray this solution onto the glass and wipe off with a squeegee, polish with paper towel if any streaks remain.

Put the contents of your clutter basket away and you’re done!  Hooray!

Time to celebrate!  What are you doing to reward yourself for a job well done?

I am going to have a night on the couch with a pizza and a glass (or two!) of sauvignon blanc.

Remember to keep me updated on your spring cleaning progress, there is a special giveaway for the most impressive spring cleaner and for a random spring cleaner.  This will be decided in two weeks to give you all a chance to finish your spring cleaning.  I know all to well that life gets on the way sometimes and you can end up a bit behind.

Have a great week.