phrase of the week

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH I DON'T CARE

that is what my adorable (?) 4 year old say to his brothers and sister when he doesn't want to hear what they have to say

Freaking Laundry

Laundry, Laundry and more laundry - that is the chore that consumes our house daily. Every morning between 5:30 and 6am - I start and usually fold a load of laundry - then I do it again when I get home. It is the only way I can stay caught up. I used to do it only on the weekends but the dirty laundry piled up everywhere and rarely did we get it washed, dryed, folded, hung and put up in one weekend. I can not stand for my clean laundry not to be put up (OCD ALERT). So that is why I do a few loads every day and the kids put up all their clean clothes everyday after school - even if it is only a few pieces of clothing.

I recently broke down and purchased the LG front loader washer and dryer (steel gray) - best decision ever made - well worth the $$$ - I do less loads in less time and the dryer ROCKS MY FACE OFF!

The next thing that I did was purchase this:

I stacked my washer and dryer and this fine piece of storage sits next to it. I have 4 kids - it has 4 drawers - SCORE. I labeled each drawer with each child's name. Whatever I fold goes into the corresponding bucket - then each child pulls the bucket out with their name on it and puts up the clothes then puts the bucket back into the storage tower. The hardest part was getting them to remember to put the empty bucket back. After a few thrashings they remembered (kidding).

The next step to laundry bliss (okay so I am taking this too far) - I installed an Elfa system on the other side of the washer/dryer. If you are asking "What is ELFA" then I am sorry for you. It is possibly the most awesomest organizing system ever invented. You can buy it at the Container Store - in fact if you go there with your closet or wall dimensions - they have specially trained ELFA DESIGNERS that will help you make the most out of your space. They just ended their annual ELFA sale. Anyways - the system I got has 2 wire shelves with hanging rods on each shelf - the shelves are spaced enough apart to allow clothes to hang without hitting the items on the shelves. The shelves hold all the essential laundry room items - detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, bleach, 2 old gummy worms that I can not peel off the shelf and so on. The hanging rods are fantastic because the clean clothes can come right out of the dryer and hang up - right there. Then just like the laundry buckets - each child takes their hanging clothes to their closets.

So there you have it - It doesn't do my laundry for me but it dang sure makes it easier :)

What I have learned from a 4 year old boy

Chapstick comes off the screen of a 42 inch plasma

Daily Chore Book

In order to keep things together in our house - I assign CHORES to all the kids - everyday. I used to type them up - 1 page for each kid and tape them to the front of the cabinets. I recently changed that and bought a 8x8 scrapbook with a picture insert on the front cover





Above is the example - replace the pic with a label "CHORES"
On the inside is a page for each kid with their assigned chores and when they are supposed to do them. The scrapbook looks nicer than the paper taped to the cabinets - although the paper taped to the cabinets worked fine. When the kids get home from school they open up the book and follow what is listed on their page. Pretty easy and very simple to follow.

We just started giving Chance (4yrs) chores - he dumps the laundry room trash when it is full and feeds the dog in the afternoon.

So far - so good - Hope this inspires you today

"If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." ~Abigail Van Buren

keeping it all together

I have so many people asking me how I keep everything organized and all together with 4 kids and a husband - we also both work full time.

Well I am gonna tell you - At least once a week I will post about a handy item or method that I use to keep my house a well oiled running machine.

I have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and I have learned to harness the somewhat unappreciated MAGIC of this disorder and turn it into FANTASTIC ideas. At least I think they are fantastic - not sure how Jason and the kids feel about it. I don't care either - because the house is clean and their laundry is done - so they usually say nothing but thank you.

So stay tuned and prepare yourself for the transformation that is ORGANIZATION.