Organization In January

Hi Guys! Well, I've been a little busy and keeping two blogs is not easy to keep up with.  As we get acclimated to all this new technology available to us, I'm sure communication will get much easier! We last met on January 23rd. During that meeting we shared organization tips that we use and have used and tweaked. Jenn Truman was our special guest speaker and shared how she organizes her family's grocery list and meal plan. More on that in a minute. Also, we're going to start "meeting" online in a group started by Heather REAL SOON! That's where you'll RSVP and get info on upcoming events and can easily post the information you share each week.  This way it's all in one place.  The blog will be on the same page so it's a one stop communication center! Go here: http://classicallifeschooling.ning.com/?xgi=bQCBpqW to sign-up! 

Jenn was so kind to share ways that she organizes her meals.  She uses excel on her computer to make an easy sheet that she prints off for the week which includes the grocery list, what they're eating for the week and a place for extras/specific items. She realized that some weeks were costing them less and some weeks were costing more.  Needing to be more on a fixed grocery budget (don't we all:)), Jenn saved her grocery receipts and meal plans to see how much everything was costing and then switched the meals around so that each week would cost around the same. Her meal plans are simply stated so that anyone can be handed the list and know what to get for groceries that week. She suggested also making some seasonal plans to incorporate during the holidays and seasons.  It brings a nice change not only in the weather, but helps to build memories over a special meal. It's all saved on her computer so she can make adjustments easily if needed. Jenn, we really appreciate your sweet disposition in sharing these wonderful organizational nuggets with us! It was simple and filled with love for your family and ours! Thank you for the hand-out too! 

Here are some quick tidbits that were shared as a group:

• Joy loves her planner! She uses one from graceworks.com.  She's gotten great organizational tips from fly lady- you can google it to get the correct web address:) She also joined a mentors group for $4.95/mo. where tons of info is shared between the members.  Hopefully, she'll post that information soon:)
  
• Michelle finds that while she has a small space to organize at home, she needs small items that do a BIG job! She loves having a small, portable, filing system-she uses one with a handle so she can take it anywhere. She has a tiny planner in her purse  where she can look at the week and it works perfect for her. She used to color-coordinate events, but that got too hard since it's hard to always have the same pens. She also keeps a small plastic cosmetic bag in the car filled with helpful items like shout wipes, a mini lent roller etc..and a blanket.
• Stine organizes her closet by color and clothing articles-like a color wheel-apparently it's very pretty to look at! She always looks great so it must be a great system!
• Jenn tries to buy cards just one time a year.  There are card places that offer great discounts so cards don't end up costing as much. She writes on the box who she's given the cards to so they don't receive the same one later. Also, when cleaning, she focuses on two rooms first. The first room is her and hubby's bedroom and the second is the smallest room which is usually a bathroom. She says you get such satisfaction knowing that a room is clean that you get motivated to do more!
• Mindy color codes her calendar that she has hanging in her room. It's a system she loves. She uses birthdayalarm.com - it's free and helps her to remember every one's birthday.
• Heather helped to organize her mom's recipes for a present for her. I believe she used a pretty album and put the printed pages into the sleeves.  There was also an idea of using index cards and an index card box to store the recipes.
• I shared a couple of ideas that can be tailored to anyone to organize days, events children etc... One is a simple check-off list I made for my children with index cards.  I divided up school work and chores for Monday through Friday-drew a little box -and laminated the cards.  It became an easy re-usable wipe off system they could check things off on when completed. The second one is another day/week organizer that breaks down what goes on during specific time slots during the day. I originally got the idea from a book titled Managers of their Homes and have since used excel on our computer to type up our schedules. It's great to see exactly what people are suppose to be doing during specific times and see where I have availability to do laundry or something else that needs my attention.

Great ideas ladies! Just in time for Spring time! The next time we are meeting is February 13th at the Dollhouse. Joyce Taylor will be teaching us some crocheting skills! Join the Classical Lifeschooling group to get your events and items to bring for our next meeting. 

Blessings,

Amanda:)