Christmas In Review {The Project Side}

 

This was the first Christmas in 3 years that we haven't been on the move.  Over the last few years I've collected a few decor pieces from Hobby Lobby's 80/90% off sale.  There were a few things still in the original box or still with tags on it.  The last few years I've also collected quite a few ideas, thanks to Pinterest.  Here's what we made this year....

 

  

1.  Wooden Nativity Sign - I originally pinned this a year or two ago.  There is a wife here that owns a Silhouette machine and we (my friend, Marque, and I) paid her $10 to print the scene for us.  We bought the wood and painted it for less than $6 and she came over and put the vinyl on the board for us, and wa-la! 

 

2.  Wooden Merry Christmas Sign - Back in the beginning of November I set up a Mini Christmas Photo Shoot for 5 clients.  Inspired by the link above I made this sign as one of my props to use.  I figured if I made it well enough I could use it as decor as well, so I made it out of wood.  Unfortunately, I didn't have strong enough hooks to hold it this year and it fell down after about a week of hanging across our big living room window. 

 

 

 

 

 3.  Wooden JOY Sign - Not quite the same as the inspiration piece, but I had some extra wood from the "Merry Christmas" sign so I decided to put it to good use.

4.  Fingerprint Ornament - I'm sure you've seen this floating around Pinterest.  The fingerprints don't really come out looking like the fingerprints on the inspiration piece, but it still works.



 

5.  Stamped Salt Dough Ornaments - Who knew?!!  Some stamps and colored ink?!  The possibilities are endless!  Thanks to Tim's Grandma and the box of stamps and ink she sent me a few months back we had plenty to choose from.  We made a good amount of the above ornament and handed them out as gifts to friends this year along with our annual cookie tins and bread loafs.  Ryan and his friend, Liam, also had a great time making these!  The following is one of Ryan's!

  

 

Side Note:  I compared two or three salt-dough recipes and had trouble with the first batch.  I ended up having to add 3 to 4 more cups of flour.  After we were done with those, we still wanted to make a few more and the next recipe I tried turned out great!  I had it mixed, rolled out, stamped, and in the oven within 10/15 minutes!  Just in case you are looking for a good recipe..and just so I don't forget...

*1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 of water. Place on a baking sheet lined with Parchment Paper.  Bake at 250 for 2 hours; turning every 30 minutes to keep flat.

 

6.  Cinnamon Ornaments - No picture for these.  ( I think there's one in the background two pics up.)  I tried making these last year and they were a complete failure.  I had trouble with the consistency in the dough and I ended up chiseling them off the pan.  I searched for a different recipe and I figured you can't go wrong with Martha.  I was right!  The boys were even able to help with them as well.  The above link takes you to her recipe. 

 

 

7.  Subway Art Printable - I have two frames that I kept out and just added a Christmas themed printable to them.  I printed the Subway Art from the above link and cut it to a 4x6 and it is a bit squishy.  If you have a 5x7 frame it would probably work better.

 

For this second frame, I just played with a font and size on Word and printed out "NOEL". 

 

8.  Pine Cone Tree - At some point in the last few years Target had this gorgeous pine cone tree for around $25...if I remember right.  In some after season sale at Walmart I came across small boxes of mini pine cones.  I bought them and stored them away.  This year I found the tutorial linked above and made my own; also getting the worst hot glue gun burn to date!  If you are up close and personal there are some obvious holes, but from a general view, it looks great!

 

 

 

9. Scrap Paper Tree - I'm sure most of you have seen this on Pinterest.  At first I just had the boys make one for themselves and they decorated the trees with stickers and such.  I still had a ton of paper left and had this grand idea to make our Christmas cards this year based on that idea.  The boys helped make a few of them, but I was left to the other 40 by myself.  :)

10.  Ruffled Tree Skirt - My biggest project!  I just finished it yesterday.  The original tutorial is a no-sew project, but of course my crazy brain decided that it be better long term if I could make it more permanent and washable.  About $15 worth of broadcloth fabric and 10-12 hours of labor and I have this beauty!  Finishing this tree skirt concludes my Christmas projects for this year and I'm so excited to put it all away and move on!

 

 

Next year new stockings!  Someone hit up the sales at Hobby Lobby for me!!!!



Wax Leaves

 

 

A couple years ago when I discovered the blogging world I came across a blog on preserving fall leaves.  Since we've been in Oklahoma and Texas for the last few years we haven't seen a whole lot of leaves.  After we went and collected our leaves we followed this simple tutorial from Clover Lane.

 

I used all four bars of wax that came in the box and I have a TON of wax left over.  Two of the bars would have been plenty. 

 



 

We were able to string some leaves together to make some garland for our windows, a few doors, our mirror, and a five small paper plate wreaths to hang on our doors.

 

 

If you have any colorful leaves where you live, this is a project worth doing!

{Practically} Finished!!!!

As of today, our Homeschool Room/Craft Room/Cleaning Storage Room is {practically} complete!!  This room is about 10 feet x 10 feet.  Not the smallest bedroom in the house, but it holds mulitple functions that carry multiple materials with it!  This is the room that also started "The Project of Epic Proportions" and an overall effort to get more organized!  Back in June I started focusing most of my extra time/energy/and spending money into this room.   It is now September.

 

The only two things left to make this room functional are...

1. A new trash can. The one that's in there now is a light weight, funny shaped, plastic one and anytime is gets slightly knocked it falls over and all the trash falls out.

2. Some file folders to go inside my wall files to keep papers from falling out and to help organize them a little bit more.

 

I have to say my friend, Marque, was a huge asset for this project!  I got stuck multiple times and she came over and talked through ideas with me.  She spent one afternoon working with me on moving things around, and sorting, painting, stapling, etc.  Sometimes it's SO helpful to have a second pair of eyes, ideas, and hands!  My second biggest asset on this room....IKEA.  :)  A year ago I had only briefly walked thru an IKEA once.  While it's been a blessing in many ways...I am tired of going to IKEA!!!  Crazy, right?!

 

I thought I had already taken some before photos at one point, then I couldn't find them..so this is at the very beginning...probably after my 1st project.  The walls were barren all the way around.

 

{Fair warning..the before photos are hideous!}

Yes, it seriously looked like that.  No wonder why it stressed me out just walking in there.  My floor probably looked like this at three different points between March and June.  I kept cleaning it up..then sorting through it all and organizing it again.  This room was pretty much off-limits, and really useless, for the first three/four months after our stuff arrived.

More clutter..and no organization...

 

 

Three months later it now looks like this...

This side of the room is specifically for our Homeschooling, but also a place for the boys to come and color, do a craft, etc.  The chest that was in the corner was moved into Blaine's room in anticipation of using it as a changing table and additional storage for baby #4.  Underneath the easel, also from IKEA, are two small rubbermaid bins that hold the boy's play-doh and their bean tub.  I got the chairs, 3 total, at our Thrift Store for $8 a piece.  They are solid wood, so I eventually hope to paint them.  As of now the seat cushions have just been recovered with the same fabric I used for the curtains that I got at IKEA, for about $8/yard.  I also purchased the table from IKEA for about $70.  It is solid wood, but unfinished.  I would like to turn it into a project/art piece in itself.  I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but not sure when I'll be able to decide.  As of now though, the chairs and table are functionable, so they are staying as is.  I would love to hear your ideas on the table!  As soon as I finish the other need "functional" projects in the house, I hope to be coming back to this!

I've had four canvases for a year now with the intention of repainting them somehow.  I originally had wanted an "adult led painting project" that the kids could do...that would still come out looking like decent art.  I could never get beyond that though.  I finally decided to make our own version of "Home is Where the Army Sends Us".  These canvases are large so if I continue this idea I'd like to put them on smaller canvases.  You can normally get the small ones at the Dollar Store and they would be great for this!


Back in May/June someone had set out a metal bed frame and the wood slats that hold up the mattress by our recycling center.  I scooped up those wood slats knowing I could use them for something.  I was originally going to try and make some shelves out of them, but I ended up using them for an art display and a supply rack for the boys.  I just paid no more than $10 for all the giant clothespins and white hooks (the clothespins were the most expensive part) and I got the buckets on sale for about $0.60 a piece.  The boys still have to stand up in their chair to get a bucket down, but it's tall enough to where Blaine can't reach them....unless he climbs on the table.

This next pic is one of the closets in the room.  Over the last few years I have had a lot of homeschool books/resources given to me.  They were always on a shelf together but not necessarily organized.  I decided to invest in the magazine files from IKEA.  They are currently in the closet backwards so it allows me to see what is in each box for easy access.  They are sorted by subject and/or grade.  If we move and I don't have a closet to put these in and have to invest in a book shelf, then I can turn them around, label them, and everything will still look presentable.

One of my favorite other things to organize the boys things are the plastic wipe tubs.  They store our markers, crayons, puzzles, finger paints, magnets, counting bears, etc, etc.  It's just an added bonus that they now print them in cute designs!  I love their current floral print with green and blue (barely visible on the bottom shelf).  I am also using some of the shelf risers, which you can normally find in the kitchen section, to create some more space as well.

This is, more or less, my side of the room...

I managed to fit pretty much all of my craft supplies in these storage boxes from IKEA.  I was considering using the wipe boxes as well, but the price was only about $0.50 difference and I liked the look of these out on a shelf better than the wipe cases.  I don't have a lot of excess fabric, but what I do have folded up perfectly into these boxes.  If you were to turn the box sideways, stack them, it then allows you to see all the fabric you have when you take the lid off (if that makes sense).  The other boxes have my stamps, ink pads, acrylic paint (great size for these!), ribbon, hot glue gun, embossing tools, etc, etc.

Over above the printer is half of our office stuff...tape, blank cds and sleeves, extra ink, etc.  Some of our office supplies are too bulky for the boxes, ie whole punch, so they are in the desk.  The clock I scored for FREE at a yard sale!  The second hand has fallen off and sits at the bottom of the clock..but it still works!  The wall files I got on sale from IKEA.  They were 5 for about $6.  They are made to interlock, but I found there was little space left to actually add any papers, so Marque helped me come up with the idea to hang them individually.  For the last few weeks I've been bothered by the off white files on the white walls.  My brain finally came up with a plan that was cost effective and quick.  I took a paint marker and drew on them.  :)

I was beyond excited to finally getting arount to this thread storage board!!!  Something that duals as storage and is just darn cute!  What could be better!  It took me a while to find some trim around here that would work...and it was on the pricey side, but I love it!  The only nails I could seem to find around here have a larger head on them (I have no idea what the technical term is.).  I was afraid they wouldn't fit throught the spool, but they ended up working great and they hold the spools of thread on so nothing falls off accidentally.  I was able to utilize the frame/wood shop on post to help me get the frame cut and glued together.  For the most part I followed this tutorial from Grey Luster Girl.  Another idea that I originally pinned almost a year ago!

 

 

I scored this mail sorter from a friend for FREE, about two weeks ago!  It's perfect!  I was hoping it would fit on that first floating shelf, but it was just a tad too tall.  Next time we move, I'll have to keep that in mind.  I've considered wall mounting it, but it seems to be working fine here for now.  I really wanted a section that was a go-to for cards/letters.  I have some of my homemade cards in the front ready to be written in and sent out.  It's much easier than having to dig in the tub underneath my bed and I'm hoping the easy access will be an encouragement (to myself) to send an old-fashioned hand written note every now and then.  The boys are also loving the easy access to the envelopes.  They probably color something everyday and want to send it to someone.  I feel like the mail sorter is missing something though.  I feel like, since I painted it, it's a little bland.  It's obviously bright and blue...but I'm brainstorming on doing something to it.  And ideas?!

 

 

And that's it!!!  I'm so excited that it is {practically} done!!  The best part is I don't get stressed out any more when I walk in this room!

 

 

 I'll be moving on to making the boys' room more funtional next!  Hoping to buys some wood this week!!  I'm trying my best to focus on what needs to be done to organize and make our home run more smoothly and set some of the more "fun" projects to the side.  Sometimes, as in some projects in this room, they colide.

 

(Please share any ideas for my table or the mail sorter with me!!!)

 

 

 

Project of Epic Proportions {Crafts & Projects}

Forgive me for not posting last week.  We were involved with VBS!  Anyone who has volunteered for a week long VBS knows that it is completely fun, rewarding, and exhausting at the same time.  I didn't get around to doing a whole lot of anything last week.  :)

If you are needing to catch up to this "Project of Epic Proportions" you can catch my previous posts via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, Calendar, Budget and Bills, Resources for Roles, Important Docs, and Supplies Re-do.

This week we are going to look at both Crafts and Projects since they go pretty much hand-in-hand.  Again, your folder is your folder and you may not even need/want these.  I'm going to share with you what I use them for.

 

 

For the past few months I have been working on one room in specific.  It's our homeschool/craft/cleaning room.  It's a small room with A LOT of stuff in it.  I'm SO close to being done.  Getting that room together was really my main "push" to do these binders in the first place.  That room has had some more creative/fun projects to go along with it, but a majority of it has to do with organizing.

 

 

While working in that room last week I came across MORE papers that I seemed to pass over when I was sorting out all my stuff in the beginning when I did my "brainstorming" and was trying to figure out what sections were needed.  I found a whole drawer full of craft related stuff.  IE Magazine clippings of projects I wanted to imitate, cards I saved as inspiration for card making, stencils, building plans, and patterns that I have made for certain sewing projects.  I sorted through the pile and got rid of some, but there was still a good amount left I'd like to keep.  Plus...Tim's Grandma (who is just completely awesome by the way!) just sent me two boxes full of Stampin Up stuff; to include lots of printouts of card making samples!  I need a place to keep all this!

 

 

I didn't really think it would fit into one of the other binders, so I'm making it it's own.  Although Pinterest is a place that holds most of my ideas, this will be a place to organize the rest.  Plus, hold my patterns and stencils.

 

 

Another big section of this binder will be for Projects.  Practically another word for crafts, but the function of this section is different.  The other sections will just hold ideas/inspirations and this section is meant to help organize which project is to be worked on. 

 

 

Most of my "daily to-dos" are listed on my daily schedule under Calendar, but this area is more for any long-term projects that I would like to accomplish.  This section helps me to organize my wants/needs and to focus on one project at a time.  It gives me a place to specifically list specific supplies and cost.  If one of my "ideas" finally comes time to be turned into an actual "project" then any notes/papers on it will be moved to the Project Section for me to reference.  IE.  The next room on my list to focus on is the boys room.  I have some plans drawn up to build some storage for under their beds.  Right now that is just an idea.  Hopefully, in about another month, that idea will turn into my current project and I can pull the plans I made and get a specific list of supplies and cost.

 

 

If you are going to make a Project List you might want to use...

• Lined Notes by Life Your Way. Pretty much a blank sheet for you to utilize as you wish.
• Jen at IHeartOrganizing has a few printables Project related you might want to check out.
• The Nest Effect has a Project Planner as well. (It's almost all the way toward the bottom.)
• Project List by Our Portion. A place to list your project, supplies, cost, and what store to buy it from.  Listing the store should help you when getting a list together for running errands.  That way when you have to go to Lowe's (oh how I miss you Lowe's) you can quickly look at your list and get all the supplies you need for three different projects at one time if applicable...instead of going three different times for one item.

 

I will most likely end up with one Master Project List that way I can see everything I'd like to accomplish, as well as a more detailed/specialized list with what supplies I need to finish a certain project.  Sometimes I have one HUGE project that is actually made up of multiple mini projects.  Just like this room I've been working on.  The room as a whole has been a major undertaking, but by making lists and breaking down the smaller projects I was actually able to accomplish something instead of having a whole lot of unfinished projects.

 

 

Sometimes, I have an idea and I think, "Oh, I need to do this right away!!"  But then looking at my Master Project List I can see that it might be more of a want then a need.  I don't have to throw that idea out; it will just be put in the inspiration section and not the project section.  Or those wonderful times when there's a little money left in the budget (it's rare...but it does happen!), I can go to my list or inspiration section and pull out something that I've been wanting to do and make it a project!

 

 

You might not even need this binder.  Or you might want to set it up differently.  Again, the whole idea behind this whole "Project of Epic Proportions" is to be more organized so that things are more functional for you.

 

 

What do you need to do to organize your Craft/Project inspirations and dare I say....your supplies?!  My room is super close to being done...or at least close enough... and I hope to share some before and after pictures soon!  

 

Praying you have a wonderful week!

 

 

 

 

A Project of Epic Proportions {Supplies Re-do}

Sorry I'm a little late on my post this week!  Even with taking this project one category, one week at a time, I'm still getting behind some.  I'm really praying that I'll get that 2nd Trimester boost of energy in about two more weeks, and can maybe accomplish more than one thing a day!! :)

If you are needing to catch up to this "Project of Epic Proportions" you can catch my previous posts via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, Calendar, Budget and Bills, Resources for Roles, and Important Docs.

So back when I started this project I had it in my mind exactly what I wanted, and I searched out the products, ordered them, received them, in my excitement opened them all up....only to find that they didn't work, and then couldn't return them.  (Half of them.)  UGH! 

I had ordered the nice, sturdy plastic re-writable dividers for my main categories, and other white dividers for my sub categories.  As soon as I started putting my stuff together, I realized that the sheet protectors are wider than the dividers and you couldn't see any of the labels.  Seriously?!!!  That does me NO good!

New solution...I bought these Index Tabs from our PX.  I don't like using the paper inserts cause they always fall out, so I'm just using my label maker and sticking it right on the tab.

And then I got some of these for my sub-categories.

The index tabs aren't really large enough to write anything but one letter/number on, so I made a "Title Page" for each category.  The colored index tabs are attached to it's own sheet protector with the Title Page.  It has the name of the category and then underneath it a list of the sub-categories.  IE:

CONTACTS

A.  Emergency Information

B.  Local Phone Numbers/Phone Book

C.  Address Book

Then on each of the small white index tabs, all I have to write is A, B, or C for it's corresponding category, and attach it to the first page in that section.

I can actually find what I'm looking for now!!!  It's amazing!!

Really wish I would have gone this route the first time around.  (It's much cheaper too!)  I'm praying that with school being right around the corner that I can try and sell some of my dividers on our local "swapping" site.

A Project of Epic Proportions {Important Docs}

If you are wondering what this "Project of Epic Proportions" is all about you can catch my previous posts via  The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, Calendar,  Budget and Bills, Resources for Roles.

My Important Document section will include Car Titles, our Marriage License, Birth Certificates, Passports, Tim's Orders, POA, Will, and a few other forms we were told to have just in case of evacuation.

Whether you are choosing to put your Important Docs in a binder or to leave them in your filing cabinet/box, or wherever it is that you might keep them...this would be the week to organize them!  Again, one of my biggest reasons for putting these into a binder is for some crazy emergency purpose only.  If for whatever reason, we have to evacuate quickly, I can grab this binder and know that all of the documents that we might need are there.

Not a whole lot to this week; just making sure that your paperwork is organized and you know where to find it.  Happy Organizing!!

A Project of Epic Proportions {Resources for Roles}

If you haven't been here yet, welcome to the Project of Epic Proportions!!!!  Even though we have about seven weeks behind us, I still have a lot to organize!  I'm not even done with my first binder!  If you are lost or need to get caught up you can catch the previous posts on The Home Management Binder via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, Calendar,  and Budget and Bills.

This week there will only be one or two printouts.  The main thing this week is to look at all the excess paperwork around your house that doesn't seem to have a home and make a home for it.

Mine started out looking like this (and this is after creating all those other sections)...

and ended up looking like this....

Those are all my binders; but not one of them is near complete.  They have all been started in some way, but all need some work!

Most of the paperwork I pick up are flyers, or handouts that I am given, on things that pertain to my roles in life.  IE Parenting, Marriage, Spiritual Life, Homeschool.

Passionate Homemaking best explains the purpose of this section, "I order my binder by roles (wife, mother, homemaker, writer, etc.) and put them in order of their priority in my day, thus my binder acts as a constant reminder of what I really want to focus on. Within each section, you may jot down goals, books to read, ways to grow in that area, and printables you find to help you schedule and plan."

I figured the best way to organize these was to make one large category called "Resources" and then break it down into different sections.  Again, this is my first go around at all of this so I might change the name of it or where I'm putting all these in the future..but for now..here they are. 

Some printables that you might want to consider putting in one of your sections:

• Book List by Finding Home.  Some like a book list in each of these sections to list the books you want to read pertaining to that role.  You might just want one "Master" book list.
• Book Wishlist by Life Your Way.
• Bible Study by Life Your Way.
• Devotion Guide by Our Portion.  This is a form I made based upon a class we had at our church in Texas.  The questions that are listed really help me to look at a passage of Scripture and break it down to see what it is I need to learn/apply.
• Bible Verses by Life Your Way.  Have a verse that stood out to you?  Or one that you would like to memorize?  Here's a place for it!
• Prayer Journal by Life Your Way.  This is a form to keep track of your prayer requests, and the date that prayer was answered. 
• Prayer by Our Portion.  Pretty much a blank page, but a place for you to write down your prayers if you want.  Just write in a date, stop where you want to and continue where you left off.
• Family Traditions by Life Your Way.  This would be a great place to keep those ideas that you want to turn into traditions for your family.
• Inspirational Quotes by Life Your Way.  A place to keep those quotes that inspire you to be a better wife, mom, etc!
• Lined Notes by Life Your Way.  A blank page perfect for all your extra thoughts!

A Project of Epic Proportions {Budget and Bills}

If you are lost or need to get caught up you can catch the previous posts on The Home Management Binder via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, and Calendar.

There isn't a whole lot to this week.  Mainly, due to the fact that I run our budget on an Excel Spreadsheet. I already have the formulas created so all I have to do is hit in the new numbers every pay day and it calculates everything for me. I've used it for the last few months, and love it! I won't be changing that part of it, but I still wanted a list to refer to every pay day to make sure that I paid what I was supposed to. Plus, if Tim ever has to take over, this will be an easy reference for him to look at. 

If you are looking for budget sheets to go in your binder The Nest Effect has them for sale in her Etsy Shop.  You can buy a few of the pages individually for $3.50 each or her entire Finance Packet for $20.00.  All of her pages are based off of Dave Ramsey's Program. 

• Bill Pay by Life Your Way. A Simple Checklist with the Payee, the Balance, the Amount Due, the Due date, and a little box to check off when you have paid it.
• Bills and Payments by Our Portion. Another simple checklist that includes space for the due date, the company/account name, amount, how the bill is received (ie electronically, thru the mail), how the bill is paid (ie automatic debit, bill pay, via check) and a box to check off each month that you paid the item. If for whatever reason you have to make a payment twice in one month, just split the month's box in half.

I am still undecided as to where exactly I will be putting this page.  I don't really want to create a whole section just for this one sheet.  It may go under accounts, but I'm not entirely sure. 

A Project of Epic Proportions {Calendar}

Ok.  This is where things might start getting a little bit harry.  I've completed all the weeks that I deemed simple.  Simple because I knew what I needed in those specific sections.  The rest is starting to get a little fuzzy.  Some things will rely on other things that aren't done yet...so trying to figure out where to go next has been difficult.  Hang with me though...I'm still going to be giving you lots of good stuff.  This week we will be working on the Calendar section.

If you are lost or need to get caught up you can catch the previous posts on The Home Management Binder via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, and Account Info.

 

I have a general idea of what I want in this section, but not sure how practically it will play out.   I anticipate this being my most used section.  I'm just not exactly sure how to get everything I want in there.  I would like to have a general monthly overview, and detailed daily sheets that I can include our Homeschool Plans, Meal Plans, Cleaning Lists, etc. in them.....I think.  I will probably start with more than I need and then hopefully narrow it down to what works best for me.  At this point, I won't be making anything of my own (except one) because I want to see what I need first. 

I definitely don't know what you need either.  There will be lots of links on everything that I can think of that I might/you might want in your Calendar section somewhere/somehow.  Good luck!!

Monthly:  I like a monthly view so I can mark down holidays, appointments that are scheduled a few months out, etc.

• 2012 Calendar by Life Your Way
• 2013 Calendar by Life Your Way 
• 2012 Calendar by The Nest Effect. 
• Birthday's and Special Events by Our Portion.  This is the only one I made because I knew what and where I wanted it.  I have been HORRIBLE with birthday cards for the last 2 years!  I blame it on my 3rd child, but I really want to change my bad habit.  With every monthly calendar I will have a list of birthday's and Special events for that month.  On the bottom of the page will be one of Avery's Pocket Tab's.  At the beginning of every month..or two I can complete cards for whatever needed and put them in the pocket.  I can then add a little note to my weekly or daily calendar, just pull it out and mail it.  The list/page itself can transfer from year to year.
• Birthday Organizer by Life Your Way. Just in case you don't want it month by month like the one I made. This one has six months on one sheet.

Weekly: If you aren't Homeschooling or generally don't have a daily schedule, a weekly overview might work better for you.

• Weekly Overview by Life Your Way
• Master Weekly Checklists by Simple Mom.
• Week At a Glance by Mommy Tracked.
• Tracking My Time - Daily by The Nest Effect.  This one is toward the bottom so just scroll all the way down. :)

Daily:  My ideal in the end will be to make my own Daily Sheet with what I need on it...but for starters....

• Daily To Do List by Life Your Way
• Daily Schedule by Finding Home. 
• Daily Docket by Simple Mom.
• Customizable Daily Docket by Money Saving Mom.
• Daily Pages by Life's A Journal.
• Daily Schedule by Buttoned Up.
• Tracking My Time - Hourly by The Nest Effect.  Again, at the bottom, so just keep scrolling.

Menu Planners:  I think my plan long term is to put my weekly menu planner in with my Food/Recipe Binder, and then transfer each day's meals onto my Daily Sheet.  I figured I'd go ahead and list them now for you just in case you want them in your calendar section. 

• Weekly Menu Plan by Life Your Way.
• Weekly Menu Planner by Organized Home.
• Menu Planning Form by The Project Girl.
• Meals by Karnley Lane.

Other: 

• Exercise Log by Life Your Way
• Weekly Cleaning by Evelyn Kate Designs.
• Cleaning Calendar by Tips and Pixs.  This one isn't a printable. Sorry.  I just liked the lay-out of the weekly/daily cleaning schedule.  Eventually I'd like to use something as simple as this and add it to my daily sheet..again...I think. 

I've dug into my past experiences to figure out a way to re-use the daily pages, that way I'm not having to print 5 pages EVERY week.  You can easily write on your protector sheets with a dry erase marker but I found that they will easily smudge, and even rub off, when you close your folder and the pages move around.  You can write on the sheet protectors with a Sharpie!  That's right..a Sharpie; Permanent Marker.  Just make sure you run out and find some 100% Pure Acetone first (right by the nail polish remover).  Put some Acetone on a cotton ball or a napkin and wipe your sheet off.  It should be clean and ready for the next set of notes.  I currently don't have any Acetone..so I tried using some hand sanitizer.  It works for cleaning off my white board, so I figured I'd give it a go.  It got most of the permanent marker off, but not all, so I will have to figure out where to find the Acetone at since they don't have it at the PX.  :)

A Project of Epic Proportions {Account Info}

Well, I have to admit...I'm not sure I'm 100% pleased with the Medical Section.  Eventually, I might re-format a few of the forms, but for now it's staying as is and I'm moving on.  It's a start.

If you need to get caught up check out The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, and Medical posts.

This week we will be working on the section for Account Information.  This will include account numbers, passwords, e-mails addresses associated with an account, company phone numbers, etc.  To TRY and keep things as easy as possible, about a year ago, I created  a separate email account I use for all on-line accounts ordering, etc.  This way I don't have to worry about getting a lot of spam in our regular account. 

I was encouraged to do a basic sheet with this information last time Tim deployed as well.  It came in handy multiple times when having to contact a company about a certain bill...especially when moving.  It was easy access for their contact number, our account number, etc.  This section will contain three basic sheets...but LOTS of information!!

In my Account Information:

1.  Bank Account Info.  This will be specifically for bank accounts.

• Account Tracker by Life Your Way.  This form is made to keep track of your bank account information; to include Debit/Credit Card Numbers. 
• Bank Accounts by Our Portion.  Again, I made this specifically for my needs.  We bank with USAA and every person in our family has a member number even if they don't have any open accounts.  Plus, even though Tim and I have joint accounts we have separate Internet logins.  The first page is specifically for that.  The member number will allow our kids, in the future, to open their own account with USAA, whether or not they themselves are serving in the Military.  I couldn't even tell you my member number...much less theirs.  The second page is for the account information itself (and no we don't have that many accounts).  I'm still not sure this is the best format, but I've already re-done it a few times, so it's staying as is.

2.  General Account Information.  This form will helpfully help organize any/all other accounts for any other bills we might have.  IE Cell phone company, Internet provider, Insurance, Utilities, Car Loan, etc.

• Account Information by Our Portion.  In the notes section I will be including billing information.  IE When it's paid, from what account it's paid, automatically, thru web bill-pay, etc.  This way if for whatever reason I am unable to do the bills, Tim should be able to step in and keep everything tracking.

3.  Online Accounts.  If you have ever ordered anything from on-line; which I'm assuming you have, most companies wants you to create an account which means you need a login and password.  Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Shutterfly, I-tunes, etc, etc.  If I'm normally ordering as a one-time thing I'll continue as a guest, but if I know it's going to be more regular, I make an account.  I try to keep them all the same (Not good security wise I know...but let's face it...putting all of my information in 2 3-ring binders isn't the most secure either.  It's just helps to keep me a little more sane.), but some companies require something specific which normally means there is some variation of my norm.  Normally I sit there typing in three or four different things until it locks up on me and I have to start over.  Now, if you haven't ordered anything from online...how do you survive?!!  :)

• Online Passwords by Life Your Way.
• Online Accounts by Our Portion.  Mine is very similar to Life Your Way's as far as what information is listed, but I needed more space for the login and password than the URL (which I won't list for most.  I will also be listing all of our current email address.  I think we have 4.  One for family/friends.  One for ordering.  One for my "business" (selling crafts/photography).  Tim's Army account.  I will try my best to put these in Alphabetical Order from what I have now, but anything new will just be added to the bottom.

How's it coming?  Are you keeping up?

A Project of Epic Proportions {Contacts}

Just in case you are wondering what this is all about you can check here for the Challenge and here for the Supplies!

We will actually be putting a section together this week!  I will randomly be choosing a section to organize; there is no rhyme or reason for it.  I wanted to start with a section though that I knew I could complete.  With that said we will be putting together the "Contacts" section of our binder this week!  Where you place this section in your binder is completely up to you!  I will probably put all my sections together and then arrange them how I want them.  (So thankful for the writable tab dividers so I can change my mind however many times I want!!)

I am going to link you up to a few specific documents that I choose to be most useful, but I will also give you some general links to look at if you want to search out something different.  There are also a few documents that I created myself, to meet my needs, that will be available for download as well.  If nothing you see fits your needs, you can easily make your own!   

Just a "few" other generals before we get started...When you find a printable you like I suggest downloading it to a folder on your computer so you can access it in the future.  For some, you might also choose to print out a few extras and put them all in your sheet protector so you have a few extras ready to use when needed.  Most printables are as you see them, and can't be edited.

 I am not concerned with all my pages looking similar.  Mine were created solely for purpose and not beauty. (Plus I'm too cheap to waste my colored ink. haha.)  If you want that consistency in your binder there are a few sites that I will link you to that have a common design on them.  With that said, I would also keep in mind if the design you are going with is one that is only going to need to be printed a handful of times, or, like for the calendar section, are you going to need a new sheet daily/weekly.  I have seen a few mention using the sheet protectors like dry erase boards as well.  So you might be able to print one page, and write on the sheet protector, so you can re-use the print off.  I have not tested this yet!  A lot of the sheets we will be using today are pretty basic, but later when we do the calendar and menu section there are some elaborate design choices!

Moving forward!

Taken from A Bowl Full Of Lemons here is a list you can consider when trying to figure out what numbers need to go in your contacts section:

Family

Friends

Neighbors

Doctors

Dentist

Vet

Insurance

Schools

Take-out

Work

Local Businesses

Coaches

Kids "friends" Parents

Gas, Electric, Water, Cable, Cell, Mortgage #'s

In my Contacts section...

Emergency Info page.  When deciding on this page consider what info you want on it.  I've seen a few where it has your Doctor's/Dentist's/etc phone number to call in case of Emergency as well.

• Finding Home has one available for download on her page.  Just click on the "Emergency Contact Information" and it will pull up the document.  You can print it off right from there or download it first. 
• Life Your Way has one as well.
• Our Portion  I created my own page for this.  Mainly because living overseas we have twice as many Emergency Numbers.  We have on-post and off-post.  And none of them are 911.  ;) 

Babysitter Information Sheet.   I am always scribbling notes to our babysitters (the three/four times a year we get to go out with bedtime routines, meals to eat, etc. This will be wonderful! I plan on printing a few and sliding them all in one protector for future use! I decided to go ahead and add this under my Contacts Section right next to my Emergency Contact page and that way if there is any problem while we are out and about they can just turn the page and know who to call, what our address is, etc.

• Life Your Way

Phone Directory. 

• Life Your Way - This one is simple and to the point.  I will be using this for all of our local contact/friend's numbers.  The ones that aren't necessarily in my address book.  We just have cheap little pre-paid phones and there is no Sim card or anything to it.  If, for whatever reason, it breaks or gets lost I don't have to stress about loosing all those numbers.

Phone Book. I highly doubt this is an option for you, but since our phone book for post is about 10 pages total I plan on hole punching the entire thing and clipping it in right behind my Phone Directory.   If there are certain places of business you seem to frequent I would consider just writing their number's on your Phone Directory too.

Our Homes.  Taking the lead from my parents I have created a page to record all of our addresses and the dates we lived there.  I previously had these written in our address book and it has come in handy a few times.  Certain applications, IE for buying a home, will want your last two/three places of residents, or something like that.  I simply can't remember them all.  This will be the first page of the Address Book Section.

• Our Portion.

Address Book.

• Again, Finding Home.
• Life Your Way.
• Organized Home
• Our Portion.  Again, I created my own simply for one little thing that I wanted an area for.  Since I'll be using this like an address book, but without the A-Z Tabs, I wanted an area to write what letter/letters I'll be using on that sheet.  IE.  We know a lot of "Bs" so I will probably need two or three pages for them and can just write the "B" in the top right corner.  On the other hand we don't know too many "X-Y-Zs", so those can all go on one sheet.  I can add more as needed but still keep it in Alphabetical Order. 

In considering the list above from A Bowl Full of Lemons the only other link I anticipate you might need for this section would be for Take-Out Numbers (I normally just saved these into my phone back in the states and we don't do a lot of take out over here.)  Finding Home or Life Your Way. 

We will be working on the Medical Section Next and that is where I plan to keep all of my Doctor's/Insurance phone numbers so I don't plan on putting them under Contacts.

So what do you think?  Easy enough, yes?  Let me know if you have any questions!

A Project of Epic Proportions {The Supplies}

I'm not going to lie. This project is expensive! And I'd much rather put the money towards fabric, or something prettier (which I do have plans to beautify these later!), but I know that this is what is needed. I believe it will be an investment worth making!  Besides, I have been giving the craft room, soon to be homeschool room, some overhauling and I made around $70 in selling some excess in the last two days! 

I will be ordering most of my supplies from Amazon.com up front for three reasons...#1 There isn't a large selection to choose from at our PX  #2  Paper in Europe is a different size. (Learned this the hard way and am currently having to chop all my printed pages!)  Meaning that pretty much any accessories I find on the economy will also be sized differently. and #3 Purely for my sanity.  Even if each section is completely organized I can hopefully "throw" the binders together and go back and work on each section as needed.  If you don't have the money up front though I would still continue with the challenge this week and then figure out what you can afford and buy what you think is needed most at this point.

Your challenge this week is to look at your Brainstorming list, organize it, and shop for supplies!  Similar to what you would do back in high school/college when writing an essay or an 11-Step Paragraph.  Decide how many main categories and sub categories you want.  How many binders do you want?  What do you need to make that section most functional?  You can look at my list from last week to see how I broke it down.  I'm certain I will be rearranging a few things once I get it in front of me, but your list should help to get you a good start on what supplies you will want to get.

Your number #1 item will definitely be a binder! 

These can get expensive all by themselves. I've seen 3" Binders from $12 all the way up to $22!!! I would check your local Good Will/Thrift Stores for some that you can find at a cheaper price. I didn't have such luck at our Thrift Store, but I did find these online for $6.99 a piece!  For two of my binders I'm also going with a 2" binder.  This could easily be something you only buy one of for now and save the money for the others.

Item #2: Sheet Protectors!!

Sheet protectors can also get expensive.  Tim and I seem to run through these like crazy.  The ones I saw at our PX were around $4.00 for 10!  There are tons of options on these, but I have found the main difference is the "weight".  The first ones shown are the Heavy Weight and are $12.97 for 100. The second ones I have pictured above are Economy Weight and are $9.97 for 100. Not too much difference in price, but the Heavyweight ones are stronger, not as flimsy, and should last longer.  I have some of the Economy weight ones I will probably use those in my Recipe Binder.  I will be putting a lot of my long-term information pages in these, but there will be a lot of papers that I will also just whole punch and throw in there.

Item #3:  A Printer! 

If you don't have an printer at home you can easily save any documents to a USB or disc and take them to your local Library or Office Supply Store.  Our printer has been quite temperamental lately and only decides to print some of the time.  (Not a good time for it to decide to do this!)  So I might be making a trip to our Library on occasion to get some of these pages printed.

Item #4: Dividers!

This is where it can get a bit confusing and having your outline will really help you to decide what you need!  I decided to go with Colored Dividers for my main categories, and White Tab Dividers for my Sub Categories.  I also decided on the 5 Tab sets for my main categories, and 8 Tab sets for my sub-categories.  The goal is to have to visuals in deciphering/aiding in separating each section...color and size of tabs.  (You're probably thinking I'm a bit crazy right now with the amount of thought that I've put into this.)  I also choose tabs that are Write-On!  I really don't like the plastic tabs where you slide in the little piece of card stock; they never seem to stay put!  The Write-On tabs aren't permanent either.  So if you decide you need to rearrange your binder you can just relabel your tabs!

These are the 5 Tab Colored Dividers for my Main Categories. I need 4 of them at $5.44 each!

Here are the 8 Tab White Dividers for my Sub Categories. I'm a little concerned about the long-term durability on these, but since I need 5 sets...the price of $3.03 a set beat the other ones I found for around $9 a set!

If you are adding a calender section to one of your binders you might want to get a set of these for $5.13.

Item #5:  Accessories!

These next two I'm super excited about!  Since I'm putting in a section for our budget and we use the cash system I'm getting these.  There are 20 pages for $5.33!!  I doubt I will need that many pages but I think these will be vital!  From the reviews I read a lot of couponers use these for their large, printed coupons.  You could add some to your coupon section, try to sell your excess to an avid couponer, or just split them with a friend!

I think this next item will also make a huge difference!  They are pocket tabs that you can add to one of your category dividers.  I plan on using one for my coupon section so when I get back from grocery shopping and I have a few extra coupons I can slip them in here until I have more time to sit down and file them away.  The best thing is that the pocket closes so nothing falls out!!  Right now I just have a regular brad folder with the side pockets.  I will slide any extra coupons in a side pocket and they will always fall out!

I will probably also use these to hold our passports/shot records.  I am also adding a Birthday/Special Events section to one of my binders, I think under the Calender section.  My mom used to have book specifically for holding cards for each month's events.  These will be great for holding cards and hopefully I can get back to sending them out on time!!   These are definitely on the pricey side at $8.15 for a pack of 5.  (I need 3 sets!  Ouch!)

 

If you don't already have a coupon book, but want to add a section you can use the ones listed above or buy some of these.  They are made to hold baseball cards, but work great for coupons!  You can normally find them in Walmart up in the front by the baseball cards!

Hopefully some of these items will help you decide what you need in your binder!  You might want to make a trip to Staples/Office Depot/Wal-mart just to see what's offered before you settle on buying anything.  (I say this bu I, myself, avoid errands as much as possible!) My shopping trip was through Amazon on two different nights.  I probably spent a total of about an hour and a-half, maybe two hours, on trying to find the right products for this project.  Hopefully the above links will save you some time!

Let me finish by saying that you can make this as simple, or as detailed, as you want.  I am obviously going with the more detailed version!  If you want to keep it simple, all you need is a binder, sheet protectors, and a printer.  If you wanted, you could make your own dividers with any extra cardstock you might have laying around your house.  Then you could just buy the pack of tabs that you can attach to a sheet protector.  There are tons of ways you can go about this, I've just shown you what I have found and will be using.

Happy shopping and let me know if you find something worth looking into!!

{All pictures courtesy of Amazon.com}

***Since getting my supplies....I think I overestimated the size of the 3" Binders!  Although I could probably fit everything I need in one---it is not something that I want to have open on my table everyday.  God put two 1 1/2 inch binders at $0.50 a piece at the Thrift Store this week just for me!!!  The size is much better!

One thing I'm quite disappointed with are the dividers..all of them for the most part.  I definitely love the sturdiness of the plastic ones and I love that all of tabs can be re-writable...but I can't see any of them!!!  After I put my pages in sheet protectors and then in the binders, the tabs are hidden by the sheet protectors and I can't see where anything is!!  Two solutions....my friend found some Xtra Wide Tabs Sheets that will stick out further than the protectors.  Look for these!!  Option #2 You can get the tabs that stick right to your sheet protector.  I don't think either of these are the re-writable ones, but will probably be looking for something different for the long haul.