Behavior Rewards Chart (and a sneak peak at the 100 followers prize)

So my middle child just earned herself a barbie doll by sleeping in her own bed for a full week.  After 2 years of trying to accomplish this goal, it is was amazing.  But this made my eldest child jealous and now she wants to earn a barbie doll herself.  Since she is older though and a fairly well behaved child making a goal for her was slightly more complicated.  So here is what I did.

You see I have 2 laminated sheets, one for the smiley faces she is working on earning and one for the smileys she has earned.  I laminated the sheets so I could change the goal and prize as needed with a dry erase marker.  As I mentioned before she wants a new barbie doll.  So we decided that she needs to work on obeying the first time I ask her to do something.  When she does and completes the task she will earn a Smiley Face.  When she has 20 smiley faces she will get her barbie doll.

Also below the box that has the earning faces in it, I made a pocket to store all the smileys in.  I did this by cutting a strip of paper and gluing the sides and bottom to the smiley box piece of paper.  Then after it was laminated I simply took some open scissors and cut along the top of the pocket so it opens up.
As you notice too I am using tape.  I played with the idea of magnets or velcro dots, but since I want this chart to be more flexible I decided to use un-permanent tape.

I hope this give some one a good idea to help with their children as well.  Keep in mind that no one chart works for everyone.  Depending on the age of the child, the personality of the child and even the personality of mom is what determines if a certain chart will work for you or not.

So I mentioned last week that we are approaching 100 followers.  When those 100 followers are reached I will do a giveaway.  And you can start entering for this prize right now.  You can read about that here.  I have decided on the prize and it is going to be awesome.  Here is a little sneak peak:)

So get to referring people so you can win this darling prize:)

Tutorial Review {Dry Erase Calendar}

Yes I am reviewing a tutorial.  Isn't that so exciting.  It has been a little while.  Luckily this one goes along with this month theme of being organized.  So without further ado here it is.

Isn't that cute!

The idea came from Somewhat Simple.  The same place I got the Happy Birthday Banner from.

Here is her finished project.

What I love about this is the versatility you can do with it.  You can make it say anything, you can have as many or as few sections as you want.  It would be easy enough to change if you wanted to as well.

So here are some tips.

1- You can buy your frame at a thrift store for cheap :)

2- Did you know that you can buy sample paint at home improvement stores for around $3.  It is a perfect size for crafting.

3- I painted the back side of the picture that was in the frame before.  I like the rustic look it had.  You could also use poster board.  I also debated blowing up a family photo and printing it in black and white, but I decided against that.

before

after (note- this is the back you know the ugly brown side)

4- I sewed some ribbon loops and glues them to the back to hold my dry erase markers.

4- I didn't want to put any hole in the pantry door to hang it up so I used this.

It works wonderfully.

5- Don't step on the glass and break it so you have to start over :)

Total Time: 2 1/2 hrs

Total Cost: $10 

I had my vinyl printed by a friend who has a little vinyl business.  She does an awesome job.  Here is a link to here site.

This was a fun, easy and inexpensive project that I loved making.  So go have fun and craft :)

The Pantry

I must admit I was really nervous about organizing the pantry.  It was so full I really didn't think that the bin system would not work.  There are things I could have done to make it cuter but I was going more so for simplifying, So here is what it looks like now.

Much nicer isn't it.  After doing it I was afraid that the bins would be a pain in the butt to work around and get stuff, but it is much easier than digging through random shelf's and knocking who knows what over.  All of these nice big bins I bought were on sale at wally world with there back to school dorm stuff, so it was a bit pricier than the linen closet but it was still under $20 and I am loving it.
I have seen some super cute pantries where people paint the back wall and make cute labels for their bins.  I personally was trying to keep this project simple so all my pantry got was bins with no extras.  But I am happy with it, and someday in my dream home I might go through the extra work to make my pantry cute and organized.
Do you have a favorite way to organize your pantry?  I would love to hear it if you do.

Counter Top and Recipes

Okay I have completed the second area.  Remember the little crook of my counter that was super cluttered?  I am not showing you the before picture so you will have to remember (I am still not over the humiliation.) But I will show you the after picture.

Ahhh it makes me feel so good to look at. I decided after I got it all cleaned up to put my bosch on the counter.  I am sick of putting it in and out of the closest. I ended up organizing the cupboard above as well and I was able to fit a lot of the random items in there in a more organized matter. Also do you see that cute blue and red polka dot book? That's a binder I covered for all my loose recipes.  Here's a close up.

I covered it with this cute Micheal Miller oilcloth. Now for some inside pics.
I took all those little recipe books that you get, mostly with your small kitchen appliances, and I put them in the inside flaps.

Then I made tabs for organizing my recipes and put all my printed off and loose paper recipes inside sheet protectors.

Hopefully having my recipes in sheet protectors will now save my recipes because to many of them look like this.

And this.

I left a bunch of sheet protectors at the back of each section so i can add new recipes.  You see I am addicted to recipes.
I must say it feels good to be getting organized. How are you doing?  As always any tips, tricks or questions you have, just shout them out.

 

 

 

The Linen Closet

Okay I have officially finished one area and it feels good.  Here is what it looks like now.

No I am not going to show you the before picture again because I can't handle any more humiliation. As I searched good ways to organize closets I saw bins come up more than once. At first I didn't like the idea but the more I thought about it the more I did like it. Here are the reasons I like it:

1. It maximizes space allowing you to go higher on your shelves.
2. It really narrows down the saying "a place fore everything and everything in it's place." Instead of something belonging just in the linen closet it now belongs in the linen closet on the bottom shelf in the basket for bathing products.  
3. It will eliminate future instances of me not finding what I am looking for, thinking we are out of it and buying more. 
4. It helps me see better what we do need and what we are running low on so I can start shopping the sales to stock back up.

All in all I am very happy with how this turned out.  I bought just about all my baskets at the dollar store and the big one on the bottom I bought on sale for only $3.  So this closet makeover cost me less than $10 which feels really nice.

p.s. Voting for the yummiest cake pop has been dismal, please go vote if you haven't.  Someone else is counting on you to help them win.

Organize with Index Cards

Okay my first baby step is done.  I have helped to organize my life in two areas with index cards.  I bought a package of index card and two little index card boxes and then I started making lists.  The first thing I made list of was dinners that I make.  I separated them into the following categories: chicken, beef, pork, other and breakfast.  I know breakfast isn't dinner, but sometimes it is and I firmly believe that cold cereal isn't breakfast so I need breakfast recipes as well. Then I put the name of the dish on the index card then listed the ingredients on the card.  I didn't do the full recipe because I either have it memorized or written somewhere else so that felt redundant.  But now when I go to make the weekly menu and grocery list life will be easier. 

I was surprised at how many recipes I could think of that I make.  And I keep remembering more and adding them. 

I also put a bunch of cards in the back and two unlabeled sections so if I think of more, find more etc, I can add them easily.

The second list I did was all the chores (unseasonal) that have to be done.  I separated them accordingly: daily, twice a week, weekly, monthly (once every 4 weeks), quarterly, twice a year and yearly. I found that I could add all the quarterly, biannually and yearly together for a group. I then wrote the chores onto index cards according to the week.  I separated these into 4 groups, or 1 card for each week in a month. I left gaps on the cards to help me know which chore is in which group.

Top left are chores that need to be done daily, bottom left twice a week, top middle- weekly, bottom middle every other week, top right monthly and bottom right is the quarterly through yearly group.
I put them in their box according to their week.

So all the ones look pretty much the same, the only thing really different is the quarterly-yearly job.  Now for my weekly chore I will grab a card from the one section, when the week is through I will flip it and put it in the back of the "1" section.  the next week I will grab a "2" card and follow it's chores accordingly then flip it and put it in the back.  There are 52 cards so at the end of the year all will be flipped and I just will start over. 

If this is unclear let me know and I will try to clarify. 

P.S. I can't believe the amazing cake pop ideas coming in.  There are only a few days left to enter if you haven't already done so.

The Before

Okay I really hesitate to do this because it is embarrassing.  As I mentioned I am disorganized which makes certain things messy.  But I feel to get the full effect of my organization month I had better take before pictures.  These are the main areas I am going to organize.  Keep in mind these are the worst areas in my house and they are pretty much at the peak of the worst they have been. So here goes nothing.

Area 1: The Pantry- It's like looking into an I-spy book.  Can you find 3 bags of marshmallows, a box of mac and cheese, rice cereal for baby and bubbles? (Why bubbles are in there I don't know)

  Area 2: The Linen Closet. The towels are usually stacked high and skiddy wampus but I had sick kids this weekend so my towels are now in the washing machine or dryer.

Area 3: The hidden counter space on the other side of the fridge where I keep recipes books. In my defence it usually isn't this bad.

And area 4: My unfinished basement craft space.  We moved the craft room down stair to the unfinished basement right before I had my third baby. Now that she is 6 months old I probably ought to organize it and really make it usable.

Okay now that I have put it all out there and embarrassed myself beyond measure let me try and redeem myself a little with some of my favorite helpful cleaning tips.  If you have any tips you want to share feel welcome too. You can add them here or I have started a discussion on my facebook page that you can share them at as well.

Tip 1- Vinegar.  Yes I said vinegar.  What do I use if for you ask?  The better questions is what don't I use it for?  I use it in my laundry.  Add 1/2c to your washer and it will de-stinkify your rags etc.  It's a great stain remover for any plant based item (most stains can be broken into ether animal or plant. Animal= blood, "pet stains" etc and plant is makeup, juice, food coloring etc.)  just stick some vinegar in a sink with cold water and let your stained garment rinse in there. I also wash my  dinning room table and chairs with it, it works great on walls as well.  I also put 1c of it in the bottom of my dishwasher once a month and run it empty to clean my dishwasher.  The list could go on and on but those are my most frequent uses of vinegar.

Tip 2- When you have sick children who are throwing up all night, put a towel down on there bed.  This way you only have to switch out the towel in the middle of the night.  The next morning I do wash the sheets as well, but this saves on so many sheets that have to be washed and making the bed multiple times in one night.

Tip 3- Nylon pan scrapers.  The little scrapers you get to clean your stonewear work great on a million other things as well.  When I've made bread and have a floured counter these work great to scrap the flour up before washing.  When me or the kids have been playing with glue, clay stickers etc, these scrap it right up.  When I have a stubborn piece of food on the floor while trying to mop I pull out my scraper.  I love them!

Well hope some of these tips help.  As we go along I will compile all the great cleaning/organization tips I hear into one great list to share with everyone. 

Organize My Life

I am a disorganized person. Anyone who knows me is now rolling on the floor with laughter because the truest things are the funniest things.  But with starting this blog, having three kids and my oldest monkey going to school next month (excuse me while I grab a tissue); I feel the need to get organized.  So I am dedicating the whole month of August to getting organized.
I am scouring the web looking for ideas, tutorials and most importantly cute crafty ways to get organized.  BTW look at this awesome book shelf.

That isn't happening at my home, it just isn't practical enough, but I love it nonetheless.
Back to my point.  I am going to get organized.  If you know of any great tutorials, ideas or crafts let me know.  Also if you feel like me and want to get organized let me know what area you need help with and I will see what I can do.
And for a finishing thought on organizing your to do list we will look to Maxine.

(I was just proof reading this post and noticed my lack of staying on topic probably proves my point of me being disorganized lol)

Reward/Behavior Chart Ideas

Has your 3 year old ever scaled the front of the fridge to the top? Figured out how to reach her window locks, unlock them, kick out the screen, strip her clothes and sit on the window ledge butt-naked? Has your child ever grabbed on to a closing garage door only to hit the sensors and send the door back up while still holding on, taking a ride clear to the top?

I am not necessarily saying that I have, but I might know a thing or two about that...
So, I've decided it's high time for some type of behavior/reward chart. Something a little more formalized that can offer up a positive rather than a negative, and more importantly reinforce a good behavior. I have spent a GREAT deal of time thinking about behaviors and charts. I made a mini reward chart but I never put it into play, I wasn't convinced it was going to be even mildly effective. It was boring and too "charty." My piano students use a printout I gave them of a gumball machine. Each time they practice they color a gumball and for so many colored a prize! How fun would that be for my 3 year old?!? I thought awesome at first, until I realized she doesn't ever get gum and that she'd just ask for it if I gave this sheet to her. Back to the drawing board.... I've got it, she LOVES castles and princesses. So I grabbed some old scrapbooking paper and created a castle. The castle is several pieces. Each time for her reward she gets a piece of her princess castle to build on her wall. This way building the castle is a huge fun, reward itself. From time to time there she may find a princess sticker on her piece which would indicate a bonus prize from the prize stash. My prize stash consists of things like: cheap painting kits from the craft store, ring pops, balloons, just anything a 3 year old would want that's cheap.

Now for the behavior part.

I have selected 4 behaviors to emphasize on the next few weeks while building the castle. More than 4 things for a 3 year old is probably a little too controlling and not realistic for a 3 year old, keep it simple. After spending a few weeks on these four, I will select a some new ones. The behaviors this time round are:

-Complete a 30 minute quiet time
-Clean up bedroom
-Eat a meal well (this means no getting up, running around, and simply eating)
-Going to bed on time (this is a major disaster every night now that it's summer)

Here's some helpful links:
Good advice on making a reward chart
http://www.supernanny.co.uk/Advice/-/Parenting-Skills/The-Reward-Chart.aspx
Free printables
http://www.paintedgold.com/Organize/free-chore-chart.html
http://www.paintedgold.com/Kids/printable-reward-charts.html
http://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Printable_Chore_Charts_for_Kids
http://www.chorecharts.com/Free_Chore_Charts.html
Great ideas (especially for an older child)
http://parentingtips365.com/2009/03/13/easy-and-creative-ideas-for-chore-or-reward-charts/

Here are some not-so fab pics of our castle.