Balancing Life with Kids- Part3: Housework and Organizing

Photos in this post are of pages in "Keeping Life Simple" by Karen Levine

The first thing I have to say on this topic goes back to my earlier posts on simplicity. DECLUTTERing is the single most important thing needed for effective housecleaning and organization. This I can say with no fear of doing wrong, because I have been doing it for a long time. It works. My house is sort of known by friends for being"clean" but the truth is, we just keep our possessions to a minimum, which makes it easier to tidy and manage. This post is divided in two categories: Cleaning and Organization; These are by no means as comprehensive as the info you will find in books or other web sites, but hopefully, it will give people an opportunity to get started without becoming overwhelmed. Some very useful links will be provided for you to check out as well...
Are you ready?

• Points # 1, 2 and 3 come straight from Karen Levine's little book "Keeping Life Simple", and are the steps I have been following for about 5 years now;


• Divide your housecleaning tasks in four categories:what needs to be done everyday; what needs to be done every week; what needs to be done every month; what needs to be done only a few times a year; Check out this handy house cleaning checklist from Microsoft Office Online: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC100762411033.aspx


• If you absolutely despise one or more tasks, do something fun as you move along: listen to music (while cleaning), watch your favorite movie (while you fold clothes), talk on the phone...


• Delegate chores, and for goodness sake ABANDON GENDER ROLES! The dishes don't care whether you have boy or girl parts, they just want to be clean!


• The best web site (and magazine) out there, in my opinion, is REAL SIMPLE. Check out this link for more info on house cleaning, find out your cleaning style, fake a clean house, and much, much more!http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/cleaning-101-00000000009633/index.html

Wise words from Beth "Keep in mind - no one gives you an award for cleanest house or smallest pile of dirty laundry. This time with your kids goes so quick, don't spend all of it overdoing the housekeeping part. I want my home to be the background of the activity, not the focus."

• My kids have these brand new chore charts that were created and put together by my hubby (who needs Brad Pitt when your husband does chore charts?), anyway, we've tried tons of things but I think this is the best one yet! All you need is a magnet board (for each child), some computer printed pictures that represent the chores of the day, glued on magnet strips; The boards have two columns, "to do" and "done" and all the kids have to do is make sure all magnet chips are on the "done" side before they go to bed.





• Have cute baskets and bins in strategic areas in your home, to pick up all sorts of things. We have a huge trunk that serves as coffee table and toy bin, no one sees the mess but the stuff is always available for the kids when they want it.
• Routine is a biggy too, kids just do so much better when they know what's expected of them. My kids are full of energy, with strong personalities, but you can be sure, they will not visit someone's home and leave it messy, its a learned behavior, and they have learned to understand how much work it takes to run a household.
• One thing that I have discovered to be helpful, is an online family calendar.What's the use of having all the stuff written down at home, if when you go to work you don't have it in front of you? Beth uses yahoo for her calendar, which allows her to share her familie's activities and plans with her husband while he is at work. I use the google calendar on http://www.google.com/ig and I love the fact that you can color code the activities by person, set up reminders, repeat events with a click of a button...
• Last words of advice before I send you to another wonderful link at REAL SIMPLE: Try and prep for the next morning activities the night before, your mornings will be less crazy, and you will sleep better; Also, put the kids to bed EARLY- they can use the sleep and you can use some time to breathe! Our bed time is 8:30 p.m. But of course for those with babies that's a whole different story...
• Now go check this out: http://browse.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/index.html again, REAL SIMPLE has so much good info!
  
  That's all I have this time, thanks for stopping by!

beijos

allypye

Balancing Life with Kids- Part 2: Meal Planning and Shopping

Hello, and welcome back! Today I will try and sum up some facts and useful tips on meal planning and shopping for groceries (the latter being the one household obligation I loathe, and would give my right arm if someone offered to do the job for the rest of my days!!! Yes, it is that bad, surprising for someone who adores cooking!) Anyway, this post is divided in these three sections: what to eat?/ lists and shopping (as I cringe with the thought of it) and tips and variations... And remember, this is just advice that I gathered from my own looking around for better, simpler ways of living and the suggestions of friends. I quoted some ideas and thoughts from Lisa and Beth whom I've mentioned on yesterday's post.

No, we are not experts, everybody is in the same boat here, so if you have more ideas, throw them at me would ya?
With that said, here we go:
What to eat?
Tired of standing in front of the fridge and asking yourself "what should I make for dinner"? You are not alone! Erik (the hubby) and myself have done that so much, the result almost always being a quick fix that isn't healthy or satisfying!
I have two words for you: MEAL PLANNING- stress free, healthier and money saving, this is what we need to be doing.

write it down, and put it up

• I am now using an excel spreadsheet that outlines the days of the week, snacks for the week, plus a grocery list and room for notes all in one page.If you want to see it, just let me know, I will e-mail it to you, just couldn't figure out how to post it here...
• You can do this anywhere, just make sure it is easy to see and to use- people get super creative with this stuff, poster board, magnet boards or just a neatly drawn meal plan on computer paper.
• use your own cookbooks and online recipes, but if you are new at this, just do one week with meals that your family is used to, so you can get a hang on the process rather than worrying about what recipes to make.Do this for as long as you need to make it a habit, and then add some jazz to the deal!

Beth suggests: "When you bake, double the recipe. Then eat one and freeze one for later. Most pasta recipes make way more than our family eats in one sitting, so by dividing it into two meals saves time down the road...Plan your meals for the week and do the grocery shopping all at once. There are lots of great meal planning sites online. Keep a list of meal ideas you can rotate to keep from getting in a rut. "

Lisa's tip: "It’s amazing how much time and money can be saved by simply planning ahead on your family meals. Food costs can vary greatly from month to month and with no planning, our family’s monthly food bill could easily be double that of our house payment! What I’ve found works best for is to plan one week at a time. I make my shopping list based on the meals I planned for the next week. I rarely come home from work thinking, “what’s for dinner?” A fun meal-chart generator is on http://www.lotsofkids.com/."

Lists and Shopping

• Beth's Grocery list is simple and helpful: she writes it so that it corresponds to its location at her preferred grocery store. That way you don't have to go from place to place like a monkey with your head cut off! Simple, just so simple...
• clip coupons if you are going to use them. I hate doing this, so I probably never will for lack of patience, but if that's your thing, go for it!
• NEVER, I repeat, NEVER shop hungry! Always, always eat before you shop! I am not going to say the name of this Brazilian woman I know, but I will tell you how she shopped hungry, bought a jar of nuttella (it is heaven I swear!)and finished it off before she got home...pathetic!!
• Clean out the fridge BEFORE you go to the grocery store. There is nothing worse than coming home exhausted from wrestling with an overflowing shopping cart and have to go through leftovers and other yuckies! If you don't clean it, you will risk doing it like this Brazilian woman I know, and just shove all the new shiny sealed items in the fridge only to have to perform an emergency evacuation in your home a week later, when the yuckies you pushed to the back of the fridge can no longer contain their foulness inside.

Other things to think about

• Have a couple emergency meals for when stuff comes up. Stuff comes up now, doesn't it? Got home too late to make what you planned or forgot to defrost something? EMERGENCY MEAL TIME! I like to have chicken nuggets available for babysitters that can't cook:) Oh, well, its the truth...
• Have the kids help plan the meals. Beth says " Let your kids help pick the meal for the next day. If you have the time, let them in the kitchen to do some cooking. It is amazing what a picky eater might try if they have a hand in making it."
• Eat together. Eat together. Eat together. Some of the best conversations, discoveries, and bonding experiences I have had with my children and husband were at the dinner table. We do this religiously. And I know it helps us be a closer family.

This is it, I know, it was long, but I hope it helps, feel free to e-mail me or post your comments here if you have more to add! I am going to bed:)

beijos

allypye

Searching for less and finding its enough...

Coming back from our camping trip yesterday, I thought about our family and how the six of us (myself, the hubby, our three children and the dog) are growing together stronger, happier and simpler.

When I think of Gandhi's "live simply so that others may simply live" quote, not only do I think about simplicity as benefiting the world globally and locally, but also about its influence in my own life, within my family.

I find myself approaching everything that way now, asking the same questions "what will make this easier, what will have the least impact, what will be more enriching?

We committed to bringing only the tent, two sets of clothing per person, a few beach toys plus some basic necessities (hygiene, blankets, firewood, flashlights) to the campsite- no hand-held games, cell phones or i-pods. (sounds easy? Try talking a pre-teen into it!!)

It was a great time! I learned things about every single one of my kids, about my husband, about my dog, and about myself that I would have never discovered had we not kept things to a minimum, having mostly only one another to rely on for food, shelter, and fun!Sure, simplicity takes planning and organization, otherwise you may find yourself forgetting to bring essentials and having to go buy supplies; But it is so worth it!

We managed to keep optimistic and relaxed even with the constant ingress of huge SUVs pulling even bigger RVs, equipped with tvs, stereos, cooking ware (we are talking smokers, fryers, portable microwaves, FIREWORKS, and much, much more)- No, camping DOES NOT mean the same thing to all humans!

I hope that more people are now seeking to have moments of true, undivided attention, interacting with their loved ones in nature and fostering appreciation for one another and for the beauty of our world.

As for us, we swam, we sang, rode bikes, built a fire and finally slept to the sound of rain drops "plop" and "plop" on the roof of our tent! Unplugged, Unwound, together.

Beijos to all!

Loving-the-Earth products to check out!

Here are three awesome earth-loving products I've spotted this summer, they all fulfill all my "S" requirements:

style- It HAS to be cute!

simplicity- It MUST be easy and practical:)

social consciousness- GIVING BACK is essential!

TOMS SHOES- Saw these at the Port Austin's Farmer's Market last weekend, LOVED IT! Check out their awesome products and mission here: http://www.tomsshoes.com/content.asp?tid=227

ECOJOT STATIONARY- Spotted in Downtown Kalamazoo:) all of the stuff is so super cute!! http://www.ecojot.com/

FREE TRADE ELEPHANT GRASS BASKETS FROM GHANA- My lovely mother-in-law bought me one! They are beautiful, sturdy and spacious! Thanks Cindy!! Since you can buy them from SO many places, I didn't want to endorse a particular web-site. But you can do a google search or visit your local Farmer's Market.

Do you know of any products that are stylish, simple and social oriented?

I will keep my eyes open to find more:)

Thanks for checking this out,

beijos

allypye

Summer thoughts...

While hearing so many people complain of the "scalding" weather here in KZOO I am happy as a bee as the sun kisses my skin! I love summer! As I write this, my 12 year old is away at camp, my six year old is at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for their weeklong camp; and my Bella Boo (the three year old) is napping this lazy afternoon away...I am sitting here listening to a wonderful book: "Caramelo" by Sandra Cisneros;

My husband and I just celebrated yet another anniversary, and over dinner, we talked about summer plans and reminisced on times when things seemed to be simpler. We both agree on the same period - 2002/2003 - as the most peaceful, content and blissful time of our married lives. So we talked about those years, and examined our state of mind, financial situation, children, family and friends, and figured that the just of it was really about living in the now, doing it simply and being gentle to ourselves;

By living in the now we allowed ourselves the opportunity to be spontaneous, carefree, and centered; spending our present planning an uncertain future just seemed strange...

By doing it simply we had no idea who the Joneses were, and if we did, we had no interest in hanging out with them; we didn't have much, we didn't want much, and didn't measure ourselves up to anything or anyone.

By being gentle to ourselves took care of us first- me by doing art and being gentle to my body as I carried my little Lucas in my belly and enjoyed watching my little kindergartner discover new horizons; Erik meditated, played his guitar and we both dedicated some of our time as volunteer tutors to our son's classmates.

We took the time to just be. No unnecessary obligations, commitments, or relationships; We had the guts to only do what made us happy.


Looking at now, I feel as though we have the maturity to do even better than 2002. But why aren't we there? Sure, the kids are older now, there are 3 of them instead of 2, and making decisions for ourselves and our little ones overshadows the spontaneity and the stillness we so long for.


The practice of gentleness to oneself, simplicity and joy is very intentional, and the results can be freeing; I am confident that my family can get back to that point (we are pretty darn close already, I think) if we begin to live our lives by practicing to love ourselves and find beauty and fulfillment on the simple things.


As the clothes gently sway on the clothesline in our backyard, I think of my grandmother, skirt swaying as if to keep up with the linen sheets she hung above her head. Possessions were not in her mind, but the breeze and the sun...


Thank you for reading!

Beijos a todos

allypye