2012 - Life Management in a binder

One of my goals for 2012 is to get all my to do's, schedules, cleaning, cooking, planning, commitments, etc gathered together in a neat little package so I can, from day to day, know whether I am coming or going.  I used to be completely organized, minute by minute in a nifty lil planner I carried around.  Then the world of smart phones and babies happened.  This past year was a whirlwind and flew by way too fast.  I don't want that kind of year again.  In steps the home management binder.  I have too many menus, calendars, check lists, and post it notes spread from here to there that I need to organize into one cutesy binder. 

You can find tons of information on building your home's binder online.  Just google Home Management Binder.  It really is a person by person thing, and needs to be coordinated to your lifestyle. 

Since I am on a quest to find my favorite printables for my binder, I thought I would share. Maybe its time for you to challenge yourself to creating some sort of binder too?

The Tool Box on Mommy Tracked has a large selection of printables:

                  

              

Get Buttoned Up has a large list of forms your can print, including lunch box notes and more!

                

          

    Printable pages for your Household Notebook available for free at Organized Home as well as more forms available from Organized home here.


Tons of printable spreadsheets for everything in life at Donna Young.  Great Homeschool forms as well!


You can also find plenty of printable bundles for a small cost.  I am debating on going this route.  I really desire a weekly planner with chores to tackle listed.  Of course I could fill in 52 weeks worth of chores on my own, but I did find this one already filled in. 
     The Project Girl 2012 Weekly Calendar with chores  ---  this site has an annual sale in Jan. so I am waiting to see if I can get a deal on the 1st.  It's only 12.99 now and would save me hours of creating my own documents...however, my "never pay retail" side is kicking in.

Spring Cleaning Day 5 - Walls, Baseboards, Doors





 It's time to wash the walls!  That's what I've been doing today...wiping down the walls and painting.  Why is it that little hands must touch every corner they turn?  I think I scrubbed more corners today than actual walls. 

Can you see that little handprint?  That would be a Bug print. 
I got out the white paint to begin some touch ups, starting with the stairs.

I mean really...how do finger prints (that won't wipe away) get on the riser?

Since I had it out, I painted Bug's door.  It was a slavaged door that has waited a year to be painted.
 

It's drying now and may need another coat.
With little ones, I am always wiping down walls.  Corners are magnets for little hands.  And the wall space under the bar...constantly cleaning there!
  Since I was on a roll with the walls and baseboards, I took my cleaning wipes to the banister and each spindle got a wipe down.  Lots of Bug prints there, I could track her every move on the stairs...Happy Cleaning!

Spring Cleaning Day 4 - Windows

 Task for Day 4 is windows.  Not just Windex and paper towel cleaning of the windows...but soapy water and squeegee cleaning.  I am half and half on this task.  Half of my windows have nifty tabs that allow me to tilt the window in.  This is such a nice feature...I am able to get areas I can't get to on the windows that don't tilt in. 

I love how clean the tracks look now! The picture above only shows how the window tilts out and doesn't capture how squeaky clean that trim is...outside and in! I should have taken pics at night so you could see it in all its glory.  I also have to admit...our landlord sends someone to clean our windows yearly. That time is now and I couldn't be happier!  Its perfect timing!  When you see the picture below you will understand why its worth it

to have someone clean the windows...

...look at all those windows!  And that's just the back of the house!  I almost live in a glass house.  I can't even reach to the top of the bottom row of windows! We lack a really really tall ladder or scaffolding required to reach the top levels of windows.  Thank goodness for fantastic landlords!

What's your window situation?

Spring Cleaning Day 2 - Dusting

Today Anna has us dusting.  Fans...I have many.  Many fans I have need dusting.  I have dusted many fans...and thank goodness I started last week!  Little did I know this would be on the list.  Guess I should have known, but it didn't cross my mind.  So the fans in the master bedroom and bath (yes there is a fan in the bathroom!) were done last week. 

Cabinets...oh boy!  That is not a favorite of mine.  I used a mixture of equal parts water,  vinegar, and Murphys Oil Soap on my floors and cabinets. (Mix directly in spray bottle and keep on hand)  It does a great job at breaking up the grime and the Murphy's leaves a nice shine. 

Get a Coupon here!

I didn't realize how bad my cabinets were.  Its amazing how dirty they get around the handle.  My vinegar mix got it right off!  They shine now!

Picture taken with IPhone

Now...back to the fans.  I did not get to the fan in Bug's room as she was napping when I was attacking the fans.  I began a good work on this one, in the kitchen (yes, there is a fan in the kitchen too!).

Picture taken with IPhone

This is one mean fan to clean.  It looks nice and clean from this angle.  The top of the blades are a different story.  The top of the blades are sticky.  I am not sure why, maybe being in the kitchen?  Maybe the people before us failed to tell us about the slime wars that took place here.  I am not real sure of the why, but I know its sticky...and the dust is stuck to the sticky.  My magic vinegar mix was not magic enough.  Hubby is going to take down the blades so I can take them outside and scrub them.  The swinging action that started while I was attempting to scrub the top was quite scary.  Best take down the blades from the swinging fan huh?  Saving for the weekend....

Spring Cleaning Day 1 - Draperies, Blinds, and Shutters

Anna @ Ask Anna assigned Draperies as Day one's task in the Spring Cleaning event.

 

How did I know she would choose draperies first?  I had it in my mind that I would paint the front porch shutters since I don't have any draperies that need cleaning.  The curtains I do have I recently made and hung.  (See post here about my sewing adventure!)

Here are my curtains. 

 

When I went to get the paint I thought I had in garage for shutters, I decided I no longer wanted that color.  Why?  I don't really know.  I just made that decision then and there.  So, now I have to go get new paint to attack the outdoor shutters...and the front door.  

I did, however, decide to take down the blinds seen in the picture above.  There is no need for them and I really like the sun shining through.  I also cleaned the tiny set of blinds in one of the bathrooms...other than that there are no more blinds. 

Off to start Task 2....Dusting!  I just dusted the fans in my bedroom...but there are oh so many more in this house! 

Spring Cleaning!

As much as I love spring...I don't love "Spring Cleaning" at all.  That's why I think the Spring Cleaning Event I joined over at Ask Anna will make it a bit fun.  It starts April 2nd, so I have some time to prepare myself for such an event.  And it ends just before my son is out of school for spring break.  Hopefully, all my Spring Cleaning will be complete and I can enjoy some time with him instead of time with the floors, counters, bathrooms, etc. 

So, while we are on the topic of cleaning...did you know your washer had a filter? I certainly did not!  Check out Anna's post on the fluff the washer leaves on clothes and how to get rid of it!