Organizational Tools
Paper Piles
Craft Day (another Paper Pile
Solution)
Toys
Selling House - Messy Kids?
What to do with Packaging and
Warranties
Mildew and Stains
I have great organizational stuff around my house. I got
Calender Creator Plus computer program a couple of years ago,
spent a month or so inputting info and now I just hit a
button and out prints my weekly menu plan, grocery shopping
list, chores list ( including annual, semi-annual and
quarterly stuff like clean stove). I do know that as long as
I keep on task, i.e. keep to the schedule of housework,
menus, laundry, etc, life around here goes really smooth.
When I get lazy or just plain frustrated, everyone really
suffers.
- Microsoft Outlook - Calendar, reminders, alarms and to-do list features
- Calendar Creator Plus! - Create calendars, menus, etc.
- PDA - Keep your entire life on a Personal Data Assistant. Same features as Outlook, but portable.
- Digital Timers - Timers for you and your children keep you on track.
- Household Notebook - 3-ring binder to keep menus, housekeeping schedules, homeschooling information, coupons, etc.
Paper Piles
A really great way to keep your piles of paper organized is
this:
Keep all cereal boxes, Tide boxes etc. Then do this. On the
narrow side measure up about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom and
draw line ( have line extend over to big side just a bit) .
Next, take a ruler and draw a line fron the line mark ( the 1
1/2 inch) diagonally to the opposite corner at the top. Do
this on the other big side too. Take some scissors and cut (
you will be cutting three sides, diagonally on the big side,
across on the narrow side then back up diagonally on the
other side. Then take the part you cut off and close the tab
( the top of the cereal box) turn it upside down and insert
it inside the bottom part and "Presto" instant paper info,
magazine, etc. holder. If you want to be really creative,
have the kids use a hot glue gun and make swirls and designs
on the outside of the folder. Then spray paint to finish.
Faboulous!!! you will love it. Last but not least put a label
on the front ( short side just below where you measured up 1
1/2 inches)
You can buy these ready-made folders but they cost a fortune
especially when you consider that everyone needs tons of
them. This will eliminate the piles quickly, efficiently, and
neatly, and looks great!!!!
What I do is I have tupperwear cereal containers so when we
buy cereal I put it into the tupperwear right away and make
the folder. That way I don't risk the box getting ripped
before I can get my hands on it. Recently, I have started
even using this system for the kids school stuff. Now they
know exactly where to find there work books at any given
time.
"A place for everything, and everything in it's place"
Craft Day (another Paper Pile Solution)
One really good way to get through all the piles of paper is
to plan a Craft Prep Day. This gets the kids involved.
Get a big box. Label this box "crafts". Then have sort of a
scavenger hunt. You be the guard of the box. Have the kids go
through their stuff that can be recycled for crafts. Before
they can put anything in the box, they must have a suggested
new use for the item eg. wool scrapes makes great Hair
You need to keep a list of their ideas. Also have them have a
paper shredding time. Take one pile of paper at a time and
have each child take turns shredding the paper. Put the
shredded paper into plastic bags, used later for paper mache,
making recycled paper, mosiacs etc. ( lots of uses for
shredded paper) Another good idea is to also plan a weiner
roast for that day. This way you can dispose of all the extra
shredded paper. While they are hunting and shredding you also
work at a pile at a time, If the paper is not something you
can replace put away in file folder ( see previous post on
how to make folders) otherwise shred it. You will be amazed
how fast things get cleaned and organized. Here is the rule,
once the box is full, no one is allowed to save or pack rat (
I have a few here too) until there is more room in the box.
Toys
Dealing with the toys issue: we have lots of difficulty here
too. The most effective thing I have found is to plan a toy
day. Staying with the rule, a place for everything and
everything in its place, we do the following. Rooms are
cleaned up including toy room. Then each child is
required to go through their toys and decide what they play
with the least (I never say don't play with as this is a
statement that doesn't work, after all they did play with it
two years ago.) I tell the kids that they may choose to put
the articles into a garage sale and will get the benefits of
the proceeds of the sale. After which they may have
permission to purchase one new thing. This is really
effective, I almost have to prevent them from wanting to sell
everything! To date, I haven't managed to get it together to
have that garage sale, but I do have lots of bags of stuff
for it!
Selling House - Messy Kids
Note to the lady selling the house ( sorry don't remember
who's post it was as it was 37 e-mails ago that I read it as
I am a bit behind today) here is a thought that may work.
Don't laugh, when we were house hunting a lady did this and
we were so taken with it we even made an offer on the house).
This is what she did with her kids messies, Yellow post it
notes all over the house with her ideas. eg. My children use
this area as a play room, which you can see with all the
toys, but could be converted into a lovely office as the
natural light during the day is good! By the time we had read
the 3rd note, we spent most of the time looking for more
yellow post-it notes and never even noticed the mess! This
was a Smart Lady!. Well we didn't end up buying her house
(much to dh's disappointment) but it was sold really quickly.
For what it is worth....... might be an alternative to
exhaustion.
What to do with Packaging
QUESTION: When you buy something from a track ball to a
computer (wonder where I got that one), the warrantee says
that if it ever has to be returned, it must be sent in the
original box and packing material. You know, the molded
styrofoam things which the thing was in.
We could cut the packing tape on the box and flatten it, but
then what do you do with the styrofoam whether its the molded
thingys or peanuts (why do they call them that.... have you
ever chewed on one?).
Even if you find a place, like my shed, for the styrofoam,
The flattened boxes now become a highrise condo for mice and
roaches. Hmph! The roaches live there as it is but the mice
immediately remodel by chewing and it can't be used anyway.
Well, it will probably not break down so we can throw it
away. But! If you are like me (I threw my new computer's
stuff away) something is going to break down. My monitor did.
I would have been able to just ship it back, but I ended up
having to drive this thing safely on my back seat for two
hours one way. Doesn't seem worth it.
Now, another question. What about all the waranty and
guarantee papers. I thought I would keep a file in my file
cabinet. Yes, I have one but the important files are on my
desk since I use them occasionally. I just looked in that
file; it's nearly three inches thick and I had paperwork from
years back for stuff I don't have anymore and for some stuff
I don't even remember having. ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!
ANSWER: Check with the company about liability issues re:
original packaging. Most of the time you will find this is
just a recommended practice and not a requirement. I have one
large box that I have kept the styro chips in. Then if I ever
have to ship something I just hit the local store for a good
sturdy box, use my styro chip stash, and tada, instant
protected shipping. Another thought: I always keep any bubble
pack stored in one bag. This is great for shipping, and
smaller pieces can be taped together if needed.
Warranty stuff. O.H.I.O. When you purchase something,
staple sales receipt and warranty card to instruction
book/manual and put it in one file marked Warranty in your file
cabinet. I do this religiously especially as my dh is famous
for forgetting that most stuff comes with instructions and a
parts list. At any given time, I can go to the file, find out
what ever info I want about the item. Also, I do not keep any
paperwork that can be replaced or doesn't apply ( for me that
is usually the french version etc as I don't read french).
This proved to be valuable whan we were dealing with our
current moving claim as the movers lost our trampoline
springs and no where out here can you even find a
place that sells tramps never mind parts.
Well I had to dig through the file but I found the address of
the place to get the parts and the came today ($9.00 per
spring) so often this is a good practice. Also, it was good I
had to search for this as I was able to clean out the
warranty file. Able to compare the prices we paid for stuff
years back. Also when we were trying to figure out what the
replacement would be when dealing with this claim. The movers
broke our video camera and said replacement value was 700.00.
I was sure that was impossible so dug out instruction book
and bill of sale. Because I had the specs of what the camera
could do the movers had to match the existing camera ( more
like 1800.00) now. So to make a long post short, paperwork,
especially warranty and instruction books. O.H.I.O. One last
thought, if you need info from the file, pull the whole file,
that way you are more inclined to put it away rather than
just one peice of paper which will eventually end up amongst
another pile of paper and may be lost forever. It is much
easier to find a big file than one small peice of paper.
Mildew and Stains
QUESTION: When I emailed about my house, I forgot to talk
about particulars. My house is about 50 years old. My worst
problem is mildew and the stains from it. In my kitchen, I
have one big porcelain sink that I cannot get clean. I have
tried everything. On top of that, the grout around it is so
mildew stained, it is embarrassing for anyone to see. The
countertops are tiny tiles that have stains all over the
grout. I have tried the sprays, the bleaches...nothing seems
to help. My bathrooms are the same, with the mildew. I have
tried all I can find, and nothing seems to help.
WARNING: Open all the windows in the house and wear grubby clothes to do the following.
ANSWER: Get a bottle of Javex Bleach and some rubber gloves.
Open the windows. Put on rubber gloves. Pour the javex
directly on the sink and counters. Don't dilute it. Let it
sit for a bit. Then use a plastic scrub brush, like the ones
for dishes ( plastic scrub brush with a handle). After it has
sat for a while, scrub it. Bleach is a great germ killer for
mildew. I would repeat this process on a regular basis. I do
this on my stainless steel sink and all my countertops. It
may take a few applications but should start and show steady
improvements.
One last note, you may already know this, but it is really
important to prevent any growth of mildew (bleach will
eventually kill it and most anything else) as this can really
effect the respiratory system. When I worked in pallative
care in hospital I witnessed over and over again these
effects on many seniors. Breathing in mildew is a great
imitator and agravator of Asthma. It will irritate
the respiratory system severly. Often I had patients admitted
with severe problems. After several days away from their home
environment the problems cleared up only to be repeated a few
weeks later after they had returned to their home
environment. Further investigation often found that the home
environment had some form of mildew. This can be common with
seniors as many live of those I had dealings with lived in
small basement apartments that had moisture, inadequate
sunlight (also good for killing mildew) and lacked the
sensory skills to detect mildew (may not have been able to
smell or see it). Please, if you have or suspect a mildew
problem GET OUT THE BLEACH !!!!!(not yelling just stressing
the importance of this).
by Johann DeWolfe
©Copyright 2006 by ADHD of the
Christian Kind.
