Posted in Time Saving Tips
This is probably going to sound TOO simple, but tackle small messes around the house while they are still small! It's so easy to look around a room with several things out of place and think, "I'll get to it later" only to turn around the next day to see that those small messes have somehow multiplied! Take just a few minutes several times daily - and get other family members to help! - to tidy up each room. I usually tidy up after each meal and my home is almost always ready for unannounced company!
| ~ Hello from Kris in TN! ~ |
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Posted in Time Saving Tips
Tired of keeping up with the bills? Want to be sure they get paid on time, every month and save yourself a bunch of stamps? Then consider using auto-pay through your bank! I recommend using auto-pay through your bank account for those bills that have a set amount each month. At this time, ALL of my bills are automatically deducted from my account each month. After my husband gets paid, I just write each amount out of the account and I don't have to think about it again! It's easy to get these set up ... just contact those companies you want to auto-pay and ask them for the form needed to set up this process. You will need to factor in how often you are receiving paychecks and if they are variable or not BEFORE you set this up. My husband gets paid once a month at the beginning of the month so this is very easy for me to set up!
Now, if you have bills that you do NOT want to auto-pay or for handling those one-time bills (like magazine subscription payments), be sure they don't get lost in the rest of the paper clutter! Set up an "outbox" near your front door. I have a brass container that hangs on my wall and this is where I place one-time bills that need to be paid or mail that needs to go to the mailbox. I check it every morning because my family knows to put outgoing mail there. It also keeps those bills in front of me reminding me to pay them!
It only takes a few minutes each day to keep up with the mail when I have set myself up for SUCCESS 
!!
| ~ Hello from Kris in TN! ~ |
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Posted in Time Saving Tips
I may be preaching to the choir here, but I'm going to recommend a menu scheduling plan that has worked wonders in our home. I have to say that when I stray from this method, meal planning seems like more of a chore and we don't eat as well either!
I have created a schedule based on the main ingredient for the meal as well as our activities for the week. For example, on Wednesdays we have our weekly 4-H meeting, errand running and then karate late in the afternoon, so the family isn't home until around 7:30pm. That makes it crockpot night! I just start the meal in the morning, set the crockpot for 10 hours and it'll be kept warm until we get home. Wednesdays can also be leftover or pizza night. Whatever we eat, it has to be something easy, but I still have to plan what we'll eat so we aren't rummaging through the fridge at 8pm trying to find something!
The other method I use is to assign a main ingredient for each day like this:
Monday - chicken
Tuesday - salmon
Thursday - beef
.... etc. By doing this, I can take advantage of good meat sales and plan ahead what we'll be eating down the road. Of course, this schedule isn't set in stone. Just this week, my husband wanted a meal of pinto beans and cornbread so that's what he got! I also work leftovers into the schedule as we always have some - that's usually Friday night.
It doesn't take long to plan weekly menus and we do NOT have to be gourmet cooks unless we want to. I know that my family likes having the same 30 meals over and over again. I will try a new recipe now and again, but I have to say that it's more work to do that and I don't have hours and hours to be pouring over recipe books looking for new things to fix. I need it simple, quick and healthy! If you are stuck in a rut with your menus and have the time, try assigning each day a specific main ingredient and then go looking for new recipes using that item (chicken, fish, etc.). I think you'll find that, in the long run, it saves you time and $$ to plan weekly menus, whatever method you choose to use!
Kris in TN
My Cozy Little Cottage - My Homemaking Blog
My Cozy Little Cottage - My *NEW* Homemaking website - lots more to add so bookmark now!
I update my homeschooling blog daily!
My Homeschooling website
Book CloseOuts - NEW books, used prices!
Posted in Time Saving Tips
Hi Everybody!
This is my first week hanging out here on the porch to share some time-saving tips with you! Let me first introduce myself. I'm Kris Price, wife for 16 years to my high school sweetie and mom to two great kids whom I also homeschool. Some of you may know me from the HomeschoolBlogger site as "Classical Education 4 Me." I write a column for the front porch over there on Taming the Chaos where I share methods of organization as well as time-saving tips. I am a very busy person (aren't we all?) - homemaker, homeschooling, and working part-time for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and HomeschoolBlogger. I also maintain 2 blogs and 2 websites (links in my siggy below!). Finally, I share book lists full of great bargains from Book CloseOuts several times a week with my Yahoo Group. My days are full and I'm busy from sun-up to sundown.
Now, I must admit that I am not a homesteader ... I wish I could be, but it is not something that we can work on at this time. I dream of one day living in a "little house in the woods" and having my own vegetable garden (no animals, please!). I long to be able to sit on my front porch and all I can see is nature surrounding me. Someday ....
Ok, back to this post ... The best tip that I can give anyone is to create a weekly schedule board. I just did this over the weekend and it has been a lifesaver to me this week! It has really put the focus back on my responsibilities to my family. Here is a picture of my board - I created it based on what I read in The Managers of their Homes which I borrowed from my neighbor.
Ok, let's start with the picture of the entire chart and then I'll break it down and describe what is going on (click on the pictures to see them closer up!):
First off, I had to determine how many hours I wanted on the grid. I had some of that poster board that has the light grid lines already on it. I marked off the hours on the left and our names across the top. My son is the blue column, daughter the yellow and I'm the purple column. These are post it notes that I used my Creative Memories square cutter on to get them to fit into the grid I created.
This is our homeschooling schedule board, but because I have seen how well it is working, I am going to create a smaller board just for me. I will mark off a week and use post-it notes to place reminders. I had created the following section for myself (as shown below) and I want to expand that section in my own board:
The third column of color stickies is our chore area. Each child has some lists of chores to do daily, weekly, and on Saturdays. I have my own column, too, as I can get really lax about things like ironing! In addition, you'll see the 3 larger post-it notes: These are my weekly lists - Important Dates to Remember: this is where I'll note new appts. and events that need to go onto the main calendar or to remind myself of Dr.' appts. The 2nd sticky is a To-do List. As I need to add things to do each week, I'll post them here in this central location and tackle them as soon as I can. The 3rd sticky is Groceries Needed: I'm forgetful about buying pantry items that we've run out of. Now I no longer have an excuse for forgetting to buy such items as I have a central location for noting things I need to buy that week.
Now, it does take time to sit down and figure out the schedule that you'd like to work on, but the time savings comes when all you have to do is look at the board to remind yourself of what you need to be doing all day long. Someone asked me what I would do about unexpected events or upsets to our day. Here was my response:
Actually, I've thought about this and I wanted people to know that my schedule *IS* only a guide to help us get through the day. I've created it for several reasons:
(1) to help my kids stay on track during schooltime
(2) to aid my children in taking responsibility for their daily assignments and chores
(3) to take the nagging out of our day as well as the endless question, "So what's next?
(4) to help me realize that *I* also need a schedule so that I can get everything done that needs doing
(5) to have a central place for me to keep those lists that help me stay organized
As far as dealing with unexpected opportunities like field trips or things like Dr. appt., we'll keep on doing what we've always done and adjust the schedule to allow those things to happen. I intend to remain flexible with this schedule and not become a slave to it!
If you find yourself struggling to get it all done, I hope this will get you thinking about creating your own weekly schedule. It really has been worth the time I invested to create it. The use of the sticky notes allows you to adjust the schedule as needed - it's not permanent! I welcome any questions or comments you may have about this post!
Kris in TN
My Cozy Little Cottage - My Homemaking Blog
My Cozy Little Cottage - My *NEW* Homemaking website - lots more to add so bookmark now!
I update my homeschooling blog daily!
My Homeschooling website
Book CloseOuts - NEW books, used prices!
