Spring has Sprung

You know what that means??? It's time to clean. Clean, clean and declutter.

At least that's how it goes down in my house.

The semi- annual, get crazy and get cleaning party is about to start. Well it's not really a party, since it's mostly just me, myself and I that get down and dirty, but I SHOULD enlist the help of others. My husband got the backyard and our "slope" on his mind, so that's his spare time project, as well as the garage. Getting it back to a state of "happiness" so that I park can in there once again. Oh, that will be so lovely. I can't wait. I'm not going to get overly excited though, sometimes, he takes years to finish a project, and I'm not exaggerating one bit. I wouldn't do that. Well, not about him finishing a project, I would maybe about something else. And Bubba, he could help too, but I do most of it while he is at school in the morning, pre-afternoon hours when I have my groove on and can get things done.

So, back to spring cleaning. This is the time of year, that for me this is what I do.

1. Windows need washing. (vinegar and water works great- just cheap plain white distilled)
   
2. Baseboards and walls need a good scrub down, (vinegar and water is also my favorite on this)
   
3. Cupboards are cleaned out, wiped down, sorted through, expired food trashed. That sort of thing. (I use vinegar here too, to wipe things down. I use vinegar actually for A LOT of things. It's a great go to cleaner.)
   
4. Plants, trees and shrubs are pruned and cut for the new growth. (I do the plants; I let my husband do the trees.)
   
5. Clothes. Go through the clothes and take out long pants, long sleeves, sweaters, and that sort of thing. I now put them on the other side of the closet. My boys have double sided closets, before I used to pack them up and put them in a bin if I didn't sell, or get rid of them, now I just move them to the other side of the closet. Since Mother Nature likes to be sneaky and all the sudden we'll get a cold day in the middle of HOT days and no clothes are to be found, I now keep them accessible, at least a few things. {Important fact: I didn't even know this, but this year is El Niño, which means for us in California, it gets more wet than years in the past. I guess this happens every 7 years, and this year is THE year, so I'll keep rain/colder things on hand.}
   

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. These are the things that I do, twice a year to keep in some "Deep" cleaning and get things organized for the upcoming warm and summer months!

Happy Cleaning! If you have any tips and or ideas, please share! I love to find new ways organinzing or cleaning things. It makes my heart sing.

Organization tips- Lists

I know it sounds silly, and may think, well DUH! But sometimes, people need to hear it. So that is my tip. Lists simplify things and make things easier.

When I have a full day ahead of me, like today, I make a list of "to-do." I used to be able to remember it all and be aware of what I had to do, but with sooo much on my plate these days, it's easier to make the list and not HAVE to remember. (it's something my FIL taught my husband because he doesn't have the best recall skill out there, and so his dad always told him, write it down, then you just have to look back. And being as busy as my FIL is, and doing as much as he does with regards to work, I understand now, why he does that. Occasionally, he stills forgets to call back a customer, or look for a certain item maybe for another person, but that's just because of the volume of his load.)

At my old age, hehe, sometimes, I am forgetting about certain things, not necessarily anything important really, but a little something, that I at the end of the day don't want to say, Oh! I forget to get such and such, and so I take the easy route and write it down so I can use my brain for more important tasks of the day.

For me, I don't put down things that are obvious, just so I can check things off; I'm not that type of list maker.

Get up

Dress kids

Make bed – those sorts of things, they don't make it on my lists. Those are "given" in my book and aren't worthy of a list.

Mine are usually more like errands that I have to run, of places I have to stop, things that need to get done for the day.

Get ribbon at Michael's.

Pick up balloons.

Get gift together.

Go to bank. (then name which one and what I am doing there if necessary)

These are more the sorts of things that show up on my list like today.

I have also found that lists are very effective for other people.

• Bullet points make a great way
  
• Helping others understand what they need to do.
  
• Hubby and my oldest son, get lists now.
  

My husband actually asked for one. I thought, of course! Why didn't I think of that? If we are talking about things that we want to do around the house, or things that need to be checked on, after we walk away from the conversation, sometimes it's like, Now what was I supposed to do again?? For this, I give him a list.

For my oldest boy, who can now read, I've listed his chores for him so he can remember, and I'm not repeating myself 50 times. PUT YOUR CLOTHES AWAY!

His list sometimes is a little more of obvious things because he doesn't know of everything that he has to do. (at least that's what he says-not sure I'm buying it.)

His looks something like this:

• Pick up clothes [off floor] (because they ALWAYS seem to wind up on there)
  
• Hang up clothes in closets.
  
• Put pants in a pile with hangers for mommy or daddy to hang. (His pants hang high and for now, I'd just rather be the one to put them up for him)
  
• Pick up toys off floor
  
• Put in their bins.
  
• Take dirty clothes to laundry.
  

These are the items that I found myself repeating (over and over and over again) so he got a list, in the form of a chart.

Other things that he does around the house, sweeping and vacuuming, I didn't put on a chart. He doesn't have to be told more than once, because he enjoys those things and he's excited to do them. He actually asks to vacuum sometimes and pulls out the broom by himself. {mother grinning here}

That's it! It's that easy, it may sound simple and it is! Stop remembering and make lists!

The end.

Finances and “Allocation of Funds” i.e. Budget

I am amazed, no, that's not a good word, scratch that. It surprises me how many people do not control their money. Are not on a budget, or don't know how much they make a month or spend. It just boggles my mind. How can you not know??

I guess that is why so many of us Americans are in debt up to our eyeballs. If you don't know, then of course you're just spending away? Putting things on credit cards, or just buying what you please? I'm guessing here, I don't fully understand this logic/thinking.

You have got to know. Knowledge is power. If you don't even "know" what you bring in a month, start with doing that.

In my organized brain, and as a SAHM (stay at home mom), this is part of my organization and "cleaning" that I do. It's part of my tasks that I am required to do, and so for me, there has to be a system. Remember when I talked about this post? I got to this point by tracking our income and expenses and knowing what is due when. Are you still with me??

For a month track your income. If you are in sales, and have a changing income, as we do, guesstimate. Take the average or low ball it so you have extra money to allocate. I use the word allocate instead of budget. Budget gives me restrictions and I've never been one to like restrictions. If I say allocate. It gives me the control. I am in charge of MY money and not the other way around. That is the key point. Once you are in charge of your money and it no longer is in charge of you, I believe you are on the your way to success or financial freedom.

Two people that I enjoy listening to are; Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman. I like what they have to say. About certain things. Some things I don't agree with whole heartedly, but for the most part, I like the principles that they teach. Check them out! They are great resources. I always take as much info as I can, then spit out what I don't like. I'm cool like that. Or in my son's words now, "That's how I roll!"

If you know what you make, allocate your funds, and are debt-free! Good for you, and we will see you another day! Or you can stick around and read still and tell me what you know! I LOVE new information, or better ideas. BUT with sooooo many people with debt (yes,we are one of them as well), it might help to read some info and you might just learn something.

Once you know your income, or at the same time you're tracking your income, track your expenses. This is a sample of the spreadsheet I use. If it is too complicated for your life/income/expenses. Simplify it. Take out what you don't use. I am very thorough so that I over allocate instead of under. (I am a numbers geek too and this stuff just thrills me. I LOVE allocating! Almost more than I like food, or shopping. It gives me great pleasure!)

Income
Wages/Salaries (after taxes)
Other Income
Total Income

Expenses
Donations
Mortgage/Rent
Insurance (home)
Repairs/Mainten/Décor
Food

Utilities (use one space,if you don't have alot, or break it down, like I do)
Water
Trash
Electric
Gas

TV
Phone
Cell Phone
Internet

Car
Insurance
Payments
Gas/Oil/Maintenance

Medical
Prescriptions
Co-pays

Gifts –Birthdays (think Christmas)
Debt payments
Kid’s activities
Hubby’s $
My money
Clothing
Savings (long term)
Savings (short term. Ie special trips, luxury item)
Retirement account


TOTAL

So once you know how much "extra" you have. Then you know where you can start to pay off your debts, or put into savings. If you are barely making it buy and you only have enough for your "needs" then it's really easy to allocate money. "Wants", don't really exist. Nor does any extra special savings plan. Until you are aware of where your money goes, it's hard to know where to cut back. If you only have enough for wants, don't get discouraged, I'll help you out here. Come back for more and we'll go through it.

For today, I will stick with this first, since for some, this could be ALOT of information and I don't want to overload anyone. I want to help you. Or inform you. I'll then come back to this and tell you what you can do with this information once you know what your making and spending. Happy Tracking!!

Here's a few more tips on cleaning & organizing

Hope you enjoy them and it helps save time or effort somewhere along the way.

Enjoy!!


FIFO- “first in first out” in the cupboards and pantry. I do stack the same kinds on top of each other or behind each other to rotate the food use. What is oldest gets used first and then you know what’s in your cupboard without going through everything.
Bath time- double up kids to shower and bathe together. If they ages or genders work you can kill two birds with one stone. For me with the baby, I bathe with him or him with me. Once a baby can sit in the chair by themselves, have them get in with you. This was shared with me by my friend Jill and it saved me with my first, when I was afraid to be out of his sight. Bath time got both of us clean and time spent together having fun. I know take my little booger in the shower with me. He sits and plays at one end, while I take an actual shower, not the 2 minute rinse offs, I’ve never been a fan of those, and we are both happy. Then once I’m done, I pick him up, and wash and bathe him. Layout their clothes, lotions and diapers beforehand so when you get out, they can get dressed right away.
Delegate the responsibilities-“chores” Didn’t you hate that word as a child? Now I get it though as a mom. It’s too much to do it all yourself, and your kids need to be taught to work and understand responsibility too. Start with little things for the young-ins. My first boogers first task was putting his underwear and socks away. He had two drawers for each, and after laundry was done, and I made a pile for him, he knew it was his time to put his things away. Now he can put most of his clothes away as he got older. He can also empty the dishwasher, set the table, and LOVES to use the vacuum. Sweet for me, fun for him!
If charts work for your child, make a chart so they can see what they are “in charge” of or responsible for. Kids enjoy accomplishing things and feel pride in taking care of their things. Chuck E Cheese dot com has great charts to use for kids awards.
We pay for “extra” chores that are done throughout the house. Some kids will do more, some none and that’s ok. (Unless you’re like us and only have one that can really do chores, then maybe it’s not so OK.) It’s like the sales force out in the world. Teach them that work =pay. As much extra work that they do , they will be rewarded. Pay a dollar, .50 cents, $5 per task. Whatever works in your household. It also helps them to be responsible and start to understand the value of money. (Tips soon on teaching kids about money)

A few more tips on organizing and cleaning

1. If you are the one paying the bills. Do it twice a month. (or weekly if that works with your pay schedule.) I separate everything into two dates. The 5th and the 20th. Make an excel worksheet with those dates on them and list the bills due under the specific date. Go through the list and put a check or “X” them when you have paid them then you know you are done and move on. This helps me to know what and when I pay things and sometimes I will put in confirmation # or check # there as well, if I need a reference.
2. Have a place for everything. If you don’t have a place right now, make one. Ex. My car keys. Every time I come home, I open up the drawer in the credenza and put them in. I know when I need to leave again, right where they will be. You can spend waste many hours trying to find things. I know, I see it in people daily and it drives me batty. Some people will just not be able to accomplish this but give it a try, at least with one thing and see how it works out! I like the kids backpacks and homework things kept somewhere especially.
3. Along the same lines with my daily dishes and laundry duties, I say anything else that comes your way daily, do it right then. Ex. The mail. If it is hard for you to go through it all, try doing it right away so it doesn’t pile up. I do not go through junk mail. This saves a few minutes a day and really adds up. I own a shredder and everything that has specific information on, I shred and dispose of. When the bills come in the mail, open them, then sort them in your 5th pile, or your 20th pile (As explained in #1 tip). I have a ticker folder and put them in there right away.
There, that’s all for now. I think just a few steps, can help you on your way. Remember inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard. I try to keep all the inches in my life that I can.