My *Tool* Box

I have a few things that I take with me in the house...if I am upstairs....it goes with me. If I am downstairs...it goes with me. Inside I keep things I use throughout the day....such as:

~ My Filofax Planner

~ Our Family Devotions/Catechism book 

~ Pens/Stickers

~ My Bible

~ Books I am currently reading

~ My weekly menu planner

~ Lotion

Previously, I carried all these things in a market tote like THIS one. That worked just fine but wasn't "ideal". Things weren't neatly separated and were just *in* there. It was okay...but when I saw this Neatnix Toolbox on sale at Zulily, I was super excited (it's a bit on the pricey side at amazon...but if you are interested, you may find it cheaper on ebay....or Zulily may still have some for sale!)! 

It is sturdy and easy to carry by the handle! I just love all the space it has!

There are all kinds of organizational pockets on the front...

...With two larger pockets on the back...

There are even pockets on the sides that (to my delight) fit my lotion perfectly!

How do you organize things you use constantly throughout the day? I used to keep things in different baskets over the years...but the weight of the items would wear on the basket over time and damage it. I am so glad to have found something that is perfect for the use I am giving it! 

Homeschool *or* Office Supply Organization

I want to start this post by saying that whether I used a flash or not with my camera, the boxes do not seem to be very photogenic. They look much better in real life...you'll just have to trust me on that! ;) Also, a few of my labels aren't straight...I have fixed and re-fixed them and sometimes, you just have to leave it be!

Last year, we used these bins to separate all of my children's school workbooks. This year, since we are mostly using Easy Peasy, we will only have math workbooks to keep organized. I couldn't let good storage space go to waste...so I utilized the drawers to store my multitude of supplies. Now, notebooks, paper, dividers, folders, reference charts, page protectors and more have their own drawer!

Anytime someone needs a new folder or blank notebook...they know just where to get them!

Extra supplies (purchased from Staples during their school clearance!)...

The children's workbooks fit perfectly in each drawer!

These drawers can be pricey...but not too bad if you watch for them to go on sale. You can find something similar to the one I have HERE. You can find the exact ones I have HERE.

We have found these drawers to be a great organizing tool to keep in our schoolroom. They would work really well in an office setting too! And again, they look much better in real life than in the photos! The pictures seem to show every flaw!

***You may notice in the first photo, a pair of shoes just inside the door...right now, we have four extra kiddos visiting at our house. I didn't move the shoes...I like just keeping it real! ;)

Dollar Store Organization

Organization does *not* have to be expensive! If you go to DIY & Crafts, you can find a compilation of 150 Dollar Store Organizing Ideas! They have done all the searching for you, to find some of the greatest, inexpensive (and useful) organizing ideas for your entire home! When I found this site, I knew I just had to share it! :) Let me know if you put any of these ideas to use!!!

My Favorite Pens

I have found the *best* pens to use with my planner! They are the FriXion erasable pens! They are absolutely fantastic...

They come in all these great colors...

 So I wrote this on a sticky note...

And with the other side of the pen, I erased it!!! Isn't that fantastic? The awesome colors and flow of a pen...and the ability to erase like a pencil!

These are definitely my favorite pens to use! I highly recommend them! You can find them HERE! What are your favorite pens to use with your planners?

My Favorite Books on Cleaning & Organizing

Having a good book to help you with your cleaning and organizing is of great value! A book can give you the right steps to take, all-natural recipes, cost-cutting ideas and more! I use a few books that I treasure!

The first one I highly recommend is Cleaning Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin. It is full of homemade recipes (with simple household ingredients), tips and tricks, and a simple plan to follow to get your whole home *clean*!

Boy was I excited when I found out Donna Smallin makes a book on organizing as well! Organizing Plain and Simple helps you solve all of your clutter challenges! Like her other book, this one gives tons of tips, tricks and ideas. As well as helping you organize your home (room by room), it also has a section that helps you organize your finances! Again, I highly recommend this book!

If you are interested in cleaning your home naturally (as I am) but don't always have the money for costly green cleaners, you can simply make your own! The Naturally Clean Home has 150 recipes for all-natural cleaning using things like Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Pure-Castile Soap, lemon juice, vinegar and essential oils!

Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping is an absolutely *wonderful* book. It is full of simple homemaking advice...written from a mother to her children. It is a little old fashioned which makes me love it even more! It has chapters highlighting the art of homekeeping, entertaining, the garden, health and beauty, laundry and more. It is a treasure of a book, really.

What books do you find helpful in guiding you in your homemaking? I would love for you to share them! If you have any of these books, I would love to hear your thoughts on them too!

Bible/Book Covers

 My Bible is extremely well-used and well-loved. It's amount of use has led to it starting to fall apart...slowly but surely (even though I do have a hardback  ESV Study Bible.) I previously had my Bible in a large, pretty bible case. It *was* truly pretty and all...but what I really wanted was a simple cover. I didn't want a zipper or anything fancy...just something to protect the cover and keep it all *contained*.

I perused the shops on Etsy and found one that seemed to have just what I was looking for! KIVVERS by Daisy Jane has a cute assortment of different covers custom fit for your book! I picked a faux leather cover and gave her the measurements of my Bible. Soon, in the mail, I received a cover that slid like a glove right onto my bible. It fit perfectly.

Now, if you can find something to protect the delicate pages of my Bible, I would be much obliged! Not sure that they make anything like that though! ;)

I have had to reinforce all the tabs with matte scotch tape because they were getting so damaged as well. If you don't have tabs in your Bible but *want* some...you can find them here: Majestic Bible Tabs. 

If you are looking for a simple book cover, I recommend the shop I linked to above. But if that doesn't interest you, please go check out other shops on etsy. Shopping small/handmade is definitely the way to go! :)

Product Spotlight ~ Kiddy Qualia

If you love staying organized using planners, you will want to check out Kiddy Qualia on etsy! She has some super cute rainbow colored pages! I ordered some things from her for my Filofax Domino (personal size) and just loved how she had it packaged up and sent to me. She even included some fun little stickers and things!

I just love things in rainbow....aren't they so pretty? She has lined rainbow paper as well as graph, calendar and plain paper too!

Etsy has a lot of *great* planner items. If you do a search on there, you will come up with a ton of great accessories and organizational tools for your planner! Another place I have ordered from is KieleyCameron Designs. She has dividers and really cute planner charms (I have the bubblegum machine charm...I don't think she has any of those left though). Do you have some favorite planner-oriented Etsy sites? Please do share them! I also love to support small businesses, don't you?

This is *not* a sponsored or affiliate post.

 All opinions are my own.

 I genuinely just wanted to share this great shop with you all!

 Have a great rest of the week! 

Making a Simple (Effective) Chore Chart

 I have tried many different chore chart systems. I have spent lots of time making chore charts and they worked...for a while. How I made them usually made it difficult to change chores (when changes were needed). So now, I have come up with a, I hope, full-proof chore chart system. It was super simple to make too!

 I do not have a laminator (although it is on my wish list)...so I purchased THESE to put paper charts in. If you have a laminator, you could use that too!

Then I wrote down chores with boxes (with some chores being on a rotation and some being daily). You could do this with your computer...but my printer is out of ink at the moment...so I whipped these up! I could have done them neater and much more carefully...but I wanted to get them done for now and can always whip another one up for each of them when I have more time!

I *love* to make lists and to check things off as I accomplish them. It appears my children love it too because once their schoolwork was done for the day...they each (cheerfully) went about their chores. Jaxson even did some extras just so he could check off more boxes!

Xavier asked me: "Mom, since today is my day to vacuum anyway (downstairs), can I vacuum upstairs too?"  After picking my jaw up off the ground, I told him that would be great and he *thanked* me! It was seriously a glorious day of chores. The house was tidied and the children helped right along side me (with not one complaint). Now, I do not expect to meet this level of cheerful choring every day...but it did give me a glimmer of hope!

This is the order of the day in our household: First, all of our schooling gets done (we are a homeschooling family). Next, all daily chores must be finished. No television, computer, reading, or playing privileges will happen until all boxes for that day are checked off (with a dry erase marker). All chores must be done correctly because mama (that's me!) can check on any "finished" chore, to make sure it was done to my satisfaction, at any time. If I do check and something was not done how it was suppose to be (within reason...I don't expect perfection...but you can tell when something is done lazily) then that person will be grounded from all technology or other "fun" things for the rest of that day.

Another great thing about this system is that if I need to tweak anything, I can simply remove the sheet of paper and change/make a new one. :) I hang these charts on a nail directly under the family calendar in the kitchen. They are easily accessible and not in the way!

The children really seemed to feel accomplished as they checked things off their list. I hope they continue with this enthusiasm!

I hope you have found this post helpful!

The link to the plastic holders *is* an amazon affiliate link! If you make a purchase through my link, it helps me! Thanks so much!

Keeping Organized

Once you have systems in place for keeping yourself organized you must follow them! Having and using different products can make it fun and easy!

Previously, I was using the uncalendar system to do my planning. While I liked it, I had the large one and really wanted something that I could take with me. I purchased a spiral bound planner (day per page...my favorite way to plan).

I found the cover for my spiral bound planner HERE. I also have planners that have the loose-leaf papers in the binders. I love those...but I like to save my planners each year (I have a whole pile from years back) and I find the spiral bound ones to be compact and a lot nicer to save. I love planners/organizers/binders so I honestly use whatever I am in the mood for from year to year! 

Another product I find to be really useful and helpful in my homemaking is this Do.Delegate binder from Buttoned Up. You can find them HERE (They also have a ton of other great products there at fantastic prices!). 

On the inside I have begun listing some project goals/to-dos...

In the next section, it has perforated pages where you can ask for help with certain projects from your family and have it all written out so it is done correctly...

They even have carbon copies so you can remember who you delegated what task to!

And then there is my filofax (personal size) where I keep all my bill paying info. I am the one who takes care of that in my family and I like to have a system to make sure everything gets paid in a timely manner.

And, although this isn't *all* of the fun things I have to make planning fun, it is *some* of it....

Sticky notes, labels, decorative tapes and more....

Having the right tools to fit your organizing needs is very important...*but* it can come slowly. Don't spend money you don't really have to gather everything you want all at once. Getting well-organized with a system that works for you takes time...it's a continual process. I am always tweaking my systems...often you will see that in my posts! :)

How do you keep yourself organized?

*Note: None of the links in this post are affiliate or sponsored. All opinions are my own!

Planning our Homeschooling Days

I have been homeschooling my children for six years. I have tried various methods of keeping track of our days (as Pennsylvania law requires us to keep a running log of our accomplishments). I am a planner and always love a great organizer to keep our info in. I have tried the computer-run planning sites before but I prefer to write each day out (as tedious as it is for three children). I also prefer something pre-made, as printables don't work well for me (I end up spending a fortune on paper and ink with my less-than-awesome printer). 

In previous  years, I had used an already-dated calendar planner to write in our school day plans. I ran into problems with this when I already had things planned for a week and we needed to take a day off due to sickness or unexpected field trip. I would then have to erase and change all our plans. I really wanted something that I could track number of days and then write the date in as we did the work. 

After much looking, I was excited to find something I really liked and thought would work well for us....

I found the planner I loved at URtheMom. The worst part about them is that they were a bit pricey...especially when ordering one for each child. They have everything set up just as I wanted it...plus places to keep track of grades, goals and a folder in the back of the planner.

On each day we do our schoolwork, I write the date on the side...

This way, I can plan ahead as much as I want to without worrying about having to make changes due to missing a day or something changing along the way. In the *notes* section, I write in the dates of our homeschool co-op and what the children participate in on those days. I will add those to our required 180 days at the end of the year.

As you can see here, as we accomplish something from each subject, each day, I mark it with a little X...

I hope to maybe make my own planners for next year. I will have to crunch the numbers and figure out what is most cost-effective for us! For this year though, I am happy with how these planners work for us. If you want to purchase one too...you can find them HERE.

This post was in no way sponsored by URtheMom.com. They are just my personal opinions of what works for us! :)