Ready for School

We have been organising up a storm in our house over the past week. We are of course getting ready for that exciting event ... the start of the new school year. (In actual fact, I am going to really miss the girls as they return to school and for Bec, start in Prep. I enjoy having them home, but I digress, this particular post is all about ORGANISING ... which I love, love, love.)

We have been setting up "stations" around the house in an attempt to keep the items that belong together, well, together. Of course, we like to make sure David feels included in this whole process so we made sure there was a job for him to do. Task #1 was to install some new hooks at child-height in our front enty so that the girls can hang up their bags when they get in from school. They share bedrooms and there really isn't enough room for them in there and this will make it easier to pack them too. Very convenient. Tick.

Task #2 was to sort out the stationary supplies for each child. I bought a couple of these white planter boxes at Target last year for my kitchen bench and liked them so much I grabbed another 4, one for each of the girls to house their homework books on their desks. This keeps everything easy to access but doesn't take up too much workspace. The blue containers were also from Target and are sink organisers. They have a large section at the back which is perfect for erasers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners etc and 3 sections at the front which divides their textas, coloured pencils and grey leads/pens. With four of them, there was much fun to be had with my trusty labeller too.

I am still very much in culling mode at the moment (no drawer is safe!) and today we tackled the girls desk drawers. We recycled most of it (lots and lots of papers) and then sorted the things to keep and reorganised the drawers. Their desk space is now looking gorgeous inside and outside.

This is one of my favourite parts of our recent kitchen / living area renovation - the homework stations. This long desk is adjacent to my kitchen and opposite the dining table. The girls can work on their homework close to me but not in my way as I prepare dinner and set the table. I can read out spelling words to them, answer questions and keep them on track. It works perfectly. The only downfall of this area is that is has a large flat surface and is therefore likely to attract all manner of items to it.

So there you go, we are ready to go back to school in our house. How are your preparations going? Only a couple more sleeps...

New Shoes!

I was doing a bit of shopping recently in the sales (well actually I was just wandering past) when I saw these gorgeous red shoes. I made a quick pact with myself before proceeding to enter the store, that if they were available in my size, I would buy them. Afterall, that is surely a sign, no? Oh, and if they were a reasonable price. Although I do shamefully admit that that was my second condition of sale rather than the first!

So into the store I strolled and was fully prepared to be disappointed and yet there they were, in all their darling redness, just waiting for me to try them on, Cinderella style. And of course, in true Cinderella fashion, they were a perfect fit. But this story gets better. As I took the red shoes to the counter to pay for them, the sales assistant drew my attention to the fact that there was an equally darling clutch bag to match said shoes. Oooooh I LOVE handbags so I didn't need much convincing to buy the matching set. And I should mention that I do have an occasion to wear them to almost immediately. (Should I admit here that I also bought them in black or should I just leave it at the red?)

Now, given that these were sale items, my lovely husband was not too purturbed about my purchases but he did mutter something along the lines of "what is it with you women with shoes and handbags?" I have given this some idle thought and decided that the attraction is simple; while our clothing size may change with age, and pregnancy and various fad diets, (and we do spend a lot of time worrying over this) we don't have to worry about our size or figure when purchasing shoes and bags. There may also be another reason, which the sign below that I came across on Pinterest expresses perfectly .....

The decluttering bug

Oh, how much I can do without!

I have just spent the past 3 weeks living in our caravan with only the basics. Half a dozen kitchen utensils,  a small toiletry bag with bathroom and make-up supplies, one bag of clothes for each family member and  a few toys and games for each of the girls. And do you know what? I didn't miss a thing that I had left at home. Life is simple when you are away on holidays ... there are fewer choices and it works just fine.

Then I came home to our housefull of STUFF! It didn't help that we left a day or so after Christmas and the influx of new items that brings to our family of 6. (Nor the birthday gifts of not one but two of our precious girls owing to a lack of strategic family planning on mine and David's part ... really, a December and a January baby? Why wasn't I thinking June or July where major gift giving occasions would be spaced more evenly through the year? Search me.)

I get the decluttering bug everytime we get home from our summer holidays. I think it is something to do with the New Year / fresh start thing I mentioned yesterday. Nothing is safe - wardrobes, drawers, toy cupboards, art supplies - it all gets cleaned out. One of my resolutions this year is that if I don't love it or use it regularly .... out it goes! I am trying to teach this to the girls too, at least 2 of whom are absolute packrats. We don't need to keep every piece of paper they have ever drawn on or every McDonald's Happy Meal toy. We have had significant success today. I will share the photos soon.

Hopefully by the time they return to school in 10 days or so, we will have tackled most rooms and hot spots for clutter. Then we can get on with the fun stuff ..... cooking, crafting and having fun together (and hopefully a little relaxing for mum too!) Wish me luck.

Happy New Year!

I'm back after a lovely summer break with my family. I hope that you all were able to enjoy some time of relaxation in preparation for what will surely be another busy year.

And on that note, Happy New Year! Oh how I love the start of the new year. I honestly love everything about it - goal setting, resolutions, a fresh start. My focus for 2012 is going to be largely close to home and close to my heart - my family. I want to do what I usually do but do it better; to be a better wife, mother, cook better meals and be a better manager of our home. I am going to try not to take on too many outside or random projects (I am not very good at saying 'no').

I have spent most of the summer break with my trusty notebook and planner by my side jotting down ideas as they come to me. This year will see my gorgeous Bec start Prep at school so I will be down to just one of my girls with me at home (and no kinder - hooray! My girls love kinder but I spend a lot of time in the car running backwards and forwards so I am looking forward to dropping them all off in the one location each morning and picking them all up from the same place each afternoon.) I am hoping that this will help me to be more organised and squeeze more from each day.

The start of the new year also sees me fly into organisational mode like a tornado!! We are busy sorting out desks and homework centres, cleaning out cupboards and of course I have a few projects for my long-suffering hubby to build for me too (more about those in coming days).

So, what are your plans for 2012? What are you planning to accomplish this year?