Rx for Organization

My daughter has a chronic cough which hits at least once a year and lasts, well…a chronically long time! We’ve been through a drawer full of drugs and finally figured out that 20 days of a high powered antibiotic is about all that will knock it out. Remembering to take meds every day for 20 days (during the structure-less summer, no less) is a challenge for an 8 year old…let alone her organizer mom! So I came up with a system to help us remember:

Low tech: I created a simple spreadsheet that I keep on the fridge. It lists the date and the day that we’re on for her Rx. It also reminds me when the current meds have expired and when it’s time to mix up a new batch. We check off each day so she can see that she’s one day closer to feeling better.

High tech: I set an alarm on my cell phone every day as a backup reminder. If she’s forgotten to take her meds, this will remind us to take them. If we’re out and about having fun, I can leave a voice mail message at home reminding her to take them when we get back.

I hope you and your family are all healthy and happy and enjoying some fun in the sun!

Making Mealtime Work

If I had to pick the Neat Freak hill I’m willing to die on, it might just be mealtime at my house. I’m no gourmand, and if forced to identify my favorite hobbies, cooking may not enter the top 5. But I do feel strongly about creating a healthy meal for my family most nights and having us sit down and eat it together. Below, I’ll share with you my favorite tips for making meal time work. Follow along and you may just find that you save time and money and, as a bonus, eat some amazing home cooked meals with the people you love.

1. Plan. Well, okay, that may sound obvious. But I mean really plan. Sit down once a week with the people who consume food in your home and talk about the next 7 days. What events or activities impact mealtime? Late swim meet? Business meeting? Book club? Boss coming home for dinner? Snack mom for preschool? That’s the kind of planning I’m talking about. Factor all of these events in as you plan your meals and shopping. Then start to build your shopping list around your real life.

2. Map out the meals you plan to prepare at home. I like to spend my Sunday afternoons surrounded by my favorite recipes and cookbooks, a stack of sticky notes, and my calendar. I make decisions about what I want to cook (this can be really fun during farmer’s market season when amazing local food is readily available) and then build a shopping list. I get the family involved and ask the kids to weigh in and make decisions about a meal a week. In another year or so, I’ll be ready to let my kids do the cooking, too. After decisions are made, I write my meal plans in the calendar so there are no “what in the world are we having for dinner?” moments in our week.

3. Create a pre-printed grocery list. This is, in all honesty, my meal planning lifesaver. Save your shopping lists for a couple of weeks. Sit down at your computer and type in the items you purchase regularly. Divide them into categories such as Produce, Baked Goods, Canned Goods, Snacks, etc. If you want to get super neat-freaky, arrange them in the order they appear in your grocery store. Update your list as needed and keep a few copies handy in your kitchen. As you run out of things during the week, circle them on your list. Then, when you’re ready to have your planning session and shop, your list is good to go. Don’t want to start from scratch? Just Google “preprinted grocery list” and you’ll find a few good ones online.

4. Keep it simple. Have your family brainstorm their favorite 12 meals, stock up on the essentials and rotate those meals for a few months. Email friends with similarly aged children and ask what their family favorites are and swap recipes. No one expects gourmet food and total originality every night (at least, no one who eats at my table)!

5. When all else fails, it’s time to cheat. Consider a meal planning service such as Saving Dinner or Six o’ Clock Scramble. If you want to make meal planning a social event, gather up some friends and cook large batches of food you can freeze and share. And if the thought of going to the grocery store practically brings you to tears, check to see if your store offers a shopping service that allows you to create and manage your shopping list online, place an order and pick up your food curbside.

I find that when I’m in my meal planning groove, my family eats healthy, fresh foods; my kids get to experience different tastes and textures; we save money by actually eating what we buy; and I save time by making only one (or sometimes two) trips to the store each week. And the biggest bonus? We spend a little time around the table, talking about our day and breaking bread together. Bon appetit!

Neat Freaky Shoe Solutions

Here’s a little follow up to all of you entry-way Imelda Marcos out there.
1.    Sort the shoes that pile up by the door and ask family members to return infrequently worn shoes to their closets (e.g. if you still have snow shoes readily accessible and you live in the northern hemisphere, give them the boot!)
2.    Pair down (pun intended) the number of shoes your kids wear regularly. For summer, a pair of sneakers and pool shoes should suffice. If your child is currently playing a sport that requires special shoes, keep those handy, too.
3.    Corral the mud/water/mess with a boot tray from an organizational store such as this one from the Container Store.

4.    Think vertically! If you have a coat closet door near your entryway, consider hanging over-the-door shoe pockets on the inside of the door and have your kids put their shoes away in the lower pockets. Higher pockets are great for your shoes or sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses and keys.

5.    Consider keeping a plastic laundry basket (or two!) next to the door for kids to pile sports shoes in. Hose it out occasionally and quickly whisk it away if guests are on their way over.

6.    Other favorite Tools of the Trade:
•    Shoe cubbies are readily available at Target or WalMart and some can hold up to 24 pairs of shoes.

•    I have a huge crush on the Horizontal Shoe Rack from Design Within Reach. Quite pricey, but oh so awesome.

•    Feeling crafty? Make your own similar solution such as this Apartment Therapy reader.

•    Finally, Ikea’s TRONES shoe storage is attractive, handy and inexpensive for shoe storage in narrow spaces.

Do you have a favorite shoe solution? Share it on my blog in the comments section! Inquiring Imelda’s want to know what works for you!

Shoe solutions for the mudroom-less among us…

Makeshift Mudroom

A few weeks ago I posted on Facebook that I was working on my newsletter (it’s coming, it’s coming…I’m just easing in to summer and gettin’ my lazy on for a week or so!). I asked my friends if they had questions for the “Ask the Organizer” segment of my newsletter. I had no idea I was opening up such a huge can of worms, but man, did some friends have some questions and complaints about shoes (kids’ shoes, muddy shoes, stinky shoes, too many shoes, etc.)!

As promised, I’ll be answering these questions and sharing solutions in my upcoming Neat Freak News. For now, I thought I’d share my own shoe solution from the Neat Freak’s house.

First, let it be known, we do not have a mudroom. We don’t even have a garage, so when you walk in our house, you’re officially “in the house.” Shoes can easily pile up–especially since the first thing I utter when we walk in is “shoes off!” In order to keep them from piling up by the door, I had to create a solution that looks good and the kids could use with ease.

Shoe Solution

Peek inside and you’ll see that this armoire holds shoes the kids wear on a regular basis, jackets and coats for the kids, backpacks and bags. On the door we mounted pockets that hold glasses, phone chargers, keys, sunscreen, spare change, and a sock monkey (just because he’s cute). We also use the space at the bottom to store arts and craft supplies for the kids so they can get to them easily.

During the day, adult shoes get piled in here as well. In the evening, we’re responsible for returning our shoes to our closets. The kids keep extra shoes in their closets, but their most frequently worn shoes are usually in the armoire.

Not everyone has a hidden solution like this available. So look for my next newsletter to offer up additional ideas for taming your shoe collection. For now, cheers to summer…the season of bare feet!

Slow the Flow

Just a little something to turn way up on a Friday…Slow the Flow.

Happi Earth Day

My friend Rah just sent this link to me. Something sweet, cute and HAPPI for Earth Day!

To honor Earth Day, I took my little Neat Freak dude to the Museum of Life & Science in Durham and soaked up some science and sun. I hope you did something Earth friendly today…took a walk, enjoyed some gorgeous spring weather, took the bus or rode your bike, or just smelled some yummy flowers.

Hidden Treasures

Today I was trimming back some azalea bushes in our yard (*the* most beautiful blooms this year!), and I discovered a hidden treasure. Growing between two overgrown bushes was a lovely pink dogwood tree. It’s only about 4′ high but has several pink flowers on it…and I imagine if given some space and sunlight, it will have many more next year. We have loads of white dogwood trees in our yard, and don’t get me wrong, I love them (it’s the state flower of North Carolina, afterall), but I’ve always wanted a pink flowering dogwood. And there it was, hidden in our overgrown, desperate-for-a-trimmin’ azaleas.

Finding this hidden treasure got me thinking about clutter and how it can often hide hidden treasures in our homes (and sometimes there is actual treasure underneath all of that crap…like the $1500 check a client once found, or a lost-but-not-forgotten $5000 watch another client unearthed!). Sometimes clutter is hiding the stuff you really love, and sometimes it’s just hiding your “real” home…the home you desperately want to live in, the one that reflects the real “you.” So what are you waiting for? Go forth and unearth your treasure!

Check out my new website @ www.neat-freak.com. There’s treasure to be found there, too!

Listen up…

Check out the latest MojoMom podcast to hear an interview with the Neat Freak! Amy Tiemann and I speak about living simply, organization, time management and the economy. And for more along those lines, check out Oprah on Monday. She’s challenging a couple of families to live without certain things for 7 days (just 7 days…we made it six months and survived!).

If you’re going without something or simplifying in a specific way to weather the economic storm, let me know here in the comments section!