Category Archives: Organization

Limited Closet Space

I love heritage homes. The character and custom look of an older home is almost impossible to capture in the newer homes that being built today. The amount of oak and natural woodwork simply can not be afforded by the average home owner. There are so many wonderful aspects of owning an older home, but with the character and beauty come many obstacles as well. Our home was built in 1921 and is approximately 2300 square feet. Our basement is not yet finished and although we still have ample living space, it seems as though adequate storage is a constant battle. Both of the upstairs bedrooms were remodelled at sometime prior to us purchasing our home and they both have the luxury of walk-in closets. However, the rest of the house is limited in closet space and I am always thinking of creative ways to use our space more efficiently. Such was the case with my 2012 closet make over. Tim works shift work and I have always found it more convenient to use the closet in the spare room, so that I can try to avoid going in and out of our bedroom while he is sleeping.

Spare Bedroom Closet:

Below is the spare room closet which I use in addition to one of the small closets in the master bedroom (for dresses).  The closet  is 33″ wide, 9’6″ tall and quite deep at 33″.  The space was being used really poorly, so I decided to embark on my first “build” project without the help of my husband! The original closet had one bar going across the closet at about 70″ or so with one shelf sitting on top.  All the rest was empty, unused space (other than the pile of junk I had piled up on the floor under the hanging clothes.)  Too bad I forgot to take the true “before” picture.  It was like one of those closets from a sitcom or cartoon in which the contents of the closet falls out every time you open the door!  Anyways,  I researched closet make overs and had an idea of what I wanted to do, but had to work up the courage to get started.  I am a project queen, but my husband is always asking how and why “my projects” always become “his projects”. I was so fed up with relying on him to make the cuts and use the wall plugs, etc, that I decided that I would learn to do these things myself.  What better place to start than a closet, where all of my mistakes and  slip-ups can be hidden behind closed doors.  I must admit that there was some frustration along the way and my husband notes that he has never heard of it taking so long to mount a few boards, but I literally had to learn everything.  I had used many tools before, but my husband would always get the drill bit I needed, find the proper screws, use the wall plugs if needed, etc.  I was determined to complete this project without him and at a minimal expense.

First Step:

http://www.cindyroy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_6263.jpg

Clean out the closet.

Getting Started:

  • I had to remove the single bar as the height would not work with my new plan.
  • I had to patch, prime and paint the closet. It was in pretty rough shape and had probably not been painting in decades. I kept it white, but the fresh paint made it look a hundred times better!
  • I then installed “cleats” (I actually know what those are now!!) to support the three shelves and the double hanging bars.
  • My husband was going to help set me up to use the table saw for the shelves,  but he was busy and I was on a mission, so I just measured them out and used the electric jigsaw to cut them.  They may not be perfect, but they seem fine to me – and I did the cuts all by myself!!  Besides, at that height, who will ever see them?
  • I also wanted to incorporate vertical storage up the front sides of the closet to make use of the empty space there.  Old closets are often very deep and there ends up being “dead” space at either the front or back that is often rendered useless. I figured out a way to make this space work for me. I purchased pegboard at the Re-store for $5 and cut, primed and painted it white to blend in with the rest of the closet. I had never used pegboard before and fortunately I was smart enough to figure out that it couldn’t sit flush against the wall or you wouldn’t be able to insert the pegs into the board. I used scrap wood to build a simple wooden frame on the back. (I even mitred the corners.) I then screwed the peg board securely to the wall with long screws, through the wood frame. This provided about a 1/2 to 3/4″ gap between the wall and the back of the peg board, so that the pegs would insert properly.
  • I went to the dollar store and purchased several little nylon fabric covered bins (or some kind of fabric similar to nylon). They had cute little handles at the ends and you could tell they were constructed from heavy cardboard (beneath the fabric). I used my We R Memories Hole Punch/Eyelet Setter to punch two holes in the backside of each basket and then set eyelets around the rims to avoid damaging the baskets with the pegs.  The eyelets also gave the basket a nice “finished” look.We R Memories Punch and Eyelet Setter
  • I then “stacked” these vertically along the front of the closet.
The fabric tubs line both sides of the finished closet.
You can see the eyelet I installed in the back of the basket.
  • I also wanted to use the inside of the door to maximize the space.  One of the things I wanted to include was jewellery storage of some kind.  I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to use, but knew I hit the jackpot when I came across an old wooden spoon rack at the thrift store  for $2.50.   I simply painted it and drape my necklaces over the little rungs originally intended for spoons. It ended up being the most exciting part of the make-over!
  • BEFORE: Old Spoon Rack
    An old wooden spoon rack is now a necklace holder.
  • I added some additional pegs for bracelets and an antique cheese grater serves as storage for my earrings.
verticle peg-board storage

I purchased this antique cheese grater for $3 at The Old House Revival Company (one of my favourite stores) and repurposed it for earring storage.

  • I followed Anna White’s tutorial for making a simple book shelf from a pallet. I love pallet projects as you can generally pick these up for free. I made a few of these and use them for vertical shoe storage. They only hold a few pairs, but take up much less floor space. I made the cuts following her simple instructions and just stained the pallet shelf for a nice finished look.
  • The three shelves above the two hanging bars are quite high and very accessible without a stool. I can reach the bottom shelf, but the other two are too high for me. I use these shelves for off-season shoes and purses. (And no this is not an optical illusion, this closet really is this high.)high shelves
  • I just added my final addition to the closet last weekend. I was keeping my scarves in one of my black baskets, but really wanted to hang them instead. I installed an old towel bar that was being stored in the basement and slid on some old curtain rings that have little clips on the bottom. My scarves now hang beautifully and don’t get creased.

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I have to tell you, this closet is jam-packed! The “new” closet offers double the hanging space, triple the shelf storage, the little baskets hold my socks, underwear, workout gear, and tank tops. In addition, I managed to accommodate more efficient shoe storage, jewellery organization and most recently a great place to hang my scarves. I loved this project not only because the result was great, but because it truly was my very own build. If you look closely there are a few “boo-boo’s”, but you really have to seek them out to find them.  Happy organizing!

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Life Hacks I Love: #1 Gift Wrap Storage

It seems as though we are constantly being bombarded with new terms and jargon. I often find it hard to follow my own kids’ conversations as some of the words they use are completely foreign to me.  One of the latest terms that is circulating on the internet is “life hacks”.

What is a “life hack”?

life hack

I often browse sites that share “life hacks”, as I am always on the lookout for new and creative ways to do life in a more efficient way. Here is one that I found, tried and modified to better suit my needs.

Gift Wrap Storage

I saw this great idea for gift wrap storage on Pinterest. This hack was both easy and cheap, but I wasn’t totally impressed with it when I tried it out. The concept is simple. Cut a toilet paper roll lengthwise and slide the cardboard over the gift wrap roll to keep it secure. Unfortunately, it takes very little for the cardboard toilet paper roll to become stretched and not have enough “spring” to hold the paper in place.

toilet paper roll

This gift wrap roll is fat, so it works okay, but I can tell that with only a few uses, it would be stretched out of shape and no longer stay in place.

I was really disappointed as I thought this was a great idea. So, I came up with an easy fix. All you need are regular brads and tiny hair elastics which can be bought at the dollar store. A bag of 100 is $1. (Lets hope you don’t need all 100 for gift wrap or you may have more serious problems than how to store it).

Punch 2 holes in the toilet paper roll, stick a brad in each and stretch the elastic across to hold it securely. The great thing about this is that you can modify it by cutting out a section of the roll to make it smaller to fit around those skinny rolls of paper as well. (Otherwise, the standard size roll actually overlaps and slides right off of it). It literally takes seconds to make these and they work really well.

Cut a slit down the toilet paper roll.
Tiny hair elastic, brads and toilet paper roll.
Use the elastic to secure the toilet paper roll.

Now, if you are like my husband you might be saying….”that is supposed to be better than a regular elastic?”  Check out this spoof video on some of the life hacks that are circulating on the web.  Funny.

Often times, some of the “life hacks” seem like they are way more work than they are really worth, but I like this one because I find that tape damages the paper and an elastic often ends up cutting the paper.  Of course, if you make several of them, you can re-use them over and over again.

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Children’s Art Portfolio

Capture the Memories

Both of my kids loved to draw and paint when they were small and I had a hard time tossing the hundreds of projects they made.  When Eden was small, I thought it would be best to start a little “portfolio” to track her developing skills as an “artist” and her beginning writing skills.  This allowed me to pick some of the best samples of her work and let go of the realms of other art projects without feeling guilty. Of course, I have done the same thing for Shay.

I titled the pieces when applicable and tried to date their work as they did it.  I used an inexpensive 12″ X 12″ scrapbooking album.  The cover of the books are canvas, but covered with a clear protective layer, so I was able to slide in my own title page for their art portfolios.  The kids made handprints and I incorporated them into the title page on the cover. The books are post-bound albums and allow for expansion of the book and page additions. The layouts are very simple with just a hint of embellishment to bring the art piece to life. I used black pages for both books, as the art shows up so well against the black.

Art Portfolio Covers

Art Portfolio Covers

What I really love is how the collections also reflect their interests and the stages that the kids went through.  As they have gotten older, they spend much less time independently drawing and painting.  When they do, they have more stamina and will often produce one or two pieces rather than the 20 that might have been produced in one sitting when they were smaller.  I have also added some of their school art projects as well. I am a little behind and have a stack of papers to go through and add to their art portfolios, but I have purposely kept the embellishments to a minimum and the layouts simple, so I can usually do an entire year for both kids in one day.  Maybe updating the books will be a Christmas holiday project??

Art Portfolio Gallery

Here is a gallery of snapshots from their art portfolios.  I just took a few random shots to give you an idea of how to go about making your own. I have a wavy cutting tool from Creative Memories and use that a lot to dress up a page with very little effort.  Another favourite embellishing tool is coloured tape.  I can add it to a plain page and give it a lift without spending much time on a layout.  I have arranged their books in chronological order to reflect their growth and development.  You can also see how some pictures were cut out and mounted on cardstock to help them standout on a page.  The key to keeping this manageable is keeping it very simple. I can literally do a layout in about 15 minutes (or less if I am “0n a roll”).  The simple design of the pages means you can rattle off many layouts at one time. The other key to success, is filing and dating the work, so that it can easily be sorted when you go to work on it.  When the kids were younger, I had to commit time about 3 to 4 times per year because of the amount they produced and how much their skills changed in a very short period of time.  Now, I set-out approximately one day per year to update their art portfolios and find that the amount of work is still manageable. Click the images to enlarge. Again, each single page is 12″ X 12″ in size, so a double page layout is 24″ across.

I also wanted to include samples of their first attempts at writing independently. This is Shay’s dolphin picure and writing, made a few months before his fourth birthday.
Eden went through a stage in which she made a small sketch in the middle of a piece of photopcopy paper. I decided to cut them out into circular shapes and mount them. This allowed me to display several in one layout.
Edens’ book is on top and Shay’s is on the bottom. You can see that he was hooked on Star Wars during this time period. He would make hundred’s of paper characters and play for hours!
Again, Eden’s book is on the top and Shay’s is on the bottom. The large sun is part of the layout.
Shay’s pirate layout
You can see the year and her age on this layout. She is a January birthday, so it makes sense to include both.
This is an example of how coloured tape can be used to dress up a page with little effort.

You will also notice that I have labelled some of the items in the pictures and have even made short “journal” entries where applicable. In some cases, I wanted to explain a situation, phase or particular interest at that given time.  Journaling helps to capture the entire memory.

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Garage Selling 101

garage saleI think I may be deemed officially crazy, but in September,my busiest month of the entire year, I managed to pull-off two garage sales.  A girlfriend and I decided to combine our “seconds” and have a garage sale on September long weekend.  We held the sale at her mother in-laws and it proved to be a great location.  Our first sale did more than $500 and we were about a 65/35 split of the profits.  We held the second sale this weekend, at our house and sold around $280 worth of stuff ~ not bad considering it was left-overs from the first sale.  We ended the day by loading up the van and making a special delivery to a local thrift store.  It feels so great to have purged crates of what I deemed to be junk and come out about $500 richer. Not bad.  Many would say that garage sales are not worth the effort, but here is what I have learned.

Garage Sale Planning:

  • Avoid hot summer days when people are spending the day at the beach.  If you opt for a summer sale, try a Thursday or Friday evening.  I find spring and fall are generally better for garage sales.
  • Consider your main objective – What is it you are seeking to do?  Get rid of junk or recoup some of the money you originally put out for the item?  If you are trying to sell better quality items, Kijiji might be a better option than a garage sale.  People basically come expecting to pay bottom dollar.  If your objective is to have the stuff gone, price to sell or post a sign saying make an offer.  I generally have a few items that I am pretty firm on the price, but many I will let go for far less, just to see them gone.
  • Plan ahead:  I suggest starting a few Rubbermaid tubs that you constantly use for garage sale items.  As clothes are out grown or items are no longer needed/used:  wash them, price them and store them.  If you do this as you go along, putting on a sale is really very easy.  The hardest part of a sale is the cleaning and purging that is required to gather the stuff you want to sell. If you stay on top of this and continually de-clutter, you never have that huge job of going through all of your junk. I remove clothes that are too small for my kids from the clean laundry almost every week and simply transfer them to my “too small tub”.  This can work for immediate donation or for a future garage sale.
  • Decide if you want to get your kids involved or not.  Our kids have sold their own toys, made crafts to sell and have also had cookie and lemonade stands.  Our daughter made $25 at the last sale.  This is a great way to teach them how to manage money and/or how to raise money for a great cause, if they are so inclined.

Garage Sale Tips:

  1. Location is everything.  Both of our sales were in the same general area of the city, but with completely different patrons. The first sale had clothing selling by the bag full.  I am sure my friend made a few hundred on clothes alone.  Clothes are not a big seller in my neighborhood, so consider your clients.
  2. Advertizing on free sites like Kijiji seems to help, as well as proper signage put up a few days in advance.  I often keep the same signs and re-use them from year to year.  This is especially true if you stick to the same times and don’t post the date, but the DAY(s) only.  I like to make signs that stand-out and look different from the others on the boulevard.  Also, make sure the printing is clear and large enough to be seen from a distance.  Less print is better.
  3. Timing: For the first sale, we did a Friday and Saturday and actually did quite well on the Friday evening despite the fact we were only open 3 hours.  We also had some of our Friday customers return on Saturday.  Fridays are definitely worth considering.
  4. Float: I recommend a float of approximately $250 (tens, fives, toonies, loonies and quarters).
  5. Set-Up:  We had a few fold-up tables, but also used make shift tables by setting planks across saw horses, crates and even 5 gallon pails.  We also used large tubs and lined them end to end with items displayed on top. You really want to get the items out of the boxes and more visible.
  6. Lunch/water:  It is a great idea to consider your lunch the night before, and either make a bag lunch or at least have a plan.  If someone else is around to make lunch or a snack, it is not so bad, but if you’re on your own be prepared with water and food to get you through the day.

Summary

If you are well prepared and organized, the work is really minimal.  It took us about an hour to set-up and an hour to clean-up today.  All of the items were already in tubs and priced from our last sale, so it was really a matter of setting up the tables and displaying the items.  We were open from 8 to 4, so we got a good dose of vitamin D.  For me, I don’t mind having a sale every year or two, but do not like to keep much of what is left-over. Sometimes, I will pass items along to someone I know or donate to a special cause, while other times I just load it up and donate it all.  Once the clutter is out of my house, I do not want it back in.  To me the sale is pretty much the end of the line for most items.  Garage Sales are not for everyone, but for me I really don’t mind them.  The best advise I can give is to plan ahead and try to hook-up with a friend or an entire street/neighborhood.  It becomes more of a social event when you’re not alone, and can certainly “beef-up” your traffic when there are mulitple families participating.  I actually enjoyed both of the sales and was thankful for the opportunity to visit with a friend that I don’t see nearly enough of!

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Family Centre Memo Board

This simple DIY memo board was the final step in our Family Centre project.

Memo Board

For this project, I used one 12″ X 12″ scrapbooking frame from the craft store and more of the coordinating paper that I had used for the previous projects in our Family Centre: FAMILY sign, Weekly Calendar and the Chore System.  I used the paper to create “blocks” for the different sections on the board.  It is an easy way to keep track of important things and communicate between family members when we are all going in different directions.  I hand printed the titles and double mounted them to create some dimension.  I added a little embellishment to the middle just to dress it up a bit.  To use the board, you use a dry erase marker on the glass and simply wipe clean with a cloth or tissue.

memo board

Completed Family Centre

family centre

 

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September Preparations: Many Hands Make Light Work

Ha! Ha! Just kidding. We all share the load around here (or at least strive to).

Last summer, I searched the net to try to figure out a system for having the kids do chores around the house.  There are many great systems and ideas, but it’s important that you find something that will work for your family.  In my case, I sometimes find that the trouble with a system is actually me, not the kids.  When jumping into anything new, you truly have to commit.  I am often a great starter, but am not always committed entirely to the process and thus over time, it fails.  So, when considering a chore system, I wanted it to be manageable for the whole family, so that it would with stand the test of time.  I am trying very hard to be “a little, a lot person” instead of “a lot, a little person”. You know what I mean… “do little things” and make small changes, but make a big, long-term commitment instead of trying to do things in such a big way that you end up losing momentum and feeling like a failure.

Paying Allowance and Chores:

Originally, we planned to set up bank accounts for each of the children and then arrange to have a direct deposit come from our account to each of their accounts on a weekly basis.  My thinking was that this would avoid the issue of not having cash on hand to pay the kids on allowance day.  In the end, we never got our act together and decided that cash was preferable, so that we could teach them money management as well.

The whole issue of allowance is one we have gone back and forth on.  There are  many experts on the subject, all with varying opinions – to pay or not to pay – that is the question! We decided that we like the idea of the kids learning to manage their own money and to begin the process of tithing 10%, investing 10%, saving 10% and using the other 70% as they wish (within our family guidelines, of course).  This way, they will learn the value of a dollar and have the opportunity to learn about both good and bad choices. We have a little corner store at the end of our street and the neighbourhood kids love to walk down for treats.  I sometimes find it difficult to keep track of how often they go, especially during the summer.  This way, they can go if they have money left and will have to pass if they are “tapped-out”.  In the past, I would often say “no” when they asked to go, as I am always trying to avoid over indulging and spoiling our children.  As a result, I am always trying to keep the balance between being fair (and letting them get a treat) versus being a good parent and not spoiling them.  Thus, we decided to give them a little more freedom to make their own choices and learn from their own mistakes. They will receive 50 cents per year or an amount equivalent to half their age.  So, our 11 year old gets $5.50 per week and our 9 year old gets $4.50.  Not a huge amount, but enough to begin to make some of their own choices.  We don’t really pay our kids their allowance based on doing chores, but there is an expectations that they must pull their weight as a member of our family.

Our Chore System

I used a combination of ideas from several sources and this is what I came up with.

Chore Chart

Using a dollar store cookie sheet, I covered the surface with some scrapbooking paper, typed out a list of daily chores as well as a weekly schedule for each child and printed it out on cardstock.  I bought wooden letters to represent the kid’s initials and covered them with coordinating patterned paper.  I then used large glass beads to create magnets for both the dishwasher and the table.  The EMPTY/CLEAN and SET/CLEAR magnets switch each week.  So, in addition to the kids regular daily routine (make bed, brush teeth, clean sink, empty backpack, do homework/reading, empty “crap basket” from the stairs), they are also responsible for putting away their clean laundry, dishwasher duty and either setting or clearing the table. Our Garbage and Recycling are picked up on Wednesdays, and the kids are also responsible for taking both out throughout the week when needed as well as moving the bins out on Tuesday evening, so they are ready for Wednesday pick-up.

Chore Sticks

On Saturday mornings, the kids do their regular daily chores, but instead of making their bed, they strip the sheets/pillow cases for washing and I help them make their bed with clean bedding.  They are also required to “pick a chore“.  I got the idea from  whateverdeedeewants.com, but modified the chores to meet our family’s needs.  We started with just one extra chore per week, but the kids have been told that there are times when they will be asked to pick 2 or 3.  They still have an opportunity to “put a chore back” or “relax” and be chore free, if they pick a lucky stick.

Chore Sticks

I needed a place to keep the chore sticks, so I upcycled this creepy little clown box that I bought for a quarter at a garage sale specifically for this purpose.  

Ugly Clown box

I cut down the box to square it off and used the paper that coordinated with the rest of my family center (Weekly Calendar and Magnetic Chore Tray) to make a cute little holder for our Chore Sticks.

Chore Stick holder

Upcycled clown box, turned into a cute little wooden holder for our chore sticks.

I used some vintage clip art and printed little “icons” for both the dishwasher and table jobs. These were made from dollar store jumbo glass beads and craft magnets. They stick to the magnetic chore chart.
IMG_6892

We hung the chore system up below our Weekly Family Schedule.

IMG_6897

We used the above system all of last year and it worked well. I did find that Saturday chores were sometimes difficult to stay on top of because of the various activities that we are always running to. I have not made any changes to the system yet, but our kids are at the age where they are asking how they might be able to earn some extra money. I have a few ideas swarming around in my head, so I will keep you posted if I incorporate some of the ideas I am thinking about.

Remember the famous quote by John Heywood:

Many hands make light work.

I must admit, I sometimes find “chores” a hassle. I could empty the dishwasher in 2 minutes, instead of waiting the 20 until my daughter is out of the shower (or whatever). The garbage is bagged and ready to go, why not just slip it out on my own?  Remember…chores are not just about helping out, they are about teaching responsibility and learning valuable life skills that a future spouse will really appreciate.  I don’t demand that their beds are made perfectly or that the everything is done exactly the way I would do it, but as they grow and mature, I give them little tips that can help them become more effective and efficient with the tasks they do.   Good luck!

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September Preparations: Weekly Calendar

One week to go and a long list of “to do’s” in the days ahead.  I will continue to put the finishing touches on our 6 week menu plan that was mentioned in yesterday’s post, but today it is time to update our September calendar and get back to using our weekly calendar.  For us, late August is not only time for back to school shopping,  but it also involves fall registration for the kid’s activities.  This week, we will register the kids for dance, swimming and hockey.  Piano and Girl Guide registrations were done in the spring, so the times for those have already been set.  The registration process not only involves paying the fees and filling out the forms, but also examining the “family” schedule as a whole to see how we can juggle everyone’s individual schedules.  Like other busy families, this includes quite the balancing act to fit in both of our regular work schedules plus additional meetings and work commitments as well as all of the other activities that we are involved in.  For September, we are looking at juggling the following:

  • Tim’s work schedule and meetings as well as compulsory over-time shifts
  • my work schedule and extra meetings/school events like “Meet the Teacher” evening, Thursday night volleyball, volunteering at church
  • Shay ~ soccer (extended play from the spring) and hockey try-outs (swimming starts in October)
  • Eden ~ Girl Guides, dance and piano (swimming starts in October)
  • Eden and I ~ “Mother’s and Daughter’s in Touch” program
  • Additional events

General Organization and Planning

We purchase one of those large family calendars that have ample space for writing.  In late August, once registrations have been completed, I sit down and fill-out the calendar as far in advance as possible.  Generally, I will complete as much of the calendar as possible leading up to the end of December.  I go through the calendar and add in all of the kid’s activities, my activities/meetings as well as Tim’s.  Once the monthly calendar has been filled with those commitments that are not flexible, it is much easier to make decisions as to what other things we can commit to and when will work.  I am a very visual person and need everything organized and neat in order for it to make sense to me (hence the colour coded system in my classroom).  We keep our main calendar inside our basement door which is located in the kitchen.  It is very accessible, but hidden so it is not out in the open and messy looking.  You can see that the whole family writes on our main calendar.  It always becomes very cluttered and full of scribbles as schedules change and adjustments are made.  Here is an example of our April calendar.  Not one of our busiest months,  but still lots to keep track of.

monthly calendar

Weekly Calendar

Being a very visual person, I like to have a less cluttered version of the monthly calendar that gives us a “week at glance” instead of the whole calendar.  Every Sunday, I transfer all of the items from our monthly calendar onto our weekly calendar that is posted on the wall in our kitchen.  Like the menu board, the weekly calendar helps to give me an overall look at the week ahead and plan accordingly.  It helps my husband and I figure out who needs to be where and which one of us needs to be the “taxi” driver.  Here is our DIY weekly calendar.  I originally got the idea from Pinterest (not surprisingly) and then made my own version of their weekly calendar.  Here is the link to the original source for the idea.

DIY weekly calendar

Weekly Calendar Tutorial

This is an easy DIY project and the final look is “clean” and visually appealing.

  1. Purchase a multi-picture frame similar to mine.  I think I bought this one at Wal-Mart for around $15.  You need to have at least 7 frames to accommodate the entire week. I chose 8, but I have seen them done with more frames.  The additional frames can be used for titles (like mine), message boards or just embellished to look pretty.
  2. Purchase coordinating paper that will fit with the decor of the space where you will be mounting the finished calendar.
  3. Purchase lettering or use your Cricut to cut-out the letters you need (that’s what I did).  I chose to use a the initial letter only, to represent each day of the week.  You may want to use smaller letters and spell the whole day.  For the title, “THIS WEEK”, I used teal and black.  I cut the teal letters on my Cricut, but changed the setting to shadow for the black letters, to make them slightly bigger.
  4. Assemble your frame with your new calendar pages.
  5. Use a dry erase marker to print the date (top right corner) and add in your schedule for the week directly on the glass.  Use a kleenex, cloth or eraser to erase the board every Sunday and start all over again.

DIY weekly calendar

 

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September Preparations: Menu Board

September is crazy busy at our house and I know that I need to plan ahead in order to remain sane.  My job is always demanding, but September is generally off the charts in terms of work load. I tend to put in very long hours and bring quite a bit of work home with me as well, so I always need to try to get life at home organized in preparation for the pending mayhem that will follow in the weeks ahead.  I have found that menu planning really helps.

Menu Planning:

I must say, that for me menu planning helps to keep me organized and takes the stress out of deciding what we should have.  Often at the end of a long day, it is not so much the making of dinner, but rather making the decision about what to have.  With the menu, I know what groceries need to be bought and what needs to be taken out of the freezer the night before.  Sometimes I will even do a few make-ahead meals and freeze them for those evenings when we are on the run to activities and such.  Some simple make-aheads are cooked ground beef (used for tacos, soup, spaghetti sauce, etc).  I sometimes will make double batches when cooking the week before school starts and during the school year. By doubling things up, I always have leftovers to freeze for future meals.  I have to admit we don’t always stick completely to the plan, but it provides a great frame-work for most of the meals throughout the month.  We don’t use a monthly plan every month, but always in our busiest months of the year (September, December and June).  I have used several variations.

September Menu

2012 September Menu

 

When setting up a menu, I try to consider a few things:  our favourites, variety and a good balance of healthy choices.  (I am still following The Plan and have not done much food testing this summer, so I am planning family meals, but may not always be eating the same meal as the rest of the family.)  This year, I decided to make up a menu with no dates, but rather planned by week #’s. I plan to use the calendar grid and make 6 full week plans that we will work through (and tweak as we go). This way, we can just keep following the weekly rotation and then begin again when we’ve gone through all of the weeks.  I have a weekly menu board in my kitchen that I update every Sunday and follow throughout the week.

I am still tweaking the new 6 week menu plan, but it will be a combination of some of our meals from previous years as well as a few new favourites.  I plan to have “grilled chicken breast with salad” every Thursday.  This is a really clean, healthy meal.  I plan to place it on Thursdays because Friday is a bit of a fun food day at our house.  When we have salad and chicken breast, we use different variations of chicken (ie different sauces, BBQ, oven baked, etc.).  We also change-up the salads to add variety.  I also usually cook a pot of homemade soup on Sundays (especially when the weather gets colder).  I love having homemade soup on hand for lunches throughout the week.  The other thing that the menu does not take into account is left-overs.  I sometimes find that we will skip the pre-planned meal and just clean-up the left-overs in the fridge.

DIY Chalkboard Menu Board

In a previous house, I had two long narrow pieces of sheet metal cut for the inside two of my cupboard doors.  I loved this as it got all of our little notes and business cards off the fridge door and hidden inside the cupboard.  Unfortunately, the style of our new kitchen cupboards would not support the magnetic boards.  I decided to use one of them for a chalkboard/magnetic menu board in my kitchen.  I thought that the magnetic feature would be great, but in hindsite, we never use magnets on it, so it is a waste of a good piece of metal.  I wish I would have used wood and saved the metal for another use.  Having said that, the menu board itself is well used and works well.

To make this, I primed the metal and then gave it 4 coats of my homemade chalkboard paint.  You must let it dry completely and give it a very very light sand between coats.  After the final coat, let it cure for a full day or more.  In the mean time, I used my Cricut to cut out the lettering for the board out of white vinyl.  It is basically peel and stick vinyl, so easy to do if you have a Cricut machine.  If not, you could purchase letter stickers from the craft store.  I adhered the stickers to the board BEFORE priming the surface for using chalk.  This helped to ensure better adhesion of the stickers.  I then primed the surface using the side of a piece of chalk and then erased it completely.  I chose to mount my menu on the wall right beside my stove.  I really like it and it allows me to make modifications to the monthly menu for the coming week.  For example, if we are going to be out for dinner one night, our menu would reflect this.  Here is the weekly menu board.

Menu Board

 

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