The Unorganised Housewife

This week I am going to be organised, (or so I have told myself). It is a Sunday afternoon and I have butterflies, as many Mothers do, about the week ahead. Sometimes it can feel like a fight to stay on top of the mess and I find myself being pulled in all directions. It's also unhelpful to have a 3 second memory like Dory from Finding Nemo and get distracted very easily. Yes, I am one of those people who write shopping lists and then leave them at home on the kitchen bench. Homeschooling, makes things even more complicated. How do teachers do prep when there's Pinterest to get lost in?

The few times I have prepared myself, the day or night before, the days have run so much smoother. Things get done, I can prioritise without getting too distracted and I have more realistic outcomes for the day. If I can just make a simple plan, I can achieve a lot and if i put things in the right order I think I can achieve a whole lot more. I used to giggle at the Organised Housewife blogs and websites wondering if I could ever be so fastidious, do these people really have kids???People like this probably giggle at people like me, who run around all day like a chicken with its head cut off...  now I find myself seeking help from these websites and I am thankful for people with a passion for home organisation. These things are important. Granted I may never have a spotless home for more than 5 minutes at a time, I may be able to accomplish a day in which I achieve everything I set out to do eg, feeding the kids and haven't been distracted by that dust in the window runner that I only just noticed and must drop everything I was doing (whatever that was) to scrub with a tooth brush.

I found these weekly organisers which I am going to use, which are perfect for me, not too complicated.

http://www.kidstodo.com.au/weekly-monthly-planners/

So this week this Unorganised Housewife is going to give being organised a shot. How about you? Do you use Weekly planners? Visit home organisation sites for tips?

Earth Day Activity - Miniature Garden

A potted miniature garden is such a fun, easy activity to do with young kids. We did this today to celebrate Earth Day. Our generous neighbour allowed us to grab some offcuts of succulents growing in her yard and we replanted them in a large round pot. The kids had so much fun decorating the garden with miniature trees and creating tiny stone pathways leading to large stone houses at the end. They placed small terra cotta frogs and mushrooms in the garden and enjoyed watering it when it was completed. This would be a great activity with any aged child and relatively simple to create, with little cleanup or preparation involved. An imaginative activity that could take you anywhere really...

Homeschooling in a Small House

Anyone who has been to my house knows that it is a small space. And while I love it's old charm and the closeness at times, it can be a real challenge to find work space and keep clutter down. This year we begun homeschooling our eldest daughter or taking her life learning to the next level might be a better definition. We needed to find a space for her to do work and store books. The living room is already full, I had to find another space for her. The laundry/hall was not being used and was always an area where random items I didn't want to think about where regularly stashed. It was pretty much wasted space. So the decision to transform this space into a study area made sense. It was not a big task to turn this area into a working space. We bought a filing cabinet and stored it where the washing machine goes, installed a shelf where the dryer would be and placed a board over the sink, most importantly, I disabled the tap. Poppy was so excited to use this space and she has been able to work with ease in our home without disruption. I have been really pleased with the space. I have been able to organise all the books and work and have been using this space myself to plan school work for coming weeks and work on my own projects and household tasks. With a good study lamp and a few art works mounted on the wall, i quite enjoy using this space. What was once a wasted space has now become the working hub in our home.

Friday love

Today I am grateful for...
*the beautiful weather, rain and warmth
*baking banana bread with my littlies
*new guitar strings
*dinner already cooked at 8:00am this morning (and not by me) and so he deserves a line of his own...
*Charlie
*vegies that are, to my surprise, growing in the backyard.
*happy, confident, creative kids