Happy October – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 

Happy October! We start practicing a new habit this week. We are going to spend a few minutes each day getting rid of our paper clutter. As homeschoolers, we have papers.We have lots of papers. Let’s purge some of these papers that we have been holding on to for years. If you are holding on to your children’s papers, go through them and only keep the special ones. You don’t have to keep every worksheet and drawing they have ever done. Share their artwork with friends and family members. Teach your children how to address and envelope and mail pictures to family members who do not live close to you.

Because October 1 fell on a Saturday, we are only going to spend Monday on our Zone 1 Mission, so you can decide which area needs decluttering or detail cleaning — the Front Porch, Entryway, or Dining Room. Then, we will move to Zone 2 – The Kitchen for the rest of the week.

If you are struggling with your routines, work on one at a time. Start with your evening routine this week. That routine sets you up for a great start to the next morning. It may sound strange to ask homeschoolers to lay out their clothes, but it really does help. It helps you and your children to see the visual reminder to get dressed and not spend the rest of the day in your pajamas.

You can have a clean home and homeschool, too. Have a wonderful day!
Zone Missions: Front Porch, Entryway, Dining Room, and the Kitchen
Monday – Sweep the Front Porch and Declutter (or another area in Zone 1)

Tuesday – Declutter Kitchen Counters and Hot Spots
Wednesday – Wipe Kitchen Counters and Cabinet Doors

Thursday – Clean out the Refrigerator

Friday – Wipe down the Microwave and Stove Top

Menu Plan for Monday – Grilled Hamburgers and Side Salad (buns for the boys, and lettuce bun for mom)

Weekly Home Blessing – Wash the Sheets

 

Daily Routines:

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School: Talk to your children about the Electoral College and how our votes matter in


Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
Family Fun: Take a nature walk today.
Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.) 
  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Decorate for Fall – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 

Happy Friday! Let’s spend a few minutes decorating for fall in our homes or even outside. You have worked on your zone missions this month, and it is almost time for a new month. Celebrate the things you accomplished. Don’t beat yourself up about anything you did not do. Tomorrow is a new day and a new month. You have a fresh start. So decorate a bit and enjoy the beauty in the change of seasons. What do you have planned this weekend for Family Fun Day? We are going bowling. Enjoy your family!

Have a great week-end!
If you have any questions or tips, please email me. I enjoy hearing from my readers.
Zone Mission: Decorate for fall.

Weekly Home Blessing: Take out the trash, Sweep, and Mop.

 
Menu Mission: Rotisserie Chicken and a salad.

 

Routines:

 

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

  • Round up this week’s paper. File what needs to be file. Purge what needs to go away. Check your lesson plans for next week.
 Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
  • 15 minute of Loving Movement

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at your launch pad
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

 

 

From the Top Down – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Today we are going to dust from the top of the living down to the floor. I use my FlyLady Multi-wand for this. It has a bendable dusting side, and the handle extends. I can use it to dust the top and sides of my ceiling fan at the same time, and then I can straighten it and dust more. I start high and work my way down when I dust with this tool.

I love getting questions from readers, and I was recently asked how I fit in my desk time, grocery shopping time, and errands into my week. So I thought I would share a bit about my weekly schedule with you today. We do 5 days’ worth of homeschooling in 4 days of the week for the most part. On Friday, we practice life skills and finish up any book work from the week that we might not have finished. For the most part Friday mornings are spent doing the floors, cleaning out the fridge, and taking off the trash and any other home blessing that needs to be done. The older boys wash their laundry and bedding. I have desk time and pay bills and write up a menu plan for the next week. Then I check the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to help me know what I have and what I need to put on the grocery list. After lunch, I head off to grocery shop. My husband works a half day on Fridays, so the boys have a choice of staying home or going shopping with me. Sometimes, they rotate who goes with me, and sometimes all of them go with me. Occasionally, they all stay home. While I am out grocery shopping, I will do some errands. Most of the time, I fill up with gas while I am out and clean out my car. If the weather is nice, I will get the van washed. As you can see, I pack a lot into my Fridays. I don’t schedule too many appointments or do many errands during the week unless necessary. That way, we are able to get all of our school work done in a timely manner. I do follow along with my daily zone missions each day, and I do a daily home blessing. When you put it all together, I am able to take care of all of this during the week, and that leave my weekend open for other things.

.

Zone Mission – Spend 15 minutes dusting in the living room from ceiling to floor.

Weekly Home Blessing Task: Declutter Paper, Magazines, or Newspapers for 10 minutes anywhere in the house.

 
Menu Plan for Thursday: Baked chicken and salad

Routines:

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

  • Do a fun hands on science experiment today.
 Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at your launch pad
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Moving On Up – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

I might be a child of the 70’s when I titled this post, but I want you to feel like you live in the best, most peaceful house possible. I want you and your family to feel like you have been elevated to a beautiful home. Today we are going to move the living room furniture around and clean under it. Enlist some help. Don’t try to do this alone. As you are moving things around to clean, you might want to relocate some of the furniture in a different arrangement in the living room. It’s fun to change things around seasonally. Set your timer and evict the dust bunnies under the furniture! If you have time pull cushions and vacuum under them.

Enjoy your day!

Zone Mission: Move the Living Room Furniture around and clean under it.

Weekly Home Blessing Task: Windows and Mirrors (I use my FlyLady purple cloths for this and no chemicals.)

Menu Plan for Wednesday: Cheeseburger bake and salad
 
Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.
  • Clean out your refrigerator. Toss the science experiments.

School: Don’t forget to do the fun stuff in your school day. Get out the crafts!

 

Errand Day: Do your errands and grocery shopping this afternoon.

 Afternoon Routine: 
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
  • Write up a menu plan for the next 7 days. Check your pantry and freezer and make a grocery list. This habit will save you time and money. Try out some new recipes with the slow cooker. It will save you time once you start back to your school schedule.
Family Fun: Take your children for a walk.
Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.) 
  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Detail Dust the Living Room – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool
Today let’s detail dust the living room. This is a little different from our Weekly Home Blessing dusting. We are going to move things around and detail dust. If you have blinds, dust them, too. If you have bookcases or curio cabinets, dust them, too. This is your chance to get detailed, but you only have 15 minutes. Don’t pull everything off at one time. Work you way around the room. If you run out of time, you can continue this on another day. Turn on some music and shake those feather dusters.

Have a wonderful day!

 

Zone Mission: Detail dust the living room

Weekly Home Blessings of the Day: Quick Dust and Vacuum

Menu Plan for Tuesday: Taco Tuesday and Salad

 

If you need more help with organizing your home and homeschool, you can download  The FlyLady’s Homeschool Teacher and Homeschool Student Control Journals for free.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment
 
Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.
  • Clean out your refrigerator. Toss the science experiments.

School: Talk about the two political parties we have in the United States.

 Afternoon Routine: 
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
  • Write up a menu plan for the next 7 days. Check your pantry and freezer and make a grocery list. This habit will save you time and money. Try out some new recipes with the slow cooker. It will save you time once you start back to your school schedule.
Family Fun: Take your children for a walk.
Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.) 
  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Declutter the Living Room – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Do you have people over to visit your home, or are you embarrassed at how your house looks? One area that we usually enjoy with visitors is our living room. Let’s work on making it clutter-free and company ready. It is also family ready then, too. Your family is your most loved of all the people you know, and they are worthy of your efforts to bless your home. If your living room is full of your family’s stuff, you can play a game and see who can put their things away the fastest. Use this week’s missions to spend 15 minutes day making your living room ready for your family and friends.

We are practicing our Before Bed Routine for September. If you do not have a solid before bed routine, use the list below to help you get started. I start mine right after dinner each night.

You can have a clean home and homeschool, too. Have a wonderful day!
Zone Missions: Living Room
Monday – Declutter the Flat Surfaces

Tuesday – Detail Dust the Living Room
Wednesday – Move Furniture and Sweep or Vacuum Under It

Thursday – Dust the Ceiling Fan

Friday – Put Out Some Fall Decor

Menu Plan for Monday – Grilled Hamburgers and Side Salad (buns for the boys, and lettuce bun for mom)

Weekly Home Blessing – Wash the Sheets

 

Daily Routines:

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School: As we continue studying the election process, we have been spending time reading the Constitution and talking about the Amendments


Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
Family Fun: Take a nature walk today.
Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.) 
  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

My Race, My Pace

Your pace, your race

 

tami-hiddenite-half-2016

 

When you start running, do not fret about your pace. No matter what your pace is, you are doing better than sitting on the couch in front of the TV. I found a wonderful support group online for Back of the Pack runners. This is a great group of people who encourage one another no matter what the pace. My goal in a race is to finish. My second goal is to run it faster than the last time I raced. Winning for me is about finishing the race. One time I finished a race dead last, and I still won first in my age group. As I have trained, I have increased my speed. I typically finish in the middle of the pack now. Since my running is for me, I am happy with my finish times.

 

Do not compare your pace with the pace of the runners who are faster than you are. You want to set goals and progress at your own rate. If you try to run faster than your body is ready for, you risk injury. It is not a bad thing to pick a runner who is faster than you are and try to keep them in your sights, but you need to only run at the pace you are comfortable with running. I am progressing in my pace and in my distance. I do run with faster runners sometimes, and I tell them not to worry about slowing down for me. I am comfortable running at my pace. If you have friends who run at your pace, meet up with them and run together. But to get to be a faster runner, you will need to push yourself at times. My basic way of telling if I am running to my fullest potential goes by my breathing. If I can talk and get out a few words, then I am at the upper end of my pace. If I cannot talk and just am able to grunt, I probably need to back off a bit. In using interval training, I will push to my upper limits for short amounts of time. Then I back way off and breathe. I do this by counting in my head or using the length of a song. There are also apps and features on watches to help you with interval training. The biggest thing that helped my pace increase was to run regularly and increase my speed slowly.

 

You can find your comfortable pace and your “just past” comfortable pace and train. You do not have to compare yourself to the other runners around you. If you in a race, tell yourself, “My race, my pace.” This is what makes you a winner!

 

(**Note** I wrote this a while back, and I planned on posting it earlier today. I ran my 8th half marathon today. It was a hard race, and I did not hit my initial goal. But I finished the race. That is winning! So this is a good day for me to revisit my thoughts on pacing. It is MY race and MY pace. Every day is different!)

 

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Go for a Treasure Hunt – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 

It’s the end of the week. How did you do in making your bedroom your sanctuary? I hope you were able to do some of the missions if you could not do them all. We will be back in this zone again in a month, so you will have more opportunities to make your bedroom as peaceful as you can. Today, we are going to pretend we are on a treasure hunt and clean out under the bed. Pull out what’s under there, and if you can possible put that stuff somewhere else, please do. If you don’t keep anything under your bed, it will be easy to clean under it once a month. Get out your vacuum or sweeper and clean under the bed. Get all of those dust bunnies that have made colonies under your beds. You might find something you lost, but no matter what you find, I want you to reward yourself for doing this mission. I want you to have your favorite tea or coffee or chocolate and just enjoy sitting and relaxing for a few minutes.

Have a great week-end!
If you have any questions or tips, please email me. I enjoy hearing from my readers.
Zone Mission: Go for a treasure hunt under your bed and evict the dust bunnies.

Weekly Home Blessing: Take out the trash, Sweep, and Mop.

 
Menu Mission: Rotisserie Chicken and a salad.

 

Routines:

 

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

  • Round up this week’s paper. File what needs to be file. Purge what needs to go away. Check your lesson plans for next week.
 Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at your launch pad
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Decluttering Folded Clothes in Your Dresser – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Yesterday we worked in our closets, so today, let’s spend 15 minutes decluttering folded clothes from your dresser drawers. I don’t give a specific number of folded clothes you can have, but rather, I go by how easily your dresser drawers open and close. If you can open and close your drawers easily after putting away all of your laundry, then you don’t have too much to go through. But if you have drawers that are bulging and overflowing, let’s work on thinning out how many folded clothes you have. Some areas that we have trouble letting go are our under clothes, socks, t-shirts, and shorts/pants. Use the timer and deal with one drawer at a time. Resist the urge to dump the drawer on your bed.Just start at the top of the drawer and pull out anything you can donate. (In the case of used underclothes, toss them in the trash if they are worn out, have extra holes, or stains, or don’t fit.) If you need to replace things, make a list. You should only keep clothes in your drawers that you will wear over the course of a year. That means, you will have some warm-weather folded clothes and some cooler-weather folded clothes (unless you live somewhere where the seasons do not change). If you only have time for one drawer, then come back another time and use the timer for an additional 15 minutes. If you do this monthly, you will eventually be able to do the whole dresser in one 15 minute time slot.

.

Zone Mission – Spend 15 minutes decluttering your dresser drawers

Weekly Home Blessing Task: Declutter Paper, Magazines, or Newspapers for 10 minutes anywhere in the house.

 
Menu Plan for Thursday: Baked chicken and salad

Routines:

Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

  • Do a fun hands on science experiment today.
 Afternoon Routine:
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at your launch pad
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox

Thinning Out Your Closet – Getting Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

If you have followed my articles for very long, you know that I talk about decluttering clothes and shoes from your closet each month. Thinning out the amount of clothing you have will help you keep order in your closet, and it will make doing laundry easier. The way you do this is different than most ways that you have heard about. I want you to set your timer for just 15 minutes, and pull out things that you have not worn in the past 6 months. Decide if it is worth the valuable real estate in your closet to keep it. In most cases, you can let it go and give it away. There are very few things that you will go back and wear if you have not worn it in this season. Scan through your closet and pull out clothes that no longer fit. Put them in your Give Away box. Try to not handle things multiple times. You can do this! Set your timer and start tossing!

Enjoy your day!

Zone Mission: Declutter in your closet for 15 minutes.

Weekly Home Blessing Task: Windows and Mirrors (I use my FlyLady purple cloths for this and no chemicals.)

Menu Plan for Wednesday: Cheeseburger bake and salad
 
Home:
  • Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
  • Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Start Your Laundry
  • Decide on Dinner
  • Check Your Calendar
  • Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.
  • Clean out your refrigerator. Toss the science experiments.

School: Don’t forget to do the fun stuff in your school day. Get out the crafts!

 

Errand Day: Do your errands and grocery shopping this afternoon.

 Afternoon Routine: 
  • Eat Lunch
  • Clear off One Hot Spot
  • Reboot the Laundry
  • Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
  • Drink Your Water
  • Write up a menu plan for the next 7 days. Check your pantry and freezer and make a grocery list. This habit will save you time and money. Try out some new recipes with the slow cooker. It will save you time once you start back to your school schedule.
Family Fun: Take your children for a walk.
Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.) 
  • Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
  • Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
  • Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
  • Shine Your Sink
  • Clean Off a Hot Spot
  • Go to Bed at Decent Hour

FB Cover - Tami Fox