Tami Fox

Put It Up and Don’t Put It Down – Getting Organized

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Happy Friday! Did you know that putting things away instead of piling them somewhere will make it easier to do your Home Blessings? Many times we put off our Home Blessings because it takes so long to get ready to do them. This is because we leave stuff all over the house. Our kids are often the biggest offenders, but the adults in the home can also leave things in various places. Today, I want you to spend 15 minutes going around the house putting things away. This is a reverse scavenger hunt. You find something and put it away. Then you find something else out of place and put it away. Set the timer. Turn on the music. Challenge your children to see who can put the most stuff away..

Have a great week-end!

If you have any questions or tips, please email me. I enjoy hearing from my readers.

Zone Mission: Spend 15 Minutes Putting Things Away

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
Loving movement for 15 Minutes

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

Rescue a Room in Your Home – Getting Organized

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Today your mission is to do a 15 minute room rescue anywhere in the house. If your children’s rooms have taken a nosedive, enlist them to work with you on this mission. Help them declutter and find places for their things. If your living room or family room has things in it that does belong in it, set the timer for 15 minutes and declutter and put things away. We will be getting ready for the Holidays soon, so this is your head start on getting rid of clutter.

Zone Mission – Spend 15 minutes doing a room rescue

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

Menu Plan for Thursday: Chicken Stir Fry

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
15 minutes 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

Don’t Put It Off Until Tomorrow – Getting Organized

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

On Wednesday, we do something we have been putting off. Today we are going to tackle that one thing we have been putting off. What I have found is that the thing I have been putting off only takes a few minutes to do. Set your timer and do that one thing. You will feel better!

You can piggy-back this with your Zone Mission today. Think of an area you have been neglecting in your home. Spend 15 minutes decluttering that area. Turn on some fun music and involve the kids! This is a quick mission. Don’t get hung up on perfectionism. If you don’t finish in this area today, you can always go back tomorrow for 15 more minutes.

Enjoy your day!

Zone Mission: Declutter one area in your home 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: Spaghetti and Sauce (spaghetti squash for mom) 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.
15 minutes of loving movement.

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

Decluttering Will Bring You Peace – Getting Organized

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

How can decluttering your bathroom bring you peace? If you have been living in CHAOS for a long time, you will be making a journey to peace with each item that you let go. In your bathroom, you have lots of things stored. With the extra humidity, it effects products you keep in the bathroom. Spend 15 minutes today tossing old products in your bathroom. Check the drawers, cabinets, shelves. You can give yourself and your family a peaceful home, and you can start today by decluttering your bathroom.

Have a wonderful day!

Zone Mission: Declutter bathroom cabinet or drawer

Weekly Home Blessings of the Day: Quick Dust and Vacuum

Menu Plan for Tuesday: Pork Roast, vegetables, 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.
Spend 15 minutes loving movement.

School: The next time you are out doing errands, start looking at the political signs that are around and take note. In a few weeks, observe this again with your children. Make it a game and have them count signs on one street.

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

New Week and a New Start – Getting Organized

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Monday is the start of your school week. It’s a new day, and you have a new start. No negative thinking about the things you did not get done last week or over the week. Start off fresh today. If you make a daily list, put down no more than six things that you want to accomplish today. I use a sticky note for this purpose, and I generally put down four things that I want to accomplish each day. Instead of adding to it the next day, just start a new one each morning. If you find that you are consistently missing something that you need to do, stop procrastinating. You can do anything you set your mind to doing. If it is a big task, break it down into small steps.

This week we are in two areas of our home. First, we are going to do some detail cleaning in the main bathroom. Then we are going to detail clean the area of your choice. This is your chance to work on that area that is bothering you or the area you have been procrastinating.

Let’s let go of all that mommy guilt and love our families. You are doing a great job!

Zone Missions: Main Bathroom and One Extra Room

Monday – Clear off the bathroom counters and wipe down

Tuesday – Declutter bathroom cabinet or drawer

Wednesday – Declutter 1 area of your home

Thursday- Do a 15 Minute Room Rescue

Friday- Do a Reverse Scavenger Hunt (put things away for 15 minutes)

Menu Plan for Monday – Turkey, vegetables, salad

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.
Daily Movement for 15 Minutes

School: Talk to your children about your state and local elections

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

Save

To Run with Music or Without

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Tami

Running with Music — Yes or No?

Many people debate the use of music during training runs. One school of thought is that some races do not allow participants to wear headphones or ear buds during a race for safety, so it is good if you train without music. Most races do not allow you to run with your music on where others can hear it. If you train every day with music, you might miss it during a race.

Music can help you increase your pace and cadence. That is another reason why some races do not allow you to wear headphones during a race. Personally, I run with one earbud in my ear with music playing low for most of my training runs. I have trained without music for a variety of reasons, and this worked well for me when I forgot to get my music player out of my gear bag before my marathon. I checked a bag with extra clothes and my music player in the bag, so it was not accessible to me for the race. I found that I was just fine running 26.2 miles without my music. I enjoyed the experience and talked to other runners. I enjoyed the sounds of the city and the spectators.

My suggestion is that you run with and without music to find your pace both ways. I listen to very peppy music with at least 160 beats per minute and up to 180 beats per minute. I know if I listen to three songs I will have completed a mile. It’s a good way for me to just fall into a rhythm and run. If I am on a city street or sidewalk, I do not listen to music. I pay attention to the traffic around me. I also do not listen to music when I am on a trail run for safety purposes. If I am running with a friend, I also do not run with music. With this approach, I am not dependent on music for my racing performance.

Finish the Week Strong – Getting Organized

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Happy Friday! Let’s finish the week and our zone missions strong! Today let’s wipe out the microwave and wipe down the stove top. Both of these areas tend to have food spills or overflows, especially if your children help in the kitchen. I have found that hot water with a squeeze of lemon and my FlyLady purple cloth will cut through food and grease. I microwave the water in a coffee cup, and the steam loosens up any dried on food particles. I add lemon juice and dip my cloth in the water. I am careful to not get the water too hot. So be careful if you do this method. A couple of swipes of the microwave, and I am done. I rinse the cloth and dip it in the lemon water again. Then, I wipe the stove top and the hood over the stove. By doing this regularly, I don’t have a lot of food or grease build up. The whole process takes me less than 15 minutes.

Enjoy your clean and tidy kitchen!

Have a great week-end!

If you have any questions or tips, please email me. I enjoy hearing from my readers.

Zone Mission: Wipe down the microwave and stove top.

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
Loving movement for 15 Minutes

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

Menu Planning and Prep – Getting Organized

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Today’s zone mission is for you to spend 15 minutes cleaning out your refrigerator. This is an important step in menu planning. By cleaning out your refrigerator regularly, you will be able to see quickly what you need to replace. It also gets rid of the science experiments that lurk in the back of the fridge. The day I make my menu plan and grocery list, I go to the refrigerator and spend 15 minutes tossing things that need to go. With three teenagers in the house, we do not have a lot to throw out, but I do also check expiration dates on other basic items that are in the fridge. It helps if this day also coincides with trash day.

Many people procrastinate cleaning out the fridge, but if it is done often, it is really not that bad. It’s also ready for you to put away the new groceries. Keeping your fridge cleaned out will save you time and money.

Zone Mission – Spend 15 minutes cleaning out the fridge

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

Menu Plan for Thursday: Pork chops 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
15 minutes 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

You Can Do It – Getting Organized

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Wednesday is Anti-procrastination day with The FlyLady. This is the day of the week that you pick one or two things to do that you have been putting off. You can do it! Remind yourself of what I wrote at the top on the graphic. You will feel great when that one thing is done that you have avoided for so long. You can tell yourself that you DID it! I know you can do it!

Yesterday, we decluttered our kitchen counters, so today, let’s detail wipe them down. I use a FlyLady purple cloth soaked with warm water. I work from one area to the next and just move things to the side. I don’t take everything off at once. I use my timer, set it for 15 minutes, and try to beat the clock! Making zone missions short and fun will make blessing your home a breeze!

Enjoy your day!

Zone Mission: Detail wipe the kitchen counter

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

Menu Plan for Wednesday: Spaghetti and Sauce (spaghetti squash for mom) 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

Timely Tuesday – Getting Organized

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

How is your school year going? If you just started a few weeks ago, you have probably had a few rough days getting everyone back on their normal schedule. I started early in August, and in our third week, we had several rough days. It just comes along with growth and learning. What helped me the most was having a daily schedule. We use our FlyLady Routines to help us move from one part of the day to the next. We have our Morning Routine, and that includes school time. Everyone knows what is expected. They also know if they are focused on school work in the morning, they will have ore free time in the afternoon. That is pretty big motivation for them to focus on their paperwork part of school.

Having a clean, decluttered area to do school is also a big help in having a smooth day. We don’t have to clear off places to do school. The counter and table are already cleared off and ready each morning. This keeps us from procrastinating the start of the school day. After they finish each subject, they put their books away and get out the next book. If we have crafts out, we put them away before we do something else.

It has taken a lot of years of training and reminders to get everyone on the same page, but it is worth the training time. It is worth taking the time to praise and reward them for a job well done.

Today’s zone mission is to declutter the kitchen counters and deal with any kitchen hot spots. This might go along with your monthly habit of decluttering paper. Set your timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can accomplish.

Have a wonderful day!

Zone Mission: Declutter kitchen counters and clear off hot spots

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: Check the dates for early voting and mark the Election Day on your calendar with the kids

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