Tami Fox

Forgiveness Thursday – Getting Organized

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

What does forgiveness have to do with Getting Organized? I think it has a lot to do with it. When we withhold forgiveness, we have emotional baggage. This weights us down. It steals our joy. It holds us back from abundant living. Sometimes the first step of forgiveness is forgiving ourselves. We are our own worst critics. When we make mistakes, we beat ourselves up. This is perfectionism rearing its ugly head. If you are struggling with the voices in your head keeping you from decluttering and keeping your home clean and routines going, I want you to write down what’s bothering you. This is something you are not going to send to anyone. It’s just way to get it out of your head. Once you write it down, burn the paper or delete it from the computer. You can write down things you beat yourself up about, or it can be about people who have wronged you. It can be a list of both. As you write these out, I want you to tell yourself that you forgive them. If it is your own negative feelings, I want you to forgive yourself. I want you to be able to move on to abundantly living, setting up routines, and caring for your home and family. I want you to find your JOY.

Zone Mission – Kitchen – Clean out the microwave. If you don’t have a good system for this, here’s what I do.

Step 1 – fill a coffee mug halfway with water and add some lemon juice.

Step 2 – put the cup in your microwave and set it for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Step 3 – Take the cup out and start wiping the top and sides of your microwave with a warm, wet cloth. I use The FlyLady’s purple rag for this. If you have a removable plate, take it out and wash it at the sink. Wipe the bottom of the microwave. If it is very dirty, you might have to do one surface at a time and rinse your rag regularly.

Step 4 – dry out the microwave and check for crumbs. Put the removable plate back in if you took it out.

Holiday Mission – Take down any decorations you have left in the entry way. Put away all of your Holiday boxes.

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:

Enjoy your Christmas break!

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

Back to Basics Wednesday – Getting Organized

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Let’s get back to the basics today. Is your sink shiny? Are you dressed down to your lace-up shoes? Do you know what’s for dinner? These three basics will help you have a more peaceful day. If you have these three things answered in the affirmative, then you are ready to build on your routines.

Do you drink enough water each day?

Do you need to declutter an area?

Is all of your Holiday stuff put away?

Have you done your Weekly House Blessings?

Have you been putting off something?

As you read thorough this list, where do you stand? Each day, I do my morning routine, and I make a list of 6 things I want to accomplish that day. I don’t have time in y day to devote to a longer list. If I have only 6 things to do, I can work them into my daily schedule. If I have a list that is longer than 6 things, I feel defeated before I ever start. I put down things that need attention that day, and I put down at least one thing I have been putting off. We all have tasks that are unpleasant. For me, it usually involves calling customer service for something.

Purpose today to follow the Morning, Afternoon, and Evening routines listed below. Get back to the Basics and see if you have more peace in your home.

Zone Mission: Clean out the refrigerator and start fresh for your grocery shopping day.

For your Holiday Mission, take down any decorations on the porch.

Grocery Shopping and Errand Day – Take your list, pack snacks, and water bottles.

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: Is your paperwork caught up? Do you need to update lesson plans or attendance sheets?

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
Errand day: Make your plan for grocery shopping and errands. Pack water bottles and snacks for everyone. Pack up your library books that need to be turned in.

Family Fun: Plan a fun activity while you are out. I am in the habit of checking for free activities that are going on while we are out doing errands.

When you get home from doing errands, have everyone work together to unload and put away everything.

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

Joyful Tuesday – Getting Organized

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

The Holidays are over. The daylight hours are still short. For many, it’s cold outside. Even with these things that can bring our mood down, we can choose to have a joyful spirit. Do a search for the word, “joy” using your concordance in your Bible, or use an online Bible and search for it. Write down some of these verses in your notebook or journal. Meditate on them. If you tend to get the “winter blues” write some verses with the word JOY on sticky notes and put them around your house. Surround yourself with Scripture. Use these verses for your children’s copywork this week. I can think of no better way to work on penmanship skills than to have my children copy Scripture verses. We all have days when it is difficult to have a joyful spirit. By doing a word search and writing down verses now, you will have these ready when you are having a difficult day.

Zone Mission: Wipe the fronts of your kitchen cabinet doors and drawers. This is something even small children can help you do. Give them a damp cloth and ask them to wipe the lower cabinets while you do the higher cabinets. I am height-challenged, so my tall boys help me by wiping the high cabinets.

Holiday Mission: Put away the last of your Holiday towels and candles that are in the house. I found a Christmas towel in the guest bathroom today. I forgot I put one in there.

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:

Are you taking time to enjoy the fall weather as a part of your school day? Take some books outside and enjoy doing some school work outside 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
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

Getting Back to Routines – Getting Organized

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Many of us will be getting back to our regular schedules, and it is a great time to make sure we are getting our routines back in place. Holidays have a way of changing our schedules around, so this week use the Routines in this post to help you track your day. Most of us will be starting back to our school schedules, too, so you need to work on your evening routines especially and get to bed at a decent hour. If you can get up 15 to 30 minutes before your children get up in the mornings, you will be able to start your day off without distractions. I love having my quiet time and early morning coffee before the boys get up.

Here are your Zone Missions for the week for Zone 2 – The Kitchen

Monday – Clean your kitchen counters and detail wipe. Toss those Holiday snacks that are still sitting around.

Tuesday – Wipe the fronts of your kitchen cabinet doors and drawers.

Wednesday – Clean out the refrigerator and wipe down the shelves.

Thursday – Clean out the microwave.

Friday – Wipe the exhaust vent above your stove top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Weekly Home Blessing Hour:

Spread these out over the course of the week. Put a note on each day of the week with one or two of these per day.

7 Parts of the Weekly Home Blessing Hour from The FlyLady:

Quick Dust
Sweep/Mop
Purge Magazines or Paper Clutter
Change Bedding
Empty Trash
Clean Windows/Mirrors
Vacuum

School:

Check your lesson plans and catch up on any paperwork that you need to do for tracking attendance or school progress.

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: Have some outdoor time with your children today. Play. Do some nature journaling. The point is to add some movement to your day.

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.)
Lay anything out that you will need first thing in the morning
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Happy New Year – Joy

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Happy New Year!

Yesterday I talked about my word for 2015, and today I wanted to share about the word I picked for 2016. I have picked a word for the year for the past couple of years. It’s my way of having a positive focus for the year. When I pick the word, I want to have something positive. I never know how the word will be evident in my life. In 2015, I picked endurance as my word. I ran my first marathon in January, and I had an injury shortly after that. I had to use patience and endurance while I healed. I had to start back to running slowly, and I had to change some of my training. But I came through that time stronger. There were things in my personal life that also need me to use patience and endurance in certain situations. Life is not perfect.

During the last couple of months, I have been conscious of looking for joy in all circumstances. We all have situations and days where it is hard to be joyful. On those days, I have to be purposeful to choose to have joy. Before Christmas, I saw a light-up sign at a craft store that said, “JOY.” I was patient and waited until after Christmas, and I purchased it this week for 70% off. So this year, I have a visual reminder in my home to choose Joy.

Do you pick a word or motto for the New Year?

Holiday Mission: Have a special meal and a Family Fun Day!

Zone Mission: Zone 1 – One day Mission: Sweep the porch and check your Entry Way

Do your routines quickly today. Make it a game with your children.

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:

Enjoy your Christmas break!

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

Special Needs Online Summit

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Tami

For Parents and Educators of Children with Special Needs

Parenting and teaching children with special needs is near and dear to my heart. I have children who would be classified as exceptional learners in a traditional school setting. Through homeschooling, I am able to tailor their education to their strengths and work on their weaker areas. I have learned as much or more than my children because of the different methods I have used with them. Last month, I was asked to participate in a Special Needs Summit. I recorded my portion of the event this week, and I share about using The FlyLady system in my home to help my children. All children need a clutter-free home. This gives them peace and security. It is especially important for children with exceptional needs to have a home that is clutter-free and has order and not chaos. Children also thrive on routine. I share about using Zones to teach your children how to clean their room.

You can sign up to attend this online conference at my link – http://www.jlewis.ca/fox/learning

You don’t have to leave your house to listen to the conference. It is a free online event. Register for your spot at http://www.jlewis.ca/fox/learning.

This online event will be running January 4th to 14th, 2016. It’s a great way to jump start the new year with some new parenting ideas and techniques.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the amazing experts!

Tami Fox from The FlyLady- Organization Tips and Strategies
Bonnie Terry- Strategies For Dyslexia
Jeff Copper- What My Mom Did Right: A Success Story
Michelle Barone- Unschooling: An Alternative to Traditional School-Based Education
Dr. Mark Bertin- Mindfulness and Learning Disabilities
Margaret Ashley- Life Skills, Neuroscience and Learning
Laurie Dupar- Pre-teen And Adolescent ADHD
David Giwerc- ADHD And Neurodiversity
Shirley Plant- Nutrition And Easy Meal Prep
Carla Atherton- Moms’ Self-Care
Caroline Maguire- Executive Function And Social Skills
Diane Dempster and Elaine Taylor-Klaus- Parenting Styles and Behaviour Management
Nicole Olsen: Setting Up Your Unschooling Classroom
Nicky Stansbury: Stress Management
Eliane Sainte-Marie- Positive parenting that works, heals, and changes the world

Happy New Year’s Eve – Getting Organized

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Today and tomorrow many people will reflect on the past year and think about the coming year. Many people will make goals and resolutions. I like to write down positive affirmations for the coming New Year. It’s a great time to sit down with your family and write down dreams for 2016. It’s a wonderful time to sit down with your spouse and write down goals — long-term and short-term goals.

At the beginning of each year, I like to pick a word for each year. My word for 2015 was Endurance. It was a word that fit many areas of my life. It went with my running goals for 2015. It also went along for my life’s journey as I had to have patience and endurance many times this year. In tomorrow’s post, I will write about the word I have chosen for 2016.

You can pick a family verse for the year. I have picked verses that we have put up over many of our doorways in our home.

Another neat way to celebrate the passing of a year is to start today with an empty jar. Each time you have a blessing or answer to prayer, you can write it down on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. On New Year’s Even next year, you can read through them and reflect on them.

Do you have fun ways you celebrate the passing of a year and the beginning of a New Year?

Zone Mission – Living Room – Clear off any Hot Spots in your Living Room.

Holiday Mission – Have a Finger Food and Movie Night at Home. Use some of the ideas above to celebrate the end of a year.

Do your routines quickly today. Make it a game with your children.

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:

Enjoy your Christmas break!

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

Moving Wednesday – Getting Organized

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

How is your Living Room looking now that you are taking down decorations and detail cleaning? Today we are going to move the furniture around and detail clean under the furniture and behind it. If your furniture is heavy, enlist some help. I don’t want you to spend hours doing this. Set your timer for 15 minutes and see what you can accomplish. You might have to do a second 15 minute session. I usually enlist enough help, so we get it done in one session.

For your Holiday Mission, I want you to do a 27 Fling Boogie in your Dining Room. Get those Holiday decorations put away and set your dining room up and use it soon!

Grocery Shopping and Errand Day – Take your list, pack snacks, and water bottles.

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: Is your paperwork caught up? Do you need to update lesson plans or attendance sheets?

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
Errand day: Make your plan for grocery shopping and errands. Pack water bottles and snacks for everyone. Pack up your library books that need to be turned in.

Family Fun: Plan a fun activity while you are out. I am in the habit of checking for free activities that are going on while we are out doing errands.

When you get home from doing errands, have everyone work together to unload and put away everything.

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

It’s All in the Details – Getting Organized

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Today, we are going to detail dust the living room. This is a little more involved than your weekly dusting. But it still needs to be 15 minutes or less. If it takes longer than 15 minutes to detail dust the living room, you need to declutter your flat surfaces more. When I detail dust my living room, I do the ceiling fan, crown moulding at the top of each all, the baseboards, and the flat surfaces.

If you are doing the Holiday Missions, today I want you and your children to do a 27 Fling Boogie in the bedrooms. Same assignment as yesterday. Use boxes or bins labeled: Throw Away, Give Away, Put Away. This is your chance to make places for new Christmas presents, and it is also a great way to donate items before the end of the year. Anything in your Give Away box should be donated on or before December 31 for a tax deduction.

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:

Are you taking time to enjoy the fall weather as a part of your school day? Take some books outside and enjoy doing some school work outside 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
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

27 Fling Monday – Getting Organized

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Today I want you to do a 27 Fling Boogie in your Living Room. If you are not familiar with a 27 Fling Boogie, it is a game from The FlyLady. You will need 3 boxes or plastic bins. One will be for things to throw away. One will be for things to give away. The third one will be for things that need to be put away. Now that we have celebrated Christmas, there are things that need to be decluttered in our homes. Our zone this week is the living room, and it is a great place to start to bring our homes back to order after the Holidays. I will continue the Holiday Missions to help you put away your Christmas decorations one baby step at a time. I will be doing these same missions in my home, too. I have already done two small missions. On Christmas Day, I put away our stockings since we had emptied them and had them down from the mantle. On Saturday, I took down my Christmas curtain topper and put up my regular topper. I can remember prior to using the FlyLady’s system, that my Christmas curtain topper stayed up until Valentine’s Day one year and Easter another year.

If you plan on celebrating New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day with special food, make sure you get it early in the week.

Here are your Zone Missions for the week for Zone 5 – The Living Room

Monday – 27 Fling Boogie in the Living Room
Tuesday – Detail dust in the Living Room. Put away any Christmas decorations on your flat surfaces.
Wednesday – Move your Living Room furniture and clean under it.
Thursday – Clear any Hot Spots that have developed in your Living Room. This includes any piles that are leftover from Christmas celebrations.
Friday – New Year’s Day – Zone 1 – Sweep your Front Porch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Weekly Home Blessing Hour:

Spread these out over the course of the week. Put a note on each day of the week with one or two of these per day.

7 Parts of the Weekly Home Blessing Hour from The FlyLady:

Quick Dust
Sweep/Mop
Purge Magazines or Paper Clutter
Change Bedding
Empty Trash
Clean Windows/Mirrors
Vacuum

School:

Do you have some hands-on activities planned for the week? Even if you are on break this week, do some hands-on activities.

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: Have some outdoor time with your children today. Play. Do some nature journaling. The point is to add some movement to your day.

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.)
Lay anything out that you will need first thing in the morning
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour