systems...

ok. possibly a wealth of knowledge here.
i'm going to share some of my "systems" - some not new, some new. i love hearing how you all do things and i often copy...so feel free to adapt any of the following to your life!

first, my "to do" lists. for the last month, i put my daily chores into a Word document...by day. each night i look at the next days chores and add to them depending on specifics (ex. dentist appt, make pizza dough, etc.) then i print it off.

i set it on my kitchen counter and it keeps me focused through the day. and i can then add things, write down phone numbers, whatever i need for that day. i don't put things like "breakfast, shower, or change diapers" although i should - they take up a lot of my day! then, at the end of the day, i take that list to the computer and whatever didn't get crossed off and STILL needs to be done, i add to the next days list before i print it. sometimes, i find that something might not need to be done and it just doesn't get put on the next list. then THAT list gets thrown in the trash (it's kind of my whole trying to just focus on today and not worry about tomorrow thing)

next, laundry detergent. i made my own! thanks, holly. it was easy, took about 10 minutes, and it's WAY cheaper!

recipe:
1 bar Ivory soap - grated
1 C washing soda (in the laundry aisle - NOT baking soda)
1 C borax (also in the laundry aisle)
i doubled the recipe
-use 2 T per load

i've used it for about 2 weeks - my clothes are clean!

birthday books:
on each kids 1st birthday, we give them their birthday book (just an empty journal.)
each year, we each (pat and i) write them a letter in their birthday book. it's mostly describing who they were that year (you love to ride your bike, you love strawberries, etc.) and also special events. things we feel like they learned that year, etc.
it's SO fun already to go back and read them. we plan on giving them to them when they are 18 years old or something.
these are their birthday books.

chores:
i have fought the whole "chore" thing for awhile. i don't need another thing to keep up with.
but, i was so sick of reminding them to pick up at the end of the day.
AND i want them to start getting a grasp on what money means.
SO, we started chores.
we started 3 weeks ago. and i honestly LOVE it.
their chores are simple:

they don't get reminders except at the end of the day when i'm making dinner i'll say something like, "you might want to look around and see if you have anything to pick up!"

they get a dime each day that they do all their chores.
it's all or nothing.
if you make your bed, clean your room, set the table and pick the house up EXCEPT for a pair of shoes in the middle of the kitchen - NO DIME FOR YOU!
(obedience is ALL THE WAY...)
they get a dime probably 5 of the 7 days. they are really doing a good job.
their dimes go in these jars.

on sat nite, at dinner, we get the jars, their wallets, and a baggie for each kid. they decide how much they want to give to church the next morning and put it in their baggie. the rest goes in their wallet. the first week, we talked about "giving" - how God blesses us with all we have and we should want to give back to Him and His church and His people. this is NOT bragging. but it's been HUMBLING to see that EACH WEEK, EACH child has GIVEN more than they have kept! i know part of it is that they don't understand money completely. but i love that they want to give. and i pray that as they grow, they would understand the blessing of giving to our Lord.

ok, last thing, the snack bucket. again, thanks, Holly!

it's annoying when they are always asking for snacks and, when i decide they can have one, then i'm standing in the kitchen trying to figure out an appropriate snack for them. so...the snack bucket. it's in the pantry and it's full of snacks already proportioned out for them to just grab. THEY CAN NOT go get a snack whenever they want. but, when they ask and i say, "OK" - they CAN go and pick one out for themselves. all kinds of things in there: graham crackers, raisins/peanuts, fruit snacks, animal crackers, goldfish (they are always gone first!) ALL snacks have to be eaten before we refill it (so you can't just eat all the goldfish and keep refilling goldfish and never eating the raisins...)

i'm loving that system.

there you have it. some of our systems.

oh, and if you WANT me to email you the chore list in Microsoft Word - just email me.
cassadas at comcast dot net