new school year, newly organized: parent school binder

Last year was our first with two children in school. Our oldest son went off to Kindergarten, while our middle child started his first preschool year. Thankfully, their school calendars matched up as far as holidays and no school days. Still, there was a lot to manage with different teachers, lunches, school programs, homework, incoming papers and well, you get the idea!

I knew I needed some sort of system for important papers. I added a handful of page protectors to a letter size binder, slipped in the district calendar and pertinent papers and called it done. Did it work? Not really.  It just wasn't organized in a way that made sense but, I didn't put much thought into it beyond that.


Last month, I came across this video by AtHomeWithNikki where she shared a complete binder system, sectioned off for each child. It all made so much sense! I hit my own stash for some of the supplies and Staples for the rest. The genius in this system is that it is a one shot project. All that needs to be changed out yearly is the school and monthly calendar section. Everything else is reused year after year. I love that!

While I have yet to assemble my own (we still have three weeks of summer break to go), I thought I would share the video here along with a photo/written supply list to help other families who are searching for a better system. I spent far too long in the office supply store pulling together bits and pieces as, the only thing missing from the video was a comprehensive list. This should eliminate that hiccup for you!

Parent School Binder Supply List:

8.5x11" binder (video uses a Martha Stewart for Staples, aqua striped design)
Clear binder pockets (Staples): 4 per child + 2 extra
Tabbed dividers
Zip-It binder pockets (Studio C at Staples): 1 per child + 1 extra
Snap tab 2 pocket folder (Studio C at Staples): 1 per child
Monthly Calendar (I printed my freebies HERE)

Optional:
3 hole punched sprial notebook (my addition for note taking)
Label maker

I have enough supplies on hand to create sections for all three of our children, even though our youngest will not start preschool until 2017. During the coming year, I'll use her portion for the Mommy & Me schedule and any activities, such as swim classes.

I'm looking forward to using this system and will share photos (or, maybe a video?) once the project is complete. I hope that this has been helpful!

Cheers to a new school year!
Jen

project life: week 3

Tuesdays are my Project Life day. While I usually edit most of my photos, print some and do some journaling during the week, Tuesday is my day to bring it all together. You may notice that this week looks a bit skimpy on the handwritten journaling. It isn't. I just chose to use some of my Citrus Twist PL kit goodies and to have hidden notes/pull-outs. Still there, just tucked away ;-)

{January  14 - 20}

A snowy day, comfort food, and hilarious things the boys say inside the bi-fold journaling card. The weekly card was made in PSE with the Seafoam digital kit and a digital freebie (the arrow)

 Mr. Boom's work week, the boys at play, hilarity with the computer camera while I grocery shopped and left the three guys alone and pull-out journaling in that awesome kraft polka dot bag from my CT kit (I want 100 more!)

There is an insert with 6 of my favorite Instagram photos from the week and I am in one of those. Still making the effort to get my self in the pictures and leave evidence I was there. Committed to doing that!

______________________________

After my organization post last week, Jac asked how I have my "regular" scrapbooking supplies organized. The answer is: they aren't, not really. Since I am only doing PL right now my other supplies are packed away. I have some on the shelves in the boys' closet (paper holders mainly) and the rest is packed away in my in-laws' basement until they one day have their own home. In the past two years I have donated a lot of my supplies and was fairly ruthless about what I kept. There is still more than enough. 

Once I have a dedicated space I'll re-assess. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Project Life and the thought of doing traditional layouts isn't even appealing at the moment. So, if I decide at some point that this is the only system I'll ever use, the Girl Scouts will be getting a massive donation.

project life: reorganized

Yes, a third blog post in one week. No one faint. I'm going to try and connect a bit better this year. 

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I reorganized my Project Life supplies at the beginning of the month. Over the last year, I figured out what I like best as "extras" in my album. Mainly, they are things that still keep the process simple but, help fulfill my need to create beyond the core kit. So the things that I no longer used? Purged. Gone. One of my themes for this year is simplify. If I'm not using it, it doesn't have a place here. Tossing the old allowed me to fit all of the supplies I use (other than my album and core kit) in ONE Expedit cube/bin. One bin that I can easily pull out and bring to the dining table during my scheduled Tuesday PL time or in the evenings. My supplies this year are simplified:

• Project Life Seafoam Edition Core Kit 
• Citrus Twist Project Life Kit (monthly subscription)
• Supplies that I already have on hand

Putting it all together in the way that helps me work efficiently, I found three boxes at Target from the Rubbermaid Bento line. Two medium, one small. Better yet, I had some Christmas money to use and they were on sale. Score! I love that they have straight sides (a must, no wasted space due to tapering) and little pull out corner boxes that you can use, or not, to make the boxes even more organized. Hint: the little 3x4" PL card boxes are a perfect fit in the pull out corners. Here's what's inside...

Box 1: In the front left are the pieces of the January Citrus Twist kit, the cards, extras, straight back to the first 6x 6 pad (also part of the kit). Several 6x6 paper pads, 3x4 PL box of assorted journaling cards, my pens, pencil, scissors and journaling ruler. Wood mount stamps on top of my black ink pads. And, in the back right corner, my Tiny Attacher and extra staples, eraser, a few mists and photo splits

 Box 2 (small): Assorted tags and cut-outs from Elle's Studio, glassine envelopes for holding ephemera, little labels and some smaller sticker sheets

Box 3: In the front left corner are 3x4 journaling cards and the coordinating Bazzill pack that went with the Cobalt kit (sad these aren't being offered any longer) and my favorite, much used Martha Stewart file folder labels (looooove these). Behind these are various sticker and label sheets and my larger packs of clear stamps (yes, in the original packaging because I haven't found anything better...yet). On the right are my roller stamps, most used washi tape and single unmounted stamps with my acrylic stamp block. The empty space in the middle? I'll use that week to week for ephemera that I want to include in the album.

 That's all.
Three little boxes + core kit + trimmer + adhesive + album.
My Project Life 2013.
Simplified.

Feel free to ask any questions about my organization, process or products and I'll do my best to answer individually or in a follow up post. Thanks for stopping by!

project life 2011: update...

It's been about a month since the much coveted white box arrived on my doorstep.  Opening each piece and going through the contents was fun but, also a bit disconcerting. How would I keep up this year since it was already February and I was already, technically behind? 

Simple.  I decided NOT to be behind - it's all in the definition and perspective. Project Life can be anything you want it or need it to be. This year's album won't start on January 1st.  Instead, it starts on Monday, February 14th.  I have the best records of this year beginning on that date.  Works for me.

What about the first month and a half of the year?  Those photos and stories will be scrapbooked. I have over a dozen page ideas sketched out and journaling jotted down in a notebook, complete with dates, titles and descriptions of the photos to use, ready to go when I make the time to sit and create. 

How I am approaching this year is different as well.  Last year, I attempted to do a photo a day and then label each photo during editing with the day of the week and date.  Exhausting, time consuming and not realistic for being a first time mom.  I have January through May finished in that format and the rest, well, I'll figure it out.  This year I have a plan:

1) Journal everyday: I picked up a 4x6 weekly pocket planner in the clearance section at Target for $1.  It's small, light and travels with me wherever I go - switched from diaper bag to work bag to purse depending on what my day looks like.  I jot a few things about each day in the calendar.  Sometimes it's just the mundane schedule, other times it includes an anecdote. The important thing is that I am writing down little memory cues for myself so that, later, I sit down and expand on the information on the PL journaling cards. Relying on my memory alone is a set-up for failure a la Mommy Brain.  This works better.

2) A Project Life On-the-Go Kit: I travel all over New York City for work and often have down time during lunch breaks or as I am waiting for students to arrive for a training.  Times when I am not at my home office or sitting at my desk, without access to a computer, and where I can take a few minutes to journal.  I had been holding on to a mini metal 'lunchbox' that once housed Maya Road chipboard pieces.  It ended up being the perfect size to hold: 

• pen (I use a Sharpie pen...love them)
• black permanent ink pad (rubber band secures the lid for travel)
• PL date stamp
• box of asst'd jouranling cards (half with the plain grid, half of the patterned variety)
• day of the week stickers
• a few post-it notes for practice stamping or removing excess ink from the stamp

Using this kit and my mini calendar, I can easily catch up on journaling cards wherever I go.

3) Photos: I'm taking photos constantly but, printing them is another matter. Primarily, I use Shutterfly and order my prints on matte paper.  I've been very happy with their quality, turnaround and customer service (they are not giving me any incentive to say so - I just like the company). Although it generally takes about a week to receive prints in the mail with the standard shipping, the quality is far better than any of our local one-hour places.  I print only when I have a coupon code, free print offer and (now that I have over 3,000 points saved) plan to redeem my Pampers Gifts to Grow points for free printing packages. I am now uploading my photos into weekly albums in my Shutterfly account so that I can easily select out just the dates I need for Project Life.

-----> Are you doing PL 2011?  How it is going and what is working for you?

to rescue disappearing dollars...

In case you haven't heard or felt it yet, fuel and grocery costs have all been sky-rocketing in the past month.  When I filled the gas tank in our mid-size sedan this weekend it cost me over $62.00 at $3.699 a gallon for regular.  And, it's still on a rapid rise.  Wallet fail!

Although I work part-time, my commutes are long. Forty minutes to my home office and two hours on my Brooklyn days (about once a week).  That makes the pump, in addition the grocery check-out, painful.  There isn't anything I can do about my gas consumption as I need to get to work and have no one around me for carpooling (and it doesn't help that we live in one of the gas cost "red zones").  But groceries?  I can save there. 

Now, I'm no extreme couponer.  Not even close.  Over the past few years, I have clipped coupons here and there and, occasionally, even remembered to use one or two at the check-out. Since the beginning of this year, I have been much better about both clipping and using coupons but, they have been less than organized.  Basically a big jumble of clippings thrown in a zippered pouch in the diaper bag.  Not really helpful when I needed to put my hands on a particular slip of paper.

This week, determined to put some order to the chaos and start shaving some more off of our grocery bill, I finally sat down, labeled my coupon wallet and got them all sorted. 

I have my coupons separated into the following categories:

• Baby
• Baking
• Breakfast
• Cans
• Condiments
• Dairy
• Frozen
• General Grocery
• Snacks
• Paper Products
• Cleaning/Laundry
• Toiletries/OTC

The store where I most frequently shop prints relevant coupons at check-out that are good for a limited time and only at that store so, I've added those right in the front so they are easy to spot. The space right behind the zippered section I'm earmarking for dining out coupons. 

What's the plan from here?  This weeks' grocery list is written out and I've noted "coupon" and the brand next to each item where I have one on-hand.  Before I go shopping, I'll take those coupons out of my organizer and clip them to my list so they are handy and get used.  I'll have the wallet with me in case I need to pull out something extra. I'm hoping that between shopping sales, meal planning and couponing, I can spare my bank account some of the economic sting this month has in store!

I'll update now and again with my savings and any tips that would be helpful to pass along.  If you have any tips to share, please leave a comment!

project simplify: or, we really need to get rid of this stuff...

We are three people living in a cozy condo. 
We are looking for a new home. 
We need to get our current home together and on the market. 
We have too. much. stuff. 

Enter Project Simplify.  I've been a reader of the Simple Mom blog for sometime and when i read about this challenge, I knew the timing couldn't be better.  Yes, I already have a lot on my plate and, proven in February, am not the best at following through on goal setting but, this simply needs to get done.  I'm joining in.  I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified about the "Before" photos part.  Terrified.  But, I need to see the results and the "Afters".  Here goes nothing...

How it works, direct from Simple Mom:
For five weeks, we’ll work together and tackle different areas of our homes. Be encouraged and inspired, knowing that there are other families around the world rolling up their sleeves and working alongside you!

1. On Monday, I’ll announce that week’s “hot spot” project.

2. You’ll have the week to declutter, clean, and organize that area — don’t forget to take “before” and “after” photos (no straightening up ahead of time, either!).

3. On Friday, I’ll reveal my own “before” and “after” photos.

4a. You’ll also post your photos and write about your experience on your own blog, then link to it on Simple Mom.

4b. If you don’t have a blog, you can share your “before” and “after” photos in the Simple Living Flickr pool, describing your experience in the photos’ description. (You can also do this even if you have a blog.)

5. Rest from the week’s hard work by browsing everyone else’s photos (and find inspiration for the next project!).

6. Cross your fingers in hopes that you’ve won that week’s giveaway.

This weeks Hot Spot: WARDROBE

I think I may have breathed an audible sigh of relief when I saw this week's Hot Spot revealed.  Why?  Mr. Boom and I both already tackled this task over the past few months.  Just this past Thursday I dropped a huge bag of my own clothing off for donation.  But, it seems there is always more to do so, though the closet is in decent shape right now, I'll tackle my two remaining messy dresser drawers this week.  Specifically, my sock and underwear drawers.  And, no, I won't be posting an after of that ;-)

keeping it together...

When you have a toddler in the house, despite all best efforts, there will be a crazy boatload lot of toys.  Big toys, little toys.  Toys that are (blessedly) silent and those the beep, whirl, sing, whizz and blink.  Try as you might, the toys will come and they will appear to multiply at an alarming rate.  I often ask myself how one tiny little person, only 1/5th of my size could possible need so much stuff?  But, he uses it all.  Sometimes one little piece at a time.  Sometimes appearing to orchestrate the whole lot to make noise at once.

A couple of months ago, our living room was a wreckage of primary colors, board books and noise.  The madness needed to be contained in some manner.  It was just a matter of time before G's first birthday and Christmas arrived back-to-back and those two occasions would (and did) inevitably bring even more stuff.  I informally polled mom friends, looked at solutions online and finally, just browsed around my local Target and our existing containers to find the combination that might help and wouldn't break the bank.  Remember, we are in a cozy (read: tiny) condo and space is at a premium.  This is what we came up with for the living room. 

Cloth storage bins (REstyle, sold in a 2-pack at Target) and a recycled, lined basket sit in the corner between our tv cabinet and couch.  One bin is full (FULL) of board books.  The other bin and basket hold small toys, pop beads, cars, small stuffed animals and things that can easily be tossed in after a play session or at bedtime:

For the large items, we decided to sacrifice the wall under our living room window.  Foam alphabet squares (from the One Step Ahead catalog, a gift from my mom) are arranged on the floor - 2 tiles deep, 6 long - and toys sit on top.  When he's playing they get moved all over the condo but, after playtime, they get moved back here:

Any toys that aren't holding his interest anymore or are aged-out go into bins in the large Ikea Expedit storage unit in the nursery and will eventually (when we move) be packed away for future babes.  It's not a perfect system but, it is easy, functional and the little man seems to like it just fine :)

If you'll forgive my bragging for a moment, I also have to say that I am so, so proud of G.  In the past few weeks he has begun responding to a lot more direction/requests in both English and Greek.  He isn't saying a whole lot yet (very typical for bi-lingual babes) but, he understands a great deal. Love it.