Organization Tips - 8/12

Homemade Jam Jar Labels

So along with bottling some apricots this summer, I also made some more homemade freezer jams. YUM! Our favorites are raspberry and strawberry. So easy and so simple to make. See this post for directions to make your own.

Then while blog surfing, I came across these adorable labels from Intimate Weddings that you can download for free. I was all over that! Aren’t they so fun? How fun would it be to get some homemade jam and a loaf of bread as a nice little gift from a neighbor or a friend?

While searching I found these other free labels that are also downloadable.

Eat Drink Chic
Domestifluff
Wendolonia

Happy Jamming!

★Amy

August 17, 2010 · Filed under: Canning, Organization Tips Tagged with

Lists and More Lists…!

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Okay, so I have had a few of you ask me how I stay organized with what I have to do every day. Well, I am a list maker. I love me a good list. I especially love crossing things off my list. It gives me a sense of satisfaction. In fact, I have been known to write things on a list I have ALREADY done…just to CROSS IT OFF! There I said it! Just a little more of my OCD coming out! Oh…and I really don’t like any one else to write in the notebook that houses all of my lists! My husband made that mistake a few times! I have gotten better, a LOT better about tolerating such behavior. Especially due to the fact that I have started to enjoy seeing scribble marks (not from the hubs), but from the kids that sometimes invade my notations.

Anyways, that was a long way to say that I keep a notebook where I write down everything I want or need to remember, lists of things to do, lists of things to buy at the store, messages, websites, crafts, even lyrics to my favorite songs.
That way, I always know where to find something I have written down. No more searching for that scrap of paper I jotted something down on. Each notebook as it is filled is saved so that I can go back and look at it later. This has proven helpful MANY times!

Along with my notebook I carry a planner made by Mead. I always get mine at Wal-Mart at the end of each year so I am ready to go come January. This is where I write down our family’s schedule, appointments, carpool times, soccer games, etc. I also will put in here due dates for homework, etc. It is my command center if you will.

On Sundays, we will sit down together as a family and pay any money to our kids in their checkbook registers or review and approve payments or deposits that they may have made that week. We also tell each other of events that will be happening in the coming week and fill out the Daily planner so that everyone is aware of what is happening and who needs to be where. This allows my husband and I to make decisions about how to shuffle the kids to after school activites and such.

We will also discuss what we want to do or get accomplished over the weekend. That way we are all on the same page and it gets us all moving in the right direction. Now things don’t always run smoothly, and plans can change, but at least we have a family plan and direction to look forward to.

It really helps us to get organized and focus on what needs to be accomplished each week.

What is something you do that keeps you and your family organized and on top of the things you need to accomplish?

January 7, 2010 · Filed under: Organization Tips, Parenting Help Tagged with

Fruit Fly Trap

106 Comments

It has been a crazy week around here with three afternoons spent canning and making freezer jam so the craftiness and cleanliness at our house has been suffering! So I am catching up on that this weekend. But I did find a clever and efficient way to get rid of all the pesky fruit flies that have been swarming my kitchen due to the large quantities of produce it has processed.

I remember hearing somewhere, long ago, that placing a funnel with a tiny opening into a jar containing a cut piece of fruit would make a good Fruit Fly trap. And guess what? It really works! They were all trapped within about 12 hours! I used tape and sealed the edges when I discovered some of those sneaky flies were escaping and that worked like a charm. Then when all the flies were trapped, I just released them back into the great outdoors.

Seeing all those flies in the jar brought back a lot of memories of my 8th grade science class. Remember Heidi? We had to breed them and then spent hours counting, sorting, charting and recording genetic traits! I LOVED it! Weird I know, but it is actually the first time I remember my interest in science was sparked. I was amazed that we could actually predict the type of genetic traits we would get. Anyways…I am sure none of you wanted to know all that!

This time of year seems to bring on the fruit fly infestations. Use this trick to remove them from your home and in the meantime, I will get some more ideas coming!