Pyles of Clutter

Works for Me Wednesday from Chile: Travel needs

Hola from our trip to Chile!  As we have been here I have found something that has been a lifesaver for us.  My good friend Neighbor Jane Payne gave me a happy trip present that had these toilet seat covers, and hand sanitizer in it.  It has been the greatest thing to have.  Then I was looking for something else in the camping section and came across little rolls of toilet paper.  They are the perfect size to put in your bag so that they are handy when you need them.  I have had to use them several times as the public bathrooms here don't have much in the way of bathroom products.  I was so glad I had them.  They worked for me!! 

Go over to Rocks In My Dryer with Shannon and visit more tips!!

Works for Me Wednesday: Just get out of the house!!

Well, my tip today is something we all know but never do!  Just get out of the house!  When you think you are going to burst and someone is going to die because of it, or if you are feeling so overwhelmed that if one more thing is added to your already overloaded load, you will collapse, just get out of the house!  I can tell you that it is the most wonderful thing in the world.  I am a firm believer in this concept. I am not a naturally organized person, I have to really work at it.  And because I have so many children going in so many ways, I often feel like I'm just on the verge of drowning.  The  really great thing is that I have a great husband who really understands that I have to charge batteries away from all the constant bombardment of children, church, school, and all other such nonsense.  He has given me movie money cards for my birthday, anniversary, mother's day, Christmas, any day.  I usually take one day a week and go see some nonsensical movie that just lets me sit and not think, and not fret about how bad the world is, and not have to solve any more problems just for two hours.  It is the greatest.  Now if I don't have any movie money to use, I'll also take my book and go to the park for an hour or two, or the library.  I never go to a store, I just spend money I don't have if I do that.  I am at the point in my life that even though I have a 3 year old, all my other kids are old enough to watch themselves.  I encourage all you mothers of young children to unite and help each other out and switch babysitting so that you can have some time alone.  Let husbands watch kids for an hour.  I promise they can do it!!  It's a necessity for your emotional health.  Well, it is for mine anyway.  And it works for me!  Go see other tips at Rocks In My Dryer hosted by Shannon.

Works for Me Wednesday: Chore Lists

Thanks to Janice at Rocks In My Dryer for hosting Works for Me Wednesday.  Go over and see all the different tips to be had!  In our family, we had seven people who lived in our house.  It was quite overwhelming at times, especially all the cleaning, dinner making, laundry, and so forth.  So I came up with these chore lists.  In the morning, everyone has an area that they have to clean.  It is designated by a word, "dishes" means the whole kitchen, "vacuum" is the living room, "table" the dining room, and so forth.  We have sliding glass doors, a glass screen door in the front and a big picture window in the living room that all have to be cleaned constantly.  That is the glass listed.  The slave children must do their assigned area in the morning before they leave for anything or when they get home, all time wasting pursuits are forfeited.  No tv, computer, stereo, etc.  It is a big motivator.  Every week we rotate the chores down. Now in the evening, I need help getting dinner on the table.  I had six areas that needed to be addressed, so everyone got something to do and one person is off for the day.  We have cooking, setting the table, clearing the table, taking out the garbage, vacuum after dinner (we never go one meal with out some sort of spill), and doing the dinner dishes.  This way, I don't feel so resentful of having to do "everything" and the kids are learning how to do some life skills of their own.  I generally have the main dish for dinner already made, but they can put together some sort of vegetable, fruit, or whatever for the rest of dinner.  It has saved my sanity.

Works for Me Wednesday: Family Schedule Book

Hello to all the Works for Me Wednesday bloggers.  What a great thing that Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer has started!  Today my great idea is what we call our Family Schedule Book.  All my kids are pretty busy, with lots of activities and while I can (sometimes) keep them all straight, my husband can not.  So I started typing it all up on the computer and putting it up on the fridge.  Who has to go where, at what time, if they had a ride or not, and what our carpooling responsibilities were.  Then I had all these other pieces of paper that had no where to go, but we need also, like a phone list for the people in our church, a phone list for the parents of children in our dance classes, schedules for swim meets, and practices, schedules for games and if we were suppose to bring something, etc.  I had an extra binder in our house so I put all that stuff in there with a table of contents so that when I had to be gone, my husband could still run things efficiently.  I also have school contact information, PTO newsletters, and similiar items.  I put in it take out menus and coupons for fast food places in town.  It's not the most original idea, but it works for me!