Organisation in a busy household

Trying to share out the jobs!

As you have probably seen from previous posts I am a bit of a list writer and a schedule maker. I find it helps me keep some level of sanity in our extremely busy life as a family of five.

As I embarked on a full time job at the beginning of the year I was fairly naive in thinking that mentioning to my family that I would be needing help with the cooking, shopping, cleaning and washing would be enough to  spur them into action. 

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The assumption is that woman can cope with whatever life throws at her .

In other words for the first 6 weeks of my full time job I could measure the amount of help I was given in single figures.

OH did put a load of washing on ( once)  and warm up a meal ( I think he was dirty and hungry). 

The kids revelled in their new found freedom not to complete homework and let their bedrooms descend into unrecognisable hovels.

I have learnt my lesson.

Easter has been spent not only resting, but creating a few schedules and rotas to ensure everyone does their bit. We have a cleaner coming to help out and the rest of the chores are being shared out. 

I shall have help.

Or they shan't eat.


I know just how the Little Red Hen felt now.


Some of my favourite advice and printables come from the blog I heart organizing , but be careful, you can lose a couple of hours at a time in her blog!

Stylus Pens

Organisation and The HexStyli 6 in 1 Stylus Pen

The ipad and the stylus - sounds like a fairytale!

Ok so lists and rotas and schedules that is what is has been for me the last week . I always knew going back to work full time would need to be a highly planned operation and one of the pleasures in this for me was always going to be the possibility of new stationery and accessories! Ok, Ok I know, humour me here if stationary does not rock your boat.

I have more pretty notebooks that a girl needs, but I find that I write lists even though I keep records on my ipad and phone as well. Belt and braces you know. I always write my christmas cards in a nice ink pen, but that isn't so practical for carrying around to school, so I had been looking at these hard working, multipurpose stylus pens. Mobile Fun kindly sent me this Hexstyli pen to review and it suits me down to the ground - I love it! Unfortunately my geek of an oldest son is now trying to prise it off me as it works on all his gadgets too so I am not sure how long it will be in my possession. He is trying the "it will help me with my school work" line. Hmmmm. Mobile Fun have a range of pens that are worth a look.

The omnidirectional stylus tip works beautifully on my ipad and iphone and also on my son's Samsung ( which I know some pens won't) and  the pen writes beautifully which is important to me - no ink splodges. There is a metric and imperial measure and a little spirit level. Under the stylus You will find a mini screwdriver - phillips and flat head tip. Perfect for those small jobs that are always needing to be done to re fit batteries!

You can buy the pen and refills from Mobile Fun here. I think it is on Pre Order at the moment as it has been so popular! I think I shall put an order in for another one before I lose this one to my son!

My conclusion is if you are a writer and a user of technology - at £11.99 this is a great , non expensive gadget. 

Comes in a great presentation box

Writes beautifully

Stylish

Multitasking

Love this pen!

The note left for my OH most days!

Are you a stationery collector, a list maker or a gadget geek?




Note: No reply bloggers who leave links or unsavoury replies, however helpful they feel they are being, will be published at my discretion. I like stationery pEns and stationary cars by the way...my spell check doesn't. Oh and capitals in the middle of words ? ;(

Happy New Year

What has 2014 got in store ?

I feel quite excited about this year. We have some fairly difficult times behind us and are now able to enjoy our new kitchen. I officially start my new job on Friday, although as you know I got to start a little while before Christmas instead. This has worked to my advantage as I got to know the children really well and I found planning was a lot easier for this term.

We have set up some rules and regulations regarding the running of the house to try and make things easier now I am going to be out working every day - what's the chance that I'll end up doing everything anyway!? As you probably have guessed I love to be organised so there are a fair few rotas and schedules floating around. I'll let you know what works and what doesn't as time goes on!

We had a lovely break over Christmas - My OH had only taken a weeks break all year so it was much needed. We really relaxed and spent time together. Here are some of my Christmas highlights.

The decorated tree in our new kitchen

New PJs on Christmas Eve!

simple Christmas table

Christmas food

Fun and Games

First Aga flan

Beach walks

More fun and games

Dad

For me

And again for me. x

From mum to help keep us on track!

Happy New Year!

Organisation

When Working

This is an area that is new to me.

I had the area of 

"Organisation as a Stay at home Mum" almost cracked on some days.

I think the trouble is with organisation and kids is the kids part. 

They tend to mess it up. 

Anyway. 

These are the things that help me out.

• Schedules.

I have schedules typed out so everyone can see them and see who should be doing what, going where, wearing what, taking what, handing what in, going to what club, etc etc etc. From January there is a possibility that I will be working more and I have 3 kids at  2 different schools. From September I will have 3 kids at 3 different schools - that's a lot of different schedules. 

• I lay uniforms and clothes out the night before.

• I get the kids to get their sports kits out for their clubs the night before.

• I get them to plan the days on which they need to hand their homework in so they might not get caught out ( they still do) 

• I get up early to give plenty of time in the morning to be organised before work and school.

• Menu Plans - I know you heard me say it before! I can't cope not knowing what is for dinner that night and not having a few "easy cook" nights a week. 

• I iron/wash everything at the weekend so it is ready for the week . If it doesn't get ironed/washed then it gets worn creased/dirty.

• Basically whatever I can do ahead of time, I do. I feel sometimes it is a never ending cycle of keeping in front of a high speed train and I'd better not stop!

I am going to continue my series from earlier this year on organisation and share some ways I am trying to get reorganised after our building works. For me being organised never costs a lot, but it makes such a difference to the way our busy lives run. I shall be looking at gadgets I love, blogs I have found great,and giving tips on things I find help!

How do you best organise your day and your children? Tips and Hints gratefully shared!