Look at this 3rd post in a row! How about that.
I thought it would be good to finally blog about something other than my utter lack of financial responsibility.
Last night, I started taking down the Christmas decorations. Everything inside the house is now boxed up and they're all labeled. It all gets stored under Rhiannon's bed in the back corner. It's worked out well so far. I'm so glad we don't have a ton of stuff like we used to. Just a few boxes that can all fit under a bed. I still need to take down the one string of lights on the front porch and the garland wrapped around the rail. Christopher is off today, so he can help me get the tree out of the house and put the living room back the way it should be.
I haven't used my Home Management Binder in months, but I recently rearranged my "office" space in the bedroom and it has a special spot close to my desk chair. So, tonight after work, I pulled it off the shelf and opened it to the After Work Routine. There were things on it I knew I'd have to do anyway like make and pack lunches, but I hadn't planned on doing laundry - but since it was on the list, I went and did it anyway. Good thing too, since Rhiannon's clothes were in the washer. They go back to school today and I don't know if she's actually got anything clean. (She just walked past me after getting dressed, and she had her outfit already picked out for today haha). Anyway, there's other things on the routine list like shine the sink, collect dirty dishes from the living room, do a quick pick up and wipe down etc. I couldn't really shine the sink since the dishwasher was running from when I'd started it on my break, and there were still more dirty dishes in the sink,.. but I cleaned up probably more than I would have without the list to remind me to do it. So, that's a good thing. I hope to stick to at least looking at each list every day even if I don't get every little thing done.
I have a "Mom's Planner" that I'm using now too. I hadn't even written anything in it since the first week of August when I got it. Now I'm listing dates when bills are due and when I need to actually pay them, or when an EFT is scheduled to come out of the bank account. It has a great little tear off section for each week for a grocery list and menu and notes, so I'm going to try to use that once we get back to shopping each week for groceries instead of every 2 weeks. (My pay days are bi-monthly instead of every two weeks, so the time between paychecks can change from one month to the next depending on what day of the week things fall on, and holidays etc. )
I'm also back to using my coupon binder. It's actually just a small photo album that fits in my purse. I have labeled each place where a photo normally goes with a category, like frozen snacks or baking supplies, or canned goods etc. I also keep the coupons we get for fast food or pizza in the slots in the back pages, so if we have to grab something while we're out and hadn't planned on it, I have the coupons on me instead of wishing I hadn't left them on my desk or something. It's very rare that we eat out though, usually I only do so if I have a buy one get one free coupon or something equally as good a deal, and only if something comes up that we can't get back home for a meal. That's been a big change from the old days (not that long ago really) where we'd just go out for dinner when we didn't feel like cooking and spend like $50 to feed all 5 of us. Or more. Now I even plan trips to the bigger town around meal times so we're back home in time to eat, and I make everyone eat a big meal at home before we leave. I am really proud of how that's been working for us and we've stuck to it.
I wish I could take pics of the new office set up in the bedroom. I really like how it is done now and I have a lot more area of stuff that's mine. Before it was all Christopher's bookshelves and stuff everywhere and I just had my desk and the mini fridge. Now, there's a designated office area with a set of shelves just for my supplies and stuff I use while at work, like my tea bags, sweetener, snacks, extra printer paper, etc. On my desk in the corner, where it won't fall off, is a cardboard box just for Porch Cat. It does take up some space, but he's worth it. And having his own box keeps him off my lap more often haha. There's also stacked crates filled with school supplies which has been nice recently, since the girls are starting a new semester at school today and need new binders and paper etc. So glad I stocked up when stuff was dirt cheap in July.
So, yeah hoping to get a new camera with the tax refund, or maybe with swagbucks. You can get a decent mp one for not a lot of money nowadays. Just have to save up for it. I don't just need it for blogging, we need it for the girls. We've not been able to get good pics of the last several concerts or activities they were in, and I hate that. Someday, the photos will be all we have after they've moved out and gone on with their lives. Need to take more videos too!
So, yeah, that's some of the stuff I've been focusing on other than the money stuff. Kind of getting organized from the ground up.. working on routines and establishing order. The rest will fall into place. In theory anyway. Just have to get my brain in the right place first.
So, time to get the kids off to the bus and finish my before-bed-routine. Have a great week y'all!
Patty
I thought it would be good to finally blog about something other than my utter lack of financial responsibility.
Last night, I started taking down the Christmas decorations. Everything inside the house is now boxed up and they're all labeled. It all gets stored under Rhiannon's bed in the back corner. It's worked out well so far. I'm so glad we don't have a ton of stuff like we used to. Just a few boxes that can all fit under a bed. I still need to take down the one string of lights on the front porch and the garland wrapped around the rail. Christopher is off today, so he can help me get the tree out of the house and put the living room back the way it should be.
I haven't used my Home Management Binder in months, but I recently rearranged my "office" space in the bedroom and it has a special spot close to my desk chair. So, tonight after work, I pulled it off the shelf and opened it to the After Work Routine. There were things on it I knew I'd have to do anyway like make and pack lunches, but I hadn't planned on doing laundry - but since it was on the list, I went and did it anyway. Good thing too, since Rhiannon's clothes were in the washer. They go back to school today and I don't know if she's actually got anything clean. (She just walked past me after getting dressed, and she had her outfit already picked out for today haha). Anyway, there's other things on the routine list like shine the sink, collect dirty dishes from the living room, do a quick pick up and wipe down etc. I couldn't really shine the sink since the dishwasher was running from when I'd started it on my break, and there were still more dirty dishes in the sink,.. but I cleaned up probably more than I would have without the list to remind me to do it. So, that's a good thing. I hope to stick to at least looking at each list every day even if I don't get every little thing done.
I have a "Mom's Planner" that I'm using now too. I hadn't even written anything in it since the first week of August when I got it. Now I'm listing dates when bills are due and when I need to actually pay them, or when an EFT is scheduled to come out of the bank account. It has a great little tear off section for each week for a grocery list and menu and notes, so I'm going to try to use that once we get back to shopping each week for groceries instead of every 2 weeks. (My pay days are bi-monthly instead of every two weeks, so the time between paychecks can change from one month to the next depending on what day of the week things fall on, and holidays etc. )
I'm also back to using my coupon binder. It's actually just a small photo album that fits in my purse. I have labeled each place where a photo normally goes with a category, like frozen snacks or baking supplies, or canned goods etc. I also keep the coupons we get for fast food or pizza in the slots in the back pages, so if we have to grab something while we're out and hadn't planned on it, I have the coupons on me instead of wishing I hadn't left them on my desk or something. It's very rare that we eat out though, usually I only do so if I have a buy one get one free coupon or something equally as good a deal, and only if something comes up that we can't get back home for a meal. That's been a big change from the old days (not that long ago really) where we'd just go out for dinner when we didn't feel like cooking and spend like $50 to feed all 5 of us. Or more. Now I even plan trips to the bigger town around meal times so we're back home in time to eat, and I make everyone eat a big meal at home before we leave. I am really proud of how that's been working for us and we've stuck to it.
I wish I could take pics of the new office set up in the bedroom. I really like how it is done now and I have a lot more area of stuff that's mine. Before it was all Christopher's bookshelves and stuff everywhere and I just had my desk and the mini fridge. Now, there's a designated office area with a set of shelves just for my supplies and stuff I use while at work, like my tea bags, sweetener, snacks, extra printer paper, etc. On my desk in the corner, where it won't fall off, is a cardboard box just for Porch Cat. It does take up some space, but he's worth it. And having his own box keeps him off my lap more often haha. There's also stacked crates filled with school supplies which has been nice recently, since the girls are starting a new semester at school today and need new binders and paper etc. So glad I stocked up when stuff was dirt cheap in July.
So, yeah hoping to get a new camera with the tax refund, or maybe with swagbucks. You can get a decent mp one for not a lot of money nowadays. Just have to save up for it. I don't just need it for blogging, we need it for the girls. We've not been able to get good pics of the last several concerts or activities they were in, and I hate that. Someday, the photos will be all we have after they've moved out and gone on with their lives. Need to take more videos too!
So, yeah, that's some of the stuff I've been focusing on other than the money stuff. Kind of getting organized from the ground up.. working on routines and establishing order. The rest will fall into place. In theory anyway. Just have to get my brain in the right place first.
So, time to get the kids off to the bus and finish my before-bed-routine. Have a great week y'all!
Patty