DECLUTTER 365: DAY 9

15 minute missions to make a decluttered, clean, organised home!
    
Today's Goal: Read Organized Home Challenge #2: Kitchen Cabinets
http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/kitchen-cabinet-organization.html
   
Resource: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html

DECLUTTER 365: DAY 8

15 minute missions to make a decluttered, clean, organised home!
    
Today's Goal: Create a Household Resource Folder
A physical (or digital) book or file that stores information about day-to-day life in your household. Create printables and checklists to keep on track. Some items below may be more suitable stored in various parts of your home i.e. filing away bills/home maintenance, chores on the refrigerator, etc. Some of these charts may already be ready for placing into a household folder, others will be added at later stages as areas are decluttered and routines/checklists are created.
       

"Last year I bought a planner, but found I didn't use some parts of the page, and so I designed my own one this year. I use a ring binder (file)  to assemble my day-to-a-page planner, so I have incorporated a few extra pages for my household resources - including birthdays, rubbish/recycling days, after school sports, budgeting, menu planning, etc. Other checklists/charts will be placed into various areas of the house i.e. behaviour charts and chore lists for our children will be in the kitchen area and cleaning schedules in the laundry. There is quite a few on the lists below that I have yet to complete over the rest of the year but I am focusing on the daily planner to begin with, and the routine charts for my children, and will add other pages as further missions are undertaken" -Megan
           

1. Daily Schedules:

• Morning Routine Chart (children) [KITCHEN]
• Afternoon Routine Chart (children) [KITCHEN]
• Evening Routine Chart (children) [KITCHEN]
• Good Behaviour Chart (children) [KITCHEN]
• Chore/Reward Chart (children) [KITCHEN]
• Weekly Schedule (family) [DAILY PLANNER]
• Calendar [WALL CALENDAR IN KITCHEN]
• To-Do List [DAILY PLANNER]

      

2. Cleaning Checklists:

• Daily House Cleaning Schedule
• Weekly cleaning schedule
• House cleaning checklist
• Weekly checklist for house cleaning
• Kitchen cleaning checklist
• Bathroom cleaning checklist 
• Housekeeping checklist to get ready for guests
• Spring cleaning checklist
• Christmas cleaning checklist
• Weekly laundry schedule [LAUNDRY]
• Stain removal guide [LAUNDRY]
• Task list template for tracking odd jobs and household chores [KITCHEN]

   
3. Car and Home:

• Car maintenance schedule
• Vehicle inspection checklist
• Vehicle maintenance log (also includes mileage log)
• Home maintenance checklist
• Home storage inventory
• Household inventory (and why you should create a household inventory)

 
4. Food and Drink:

• Shopping List [KITCHEN]
• Grocery price list
• Seasonal food calendar chart
• Coupon organizer
• Meal planning template
• Menu planning ideas forms
• Recipe organizer
• Pantry inventory
• Freezer inventory
• Errands and shopping list
• Food Journal [KITCHEN]

       

5. Family and Friends:

• Goal statement for your family
• Contact information and address book [DAILY PLANNER]
• Personal information page for each family member
• Clothing sizes for each family member
• Lists of books to read, DVDs to watch

 
6. School and Social Activities:

• Children's school papers
• School schedules and calendars [DAILY PLANNER]
• Lunch menus
• Carpool schedules
• School information page
• School reading lists
• Summer programs information [DAILY PLANNER]
• Sports schedules [DAILY PLANNER]
• Scouting and PTA materials

 
7. Health and Safety

• Emergency contact list [PURSE AND DAILY PLANNER]
• Medical information for family members
• Emergency supplies list
• Home safety checklist
• Fire safety checklist
• First aid checklist
• Prescription records
• Medical centre and GP information
• Health insurance information
• Pet health records
• Home security checklist

 
8. Finances:

• Savings Chart [DAILY PLANNER]
• Household budget [DAILY PLANNER]
• Bills to pay [DAILY PLANNER]
• Checkbook register
• Passwords for online accounts
• List of credit cards, banks and accounts

 
9. Legal Information and Documents:

• Insurance information
• Tax paperwork
• Contents of safety deposit box
• Warranty information
• Vehicle records
• Family records, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, wills, etc.
• Property ownership documents, such as deeds, leases, stock certificates, bonds, mortgages, etc.
• Contracts

 
10. Holidays and Other Events:

• How to make a holiday planner
• Thanksgiving planner, for your meals and traditions (including Thanksgiving grocery and shopping list, a written out menu, a countdown schedule for the day of cooking, plus a checklist for the whole month)
• Christmas meals, and traditions (including Christmas grocery list, and a written out menu)
• Christmas budgeting form
• Planning for other parties and celebrations
• Christmas wish list and gift list
• Seasonal greeting card and Christmas card list
• List of birthdays and anniversaries [DAILY PLANNER]
• Gift suggestion list
• Gift tracker (to track gifts received to write thank you notes)

         
Resource: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html
http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/how-to-get-organized.html
http://www.household-management-101.com/homemaking-notebook.html
   

DECLUTTER 365: DAY 7

15 minute missions to make a decluttered, clean, organised home!
 
Today's Goal: Declutter Pot Holders and Kitchen Towels
1. Take before picture.
2. Empty storage space and consider where you will put your kitchen cloths.
3. Vacuum, disinfect and clean drawers (or shelves).
4. Replace liners if needed (add dividers if you like).
5. Sort out pot holders and tea towels.
6. Fold clean tea towels into drawers neatly (use a divider to separate clean wash cloths and a spare set of oven mitts/pot holders) so that the drawers aren't full and each pile is easily accessed.
7. Pack away seasonal kitchen cloths (i.e Christmas prints) with seasonal items i.e. Christmas box (label storage box).
8. Donate any unwanted, reusable cloths.
9. Dispose of damaged or worn cloths (if they are unsuitable for cleaning cloths for example).
10. Take after photograph.
11. Store enough kitchen cloths to use between wash loads and ensure they are washed, folded and stored properly with every laundry.
   
"Until today I had a shelf of the laundry cupboard devoted to a mixture of cleaning cloths and kitchen tea towels. After yesterday's utensil decluttering mission, I had a kitchen drawer empty for storing tea towels. I've never stored linen in the kitchen but it makes sense! I wash daily, so I have stored around 5-6 tea towels (as I change cloths with every load of dishes), plus two spare tablecloths (which can often be changed daily if the kids are messy) and space for another set of pot holders/mitts (because my current set is worn and needs replacing). Any worn cloths become cleaning cloths and are stored in the laundry rag bag" -Megan
   
Resource: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html
   

52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE

GOAL: SAVE $1378 IN ONE YEAR

    

Save money easily with the 52 Week Challenge! Simply save $1 in Week 1, $2 in Week 2, and so on - adding $1 extra each week to your savings. After 52 weeks of saving, you will have $1378! You can use a glass jar for saving, or set up a separate bank account to transfer money into each week (then you'll also earn interest). Want to start the challenge, but it's not the beginning of the year? No problem! Just save the current total, then continue with the weekly deposit amounts as listed below. 

    

    

BANK SLOT LID INSERT
Transform regular mouth mason jars into money banks! Simply replace the seal from a regular mouth mason jar with the bank slot lid insert. Decorate your jar/s with paint, glitter, stickers etc. Glue paper over the insert for extra decoration if you like. Pinterest has lots of great ideas, and these money jars make great gifts (and make your year of saving extra special, especially if you are saving towards something).
"Money Challenge"
"Savings"
"Girls just wanna have funds"
"Don't follow your dreams - chase them"
"Money can't buy happiness but it can buy ..."
"Lucky Pennies"
"Mum's Pamper Fund"
"Shoe Fund"
"Loose Change"
"Jar Fund"
"Tip Jar"
"Rainy Day"
"Name" (decorate jars with a favourite colour, add initials, etc)
"My Stache" or "Hands off my Stache" (add a moustache to the jar)
"Laundry Money"
"Holiday Fund"
    
  
 
52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE ALTERNATIVE #1: REVERSE SAVINGS
Find it easier to save more at the beginning of the year? Save $52 in Week 1, $51 in Week 2, and so on - reducing the amount saved each week by $1 by following the chart below.
 
52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE ALTERNATIVE #2: MID-YEAR SAVINGS
Find it tricky to save at the beginning and end of the year? Start off with small savings, building up to the larger amounts in the middle of the year, then reducing payments to the end of the year - follow the chart below
   
52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE ALTERNATIVE #3: MONTHLY AUTO-TRANSFERS
Paid monthly? Save monthly! $115 per month = $1380 saved (plus interest, if you are transfering into a bank account).

8 WEEK FOOD JOURNAL

"At the beginning of last year I did an eight week exercise/healthy eating challenge with a few friends, and made these charts during the challenge - you can save, print and use them at home for yourself too!" -Megan
     

DECLUTTER 365: DAY 6

15 minute missions to make a decluttered, clean, organised home!

    
Today's Goal: Declutter kitchen utensils, knives and measuring cups.
1. Take before picture for sharing on the Declutter 365 Facebook Page.
2. Empty utensil drawers and clean drawers well. Replace liners if needed (add dividers if you like).
3. Place commonly used utensils into drawers neatly (organised by type if dividers are used) so that the drawers aren't full and utensils are hard to reach because they are mixed up.
4. Pack away special event utensils and excess cutlery elsewhere (label storage box).
5. Donate any unwanted, reusable utensils.
6. Dispose of damaged utensils.
7. Sharpen knives.
8. Store measuring cups in baking corner of the kitchen cupboards.
9. Take after photograph for sharing on the Declutter 365 Facebook Page.
10. Keep utensils, knives and measuring cups clean and tidy from now on!
    
"We have four drawers in our kitchen. The top drawer is for the most commonly used (cutlery), the second drawer is for commonly used utensils (cooking), the third for tea towels, spare sponges and kitchen cloths, and the fourth for storing other utensils that aren't used very often (i.e. baking). I emptied all of the drawers then vacuumed the inside of each drawer, sprayed with disinfectant and then wiped dry before returning cutlery and utensils to the correct place. I would like to add drawer dividers to two of the drawers soon" -Megan
   
Resource: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html
   
  

DECLUTTER 365: DAY 5

15 minute missions to make a decluttered, clean, organised home!
    
Today's Goal: Clear off kitchen table.
1. 
2. 
3. 
   
"Our table always seems to get cluttered because it is the first flat surface once you enter our living area, so I decided no decorations (vases etc): just a clean tablecloth after wiping down the table and chairs. I will be putting away any items that are left on the table (or telling my children to pack away their items) as I see items left on the table, instead of waiting to tidy up in the rush before serving family meals" -Megan
    
Resource: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html

http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-kitchen-table.html