Family Organizer for Computer and Cell Phone

 

I wanted to share with you this app I have started using. It's really an awesome resource.  I currently have the free version and of course you get a few more bells and whistles with the paid one but even the free version is great.

 

Your same calendar is displayed on both your computer and phone so you can check whichever is the easiest for you. Another plus is that if you do the Fly Lady approach to cleaning, you can install the calendar from her site and it will have all the zones and missions listed for the week on your calendar. :)  If you don't want those on yours then register for it on the Cozi site or the app store on your phone.  It will look like the version above without the zones.

 

 

This is a screen shot of my phone showing the daily calendar. I just use the Groceries section for my list of things I want to purchase (soon). You could use it for your grocery list I just don't. When you click on the zones you can see the detailed version of the zone and the daily mission. You can also add appointments and reminders also.

 

 

Here's the weekly view and you can scroll down for the rest of the week.

 

The computer version has a section for menu planning that I don't see on the phone version and that's a pretty nice section too if you want to get away from paper and pencil menu planning. You can share the calendar with family members so they can access it also. Not sure if that is only on the paid version as I just wanted the calendar for myself not everyone in my family!

 

Anyway it's called Cozi and you should check it out at Cozi.com

 

 

Wild Card Wednesday: Spring Cleaning

Spring is here and time to thinking....Spring Cleaning. I found a super sweet Spring Cleaning checklist over at Vocalpoint and you can print as many as you want...one for each room or area you want to clean!  Find it HERE.

 

Here's another version from Samplewords.com. You can find it HERE.

Then there's a Martha Stewart one available over at her site. You can find the version HERE.   I'm not crazy about the format with the table set because it just uses more ink but you might like it or get ideas for items to add to your own list from hers!



Over at SheKnows are great individual room lists for the livingroom, kitchen, bedroom , and bathroom. You can find those HERE.

Visit Finding Home for another great spirng cleaning checklist and it's free to download!

Happy Spring Cleaning Everyone!!

Holidays Through the Year

This week I have been working on my Holidays Through the Year Notebook...it is the place I archive holidays that don't really need a whole notebook to themselves. Currently it house ideas for

• Valentine's Day
• Chinese New Years
• Mardi Gras
• St. Patrick's Day
• Cinco de Mayo
• Summer Back Yard Bash (ummm technically NOT a holiday)
• 4th of July
• Thanksgiving
• New Year's Eve/Day
• Birthday Celebrations

(Christmas, Halloween, and Easter all have their own notebooks)

I have been working on the Cinco de Mayo section. I added a word search I found online, a colorsheet for Evan (made one for him to color and one to archive), a history sheet with facts about Cinco de Mayo, and a craft idea for making maracas. I have a Cinco de Mayo section in my Holiday Favorites recipe notebook so the recipes for this holiday are stored there. I also included a "planning list" that I typed up to use as a master list each year!

New "To Do" Format

I decided to try a new format for my Weekly To Do's (by days of the week). By using the landscape setting I manged to get all the days on one sheet. And I can highlight them as I complete them or just use the sheet as a reference for the week.

Weekly To Do Sheet (one page format)

Dividing Your Magic Maintenance List

Okay as promised I am going to give you some options about how to manage that LONG Magic Maintenance list that you have created...ummm.....you have it created....right? If not wave your magic wand and get it finished...just start with a rough hand written draft because as you go along you are sure to change it a bit.

• Add 1-2 items from the list each week to your weekly to dos
• Add 1-2 items from the list to your Room of the Month plan.
• Pick one week to be your Magic Maintenance Week each month...do only basic cleaning and Magic Maintenance items
• Add you Magic Maintenance items to your Seasonal chores list...so divide the list into four parts and put one part in each season.
• Make Saturday or Monday or whatever...your Magic Maintenance Day...double up another day to accommadate those chores and then focus on Magic Maintenance on its special day each week!

Well that's it...I am sure there are other possibilites too and I would love to hear about how you divide your list. The whole idea behind all of the list I am telling you about here at Month by Month...is to divide and conquer...nobody can do it ALL every day...so by listing every thing and then dividing it into manageable chunks...it's less overwhelming!

Easter Master To Do List

Here's a link to a printable Master To Do List for Easter. Time's a ticking so you may not get it all done but it will be a good reference sheet for next year...you may have some personal additions to make to the list!

MASTER EASTER TO DO LIST

Notebook Monthly Sections Setup

As promised:

1. Divider page and calendar for the month in a page protector back to back.




2. Monthly Magic printout (two pages) filed back to back in a page protector.




3. Room of the Month Master List: This is the list I create for which ever room I am working on. This is EVERYTHING I hope, scheme, and dream can be accomplished during the month. It has two parts...Things To Do and Things To Buy for that particular room.




4. Weekly To Do Lists by Days (I print mine out and write on them, a month's worth at a time and I write the date at the top of each column) There is a column each week for the Room of the Month: I jot down those things from the master list that I hope to accomplish that week.




5. I place a colored sheet of copier paper here. I use red but you could use any color. This is just a visual that helps me find the next little section easier.




6. Rudolph Day, Great Pumkin Day, Turkey Day, Year Round Holiday Planning Lists,




7. I place another color of copier paper next.




8. Then I place any Mini Event Planners that I need for the month here along with a Cards & Gifts list. I keep my Crafts to Do List and To Buy List in this section. Just this year I have added my Reading 2008 Book list also.




9. The final section is a page protector that holds my Magic Maintenance list since I use it to add items to my to dos each month/week.

Well that's it...the actual set up of the monthly section. The lists that are my Weekly To Do's get thrown away at the end of each week. If there are any important notes jotted on them I transfer them to the next week. This forces me to look at each week as a new beginning. It is also a visual reminder of the month's days passing by!

Magic Maintenance List

I have "published" the Magic Maintenace list for you to view. I really need to go over it again because I am not sure that I have everything on the list that I need. I am transferring my master list from a room based list to just a master list and I hope I got everything. If not I'll revise it as needed.

To create your own Magic Maintenance list. Take some paper and a pen...walk around your house and think about chores that need to be done to keep your house the way you want it to be. Think about the goal you are working toward not what you are doing now. Put small and large jobs (actually any job that you would ideally do monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or even just once a year. Some items I find easier to list for the whole house. For example to me...it is easier to say: Wash all light fixtures....rather than... wash light fixtures in kitchen, wash light fixtures in living room etc. You will need to decide which you like better.

After you do this...file it in your Home Notebook...I move it each month so it stays at the back of the current month's section. When you work your Weekly To Dos list by days...add one or two of the items from Magic Maintenance to your list. You may not get them all done...but little by little you will make progress and you will be doing more than you are now!! Also when I rotate through the year doing my Room of the Month...that is when I try to include the Magic Maintenance chores for that room!

Here's my list...of course yours will be different based on your home and your preferences. Also I have not noted whether they are monthly, bi-monthly etc...that is also something you will need to consider. When I share my seasonal sections of the notebook I will give you more details as to how I spread them out over the course of the year! And there are also some additional seasonal chores that are not on this list!

Ginger's Magic Maintenance List

St. Patrick's Day Master To Do List

Here's the list I keep in my Year Round Holiday Notebook as a reminder for St. Pat's Day.

1. Update Calendar


2. Check Celebrations notebook for any new ideas to try.


3. Plan card desing


4. Buy card supplies


5. Make Cards


6. Mail Cards


7. Put out decor


8. Plan menu & Special treats


9. Buy ingredients


10. Shop after St. Pat's clearance


11. Inventory St. Pat's purchases


12. Develop pictures


13. Update Scrapbook


14. Pack away decor

And here's a little printable St. Patrick's Day List to use. Enjoy!

Weekly "To Do" List by Days (Wed. & Thurs.)

I have added Wednesday and Thursday as a document at googledocuments. This time it is "published" rather than the way I put the first one up. Check it out and see if there is any difference between the way the first one is "shared" and the way this one is "published". Not sure the pros and cons of each method so if you see a significant difference let me know.

Okay some people thought the "shared" document was easier to read than the "published" one so I have unpublished it and here is a link to the shared one...same thing...just shared the other way.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p79CUvjK-PShabED8Lu1EOQ&hl=en

Again I realize the lists are pretty basic but some readers wanted to see them so that is why I am sharing them with you in document form. It will give you a good basic idea and then you can fine tune it for your own home.

Weekly "To Do" Lists by Days (Mon. & Tues.)

Okay. This is an experiment to check out if people can see my document via GoogleDocs. Here is a link. Check it out and see if you can view it and let me know.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p79CUvjK-PSiCIMWqSTxIDg&hl=en

This is a simple Weekly To Do List that I use by days of the week. This one shows Monday and Tuesday. It's not rocket science...LOL. It is a simple list because working full time I can not do tons every evening. At the top of the list you will see my morning routine, then the room for the day is listed along with a standard list, then blank spots (more about those later), and finally my evening routine. Also please note that the blank area next to 15 declutter is used to list the "target area" I am going to focus on that morning. I write those in on Sunday for the whole week.
You may print the document via adobe (I think) at GoogleDocuments but really you are most likely just going to want to use it as an example to create your own list. Your home, work schedule, and needs are different than mine. I do a room every day except Friday. Then Saturday is for bigger whole house jobs like vacumning. I don't want to drag the vacumn cleaner out every night so I do it all on Saturday.
If you are really interested I can put up the other days also. Since there are seven days, each sheet has two days on it. The last sheet also has the list for the Room of the Month bringing the total to 8 lists. You could cut them apart if you wanted and make a mini to do pad each week but I have just been leaving them on a whole sheet.

Valentine's Master To Do List

A year or so ago at OrganizedChristmas, one of the members: basket and I were taking about lists. She had made some in excel for each holiday. I decided to follow her example and create a Master To Do list for each holiday. Here's the one for Valentine's Day

• Update Calendar


• Check Celebrations Notebook for ideas


• Add any tips that are jotted down else where


• Plan Card Design


• Buy Card Supplies


• Make Cards


• Address & Mail Cards


• Buy Any New Decor


• Decorate Home


• Plan Menu/Special Dinner


• Buy Ingredients for Meal


• Shop After Valentine's Clearance


• Inventory Valentine Purchases in Notebook


• Develop any Pictures


• Update Scrapbook


• Pack Away Decor