This couldn't have come around at a better time! Just when I was starting to think about sorting out my junk and stuff I am not taking with me when I move. I might not have the time to do a whole room in a week (or in my case, a weekend) but I can at least use it as a starting point. :-) xx
I am not a naturally organised person, if such a thing exists at all. I love the idea of being organised but it isn't something that just happens. It's something I really have to work on. As I start to plan my upcoming move, I have been thinking about making a household management book so I can keep on track of my life and my home and, eventually, my family. I did try and start one a few years back but it failed miserably and when I moved out to live on my own again I found I didn't really need one so much.
I have a small collection of home making books that I peruse occasionally for home ideas, etc. One of my favourites is "Cut the Clutter" by Cynthia Townley Ewer of OrganizedHome.com. This book gave me the idea of having a household notebook in the first place and the website has a wealth of great printable templates and forms to use.
A quick search on the internet leads to so much more, including You Tube videos of various homemaking blogger's own household planners.....all very American of course. I don't think I have found a single British one! I think we Brits can learn a lot from our friends across the pond. Yes, there can be a lot of Christian influences which might be off-putting to us non-religious types but, to be brutally honest, maybe a few Christian values are exactly what this country needs. I'm not saying we should all start going to church every Sunday, just bring back a little more emphasis on the importance of family and community.
Anyway, getting back to the subject of this post. I have a general idea of how I want to organise my notebook:
1. Calendar/Schedule: daily to do list, whole year planner and monthly pages, probably two months at a time.
2. Home: cleaning checklists, supply lists, homemade cleaning recipes, etc.
3. Food: larder and freezer inventories, menu planner and shopping lists, recipes to try and coupons
4. Bills and Finance: receipts, master list of bills and when they are paid, list of other outgoings that are due such as car tax or MOT, insurance renewals, etc.
5. Contacts: family phone numbers, utilities, emergency contacts, etc
7. Projects: details of current home projects. My house move would be the first entry here!
I have been looking around for a folder to use but nothing has caught my eye yet. I really want dividers with pockets....is that so hard??!
The idea is that I will have three calendars: a general scheduling calendar in section one, a menu planning one in section 3 and a finance one in section 4. Every evening I will fill in my to-do list for the next day using these calendars and the cleaning checklists. The bills/finance calendar will be used for irregular expenses like birthday presents and car tax.
Hopefully this won't be too complicated! I can just imagine that a single calendar will get so full that I won't know where I am.
This video from Life.Yourway.net has some more great ideas. I especially like the ideas folder.
This isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I know what I like and what I don't, but as far as knowing what my actual design style is....that's a little more tricky. But is it really all that important to know your exact style? Surely if you like something, you incorporate it into your existing surroundings or use it a inspiration for producing a room you love.
The Inspired Room has some lovely words here on finding your style: Inspired By Life: Finding Your Style - The Inspired Room. I especially like the part about creating rooms to "inspire and accommodate your life". This is great advice and something I will definitely use when it comes to creating a space that is not only for me but for Em too as we build our life together.
I like simplicity too. Our homes should be a reflection of our lives and not look like it was contrived to look that way.
Just for fun, I took a What's Your Design Style Quiz from HomeGoods and the outcome was fairly standard. I do want a welcoming home that is comfy and cosy. I also love bright early colours like greens and yellow.
You're interested in creating a welcoming home where people feel comfortable and happiness flourishes. You appreciate the warmth and individuality of natural materials and handcrafted things and are inspired by colors and forms from nature. You love mixing up different textures and are sensitive to the tactile qualities of objects. Your style is grounded and solid, not flighty or frilly. And you are never taken in by the trend of the moment.
You value serenity. While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used."
I am still looking for homemaking/DIY/crafty-type blogs and I can't help thinking that there appear to be a severe lack of UK-based bloggers out there. All the best ones are based in the USA. Not that this is a bad thing! I know from experience that the Americans love their homey crafts and I remember my Mum loved visiting the craft shops out there and made some lovely things. That being said, the UK needs to start representing!
I don't want to start getting too ahead of myself but I think I may have finally found a focus for my blog. I say this with some hesitation because I don't quite have the time to focus on my crafts and home stuff right now. This will all change when I move of course but I don't want to start making any definite decisions right now in case I can't stick to them. Nothing wrong with having a goal though!
In related news, I have found another lovely website:
In June, the plan is to move in with the boyfriend so I will be leaving my lovely flat and moving to his house in the village of Durrington around 10 miles away. I am really excited but nervous at the same time to be effectively starting a new life. I have to say, I am getting to the stage where I don't look forward to being in the flat on my own any more. I used to love coming home, having dinner and chilling out in my flat, just me and my little space. Now, I get home and miss being around Em and I am starting to think about all the things I can do more of when I move. I'll have more room to bake and more reason to cook lovely things; more time to concentrate on my coursework.
I have been starting to look at more home-making blogs and design stuff (Em wants me to have some input into decorating the place...yay!). To be honest, I always do when I move house, hence the various home-making books dotted about my bookshelf, but this time it feels different.
I would have found more but all I seem to be able to find on the net are blogs by and for Christian housewives in the USA, of which I am neither! Maybe I have found a gap in the blogging 'market'! xxx
Only 700 words left on my second course essay. This is without doubt the hardest essay I have ever written and that is saying something! Normally I can whip up a half-decent piece of writing in a few days but this course is really challenging. Not that it's a bad thing of course. It just means I am going to have to really plan ahead with the next one. Really think about what's needed before I even start the background reading. It might help to keep up with the reading too and not get behind!
I did manage to dump a lot of stuff yesterday, gradually clearing some of the clutter in my flat! Next weekend the Christmas decorations go up and I have just one pile of paper to send to be recycled and the floor will be as clear as it can be. My kitchen is done, the annoying bar stools that I never use have been dumped and the millions of carrier bags are being recycled so I can finally sweep the floor without having to move crap around! I have even bought some Christmas decorations to go up in the kitchen. Next up, the bathroom and my shoes! :-) xx
Finally I have some time to sit and write! These last few weeks have been hectic to say the least but will pretty much be the pattern of my life for the next few months. At least I am now starting to settle down and start using my time a little better. Organisation is key to success! Where have I heard that before?
Anyway, I thought I would go back to basics today, a little journal entry to catch up on what has been going on in my life the past few months. Since starting at the school a few weeks ago I have been so much happier at work. I am getting closer to my goal and doing what I want to do so it's a lot easier to deal with the stuff I have to do...if that makes sense.
The children are great, a proper mixture of characters. I am still finding my feet there so I am not quite sure exactly what my role is but I am really enjoying getting stuck in and doing a bit of everything. My favourite thing so far is working with little groups of children on an activity. I really want to work with individual children, maybe listen to them read or something. It would also help with my relationship with the children. Right now, my course is looking at how relationships between children and adults in schools are so important. It helps a child if they know that the adults in their life respect their learning and their abilities. Also, it helps teach them how to communicate with each other and form their own way of learning.
There is so much to learn and think about it's no wonder it's taken me so long to organise myself. I have taken to writing a log of my time in the school alongside my course notes so I can put all my thoughts down when the school day is over. My head would explode otherwise and I would forget everything! Now my daily work life is fairly well organised, I can look at getting my flat organised and finishing my Christmas pressies. Yes, I do have the time! Only today, I sorted out all the plastic bags I have in my kitchen and cleared a load of space after cleaning my sink and putting away the dishes! I still had time to do some reading before writing this entry. And I will still be in bed by 10.30! Brilliant! I think I might be getting the hang of this! xx
I have lived in my flat for just over a year and a half and only just discovered that the courtyard garden at the back of the property is mine! This is not, as it sounds, like I was just being blissfully stupid and unaware that there was outdoor space but due to the lack of information from my letting agent.
Anyhow, the area is mine and I am going to do something with it. It would be lovely to grow some things in pots, maybe veg and flowers and have a nice seating area for when the weather is good. There is also a washing line and I so miss being able to hang out my washing! Line-dried clothes and bed-linen are just fabulous and fresh! I think I need to start by clearing out the weeds and growth that has come over from the yard next door. (I say next door but the garden on the right is not really owned by anybody but is just a fenced off space full of brambles).
The wall at the back has lots of possibilities too. Time to scour the bookshops and internet for ideas and how to's as I really do not know much at all about gardening!
