DIY Chore Chart

Santa started quite the Skylanders craze in our house. Will couldn’t be happier, and is now addicted to these things! Seriously, he talks in his sleep about Skylanders.
Since Hubby & I are just a smidge smarter than a 3 year old, we decided that maybe we should use his Skylanders addiction to our advantage. Thus the Kiddo Chore Chart was born!

I cruised Pinterest for some inspiration, but I couldn’t find anything that quite fit the bill. Hubby & I agreed that it needed to be colorful, fun, and needed to have some kind of moving component.

Here’s what I used:

• Magnetic White Board (I had this over my desk & wasn’t using it.) – $8.94
• Metal Spiderman Bucket (from the $1 bin) – $1
• 3M Command Hook & Velcro Strip (I always have these around the house) – $3.94 for 2 pack
• Square Glass Magnets from Staples – $1 for each 6 pack, need 2 packs
• Pack of Dry Erase Markers – $7
• Mod Podge

I had everything except the magnets & dry erase markers on hand, so I spent $10 out of pocket. If you needed to buy everything, you’re barely over $20. Not too shabby!

First I used the velcro strip thingys and the hook to hang the board & bucket on the wall. I made sure to do it at 3-year-old height, since Will would be the one moving the magnets.

I am on a gold spray kick, so I taped off the inside of the Spiderman bucket and took it outside for a makeover…

After a few light coats of primer and gold spray paint, we were in business. I also sprayed the base of my hurricane while I was at it. I was tired of it being black… the gold is FAB!


Next, it was time to work on the magnets.

We brainstormed for quite a while for some “chores” Will could do. The key is to keep it simple. He’s only 3. So part of the strategy of this Chore Chart is for Will to willingly do everyday tasks without incident.

• Brush Your Teeth
• Get Dressed
• Help Clean Up The House – This is just what ever I ask him to help me with. Put the utensils away from the dishwasher, help sort the laundry & load it in the washer, etc.
• Clean Up Your Room
• Learning – more on this in a minute.

I just used some cute clipart I found on Word and online. I sized them up so they were a tad smaller than the magnets and printed them out on our regular ol’ inkjet printer, on regular ol’ printer paper.

Now that they’re all cut, I placed them on the magnet squares and used a little paint brush to brush on some Mod Podge.

I made sure to Mod Podge the edges well because if a little edge is lifted, someone’s little fingers will find it and peel it. It dries clear, so there’s no need to worry about it looking a little messy.

While the Mod Podge dried, it was time to jazz up the dry erase board:

Now we are in business:

Once it was all installed & ready to go, Hubby sat down and explained how this system works. Will was just a little excited.
 
Here’s how it works:

Every day Will brushes his teeth (or Mom or Dad brush his teeth), and it is a nice & easy experience, Will gets to move his magnet up one square. The same goes for Will getting dressed by himself and cleaning up the toys in his room. Of course, there’s still drama while doing these chores, but typically, he gets one warning like “if you don’t do this nicely, you don’t get to move your magnet”. Sometimes that is a nice reminder and he changes his attitude, and sometimes he doesn’t. It’s a bummer when he doesn’t get to move the magnet up, but that’s life. We don’t make a big deal about it or yell about it. We just remind him that that’s not how you behave, you don’t get to move it, so you’ll have to try and do better next time.

The “Helping Around the House” and “Learning” magnets work a little differently. Those aren’t necessarily on an everyday basis, but maybe every other day or so.
He has happily helped put away the utensils from the dishwasher:
I’ve also had him help me separate the laundry, put the clothes in the basket, and load it into the washer. He also helps put his clean clothes away in his drawers. My favorite part of this particular task is that he’s asked “Mom, are there any chores I can help you with?”. Be still my heart.

The “Learning” magnet is exactly that. He’ll be 4 in a few short weeks, so we figured we needed to work on some pre-kindergarten basics. We’ve worked on writing and recognizing letters:
Since Will isn’t much of a color-er, we vary the learning to other things like puzzles, counting & organizing coins or berries, and other hand-eye coordination skills. It’s also a tv-off, quality time activity, too. Bonus points all around.

Once he’s moved the chore magnet to the top, he can take a Skylander magnet out of the bucket and put it in the spikey bubble. 5 Skylanders in the spikey bubbles = a new Skylander!
The Skylander magnets are just Skylander stickers that came with some of the Skylanders he got for Christmas. Major bonus that they were just the right size for these magnets.

I make sure to put the Chore Chart in a prime location:

After a about a week and a half of hard work, Will earned his first reward:
I think he’s excited…

Do you have a Chore Chart for your munchkin? Do you have any ideas for other types of chores a 3 or 4 year old can do? I’d love to hear, and maybe even use them to evolve our Chore Chart. It’s always good to mix things up!

Good Tidying I Bring..

Ever year around this time, I get clean frantic.  It’s like spring cleaning, but mine comes in winter.  Maybe it’s because I’m spending more time in doors since it's below freezing out, or maybe its because when I just want to curl up on the couch it takes me an hour to clear off the books and toys, find a blanket, find my pillows that have been thrown everywhere, and then I’m just tired and want to go to bed.
So, since I have a few days off now without kids (yes I take them to school/daycare on my days off….how else would I get anything done?), I’ve decided to tidy ONE small area of my house at a time.  Not rooms, not whole closets….one, measly thing.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but with my time, energy, and lack of ability to finish large tasks in one day because I keep getting sidetracked with little details…ONE small area works for me.  So my last day off was the dresser in our master bedroom.  Not the drawers…just the top.  This is what it looked like before I began:

Ugh its so ugly.  And it’s been like this for, well, ever.  Sometimes it gets neat and sometimes its worse than others…but overall it usually look like this.  Love that I have Hunters “sick” cup just sitting there….hasn’t been sick for at least a week…

Ugly alarm clock.  I know Craig doesn’t think it’s that bad, but guess what’s going to be in his stocking for Christmas??  Oh!  Just what I’ve always wanted!!    And then we have random knick knacks that actually have meaning to us but we aren't displaying them like we should.  Bad Lani….
More random crap….
Not random crap…but why aren’t these pics in frames?  Oh…because I am a slacker.  I admit it now.  Hi, my name is Lani, and I’m a design slacker.
And ugly phone.  We never use this phone.  I don’t even know if this phone works.  If anyone were to call us in the middle of the night they would call my cell.  So why do I have this phone in my room….

So, after clearing off the dresser, giving her a good rub down and dusting, shopping my house, arranging and rearranging, and of course, using the power of pix messaging to get Heather’s opinion…It now looks like this!

Hooray!  It’s neat, it’s sort of asymmetrically balanced, it’s not as offensive to the eyes, to say the least!  I plan on adding a mirror above the tray and perhaps some kind of collage effect to the rest.  And I’m sure this will change like every month….but for now I’m really enjoying the neatness.
These vases were a snag at Target!  I think the large was $6 and the medium was $5.  They were part of this whole equestrian themed display and I just fell for the stud detail on them!  Then I placed the “brick” with mine and Craig’s name and anniversary on it front and center.  It was hidden behind the ugly alarm clock.  The brick is one of those places outside Disneyland and this little acrylic piece is a copy of what it looks like.  Craig bought the brick as a wedding present since we were married at the Disneyland Hotel.  And why was this not displayed properly before?  (see slacker note above)

I grabbed this tray from downstairs, and I’ll probably change the fabric that’s below the glass.  I finally framed one of the pics that were laying around, and displayed my new gold bowl and white urchin from the Nate Berkus collection at Target.  Hello Nate Berkus….welcome to my bedroom.
I’m loving how clean and simple it looks and am really just glad that the dresser is clear.  Now that I have a day off today…I’m finding another little thing to clean off before I start my frantic clean-for-Thanksgiving-so-none-of-your-guests-think-you’re-a-hoarder spree!  Yay!

Closet Style

I’ve had “Reorganize Closet” on my To-Do list for far too long. Especially since we are officially into summer and I needed to put summery clothes front and center. God help me if I needed to find a pair of shorts. I also knew that I needed to go about my clothes storing a little differently because what I was doing just wasn’t quite working. My drawers were overflowing & I couldn’t see what I had quick enough. #BusyMomProblems

Here’s a quick look at the mess:
We have a super long, i.e. 4” shy of 12 feet, closet that Hubby and I split. No fancy walk-in in this little hovel we call home. And we have a 6 drawer dresser that we split, so 3 drawers each. That’s it for clothes. I almost forgot to take Before pics for you, hence my shoe shelf already moved to the left. It was right up against the wall. 

Step #1, go to Target. That seems to be the 1st step in A LOT of things in life. It’s also Step 1 in “Getting your sanity back”, especially if you get to go to Target sans kids. But I digress… So I went to the closet organizing section and looked at a few of the hanging basket thingys. I even opened up two others before deciding on the Michael Graves one.

The Room Essentials one and the other one…sorry, can’t remember the brand name, had flimsy shelves. These were nice and sturdy. I didn’t want any bowing shelves. That just looks sloppy and makes for wrinkly clothes. Can’t have that! So $16.99 it was for this little dude despite my best efforts to try the cheaper ones first.

Then it was time to get to work. As I was finishing up the laundry, I scooted my shoe shelf to the left to make room for this hanging shelf on the right next to the wall. I am/was a jeans & tee kind of girl. It’s quick and easy and fairly brainless. Over the last couple of years, I’ve become more aware of my style thanks to watching too many What Not to Wear episodes, Lani (and her new mom-fashion blog) and my sister who can put together an outfit like nobody’s business. Maybe add a dash of having a boy that is SUCH a boy, which has caused me to become a little more feminine in my clothing choices. I’m growing up…my style is too.

I have always had my closet organized by color, first. And then by type – tanks, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves, you get the picture.
But new closet organization meant maybe trying something new… So it’s now organized by type and then color. Logically, this makes perfect sense because you usually know what KIND of shirt you’re looking for, first. As a whole, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing to me. I guess that’s my random OCD tick. I’m going to stick with it and see how much easier getting dressed is before I change it back.

I know… it’s not incredibly exciting in pics, but let me break it down for you. The pic on the left, you can see the hanging thingy, which I’ll break down in a minute, but the non-ribbed tanks are hanging, followed by short sleeve shirts, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves, cardigans, and blazer. Then they are organized light to dark, per Lani’s suggestion.
The pic on the right has skirts, capris, and dresses organized by sleeve length again. I was never a dress person. I wore dresses for special occasions and that was about it. But after watching WNTW and finding a few I actually liked and that fit, I’m a dress addict now. The sheer ease-factor is my major selling point. You only have to think about one piece of clothing…the dress vs. jeans+shirt+maybe cardigan etc. Throw on a dress, some sandals, and I’m out the door! Bonus points for not having to worry about things being too tight and muffin-topping (depending on the dress).

Now for the hangy thingy. As you can see by the quantity, I’m still a tanks & tees kind of girl. I had forgotten about some of these because they were shoved in drawers or double hung because I ran out of room. Now they’re all front and center. And all of these fit. I weeded out a few that didn’t that either get put away for when I lose a few lbs, or get donated. It’s just like when I was pregnant with Will, having clothes I can see that fit eliminates dressing stress.

Here’s the 2nd half – Jeans have been taken from hanging to folded. Now I’m really glad I made sure I got a sturdier hanging cubby because jeans are heavy. I also folded them so that the butt pocket is facing up that way I can easily identify what jeans are what. Light-weight sweaters and a zipper hoodie live in the 2nd from the bottom because I won’t be needing those very much during the summer except on the rare cooler days. And then sweaters on the bottom for now since they’re not in season, but they take up a LOT of drawer space. I’m going to pick up one of the drawer bins to put the sweaters in, just so they’re more protected during the off-season.

My last stop on the clothes organizing train was the dresser.
OMG. You just saw my underwear! Ha Ha! Don’t worry…they’re all clean. I picked up these drawer inserts from Ikea (SKUBB from Ikea for $7.99 for a set of 6) a long time ago and really like them. They keep my unmentionables drawer from being a massive wreck.
Next I’ve got my pj’s drawer. I put all of the lightweight stuff towards the front, and the heavier stuff that I won’t be wearing anytime soon, in the back on the bottom.
The bottom drawer has shorts, work out clothes, and leggings. It used to also house sweaters and tees that didn’t have hanging room. This is way more manageable and again, I can see what I need right away.

Phew!
It really didn’t take that long, it was just a matter of doing it. Now I just need to tackle the upper shelf:
I think some more cubbies might be in order for purse storage…

Are you on an organizing-spree? Any new tricks you’ve found particularly life changing? Or are you making your Things-To-Tackle list? I feel like my list is a mile long…

Organizing Paint Chaos

Way back when, Hubby did a little update to our “garage”. We don’t have a garage… one kid later, we realize how much of an oversight this was when purchasing our condo, but we throw that in the Live-&-Learn bucket of purchasing our first home and try to make the best of what we’ve got.

Two years after that little project, it’s still working for us, but it was getting a little crowded.
Yes, those are crutches wedged on the left side of the washer from my knee surgery 4 years ago… I thought those went to Goodwill. Guess not. And we never know where to put our Christmas tree stand, so it just kind of lives on the dryer.
Here’s a close up:

We have now painted every room in our house and I thought it was time to pair down the large gallon cans to smaller quart ones. I picked up the paint for my living room this weekend since it was $5 off a gallon at Home Depot. WOOT! I also picked up paint for the kitchen & our master bathroom. I’m crazy. What…? $5 off is a good deal, especially when I splurged and got the Behr paint+primer in one. It goes on like buttah. Love it.

So for $2.97 each, I picked up these cute little empty quart cans and started going through our old paint.

The color on the left is the blue in our kitchen. Even though I’m going to paint the kitchen again, I figured the blue might be good for another project down the line. Something small since there’s only about 1/2 quart of paint left. The can on the right is from our master bedroom. I still absolutely love this color and have no plans to repaint this room while we live here. It’s so rich and chocolatey. Probably one of my best paint color pickin’s ever. And those two cans were the only ones I was able to pair down. What?! Yes, while going through my paint cans, I realized that I am a paint-over-purchaser. I have at least a half gallon of paint or more left from every other room in our house. But doing this meant I opened each can, stirred it really well since some of the pigments had separated, and I cleaned off the rim really well to get a really good seal on the can. I also did this:

I also labeled the top of each can this way, but now I can see exactly what we’ve got at a quick glance, or a quick move of one can to see what’s behind it. I couldn’t believe that I’ve got a whole gallon, or a few brush strokes shy of a gallon, of paint for some of these rooms! I love these colors, and even the ones I’m over, they would be great for a smaller project and maybe mixed with some grey or white to change the lightness or tone of it. That khaki in the front is a great khaki, but when you paint a tiny bathroom that color that gets zero natural light, it gets muddy & gross.

Here’s the refreshed top shelf:

I also realized I’ve accumulated a lot of spray paints, and a wine rack would be a great way to store them so you can see the color of the caps. Or maybe just a crate flipped on it’s side so you can lay the cans down to see the caps. I know what I’m going to be looking for on my next Goodwill trip!
Admittedly, it’s not a major live changing improvement, but it’s a small one. I might even get really OCD & make a little hanging list of the spray paints I have and their colors to hang from the little lip on the shelf, and do the same for the gallon cans. I have now accumulated lots of tester pots of paint from various projects like Will’s Toy Story cut-outs and my current living room wall situation:
Which reminds me… I need to start taping that room off so we can paint it this weekend. Woot! An end to the paint swatch mosaic madness!

Have you caught the organizing bug? What about the home improvement one? I swear it’s contagious. My favorite part of organizing or re-organizing something is learning something new and ridiculous about myself. Keep your eyes peeled for me on an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive by paint. I’ll be sitting on my paint can thrown drinking my Arnold Palmer out of an empty paint can…