Getting Organized :: Binders!

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!


You may have noticed from some of my previous organizing posts, but I am OBSESSED with binders.  They can serve so many purposes when it comes to staying organized.  Here's a list of ways I utilize binders in our house:

Recipe Binder ~ I wrote an entire post about my recipe binder a while back, and I still love it dearly.
Sewing & Crocheting ~ I use a pretty binder I found at Target to keep my sewing & crocheting patterns organized.  I have sections for projects I've done, projects I'm working on, and projects I can't wait to try.  The binder is 90% sewing & crocheting, but I've thrown a few other miscellanious ideas & tutorials into it as well.
Kids' Schoolwork ~ I use binders to collect the kids' schoolwork that I want to save.  I don't save every single thing they do at school, but special stories they wrote, big spelling tests, awards, cool art projects, etc.  It's just a sampling of their school-year.  I store the binders on a shelf in the basement closet for when they are older.  So far I've been able to fit 2 school years into one binder (1.5 inch). 
Legos ~ I bought a HUGE binder to organize the kids' HUGE collection of Lego Instruction booklets.  Read all about it here.
Teaching Resources ~ I taught preschool for years, and over time I've collected lots of lesson plans, templates, clip art, forms, etc.  I am starting to use binders to organize all of this stuff for when I go back to teaching in the future.
Instruction Manuals ~ I use another HUGE binder to organize all of our various owners manuals for all of the appliances in our home.  I divide up into sections (kitchen, kids stuff, outside equipment, etc).  This is super helpful when something breaks and we need to reference the manual.
Home Organization ~ I use this binder every single day, and it keeps our family moving in an organized manner.  Read more about it here.  I highly recommend making a binder like this if you are feeling like your life is kind of chaotic.

And here's a couple binders that are on my wishlist:  Life.doc and Valuables.doc

Do you use binders to keep organized?  Please share your ideas!

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

our morning walks

this summer we have taken many morning walks in covington, wandering around getting some excercise and taking in the sites while the kids take art & cooking classes.  we have found so many things to talk about on our walks.  i treasure the time spent with my boys and the conversations we've had.  after our walks we spend some time in the gardens of baker hunt waiting for ella and enjoying the beauty there.
**click on photos for a larger view**

 the geese along riverside drive

 waving to boaters

 james bradley

 

 details... 

 i love the owl guarding this building 

 

in the gardens at baker hunt

new camera, part one

last week we bought ourselves a new camera.  i am positively giddy about this.  we bought a canon rebel t3.  i'm not going to bore you with the details, you can check those out on amazon...i just want to share some of my favorite pix i've taken with it.  and to tell you that i give it two thumbs up.  i've only used it on the automatic settings so far, but there's so much more to it....i just need to find the time to read the manual, and learn about it.  for now i'm just happily snapping pictures any chance i get.

Menu Plan Monday ~ In Reverse ~ July 25

I am participating in Menu Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com, but unlike most of the other participants who plan their menus and post them that week, I'm always a bit behind, and I post my menus a week later. I do this so that I can let you know if I try a new recipe and it's not that great. I don't want to blog about a recipe if it's no good. Participating in MPM has inspired me to find new recipes for my family, and I hope that when you read this post you can find new recipes for your family!

Before I share this menu, I have to tell you something...we are having some rather hot & humid weather around these parts, and we live in a home with no central air, only 2 window units.  So when I turn my oven on in the summer the entire house heats up.  So our menus of late are heavy with leftovers, and meals I can cook on top of the stove instead of turning the oven on.  I did have a couple NEW finds this week that we fell in love with...Orange Chicken and the Sirloin Steak recipe...both get 5 stars in our book.  AND I have a yummy grilled chicken recipe to share with you from my lovely Auntie Annie. 

Here's our menu, please share your ideas, recipes & menus in the comments section!

Monday ~ Sandwiches/Leftover Pizza/Fruit (then the pool!)
Tuesday ~ Brinner: Pancakes, Sausage & Hash Browns
Wednesday ~ Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday ~ Ella's Birthday ~ We ate dinner at Mi Tierra!
Friday ~ Orange Chicken & Brown Rice (and it's tasty re-heated too!)
Saturday ~ Sirloin Steak with Dijon-Port Sauce
Sunday ~ Cookout with family, where we had Auntie Annie's Grilled Chicken (see below) and I made oatmeal cookies, yum!
 
Auntie Annie's Grilled Chicken Tenders
A day before you want to put the tenders on the grill, rinse and pat dry as many chicken tenders as you wish. (I always make lots so we have dinner and lunch for the week. Grilled poultry will last at least five days in your frig tightly wrapped.)

Select your favorite seasoning. I use a garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and other dried herbs for mine. Brush extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the tenders - season liberally. Marinate overnight.
Spray your grill with Pam and get it good and hot. Put all the tenders on the grill and turn down to medium. Since the pieces are so small, it may only take three minutes on each side.
Tenders are perfect for salads, sandwiches, or just eating them alone with fresh veggies.

***i took lots of pictures of the chicken because mama has a new camera, more on that later, AND because it looked tantalizing, and smelled so good!

Getting Organized :: Couponing! (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!

Coupon Organizer Giveaway is CLOSED ~ The Winner is: Angela Endicott, who wrote: "I'm tired of carrying my coupons in envelopes that fall apart!! Plus I am a fan of saving money!!"
Angela, email me at Katie(at)Cards-by-Katie(dot)com to claim your prize! 
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, stay tuned to the little things...more giveaways are in the works!  And if you still want to purchase a coupons organizer from Grandma's Little Lilly Etsy Shop use the code lilly30 and she will give you a 2.00 discount on your order! I think I might pick up another organizer as a gift.  And her items are already very reasonably priced, so this is quite a treat to have a discount as well :)






I have been "couponing" for several years now, but please note, I use that term loosely.  I am not a Coupon Queen by any means.  And I don't have anything to teach you about couponing.  I have friends that are amazing at collecting coupons, shopping sales, stocking up on cheap items to use later, matching coupons, stacking coupons, etc.  I admire them, and I try to learn nuggets of wisdom from them.  But I am just a rookie.  And that's ok with me.  I want to save a little money, but I still have much to learn.  And I need to get better about couponing on a regular basis.  I go through slumps where I just don't make the time to do it.  And I regret that.  So I'm giving my coupon-collecting ways a makeover, and I hope to do a better job of staying on top of things to save a few cents. 

When I started couponing I used a binder with baseball card holders to organize my coupons (see picture above), and this was great.  But lately it just hasn't been what I've wanted.  I wanted to downsize. 

I searched Etsy.com and came upon Grandma's Little Lilly shop.  She has a HUGE selection of these adorable cloth coupon organizers.  They are small, made with fun fabrics, and when they are closed they look like a little clutch purse.  I love that I can throw this in my purse...and BONUS...it attaches to the back of the cart!  Rhonda makes all of these coupon organizers herself, using an original design that her mother created, and she makes these organizers to continue her mother's legacy.  I love that sweet story behind them!

Here's more info about the organizer from the Etsy shop description:

 ♥ 26 blank dividers

♥ 80 grocery labels, 40 budget receipt labels 16 department store labels and 24 blank labels a total of 160 labels!

♥ attaches to your shopping cart for easy use and EASY access to your coupons!

♥ Endless possibilities for you to organizer it your way. Aisle by aisle, alphabetical order, store by store, and you can change it around when you want to fit your needs.

♥ Stylish fabrics to choose from

♥ never falls apart (holds up for many years)

♥ holds 100’s of coupons

I loved this organizer so much that I emailed Rhonda from Grandma's Little Lilly shop and asked her if she wanted to collaborate for a giveaway, and she agreed!  I am so excited to get to share one of these cute coupon organizers with one of my readers.  And I have been thinking, even if you are a coupon-er using a binder, you could still use this cloth organizer to organize your coupons for your non-grocery store coupons...Walgreens, Kohls, Target, etc.  It has so many possible uses!

 

Coupon Organizer Giveaway

The winner of this giveaway will receive one regular sized coupon organizer from Grandma's Little Lilly Etsy shop.  Entering is quite easy, see details below.  And I'm going to give you several chances to win.  A few important things to remember:  BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION, and also leave a separate comment for each entry in the contest.

 

How to enter:

* Leave a comment below telling me why you want to win this coupon organizer. 

*  Show us some love:  Head over to Grandma's Little Lilly facebook page & the little things blog facebook page and click the "LIKE" button.  Leave another comment telling me you did so!

*  Share this giveaway with your friends, and the leave yet another comment below telling me how you spread the word.

 

A winner will be chosen on Friday, July 29th at 2pm using Random.org.  I will announce the winner on the blog, and if you have left contact information I will attempt to contact you.  The winner has 48 hours to reply or another winner will be chosen.

 

AND..as an added BONUS...I have a discount code, in case you would like to purchase one of these organizers for someone else, or for yourself.  I think they'd make great gifts!   Use the code lilly30 and she will give you a 2.00 discount on your order!  And her items are already very reasonably priced, so this is quite a treat to have a discount as well :)

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama:   A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

happy birthday to my sweet ella rose

My little girl turns eight today.  I wanted to write a sweet post like I did for Max's birthday.  But I'm just not great with words, despite my job as a card-maker.  And I couldn't pick the right pictures, there were too many, so I decided to do a slideshow.  This is my first slideshow, so please excuse any technical  issues.  We love our sweet girl, and feel blessed to have her in our life!  And one thing that is apparent after watching this video is that I've sure had fun dressing my little girl over the years!  Boys just aren't as fun to dress, buy them a superhero t-shirt and they are good to go ;)
Enjoy the video!  And a very happy birthday to my sweet girl, Ella Bella, Princess of Kentucky.

here i am!

Is anyone out there in my blogosphere wondering about my sporadic posts lately?  I was doing so good at posting on a regular basis, and then POOF, lost my mojo!  I've been a bit pre-occupied with all our summer happenings.  We're on the go quite a bit with art classes, cooking classes, swimming, hiking, and general adventuring. 

And I've spent quite a bit of time working on note card jobs (thank you dear customers!).  For anyone who is interested, I'm having a Christmas in July sale right now, all of my seasonal cards are $3 a pack.  Just email me at: Katie(at)Cards-by-Katie(dot)com if you are interested in ordering!

I've also designed a few new sweet & simple note cards:

the lily pad photo note

and the butterfly "just a note" card

you can find both of these at my Etsy shop

Sorry for the shameless business plugs folks...just trying to find all the snail mail lovin' people I can!  So whenever we are not at play, and that is quite often, you can find me working on cards at the dining room table, surrounded by legos, arts & crafts, and other random activites the kids are working on.  We've spent most of our time adventuring though, exploring our area and just having fun.  I really try to make the kids' vacations from school fun for them (and maybe a bit educational at the same time).  Here's just a couple examples of our adventures...

We've been on a pirate ship where the kids had to walk the plank.

And we made very cool glass art at Brazee Art Studio in Oakley.

please note, these pics were taken before our people were fired in the kiln, they look much cooler now!

You can read more about these adventures on http://www.familyfriendlycincinnati.com/ (another shameless plug!)

I'm also determined to get more organized this summer, so I try to fit in some work on that when I can.  This week I've got a great discount on the blog for CleanMama printables, check out my post about her Etsy shop and take advantage of the deal, it ends this Sunday, 7/24.  I'm going to be ordering a few things myself tonight!

So what have you been doing on these hot summer days?  And feel free to give your small business endeavors a shout out in the comments, you all know I've been doing it for most of this post ;)

Menu Plan Monday ~ In Reverse ~ July 18

I am participating in Menu Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com, but unlike most of the other participants who plan their menus and post them that week, I'm always a bit behind, and I post my menus a week later. I do this so that I can let you know if I try a new recipe and it's not that great. I don't want to blog about a recipe if it's no good. Participating in MPM has inspired me to find new recipes for my family, and I hope that when you read this post you can find new recipes for your family!

Here's what was cooking last week at our house:
Monday ~ Mama escaped the house for Thai food with Amy Q., so the kids had pizza & cucumbers and the husband had whatever he could scrounge up.
Tuesday ~ Mario Lopez's Chicken & Rice Paella (I tore this recipe out of People magazine because the picture made me drool.  It was so yummy!)
Wednesday ~ Skillet Lasagna - I messed up and bought ground chicken instead of turkey, but it worked! 
Thursday ~ Skillet Red Beans and Rice
Friday ~ Leftovers
Saturday ~ Birthday Party, with great appetizers like French Onion Dip, Bruschetta & Hummus
Sunday ~ Dinner at my parents, I made Caprese Pasta Salad - a lovely twist on traditional pasta salad, simple & tasty.
 
What's cooking at your house this week?

Getting Organized :: CleanMama Printables

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!

This week I want to highlight an etsy shop that can help you get organized in so many areas of your life.  I have already posted about my Household Organization Binder.  This binder has been a lifesaver for me!  I've since added to it, with pages from another seller on etsy, CleanMamaPrintables.  I stumbled upon this very helpful etsy shop while looking for a way to organize my blog.  She has a HUGE variety of organizational forms you can purchase in PDF format.  I bought the Blogging Kit to help me organize my thoughts for the blog.  I need handwritten lists for everything, even blogging.  It's been great, I've been able to jot down every blog idea I have, so no more forgetting what I wanted to post about.   

If you are a blogger who feels a bit scattered like myself,  you should consider using these forms to get your act together.   There are kits for cleaning, bill-paying, grocery shopping, fitness & weight loss, organizing for the holidays/special occasions, putting together all of your family's information, vacation planning, and much more!  Just typing this makes me want to go put a few in my cart.  And if you are just starting out in getting organized, or you want a fresh start in how you stay organized, she has a Starter Kit which consists of 39 documents, or you can purchase several sets together to get a lower rate. 

dinsmore homestead ~ hiking & exploring

this week we went for a long walk in the woods at the dinsmore homestead.  after our walk we explored the grounds a bit.  it was a beautiful & peaceful morning.

the dinsmore homestead in burlington, kentucky

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Getting Organized :: Lego Instruction Handbook

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives.  Except cleaning.  Still waiting on a house elf for that one.  Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic.  I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section! 

This week's organizing project is a small one.  I have several Lego-fanatics living in my home.  And with Lego kits come instructions.  I cannot bear to throw them away, because I think that the kids may want to re-build their sets someday.  So I save them.  All of them.  Until today they were crammed on a shelf in the basement.

Messy.  Messy.  Messy.  I know, it shouldn't have bothered me, because it's tucked away in the basement, but every time I looked at this mess I itched to organize it.  Though I must say, the seperate kits are organized neatly into recycled deli meat containers.  This is a great way to store them and keep the pieces safe!  So in order to bring order to the manuals I decided to make a "Lego Handbook". 

I bought a big binder and made a cute little front cover, using stickers from a cool Lego scrapbooking kit I bought on Amazon.  I gathered all of their instructions together:

And I stuck them all in various sized page-protectors.

I put the larger instructions into 8.5x11 plastic page protectors

I used some of my recipe card protectors for the mid-sized instruction books.

I used baseball card protectors are perfect for the mini-instructions.  I had these on hand from my coupon binder, they are also good for that too.  I'm in the midst of a coupon organizing switch though, more on that soon ;)

So there you have it, our new "Lego Handbook".  It's all neat and pretty, and user-friendly.  The kids can find whatever instructions they need without weeding through a huge pile.  My next task is to seperate the binder by category (Star Wars, Bionicle, City, etc). 

And my shelf looks better too.  (forgive poor photo quality, I'm in my dark and gloomy basement closet)

What are your secrets tips for keeping your kids Legos, or any other toys, organized?