Oh My Gosh....I Need a Plan...

So last week I sat down with my monthly planner and wrote out all the things happening in August in an attempt to gain back some sort of order!  You can check the blog out here...

The result even scared me a bit!!  The month is full of the usual school days and school stuff as well as after school activities....but it also has a whole heap more thrown in.....like the primary school musical, doctor and specialist appointments for Miss 16...and more....

There is one whole week where there is something extra on every day that week so I will be out on the Monday, at Miss 10's netball gala day on the Tuesday, co-ordinating the primary school Dance-a-thon on the Wednesday, assisting at Miss 5's tabloid sports day on the Thursday and doing canteen duty at high school on the Friday....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once I saw that week filled in I instantly knew that I would not be able to get through the rest of August without a plan...a meal plan.  

I need to sit down and do some serious meal planning.  Meal planning is something I do in a fashion that could only be described as sporadic.  I plan for a fortnight, get most of what I need in the online grocery shop, forget to get the rest and then we get busy and the plan goes out the window!!

But with winter sports coming to an end there should be more evenings at home and more meals eaten together at the dinner table rather than in passing as one comes in the door and another goes out the door!

Starting with the pretty meagre offerings already in the pantry, fridge and freezer I am sitting down now and writing out a list of dinners then I am matching up these meals with the days that they best suit....

This week looks like this so far....
Monday...........fish cakes, mash potato and salad
Tuesday..........chicken and cashew nut stir fry with rice
Wednesday.....meat pies, chips and salad
Thursday.........tacos
Friday.............chicken burgers

I am hoping to manage to add to our selection of home made freezer meals this week too because with activities scheduled for every day next week there is little chance of me cooking at the end of the day!!  

So I am hoping to make and freeze...
garlic prawn linguine with creamy sauce
beef stroganoff 
spaghetti bolognaise
fried rice

I'll also need to plan afternoon snacks as well....I always forget about afternoon snacks until about 2.59pm when I am on my way to pick up the girls....then I find myself praying to find an unopened packet of biscuits squished up the back of the pantry or a stick of celery and a carrot that haven't completely lost their crunch!!

This weeks snacks look like this so far...
fruit salad
dip and crackers
sorbet
popcorn
homemade cookies

So there's the plan....it is looking good so far....now to go online and order any other groceries I need...then to start chopping up salad and fruit from my trip to the local fruit n veg shop this morning.....

Here's hoping I can stick to the plan!!!

Time Flys....

I will never cease to be amazed by how quickly time passes...seems like yesterday it was school holidays but here we are already in week four of this term.

We all have the same amount of hours in each day but I always feel like other people are getting so much more that making lunches, washing dishes and scrubbing toilets out of theirs. 

They seem to have time for a little lunch time walk on the beach or time to sit down and sew up a storm.  I am hard pressed to bake a batch of cookies and for the life of me I don't seem to be able to string more than a few days together when I attempt Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day challenge.

I would love to find time to exercise every day, to be able to blog every few days, to take a day to shabby chic a table or sew some clothes for the girls.  I'd love to have my house in order, my paperwork in order....

So it seems it is time for a bit of a life overhaul!!  

Time to take a look at the way things are being done around here and time to put a few more systems in place.

It always seems to be that when things get even more busy or when unexpected things come up that any systems or routines that we do have fly out the window and we go into some sort of crazy survival mode in which the bare essentials seem to get washed, cleaning is confined to the area that can be seen from the front door as all visitors are confined to the hallway and the grass grows to the point where we start to forget that we have a veggie garden!!

My aim, in my spare time (haha), is to think through some processes and come up with some systems...so today I am starting with my monthly planner for August....writing down everything that August holds rather than flying by the seat of my pants and trying to remember where we are supposed to be!!!!!

Well there's August pretty much booked up !!!!!  I think I'd better look at some easy meals next to keep on track with feeding the troupes!!

Getting Organised With a very DISORGANISED Mum of Five Girls #3 Sport Tips

I have been a soccer mum for some 6 years now...early mornings, freezing cold, grass stains, muddy boots...joy!!  

For the last two seasons I have had my eldest 3 daughters playing soccer...mostly at conflicting times at opposite sides of the district!  My poor hubby works most Saturdays so sport became added to my to do list!

Now not being a morning person, especially on a Saturday, I would often find myself in a frenzy trying to get 5 kids ready for an epic day of soccer.  We would be searching for shin pads, shorts would have gone missing overnight and there would always be one of the girls whose socks would be rolled up in a ball festering in a corner still dirty from the previous weeks game.

So it was time to 'attack' this soccer thing and 'go for goal' 

Here's how I have improved my game   ;-)   



Tip # 1...... Have a 'game plan' ( aka system)  ....



This is how my system works....

*  On game days and training nights soccer boots, socks and shin pads are to be removed at the front door upon arrival home and left on the front verandah....this will eliminate mud tracked through the house and will keep the odour outside!

*  All drink bottles to be emptied out and kept in the cupboard til next week.

*  Hit the showers....no better time than the present to scrub that dirt off and soak a few bumps and scrapes!  So one after another the girls would shower leaving a pile of shorts, compression gear and jerseys in the bathroom.

*  It worked best for me to gather up that pile of clothing in the bathroom, ensure that everything was accounted for, gather the socks from the front verandah and get it all into the wash ASAP!!

*  Once washed and dried I kept the soccer clothes in a plastic tub in my linen cupboard.

*  Once boots and shin pads had aired and dried out they were kept in a plastic tub which lived near the front door...this kept them all in one place...and kept the odour trapped!  Frequent freshen ups may be required with Glen20 or the like...

Tip # 2...... Be prepared....

As I said earlier I am not a morning person!!  So if I leave everything til the morning it is inevitable that there will be some sort of 'obstruction' .... or something will be forgotten.....

So now the only thing left til morning is having breakfast and getting dressed.  I make sure the girls get dressed entirely in their soccer gear so that we can't turn up to the game to find that shin pads or the like have been left at home!

Like a good old girl scout I have everything else prepared ahead of time and I keep it in the back of my car so we are ready to roll.....

Here is what I have in my tub.....

*  sunscreen.....okay I know that soccer is a winter sport but a lot of those trial games and early season games are still in quite warm weather and it is best to be prepared!

*  aeroguard....I hate flies.

*  snacks and drinks.....with multiple games to get to we spectators need a lot to keep us going!!

* beanies, hats and jackets....coz someone is going to forget.

*  blankets....add a wind chill factor to a winters day and you can never have enough blankets.  Also needed for those 1.00pm soccer games that are often started in delightful weather but by the time the game ends...well let's just say it's cold!!

*  wet weather gear....it is inevitable that at some stage throughout the season you will get rained on.

* games, toys, books, pencils etc...  .....because quite frankly there is only so much soccer that Miss 4 and Miss 8 can watch...and that is usually in single digits.  It also works well to swap these toys around every few weeks to keep them interested.

*  picnic blanket....essential !!

*  wipes....because we can't go anywhere without somebody making a mess or spilling something!

So that's my soccer tub that stays in the back of the car for the duration of the season and I just have to add drinks and snacks and mix the toys and games up a bit each week.  

It is also great because if hubby is not working and is able to take the girls to their games it can be popped into his car.  And lastly is is perfect for impromptu stops at the park too.



So there's my soccer mum tips that keep me 'on the ball' !!!!!   

Getting Organised With a very DISORGANISED Mum of Five Girls #2 Fridge/Freezer Tips

So this week's organisational tips have been a bit delayed due to my state of disorganisation..ironic much!

An area of constant frustration is my fridge/freezer so this week I have decided to tackle this problem and see what solutions I could come up with.  

With 7 people constantly opening the fridge/freezer, rummaging around for food, moving things around etc... the fridge and freezer are always a disaster.  I clean it out and a few days later disaster again!!

Add to this the fact that grocery shopping is often done on the run so bags of cold items are shoved wherever they fit whilst I run out the door to pick up the kids or get to sport etc...  The disaster never ends!

Some of the main issues are that the condiments placed on the table for our evening meal are put back in the fridge with extreme haste by the children responsible for that chore....they seemingly cannot see if the sauce tips over and leaks down the inside of the fridge or if the salad dressing spills all over the fruit and veg....their main concern is to get their chores done and get the hell out of there!

Leftovers have become another area of contention.  Aforementioned children who throw the condiments back in the fridge can often be caught shoving leftovers into the dark depths of the fridge rather than face scraping, rinsing and washing the bowl or plate that the food is on...ingenious I know but frustrating none the less!!

So it was time to tackle the fridge/freezer (not literally of course!) and try to create some order that would last more than an hour or two.....

I can't believe that I am doing this.....but I am going to show you a before photo.....

tried a little photo editing to distract you from the mess in the fridge/freezer there...did it work!!??

Here are a few ideas that I have come up with...


Tip # 1...... Use Containers .....

I thought about some possible solutions to the condiments problem and decided that it might be useful to put the regularly used condiments into a basket/container of some description which can then be taken in whole to the table each night and after dinner it can be put back into the fridge housing all of the condiments.

I also decided to group like items into various baskets/containers to stop them from straying to other areas of the fridge.  I put all of the breakfast type condiments, jams etc... into one container so the same principle applies....at breakfast time the container can be removed, the preferred condiment used and then the whole container goes back into the fridge.

So it has been 3 days and this system is working well so far (hopefully the novelty won't wear off!)

Here's a photo of the containers in the fridge.....

 and here are the regular dinner condiments at the table in their container....

The use of the baskets/containers has definitely helped to keep things in order to date and gives more items a designated home.

I have used the same container concept in the freezer too.....so when I do a big grocery shop and come home with loads of meat I sort them into various sized portions, put into freezer bags, label them (well usually!!) and then I put the steak into one container, chicken into another, sausages into another etc..  Makes it heaps easier to pull out the correct meat for that night and it all stays nice and neat in the freezer...rather than random blobs of miscellaneous frozen meats!

(If I could find my label maker I would even label all of the baskets/containers....might need to make stationery department a focus of my organisation soon!!)



Tip # 2...... Fridge Rules .....

The issue of leftovers was one that was a tad tricky....some nights I am happy for the leftovers to be disposed of or fed to the cat....other nights I can see an opportunity to refashion the leftovers into a meal the following night. So I devised some fridge rules.....

Rule #1  Any return of leftovers to the fridge must be approved my mum.  Then all leftovers must be placed on the bottom shelf in a sealed container....not half-heartedly covered in foil or glad wrap.

Rule #2  All condiments baskets/containers are to be placed back into the fridge in the exact same position where they can from (no excuses ....... refer to the photo below!!).

Rule# 3  If you cause a spillage or see a spillage....you clean a spillage.

No doubt there will be more rules to come as I think of them!



Tip # 3...... Eye Level .....

Lastly I have tried to keep certain foods at eye level to Miss 4 that I would prefer she choose as an option....such as small yoghurts  cheese and other approved snacks!!  This way she will think she chose and perhaps she will be more inclined to eat it!


So here is the finished fridge/freezer....still looking good after 4 days!!  A huge improvement on the before photo I'd say!

Sadly with school holidays looming  it looks as though we are due for another grocery shop.....!!

Getting Organised With a very DISORGANISED Mum of Five Girls #1 School Tips

My husband would laugh so hard if he knew I was writing a weekly blog about being organised...but hey I wouldn't blame him....in fact I admit to being the most disorganised person that I know. 

So here's to my weekly organisational tips...some that I currently already use...some that I plan to adopt....  Let's see where this organisation can take us!

Since it is a Monday morning and the rush out the door to school is still fresh on my mind I think I will start with school tips.....


Tip # 1...... Use a Weekly Planner.....

With 3 daughters in high school, 1 in primary school and 1 in preschool there is not a day that goes by that is not somebody's library day, news day, violin day, sports day...etc....etc... 

There is no way that I can commit all of this to my failing memory so I keep a Weekly Planner attached to the back of the front door.  This way I see it as we are leaving each morning, and provided that I can recall which day of the week it is, I can do a quick check that correct uniforms are on etc..

The weekly planner that I have is a whiteboard one and I use a non-permanent white board marker to write on it as sport days, news days etc... can often change each term.  It is also magnetic so if need be I can pop a last minute permission slip on there so that it can be grabbed on the way out the door.

Tip # 2...... Have a Central Location for School Bags, Hats etc.....

With 5 bags needing to be accounted for on school days it works best for me to have them all located in a central place.

I was lucky enough to come across this wonderful message centre complete with 5 chalkboards and 5 hooks..so with 5 children it is perfect .  We have it hanging in our entrance way so that school bags are not left on the floor for mum to trip over repeatedly!!  Hats and library bags etc... can also be hung here so as not to be forgotten.

With the bonus of a small chalkboard per child this has also become a central communication area as well.  Generally at 3 pm I am  bombarded with "I need this...." and "By Friday I have to have...." and "I need money for ...."   Now I can pretty much guarantee that  I am going to forget 100% of this by the time I make it home....so now the girls have a designated blackboard each and it is their responsibility to write up things that they may need for the week.  

So if Miss 15 needs to take materials for her tech project on Thursday she writes it up as soon as she finds out....if Miss 14 needs to make a payment for her Japanese trip she writes up the amount and the due date.... if Miss 12 needs fabric for sewing she writes this up.... if Miss 8 needs money for iceblock days this week she write what days....(ok Miss 4 generally just draws pictures but hey!!)....this way hubby and I can look at the boards, see who needs what and by when and we can save ourselves a lot of last minute running around.  And if it is not written up....then it won't be done....you've been warned !!!!!

Tip # 3...... Plan Ahead with Lunches and Snacks.....

Each grocery shop I would buy up on lunch box snacks, hand a few out each day and keep the rest in the pantry.  Faster than expected the supplies would diminish ...seems little hands, and some not so little hands, would help themselves to the treats when I wasn't looking.  

With a tight budget to keep to I had to find a better way to store these items so I went out and purchased some small plastic tubs and labelled on for each of the girls....and one for hubby too.  So whenever I would get home with the grocery shopping I would immediately get the tubs and I would distribute all of the snacks accordingly.  

I keep the girls tubs up high (which may have been somewhat more dramatic when they were younger but now that Miss 15 is some 163 cm tall and towers over me I am sure that it has lost its dramatic effect....but there is still the scary mummy glare to keep them away from the tubs!!)   

Each morning I simply grab the girls tubs from the top of the cupboard, line them up on the table, and pop their lunches on top.  The girls know that the snacks have to last the week so if they go too hard too fast they then go hungry later in the week!

I have used this system for probably 5 years now and it really works well for me.  It saves me money because the snacks are not being consumed other than for school lunches and I can customise each of their tubs with the things that they like to help reduce the amount of food that doesn't get eaten at school! 

Now that the girls are getting older a sandwich doesn't always cut it for lunch.  I still keep a stash of vegemite sandwiches in the freezer for Miss 8 and Miss 4, and also for desperate weeks where everything is going wrong....better than starving I say.  I also keep some buttered bread in the freezer as well....then I can quickly turn this into a gourmet cucumber and cheese sandwich which is Miss 14's  lunch of preference at the moment.  I also chop up extra salad stuff each night and hide it away in the fridge so that in the morning I can perhaps add a little leftover dinner or dice up a bit of chicken or ham to add to it to make a reasonable lunch for Miss 15 who is adverse to the whole concept of sandwiches!


Tip # 4..... Have a Spare....

No matter how many times you asked everyone if they had everything, and even if you went through it item by item there will undoubtedly be at least one child that declares that they do not have their hat or their news item on arrival at the school gates.....

Now hubby may just think that I like a messy car.....but in actual fact if you overlook cleaning it out on a regular basis you will be sure to find something that will suffice for news that day once you dust off a few crumbs!!

And always keep a spare hat in the boot and some spare change in the centre console as well!



Tip # 5......Check, check and check again.....

I am forever asking the girls if they have everything ready for school the next day....and the response is always the same drawn out 'yyyeeeesss'.  Then inevitably the sun rises and their school shoe has gone missing, their tights are not where they left them, they just need their diary, their blazer is lost.....you get the idea !!

So huge note to self here.....I must physically check that each child has everything that they need.....I must see it all laid out.....right down to the socks and undies!!  

I must get them to check their diary for the next day and I must see them pack their bags....

Seriously what seems like a pain in the butt each night will be a ray of sunshine each morning when things run a lot smoother.

So always check and double check..don't just ask!!


So there you have my  5 organisational tips for week 1......I hope that they were helpful in some way.

See you next week for some more tips!

Taxing Time...oops I mean Tax Time...

In my little corner of the world today it is currently about 9 degrees ...chilly .......overcast ....raining .....and overall a bit miserable.

So what does one do with oneself on such an indoors only day...???

Sadly they start doing their tax....a job that I put off...and put off...and put off....until the deadline looms and I usually have to do a 36 hour tax marathon to complete our business and personal taxes on time.

This "tax evasion" on my part could have something to do with the filing system that I am currently using...

hmmm what do you think.....leaves a bit to be desired doesn't it.  Honestly I start every financial year with the best of intentions....it's just that life (and laziness) gets in the way.

So no more procrastinating.....I am going to start as soon as I've turned on the heater, made a hot chocolate, washed the floor, baked a cake, oh and written a blog....... I promise !!!