Family binder: Auto Log

Family binder: Auto Log   This section has everything from repairs, to accident reports (if you have one), to minor additions (like technology changes, bulbs, plugs, ect.) This section has come in handy with all the major repairs I have had done with my car and the accident from when Hubby's exhaust got torn off his car from tire retread from a tractor trailer. It sucks but it makes things easier.   This section starts off with a maintenance log, where you record the date, mileage, and what maintenance was done during that time. It helps keep track of oil changes, tire rotations, replacements for parts. All simple things up to major things like belt changes, filter changes, brakes, and so on. Very well worth it to make one of these and put it in your binder.   And following that starts all my receipts and what repairs were done. We also keep track of when our cars are up for re-registration, and when they need to go through emissions again. And we keep any paperwork from our insurance company here as well.   I am looking for better ways to organize this section a little better. So I would love to hear your suggestions and what you would do or are doing for your binders. ^_^   Have a great week everyone! 

Family Binder: Pet Section

Family Binder: Pet Section   Ever have a schedule you needed to keep for your pets? And one you needed someone else to follow when you are away on a vacation? Well even though we just have fish, we love our fish and they take some maintenance to keep up with at times. So I have created a section to keep all my pet schedules in one place.   When you first open the section there is a page protector with all the receipts from each fish, fish tank, plant, decoration, light, you name it the receipt is in the protector. Our fish store has a 14 day exchange policy so we have to keep the receipts for the fish for at least 14 days.    Next is the feed schedule of when and what food to put in what tank (we have 2 tanks, 1 3 gallon and 1 10 gallon.) I also have stashed some loose pieces of paper to jot down the ph levels, ammonia levels, and the nitrate levels as well. What can I say we love our fish.   We also keep track of when we do our water changes, so we can keep track of how much we remove and how much water we put back in and when we do it. It's been working so far for us.    That was basically a simple section that we have set up. But I want to know what you think! What ideas do you use or want to use? I would love to hear from you guys! 

Family Binder: Daycare Section

Family Binder: Daycare Section   This section covers my daughters daycare paperwork. This is a rather simple section. This is all the paperwork that my daughters daycare sends home with her about her days.    The first thing in this section is her daily schedule from the daycare. Her teachers love the fact that I try to keep her on the same schedule at home as well. It makes things easier for them and for me.    Then as the section goes on, I get her daily care report and that goes in the binder afterwards. And when I get her weekly lesson plans, I make sure they go in the front of the daily care reports for the week. It helps me keep an eye on what she does in daycare and what to expect to do on her days off (she goes 3 days a week).   Like I said this section is very simple. ^_^ Any questions or comments? I would love to hear them. Feel free to tell me what you think. ^_^ 

Family binder: To Do Section

Family Binder: To Do Section   In this section I have 5 page protectors that hold all my pages and my one printable. In this section I have:   ~ A Daily To Do List ~ My Home Maintenance Schedule ~ An Everyday List ~ A daily and Weekly Chores Schedule ~A Monthly Zone Chores Chart ~ A Clean Out Checklist   The Breakdown!  The Daily To Do List: This is my printable for the section. On this list everything is broken into sections. The Must Do, which I put down everything that has to be done that day. The To Do, everything that should be done that day. Call Section: for all important calls for the day. Scheduled Section, if I have any appointments it goes there. Morning Section, this is everything that needs to be done first thing in the morning. Before Bed Section, this is all what needs to be done before going to bed. My water section, this is to make sure I drink my 8 glasses of water a day. And finally my Thankful For Section, this is just something to make sure that I keep everything I am thankful for in mind.   The Home Maintenance Schedule: This is a handwritten schedule, I have it broken into 3 big columns and in the last column I have it broken into 4 mini columns. The first column is for the chore, the second is for the details of what needs to be done, and the final column is for the dates completed. This keeps me on check with my monthly cleaning such as, fully cleaning out the fridge, changing batteries in all detectors, change lights in the ceiling fans, and cleaning the oven.    The Everyday List: This list I have found on pinterest and I think it is the most important thing that I could learn and add to my binder. I have to do some research to find the link again to link it in. But here is a basic gist of what it says. The first thing, update any and all family calendars, add in new birthday's or anniversaries and any and all appointments. This should be done at the end of each day (if this comes up often in your life). Next Meal Plan, I can't stress this enough and it really helps when you are living week to week. Plan all your meals off of what you have and then restock the house of what you need to make each meals. I plan for a week at a time. I make my meal plan, then I check what all I have in the fridge and in the cupboards and then i make a list of everything I need and hit the store. Very helpful when you have a little one, make one trip instead of two or three in a week. Next is utilize lists, brain dump any and all ideas you have and make sure it is as detailed as possible. Never leave a room empty!! Words to live by, especially with a little one. If it doesn't belong in the room take it out with you when you leave and put it where it belongs. Donation station, make a donation station and add two items to the box for a month and then look at all the wonderful space you have now gained in your home.  Make an errand shelf by your front door and put anything you need for the day there the night before so that way you never forget what you need for the next day. Do a 10 minute tidy up before bed to make your next day successful. And make sure to stay positive about it all. It's the best way to make things easier in life.   Daily & Weekly Chore Schedule: this is also handwritten and I have divided the paper in half and on one half I divided it into three sections and on the other half I divided it in five sections and labeled each section Monday thru Friday. And on the three section side I divided it into Morning, Afternoon and Evening Chores. I do not write on this paper, I actually use a dry erase marker on the page protector so that I can change things around daily to make sure I don't go crazy with repetition lol.    Monthly Zone Chores: Also handwritten, this page is divided into four sections. Living Room, Kitchen, Bedrooms, and Bathroom. Under each I have a detailed breakdown of what needs to be done in the room. Sometimes i like to take this and the weekly chores and focus on one zone a week to help knock everything off the list. I start it at the beginning of the month and work at it.    Clean out Check List: Another handwritten list but another one I found on pinterest as well. Again, I will have to work on finding the exact post again for everyone. But the basics is: Clean out under the sink, consolidate all cleaning products and pitch anything that has very little to nothing cleaning in. Clean out the bathroom: deep clean the shower, go through all beauty products and pitch old product. Fridge and Freezer: pitch all old food, and clean the shelves. Clean out under the beds, clean out anything that doesn't belong there. Clean out the car(s): clean it out, and organize what belongs there. Clean out wardrobe: get rid of (donate) tiny or extremely large clothing, pack away out of season clothes. Clean out your medicine cabinet: pitch old medicine, consolidate and organize. Clean out the office: pitch (shred) non-needed paper work and organize. And finally clean out your e-mail. Unsubscribe from those pesky emails that we get but never open, you know the ones. Organize all important stuff in folders and delete everything else that is not needed. I also do this at the beginning of every month.    And that about sums it up for my To Do Section. And yes I have a lot going on in this section and it is a bit much but it really does help. If there is any questions please feel free to ask.    **pictures to come soon**    

Family Binder: Finances Section

Family Binder: Finances Section   This section is a big section in my family since we are working on trying to budget out the family and working on getting into a new place. And to do all that we need a place to work out all of our financials.    The pocket divider at the front of the section  on the front holds (for now) our check books, bank account numbers (for now), and it holds deposit slips for our banks. The back of the pocket divider has another pocket and this is where the bills for the month live until they are paid. This section has 13 page protectors in it, one for my bill schedule, and then 12 that are labeled January-December.    The first is my Bill schedule, which I had written out on college rule paper, on this I have all my bills listed by their due date. I have this paper divided into 14 sections vertically. The first section is the Due Date section, this is where I list the due dates for each bill. The next section is of course the Bills, this is where I list out the names of the bills, simple right. And then the remaining 12 sections are labeled for the months of the year.  And as the bills get paid off, I put a check mark in the box (created by the rows and columns) with the date paid. Then after the bill is paid, I remove the bill from the pocket and into the corresponding page protector for that month.    It seems like a lot but really it's not. I have a side note book where I keep track of confirmation numbers, date and amount paid. And that book is kept in the very front of my family binder.    I am working on adding in my family budget planner to this section as well. It's just taking a little longer than anticipated. **pictures will be up later.**    

Family Binder: Calendar Section

Family Binder: Calendar Section   In this section I am going to go over my calendar section and what I have in it and what I will be adding in it soon. All pages that I talk about are in page protectors and I use pocketed dividers with all my sections in this binder.   To start off the first  page in my binder is a Dates to Remember printable that has all the months, January-December, on one page and it lists all important birthdays and anniversaries and other important dates throughout the year. This page can be used over and over throughout the years and if you need more than one page double it up and put one facing front and another facing back.   Next is my blank calendar printable. This I am not writing on. I use a dry erase marker and fill it in that way so that way I do not have to constantly print out new ones.    And that is pretty much it for what is in my actual binder at the moment. I am working on making a smaller binder for birthday's and moving this section out of my family binder and into it's own binder so I can divide it up by months and use pocket dividers for cards and things like that. I think it would be much easier. 

Family Binder: Contacts Section

Family Binder: Contacts Section   In this post I am going to explain how I set up my contacts section of my family binder. It's really simple and easy to do. I do not however use printables, instead I use loose sheets of college rule paper and I write out everything. I have made printables to use in this section over time but at the moment I have only one in there. Every page is in a page protector to keep them safe and without damage. I also use pocket dividers that I got from Walmart.   First in this section is my personal contact information. This includes where I live, my email address and my home and cell phone numbers. Right underneath my information is hubby's information and the best way to contact him (email and cell phone, and his work number).   On the back of this page I have our emergency contacts information. My parents and his parents information and his grandparents information since they are the closest to us. We keep this information right at the front of the binder for quick and easy access. Also underneath the family emergency information is our local emergency responders information, the police, the fire department, the hospital, and poison control (hopefully I will never need that one).
The next page is our Medical & Health Insurance contact list. This holds emergency contact information of people who can make medical decisions if hubby or myself are unable to (Another one I am hoping to never need). It has our health provider policy number and group number, our doctors names and numbers, and two spots for two different local hospitals, one is our local hospital the other is the local Children's Hospital.
The next page consists of the only printable in this section, the Bills to Pay Account information. This section houses information on all the bills that come in monthly, the account number/ policy number, phone number, address, website, username and password, and any side notes I would like to add to it.
And that is pretty much it for the contact section. Feel free to ask me any questions you like or anything you would like to see. **Pictures will be coming soon**    

Family Home Binder

I have said before that I was going to work on a home binder. And I finally have one set up. I am still trying to figure out the proper sections for me and my family but for right now it is fine.

So a little insight to my binder so far. (I will edit this post later with pictures once I figure everything out with that lol). I use a ton of dividers and page protectors. I have 5 dividers with pockets and they are used for the more important sections of my binder. I have at the moment 17-20 dividers and yes I know this is a lot of dividers but I have sub-sections and things like that. 

My first section is Contacts, this has my information (address, and phone numbers for me and hubby) just in case I ever leave the book for a baby sitter or what not. (This book is never out of my sight, EVER!) It also has our grandparents information in it as well along with his and my parents information as just in case. On the back of the first page has out Medical Emergencies numbers list. This has Klaire's doctors number, our doctors number, poison control center, and the local hospital information. The next page has our insurance information on it with an emergency contact as a just in case. And behind that has out Utilities and Service Contact information. (everything I have in my binder is all handwritten. I do not currently have any printables in it at all.

My second section is my calendar section. This holds important dates to remember and things along those lines. I also utilize a planner as well but the binder is for a quick glance. This also holds me week at a glance. Again I hand write everything this also includes the calendars that I use. 

Next up is my finances. This is a pocket divider section. I use the pocket on one side to hold check books, and a small calculator. I also have a budget book that I will make a separate post about that I also utilize weekly.  The second pocket on the other side of the divider holds all recently received bills that need to be paid. In this section I have year at a glance, a list of bills that are owed with the date they are due on the side and at the top the months are listed and as I pay the bill off I check the box next to the bill but under the month. When the bills are done the physical bill goes into a pocket divider that has been labeled for the month.

My next section is a BIG section in my book, the To Do List. In this section I have a Home Maintenance Schedule with all chores that need to be done once or twice a month, The Everyday List with things that should be done everyday to help keep things neat and organized, My Daily and Weekly Schedules which I keep blank but in a page protector so I can write on it with a dry erase marker (very handy), and on back of that is my Monthly Zone Chores which is broken into 4 sections for living room, Kitchen, Bedrooms and the Bathroom. And finally it has my Clean Out Checklist which is done at the beginning of the month.

Next is my Daycare section. I keep the daycare daily schedule for Klaire's class there and all the take homes they send home with her about her day and I put them there. It helps me keep tabs on how she is doing in daycare and where I need to work on her with some things.

Next is my "Self Improvement" section. I jot down things I think I need to change about myself to make a "better" improvement in my life moving forward. 

My auto section is next, with a log about all the improvements that I have made on our vehicles and all the maintenance we have done on our vehicles. We keep receipts from repairs and any accident reports (if any at all) in this section as well.

Other sections I have are for Family Nights (ideas and plans), Fitness (goal setting, diet logs, and a fitness journal), Home Repair (we rent so we have to keep track of everything we repair), Baby Sitter (which we never use because I don't trust strangers with my child but when she gets older this will come in handy), Goals (for all yearly, monthly, and weekly goals I set), "Klaire" (house rules, medicine log, her toddler schedule, this is where all daycare stuff will be moved to later on), Current Projects (things I am currently working on), Future Projects (ideas I have that I just have to jot down), Pets (we have fish so we keep our water changing schedule in there and feeding schedule), Parties (for any and all party ideas or plans that I have for all sorts of parties), Warranties (they will be moved to a folder since we do not have that many warranties and more), Vacation/ Family time (vacation planning and ideas, and any and all random family days I am planning), Passwords (I have too many usernames and passwords to keep locked in my brain lol but I plan on making a digital version later on), Organizing (tips and tricks I have picked up and a lot of blank paper to write things down daily), Blogging (blogging dates, topics, ideas, and planning), Notes (filled with blank paper for any quick notes for things I need to remember).

I will do in depth posts on setting up each section over the next couple of days. ^_^ Enjoy everyone!

Shopping List!!

So I have decided to start meal planning ahead of time to keep things organized and orderly in my household. Basically you have to start with what you have in the house (your fridge, freezer and pantry) and go from there. CHECK DATES ON ALL FOODS!!! I can not stress that enough. You don't want to be eating or drinking foods that are past their expiration date.

Start off with checking all food dates, toss anything that is expired. This also goes for leftovers as well. If you do not eat them within 5 days of putting them in the fridge, get rid of it. Every Sunday night I would recommend doing this. Keep things fresh. If you have opened boxes of items such as granola bars, crisps, snack foods, and items like that pull them out of the box (if there is only like one or two left) and put all of them in a small bin or container that you can easily grab the items from quickly. This will make space in your pantry and cabinets and get rid of all those half empty boxes that are just sitting there. 

Next try to plan out the week's meals with what you already have in your home. Try to focus your meal planning around your proteins. And always make sure that you keep a vegetable in mind when planning out your meals. Try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Also, when meal planning think about proportion sizes as well, especially if you are dieting or trying to lose weight.

Now on to the shopping list. I have been looking up new recipes and I am trying to try at least one new recipe AND one new food each week. But you have to keep an open mind when trying new foods. It takes about 15 tries for a person to actually say if they like something or not (unless it makes them sick then they probably will never try it again). So try to pick a recipe out that you want to try during the week and check to see if you have the ingredients already. If not make a list of the ingredients that you would need to go get. And if you are wanting to make certain things at home but do not have the ingredients you need jot them down as well.

Next look at your produce, do you have any fruit? What about vegetables? Fresh not canned! Some canned fruits and veggies are okay but if you really think about it they add so much stuff to your canned foods it's crazy! Read the labels. trust me they will make you turn and run for the hills. Remember, you can always freeze fruits and veggies! Just when freezing veggies make sure to blanch them and let them cool first before freezing them.

Meal planning can take some time and if you have a large family it's best to sit down with them and discuss the meal planning. Try to stick to this! Try to avoid eating out or ordering in. It will save you money in the long run. If you don't believe me, write up a little notebook each time you go out and eat and order in. Keep track of how much you spend. Then, write out how much you spend on groceries a month. Then compare the two totals and I can almost guarentee you'll be happier that you bought in bulk the healthy items and did away with the eating out and dining in.

I tried spinach this week and I really liked it surprisingly. And next week I will be trying Veal as my one food a week to try. Let's just see how this all turns out! 

New Goal for Me

I have noticed a few things over the last few months about myself that have made me really unhappy and some things that I really need to change. I am doing this not only for myself but for my family as well. 

I have noticed that I have been a little more negative towards certain things that never used to phase me before I had my daughter and I really don't know what these things bother me now. But it is causing some real issues that I need to fix. 

So I am going to be working on a new "goal" but this "goal" isn't something that is going to change in a day, a week, or even a month. This is going to take time. I am working on a "New Outlook On Life". This consists of a list of items that I will be working on ONE at a time. Some may be easier to work on than others. And right now I need to slow down my mental abilities just a little and stop shutting things out that mean a lot to me. And not only shutting things out but doing too much at once. 

I take on so many tasks at once that I can never get fully finish one task without starting another task at the same time. So one thing I will be working on is "One Goal at a Time". I will be making a list of every goal I want to complete by the end of the year. But I will only be working on one goal at a time. Seems easy right? Well I hope it is lol. I multi-task way too much so this needs to work.

My final goal that I will be working towards is to "Be a Better Person". Every little task that I will be working on will help me towards this one BIG goal that I want to achieve by the end of the year. 

One task that is the biggest thing I need to work on is to stay positive and squash all the negativity in my life. And if something upsets me, I will be getting it off my chest and not holding anything in! You need to talk to people and never be afraid to ask for help when you find yourself taking on too much at one time. 

I will try to do my best to blog at least once a week to keep everyone updated on my progress. So be sure to keep an eye out for one post a week about what goal I am working on and how it is working so far. 

Feel free to leave a comment on anything you would like me to blog about or ask me any questions you feel like. Thank you so much. Have a happy day everyone!

2013: Doing it Right!

As everyone knows that this blog is about all the things from me and my mommy adventures with my daughter to the wonders of my dieting program that I started last year. Well this year I am changing the goal of my blog up a bit. I will still be talking about the wonders of being a mom but I will also be talking about my new obsession... organizing and DIY creations, along with my diet plan and some new health obsessions that have taken over me in the last few months.

First off I would love to start off by saying thank you to all who have been reading and keeping up with my blog over the last several months. It means a lot to me.

Next, a little update with my diet. I have been cutting out a lot of fatty foods and I have cut out on red meats and started doing more leg exercises to try to shape up as I lose weight. Currently I am down to 179 lbs and still losing towards my goal to 128-135 (still trying to figure out what would really be best for me). Oh and I also cut back on my pitfall of ramen noodles. Hard to do for me believe me but I have cut it down to once a week and no more than one pack during that day. So far so good ^_^

A little something I am starting to work on right now to help me with some household up keeping is a family binder and getting a central command station set up. Now being the fact that we live in a small one bedroom apartment, we don't have that much space and of course like most renters, you can't do much of anything to the fixtures. So I am working around with my command center being my dining room table. Sadly, my station has been moved several times already so I am still trying to find a more permanent place but for now the table is the easiest spot. 

Now my family binder is right now just a plain binder with notebook paper, pocket folder dividers, and page protectors. Make sure if you are making a family binder that all need to know contacts and emergency contacts are in the beginning of the book!! I can't stress that enough. Also, get a calendar that can go inside the binder as well to keep track of all important dates and appointments. My sections are filled up with contacts, calendar, To do lists, Menu Planning, Family Budget. This is my way of keeping everything neat and organized. You can organize your binder however you like. 

I am working on trying to remove mental clutter and physical clutter and this is my first step to decluttering my life. Good luck everyone! I am off to start living my life the way I was intended too! That and Klaire is pulling me away ^_^ 


Have a happy rest of the week ^_^

Eggciting!

I found this wonderful thing on pintrest as well: Egg yolks, olive oil and water!

It's a wonderful little mixture that you massage into your scalp and your hair that helps stimulate hair growth, helps with shine, and helps make hair healthier.

You will need: 
   ~ 2 egg yolks
   ~ 1 cup of water
   ~ 1 tbspoon olive oil

Mix it all together and slather it in your hair and leave it in for 15-20 minutes. I left it in for 20 minutes since this is my first time using the mixture. After the 20 minutes was up I rinsed my hair life I normally would but, instead of using my shampoo alone I decided to do a scalp therapy to wash out my hair with. (Another recipe I found on pintrest.com)

You will need:
   ~ baking soda (amount about the size of a quarter)
   ~ your favorite shampoo 

I took the normal amount of shampoo that I would use for my hair and mixed in the baking soda. Massaged it in, and then rinsed like normal. I conditioned and dried and styled as normal, and to be honest... I really like how much smoother my hair feels.

I plan on doing the egg yolks once a week and the scalp therapy every other day.

Good luck everyone!

P.S: I will be trying the teeth whitening method next, just have to run to the store to pick up some things ^_^

Sugar Lip Scrub

Today I was looking around on pintrest and found a few things that I wanted to try. Some of these things I was able to try tonight and some I have to wait until I can get to the store and pick up some of the supplies.

So I decided to try, the Sugar Lip Scrub.

You will need: 
    ~ 1/2 a teaspoon of white or brown sugar ((I used white sugar))
    ~ 1/2 a teaspoon of honey
    ~ 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil
    ~ a pinch of powdered cinnamon ((I used powdered cinnamon sugar instead, did the same trick))

You need to mix these together either in a small bowl ((it literally will turn out about the size of a quarter, maybe a little bigger once mixed)) or in your own hand. 

Rubbed the mixture in a circular motion on your lips for about 2-3 minutes ((I did it for 4-5 minutes)), then rinse off with a warm washcloth. Apply chapstick or a lip balm to lock in the moisture. 

Remember: Only do this once or twice a week. Over exfoliating can cause damage to sensitive skin cells. 

I have embedded the link to all this information for easy access. 

**I do not own this recipe**
 
Edible Sugar Lip Scrub

New Years Resolution

So for this year, I have made a few decisions and resolutions that I am going to keep and need to keep.

•  I am going organic and making quite a few items that I use daily. Plus, trying new things like beauty treatments, and hair treatments.
• I am cutting out chocolate and other unnecessary sweets that I tend to over indulge in. (I will only be eating them in small moderation on special occasions)
• I will work out at least 3 times a week.
• I will put more fruits and veggies into my daily meals and cut back on red meat.

• I am going to try some new foods and things that I would never normally do or eat.
• I will be doing a lot of DIY stuff this year. From home decor to beauty products.

This year will be a whole new "me". And most of these I can do since I have a lot of items available to me. You might actually even be seeing me posting more than once a day.

So there will be a huge increase in my posts over this year. And I did start a lot of this stuff today.

Well, I hope everyone had a great and Happy New Years! And keep an eye out for a few posts from me later on about how two new things turn out once I'm done. ^_^