I've spent the course of the last few weeks trying to get more organized so that I can find things. Since the storm, I have found it easy to just stick things in plastic storage bins, but the impending move is getting closer, so I have decided to just totally do away with a lot. I even found receipts and other important papers... thought to myself that it would be much easier and less time consuming to just scan them onto my pc with my scanner. I am trying to eliminate everything that has no use and it just being cluttered.
It took me 2 weeks of working at it, but I got most of the receipts and papers scanned. I took all of the papers that I had scanned and burned them in the wood heater, since there were account numbers, names, and addresses on them. I'm all about safety when it comes to destroying personal papers. I have had a few strange things happen over the course of the months since the tornado took place.
My main goal is to make things easy to locate anything and take less time when trying to clean the house. I intend to really work at keeping the tops of dressers, shelves, and mantles neat and tidy, to where I can just simply wipe everything. It sure beats having to spend a day and a half moving everything to clean or dust. With having 2 vibrantly, entergetic sons, I have decided to squash the idea of ever having a lot of what-nots or collectibles..... besides... I always have more fun listing them on ebay.... lol
With the weather being really cold, it has helped me find time to list things that I have had and never used anymore. I still have a ways to go before I can totally relax, but I am sure a lot closer to my goals or becoming more organized than I was over a month ago. Being a busy housewife and mom, it's not always possible to have time to get to do everything that needs to be done everyday, but I try to set aside some much needed time each week when things are slower paced of course, to do some of the smaller things that are very critical to keeping things tidied up.
My cleaning so far to this point has so far freed up over 5 plastic storage bins. Once the move is complete, even more bins can be freed up, as there are 3 that have some of our clothes packed in them...... 2 have some of the kitchen dishes that we are not using packed in them. I'm hoping that by spring we will have been moved already.. so that we can begin the process of getting settled in. I have set the summer goal of having most of the plastic storage bins freed up so I will not have them everywhere.
I also plan to take a day or two each month to prepare and cook enough meals to last most of the month. I have always wanted to get things organized enough where I could have the time to do that... now I am closer to being able to do that. I make all of my own broths from whenever I boil or bake any meats. I will take any of the leftover pan drippings, bones, or skin and boil the broth off of it all. Sometimes it will take 2 good boilings, which will make a lot of broth. I set the broth aside to cool for a while, before I freeze it. Once it is all cooled down enough to pour into plastic zip-loc bags, I pour into the bags and place flat on a cookie sheet so that it will freeze flat. Once everything is frozen, I just stack it all neatly into the freezer.
You can even season your broth as you like prior to freezing. I always drop in one of my broth "blocks" as I have come to call them into beans, greens, or vegetables for added flavor. I also add some to assorted casseroles and dressings. It does taste better than any of the store bought broth, and it also helps you save money as well. You can make 10-15 bags of broth with the leftovers of a turkey. You can even make vegetable broth by reserving the water that is leftover from steaming or boiling vegetables. Just use the same method of putting in the freezer and you're set for a awesome tasty treat the next time you cook a recipe and need broth. This is also a great way to use broth if you are in a pinch and don't have any canned broth on hand. Also helps you to save money when grocery shopping because it will be one less ingredient that you won't have to buy.
As for how our homeschooling is going this year... so far we are doing very well. We had a few minor inconviences that got our schedule out of whack, but we are getting back on track. Each day is a learning experience and because we never know how each day will go, we just go with the flow. We do our lessons and are always enjoying spending time together as a family. I have some plans for incorporating Singapore math into our curriculum. I hope to find some more Singapore math books that are better geared for our boys right now. With that in mind, I have been enjoying learning about Singapore math. If only they had taught us this way in public school.... I would have done a lot better with math in general. I would have come to have a stronger love for math.
When I was in school, I was not so good at math. I stunk at Geometry and Algebra, but really enjoy Algebra now...lol. I know that sounds crazy, but it has inspired me to work on my weak points on math, so that I can teach the boys that math is not so scary and hard. If only I had overcome my fear of math failure back when I was in school.... I would have done a lot better. If and when the weather warms up, I plan for us to join a local PEAK group. This would be a great way to meet other homeschool families and for the boys to interact with children their age.
Our oldest son does very well with his copy-work, despite him never going to pre-school or any type of school setting. I'm so happy for how well he is doing. He is even happy to show his brother how to do write his letters on the chalkboard. Even though our youngest son is soon to be 4, I have been slowly getting him adjusted and geared towards wanting to begin handwriting. Our oldest is enjoying handwriting more than I had thought he would. I hope in time that he will enjoy his handwriting enough to go back to writing on the lined paper.
Well... I hope to have some great things coming to my blog this year. I plan to also post a few blogs about some of my gardening tips and pointers, as well as some of our family's favorite recipes. I hope to also have some of my household hints and recipes available in the next few months. I pray that 2014 is a very bright and wonderful new year filled with lots of success and blessed times for everyone. I would really love to hear from any readers who drop by to view and read my blog posts. I welcome everyone to drop by and read my posts. Thanks so much for any readers and viewers that I may have out there!! Take care and have a great afternoon and wonderful weekend!! Until next post...... May God bless!!!
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