Organising this Mama

The biggest part of organising us is to organise this Mama herself. And I know it sounds a little un-politically-correct and perhaps even arrogant, but in this family at least its the Mama who holds everything together most of the time. Its Mama who organises and prepares and thinks ahead for the family as a whole (as well as most of the parts). And that's how it should be.
And so I've made myself a Home Management Journal (the capital letters make it sound very official and important don't you think?) to help get my thoughts and planning out of my head and into some sort of consistent approach.
I've borrowed this idea from Down to Earth (the book and the blog), which I wrote about here, and sewed the folder cover a while ago to take on our trip to Tasmania at Easter time (you may have seen Rosie with it in some of the photos). Its now nicely repurposed to hold my planning sheets, lists of jobs, garden notes, budget etc...


Watch out world....this Mama is organised...

 

Friday book review: Simplicity Parenting

"If a child has been able in his play to give up his whole living being to the world around him, he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence to the service of the world"

- Rudolf Steiner

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kidsby Kim John Payne is one of my favourite go-to books as a Mama.
So many times I've found myself musing over the complexity that can creep into our lives when I reach for this book and find an answer in its pages.
Yes, I love books, I'll be up front here. And I do have a lot of them dear readers (see my little treasures post to read about the $1000 I spent on them just last year!). But that doesn't mean I have just any books, in fact the books that I have are thoughtfully chosen and very special to this Mama.
This is another one of those extra special ones because it says things that guide me as a mother:

"Too many scheduled activities may limit a child's ability to motivate and direct themselves" (p.138)

"Rhythm and ritual are what we aim for; predictability may be what we achieve" (p.98)

"Children need experience, not entertainment, in play" (p. 80)

Ahhh...there is such common sense and beauty in this book. Sometimes I snuggle up with it for some late night peace of mind and sometimes I keep it on my bookstand as I type and take a dip into its wisdom each time I sit down. Either way its staying on my shelves and in the life of our family.

Family shopping day

Its been a month since we shopped for food in any sort of earnest. We've up the odd bag of fruit, some milk and I've brought bread home from the bakery after my shifts, but no serious purchases whatsoever. And now its the lovely month of August and its time for our next monthly shop.
My inspiration this month (since last month's budget posts) is Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth book which I excitedly received in the mail this week. I already wrote about her blog here, and so far I'm liking her book even more (there's something lovely and tangible about a real book don't you think?).
I'm proud to say that we spent so much less on food in the last month - $400 compared to an average of $1200 a month last year.
So, armed with our shopping list, some inspiration and a sense of accomplishment, we marched with our next $400 into this month's shopping.

My new favourite book

The shopping list - borrowed with thanks from simplemom.net

The well-stocked pantry

Organising us

Lately (I seem to say this a lot!) I've been on a bit of an organising frenzy. Well...not quite a frenzy, its more like something growing bigger, more developed and more well...organised. I haven't really been into organisation, except within a workplace, for quite a few years now. And although its good to let things go a bit, be flexible and see how things pan out, particularly with little ones in tow, its also good to balance that with an overall plan that helps us to go in the direction we dream about. There is definitely a place for reflection, dreaming and planning, this Mama thinks.

My kitchen organisation corner - the hub of our family organising

Rosie's violin chart - to help keep track of how much she's practicing with just a little enticement at the end.

Lists of the 'good things' about being at school and at home - because we all need a reminder that the glass is half-full.

Our letter and number wall - this has helped Rosie for a couple of years now

Rosie's pinboard - a place to learn about the calendar and celebrate important achievements. 

Our number chart - written by Rosie to help with numeracy

My garden board - for both inspiration and planning

My approach to organising is part-practical, part-inspirational. There's really no point planning, I think, if there's not the inspiration to direct those plans. Pictures and quotes usually send me off on an inspirational tangent - thus our quote board in the kitchen and pinboards with colourful pictures attached. I use my ipad and computer daily however I prefer my inspiration to come from more visceral sources also - I like writing my current favourite quote in chalk - old fashioned but solid and real, with chalk dust left on my fingers as evidence. And the act of pinning something on a board somehow makes it more tangible (to me at least) and therefore more likely to come to fruition (although I do like pinterest when I have time for the large number of images I can search).

Happy dreaming to you all, from my 100th post (yay!)