Quickie address book

I am continuing with organising and decluttering my house and looking for every little area where I can do that.  One of these is an address book.  For quite a few years now I have been trying to do this electronically and, for whatever reason, it just isn't working for me.  I end up with addresses in different programs or in my email and I don't get around to putting them all in one spot.  I think being a very tactile person also interfere's with my good intentions when utilising technology.  I just like to feel paper in my hands sometimes.  I am trying to overcome this with my personal calendar too.  I have a perfectly good phone with a very good calendar system and am trying to get in the habit of using it whilst walking past all the gorgeous paper calendars.  The problem with a paper calendar is that I don't like taking it in my handbag because I like to keep the weight down but then I don't have it with me when I am making appointments and so on.  Anyway, that is a whole other topic, I am digressing.

To solve my address book problem, I made up a very simple system that works for me.  I used 3" x 5" inch ruled index cards to write everyone's details on.  A separate card for each family/friend.  I can write quite a bit on each card.  As well as the usual address and phone numbers, I also add things like their email addresses, birthdays, the names of their children and any other notes I feel like.

I made up front and back covers in Powerpoint and printed them out.

I laminated them and then hole punched the front and back covers and all the cards.  Then I used little hinged rings to hold it all together.  Similar to my recipe folder, I haven't used alphabet dividers or anything.  All the cards are alphabetical but that is it.  I have spare cards at the back so if I need to make major changes to a card or add another one, they are already there.

Oh, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed my four days away and have come back all refreshed (and looking forward to lots of hugs)!  These are the sorts of views I enjoyed in the beautiful Banff and it was wonderful to share it all with a good friend.  I have to say one of the things I really enjoyed about my trip was sitting in the airport reading a book and, for once, not being the parent struggling with kids!  Oh yes, and eating at nice restaurants and going into shops that are not kid friendly and sleeping in and eating breakfast slowly and....  Aaah, the simple joys. :-)

Recipe folder

There is a lot of organising going on around my house at the moment.  How cliched of me for January right?  I guess it is a cliche for a reason.  I actually love organising and find it fun and relaxing.  Not that I live in organised bliss unfortunately.  I have another 3 people (and a dog) who bring their own challenges to my utopian view of a clutter free, organised and peaceful home.  Oh yeah, and my family history of keeping just about everything because 'it might be useful'.  Thankfully this last tendency is nearly cured.  Three international moves in 4 years will do that to you!

One of the things I have reorganised is my collection of printed, clipped and handwritten recipes.  I have tried different methods for sorting all of these before (including folders with categories etc.) but seeing one of my best friend's recipe 'bible' folders with everything in plastic sleeves but with no apparent system for categorising was a revelation.  I love her recipe folder.  It is massive and is full of the sort of love that only a well loved collection of recipes that really feeds a family comes to have.  The kind with food splotches on pieces of paper and little handwritten notes by her whether it is saying how much she loved the recipe or how she adapted it.  So, in the spirit of copying being the finest form of flattery I decided to make my own and combine all my different folders into one (exhibit A above).

I find that, after a while, I know exactly where to flick to get which recipe so the lack of categories is not missed at all.  Now I can enjoy my printed out recipes next to the handwritten ones my Mum or sisters have given me and they nestle alongside favourite ones cut out of magazines.  I love it!

Of course, I had to pretty up the folder.  I bought a new folder (by some miracle I didn't have one the right size on hand) and a bunch of plastic sleeves.

I then cut out a piece of scrapbook paper the right size to fit in the spine and printed out a label to stick on top (see first picture at the top of this post).  I am enjoying it already...

Medicine (wo)man

Here is what I have been doing over the last two weeks.  Lord A has been sick with a cold and then Strep, Sporty Girl had the cold and then my better half came down with a cold as well (we are seeing if the Strep is taking hold on him yet..sigh).  With so many people sick and everyone taking different medicines at different times, I came up with this little system to keep me sane.  Inspired by hospital charts, I made my own little chart that I thought you might find useful too.  Just as a side note, something else that keeps me sane is grabbing a little basket and making sure everything I need to tend the ill is in there - medications, medicine cups/syringes/spoons, lozenges, Vicks vaporub, thermometer, hand sanitiser etc.  I keep it on the kitchen counter until no longer needed.  It also helps if my hubby and I are taking shifts through the night - we don't have to wake up the other to find out which child had which medicine at what time.  Works for me!

I am having trouble with Scribd for my document sharing so I am going to trial sharing this with Google Docs in the meantime.  Let me know if you have any problems and I will send you the original Word document.

Medication Tracker

Quick organising tip

I think I saw this idea in a Martha magazine - can't remember now. But it is a great way of keeping kid's birthday cards accessible and organised. Just gather them up, punch holes in one corner and slip a curtain clip ring (or any ring) through. If the top card didn't have a 3D look to it and didn't show obviously which year it was for, I probably would have put a piece of card on the front with the age as well. Princess E has a special laminated box in her room for keeping correspondence and birthday cards in so this keeps them somewhat organised and she loves going back and looking through them periodically.