Thanksgiving Keepsake Activity

A Thanksgiving Keepsake Activity for kids of all ages, all you need is a printer, some construction paper, a file folder and tape to have this all ready for your young Thanksgiving guests this Thursday. 

Super quick to put together but lots of fun and a great keepsake. 


Download Thanksgiving Keepsake Activity

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Working Supermom Secret... My Nightly Cleaning Routine

My house isn't always spotless, in reality whose is? However I do my best to keep it clean and tidy and I've found my new nightly routine is helping wonders. 

After my daughter is off in bed (8:30 PM) I begin my "Power Hour" rather than hitting the couch. This also helps me get in my steps each day, because working a desk job, doing college work and blogging, I spend a lot of time sitting on my butt.

With my routine I have found that I clean minimally on the weekends which means more time to enjoy my family. I only do what I can get done in 1 hour, and now that I've been doing this consistently it barely takes me 30 minutes to complete it all. 

M/W/F - 1st floor
T/R - 2nd floor
F - Basement
Every night - Dishes & vacuum hard floors.

My first floor consists of 5 rooms:

1. Kitchen
2. Living room
3. Dining room
4. Bonus room (and hallway)
5. Half bathroom

My second floor has 7 rooms

1. Master Bedroom
2. Master Bathroom/Closet
3. Adam's Office
4. Gwen's Playroom
5. Gwen's Bedroom
6. Gwen's Bathroom
7. Laundry room/closet

My basement has 5 rooms

1. Living room
2. My craft room/office
3. Bathroom
4. Bulk Storage
5. Holiday Storage

M/W/F Plan - #1, 2 & 14 are done every night

1. Load the dishwasher (should have been unloaded in your Morning Routine)
2. Wash by hand anything that doesn't fit in the dishwasher and set aside to dry while you finish the rest of your routine
3. Wipe down the stove, including the bottom of the inside if you baked anything tonight
4. Wipe down all counters
5. Wipe down the outside of the refrigerator and dishwasher
6. Do a quick scan of the cabinets and wipe down any visible mess
7. Go through the living room and pick up any dishes/clothes/things that don't belong
8. If it goes upstairs drop it in the transportation basket on your stairs (if you don't have one you need one, check out my post on it here)
9. Clean off & wipe down the dining room table putting everything back where it goes (this is quick for me because we don't eat in our dining room)
10. Bonus room is just yard sale storage right now so I just ignore it
11. Check the half bath for any needs (i.e. toilet paper) and do a quick wipe down of the toilet, sink and mirror. 
12. Off to grab my Ryobi cordless vacuum, this thing is amazing and so much better than a Dyson or Shark (in my opinion) because we have all Ryobi cordless tools so there is always a battery fully charged waiting for me (we have 8 total batteries)
13. Also grab the small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth... you'll see why in a minute
14. Vacuum the entire downstairs which is all hardwood floors. 
15. I'll usually do a quick sweep of the couch as well for any crumbs
16. Use the rubbing alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean any spots on the couch, just spray it on and scrub softly with the cloth and your couch is like new (test in a small inconspicuous spot before doing in an obvious location to ensure you have true microfiber)
17. Using my wonderful O-Cedar Spin Mop I add super hot water and just a small cap full of Spic & Span and quickly mop my entire first floor. With the spin mop the mop becomes just barely damp so I don't have to worry about it ruining my hardwood floors. 

T/R Plan - this routine is done half while my daughter takes a bath and half after she's in bed, and during my Morning Routine I start laundry on a delay so it's ready to go in the dryer as soon as I get home from work so that it's ready to put away during my Power Hour.

1. Quickly go around picking everything up off the floors that would be in the way of vacuuming, since I do this regularly there is very little to pick up. 
2. Vacuum the entire upstairs (which is all carpet)
3. Gwen is responsible for keeping her room & playroom clean but I still do a quick walk thru just to ensure that things are picked up and nothing is in there that she forgot about. After she is in bed I will continue on with step 4.
4. Wipe down her tub, counters and toilet
5. Use my Ryobi cordless vacuum on her floors (it's so quiet it can't be heard in her bedroom)
6. In the master bathroom wipe down the tub, counters and toilet. I clean the inside of the shower every other time I shower with a handled scrub sponge filled with half vinegar and half blue dawn, keeps the soap scum at bay.
7. Vacuum the master bath floors. 
8. Quick pick-up in the master closet and put away any of my make-up or other items I've left out on my make-up table
9. Put away any laundry that needs put away

F Plan

1. Clean the living room, gathering dishes, folding blankets, fluffing pillows. 
2. Check the mini-fridge to see what needs restocked or what has gone bad
3. Check the snack drawer for what needs restocked
4. Clean off my desk including scanning in all papers that need processed from the week
5. Vacuum the living room & craft room floors
6. Wipe down the bathroom sink & toilet
7. Vacuum bathroom floors
8. The shower only gets cleaned once a month, no one uses it, but cleaning it keeps the spiders out
9. Vacuum the storage room
10. Take inventory of what needs to be purchased on my next shopping trip
11. Put back anything that wasn't properly put away throughout the week
12. Vacuum the holiday storage room
13. Some weeks I'll also prep for the next holiday decor change out by pulling out the proper totes and setting them aside. 

I hope this helps you get a quick simple nightly routine down to help keep your house as clean as can be. 

What is your favorite cleaning tip that has ever been shared with you or that you figured out on your own? 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Time to plan for ... April Fool's Day

My daughter loves pulling pranks and she's now old enough to understand and enjoy April Fool's Day so this year I have a few fun pranks planned out for her. 

1. Toilet Paper in her shoes, and since I'm not sure which ones she will wear I'll have to stuff them all. 
2. Frozen cereal, the night before I'm going to pour a bowl of cereal and freeze it with the spoon in it to serve it to her for breakfast the next morning. 
3. A little food coloring on her faucet spout so when she turns on the water it will come out bright purple.
4. Taping a plastic spider (from Halloween, remember the multi-purpose items we talked about) to the toilet paper roll in her bathroom.
5. I also picked up a couple old fashioned funny prank items from Five Below for use throughout the day, i.e. whoopie cushion and fake poop

I tried to plan for harmless pranks that in no way could cause her injury as she is a bit clumsy as is (she has SPD) so the slightest chance she could get hurt makes it an almost certainty. 

I will add pics to this post once April Fool's has come and gone. 

Stay Tuned!

Working Supermom Secret... My Morning Routine

If you're anything like I was, mornings feel insane, no matter how much I planned or how early I tried to get up, I felt like I never had enough time in the mornings, or at least I didn't until I put together a solid morning routine. 

Hopefully seeing mine will help you to plan your morning and make your day a productive one.

Alarm goes off at 5:15 AM

1. Review my to-do list - before even getting out of bed, I review my to-do list for the day, Google Keep for the win, just to get in the mindset of productivity. After that I feel as though I have a good handle on what the day ahead holds.
2. Make the bed - I get out of bed and make it, including all my pretty pillows. My room just feel so clean having the bed made. 
3. Get dressed - clothes are always picked out for the week on Sunday's so it's quick. No matter how productive you think you can be in your PJ's, I can guarantee you're more productive in clothes. Even if it's yoga pants and a t-shirt, changing clothes will get your blood flowing and wake you up. If you don't wear outside shoes in your house, get yourself a pair of inside only sneakers, feeling like you're going somewhere will keep you going. 
4. Aesthetics - If you like to do your make-up and hair, go for it, personally I don't wear make-up except a little mascara (blonde lashes get me) and my hair is perpetually in a messy bun. 
5. Start laundry (on a delay) - I delay it for 7 hours, because then it finishes up about 20 minutes before I get home from work. Then, I will switch as soon as I get home and put away before bed. (We'll go over that more in my night time cleaning routine) 
6. Wake up the tiny human - if she's not already up and then she's off to get ready on her own. Her clothes are also set out for the week on Sunday's and she has her checklist of morning tasks to complete. 
7. Drink some water - I will grab my water bottle from the refrigerator and drink about half of it, I prefer very cold water and these bottles keep things VERY cold. I've had ice still solid after 2 days. And for only $9.99 they're a steal.
8. Make her lunch - she takes a hot lunch nearly every day, if I'm sending a cold one I will make it the night before and store it in her lunch box in the refrigerator, but that is rare. For hot lunches I love these insulated bowls because they keep things hot and are comfortable to eat out of and are leak proof. Her favorite lunchbox was a Target find, it's an Outerspace insulated one. One of our favorite things about the Cheeky® Kids brand is that for every Cheeky® Kids item you buy, a child in need will get a meal right here in the U.S. with No Kid Hungry. 
9. Make breakfast - I prefer she eat a hot breakfast and have many things prepped, but some days she wants mac-n-cheese or spaghetti and if that's what I'm making for her lunch I'm fine with that, because really, how is mac-n-cheese any less healthy than pancakes covered in syrup? 
10. Empty the dishwasher
11. Practice this weeks spelling words - while I'm emptying the dishwasher we'll practice the spelling words on her list this week, I keep them on the white board on our command station and pull them down while we're practicing
12. Reload any breakfast dishes - as soon as it's emptied I'll add any breakfast dishes, or lunch making dishes, or midnight snack dishes that are in the sink
13. Double check backpacks - I pre-pack all backpacks the night before but I will go thru both again just to double check. In her backpack I look to make sure her homework is done, all papers are signed and her lunchbox is in it. I'll also look thru mine quickly to ensure my laptop, work phone and any other items I need are in it.
14. Hugs & Kisses - Always hug & kiss your family good-bye every morning, no matter what, even if they're sleeping give them a little kiss, be a minute late if it means still getting those hugs & kisses, but with a good morning routine you'll be 20 minutes early with zero stress

And I'm off to work by 6:25 AM. 

Now, surprisingly, even if it's a weekend my morning routine varies very little. 

On the weekends:

1. Dressed to the shoes - most weekends it's just blue jeans & a t-shirt
2. Aesthetics - for me it's no different than a weekday, a little mascara and a messy bun and I'm off
3. Laundry - this time no delay
4. Breakfast - I make a hot breakfast every Saturday, and make double the amount of pancakes, waffles or french toast to freeze, if there's still a lot left over from the previous weekend I'll make eggs & toast or cinnamon rolls instead
5. Dishwasher emptied & refilled
6. Send a message - send a message to someone you haven't talked to in awhile. Just a quick "Hey! Was thinking about you and hoping all is well." It will mean a lot to the person and takes less than 30 seconds of your time. 

Then I begin my Google Keep to-do list for the weekend. If you don't use Google Keep you're missing out. Check out my post all about this "secret" weapon offered by Google.

What does your morning look like? Is there some part of it that stresses you out? Anything you could pre-plan? 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Time to plan for... Johnny Appleseed Day

It's no secret that we LOVE apples in our house, and getting to 'celebrate' one of our favorite fruits twice every year is super exciting. We do huge things in the fall when we go apple picking, but we also have lots of fun on March 11th for Johnny Appleseed day. 

Every year we read the story of Johnny Appleseed and how he brought apple trees to areas of our country which otherwise wouldn't have had them. This is a great kids book and as they get older they can read it to you. 

We got our copy here on Amazon

I also found this super fun activity pack over on Teaching with Children's Books, that I think you will all love. 

Every year I make apple pancakes for breakfast, just use your favorite pancake mix and as soon as you pour the batter on the griddle add a very very thin slices of granny smith apples, they're super yummy. Here is my favorite pancake recipe. For pancakes, use 2 cups of the above mix and add 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs, they're delicious and quick to make. 

In her lunch every year I send apples and caramel sauce or apples and peanut butter, depending on the apples we have on hand. I pre-slice them in the morning and soak for 5 minutes in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, it doesn't take on any of the lemon flavor, but keeps them from browning, you can also use citric acid if you have some on hand. 

For dessert I usually make my apple bread with cinnamon butter which makes for a great breakfast the next morning too. Last year I made apple cookies with cinnamon cream cheese icing. 

A fun tradition is at dinner, wear a pot on your head like Johnny Appleseed. The kids will love it. 

For Gwen's class I usually make "apple" cupcakes as a treat. 

What is your favorite apple recipe? Share in the comments below.

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Working Supermom Secret ... Stair Basket

If you have a two story home,  you know how often things find their way from the 2nd floor to the 1st and no one wants to make a hundred trips up and down the stairs, and it cab become a hazard just leaving it on the stairs and hoping someone will take it up when they're headed that way. 

I got this cute basket from Target and keep it on the stairs to keep everything corralled and to make it easier to carry it all up when I go up, because let's face it, who else is going to carry it up since it's all invisible. It's 8"x10" so it doesn't hold a lot, but it's perfect for the socks, Lego's, hair brushes, hair ties, etc. that make their wait to the living room. 

Amazon does have some great options as well, but they were a little pricier than I wanted to pay, and a little bigger than I wanted for the stairs. This basket is specifically made for stair storage and was the cheapest I found. With the below one, I was also concerned with how much more would I allow to pile up before taking it up, because even I have my lazy moments. 

If you have a two story home, what is your normal handling of things that need to go up? Do you run things up every time you find them? Stack on the stairs without a bin? Some other method? Share in the comments below, I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Time to plan for… Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

Dr. Seuss' Birthday is March 2nd, but we did our projects a week early for two reasons, one so I could share with you all, and 2 because we have soccer open house next weekend and weren't sure if we'd have enough time. 

We love Dr. Seuss in our house, so much so we read probably 2-3 books a week. This year Gwen chose 3 books for our Dr Seuss celebration, Cat in the Hat, The Lorax & Fox in Sox. So, we are doing some fun Thing 1 & Thing 2 hand-prints, making Truffula Tree cupcakes and a Popsicle stick fox.

I also started making some treats I was going to send to school with Gwen to her class before I realized that March 2^nd was a Saturday. In my prep for this year I had all the items cut and ready to go, I just needed to buy the packages of goldfish crackers. So in anticipation, I will share that here, for your preparation for next year.

Classroom present

For this you can use either small bags of Goldfish or small bags of Swedish fish depending on if you want to go sweet or savory. I printed 27 of these (in 3.5x5" and cut them out to staple to the bag of treats)

Fox in Sox Fox

3 popsicle sticks, orange marker, orange paper, googly eyes and a black puff ball. 

We used hot glue to glue everything together so that we could quickly play with them. 

*I had to print out a copy of the book title for the picture because she ran off to read the book (it's one of her favorites)

Thing 1 & Thing 2 paint handprints

This one is super easy, all you need is red, white and blue acrylic paint (or finger paint) a piece of paper and a black marker.

Voila! Gwen drew on my face and I drew on hers so that we were both helping each other out. She really enjoyed getting to paint my hands so I could do hand-prints too. 

Lorax Cupcakes

While we made our batter & icing from scratch, you can make this much easier by just grabbing a box mix and container of frosting.

Gwen added a couple little teddy grahams to hers because she said they looked like little Lorax men.

For the truffula trees there are 2 options, tulle & a straw or cotton candy & cookies, we went with cotton candy & Pirouinne cookies because it’s just too yummy.

Hope you enjoyed these super easy ideas and can incorporate some of them into your plans for next weekend. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves my chocolate chip cookies and they're super simple and easy to make ahead of time. The biggest secret (not-so secret anymore) is my Butter Mix. I take 1 lb of salted (do not use unsalted) butter, 1 lb of butter Crisco & 1 lb of Imperial Margarine (other brands don't taste as good) and mix it together. I keep this in my refrigerator for all my cookie needs, It helps your cookies stay soft for almost any recipe. 

For a printable recipe click here. 



INGREDIENTS

• 2 and 1/4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (tapped & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter mix 
• 1 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

  
STEPS

1. Whisk 2 1/4 c flour,  baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. 
3. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. 
4. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract. 
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. 
6. The dough will be very soft, yet thick, if it's sticky to the touch add the other 1/4c flour. 
7. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 
8. Put dough in a gallon ziplock and get as much air out as possible. Chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 3-4 days. Chilling is mandatory or they will spread and have an awful texture. 
9. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies) Set aside.
11. Using a cookie scoop, scoop 2 oz portions. Roll the dough into balls between your hands to smooth out.
12. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. 
13. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
14. Make ahead tips: 
1. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
2. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4.
3. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months.
4. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. I almost always make double what I need and then freeze cookie dough balls and then place in a baggie so I can just bake what I need in between big batches, who doesn't prefer fresh out of the oven cookies on a week night. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Welcome!!

If you came here looking for inspiration - I hope I give you lots!

If you came here looking for motivation - I hope I give you more than you're looking for!

You don't have to be rich, or a SAHM, or childless to have a clean, organized home and be so productive that everyone around you says "How does she do it all?" the answer, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all and not be stressed out while doing it. 

I've been blogging off and on since 2010 (mostly off), but recently I have really developed a passion for sharing my secrets, tips and recipes. I hope you can take some of the tips and tricks here and apply them to your own life to make even one moment simpler. 

I have a Facebook Group where I share lots of printables, reminders, and quick tips that I don't share here so be sure to check it out. 

Managing Your Inbox Using Gmail Categories

Does your email inbox look like this:

                 

If not, you may have a little work to do. Periodically I go through the preassigned categories that Gmail has and mark everything "Not Social/Updates/Forums/Promotion" so that I can handle the items myself and put them where I need them. Using Gmails Categories feature you can keep all the emails you need to, keep them easily filed in your email and still keep your inbox clean. You can even have subcategories to keep things bundled together and separate at the same time (I use this for my favorite bloggers). 

Every time an email comes in I remove the inbox category and add my own to it, then my inbox stays clean and I'm able to manage the items. As items are no longer needed in my inbox (i.e. I've paid the bill, responded, etc) I either delete it if I'll never need it again, or I print it to OneNote (we'll get into my OneNote organization deeper in another post) and keep a copy there, deleting it out of my inbox. Things like blog post newsletters I rarely delete as I reference back to them regularly. 

Make sure you're regularly checking your spam folder too, because gmails spam filters are a little stingy. For a few weeks I went in and marked everything "Not Spam" so it would come into my inbox and I could process it properly (marking it spam if needed) and I still go in from time to time to ensure everything in my spam box is truly spam. 

Also, make sure you're emptying your spam folder and trash cans regularly, Gmail automatically does it, but it's nice to not see numbers down the side, almost as nice as laying on clean warm sheets when you go to bed. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Taco Pasta Recipe

I let Gwen have input on dinner most nights and she wanted tacos last night, while this worked for her and my husband I wanted something a little different so I decided to try and make a taco pasta. It came out delish so I decided to share my recipe with all of you. This is a very loose recipe, adjust as you see fit and to your families tastes.

Ingredients

1/2 lb shell pasta
1/4 lb 93% ground beef
1/2 c chunky salsa
1c shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 c taco seasoning
1/4 c water

Cooking Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions (or however you normally cook pasta) until just barely done, drain and set aside.

2. In the same pot brown ground beef and then add taco seasoning and water and simmer until nearly all water has evaporated.

3. Add the pasta back to the pot and stir in salsa and cheese. If the heat from the meat and pasta doesn't melt the cheese completely you can turn the heat back on for a few moments but not too long so that you don't overcook the pasta.

This was a great dish and even reheated well the next day, which is saying something since in my family we never eat leftovers since I'm not a fan of how things taste reheated. 

If you give it a try leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Reading Tracker

My daughters school has literacy nights where they ask us to bring in a list of all the books they have read over the last month. Well anyone who knows me knows I don't like boring when I can have cute, so I made this reading tracker for her and wanted to share with everyone.

I printed the pages, punched them and placed them in a 3 ring binder. It's the perfect size to keep on the book shelf next to her books so we always remember to fill it in.

Each month has a pretty header and room for 100 books (that's over THREE each day). On the last page each month is this:

The special prize is up to you, for my daughter it's a full "Mommy/Daughter Day" where she gets to pick everything from the foods all 3 meals, to where we go and what we do.

To download the Reading Tracker click here. 

Enjoy and happy reading!!

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cups

I was craving something sweet and really wanted cake but am out of powdered sugar so I had to think of a cake that didn't need icing, or an icing alternative and then remembered how amazing pineapple upside down cake is. I looked up my moms recipe and saw the cake took 45 minutes to cook and at 7:30 p.m. I did not want to wait that long plus cool time to indulge so I decided to make mini-cakes using my jumbo cupcake tin from Wilton.

Ingredients

For the topping:
1 stick of butter
9 TBL brown sugar
1 can pineapple chunks
9 maraschino cherries

For the cake: 
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c salted butter softened
1 1/3 c brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup whole milk







Instructions


1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Spray a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

3. Add the butter and sugar from the topping section to a small saucepan over medium heat and heat, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat and distribute evenly between the 9 cavities of the jumbo tin (may also work in a standard 12 cupcake tin).

4. Take pineapple chunks and cut in half keeping the core intact, lay 6 pieces in a circle on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix the butter and sugar from the cake ingredients until light and fluffy, the more air you get in now the lighter your cake will be (skipping this step will cause a dense bread like cake). 

6. Add in the eggs and vanilla paste (extract will work as well) and mix well after each ingredient. 

7. Add the dry ingredients in thirds alternating which ingredient you're putting in, mixing each time just until combined. 

8. Evenly distribute the batter among the 9 cavities. 

9. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then run a butter knife along the outer edges to loosen them from the pan, place an upside down wire rack on top and flip over onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper).

11. Allow to cool a little more and enjoy. Serve as is or with a little homemade whipped cream. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Google Keep - Google's Best Kept "Non-Secret" Secret Weapon

I love checklists, but I hate paper checklists because I like to reorder things and add sub-items and just have more control than paper gives me. Recently while watching a YouTube tutorial for something completely unrelated, the YouTuber mentioned Google Keep. I hadn't heard of it so I Googled it (Google really is taking over the world). Google Keep is so much more than just a place to house your checklists, but it is a great place for them. 

I have my grocery list in Google Keep and I can share it with my husband so he can add items, see what is on there, check things off if he's shopping without me, etc. It's AMAZING! I also have a list of my daughters favorite items for her school lunches, because as you know I make her lunch every day and try to give her variety. There are some other check lists too, like Resolutions/Goals, a long term project list, a list of all the switches that still need changed to smart switches. 

It also has reminders in it that sync with your Google Calendar which is huge with how much I use my Google Calendars. *If you missed that post check it out here: My 12 Google Calendars* With Reminders, you can geotag them which is amazing. Put the address of a place you need to stop (i.e. picking up dry cleaning or a prescription) and if you're within half a mile of that location, the reminder will pop-up to complete the task. 






You can access Google Keep from your phone or your computer or any smart device. I only just learned about Google Keep three months ago, so I'm still learning about all the fun features available, but check it out, it will change your life. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

School Money Stickers (Free Printable)

If you're anything like me, you feel like you're sending money to school 3x a week and can't always remember to put all the information needed on the envelope with it. Usually the school will still take it, I mean who wouldn't accept money, but then they send the reminders home of "please include the following information when sending money". So what I did was create this cute little infographic that I printed out on sticker paper and attached to the front of a few envelopes to keep on hand.

Of course I can't create something without sharing it with you guys.

Click here for a pdf file with 4 graphics per sheet. You can print them on sticker paper, or just on regular paper and then tape them to the envelopes.

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Completely Using Google Contacts

I feel like I'm giving away one of my biggest organizing/networking secrets, but it's so exciting I have to share. 

Google Contacts is an amazing feature that is so often underutilized by Google users. You can store more than just the basic name and phone number which helps not only with keeping the information at your fingertips, but making your brain more efficient since you don't have to remember certain things when shopping for gifts or planning for topics in networking meetings. 

I have created a fake contact to the left, but the information looks very similar to what I have for every contact in my phone. 

1. Always include a picture, this helps you to put the name with the face, especially if a majority of your contact is over the phone/email you want to be able to easily recognize the person when you see them in person. Also, make sure it's just a picture of them, having other people in the picture can be confusing. 
2. Include their company and job title. If you know their middle name, include that too. 
3. Always label the phone numbers properly so you don't mistakenly call their personal number when you were trying to reach their office. 
4. Make sure if you list an address, which is a great idea especially when it comes time to send Christmas cards, you have the full address including zip code. 
5. There is also a section to list relatives. There are 2 ways you can do this, you can link people in they're both in your phone, for example, my married neighbors are both in my phone under separate contacts, but are linked through the relatives option. If you don't have the information you can just list their names and relationship in the phone. I also add birth dates next to the names if I find them out in passing conversation. Even if you just have the month/year that's helpful to use as a conversation starter, or just the age and approximate year to help with relating topics to them. 
6. Always include any dates you have, birthday, anniversary, work anniversary, etc. Anything that is special to them. 
7. Finally, the most important section in my opinion, is the notes section, here I make notes about things the person likes, doesn't like, favorites, etc. If it's a close friend I'll do the same for their children in the notes section (clothing sizes, current likes, etc.). In the example above, John is  a Ford fan, but hates Dodge, loves Star Trek and the Raiders and his favorite food is candied bacon. Anytime I have a conversation with someone and likes/dislikes or hobbies come up I try to make a mental note to add it to their contact note in google so I have it for later reference and don't have to try to remember it. 

One great thing with the dates section is those will automatically transfer over to your Contacts Calendar that was discussed in my post on My 12 Google Calendars. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.