MakeOver Mondays! The Kitchen

As Salaamu Alaikum and good morning sisters. It is time once again to get our homes in organizing shape. We are still in this uphill battle to "Calm the Chaos" in our homes. So today we will be tackling that one room in the house the most of us spend a great deal of time and that is the KITCHEN! In order to be our culinary best we must be able to function in our space. So again go grab your notebooks and pens and let's start taking notes. "Organization Room by Room take 6"

Step 1

Keep your counter tops clear, this is your canvas so it needs to be clutter free. How do I do this, what do I do with all of my things? Stay tuned .....

Step 2  

Hang aprons, pot holders, and dish towels on pegs.



Step 3  Just like we prioritize our schedule, prioritize your kitchenware, arrange your kitchenware by frequency of use, with everyday dishes on an easy-to-reach lower shelf and special-occasion pieces up above.

Step 4  Be sure and put all similar object together. For example all bake ware should be together, all cups together, all plastic storage containers together. etc...


Step 5  Keep plastic bags and wrapping together in a drawer near the refrigerator to make quick work of storing away leftovers.

Step 6  Keep all cooking utensils together within easy reach of your cooking area for efficient food prep.

Step 7 Purchase lid racks, I know I have said to keep all like items together. Lids however have a mind of their own and require special care and attention. So the solution to those little buggers can be found at just about every store. Walmart, Kmart, Targets etc.. LID RACKS. Very inexpensive and perfect tool to organization.

Step 8  Keep all eating utensils in mugs and cups instead of utensil racks in a drawer. Store in cabinets, it is much less messy than the alternative.

Step 9 Organize your pantry shelves as you would a library, with food items grouped by category.

Step 10 If you have a small pantry space or no pantry at all you can purchase regular over the door clear shoe hangers to hang in the kitchen. (This picture is over the pantry door, but can easily be adapted to a wall. Smaller spaces doesn't mean we can't organize we just have to think outside the box.






These are just a few simple steps to get you going on the road to calming the chaos in your kitchen, we will revisit this area at another time. Oh yes there is so much more to do in the kitchen. So for now get going with this and enjoy your progress as well as your day. Love you ladies!!

Schedule Sunday! Let's Get Working on that organization

As Salaamu Alaikum and Good Morning ladies, I pray everyone enjoyed their dates last night. Alright it is time to roll up our sleeves, pull out those laptops dust off our schedulers and get busy organizing our week to come. It isn't as daunting a task as it sounds it is a simple procedure of looking at your day to day life and prioritizing it. My advice is to start at the top of your day and figure out what things are important and what aren't then start writing it down. So today I will share a few of my schedules with you all and we will go on a step by step process of starting our own schedule.Starting with the most important and that is a daily schedule.

1.The first thing you need to do, is like I said earlier start with waking up. I need each of you to pick a time for waking up and write it down.

2. Okay we should all have SalatulAlfajr written down, now write down next to it the time, and what you will do in this time.

3.Next I need you to figure out if you are staying awake or going back to sleep. Okay now you write down the time you will be awake and what you will be doing or how long you will be going back to sleep.TIP( SET TIMERS) for all that you have to do.

4. You choose the next important thing that must be done in your day and set the time and don't forget the timer.

5. You repeat this until you have prioritized your whole day.

So now you have your daily schedule done, keep this, don't lose it. You can print laminate and hang it up (my best suggestion) or you can keep it on your computer.Whatever you choose this will be your guide to making all of your other schedules. For instance if at 8:30 -9:30 you will be cleaning. Now you know you must make a cleaning schedule, because you can't clean everything in an hour. (Set your timers)

Now you want to look at the next thing on your daily schedule if it is cook breakfast for instance, you want to make a menu. Ladies the key to having a less hectic day is to plan. Always make a menu and a shopping list to go with it, this way you are sure to have everything you need and there is no guess work in what you are cooking. Then move on to the next item on your daily schedule say for instance it is homeschooling, now you want to make a schedule of what you will teach and be sure to fit it in the time you allocated. So you make a homeschooling schedule and make lesson plans according to that. The worst thing any teacher wants to do is stand before the students unprepared. Have a plan and a time,know your subject and set your timer. Sisters this is what you want to do for all of your "Daily Activities" use that Daily schedule as a master schedule and make all you sub schedules from it. Hey listen I know it is easy for someone to tell you that his is what you need to do, and I am trying to show you how. Of course you could purchase or print a schedule to copy or fill in, but if you really don't understand how to get started you will just be staring at a piece of paper and a year from now still be saying I need to get organized. Ladies I am here to tell you that it is all about timing making a time for everything, setting a timer and sticking to it. If that timer goes off and you are still vacuuming then you stop and you move on to the next thing on your schedule. After sometime this will be like waking up and brushing your teeth you won't think about it, you won't even have to look at your schedule. Just get started. So we will take baby steps I am asking that all of you please make a daily schedule today with exact times and task and share them with us. As Always Ladies "Enjoy your day"

Ogranization Room by Room Part 3

Good Morning Ladies, all right let's continue on our road to "Calming the Chaos" As promised I am leading us on a room by room tour of organizing our homes. At the end of our tour we will all have seen and learned so much Insha Allah and be ready to just show of what we learned and discovered along the way. Okay ladies let's continue...

Children's play area arts and crafts. (workspace, lighting, storage for paints, paper, glue and embellishments) If at all possible try and make this center a place far away from the common living space, either in an upstairs room if you have one or a basement. If these rooms are not available a section of your child's bedroom can be used. All you need is proper storage and a child who is on board with the program.

This one is a very important center in our quest to keeping order and organization and the winner is.......

PLANNING and SCHEDULING Center (desk area, computer, planner or electronic organizer, office supplies,coupon organizer)

Okay ladies we have covered 5 centers so far and their are more to come. Let's get started on these, I would like to make a challenge to you sisters. How about we all start with our Planning and Scheduling Center and we all post our progress over the next few days to a week. I am asking that all sisters who are willing and participating post photos of their finished work.

As I said previously you will need to buy some shelving and storage bins, but keep in mind that they are inexpensive and can be purchased at dollar stores, thrift shops, and super stores.

Organization Center By Center Part 2

Homemakers Tip of the Day:

Part 2
On yesterday we left off talking about rules for home organization, today Insha Allah we will start with Rule 1(A place for everything and everythings in its place.) I love that saying. Sister have you ever been into a preschool classroom, if so i would like for you to take a quick second to close your eyes an try and remember how it looked....... Ding ding ding, okay you got it. Preschool teachers are model organizers because they have to be. Without a plan for classroom structure, 18 or 20 energetic little people could create plaything havoc in mere moments.
To keep their schoolroom running smoothly, preschool teachers apply the concept of “centers”: dedicated areas for a single activity, like blocks, dress-up or sand play, with storage for all the playthings required by that activity. At home, you can set up centers that work the same way, to focus and support the everyday activities that are carried on in the home. To create them, you’ll designate:

A focus: Allocate one focused activity to each center.

A specified area: Set aside a single place to perform the activity.

Storage for tools and supplies: Ensure that all items needed are present and available in the center.

Today insha allah we are going to focus on a few centers only with more to follow. Remember we are taking baby steps. First center in our quest to organization... The winner is

1. Grooming (skin-care products,cosmetics and hair care implements near a bathroom sink and mirror)

2. Cleaning and caretaking (mops, broom, and vacuum, cleaning tote with tools, cleaning products for refills, replacement light bulbs, cleaning cloths and sponges, specialty cleaners)

3.School/Homework ( (table, good lighting, pens and markers, paper, reference books)

You will need to buy a few simple things to get and keep these centers up and functioning properly. It will require dilligence on your part to make sure all things have its place.

Please check out the photos in order to get a better idea of each new center, and as always ladies "Enjoy your day!

Organization

Homemakers Tip of the Day:

"Organize and De-Clutter" How can I do this? I really don't know how. I have tried this before, and what does it mean? Ladies have you ever found yourself uttering one of these sentences above, or simply just felt overwhelmed by the prospect of taking on such a big task? If so I would like to make it a little easier. I have said organize your homes to you all before, however I am aware that this may not be as simple as I make it sound. So today I would like to share a few simple rules for doing this and I want you to keep in mind that it isn't something that has to be done all at once. Take baby steps and eventually you will look back and be across the room.

Rule 1: Pick a Place for Everything. ("A place for everything, and everything in its place”) is a watchword for true home organization. Possessions, like people, need homes. Find them that home, defend their turf with labels, dividers and organizers, and you’ve won most of the battle for an organized home. Be creative when it comes to finding homes for household stuff and rearrange your thinking.

Rule 2: Bring the Family on Board. Any organizing system will fail unless all family members understand it and follow it.

Rule 3: Create Centers for Household Activities

Insha Allah on tomorrow we will take the first step and that is figuring out how to put these rules into play. I will be going through a step by step process and using photos to help make it clearer. To be continued....
Enjoy your day!