- WHOL4Ed Ideas ~ Attached you will find several fun ways to get your kids to help around the house. Professional organizers might not regularly be this clever, but our kiddos seem to enjoy the variety!
- Focus on the Family ~ This site has a variety of recommendations for chores based on ages of children. You will also find some printable chore charts.
- Your Modern Family ~ Variety of chore suggestions by age.
SCREEN TIME/KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE ~ Technology is so accessible! Our children are navigating a world of technology that we didn't grow up having to figure out. Here are a few resources that we have found helpful to set boundaries for our children when if comes to their screen time.
- OurPact ~ This is a fave because you can actually DO some monitoring without paying for the upgrade! The best thing about OurPact is that you can "schedule" when you grant access to all of the apps on your child's phone. You 'schedule' time throughout the day when your child can have full access to his/her phone and then you can 'block' apps at certain times too (like overnight when his phone should be at the family charging station anyway).
- Teen Safe ~ A $9.99 subscription fee per month allows you to control or pause certain apps on your child's device. You decide when your son/daughter can access any app on their device.
- Net Nanny ~ This app alerts you to different searches or web surfing that your child is pursuing. You can prevent your son/daughter from viewing websites that contain content you deem unsuitable. (annual subscription)
- Secure Teen ~ $39.99/1 Year subscription. Allows you to monitor your son/daughters device and see interactions on social media. This app seems to be the most thorough in what it allows parents to monitor and/or pause service to.
- Mama Bear ~ We have limited features of the Mama Bear app because once again we've only got the free version. However, this app lets you see where your child is . . . or at least where his phone is. Each day I get an alert that lets me know my son arrived at school or arrived at home off the bus. This is great for the days that I go into work early and can't be home to see the kids off!
- Life360: a great app for keeping track of your fam!
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HEALTHY LIVING ~ "Exercise, eating well, mental well-being . . . three big ideas that contribute to a healthier you!" Perhaps you've gotten out of the habit of regular exercise? Maybe you have always dreamed of running a 5K? What do you need to get yourself healthy? Here are a few of our favorite ideas.- Lost It! App ~ Okay this is the real deal. The free version of this app has everything you need to help you track what you are eating, set a goal and lose those extra pounds! (easy to use)
- 30 Day Beginner Yoga ~ We LOVE Leslie Fightmaster's FREE yoga videos. We recommend subscribing to her Youtube channel.
- RealFit TV ~ The RealFitTV site offers a variety of FREE workout videos. You can choose from Kickboxing, spinning or strength classes.
- 7 Minute Workout ~ There are a couple different "7 Minute Workout" apps available. There is a free option that we have enjoyed when you are short on time, but want to keep moving!
- Beachbody: This is a one stop shop for workouts! It does cost $59 for 6 months of access but access you get! There are loads of workouts you can do from home or at the gym packed into this app plus expert nutrition advice and plans.
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MEAL PLANNING ~ Just thinking about what to cook for dinner is exhausting – especially after teaching all day! Making dinner is an unavoidable (daily) task. It’s a common chore for all of us and one that can be streamlined! We’ve tried a number of different ways to save time both planning and prepping for meals. Here are a few of our favs!- Back to school freezer meal party ~ Invite your colleagues to participate in a back to school freezer meal exchange! We sent out an Evite to help spread the word and organize our menu options.
- Cooking Club ~ Everyone is probably familiar with businesses such as Let’s Dish that specialize in the planning and preparation of freezer meals. However, sometimes menu choices are limited, the meals are not always kid-friendly, and the cost can be a bit high. The benefits of our cooking club are two-fold – we got to socialize with our girl friends and stocked our freezer with meals for our family (at a fraction of the cost of organized meal prep businesses).
- Slow Cooking (a.k.a. Crock Pot Cooking) Another great meal planning time-saver is the ever faithful crock pot cooking technique. There are many, many excellent resources to help get you started using the crock pot. One fun blog that you might check out is from Stephanie O’dea – she used her crock pot ever day for a YEAR!
- Monthly Meal Planning Help
- 52 Weeks of Meal Planning (simple, helpful tips)
- Six Sisters Meal Plans
- Walmart grocery app
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BUDGET
One aspect of adult life that can throw everything else into a tailspin is not managing your finances by creating a budget. Many people avoid dealing with and talking about money due to its high-stress creation. However, when you finally decide to eat this frog, the weight lifted off of your shoulders and the daily peace that comes from knowing where you are financially is immeasurable. Check out a few of our favorite budget resources.
- Dave Ramsey: Although a bit extreme for some tastes, Dave Ramsey, and his budget ideas can be life changing.
- Mint (app): This app keeps your money categorized and right in front of your eyes via notifications and alerts. Raising your level of monetary awareness can make huge improvements to sticking to a budget.
- Life Hack Site: Helps you organize and plan using the Mint app
- Bill Pay Checklist: Keeping track of bills and when they need to be paid can keep them from getting out of hand. Here is one of our favorite printable checklists to make this a breeze.
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Memory Keeping is one of those guilt items on our to-do list. We know we should do something about all of those pictures on our zillion devices, but we just are too overwhelmed to start. It is only when something horrible happens (storm or fire damage) or an important date looms large (high school graduation) that we feel the true weight of the shoulda/woulda/couldas of keeping up on preserving our family memories. Pictures capture moments in time that can never really be recalled via memory. Somehow we need to get our pictures off of our phones and into books or albums. The good news? This has NEVER been easier. Check out some of our favorite memory keeping resources.
- Shutterfly: It is fairly simple to use this online photo/memory site. Upload photos. Choose and create a keepsake option (most often some sort of album) and let Shutterfly do the work for you. Add a bit of journaling and you have preserved that family vacation or significant event.
- Project Life: This system of memory keeping was developed by Becky Higgins out of her desire to SIMPLIFY the memory keeping process. She has tons of tips and videos on how to use her projects. She even recently started "Project Photo Rescue" with oodles of ideas on how to get out from under your own mountain of photos. In the last two years, they have also launched an app that lets you scrapbook right from your phone. I scrapbooked our entire trip to Magnolia Farms on the plane ride home. Yep. Truth.
- Digital Scrapbooking: If you actually enjoy the process of scrapbooking but don't like all the tools and time it takes, then digital scrapbooking is for you. This is done using your pictures and digital paper and embellishments. The final product is them uploaded to a site like Shutterfly and printed as an album.
Self-Care
Part of a balanced life is never forgetting or feeling guilty about taking care of YOURSELF. The deliberate act and time given to taking care of yourself pays dividends in every single other area of your life. You will sleep better, handle crisis better, love better, and simply BE better. Here are some of our favorite forms of self-care....
- Take a course to learn how to do something you have always wanted to learn. Hand-lettering, doodling, knitting, furniture DIY.
- Re-connect with something you used to love doing but have squeezed out due to time constraints--reading, running, volunteering.
- Spend time in nature to rejuvenate.
- Dedicate a portion of each week to do something that relaxes you. (bath, manicure, meditation, etc)
Staying on top of things with a PLANNER
Some people think I am strange because I yearn to be a little analog in this crazy, digital world. I'm a self-proclaimed old-school when it comes to how I keep track of my busy schedule. I absolutely must write it down. On paper. With a pretty pen. Can I get an AMEN?! I've tried most scheduling/organizing app available and they just don't resonate with me and in turn, I simply don't maintain them. I find myself simply looking for a notebook and pencil to get my thoughts out and solidified. A great peace of mind is found in doing this and maintaining this is enjoyable and effortless. Any paper/planner peeps out there? Keep reading.
- Erin Condren: Now this lady knows how to make a planner so pretty you don't even want to write in it for fear you will mess it up. She is the product of two teachers for parents and has infused a large of her product line into making teachers organized. Her life planners and teacher planners are not cheap though so be prepared to drop a few bucks, or $100.
- Passion Planner: Here are some simple and gorgeous planners that leave a bit more to you to design and set up. They are small and compact and offer a lot of space to jot down everything from dates and events to actual journaling. The planner does an amazing job of helping you set goals and holding you accountable to yourself and your planner!
BULLET JOURNALING: Last but not least, I want to share what I use personally to plan out my schedule and life. I was introduced to bullet journaling a few years ago by a friend who knew that I had often struggled to find a planner that met all of my needs. I tend to find pre-printed planners wayy too confining which causes me to jump from my planner, to my calendar, and then to my notebook to get everything written out. This turned out to be a lot to juggle. I did some research on bullet journaling and was hooked from the beginning because it met two of my needs--planning and creating. Check out the videos below to see what it's all about (it is much easier to see then explain!) The first video is from the bullet journal creator, Ryder Carroll. His intent was for this system to be quite simple and minimalistic. Of course, people got creative and now bullet journaling is practically a new art form. I fall somewhere in the middle of these two videos.
Have you ever tried Wordsworth Planner for goal setting and your daily tasks?
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