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The aim of this Home Education blog is to share books, games and resources that I have found useful and fun in home educating my children. If you have a resource to share, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.
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Getting Organised!

Posted on January 4, 2008
Filed Under Activity, Free |

Happy New Year!!

I love the new year, and the new possibilities it brings. This is the time of year when I begin to think of the year ahead - and how to organise it!!

I like to sit down each morning for 10 minutes and plan my day. When I was a working I was a great fan of Quo Vardis diaries - especially the Prenote. But I find now that the appointments section is too large, and the notes section too small!! I have tried various planners, but this year I have decided to make my own. I started to print out a (free) planner from DIY Planner but then caved in and got a downloadable one from Motivated Moms. I bought the page per day planner, which includes a list of chores every day, and a space for writing out each days menus. I have printed it out on A5 paper and (as I hate filofax type binders) I have held it all together with a bulldog clip (not stylish but effective!!). I am hoping that working through at least some of the chores every day will help me keep the house shipshape.

My other major area to get on top of this year is menu-planning. I do plan meals each week in advance but am feeling a bit tired of constantly searching for recipes. Late last year I came across Menu4Moms. This site sends out a free email each week with a 5-day menu plan and shopping list. The thing I love about this site is that the cooking is clever - a double batch of sauce may be made one day, with half frozen and used in a new dish the following week. There are lots of time saving ideas and the site is well worth a look. What I don’t like about this site are the recipes - I never wanted to cook more than 2 of them each week.

I still love the idea of having a menu and shopping list thought out for me each week though, and I have now discovered several other sites like this - unfortunately not free but worth investigating further!! I have also ordered a copy of The 7-Day Menu Planner by Cynthia Jubera, which contains recipes and shopping lists for an entire year. I don’t know anything more about it, and it hasn’t arrived yet, but I will let you know if it is helpful.

In the meantime, I wish you a happy and well-organised New Year, and leave you with some links and books you may find useful.

Donna Young has a great site with lots of free printable lesson planners and household planners (including chore and menu planners).
Flylady - a great free site on getting de-cluttered and tidy.
Educationsense HE-Clutter - de-cluttering plan for home educators.
Menu in a box
My Online Meals