Things have been very quiet around here. I didn`t mean to have such an absence but alas, it has been almost a month and I have not blogged at all.
One thing that has been taking up a little of my time is an online e-course at My Organized Chaos from Jojoebi. I was super super lucky {and I totally mean this as I have been a fan of Jo`s work for years, even BEFORE I had kids} to be a guinea pig for Jo`s new course on organizing your chaos. Let me just say that having two toddlers at home full-time is HARD WORK. I can not lie and I can not go on and on about what an awesome joy it is to be home with two kids full-time without lacing my comments with just a bit of sarcasm. However- I like to be organized, I like to do activities with my kids and I do love the montessori method for a lot of different reasons {and Jo is a 3-6 montessori trained teacher so the course is partly montessori inspired in parts!}.
The course is run over six weeks although it would be near impossible to finish everything off in that time which is why the online support and facebook group is fantastic at keeping you motivated and giving you lots of ideas. It has gotten me inspired to plan ahead more, to label things and make sure {once again!} that everything has a proper home and to start trying to reinforce a montessori type work cycle with the kids again.
Some of the things I had already implemented in our home but there were things that had been on my to do list for what seemed like forever and being apart of this was definitely the kick up the bum I needed!
The kids are loving the new areas I have set up including a reading nook and a work/study area. Sure they are just toddlers and not doing any study just yet but they love to sit at the table and do stickers or draw. Sometimes they will eat their snack there.
Here is the current reading nook
Once Shion is sharing a room with Noah and the playroom upstairs is JUST a playroom I will create a proper reading nook upstairs. My dream is a teepee. That might not happen- but I am not losing hope just yet! Pinterest is a wonderful inspiration for some great reading nooks for kids!! So the one above is our temporary fix although we will continue to keep books and a space for reading downstairs as well as in both rooms upstairs. The basket on the shelves if for returns as the kids have a hard time putting the books back on the shelf themselves sometimes.
As for the study/work area we bought a little table and chairs and the kids have access to stickers/paper/crayons/ wipes & tissues and a small bin and they love the freedom this allows them to sit down and create anytime. They can request other materials but they are currently kept in the cupboard up a little higher until they are a bit older but we get them out on a regular basis with supervision. There is another pocket available with an “other tools” tag but we already had some hair cutting when I let Noah keep the scissors and origami paper out one day so back in the cupboard they went, for now!
The picture above has this tacked up with pins but now it is on two hooks instead so I can take it on and off the wall if needed {see picture below}
Reorganized the downstairs playspace
My kids know exactly where things go and can put them back themselves. The play kitchen was originally where the reading nook now is but it is now near the sofa.
Reorganized the downstairs cupboard and my husband is loving the labels as the kids often ask him for something when I am at work and now he can find it easily where as before things were in boxes/containers but he had to open and search them to find what he was after or what the kids needed. The lower part of the cupboard has large motor stuff {balls/tunnels/carboard boxes} and a shelf that has magnets and puzzles that the kids can access any time.
Most of the organizing of our everyday chaos took place downstairs as that is where we spend the majority of our awake time. In our downstairs tv unit one side in the lower cupboard is our pretend play things- dress up box, dolls and then also above that some other puzzles and games. The kids know it is all in there but you can`t see it at all when the door to the TV unit is closed. The other side contains nappies, undies, spare clothes, their pajamas and also some towels for cleaning up spills. They are able to wash their hands almost unaided {They can`t turn the water on themselves but can reach soap, hand towel and their toothbrushes with the help of a small stool} and they know where their shoes and hats are and can start getting ready to go outside without help from me.
Downstairs cupboard. This is mainly out of sight but Noah can get towels or undies himself without issue and I attached the tags with curtain hooks so that if I need to change them around or use them somewhere else it will be easy. I thought about safety pins but as these are at the kids level and they are often in there several times a day I was worried that if they pulled on them that we might have a stabbing incident so curtain hooks it was!!
There are some more AFTER photos here and I will add more as I progress. For before photos probably best to see the original album of where I uploaded photos of our house when we moved in here.
This is just a tip of the iceberg in terms of what the course has done for me so far and I have not even completed the course yet. I can not recommend this highly enough and believe everyone should start taming and organizing their chaos and if you think you need a point in the right direction then definitely head over to the My Organized Chaos site and sign up for the free newsletter so that you can keep up to date with the happenings of Jo`s site and her wonderful ecourses!
Am I now the most organized person on the planet when it comes to my family and home? Not yet but who knows, I might be in a couple of weeks and either way I am definitely heading in the right direction and loving the progress being made!
What are you waiting for??? GO!
ps: Please note that if you click on the links within this post that I might get reimbursed a chunk if you sign up for the actual course {next round will start next month!} but going to her site, checking it out and signing up for her free newsletter {which will come with freebies at times!} results in no reimbursement to me! All of what I wrote above is completely true and exactly how i feel- I would not be promoting something I did not love or think others would not benefit from.
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to find my way in a country that is not my own! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son {Shion} in January 2011- yes they are just over 12 months apart so life is a little insane with two toddlers underfoot. I am working hard at raising them to be curious, confident, bilingual and happy kids.
Your ‘re “spooky’ Laura, I can’t believe you’ve done this, could you fly into Brisbane and do my tool cupboard outside the laundry at my house. I’ve been talking about doing that for years!.
Everything looks great! It seems like you could teach an e course all your own. I have much organizing to do in our space, so it’s great to see what you’ve done! When I have time and money to dedicate to an e course, I may have to give Jo’s a shot!
I signed up because of you. I didn’t click on the links but I certainly told Jo where I had heard about it.
I so want to be as organised as you. I have corners of “shame” in my house and I want to learn how to be tidy. My kitchen I have under control. Now just the rest of the house. Oh and my office.