The Gem Jars and Chore Sticks

Also titled "My attempt at a semi-sane summer!"

Wow..it has been nearly a year since I posted here. Not that we haven't organized and cleaned, but there was just nothing big to post about and honestly...I'm just a bad blogger! I admire those that can keep it up, but I just can't. I'm no Doogie Howser. (If you know that reference...you are at least my age...)




Today's organizing task wasn't even organizing stuff. It was organizing CHILDREN! My children are wonderful people, but boy they can FIGHT. They also have a serious problem with cleaning up. I think for the moment I may have solved the problem. I say for the moment, because we have only done this system for a total of 4 days (today being the 5th) and so far it is awesome!

I got this awesome idea from a post on Pinterest. Another lady came up with this (totally NOT my idea) but I just changed it and "made it my own" (to use words from American Idol). The Creative Homemaker is a great blog with great ideas on it. Check it out sometime!

I made up some "Gem Jars" and we are using them as a reward system. I found some simple containers at the dollar store and a few bags of those glass pieces like you would put into the bottom of a vase or fish bowl? Anyway, we are using this system to get their chores done and to work on behavior.

I found a picture that I thought represented each child's interests right now. DJ has Captain America, Zoey has Tinkerbell and Kyle got a picture he drew himself. I attached these to the inside of the containers.




The things they can do to earn gems vary based on the ability of the child. Some of the basic ones are:

Room clean before you go to bed - 5 gems
Brush your teeth - 1 gem
Make your bed - 2 gems
Read 20 minutes - 1 gem
Complete your chore sticks - 1 gem (I'll show these later in this post...)
Unload/load dishwasher - 1 gem

This list goes on and on. These are the things they are expected to do every day, but now they WANT to do them!

I can also have them help me with special tasks. Cleaning out the garage isn't a normal chore, but I needed some help so I offered 2 gems for helpers, and the garage was cleaned up in just a half hour. They can also request things. Zoey and DJ offered to wash my car for 2 gems. This was an easy one to say yes to. My car looks great, and it kept them busy and having fun on a hot day for over an hour!

When the jar is full to the top, the child gets to pick an activity to do that is out of the ordinary. Meaning we normally spend time at Roaring Springs, so that isn't out of the ordinary, but bringing a friend to the water park is. Or going bowling with friends or having a pizza party or something like this. These things aren't super expensive if you use coupons and plan the days right, and I get a LOT of cleaning and chores done! I love it!!

Now...it can also be used as a disclipine thing. When one of the kids misbehaves, I warn them that I can and will remove gems from their jars for poor behavior and choices. I have removed more from DJ's jar than anyone else, but only the first day or two. Now when I remind him, he stops. This is HUGE! When they fight, both fighters lose gems. They amount of gems they lose varys depending on the offense. When DJ hit Zoey, he lost three gems. When Zoey called him a "stupid little brother" she lost one.

The third piece of awesomeness is the chore sticks. These are another idea I found by searching the web for chore ideas. This lady made a GREAT system that I just adapted again. Check out her blog as well..Whatever Dee-Dee Wants.

She did SUCH a better job at her's than I did with mine, but I like how mine turned out. I made a list of all the things that I'd love to have done in my house and put them on sticks. Each stick is color coordinated by room. I made labels on the computer and then glued them to the sticks.




Every day the kids have to draw 2 sticks as part of their daily chores. For completing those chores, they get one gem. The chores range from "sweep the kitchen floor" to "pull weeds in the back flower bed" to "wipe down the light switches in the living room." Some of the sticks even say things like "read for 15 extra minutes" or "play for 15 minutes between chores." There are also sticks like "Uh Oh! Draw 2 more chores" or "Yeah! Put back all chores and get a free gem!" (They love that one...)

If they want to earn extra gems they can by asking if they can pull more sticks. For every three completed "extra" chores, they can earn one gem. So far the kids have pulled 10+ a day and are having a ball! Who would have thought! Yes...smarter people than I thought of it, I just borrowed the idea.

Also, when a kid says to me "Mommy, I'm bored" they have to go draw 2 sticks. If they don't want to draw sticks, then they need to keep themselves entertained. This one is going to be BIG this summer...BIG BIG BIG I tell ya! If they misbehave, I can also make them draw extra sticks for no gem rewards.

I need to coat my sticks with another coat of protectant as grubby hands are going to ruin them if I'm not careful, but so far this system is awesome!

Happy Organizing!

Art work, Art work and more Art work...

When you have small children, you have artwork. (Ok...yes, hubby and I are also into artwork...and come to think of it so it is the big one, but just read on...) In any given day they can come present me with 10+ pictures they have drawn and of course, they want them on the fridge or hung up somehow.

I had this big empty wall in our family room, right next to the crafting area. I saw this in a friends classroom and had to do it! I love these curtain rods from IKEA!! The most perfect art wall ever. Now to encourage them to use more COLOR! :)

I love this wall now!

The phone corner

I'm behind...we did these a week or so ago, but hey..I can't be on top of EVERYTHING now can I?

This is the phone area in the kitchen. It holds the phone, phone books, kids books, some art supplies, cookbooks etc.

Well...it looks bad doesn't it? Here is what it looks like now.

My kitchen in all its gorgeousness!

The coat closet..

I didn't know we were attacking this one last night, but while I was upstairs with the kiddos my hubby emptied the closet and started working on it. Unfortunately, when I asked him if he took a before picture, he had forgotten to. Silly man...doesn't he understand you always need the "before" picture?

Anyway, here is about 1/2 the pile of stuff that we took out of the closet...does that explain the problem well enough?



Here is more of the mess...you really should have seen it at its worst..it was bad in there!



Ok, a nice a pretty..empty coat closet. The wooden slats were from some shelves the previous owners had put in there.



DJ helping Daddy take down the wooden slats.



Daddy didn't know his own strength!



Let the patchwork begin!



and then the painting!



Ah...so nice!



All done! Doesn't that just look AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!



and we kept working...but that is for another post! Organizing can be fun!

Yep..Not so Organized...that's me!

Yes, I'd love to be an organized person, but I'm really not. I try..I get things clean, and then they just explode again. Some of this is because of the three munchkins that live in this house, and some is because of hubby and I (not much..LOL), but it is the way life is.

Because of my friend Emily Simmons, I've jumped into doing some organizing. I started in the craft area..and that wasn't too bad. It was mainly putting everything away.

Emily posted a picture of this awesome pantry and said she wanted to do something like it. I LOVE it! I stopped by Hobby Lobby last night and they had jars on sale! This morning I got up and went to Home Depot and got started. Now...it is not totally like I want it, but this is what I get for now, and I'm happy with it.

Let's start with the "before" picture. Yep...my super ugly pantry.



So the first thing one needs to do when cleaning out the pantry is empty it. I hate that part! You find so much stuff stuck in the back and stuff that you wonder.. "Why did I buy this?"



While this next one isn't a great picture, but you can see that the shelves were covered with awful shelf paper that HAD to go!



And of course when the kitchen is filled and you can't use it, you get to eat lunch on the living room floor.



Next came the paint! It was time for some color in the pantry. No longer was it going to be white with stains from everything again. We have this awesome grey and I have an awesome hubby to help! I did the stuff I could reach and Bryan took over and got it all finished up.



Here it comes....the new and so beautiful pantry!! Ok, there is more organizing and things to do. I'd like to put a pantry hanger thing on the door. You know the ones...the shelves that hang on the door to hold things? We are going to put a new door on there one of these days soon...so we are going to wait on that for now. Now the unveiling!!



Awesome isn't it!!??

Starting from the bottom...these tubs hold the decorating supplies and cupcake holders. We do alot of holiday cupcakes around here. The orange fabric boxes I got at a yard sale for .25, but I think I'll get better ones when they go on sale next time. The left one is 1/2 jello and pudding and 1/2 spices packets. The middle one has a bunch of bagged side dishes like noodles and rices. The one on the right hand side is the kids snack box. It is full of granola bars and small bags of pretzels etc. When they ask for a snack, they can get something out of this box.



Above the orange boxes is a shelf full of boxes items, crackers etc.



Above that is canned goods...and my favorite shelf of all! My labeled jars!



I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!! I used my cricut cutter to create labels for all the glass jars. I got some at Hobby Lobby and we already had some. Isn't this just really awesome?? The basket on the side holds all the opened cereals. At breakfast, we can just put the whole basket on the table, and everyone gets what they want.





Let's compare..

Ugly Pantry..



Super awesome cool pantry...



Yes!!

Now...to keep it that way....