Table of Contents

-Introduction
-Did you know?
-Monthly Mission – Revisit First Six Months
-Check Out These Pages! – Relevant pages and new site additions
-Chore Charts and More On Goalforit.com

Introduction

My kids got out of school in the middle of June and I’ve been working with them to get on a regular chore schedule for the summer. I am also putting them through Self Sufficiency Boot Camp again this summer. I have come up with a list of skills I feel they should be able to accomplish at their ages and am training them accordingly. It’s interesting to see what they’re actually capable of once given some instruction and a chance to prove themselves.

We’re also going on another trip to visit family. I have to say, without my pre-printed list I keep on my computer, I’d surely forget important items and be more stressed out than usual. I’m by no means stress free, but I’m pretty confident we’ll have most everything we need. Here is an example of my vacation packing list, which is ever changing and evolving as my children grow. Vacation Packing List

Did you know…

A little more than half of us are not enjoying our weekends as we wish. 55% of Americans spend Saturdays and Sundays doing what they “have to” do vs. what they “want to” do, says the Life Magazine’s 2005 “Great American Weekend Study”.

Before we go any further with our monthly missions, I want to make sure we haven’t forgotten what we’ve done since the beginning of the year. So, we should revisit each months mission briefly and make sure we’re still keeping up those habits and not leaving them in the dust to be forgotten. To read more about the July Monthly Mission, click here.

Here are some pertinent pages on the website you may have missed along with any new pages.

Kitchen Organization - Suggestions to get your kitchen organized and running more efficiently.

Before and After Photos - If you enjoy seeing before and after photos of organizing projects, you can find them all right here.

Living Room Storage Make-over - See how we recently re-organized our living room (play room) with a new Ikea wall unit that's great for storing lots of stuff.

Kitchen Spice Rack - How do you store your spices in the kitchen? See how my new spice organizer helps me save room in my kitchen cabinets.

Home Filing System - Keep all your paperwork in order so you can find what you need at a moments notice, and learn what to keep and what to toss.

Garage Makeover - before and after photos of my personal garage makeover. See how we tackled the problems and ended up with a functional garage.

Streamline Your Morning Routine - Ideas to help you get out the door in the morning and be on time for work or school.

Bathroom Drawer Make Over - How to organize a bathroom drawer, an example with before and after photos.

Stop Clutter - Quick simple tips on how to stop the clutter from coming into your home in the first place.

As school let out and summer break began, we decided we needed to update the chore charts and rules once again to better suit our summer schedules. Since there is no school or homework, there is more time to help out around the house.

I have tried several chore charts… some I’ve found online and some I’ve made myself on my computer. Some have been time consuming, others didn’t quite fit with our needs. However, the other day I bumped into Goalforit.com which allowed me to make customized chore charts for my children… and much more.

You can create custom charts for kids or teens, or even adults. You can choose from chores or behaviors you want to encourage. Or you can make up your own chore items. It’s completely customizable and easy to add and edit charts. After you complete the chart, you can update it online by clicking when a chore item is complete, or you can print out a blank chore chart for the week to hang where everyone can see it. For incentive, you can designate points for each chore. A child can then redeem their points for rewards that you come up with. (You are supposed to be able to select a background theme, but that option is now showing up for me, and I can’t figure out why. Perhaps because I’m on a Mac?)

Besides chore charts and behavior charts, Goalforit.com also gives you the option to build a To Do List, a Daily Goal Chart or a Goal Tracker chart, in which you can list things you need to do in order to reach a big goal. This is very useful for adults trying to reach their goals.

Now, I’m a pen and paper kind of gal and have had a hard time loving anything electronic (online, smartphone, app, etc.) for tracking to do lists or calendars. I love the convenience and concreteness of paper (it’s not going to delete itself into oblivion).

However, I did find the chore charts and behavior charts very helpful. They were so easy to make and customize. I chose to print my kids chore charts out and hang them up inside a sheet protector so we can re-use them weekly instead of reprinting and wasting paper.

There is also the feature of community support, if you’re into that kind of thing. You can work with other people to help support them in meeting their goals as well as find people to help support you in your goals.

One last thing, there is an option to receive email notifications for your charts and lists to help remind you to stick to your goals. This seems like a nice feature, but for whatever reason, it’s simply not working. I have checked off that I want notifications (and you can see them checked off) and have saved my changes numerous times, but I’m not getting any notifications. In fact, I have not received any communication whatsoever from them. You know how sometimes you get a confirmation of signing up to a website after you set up a user name and password? As well, the “tips and help” tab is not resolving my issues, and my request for help via their ‘contact us” email has gone unanswered so far (14 days). And yes, I have verified I used the correct email.

All-in-all, for a free service, I will stick with the chore charts without the background themes, decorate them myself if needed, post them up in my kitchen and leave it at that. I’d have to give them only 3 out of 5 stars since things don’t seem to be fully functional and the support is minimal. But again, it’s free. Go to Goalforit.com

Until next time, happy organizing!

Tracy Greene
Plan-and-Organize-Life.com