I'm so excited to have our resident graphic designer, MJ, back today with an ENTIRE FREE PRINTABLE PACK that I just know you're going to love! The idea of these printables are to use them to start a new 1st day of school photo tradition that allows you to document not only the kiddos' super cute new outfits and excited grins, but also their changing dreams and aspirations. Great idea, right?! You could do some really interesting things with these photos - a coffee table book, a hallway … [Read more...]
Free Printable for Growing Bookworms: Kids’ Reading Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts and reading make the perfect pair. Discovering new stories, interesting characters, or a great series builds your child's love for literature as well as her motivation to become an independent reader. As parents we want to grow our children's interest in reading but sometimes feel like we've run out of ideas on how to do just that. To help, we've created a fun and simple way to challenge your child to read and discover outside of their comfort zone. It's a free printable … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day) Mad Libs Card
Before I became a parent, I had no idea of the role knock-knock jokes, mad libs, and the like would one day play in my home. With a 6 year old and a 4 year old - these things are the stuff of magic around here. My kids think they are absolutely hilarious and just cannot get enough - ever. Which is why I asked our contributor MJ to put together a colorful Mad Libs style card that can be used for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents' Day, etc. Because I know the kids will want to fill them … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Family New Year’s Resolutions & Year-in-Review
Note: This post was initially written in 2014 but it was so popular we've updated it with a 2015 - 2016 version for this year! See below for the link. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve seems to get shorter every year. How is it possible that we can easily countdown the final days of 2014 already? Whether I'm ready or you're ready, the end of the year is quickly approaching. It's just about this time when I always ask myself: Should I make New Year's resolutions this … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Thanksgiving Gratitude Conversation Starters
Between the candy overload of October and the present overload of December, November is the perfect time for families to focus on what they have to be thankful for. And today's free download is just the tool you need to help! Simply print and keep near the dinner table, then pick a "thankful conversation starter" each night in November and discuss - easy peasy! And we're giving it to you now so you've still got a few weeks to get yourself set up. Here's MJ with the … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Reading Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts and reading make the perfect pair. Discovering new stories, interesting characters, or a great series builds your child's love for literature as well as her motivation to become an independent reader. As parents we want to grow our children's interest in reading but sometimes feel like we've run out of ideas on how to do just that. To help, we've created a fun and simple way to challenge your child to read and discover outside of their comfort zone. It's a free printable … [Read more...]
My Simple Plan for Saving Our Memories This Year
We're talking memories today as part of our month long mission to find ways to eat better, parent better, organize better and just generally live better this year. Before S arrived, I was actually pretty good about recording memories for our little family. At the end of each month I would use the photos we'd taken to create 2 - 4 new pages in an iphoto book, along with a few paragraphs with family anecdotes, accomplishments, etc. The idea being that at the end of the year I would have a … [Read more...]
“Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life” Planner Printables Now Available!
It's that time of year again, when we all take a deep breath and vow to make a fresh start. And to help you out, we've got some big, exciting news to share today! When we launched our handbook to leading a more simplified life, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: The Quick Start Guide. It was a huge success and we've since sold well over 10,000 copies. But I also heard from you guys that you would like some handy-dandy printables to go along with your newly-formed action plans. So last … [Read more...]
Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: Mega Cleaning Action Plan
Today's the day, time for me to unleash one enormous post and time for you to finally make a cleaning schedule and get started down the path to a new life. One in which you don't have to limit having people over to times when you know you'll have a few hours to frantically surface clean the whole place first (or is that just me?). That's the goal anyway, and below is the action plan to help get you there. So grab a cup of Jo, some pen and paper, and get comfy - we've got some work to … [Read more...]