Friday Favorites & Staying Organized

Happy Friday friends!!! I am linking up with some girls to talk Friday Favorites! 

Some random things that I consider my favorites from the week!

One....this picture.....

E & L set up blankets late Sunday afternoon and read on the front lawn for a while. I was in the house making dinner and when I looked out and saw them... it made my mama heart smile!

Two....this kids' book series.....

 I mentioned last week how my Luke has been really into reading and we just discovered this series and he LOVES it! Pretty cool books that give facts about famous people- politicians, sports stars, actors..there's even some on different places and landmarks. He just finished the one on President Obama and was so excited to share with us how many places he lived. Sometimes the books for boys have some silly humor..."Captain Underpants" anyone?? So this series is a welcome addition!

Three.....all the leaves filling up our Thankful Tree!

And I love when friends stop by and add a leaf too!

Four....The cartwheel app from Target! 

If you do not use this... now is the time to start! You can save on all kinds of stuff in the store and from Nov 1 - Dec 24th they are offering a toy 50% off! Everyday, a new toy....50% off! And Wednesday they launched some sneak previews for Black Friday. So get cartwheeling!

Now let's talk about keeping things organized. I'm not sure about all of you, but the amount of papers that come home with 2 kids in elementary school is a bit much. The pile at the end of the week can be pretty crazy. And then, what to do with all of it? God forbid the kids see you throw out a math worksheet or one of the year's 36 spelling tests.
I came up with a system that works for us and thought I would share. In the beginning of the school year I get a storage tote and label them with each kid's name and grade.

This is where I keep special projects and tests throughout the year. I keep the totes in a nearby closet so I can easily keep track of the papers. I try to go through stuff every other day. If there is some fun artwork or a really great grade on  test they studied extra hard for, we hang that in the kitchen. The side of our cabinets serves as the "hub" for what's happening...calendar, school schedule, birthday invites, etc.

I have also seen some cute options out there for hanging artwork. I love this one from Kirkland's.

Clip Art Holder from Kirkland's 

My system is to hang up the "fun" stuff for a while, until something else comes along. Most of the other stuff gets tossed/recycled. In their "box" I put cards they make for us, their birthday and holiday cards, classroom school pics, and yearbooks. It's a great "catch all" for things that were special during that school year.  

After each school year is done, I move the boxes to the top shelves of their closets and start a new box. Once they are older, they can decide what they want to do with it, but for now it's neatly organized.

Looking forward to this weekend. I am going to a LuLaRoe pop up shop at a friend's house tonight. I have heard how comfy these leggings are and am excited to try them out! We have a sitter Saturday night...oh hey date night! And I think we are going to tackle Christmas lights outside. Nothing worse than hanging lights in the snow and freezing temps. So we are getting them done now....but we won't light them until after Thanksgiving.

Have a great weekend friends! We will be back with a new recipe for Meatless Monday... Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas and start talking about some holiday gift ideas and fun traditions.  Hope you will join us....there's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve