Kids desks that rock

It's really only since Hugh has started big school this year that I've come to realise the need for a really good solution to a desk space for him. Everything is so different now to the stone ages when I was in Kindy... He takes his "news" to school on a usb drive for heavens sake! He's 5 people!!!!!!!!

So, his desk needs to be a versatile, multi-purpose space that can deal with a laptop, craft time and written homework tasks. It has to have free wall space for his phonetics poster, good natural light for reading and storage for all the bits and pieces that go with being 5 in 2012... That's a lot of boxes that need ticking. We aren't there quite yet but our space is developing... Here are a few that inspire me to keep on improving his space.

Via Pinterest, Elle Decor, Bibelotte, My Ideal Home & The Boo and The Boy

My top 5 organisers for 2012

It's that time of year when we start thinking about a diary for next year and I know I'm not going to be alone when I declare that next year is going to be my year of being organised. Not just any kind of organised but super-organised. We have to be don't we? For me, balancing NooshLoves, Noosh, my job at Home Beautiful, freelance design clients I look after from my home studio, two rug rats and everything else is a major challenge. As we draw near to a diaryless 2011 I'm starting to feel a bit like I'm being swallowed by my mental list of things to do. A great organiser for next year is definitely required so I've been researching, and, as always, I'm sharing my newfound knowledge. Most of these are designed for us heroic type mums who have way too much to do. So here we go...

#1. The Erin Condren Life Planner - $50US

Amazing! It has month tabs, lots of colour, customisable covers, clear plastic pockets... the only thing it doesn't do is lodge your tax return. The video has sold me - this ones on the shortlist for sure.

It even has it's own video on You Tube (below)!

2. Delfonics Etoffe - $59

This one had me at yellow waxed canvas cover but it was the zippered front cover pouch that tipped me over the edge. The waxy finish on the cover should be good protection from messy fingers and that pouch would be great for receipts. Delfonics is the premium Japanese stationery brand and we all know that means an outstanding level in quality and functional design. Another one for my shortlist - it's available from here. 

3. The Masterplan - $39.95

This one has been designed by a group of Australian mums who know first-hand what a woman needs in a great organiser. It's currently listed as sold out at NoteMaker which may be indicative of its usefulness, but will be back in stock again soon. Love the Fuschia cover.. Get it here.

4. Inner-B Mum Organiser $44.95

This one isn't the sexiest of the bunch but it sure looks like a practical little number. I like the button tab to keep it all safely closed and tidy when it's kicking around in the bottom of the bag. Again, it's an Aussie brand so there's another big tick there.

5. OTi organiser for modern living - $35

OTi is an acronym for On To it! This was one of the last ones I found and it's on my shortlist too. It's attractive enough to bear looking at for a year - but it's what's inside that got me. This thing has everything - a weekly exercise planner, a weekly menu planner, a party planner, refillable sticky notes, weekly to do lists, people to call lists, a removable contacts list, pockets for loose papers, a wipeable cover, it's own pen (that i'll probably lose by mid january but it's a nice idea), a favourite websites section and event planner! Hmmm. Oh, and it's another Aussie brand and eco friendly printed on chemical free paper from sustainable forests. This diary has everything but the halo it deserves.... Get it here.

For me it's either 1, 2 or 5. What do you think?

Office space blues...

Via

Loving this combination of the light raw timber against deep sea blue walls... And of course I can only dream of an office space so well organised...

Etsy find! No more library fines!

This is a great Etsy find. If you're anything like me, you aren't the local library's favourite borrower. At the moment for instance, we're on our third notice for an Astro Boy DVD that I can't for the life of me remember to put in my bag when I'm leaving the house! Well, this could solve all that...

For only four bucks you can get one from here. And, sneaky sneaky, it's a PDF file that is sent to you, so once you have it you can gift it to your friends who are also on the library blacklist!

Clever pram hooks

Here's one of those "I wish I'd thought of that" ideas... Meet the Buggup. So simple. So clever. These hooks make life with a pram so much easier when it comes to storage. I tend to keep both of ours in the car unless we need the space to move something huge. But when it's not in the car, it's sure to be under my feet or close behind me sprawled across the hallway.

  Sadly, not available in Australia (don't you hate that?). But if you have a mate in the states they're available from Giggles Stores nationally (in the US) for a mere $30US! 

DIY of the week: Calendar Wall

Living Etc

Here's a super easy craft project you can knock over in a weekend and it'll help you keep track of the families engagements and activities. We love a bit of organisation don't we?

All you need it a tin of blackboard paint, a little white paint (leftover ceiling paint will do - but check to make sure you're mixing acrylic with acrylic or enamel with enamel or you'll end up with a marble wall - which could be good, but not what we're trying to do...), a ruler, a pencil, a roller and chalk.

1. To set up you'll need to measure out your grid and mark it on the wall using your ruler and pencil. Remember the bigger your family schedule - the bigger your squares will need to be to contain all that info. Whatever the space you're dedicating to the project divide the width by 7 (for the days of the week), and divide the height by the number of rows you want. You'll need at least 5 rows to fit all the dates for each month, but this example has made 6 rows, using the bottom row as a spot to stick notes, invitations, permission slips etc.

2. Hardest part is done! Using a roller paint the entire square with blackboard paint. (Don't worry - you'll still be able to see the pencil markings through the paint in the right angled light).

3. Measure out a small amount of blackboard paint and mix in enough white paint to make a dark grey.

4. Carefully roller this new colour onto randomly selected squares. (you can follow this example for where to put each shade of grey if you aren't feeling confident about ad-libbing)

5. Follow steps 3 & 4 two more times to create another 2 lighter shades of grey and paint them on until you have a similar grid as the one above.

6. Once it's all dry, add a border of straight-up black blackboard paint to create a frame and a spot to write in the days of the week.

7. With chalk, add your dates and activities!

You can customize this design to suit your family too. You might want to add a black panel down one side for the weekly shopping list, or a list of dates for the birthdays of family and friends so nobody is ever forgotten or missed! This project would be as big a success in the office as in the kitchen too.

I'd love to see yours if you decide to give it a go! I wish I had a blank wall in my kitchen so I could do one! I guess cupboards are good too...

Project found via Living Etc

Pre-christmas cleanout

Messy Room sign available from AllPosters

Do you need one of these signs at your place? I know I do. Neither Noosh-daddy nor I are naturally tidy people. (Clean, definitely. Tidy? We struggle.) And the play room is just a tip at the moment. It would be easy to just allow you to assume my kids have run riot and left their stuff everywhere - but it was essentially my fault... I see that now.  

Here are OhDeeDoh's  top 5 tips on how to clean out and prepare for the all the christmas gifts coming your childrens' way.

1. Make piles. I make several piles: dump, donate/give to friends, keep, sell. Our biggest pile is always donate or give to friends. These piles consisted of things that I had doubles of as a result of gifts (including lots of books) or things that weren't age appropriate. Dump was reserved for broken items. Sell ended being an empty pile.

2. Be ruthless. The only way to truly clean is to be decisive and ruthless. Don't clean while the kids are around. I waited until the kids were asleep to make the assault on the toys. Having them around only means things will be plucked out of piles to save and general messiness.

3. Get rid of piles immediately. This is where I went wrong! Once you make the piles, you need to MUST deal with them immediately. The donation and dump piles should be taken to their respective destinations. Then reorganize what you've got left and put everything away before stopping.

4. Use a labelmaker (or handwrite labels). I love my labelmaker and used it constantly while tackling this project. Part of it may have been a bit procrastination but it was rewarding to have everything so well organized and labeled at the end.

5. Rearrange, but do not buy more storage. To keep things interesting for the kids, move things around. I moved our big train table and drawers upstairs along with all trains and train related accessories. A table and chairs set have taken center stage. Wooden blocks have been moved to a different basket. The play kitchen is now in the dining room. Move things around as much as you like but don't buy more storage pieces. This way you can assess how much room you have. Once those gifts come piling in, you'll know exactly how many can stay. Either store or donate the others.