Rambutan

It has been a while...I know.

A lot of important events happened, one after another and believe me, I HAVE A LOT TO WRITE. I am going to start with Rambutan. A juicy non-climasteric tropical fruit. It is slightly grape-like and gummy to the taste.

My SIL and her family spent a night at our house last weekend. They bought a huge bag full of freshly-picked rambutans. I put them in three fruit baskets. No one eats them. As usual :)

Kids didnt know how to open it. Adults would find it too messy or they only choose the good-looking ones, so I peeled off the rambuts and put it in the refrigerator. Just like my mom always did. So instead of 3 huge fruit baskets on our dining table, I ended up with only 2 medium-sized bowls of chilled rambutan flesh in the refrigerator.

Did you know that chilled rambutans are so delicious?? It finished in one hour. Yup, the whole thing.

Organise 101 : Business card

Since I joined this office last year, I have received more than 200 business cards. I stacked them on my table because I use them all the times.

Last weekend, I went out with my mom and I bought business card organisers. I sorted all cards today according to the industry. 

And it looks tidier afterwards *duh* of course.

I need to buy another two sets.

Organise 101 : Dealing with toys

If you have children, you will definitely have toys in the house. Toys are cute. They are colourful and they produce cute sounds too. But they MIGRATE. They move from the kid's room to our bedroom, to the living room, then to the kitchen, outside - basically anywhere your children go.

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by garlicandbutter

As far as I can remember, I rarely buy any toys for my children (once or twice). There are already a lot of hand-me-downs from my nephew and my cousin, free toys from the Golden Arch and birthday presents. And they ended up in FOUR HUGE containers in our house. Not one, not two, but four. That was when I decided to do a major toy clean out.

Ask these questions before you embark in the MAJOR TOY CLEAN OUT DAY. Taken from Absolute Organized by Debbie Lillard.

Where are you going to keep the toys?

Kids bedroom? Playroom? Family hall? In the closet? Half here-half there?

Me : Hobby area

What are you going to use to keep them organised?

Toy box? Clear container with wheel? Toy shelves? Basket? Soft toys hammock? Boxes with lid? Plastic bag?

Me : Clear container with lid and wheel

This is the first step to get the toys back to the right place after their migration.

Then comes the major toy clean out day. Go through the toys with your children so they know what toys are still in their possession and which will not. 

This is our exciting day cleaning out the toys.

I have prepared two laundry baskets for toys that they want to keep (NAK) and another one is to be donated to our less fortunate neighbour (DERMA). I also prepare two boxes for the broken ones (BUANG).

Nabil was the only one who helped me sorting out the toys....

...because his brothers suddenly decided to play. A good thing about toy clean out is they found toys that they forgot they had and it is as good as getting new toys.

After a while, Nabil decided to play together with his brothers. Kids... I asked them whenever I want to put something in DERMA pile or toss something into BUANG box. 

Along the process, I found my old toys. I keep these since I was 7 or 8 years old (And this year Nabil will turns 8 - how time flies).

At the end of the day, we have a good condition toys in one pile.

Ruined and broken toys with sharp edges to be thrown away.

I washed each pieces with soapy water, rinse and wipe it dry.

I threw these into the washing machine and they came out clean and happy. The blue elephant is mine.

Later that afternoon, I put everything into a huge transparent container and surprisingly, from four containers of toys, we ended up with ONE. It has wheels - easy for the kids to move it around.

After the clean out, I remind the kids to put the toys into the container after they done playing. I will pick up any toys lying on the floor and throw it away (actually I hide it in my room). Just to teach them a lesson. So far it worked.

Organise 101 - A debut

I was determine to write about the art of organising looooong time ago (ok, 3 months back) but I was too busy with the newborn and sitting in front of the computer is the last thing I want to do during confinement period. But, after having lunch today with my colleague, Ms Zarina, and talked about organised life, I am more determine to publish at least ONE ENTRY today on organising. A debut, perhaps. The rest of draft entries on organising will follow (waiting for the photos).

O R G A N I S E  1 0 1

by garlicandbutter

I have a couple of books on organising which all moms should read. I am focusing on moms here because they need to work, keep the house tidy, cook, take care of their husband and kids and pets (but others are also welcome to read). Some moms I knew need help in organising department not because they are lazy. It is because they are busy. Some others are very hard on themselves.

Quoting Ms Lillard, a professional organiser, "There is no right or wrong way to organize. There is only what works and what doesnt work". 

I will share some pointers on how to deal with paper pile, toys, clothes, meal, never enough closets/storage and the rest of the odds and ends, through my own experience / books I've read. Then you will decide what work and what doesnt work with you. With Organise 101, I hope you will be able to find a place for everything.