Storing Plastic Food Containers

How you doing? You ready for Christmas? I am seriously trying to get in the spirit this year. For whatever reason I haven't been feeling it but I'm trying to do more things that are Christmas themed in preparation for Christmas to spiritually arrive. We have a lot of family celebrations during the month of December and this year especially I've felt a sense of overwhelming stress at times. I still haven't done my Christmas cards. I addressed envelopes in June and July and already purchased stamps but just haven't gotten it together with the cards. Hopefully they will arrive today or tomorrow so I can get them out!

 

Anyway, I think I'll be there in the next couple of days. So with the stress I've been feeling this poor blog has practically been abandoned for the entire month of December. I've had other projects that have also been put on the back burner. I hope you bear with me even through my lulls!

 

One simple little thing I've finally gotten to a great point of organization is all the food storage containers in the kitchen. For years I have been so bad just throwing them in a low cabinet and fumbling around when it comes time to put food in one. Well I finally, FINALLY made  a place to put them and I'm happy with that. It is one of those silly things that probably drove my spouse nuts but now I can say we feel relief! My system is in an upper cabinet on a shelf above our plastic cups. I use IKEA containers and they stack pretty well, lids on bottom. I was able to fit all of them on one shelf and simply placed some behind these if there wasn't quite enough room.

 

My new storage stacking system has seriously simplified things! How's that for simple, silly, organization?!?! Hope you have a wonderful Monday and if you are traveling this week, may you have safe and happy travels! Peace out!  

 

Happy December! Happy Decorating!

Happy December! Hope everyone is doing well! Things are looking up here. I think I've finally gotten over Bronchitis so that is super helpful and just keeping fingers crossed that the faint, lingering cough doesn't linger much longer! Bleh!

 

So it might look like I'm rushing to get Christmas up and all this year but I'm trying NOT to rush. I can't stand Christmas being so rush, rush, rush! I've been going pretty slow to get it all done. The outside of the house has been decorated for a couple of weeks so I wouldn't have to decorate in the cold. We are all decorated though and now everybody is excited. The stockings are hung, the big tree and four mini trees are up! The kids were excited and asked to do it this weekend and really got into it so it has made it a lot of fun!

 

As far as other stuff, I'm just not worrying about any of it. Christmas card envelopes were addressed and stamped in June, I've just got to get our cards together! Trying to manage the little things by doing a little at a time. That is how I am managing the house chores and it is really working. Anyhow, I can't say how glad I am to be feeling better. For the past couple of weeks I've spent a lot of time sleeping and trying to recover. Finally have my energy back!

 

How are you? Do you have your tree up? If not, when will you put yours up?

 

Happy Monday and Happy December!

 

Here's our house all decked out!

 

The Joy of Raking Leaves!

IS there joy in raking leaves? It's definitely a chore but I find it kinda fun, especially with kids, because then you can take turns throwing yourselves in the heaping piles! Since last year I've been looking for the answer to make raking our yard less of a chore. I'm tired of the raking and bagging. I youtubed it and found many different solutions to bagging leaves, most of which were not going to work for me. This Fall I saw a neighbor across the street using LEAF CLAWS and a stand to hold his bag so there was no fiddling. Sounds silly but it was so organized and neat for him that I'm trying it! Can't wait to try out the new leaf claws that came in the mail yesterday! On that note, Have yourself a Happy Friday!

 

 Our yard is covered in big leaves!

Gallery Wall!

Happy Monday! Hope you have a wonderful day! Wanted to share something I did nearly a year ago that I LOVE. I put if off for so long because I just didn't feel like I ever knew what I wanted and it took some effort to do. Plus I don't like putting holes in walls until I am really ready.

 

I made this on a wall in our upstairs hallway. I'm a little funny when it comes to the privacy of my family but I have a number of different pictures in these frames and really love the way it all turned out. I found two sizes of frames at IKEA of the same type. I arranged them on the floor several times before coming up with this arrangement and I think it works. I also used 3M stickies to attach the frames to the wall so I don't have to worry about the holes.

 

It took some arranging but I love the way it turned out and the cool thing about this is I can continue adding photos as our family grows. I'm really happy with my gallery wall!

 

Do you have a gallery wall anywhere in your home???

I Like The Minimalistic Approach But Have More Of A Cozy, Decluttered Style

I have been trying to define my approach to home decorating preferences for a while and LOVE hearing and reading about the minimalistic approach but I really just don't think that fits our family. I have always gone through phases of weeding out stuff to empty out drawers and closets and things but when I research truly living in a minimalistic way, it's not who I am. I would like to be more minimalistic and am always trying to find ways to simplify things. I absolutely LOVE going on vacation and seeing a vacation home and how it has all the basic necessities and thinking I could live like this but when I get back home, we just have to have certain things to live. We're not in a location where we live in a small flat or apartment and walk everywhere. We've got cars and tools and things we need to keep other things in the house in working order.

I think I have finally come to the realization that truly, I just want a neat and organized home where pretty much everything has a place up out of the way and that we can find things easily. I don't want to have two of everything we own. I would like to have things labeled and neatly displayed and cleared of clutter. I don't necessarily want things to be completely bare like a minimalistic family or want to only have ten items of clothing but I also don't want excess. I think excess is just far too much anymore and causes unnecessary stress. Needs and wants are two totally different things and I'm happy with what I've got. It just gets on my nerves to see so many storage bins in our attic. We have lots of things in there that are being stored for a later date or just simply because we can't let go of them. I'm considering taking photos of some items and working on getting rid of them to help free up stress. It's such a wonderful release to let go of stuff. I can't explain it. It's not the sentimental stuff but I want to also have limits on sentimental items in the house too. I want to keep the things that are most special to us in a safe place or displayed.

Just the silly stuff that floats around in my mind! I'm kind of done with a lot of decorating for the time being, minus our boys' rooms. As soon as I get the energy back, I'm going to work in both boys' rooms to hopefully feel like the house is complete again. The house was feeling complete but both boys have been growing and changing, hence their rooms are getting updated too, and I'm in the process, yet again!

Ways To Save Money, Honey!

Happy Monday, Hope you're having a great day! Mine has been, eh, okay. Just not feeling the best today. Anyhow, I have been trying to save money in many different ways and here are some I thought I could share. Maybe some of them will help you too.
 

 

-Make my own laundry detergent
-Make my own shampoo - it works great!
-Use a refillable foaming soap dispenser in the kitchen - buy dish detergent in bulk and refill adding water to prolong soap usage!
-Cut down on paper towel usage! Majorly.
-Reuse bags for grocery shopping
-Make my own spray deodorizer
-Make my own dryer sheets
-Make my own cleaners for the house - bathroom, furniture polish, window cleaner, etc.
-Cut my husband's hair
-Trim my kids' hair to extend hair cuts
-Coupons of course

More Mason Jars - Project To Come!

How's your week going? I'm hanging out, listening to music and multi-tasking tonight. Had a great day though. Great work out, great book study group, cooked a decent dinner. Overall I can't complain! Win/Win!

 

While I was cooking dinner tonight I started a little project that has been weighing me down for a while involving more mason jars. I'm so excited about it but have to get a few more jars and finish it before I can show you. It's seriously nothing BIG but it's the little things that make me happy.

 

Hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow! TGI ALMOST F!

 

Over and Out!

 

Happy Tuesday!

I don't have any projects to post today, I'm busy in the kitchen cooking today. I love inspirational quotes, songs, etc. to keep me motivated and moving. Here's one I made to share with you. Have a great day!

Halloweeny Flags!

How are you? Happy Monday! Hopefully not a mundane one for you! I've been playing catch up with the house and just thought I'd share a little festive decor from the front yard. 

This is a garden flag I found at a local store and I thought it was cute. 

Here's the house flag I put up for the month. The kids love it!

Do you decorate your yard for Halloween? What all do you do? Hope you have a great day! 

Beachy House Decor

I love, love, love beachy decorated homes. Decorating with bright and airy colors sets such a calming and fresh tone for relaxation! Last week we went on a wonderful family vacation to Charleston, SC and I took a couple of pictures of some of the house décor I liked. I must sound cheesy! Since my house isn't decorated in a coastal theme, I just took it all in and enjoyed the scenery! Ah! Didn't want to come home and I'm feeling a little hung over from all the playing we did on the trip.

 

Here is one wall hanging I liked in the beach cottage we stayed in.  

 

 

 

Loved the colors in the house. It was so cool and fresh looking.

I'm also posting because my sister-in-law loved the color too! Maybe it will inspire her. :)

 

 

I love the different textures of articles placed together on side tables.  

 

 

 

 A little color in Charleston.

 

 

On that note, have a happy Friday tomorrow!

Clean Your Shower With V05

Yay, I'm finally able to hop back on here for a few. How has everybody been doing? Things have seriously been a little nutsy around here. I had a nasty vomiting experience last weekend which took everything out of me for part of the week(ugghh!) but I think I am ALL GOOD for the moment(fingers crossed).

I'm excited to share something my husband accidentally found due to his complete clutsiness. I can't talk because I have clutsy tendencies too but from his last one we actually learned something! Don't worry, he knows I'm talking about him here. Chuckles!

So he took a shower one night after a bike ride and accidentally knocked over an entire bottle of my shampoo. I didn't find it until the next morning and check out BELOW how it cleaned a giant spot in our shower. Please be gentile and don't judge our cleaning abilities on the filth of our shower. Yes, it gets dirty. I am working on it to clean it every. single. week. now!

I've mustered up the courage to show you our nasty builder grade shower that I didn't have nice and clean and in tip top condition. Bleh! It really smacks you in the face when you see it in a picture. GROSS!

Let me direct you to the center of the picture where the V05 spilled and poured down the drain! See how clean it came!

Below is a picture of the shower cleaned with v05 shampoo! I used a sponge and a little elbow grease!

 So v05 is an uber cheap way to clean your shower. Yes, I use cheap shampoo. So sue me!

Needless to say my hub's clutsiness came in handy for once! Gotta love him! HAHA Happy Friday to you!

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Keep Calm Door Knob Hanger

Keep Calm and WHAT they say? You see this quote everywhere nowadays and do you know where it was derived? Go on! Made ya look! It was a motivational poster created and used by the British in 1939. It was made for World War II to boost British morale in a time of uncertainty. Evidently the poster was never publicly displayed, but was found in the more recent years. I'm no history buff but when I see things like this, I ask questions, I try and learn about the history behind it. It currently seems to be sort of a fad for all venues.   

It was actually originated during sad and difficult times so I have mixed feelings about this saying being everywhere with so many parodies of it. I always wonder if people know where it came from. 

Having said that, I found this little metal door hanger at Dollar Tree of all places. I think it has a lot of meaning. Since it was so seriously produced, it means more to me than just a cutesy little saying. I love inspirational sayings period, exclamation point, and this one is a humble reminder to me to try and stay calm no matter what. As far as parenting, marriage and ANYTHING in life, there is ALWAYS room for improvement and I find that inspirational quotes are great motivation tools. So I've got this little door knob hanger/piece of inspiration hanging on the coat closet door downstairs, central on our first level to help me and anyone else who can read (smiley face - because we have one who is still learning his letters) stay in line. I like it. Do you have any opinions?   

Say "BYE BYE" To Gnats and Flies!

Holy Gnat Grossness!
---------------------------

We have had some major nastiness in our house lately! GNATS! Bleh! They are so disgusting and seem to be in areas around all our sinks. Evidently water attracts them. Google is awesome though because it helped me find a non-chemical way to get rid of ALL. OF. THEM. Woot! Woot! 

All you use is:

CIDER VINEGAR + A FEW DROPS OF DISH DETERGENT & STIR! 

The vinegar attracts the bugs with its smell and the dish detergent drowns them. Put little containers near the gathering spots of your insects. Ours sinks are where they have gathered the most so I put our traps on the counters and window sills. 

I used ceramic cups and bowls to make it semi-attractive. EWWWWW, yes the winged specs at the bottom are GNATS! I lost count of how many I caught but I poured the solution along with their carcasses down the toilets yesterday and FLUSH, they are G.O.N.E.

DEAD! YES! This simple, at home remedy worked awesomely well! If you get gnats or flies, try it! It has helped us sooooo much! 

  

From Baby to Boy Decor. Sniff Sniff!

Kids! It's cliché, but they really do grow up fast. I attended a church book study yesterday with a small group of moms my age, and children are such wonderful blessings from God. The group session was a great experience and my little guy got to do some crafts for himself. He was so excited about collecting acorns and making art! Yay!

 

My oldest turned eight on Wednesday and my youngest is four. Some days it blows my mind!

 

LOOOONG PAUSE - VROOM! VROOM!

I just took time out from working on these blog photos to do four races of Mario Kart 8 with the youngest. Trying to cherish all the time I have with him at home. It's also a nice perk to get to play with him! I'm such a kid and he's a lot of fun!

 

His bedroom is so special to me because it was his big brother's first bedroom. It's a room we brought both babies home from the hospital to and spent countless nights feeding and rocking them both in. It has been a difficult room to change. We left it untouched with both babies... same paint, same crib, same décor-I loved it!

 

Now the youngest has grown into bunk beds so six months ago I painted the room and have been making updates ever since. Um it is taking me a while!

 

---------------------------------------------- 

Here is a favorite wall hanging I had in there. I loved it!

The room was a light green and this went so well.

It had a newborn picture of each child.

 

 

 

 

 SNIFF! SNIFF!

 

 

Now it's a favorite wall hanging, redone, to go with the big boy theme of trucks and cars and light blue walls.

 

I simply painted the frame with leftover chalk paint. I cut a piece of scrap book paper for $0.50 and got these little cars and trucks at a craft store for under a buck. Glue gunned them on and it cost under $2.00 to make this change. It was a super update from baby to big boy! My son loves it!  

 

 

More On Organizing Kid's Clothes

How's it going? Things are good here, especially after snoozing a little this morning. I don't do it very often but man sometimes a short nap is all it takes to get going.

 

So last week I told you I found something that I thought would change our family's life...

 

TA-DA! Here it is.   

I found this hanging clothing organizer thingy online on ebay for dirt cheap! I bought two, one for each child's closet. Wasn't sure how they'd work but really they work pretty well. The youngest can dress himself now so I applied vinyl stickers in each cubby to represent Monday - Friday to organize the kiddos' clothes for the week.
 
I must share that it is working out great! I LOVE how organized it makes us all. As far as minimizing what we own, I could see now that we don't really NEED half of the clothes in their closets. I think it will especially help on days where we have dress up days for spirit week for school. This divider set has six slots and I will probably use the bottom one for sports clothing when they start sports up! 

It fits nicely and I love how much better prepared we are for school now!

 

I also found a great use for these bins I used one time as coolers for a Birthday party. I'm keeping them in the top of the closets for clothes that are either too big or that they've outgrown. So far, it's working great! YAY!

 

 

Do you do anything special to help your kids get dressed for school?

 

 

Naps!

 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....

 

Happy Tuesday, hope this finds you feeling good. I am feeling really sleepy today. I felt a little sleepy yesterday too and not in the mood to do too much around the house. This is terrible but "When all else fails take a nap!" is my attitude today. Sometimes I think it's good to have this attitude though to re-boost one's self. I think I'm going to try and re-boost now! I'll have some more projects ready for you coming soon.

 

Have a great day!   

 

Cheap Way To Polish Wood Furniture

Hello Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! We had a nice one with a Birthday party at our house yesterday, which was very nice and relaxing.

 

In cleaning the house, I have pretty much ditched most store bought household cleaners to save money and to be more green. I won't tell you all the things I do(I have started some beauty/heath regimens that even I am surprised at) but this one is an affordable and good solution to polishing wooden furniture. Just be sure you test a small spot on the surface of the wood before completely wiping down with the oil and vinegar solution.

 

USE 3 parts Olive Oil + 1 part Vinegar and shake it up each time you use. Apply with a microfiber cloth!

 

 

I don't use it on all our furniture because we have several pieces we were told to simply use a damp cloth when cleaning and getting fingerprints off. I do use it on all my solid wooden furniture though that was the kind we had to put together. It works beautifully! See for yourself! Is this something you think you would try?

Grocery Shopping Organization FREAK of NATURE!

Go ahead. Freak out! Everybody freak out! I'm a freak, you're a freak, everybody is a freak in their own way!  Below is how my husband confirmed it today. Well he confirmed it before my "bag lady" episode and with a single phone call this afternoon while I was out buying groceries. He called asking me where our sandpaper was(the garage is heavily organized as well, uh umm) but THIS below was the icing on the cake in confirmation of my being a freak!

 

Yes, I have matching vinyl/plastic bags for grocery shopping. I have had a set of matching bags for years but my old ones finally wore out so I replaced them with new. My husband thinks I'm a nut. I don't think so. I think it is economical. Call me crazy but it is well organized, good for the environment and makes it fun to shop too. I mean who really has FUN grocery shopping? You have to make it FUN! haha - I picked them up at IKEA and got the plain gray ones for produce and such. I've told you before I am a recycle nut. Oh yes, I recycle EVERYTHING I can, whether paper, plastic, tin, aluminum, light bulbs... I've made friends with the people who work at our local recycling center and have actually learned a lot when I take things to them with questions.

  

 

Anyhow, to help alleviate taking the regular plastic grocery bags back and forth to the grocery store to recycle them, I picked up these bags. I take a lady from church grocery shopping so she has the pleasure of receiving a set of these bags too on our next grocery store outing. LOL. It really will help us keep our groceries nice and organized in the trunk of my car.

 

So now that I've told you how I'm a FREAK, how are you a FREAK? What are you particular about?!?!?!

Yes! I AM a F-R-E-A-K. - An OrGaNiZaTiOn one

Yes, I know it. My husband confirms it all the time. I am an ORGANIZATION freak! It should be my middle name! Next post, I will show you how I was freaky today, organization-wise. LOL!

 

 

Another Umbrella Bouquet

Do you remember my umbrella bouquet? I made it for our front door in April to signify APRIL SHOWERS BRINGING MAY FLOWERS?!?!?

 

 

Now the seasons are changing again but at the same time I made my umbrella arrangement in the Spring, I made another one for my mom and dad for their front door. Here it is BELOW. 

 

 

 

From The OUTSIDE - I LOVE the umbrella and flowers my mom picked out - green with a wooden handle and two shades of pink tulips to give an awesome contrast to the dark green door on the yellow house.

 

 

 

From The INSIDE - The umbrella bouquet offers a calming addition to the front door and even helps brighten the inside of the house. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

 

On that note. Have a lovely Friday.

 

If I Can Just Find A Lamp!

I got to writing my post for some quick mommy alone time this morning and, "BUMP", I heard my 4 year old jump out of his bed to call me to help him get out of his pull up and get dressed. So I took a break from my post for a few and now I'm back! 

Yesterday I was feeling a little under the weather so my husband rented a movie for me as a surprise. He rented Mom's Night Out. I sat up and watched it last night and it was cute. It was a little far fetched in some areas and cheesy in others, but overall it was cute and had a nice message that sorta hit home with me in a bunch of ways. I won't give away the story line too totally much but one point it made was that being a mom and taking care of her young is enough and important. When I was working outside the home I always used to say I could never be a stay at home mom (and I thought it for all different kinds of reasons!). Isn't it funny the things we say and the words we eat? I didn't want to be home and thought I would do horribly at it if ever I had the choice. I'm home with my children and have been for a while. Some days I feel as though I am failing miserably and others I feel pretty good at it. For the most part it feels good but it took a while to get to the point of being okay staying home taking care of our children. Anyhow, no matter what your job is, it's important, and as long as you do your best at it I think that's all that really matters!

As far as decorating goes, I LOVE this lamp shade below. I purchased it at Ross three years ago because it matched the rug and curtains in our play room. I just can't seem to find the right floor lamp to go with it. If anyone sees a nice simple floor lamp, let me know! I am on the hunt!     

Now it's time to run to the school because my hubs called - my oldest left his back pack and lunchbox at home by the back door. One thing I can say about being a mommy, whether you are working full time outside of the home OR if you're home with the kids, being a mom and having all the mom duties never ends! I better get to the school! Have a great day!

and... WOODEN Ampersand

Good Afternoon! How are you? I'm good but going a little nuts at home with two sickies today. Calgon!!!! Ha! To help ease my sanity, I'm diverting to some home decor fun for a few!

 

I picked up this wooden ampersand at Michaels a couple of weeks ago on a clearance rack. I had a 40% off coupon too so that always helps. I found a place for it and sat on it for a few days trying to decide what color to make it. 

 

I was going to use spray paint but instead used chalk paint that I made with leftover plaster of Paris, white ceiling paint and water.

It's more rustic looking because I sanded the edges with my electric hand sander after painting. I think it's kinda cute! So back to nursing my little sickies! Have a great day!

  

 

Use Metal Spoons Instead Of Plastic In School Lunchbox

 

Hello all! What's up on this beautiful Friday? Hope you have a great day no matter what you are doing. Just wanted to check in and tell you what I'm doing new this year in my child's lunchbox. It's really no biggie but he eats yogurt, applesauce and pudding and takes a spoon for those types of snacks. I pack his lunch every day...

 

This year I decided I'm done with buying plastic spoons! I bought a pack of two metal spoons at Wal-mart for $2.00.  They had packs for $1.00 but they were too close to what our regular silverware looks like and I didn't want them getting mixed in with ours.

 

Super simple - saves $! + saves waste + saves environment. I slapped a dish washer safe sticker / name tag on the back of the handle sent to me from Lovable Labels. So far it has worked out great. He brings it back home every night and I rewash.

 

What do you do to conserve or save money in your kids' lunches?

 

 

Organized Craft Cabinets

Craftastic Magic In The Cabinets (if I do say so myself)!!!!!!!!!!

Oh how it good it feels to get organized and have things set up with total uniformity. This is another job I did a couple of years ago and I'm so glad I did! 

Here is my craft cabinet (in our kitchen) BEFORE I got organized! It was a total and complete mess! I've got a lot of stuff I use for arts and craft projects and this was seriously bugging me. Not anymore!!!

BEFORE I used baby formula cans to organize pencils, paint brushes, etc. but I had too much and it did NOT work!


The cabinets went from an eye sore to a place the whole family goes to for things they are looking for!

I found these RE Sterilite organizers in various sizes at Target. It took me a while to purchase them because I did it in shifts with sales and what they had in stock. I finally got all our supplies in these boxes. 

AFTER I found these removable label stickers at Wal-Mart and went to town labeling everything! Now we can find things! This is one thing that has truly made it easier when working on projects!

AHHHHHH The uniformity! I am certainly an organizer through and through! HA! Happy day everybody!

How do you organize your things? Are you to this nutty degree of organization?!?!?! This isn't even the project I told you I'd share that I thought would change our household for the better! Yay for more to come!