Finding my Inner Home Keeper!

Wow! Where does the time go??

2010-05-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that I have so badly neglected my blog but it's all with good reason. The past couple of months have been outright crazy for us but things are settling down now. I am slowly returning to my decluttering schedule and have vowed to take at least one bag a week to the Salvation Army. I have given up the pipe dream of having a yard sale and am just determined to get this stuff out of my house!

Spring Cleaning Begins Next Week!!

2010-04-09T10:45:00.001-04:00

I am jumping on the SimpleMom Spring Cleaning Week bandwagon and hoping that I can get a lot accomplished. I am still decluttering per Simplify101 and Aby's wonderful workshop. These two projects together should help me get control of my house over the next few weeks!

Care to join??

Runny noses and sore throats!

2010-04-06T09:11:00.000-04:00

Ugh, this bug has managed to wipe out myself and my two children. It has also made quite the mess of my Spring Clean that I was trying to accomplish. Things have been put on hold until the sinus pressure in my head lets up and then I will be right back to tackling the cabinets in my kitchen. I haven't lost my resolve gained during the great workshop I participated in but it has definitely taken a backseat for a bit. I do plan on signing up for another of Aby's workshops since this last one was such great motivation.

I still have to get all my receipts from The Grocery Game up so I can share my amazing savings. I will make that a Monday feature so be sure to check back.

Gettiing Organized With Bumps In The Road...

2010-03-27T17:06:00.001-04:00

Well, I have to say I am loving the workshop I signed up for! Tackled some things that I haven't been able to emotionally do before. Feeling fabulous and trying to keep the momentum going even after hitting a bump.

The very first night of my workshop, my little one got hit with what we think is a very bad cold. He was tested for RSV but we haven't gotten the results back yet. I had already gotten part of the kitchen done, fortunately. But, it put moving on to the next room on hold due to being up all night in a hot, steamy bathroom. I have gotten back on track though and am slowly moving forward.

This is the drawer that until the other night had housed nipples and spouts from Buggy's babyhood. For one emotional reason or another, I was unable to get rid of the items in it even though they could not be used for Bubba. I felt so supported by Aby of Simplify 101 and the workshop that I grabbed my trash bag and just started tossing! It now houses parts for my breast pump and Bubba's bottles. The feeling of satisfaction from that led to cleaning absolutely everything off the face of my fridge and Buggy's cabinet of old sippy cups and the likes. I then went on to decluttered and organize the counters where all of our iPhone/iPod hardware gets plugged in. Pure elation!!

Looking for Help In All The Right Places...

2010-03-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

After looking at how much I have/want to accomplish and the limited time I have to do it, I decided to sign up for Simplify 101's "Help! I don't know where do I begin?" workshop. I am hoping it will help me to priortize and begin all of the open items I have. Stay tuned for a review and possible results. Fingers crossed!

So Little Sleep, So Much To Do

2010-03-25T10:12:00.003-04:00

It appears Thursday is the day that everything needs to be done! My To Do list for the day, and looking towards the weekend, is growing by the minute. Bubba appears to be going through another growth spurt so he was literally attached to me all night. Lucky Duck got to sleep in until 6:20a this morning but not me, I was up at 4:50a preparing bottles, lunches, clothes, backpacks. It was also a doggie daycare day so that meant leaving the house 15 minutes earlier. It's amazing how that 15 minutes can make such a tremendous difference.

So, as I sit here now, I am going through all the items that are pending and those that need to be started. My closet is still a Work in Progress. My Spring Cleaning Party has yet to begin. Bubba is growing so quickly that I need to get him new socks, onsies, pants...the list goes on! I have also reached the conclusion that I now need to move up to the bigger 9 oz. bottles for Bubba as my pumping sessions are producing more than the little 5 ozer's can hold...yet another sign that he is thriving and will soon be experiencing the wonders of solids.

Ah, solids. I have heard so much about these the past few days. Everyone seems to be under the impression that since Bubba will hit the 4 month mark on Saturday that he will receive his first taste on Saturday night. Not sure why that is since we are doing so well with breastfeeding. I do find myself debating the solid issue a lot though. He shows a few of the "recommended markers" that show solid readiness: mimicing chewing, eyeing my food as I try to eat, lessening of the thrust reflex and ability to hold his head high and steady. I don't know if I'm ready, however. The one thing I am sure of is that I will be making Bubba's baby food. Well, mashing it anyway! I think I will start with banana and avacado. As to when...who knows.

Today is Grocery Store Flyer day!! Such an exciting day as I prepare for another round of the Grocery Game...printing, clipping and organizing coupons, going through the flyers to see what's on sale and what I already have coupons for, counting down to Sunday and the appearance of "The List". Kind of funny that grocery shopping and coupon clipping have become so exciting for me.

A trip to the toy store is in order as Buggy has a birthday party on Saturday. The toy store is one of those places I hate to go but seem to spend a lot of time in now that Buggy is in school.

The nursery definitely needs a little attention too! Once we get his crib up I can begin his bedtime ritual in his room in the rocker with the lights down low and hope that he sleeps nicely all night long.

I am tired just thinking about all the big items on my list so I may just focus on the little stuff for now!

Do you have long laundry lists of things to accomplish this weekend? How do you prioritize?

What’s Your Biggest Organization Challenge? | Real Simple

2010-03-24T11:40:00.002-04:00

What’s Your Biggest Organization Challenge? | Real Simple

So funny that I should stumble across this while tackling the bane of my existence...my closet!!

Click on the link and find out how you could win help tackling your biggest organizational nightmare!!

My Closet Runneth Over

2010-03-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, this really is MY closet!! It appears it only takes a day or two of, "I have nothing to wear!!" before my closet completely implodes! I had just cleaned and organized this closet last month but it is once again One Hot Mess. Buggy was on the 'puter so I grabbed Bubba and headed for the bedroom and the dreaded dark place that is our closet. I am approaching this in steps so last night I worked on clearing the floor...dirty clothes into laundry, clean clothes placed back on their proper shelf or hanger and outgrown or holey items in the trash. Now to clean out the books and organize the 100's of purses I have and the floor will be complete.

Next step...purge any outgrown, never-worn items from the hangers and shelves. I have a ton of stuff that will be donated including maternity clothes that will never be worn by this body again. Time to let go!!

Completed Vision...a closet where I can see the floor, neat and tidy shelves and installing some sort of lighting so I can actually see the true beauty of my closet! Stay tuned for pics.

Do you have one particular area in your house that seems to implode on occassion??

If I didn't laugh...

2010-03-23T10:09:00.001-04:00

I would cry! Not really. It's just a very dreary day and I have yet to accomplish any of the items from yesterday's Fly List except I did finally get to do a load of my own laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes for the Mama!! Mine are always the last to get done but that's what we do, right? On the bright side, I did get the 6 yr old (Buggy from here on out) signed up for soccer finally...only a week past the deadline. I also RSVP'd to a birthday party he's attending on Saturday...5 days past RSVP date. I really do need to get more organized but I can't until I get my house straightened out so I can have one spot to put all this info in. I also need to make myself handle action items such as RSVP's as soon as I receive them. It would make it so much easier.

Ok, so on top of last night's items that didn't get finished, today's list is watering plants, dusting, windows in the living room and vacuuming. Maybe I can get some of this done tonight along with the baby's (Bubba from here on out) laundry...nothing like two big blow-outs to change your laundry schedule!

Nothing to do in terms of the Grocery Game as I already went through my coupons and removed expired ones and put like items together. I could go on and print off this week's batch from Coupons.com but there's no rush for that.

Why can't we have "Rain Days" in the spring like we have "Snow Days" in the winter??? And when I say we, I mean me!

On Today's Agenda...

2010-03-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

So, keeping in line with my "FLYing Lessons", the items that I have accomplished so far today are: checking my calendar, preparing all the necessary items to pump at work for tomorrow's feeds for the 4 month old, place all needed bags at the door (6 yr old's backpack, 4 month old's diaper bag and breast pump/purse) and remember to get my cellphone. I managed to do all of these but that still leaves swishing/swiping my toilets, working 15 minutes in my "Hot Spot" and pulling stuff for dinner. I'm at work now so all of that will have to wait until I get home.

When I get home today, I have to start laundry, go thru the mail, fix snack, figure out dinner and work on the FlyLady's Daily Mission. Then once that's done it's on to fixing dinner, clearing the dishes, sweeping the floors, more laundry, and Shining My Sink...all while fitting in time with my sons and husband!

AND I need to do my daily tasks which for Monday include vaccuming, dusting, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, purging mail, containing the kid's toys, and decluttering. Once that's complete, I am supposed to tackle this week's Zone Cleaning which is our bedroom and one other room. Fortunately, I have all week to finish these tasks!

I am not sure how a mother who works outside of the home can possibly get all of this completed on a daily basis but I will do the best I can. Can someone just send a HUGE dumpster to my home and I can just start tossing stuff??

Clean Sweep!!! Maybe...

2010-03-22T09:50:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I had planned to kick Spring off with a "Clean Sweep" this weekend...which according to "Simple Mom" is when you grab a trash bag and a box or two (marked Give/Sell) and go room to room boxing items accordingly BUT you only box items that you can see. You do not go into drawers, closets, etc. I was so excited about this on Friday and couldn't wait for Saturday to arrive. The best laid plans....

My "Clean Sweep" never took place but I did get laundry and grocery shopping done! That's a small accomplishment considering what needs to be done. Little by little, I will find my inner home keeper and my house will become organized.

I continue to collect coupons with my SIL's and play the Grocery Game, stockpile and save a ton of money so at least I have that much going for me. A clean, organized house will come...eventually.