He begged me for it today...

...but he's going to hate me for it later!

 

Playing at the park in January

The weather this "winter" has been nothing short of amazing.  I don't ever remember going this long without snow that stuck around for more than a day.  You know you're getting spoiled when you're disappointed that the high temperature wasn't at least in the 40's!  Since today was another amazing, sunny 54 degrees, we ate an early lunch and walked to the library wearing light jackets.  Then we took a pit stop at a park on the way home.  I ended up sacrificing Lincoln's nap, but it was worth it. :o)

Hey Diddle Diddle

It's nursery rhyme month at preschool!

Sweetness

Thoughts on Pinterest

Okay, I'll admit it.  I've been sucked into the black hole of awesomeness that is Pinterest.  For those of you aren't familiar, Pinterest is the latest online social networking phenomenon.  It allows you to collect and organize all the cool things/ideas you find online onto "boards" that mimic a bulletin board collage.  The networking part is "following" other people's boards.  Newly "pinned" items show up continuously on a main board.  You can then "repin" it to one of your own boards if you like the idea and want to save it.  You can also add comments.  The nice thing is that the link to the original source is preserved, so you don't end up with a non-working link of a link of a link that someone else posted.  If you can't get enough of the stuff of the people you're following, you can always go out and look at the general board collections of all users.  Plus there is a search function.

After a week or so of use, here are some observations, tips and tricks I have:

• I didn't get the whole "invitation" thing at first.  Apparently, it's starting out semi-exclusive similar to Facebook.   You can request an invitation, but I'm not sure what happens next.  I was invited by a Facebook friend.  If you link it to your Facebook account you can follow and invite your Facebook friends.
• There aren't great instructions on how to use the web site (or at least I didn't read them).  It's more learning by doing and exploring.  That's how I did it.  I'm sure I haven't discovered everything yet.
• Organize your boards for your own personal needs.  Don't just use the pre-set titles.
• Be choosey about who and what you follow.  Find people with similar interests.  Don't feel like you have to follow all their boards, because it just clogs up your main board.  Since I care very little about the topics, I have eliminated all boards relating to fashion and hairstyles.  I am also on the verge of unfollowing some food boards, too.  I'm interested in some of the main dish recipes, but the amazing desserts/treats are almost overwhelming.  Don't get me wrong!  I enjoy an indulgent, gorgeous looking concoction of sweetness just as much as the next person, but I've decided I've already seen enough recipes to last a lifetime (which will likely be somewhat shortened if I actually make and eat them all).  Frankly, I don't have enough people/places to share the caloric love.  So I might try a new one for fun once in awhile (I already have a huge stack in my recipe collection), but I'm probably mostly just going to stick to my tried-and-true favorites. [end of food rant]
• Add the "Pin it" button to your web browser tool bar.  It's an easy way to pin stuff you personally find on the web and not just relying on repinning things someone else found.
• It's fascinating to watch the effects of a pin.  You are notified who repins anything you've pinned.  You can't see the exponential effects beyond that, but it's interesting to think about.  I pinned the 52-week challenge, and it was repinned 6 times within 24 hours (I only know one of the repinners personally).  Plus I saw it pinned at least 5 more times on my main board by other people from totally different sources.  Just out of curiosity, I pinned the blog post of our monkey bathroom remodel.  Although it has only been repinned twice, there were over 100 direct page views of that post within 24 hours.  I usually average 5-10 direct page views of my posts (I'm guessing most people use a reader).  A single blog post can almost instantly go viral.  It's a great way to advertise and generate traffic!
• Don't feel like you have to scroll through everything to "catch up" every time.  Although it's tempting, I've decided that if it's really that great, it will show up again (e.g. 52-week challenge).

There are definitely hits and misses, but it is an awesome way to collect great ideas.  My main interest areas are home organization (surprise, surprise), tips and tricks around the home, activities for kids, easy meal recipes and a place to collect book titles I hope to read someday.  If you're interested and haven't been invited to join the cult yet, feel free to let me know and I'll let you in. ;o)

Oh, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, too!

52 OHC: Week 1

This week's challenge was the kitchen countertops and sink.  The focus was on decluttering and keeping things clear.  This is an area where we are already doing well.  For the most part, the only things on the counter are things that are used on an almost daily basis.  However, there are a couple "hot spots" (as the FlyLady calls them) that seem to build up clutter quickly.  The first is the "mail" area.  This spot tends to collect papers, projects and items that need to go downstairs or be put away.  Mail that doesn't require my immediate attention gets put in the mail holder and builds up.  It gets cleared off regularly, but I thought it could use a little sprucing up. 

Like most things with picture slots, I've always had intentions of putting something in the slots of the organizer.  I don't consider myself a creative or crafty person, but I was pretty proud of this little project I thought up on my own. (Must have been inspired after getting sucked into Pinterest!)  Whenever we receive cards of any kind, they get thrown in a basket in the cabinet.  The basket was starting to overflow, and it was one of the daily missions on the 2012 Declutter Calendar this week, so it was a win-win-win idea.  I quickly sorted through almost three years worth of cards and looked for patterns that could be used as backgrounds.  I chose three that went together and gave the rest to Emily for her own art projects (they use a lot of greeting cards at preschool in the art center).  I cut out squares of patterns and glued labels on each before sliding them into the slots.  Total cost of the project: $0.  Now each item has a home, and theoretically, I shouldn't have to hunt around so long for a Sharpie. ;o)

The other "hot spot" in our kitchen is the top of the fridge.  One of the reasons is because it is one of the few "up" places left on the main floor of our house.  It was just a matter of putting things away that had accumulated and restoring it to the state I had put it in over a year ago.  I also cleared off the front of the fridge and hung up the January Declutter calendar.


 
















Here are the "after" pictures of our kitchen counters.  As I alluded to earlier, 95% of the time this is what they look like after supper is cleaned up.  One thing I'm quickly learning about this little organizing adventure is that I'm more organized than I give myself credit for sometimes.  However, there are always things to be tweaked and improved.  There are also just some areas that need a little more help than others. :o)

P.S. These pictures make me even more anxious to gut this kitchen and put a little life and character into a part of the house I spend a lot of time in!

Tube sculpture

Emily spent two days working on a "sculpture" in the basement.  The great unveiling revealed a robot made out of paper tubes with cut out eyes, nose, & mouth.  Both Emily & Lincoln had a lot of fun "feeding" the robot all sorts of things.

Spending money

Soon after Emily turned five, we started a money jar system with her (recognize them, Julie?).  Every week she receives a letter in the mail from Grandpa Lorenzen with some stickers and a dollar bill.  Using a roll of quarters from the bank, each week Emily trades in the dollar for four quarters.  One goes in Save, one goes in Give and two go in Spend.  This was a bit difficult for her to grasp at first.  She kept wanting her dollars back.  She also didn't have much of a concept of what each jar was for.  This past week we had a little money lesson where she traded back quarters from each jar in exchange for dollar bills.  Then we talked some more about what each jar was for.  I told Emily she could take some money out of her Spend jar and go to Wal-mart with me.  That's where the really money lesson took place.

Emily carefully put $1.25 into a little purse thing, and it immediately started burning a hole.  After picking up a few things I needed, we headed to the toy section.  Emily very quickly learned the value (or lack thereof) of a dollar.  She kept asking how much different things were and was visibly disappointed with the answers, "$17, $23, $28, $32..."  There were a couple boxes of dollar items, but all were complete junk.  Emily was pretty crestfallen until we passed the party aisle.  There was a whole row of cheap party favors for $.97.  Emily excitedly picked out some sparkly jewel rings.  She was almost equally as excited to receive two dimes and a penny in change after paying for it.

As expected, two out of the eight rings broke within the first hour.  She tried wearing the rest to preschool, but I made her choose only one for each hand.  They are now residing in her new jewelry box.  I'm sure this is only the beginning of many lessons learned about making good buying decisions.

P.S. Emily is now saving for a toy guitar to replace one that broke several months ago.  And she can't wait to bring her Give money to Sunday school on Sunday.

Shoebox train

It was a cold (relatively), windy, nasty day outside.  Emily's big project this afternoon was making a train out of a box and construction paper.  She called it the "Shoebox Train".

A new year of organization!

Happy New Year!  Like many people, I often get motivated about starting/doing things at the beginning of the year.  Right now I'm on a major organizing kick.  I know, I already had a comment on Facebook saying, "Can you be any more organized?!?"  The truth is, being an "organized" person is also a curse, because you never feel you can be organized enough.  There is always something to tweak or re-do.  Plus changing life stages mean changing needs.

I'm not a full-fledged FlyBaby, but I have adapted quite a few suggestions from the FlyLady over the last year.  One of the biggest tools for me has been an app on my iPhone called HomeRoutines.  It aids me in breaking down cleaning chores (both surface and deep) and other tasks that occur (or should occur) on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  I have a morning, after lunch and before bed routine similar to the FlyLady, as well as specific tasks assigned to each day of the week.  Do I follow all of my routines perfectly?  Absolutely not!  But I have everything set up.  I want to work on getting better at actually following through.

However, I'm always looking for new ideas, and there are certainly a lot out there!  One area I really need (and desire) to work on is decluttering/purging.  I have finally reached a point where I realized we have way more stuff than we need, and I'm emotionally ready to start letting some things go.  I started doing some of that with my wardrobe this past fall, but I still have a long way to go.  Almost every day I run across something somewhere in the house that I really don't think I would miss.  So here are some things I'm going to try:

This 52 Week Organized Home Challenge is from Home Storage Solutions 101.  They have broken down things into weekly challenges.  You can check the challenge online or sign up to receive the weekly email that comes on Monday mornings.  You can also post before and after pictures to be featured in the Creative Storage Solutions Hall of Fame.  I have a button on the side bar of my blog if you'd like to check in at any time.  I hope to post updates of some of the challenges I complete.


Another tool/option I just found out about is the 2012 Declutter Calendar from MySimplerLife.  It is a series of monthly printable calendars offering very small tasks for each day of the week with a fun or renewing task on Sundays.  You can also sign up for a weekly email containing simplicity tips.  You can even join a "Declutter Group" in January or May!

Since I am a task-oriented person who LOVES to check things off a list, all of these options are very attractive to me!  I know it seems quite silly and repetitive, but I'm going to try these simultaneously.  Maybe I can get organized in half the time! ;o)  In the end, I hope to find a system or combination of systems that work best for me at this stage of life. 

Here are some other resources I have found interesting and/or helpful:
IHeartOrganizing
Memories On Clover Lane: Organization
I Used to Be So Organized: Help for Reclaiming Order and Peace by Glynnis Whitwer

What resources/systems have you found helpful?

I'll end this post with a excerpt from the Clover Lane blog.  The quote at the end needs to be my mantra.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

40 Days Tips and Tricks: Questions and Decisions

Take time to deliberate; 

but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in."

Napoleon Bonaparte

Some tips for de-cluttering decisions:

Is it really that hard of a decision?  If I am pondering over keeping that kitchen tool that I don't really need or want, what is the WORST thing that can happen if I get rid of it?  I might have to buy a new one down the road after I find that I miss it terribly?  It might cost me $3.99!  If I am thinking of getting rid of something that costs $1,700 of course I will put some thought into it.  But most of the clutter is the little stuff that slowly ads up.  Fear of letting go of little things is silly, I have found.

I was going to post some practical professional questions I found on the internet to ask ourselves while de-cluttering, but it was just all so stupidly generic and magaziney-ish I thought "OH how dumb".

I'm a mom just like you, so here are my unprofessional  REAL-LIFE thoughts when I am making decisions to rid my house of something: 

• Do I want this in my house anymore? 
• Where the heck did this come from and why is it in my house?
• Do I love this toy for my children?  (Was it just a gift that I would never have bought, or did I make a mistake thinking it would be hit and it's plain old dumb.)
• Do they play with it often?  
• Do I look good in this shirt or do I never wear it because my bra straps always show and bug me or the sleeves are too short, or some other annoying thing?
• Do these pants make my butt look big?  Or do they make my butt look bigger than it already is?
• Will my child look like a rag-a-muffin wearing this?
• Will he/she EVER wear this in spite of my attempts to force them into it?  
• Does it have stains?
• Do I want to dust this for the rest of my life?
• Do I want to look at this for the rest of my life?
• Is this really me or do I feel I need to keep it out of obligation?
• Do I use this daily, weekly, or monthly? 
• How long will it be before anyone even notices it is gone?
• Will I be able to sleep at night if I get rid of this, or will I be racked with guilt?
• Do I really need more than one of these?
• Do I swear at this thing a lot?  (Like a small lamp that was in my kitchen once that shocked me all the time.  Or that battery toy that never shuts off and drones on and on and on?  So long, sucker.) 

Or more eloquently put, I always keep this quote in mind:

Have nothing is your house that you do not know to be useful,

 or believe to be beautiful.
william morris