Pins of the Week...

I have been working like a DOG cleaning my kitchen and organizing like crazy so I can add some pictures of my "after" to my post I've been working on for Operation OrGaNiZaTiOn for this week.  But....I'm not done yet...a few more days!  I want to make sure that while I'm sharing ideas of how to organize and de-clutter that I myself am doing just that and remaining accountable to what I'm sharing.  SO....until then.

Here are my Favorite Pins of the Week

CRAFTASTIC

My kids are DYING for some snow here.   Last year we were up to our eyeballs in snow and this year...NONE!  So I think we'll try this craft.  I know I said I wasn't going to do any until Valentine's because we are working sooo hard on our Valentine's this year, but...this looks like fun!   And, I have all of the supplies except the baby food jars but those I can easily pick up!

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FOR THE HOME

I adore this built in bench in the kitchen.  Maybe someday.  Right now I'd have to do a complete overhaul of my existing kitchen to work this in.   Maybe my husband will give it to me for Valentine's Day...ha.  A girl can dream!

FOR THE KIDDOS

I was so excited to find this one on my friend Danielle's blog last year and so glad to find it again this year on pinterest because I need it now more than ever.  We recently upgraded my son into a booster from the traditional 5-point harness seat and every time he falls asleep he looks like I drugged him because he is totally slumped over in his seat.   I'm starting this project asap!

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FASHION FIND

I'm not sure what it is about these VERY expensive socks that I love so much, but they are so darn pretty.  I am admittedly weird about textures in socks so I probably wouldn't even wear them, but they are just too cute not to share.  And if you invest in them...let me know if they are soft!

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JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

Just think this is so cool...a mixed paper journal :)

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RECIPES

I haven't tried this one yet, but I plan on picking up the ingredients next week to try it.  I've made something similar in the summer, but it did not have asparagus in it.  I'm hoping my daughter will enjoy this too because tomatoes and asparagus are her 2 favorites and she LOVES cheese...I think I'll add feta.

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GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

No words required....

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Happy Pinning!

Poshed Up

Operation OrGaNiZaTiOn! Part 3

Moving on.....  it's officially time to tackle some of those pesky areas of your homes that are full of clutter and/or just a full-on disaster.  You know, the ones you walk past every day and frown because you can't stand looking at it, but yet you don't really want to tackle it?   Well it's time.  It's time for...

OPERATION

O r G a N i Z a T i O n

Part 3

Before I start,  a few basics I want to share that will be true for all of the areas we're going to tackle in the next few weeks as it relates to organization and de-cluttering.  These are some VERY simple things that really make your job of getting and keeping an area tidy so much easier.

Rules of Organization:

1. Start with a list of what you want to tackle.   Be specific.  Spell out each drawer, closet, cabinet. 

Here's my list...I have my work cut out for me. 

 I've made a little progress, but I need to finish a room before I move on.

2. Get comfortable with getting rid of things or you’ll end up on the show “Hoarders”.  In order to organize your life, you need to minimize your stuff.   Make 3 baskets- Keep, Throw Away, Donate.  And only keep it if you’ve used it within the past year or if it’s truly sentimental.  In that case, give it a home.

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3. Pick an area of focus and FOCUS on it.  Don’t do half the job and expect it to stay neat.  You really need to establish a nice, organized area so you’ll want to keep it that way.   Half the battle is getting it to the state of order in the 1st place.

4. “A place for everything and everything in its place”….from the very wise Ben Franklin.  Couldn’t be truer.  If it doesn’t have a home, how do you know where to put it back?  And share its home with ALL of the members of your family.

5. Never leave a room empty-handed.  This is a BIGGEE.   You really shouldn’t need to carry much if things are being put away, but we all know it happens.  Resist the urge to put something down for LATER…it won’t happen.   


Another idea along these lines if you live in a 2 story house and don't want to be up and down all day....baskets on the stairs either with someone's name (if you think they'll put things away) or with the name of a specific room on them.  Then, when you go upstairs, take a basket each time and empty it!

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Or this idea from 'Lil Blue Boo' of keeping a "put away" basket in your highest traffic area and then tackling it once per day.  The whole idea is to avoid running around all day putting things away.  You'll make yourself crazy!

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And these are words to live by when it comes to trying to get your house under control and getting organized!

Tomorrow we're going to tackle our first area of focus....I can't wait to share some great ideas!

Poshed Up

Operation OrGaNiZaTiOn! Part 2

I have been working on my family binder this week and sprucing up a few areas as I go, but trying so hard to stay on task so that I can share ideas with you all along the way.   I really appreciate all of the feedback I've received regarding the ideas in the first post on organization and the binder.  I hope that you can put them to use and find the binder to be as helpful as I have for our family.

I did create a few documents of my own using the ones I found as a guide or re-vamping some of mine from the past.   I am going to include them in case you find them helpful too!

Monthly Calendar - I've only done January and February and will create the next 2 months by the end of January.   I will keep these in my binder so my husband and daughter can look and see what's coming up in our month.  I don't share my own planner with anyone :)

Click here for my Monthly Calendar

Weekly Calendar - This is a blank weekly layout that you can fill in with your own information should you choose.  I use mine to provide myself and my family with a quick snapshot of what we do routinely each week (ie. sports activities, classes, etc.).

Click here for my Weekly Calendar

Routines- This is a blank layout for your morning and evenings routines.  Things that you do each and every day (or hope to start doing routinely).  I love the boxes to check things off as I go...sense of achievement I guess.  This also lets you see where you might be falling short every day so that you can find a way to manage those things differently (ie. delegate!!)

Click here for my Routines

And lastly, the running to-do list I keep throughout the week when things pop into my head.  I also have one on my phone in case I think of something while I'm out.  I use this on Sundays when I plan my upcoming week and transfer the important ones to my planner for the week.  I use my planner as my daily checklist of things to do that are not routines.   I also date this to-do list because often I have things that don't make it to my week and so I look back a few weeks to make sure everything is transferring ahead when I plan the next week (hope that makes sense).

Click here for my To-Do's List


And here it is...it makes my heart sing...so sad, but so true!

Enough about the binder already, right?  

So on to our next chapter in this thing I call...

OPERATION

O r G a N i Z a T i O n

I know I said in the last post I wouldn't use the word 'cleaning', but....it's a must today.  I really do have some great ideas to share and have to use the dreaded word.  Hopefully you're feeling engaged in this process of de-cluttering and getting organized for 2012 and that word won't bother you so much.

I chose not to use the word in my binder and instead put the schedule under "routines" because I know myself and if it said "cleaning" as a tab, I'd never look at it.  But...."routine" that has a nice ring to it!  But in reality, we all need to do some cleaning, don't we?   Whether you're lucky enough to have a cleaning person or not, we still need to do some cleaning.   So...that being said, let's get to it!

I found these great printables from none other than Martha herself that I wanted to share.   She of course takes it to a different level, but they are a great guide.   The ones I use for myself are not this specified weekly vs. monthly because I tackle all of it somewhere in my week/month and don't want to be this rigid.

For instance, on my weekly calendar, I have that I do my "household" laundry one day...that's when I wash sheets and towels so therefore I must be stripping beds and I change out the towels in the bathrooms when I clean them.  

Her "6 Things to do every day" is great too.  I capture these in my morning or evening routines, but if you're struggling with what should go on there...use hers as your guide and customize it for you and your home.  She includes de-cluttering as you go, making the beds (it's amazing how good this makes you feel), sorting your mail, cleaning as you cook, etc.

Her weekly schedule goes deeper.  In my opinion, hers is geared towards someone who spends an awful lot of time at home and cleaning.  Not me.  I have 1 day for bathrooms, 1 day I vacuum (my husband vacuums on Sunday too...I'm very thankful for that) and dust.   Those are things that I allow 1 hour for.   It happens to be for me in the morning because my son goes to afternoon Pre-K, but you can fit it in wherever.  If it takes much more than an hour...I know I won't do it.     I also try to wipe down all counters as part of my morning routine, so really my bathrooms shouldn't be too bad.  I also really clean my kitchen counters and sink at least 1 day while I'm cleaning up from dinner.



When I do clean, I have a renewed excitement because of this...

This was a gift from my stepmother for Christmas and I have to say....one of the top gifts I received.  It is a basket with all of the ingredients for a "Green Cleaner" and a bottle already made.  I admit...I was skeptical because I've tried ten zillion cleaners over the years.  But....it's amazing.  I have yet to find a surface that it doesn't work on.  Here's the recipe....

And here's what Liquid Castile soap looks like...

And the essential oils...

Try it!  My granite counters look amazing, my windows are clear without streaks, my wood table now has no glue stick residue or stain marks and, I'm working up to it being my only bathroom cleaner.  I'm a germ freak so I have to ease into this one.   I do use it as my daily counter cleaner in the bathrooms, but I need to break out the chemicals for my weekly still.  I'll get there.

What I love most about this little bottle of heaven is the smell.  Funny story, the first time I used it I thought to myself, "this must be what they use to clean at the spa".  Then when I actually took a moment to read the ingredients I realized "no, it has lavender in it"...blonde moment.    The smell is phenomenal!

Here are a few others I found.

Pretty....right?  Mint and tangerine.  And what a pretty gift!

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Loving these designer labels...

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All common household items...  check it out because this site offers combos for all sorts of areas you might clean including your oven, drains, carpets, and even a rust remover.  All natural and green...pretty cool.

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A tub scrub from Martha...

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A glass/window cleaner...

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4 all-natural cleaners...

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If we just stick to what our ancestors used to use, we'd all be great.  Not sure why we gave into the manufacturer's trying to convince us that we need the fancy and expensive bottles (which are quite small) to clean things in our houses.  Especially the granite cleaner...ridiculously priced and to clean what, stone?  Really?  I'm hooked on my new greener cleaner!!!

And this is the note I'm contemplating leaving from now on...

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Because...

But...we keep doing it anyway!

Now, we've got our binder to lay out our plan of attack each week and provide us with a central spot to plan our lives and give us a way to stay on task.  We have our schedule of what to clean and when.  We have some green cleaner to make it less toxic for everyone and next...

We'll start de-cluttering and organizing each area of our home.  Here's what I have planned for the upcoming weeks ( in no certain order):

Kitchen

Playroom

Closets

Office

Car

Craft Room

Linen/Hall Closets

Garage

If you have another area that you feel you can't get ahead of...please email me so we can try to tackle it.  I am by NO MEANS an expert on any of the above, but I've been collecting great information and putting it to use in my own home, so hopefully I can share a few ideas.  If you have some to share, PLEASE SHARE!    We're all in this together.....

Poshed Up

5 Things I'm LOVING this week....

I wanted to share 5 Things That I'm LOVING this week.....
more because I don't want to bore those of you who despise organization!!

What I'm LOVING this week....

#1 - FLOWERS -A hint of Spring in my kitchen.  I got these beauties at the grocery store yesterday for $4 a bunch.  So worth my $8 to brighten my days as the days to turn to evening at 4pm these days.  They give me hope of warmer weather to come.    Go buy yourself some flowers....I do it at least twice a month....just because I can!

#2 - COFFEE MATE PEPPERMINT MOCHA CREAMER- Yummmmmm.   This is the last little bit of the holidays and I'm just not ready to give it up.   I NEED it every afternoon in my afternoon coffee so I can get through the rest of the day...lol       It is amazing!     Oh and my travel mug is essential since we're so rarely home in the afternoons...now my little piece of heaven can travel with us :)

#3 - THIS SONG-  I admit it...I'm a HUGE Country music fan.   I live in the Northeast, but have family in the South so maybe that's where I first fell in love.  Or it could have been because of my days at Syracuse...it's like a little South up there.    Anyway, I love the innocence of Country music and the love stories. This one has me BIG time!  He's pretty easy on the eyes too....

#4  THIS BOOK - Oh my...I think this is my new favorite book and I'm already on #2 in the series.  It is listed in the category "Young Adult" but I think this book is for everyone.  I have been talking about it like CRAZY.   It is so hard to explain, but it's just so engaging.    Such a quick read too.  And...there's a movie coming out on March 23rd.   I cannot wait!

#5 THE BEACHCOMBER BAG-  Drool.  First of all I have a small (ok, large) obsession with bags.  I'm an accessory junkie.  I feel like an accessory can dress up even the plainest of outfits and I'm pretty plain Jane when it comes to colors.  But...I LOVE a bold set of earrings, shoes or a great bag.  And...this one from Boden certainly fits the bill.

I of course would want the one in red (hint, hint if anyone who might reading this might be in the market for gifting any time soon).  I also adore all things British...not sure why, just do!

The only thing I'm not loving is the $78 price tag.  You see while I love shopping, clothing and accessories...I'm cheap and would rather have 20 instead of 1 expensive one because I change my taste too often!

That's what I'm loving today!   What are you loving????

I'm working on a great post for Operation OrGaNiZaTiOn Part 2 for tomorrow...stay tuned!

Poshed Up

Operation OrGaNiZaTiOn! Part I

 It's finally here....

OPERATION

O r G a N i Z a T i O n

So before I jump in....I want to share a statistic that many of you have probably heard before.  Did you know that it can take between 18 - 254 days to form a habit?   Check out this article about forming a habit.   If that is truly the case...many of you will give up before we even get started, right?

So...that being the case, I'm hoping you'll find 1 small piece of information or a tip that you can try to put into practice in your own life and home to form just 1 new and improved habit.  If not, I'll give you an A+ for just reading these posts....lol  After all, that may just be 1/2 the battle because they might get long with how much I have to share!



I have been talking about this for some time now and the time has finally arrived!  I'm very excited to share some ideas with you for a few reasons:

1.  Because I LOVE organization and want to spread the love
2.  I found some really great ideas that I just need to share
3.  If you are not organized but want to try to be, maybe you'll find just one idea that you'll keep
and most importantly,
4.  I need to re-organize many areas of my own space and life

While I try very hard to stay organized and stick to it all year long, after a long December with my wedding anniversary, my daughter's birthday, the holidays and a crazy busy business this year...I need a lot or organizing myself!



So let's get started.  First I'm going to avoid using the word "cleaning" even though in all honesty, that's what you're doing when you de-clutter and organize.  But...since this word is so negative to so many, we'll stick with organizing because for some reason, that gives people a greater sense of purposes and fulfilling a goal.  Am I right?  So many put "Get Organized" as a New Year's resolution, but does anyone put "Clean More"?

Today I'm going to start with setting up yourself for success in both your "organization" mission and your overall life.    I read one of the FlyLady's book a few years back called "Sink Reflections".   While there are some parts that I will never do (like shine my sink each morning...hence the name of the book), I found some parts so great and use them to this day.  In fact, I've formed habits with them that are worth keeping!

Because of this book, I created my first "Family" binder.   Here it is...

Not so beautiful, but fully functional.  We'll get into the contents soon.  I recently decided I'm going to spruce this baby up in 2012 with a binder I previously purchased and was trying to figure out what to use it for.   I needed to make this binder more exciting and something that made me happy.

The new addition....

I also added some fun and functional rainbow dividers.  They each have a pocket on the outside of the divider  to hold loose ends...GENIUS if you ask me.  I want to get these too that I saw on TV the other night because they are so colorful.  Sad what I yearn for....it truly is the little things with me.

I have adapted my binder over time and plan on doing more additions/deletions this week as well (I'll share the finished product soon).   The whole idea of the binder is that you have a place/space for all of the important things that make your life and family operate.   It is easily accessible and transportable as well.

Here are a few key items in mine that I learned from The "Fly Lady" that will definitely stay.  I use these every single day!

"Weekly Plan" - Her philosophy is that every day has a purpose.   I agree, for the most part, but more importantly, this works for me because it doesn't allow me too much wiggle room.  You see, I haven't always been organized and sometimes don't want to have to be (OK.  I said it).  This plan forces me to stay on task and not "wing it" from day to day.   

Here is mine from the past year...clearly I need rainbow colors as motivation...lol

Basic Weekly Plan

MONDAY –           Grocery Shopping

                                  Laundry - Ryan

TUESDAY –            Weekly Cleaning

                                   Laundry - Isabella

WEDNESDAY –     Bill Day

                                  Laundry - Me

THURSDAY –       Errands

                                 Gift Buying

 FRIDAY –  ME DAY - Miscellaneous Items                                       

                                  Clean out car

                                 Clean out emails

                                  Laundry – Ryan

SATURDAY –         Family Day

SUNDAY –              Weekly Planning

                                  Grocery List

Some things I loved about this schedule:

1.  I am only doing 1 load of laundry a day and don't feel like I'm ALWAYS doing laundry.

2.  I plan my upcoming week on Sunday and know I'm going to so I'm not ever thinking about what's next during the week.  Of course I add to my week as it goes on, but I'm not consumed by my calendar.

3.  I only "Organize" (I said I wouldn't use the word clean) on 1 day a week.  Of course I am doing it every day in some small way, but I only focus on it 1 day a week...thank goodness.

Some things I don't like and will change:

1.  I don't want to start my week at the grocery store.  I despise food shopping.

"Daily Routines" - The "FlyLady"'s purpose for this is for you to train yourself into doing the same basic things each morning and evening so you don't have to stop to think what's next.

I like these because I get the sense of achievement of finishing them and checking them off and I also know the basic things I NEED done are completed.  I do not follow this on weekends AT ALL.  That is my time to stay in pj's and do whatever.

My morning routines  include: packing lunches and/or school snacks, making beds, cleaning sink area, putting in load of laundry, working with Ryan on alphabet, plan/start dinner, checking email (yes I schedule this or my whole day would get sucked into the computer)

My evening routines include: Checking calendar for next day, laying out next day's clothes, folding and putting away laundry, organizing desk, straightening kitchen, reading through school paperwork, reading (me time, and yes I have to schedule that too or the computer gets me)

Both my "weekly plan" and "daily routines" are in sheet protectors with holes in my binder so that I can use a dry eraser marker to check things off as I go.  Here is this morning's so you can see what I mean:

Now of course, I fall off the wagon from time to time, but on the whole, these have helped SO MUCH!    I cannot tell you how much more sane I am on the days/weeks I faithfully follow these.  But, whether you work from home, out of the home or are a stay-at-home mom, you can get these done before you're "real" work begins for the day!

The other things I have in my binder that I plan on keeping are the school calendars for both of my children's schools, a folder that fits in the binder with all of our important rebate info or tech protection plans, grocery shopping lists (which I've since gone digital with...I'll share that in another post), schedules for any classes or sports' teams we are in and that's about it.

I have been searching far and wide for ideas to add to and enhance my binder and here are some goodies I found.

Now Jen from 'I Heart Organizing' does NOT joke around.  She loves organizing so much that she named her blog after it.  She has created her own line of printables that she sells via her etsy shop if you like them.  She's a pro at this organization thing...I just aspire to it!

Some of the things in her binder that I like that I want to add:

Finances (place to track bill paying)

Contact info (includes plumber, babysitters, doctors, etc)

* She even included a baseball card sleeve for business cards - GENIUS!

Home Maintenance / Cleaning Schedule

Meal Planning Calendar

Here are a few others that I liked and some even have a different take on what I'm using for weekly and daily to-do's.  Check them out.  

from 'I Can Teach My Child'

from 'Parenting with Miss Poppins'

Jessalyn at 'Designing Virtues' was nice enough to share all of her binder printables. 

from 'Designing Virtues'

 I love this printables of hers:

Running To-Do List - this is what I create throughout the week and use on Sundays to plan my upcoming week.  I call mine a "brain dump" because it allows for me to get it out of my head and dump it somewhere to re-visit and plug into my week.   I basically take all of these actions and prioritize them when I'm weekly planning and then label them for which day I'd like to do them.  I then put them in my planner (I'll show you that later)

from 'A Bowl Full of Lemons'

She uses a lot of printables from 'Clean Mama' and her etsy shop.  You can find them here.  Or you can be creative (I mean cheap) like me and make your own and adapt them to your needs.

And this one from 'Crystal Wilkerson' has some goal setting, personal development, and inspirational pages built in.  Great idea, but not where I am right now.  I use my planner for this... again, I'll show you later.

And lastly, here are some links to other fabulous FREE printables that you might find useful in your binder...

Grocery Checklist from 'Everything Mom'

Vacation Prep Checklist from 'Everything Mom'

There are a TON of other helpful printables on this site!

Babysitter Information from 'Life Your Way'

And check out 'Mommy Tracked' for some really fun printables.  I love this one...

The "EAT SHEET" for menu planning.

And lastly,

Cleaning Routines from 'Sunla Designs'

As promised....finally, right?

The other item I CANNOT live without is my planner.  I have tried so many different ones over the years and think I've finally found THE one.  I've also tried to only use the one on my phone to no avail.  I know it would be easier to carry, but I need the actual planner in front of me.  I do use my phone to schedule thing while I'm out, but then I have to come home and transfer it to my planner.  Here is my planner and I ADORE it...

You can find them here.  They are not cheap, but have SO many great features!  And I want to preface this by saying that I am not being paid to say this...I'm just in LOVE!

So not only is it pretty.... but so useful.   It has tons of great features. Including:

BOTH...month at a glance AND week at a glance...

Month at a glance...

Week at a glance...

Here is a week at a glance in my crazy December...if it were not for this planner and my pencil...I would NEVER HAVE SURVIVED!  Here is where I plug in all of my weekly to-do's from my Sunday planning.  As I mentioned earlier, I put all of my thoughts on paper throughout the week on what I need to do and then prioritize them once a week and transfer to my planner.

On the back of the monthly page, she has put a blank page with some inspirational quote or words to give space for free thought....

Some other great features are....

A place for all of our important dates...

Stickers to use within the calendar to mark special dates...

And two great pockets in the back for keeping all of your loose items...

And that my friends....wraps up the first post in the series...

OPERATION

O r G a N i Z a T i O n

I will be sharing a ton more ideas and again, please take what you want from it.   Remember to only bite off what you can reasonably handle.  I do think starting with a family/home management/life (whatever you want to call it) binder is a great place to start.  If you do nothing further, at least you'll know where to go when you do decide to go further.

Poshed Up