Thursday, May 12, 2011
My Recipe Binder
Over at I Heart Organizing they're showing off recipe binders, so I thought I would show off mine ;0) So, here it is!
I just used some scrap book paper and my printer to make the cover. I got the stand at the Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, $1.00! I like having it on the stand because it's easier to read while I'm cooking.
Inside, there is a pocket for recipes I want to try, and printed on pretty paper and hole punched are the tried and true, family favorites! Again I just glued scrapbook paper in to make it pretty.
And here's what it looks like opened up and ready for cooking!
Thrift Store Finds
Sooo, last weekend I was itching to spend some money that we didn't have, so I headed to my Goodwill. I LOOOVE Goodwill! I spent a whopping $5.48, and this is the treasure I brought home!
First, I got this cute shelf/ coat hook/ picture frame thing. The colors looked more like it was made for a nursery, but I wanted to use it in our master bathroom which has more of a beachy feel. I forgot to take a before picture. So here is a "during" picture, I had put one coat of paint on. You can see a little bit of the old colors. The knobs were a pastel yellow and one frame was baby blue and one a pastel green.
And the glorious after....
Don't mind the hideous paint on the walls, it was this way when I moved in and I haven't gotten around to changing it ;0)
Next up, I picked up this ugly thing...
Don't leave yet lol. I wasn't sure what I would use it for, but I always need shelves. I planned on finding a paint that would work on plastic and paint it white, but a light bulb went off before I could... The shelf under my sink broke recently, and so it's a complete mess under there! It fit perfectly!
No need to paint if it's hidden, right!? Well, I might paint it later, but for now it's serving it's purpose. Now my rags, foil and bags and puppy stuff is neatly under my sink.
Have you found any great thrift store finds lately?
First, I got this cute shelf/ coat hook/ picture frame thing. The colors looked more like it was made for a nursery, but I wanted to use it in our master bathroom which has more of a beachy feel. I forgot to take a before picture. So here is a "during" picture, I had put one coat of paint on. You can see a little bit of the old colors. The knobs were a pastel yellow and one frame was baby blue and one a pastel green.
Next up, I picked up this ugly thing...
Have you found any great thrift store finds lately?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Delicious Leftovers!
So Monday night we had my new favorite meal, thanks to Mommyhatescooking. It's just this amazingly simple and delicious chili recipe! We had it served with shredded cheese and Frito's on top, yuuuummy!
So last night we had a little leftover, not enough to make 3-way Chili which is also delicious. Then I see the hot dogs in the fridge I got on sale last week and kazaam! Chili dogs, seasoned potatoes and corn on the cob! Easy quick dinner. We topped the hot dogs with a little ketchup, mustard, chili, and shredded cheese. It was absolutely the BEST! Usually Hubby rolls his eyes when he sees hot dogs boiling, that means I forgot about dinner and needed something fast. Not this time! Yum, Yum, Yum ....
So last night we had a little leftover, not enough to make 3-way Chili which is also delicious. Then I see the hot dogs in the fridge I got on sale last week and kazaam! Chili dogs, seasoned potatoes and corn on the cob! Easy quick dinner. We topped the hot dogs with a little ketchup, mustard, chili, and shredded cheese. It was absolutely the BEST! Usually Hubby rolls his eyes when he sees hot dogs boiling, that means I forgot about dinner and needed something fast. Not this time! Yum, Yum, Yum ....
So Exciting!
So, yesterday was my first day in blog world. I was very tempted not to tell Hubby about my new adventure because I never finish what I start, but I can never keep anything from him for very long hehe. To my surprise I didn't get " sigh. Ok, sounds good honey. (mumble) We'll see how long this one lasts..." I got, instead, questions and interest! My brilliant husband even gave some great advice! Not to mention the wonderful pointers I got on Blogger and Blogfrog! Needless to say I am very excited to get started and have so many ideas to write about!
First though, I need to finish my "to be continued" post from yesterday.
Aha Moment #2
We've all heard and we never listen... Make your bed every morning! I know what you're thinking because I always thought the same thing. "Who care if my bed is made when the rest of the room is a disaster!?" You've got to try it, it really does work! It changes the look of the room sooo much. Suddenly all that mess doesn't look so bad when the biggest piece of furniture in the room is all tidy. It motivates you to pick up, not to mention how good it feels to slip into a made bed with fluffed pillows each night. This doesn't just mean your bed either. If your kids are old enough, make sure they make their bed before school. If they're not, make a point to at least check their bed each day. There's nothing worse that trying to put a grumpy toddler to bed only to find they spilled their drink all over their sheets the night before! I make my every morning before waking the kids up, and check the kid's beds when I get home from dropping of my oldest at school. It takes less that five minutes and kicks off my day in a good way!
Aha Moment #3
The kitchen is the heart of the home. I tried Flylady quite a few times. It's just too overwhelming for me, but she does have some great ideas. She is very big on "shining your sink" and keeping it clear. It is the first "baby step" in her program, therefore I've tried it a gazillion times ;0) It became habit to always have a clean dish rag folded by my sink, and after I'm done with dishes to dry off the sink. Every day I do it, and everyday it makes me smile.
One day I was determined to keep my kitchen clean all day long so there wasn't a mad dash at the end of the day. What I found was truly an Aha Moment! It didn't take very much to keep it clean! After breakfast take five minutes to pick up dishes and put them in the sink, wipe down the table, and clear your counters. THAT'S IT! Do this again after each meal and snack. Once ONE side of the sink is filled, do the dishes. Or, better yet, wash them as you use them! Before bed do a quick sweep of the floor and your done! Your kitchen is clean and tidy for the night and you'll wake up feeling ahead instead of behind. When the kitchen is clean, your whole house seems cleaner. Give it a try and see what happens!
Aha Moment #4
Find a laundry system that works for your home and family. There are so many ways to keep up with laundry. A load a day keeps chaos away. Do it all in one marathon to conserve energy. Whatever works. For me, it's a marathon every Saturday. I start with the boy's clothes. When they come out of the dryer I take them to the kitchen table to be folded. As I fold I sort. When I get done with the last load of the boy's, I put them in the basket and put them away. then it's on to Hubby's, same thing. Then mine. Sheets and other misc laundry gets done as needed throughout the week. It works for me. Find what works for you.
Aha Moment #5
If you see something out of place, pick it up! This one I'm still working on. It's hard. I'm a lazy person. when I make a bowl of cereal, the box is left on the counter and the bowl wherever I sat to eat it. BUT when I do follow my rule, it works. If you go into the bathroom and notice the trash is full, grab a grocery bag (keep some under the sink for easy access) change it and take the old bag with you back out to the trash. If you notice the kids spilled some milk while making a drink, grab a rag and wipe it up. It makes such a big difference. You would be so surprised at how much of your clutter could be prevented by picking up as you see it, suddenly that thirty minutes mad dash at the end of the day takes only ten minutes!
Aha Moment #6
Kids can clean too! Holy moly! I had no idea! hehe. The brilliant Hubby brought this to my attention, and boy, was he right! My oldest son is 5 and my baby is 1.5. My oldest is plenty old enough to pick up toys and put them away. Every time I clean up after a meal it is his job to pick up the living room. He's usually done before I am! My youngest, of course, isn't quite old enough to understand. But he does everything his bubba
Either way, kid's can help you out in many ways. Putting away their clothes ( I have labels on the drawers with pics of what goes in them to make it easier) Clearing the table after dinner (my oldest loves this job because he gets to spray the cleaner on the table) You'd be surprised at what they're able to do!
All of these Aha Moments really made a difference in my home. I don't feel overwhelmed when I look around anymore. My home is always ten minutes from company ready, and that eases my mind. Now I look forward to that unexpected doorbell!
What are some of your Aha Moments?
First though, I need to finish my "to be continued" post from yesterday.
Aha Moment #2
We've all heard and we never listen... Make your bed every morning! I know what you're thinking because I always thought the same thing. "Who care if my bed is made when the rest of the room is a disaster!?" You've got to try it, it really does work! It changes the look of the room sooo much. Suddenly all that mess doesn't look so bad when the biggest piece of furniture in the room is all tidy. It motivates you to pick up, not to mention how good it feels to slip into a made bed with fluffed pillows each night. This doesn't just mean your bed either. If your kids are old enough, make sure they make their bed before school. If they're not, make a point to at least check their bed each day. There's nothing worse that trying to put a grumpy toddler to bed only to find they spilled their drink all over their sheets the night before! I make my every morning before waking the kids up, and check the kid's beds when I get home from dropping of my oldest at school. It takes less that five minutes and kicks off my day in a good way!
Aha Moment #3
The kitchen is the heart of the home. I tried Flylady quite a few times. It's just too overwhelming for me, but she does have some great ideas. She is very big on "shining your sink" and keeping it clear. It is the first "baby step" in her program, therefore I've tried it a gazillion times ;0) It became habit to always have a clean dish rag folded by my sink, and after I'm done with dishes to dry off the sink. Every day I do it, and everyday it makes me smile.
One day I was determined to keep my kitchen clean all day long so there wasn't a mad dash at the end of the day. What I found was truly an Aha Moment! It didn't take very much to keep it clean! After breakfast take five minutes to pick up dishes and put them in the sink, wipe down the table, and clear your counters. THAT'S IT! Do this again after each meal and snack. Once ONE side of the sink is filled, do the dishes. Or, better yet, wash them as you use them! Before bed do a quick sweep of the floor and your done! Your kitchen is clean and tidy for the night and you'll wake up feeling ahead instead of behind. When the kitchen is clean, your whole house seems cleaner. Give it a try and see what happens!
Aha Moment #4
Find a laundry system that works for your home and family. There are so many ways to keep up with laundry. A load a day keeps chaos away. Do it all in one marathon to conserve energy. Whatever works. For me, it's a marathon every Saturday. I start with the boy's clothes. When they come out of the dryer I take them to the kitchen table to be folded. As I fold I sort. When I get done with the last load of the boy's, I put them in the basket and put them away. then it's on to Hubby's, same thing. Then mine. Sheets and other misc laundry gets done as needed throughout the week. It works for me. Find what works for you.
Aha Moment #5
If you see something out of place, pick it up! This one I'm still working on. It's hard. I'm a lazy person. when I make a bowl of cereal, the box is left on the counter and the bowl wherever I sat to eat it. BUT when I do follow my rule, it works. If you go into the bathroom and notice the trash is full, grab a grocery bag (keep some under the sink for easy access) change it and take the old bag with you back out to the trash. If you notice the kids spilled some milk while making a drink, grab a rag and wipe it up. It makes such a big difference. You would be so surprised at how much of your clutter could be prevented by picking up as you see it, suddenly that thirty minutes mad dash at the end of the day takes only ten minutes!
Aha Moment #6
Kids can clean too! Holy moly! I had no idea! hehe. The brilliant Hubby brought this to my attention, and boy, was he right! My oldest son is 5 and my baby is 1.5. My oldest is plenty old enough to pick up toys and put them away. Every time I clean up after a meal it is his job to pick up the living room. He's usually done before I am! My youngest, of course, isn't quite old enough to understand. But he does everything his bubba
Either way, kid's can help you out in many ways. Putting away their clothes ( I have labels on the drawers with pics of what goes in them to make it easier) Clearing the table after dinner (my oldest loves this job because he gets to spray the cleaner on the table) You'd be surprised at what they're able to do!
All of these Aha Moments really made a difference in my home. I don't feel overwhelmed when I look around anymore. My home is always ten minutes from company ready, and that eases my mind. Now I look forward to that unexpected doorbell!
What are some of your Aha Moments?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Aha Moments
Over the past few years I've been given a lot of (asked for) advice about keeping my house tidy. I know how to clean, I don't know how to KEEP it clean! I've scoured the internet and asked friends and family searching for this magical advice, but none of it helped. I felt like there was something wrong with me, like I was just born without the "tidy gene." I was able to keep my house clean with schedules and such, but it never lasted more that a week or two. It was always back to stuff everywhere EXCEPT where it belonged. Then... I had an "aha moment" where all of the advice fell into place and clicked, it all made sense FINALLY! Well, it was actually more like a bunch of aha moments all spread out, with a final aha that all that advice HAD worked! All of those little tid bits of advice I had read or heard were able to be used in my house and how our home runs, I just had to twirk it a little bit!
Aha Moment #1
My mom told me once that she picked out the things that bugged her husband the most and made those priorities. That way if you had a rough day and get nothing else done, at least those things get done and the hubster is happy.
At first, I thought well sheesh, this isn't going to work. My husband wants the whole house clean! But I started paying attention to what my husband would complain about and realized there really wasn't a whole lot he required to be happy.
-Toilet paper in the bathroom
-A clean towel
-Clean clothes where they're supposed to be
-Food for his belly
-A clean dish to eat off of
Sure enough, not only did he not complain about anything, I actually got compliments and thank you's! Something I really didn't expect was that it actually made me feel good to be able to do these small things for him. It's a way to make his evening a little more relaxing and show him that I appreciate all he does. Not to mention it honestly takes 5 minutes to do! Even if I have a bad day and I don't do dishes, I just make sure before dinner I wash everything he will need to eat. Or if I didn't fold his clothes and they're still in the dryer, I just lay them out for him while he's in the shower.
Now, this aha moment doesn't keep my house clean, but it keep my hubby happy, which makes me happy, which means that I'm not guilting myself to death and can actually think about getting something done!
Do you think this would work in your household? If so, what would your hubby's gotta have done list be?
Aha Moment #1
My mom told me once that she picked out the things that bugged her husband the most and made those priorities. That way if you had a rough day and get nothing else done, at least those things get done and the hubster is happy.
At first, I thought well sheesh, this isn't going to work. My husband wants the whole house clean! But I started paying attention to what my husband would complain about and realized there really wasn't a whole lot he required to be happy.
-Toilet paper in the bathroom
-A clean towel
-Clean clothes where they're supposed to be
-Food for his belly
-A clean dish to eat off of
Sure enough, not only did he not complain about anything, I actually got compliments and thank you's! Something I really didn't expect was that it actually made me feel good to be able to do these small things for him. It's a way to make his evening a little more relaxing and show him that I appreciate all he does. Not to mention it honestly takes 5 minutes to do! Even if I have a bad day and I don't do dishes, I just make sure before dinner I wash everything he will need to eat. Or if I didn't fold his clothes and they're still in the dryer, I just lay them out for him while he's in the shower.
Now, this aha moment doesn't keep my house clean, but it keep my hubby happy, which makes me happy, which means that I'm not guilting myself to death and can actually think about getting something done!
Do you think this would work in your household? If so, what would your hubby's gotta have done list be?
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