summer list

For some reason I just haven't felt as productive this summer as I have in past summers.  Maybe it's because my list was more daunting due to getting the nursery ready.  Maybe it was just being tired a lot of days.  I don't know...and I don't like to make excuses.  However, I had a great moment today!

This great moment was when I found my list of to-dos I had made at the end of the school year for what I wanted to get accomplished over the summer (some projects, of course, involved Justin's help big-time).  I made some lofty goals and just got everything I could think of off my mind and onto this list.  I was so excited today to pull this list out (yes, I hadn't even looked at it this summer after I made it) and found that I was able to cross off and/or label most things as "in progress".  Here's what is looks like on what is my last official day of summer vacation.  Overall, I'm pleased with what I have accomplished because on days I wasn't doing something off this list, I was either traveling or spending quality time with special people in my life.

blurry iPhone pic

*crossed out=accomplished
*bold=in progress
*italics=see note about how I changed my mind on this

• exercise 3-4 times a week
• daily quiet time
• get nursery ready:  paintings, find fabric, sew curtains/bed-skirt, wainscoting for wall
• register
• clean out office
• clean/organize basement
• find new recipes to try
• make things for Etsy-changed my mind on putting time into this right now
• organize photos/back-up on CDs
• read books
• have a yard sale-scheduled for end of August
• organize kitchen cabinets
• bathroom (turn into shower)
• organize bathroom cabinets
• get office set-up in extra bedroom
• find extra kitchen chairs
• find chairs for living room
• find table crates for supplies in classroom-decided to go with individual supplies again to promote responsibility instead of having table/community supplies in the classroom
• help mom organize her office-she got industrious and did this one on her own...I worked on cleaning my old bedroom out more and organizing that for her instead
• research a business adventure-changed my mind a bit on this, but have another idea up my sleeve!-I will share as it becomes more pulled together :)
• Ebay work for Mom & Dad

Things accomplished I didn't put on the list:

• found some awesome bargains on nursery furniture (changing table and glider)
• got involved in a Bible Study at church that I really enjoyed
• classroom was pulled together in less than two days! (thanks to the hubby for his amazing help!)
• Justin got three huge trees cut down in our backyard with his dad's help (they were a little too close to the house for comfort)
• Adeline's closet is cleaned out and organized
• sketched out my plan for decorating the nursery (huge deal to this visual gal)
• cleaned out my closet and Justin's again to get rid of gobs more clothes
• sold books on Amazon
• pulled together a blog that our church family loved for our Youth Mission Trip
• DIYed some flip flops
• traveled to Cincinnati, Nashville, Hartselle, Alabama, and Fort Myers, Florida
• researched cloth diapers a ton and decided on the ones we will use
• got my first two weeks of school planned, including all of our Open House night things

I'm sure there's more...this is just what came to my mind right off. 

Whew, that feels good! :)

photo book love

If you remember back in October, hubby and I took a vacay to Disney World.  Amazing. 

What was so fun when we got home was to document the trip by making a photo book from Shutterfly! You can find the post about our photo book here.

I'm crazy about memories.  I love taking pictures.  What I don't love is going to get gobs of photos printed out and have them hang out in the closet forever as I promise that one day I will put them in an album.  It just doesn't happen.  Photo books are perfection when it comes to dealing with this issue.  They wrap all the memories and photos up into one neatly organized book.  Our stack of them started with this book and you better believe that with a baby on the way, the stack will only continue to grow! My next photo book adventure--pregnancy!

I take it upon myself to be the "memory keeper" of our family.  It just fits my personality and my new upcoming role as momma.  It's a big role to take on, but one I do gladly in order to preserve the precious moments I have with my sweet family and friends.

Shutterfly has gobs of options to help with this and I have quickly grown to love Shutterfly over the past year that I have been using them!

I've made photo cards that the recipients have gone crazy over!

I got a fabulous deal on our Christmas cards that I was so happy with!

I just recently, I created some thank-you cards for shower gifts using Adeline's pictures from our ultrasounds that I can't wait to see how they turned out! (Thanks, Ashleigh, for the great idea!)

And I can't wait to create our sweet Adeline's birth announcements on Shutterfly when she makes her debut this Fall!

How have you used Shutterfly?

I wrote this post to promote Shutterfly's photo cards in exchange for a free photo book.  But I would praise them anyway, because I just like 'em! ;)

sentimental much?

I'm such a sentimental person.  I cherish and adore memories.  I love to capture moments and hold onto things that I can look back on and say, "Oh..remember when?" I'm pretty sure I can thank my mom for this (Hi, Mom! It's not a bad thing.) So with our most recent vacation to Disney we have started a couple traditions to capture vacation memories.

Our first new tradition is making a photo book of our vacation photos instead of developing the pictures in a set.  This way we will have photo books to look at and all the photos are in one place.  Bonus...I don't have to fill an album and I was able to add captions.  (Easy scrapbooking in my opinion!) I used Walgreens.  However, I know there are many other options...such as Shutterfly and Costco.

 

A second tradition we have started was something I saw on Younghouselove.  The idea is to send yourself a postcard when you are on vacation.  You can add information like where you stayed, your favorite places to visit, favorite restaurants, and anything else you want to look back on and remember.  Except we tweaked this a bit. To save ourselves the postage, we just bought the post card and then filled it out when we got home.  It was a fun way to talk about the trip and reminisce.  We are keeping these in a great little green trunk I found at Homegoods.

Can't wait to add to our collection! How do you preserve vacation memories?

storage DIY

We have this little nook between our living room and kitchen that is a perfect spot for this chrome shelving we bought from Target.  However, it stands out as an eyesore when it stashes our soft drinks and Justin's lunchbox.  So a three-day weekend this past weekend led to a DIY project with some materials I had around the house.

Remember my DIY curtain project I posted about here? I had some canvas material left over and thought it would make the perfect material to create panels that would cover the bottom of the shelving.

The materials:  canvas material, velcro, Heat-n-Bond, measurements, and an iron.  I talked about the amazing Heat-n-Bond in my curtain post mentioned above.  It's simply wonderful! (Especially to those of you a little timid to sew like I am.)

I cut my three panels (one for the front of the shelves and one for each end) and then hemmed them using the Heat-n-Bond.

Next, I added the material to each of the three sides (adhesive side down).

And mid-project I discovered that my awesome velcro found on clearance at Wal-Mart only had one adhesive side (boo) which meant I would have to sew the velcro onto the panels.  Um, nope.  And since I am one that is a little OCD and must have a project completed once I start it (really, it drives me crazy to leave something unfinished), I found fabric glue in our office and glued the velcro to the panels.  (Adhesive would have worked better, but this worked well enough.)

And, finished.  (The wrinkles will fall out...they did beautifully in my curtains.)  I love how this pulls the little nook together, hides the uglies underneath, and allows us to conveniently lift each panel to pull out what we need from the shelf.

So how have you gotten clever with DIY storage in your house? Do share...I'm always up for another project idea!

dirty word

Cleaning.  Yep, I don't like it.  I really don't mind "picking up" and putting things in their correct place (well pretty much...I do get a little tired of hubby's dirty socks and I try my hardest not to pick those up and let him do that dirty work.)  And I really enjoy organizing.  It's such a great feeling to have things in their places and organized.  However, cleaning is something that really is a chore for me.  Literally.  With the busyness of starting school again, I thought I would come up with a little cleaning schedule to keep me on track.  Dorky? Maybe.  Type A tendencies? That's me! (I am a teacher after all.)  But I'm okay with dorky and being type A if it means I can break this task into small parts and make it feasible so dog hair and dust don't consume our home.  I've learned that breaking big tasks down like this into smaller tasks is a must-do in order to not get overwhelmed.  And I'm all about remaining stress-free.  Here's my schedule...now let's just hope I stick to it!

Monday:  Nothing (Mondays are bad enough)
Tuesday:  Dusting
Wednesday: Floors (vacuuming, dusting and shining hardwood floors, using Swifter on tile)
Thursday:  Bathrooms
Friday/Saturday:  Laundry

So what about you? How do you make sure to get all the cleaning completed? Are you on a schedule yourself or do you think I'm pretty crazy? Or maybe you just want to get it off your chest that you really don't do the whole cleaning thing and prefer having time over having a clean floor.  You can be honest.  I won't judge.

timely tips

Our household is totally "out of whack" right now.  Between our normal daily working routines, Justin mowing some lawns with his friend after work, and me in my second week of my first masters classes that is four nights a week, we're a little busy, busy. 

Making lunches is something we do nightly.  We both take our lunches every day, and now I'm packing snacks to get me through my night class so I don't starve to death.  Okay, so maybe that won't really happen...but I feel like it at least going nonstop like I am.  I thought I would share a few simple, yet crucial steps to lunch making that is helping me keep my sanity.  Yet again, I'm thinking God is using a time like this to prep me for kiddo years because I'm sure my "busy" is nothing right now compared to what it will be at that point in life.  (Am I hearing an "amen" from you busy mommas out there?!)

Tip 1:  Pre-package chips, crackers, etc. on Sunday night for the entire week.  This way they are easy to grab each evening when you're putting lunches together.

Tip 2:  Make your own fruit cups....save money and time.  I used to buy the fruit cups already created, but now I'm buying cans of fruit and big jars of apple sauce.  I divvy out the daily servings into tupperware containers and they're ready to go.  (You pay over $2 for 4 fruit cups while you pay maybe a little over a $1 for a can of fruit that will easily make four fruit cups.)

Tip 3:  Make the lunches ready to grab in the morning.  We have a designated spot in our refrigerator where we put all of our cold items together and then a place on the counter for our non-refrigerated items.  That way, they're ready to pack in the morning.  This especially works well for Justin, because he packs a cooler with ice for his drinks and lunch since he works outside.

Nothing earth shattering...but completely helpful, time-saving, and sanity-saving for us right now.  I would love to hear your lunch prep tips! What keeps you sane in your "must do" day-to-day routines?

p.s.  happy 100th post to theblessedlife!! blessings to you sweet readers and followers.  I adore and appreciate your support and bloggy love.  My prayer is that the next 100 posts touch your heart in one way or another just as hopefully the first 100 have.

the decluttering and organizing bug returns!

Well I recently posted here in January that I caught the "decluttering bug"....well it has hit again! I think part of the reason is that it looks like this out my backdoor....

And I am indoors due to snow day numero dos (that's two snow days in a row for the second time this year). Who's complaining though? Not me!

So in the previous decluttering bug post I opened my Tupperware cabinet doors and let you peek inside.  Today...I am going to let you peek into another insanely cluttered part of my kitchen....underneath the kitchen sink. Gross.

Go ahead gawk at it.....

Nasty, disgusting, completely inconvenient....and even a budget hog due to me having NO idea what all I actually had in there.

Check out what all I pulled out of this cabinet.

All of this....

And this...

And even this....

Haha, can you believe that?! I really should be ashamed! (I promise I had good intentions with the recyclables......they were going to be used for a measurement unit in math....)

So the hubby and I took a trip to good ol' Wal-Mart today and found a nice little cheap contraption to help with my decluttering "project" for just around $6.

Can you hear the organizing angels singing?! :)

I threw gobs of things away, pulled out nasty cleaning rags that could have easily been in there since we cleaned when moving into this little bungalow about a year and half ago, and I also compiled things.

Items like these Cascade dish detergent packs needed to be compiled.

Wahla! (Only one bag to fit back underneath the sink.)

I threw out a whole garbage bag worth of junk and took the potting soil and potting shovel (yes they were under there too) down to the basement:

And then I even found I had two of some items that I had no idea about....and even some great scrubbing pads that the cluttered cabinet ate and I obviously completely forgot about. (One of the main reasons to declutter and organize.  If you don't know what you have....you will buy another one....and of course spend more money from the budget that you didn't even need to.)

So finally after all my hard work (really to those of you who are timid about decluttering and organizing...this only took me about 15 minutes) here is the newly decluttered and organized under-sink cabinet.....

Closer looks:

There is a method to my organizing and decluttering madness, too! Dish detergent directly next to the dishwasher, boxes turned to where I can get the contents out of them without even removing them from the cabinet, bug spray hidden in the back (away from Boonie's snooping nose), and there are even some "spring" items for our backporch (such as a citronella candle and hummingbird feeder mix hidden in the back for when Spring finally decides to come around).

I hope the bug will spread to you! Just think....it may make you clean more often!

haha...Atleast that's my personal goal for this lovely little newly-organized cabinet!

blessings, Cait

it's the little things

I went through two HUGE changes my first year of marriage.  Number one...getting used to living in a new home (I still say that was a bigger transition than actually transitioning into marriage) and Number Two....getting used to "living" in a classroom.  Now I use the quotes for "living" in the classroom...however, for you teacher people out there...you know just as well as I do that you really could live there if you allowed yourself.  Well, by no means am I queen of keeping this house perfectly organized nor am I a master of a perfectly organized classroom.  However, I have found some things that just work for me.  They are the little things that make my life just a tad bit easier both at home and at school. These are the little things that keep my life less cluttered and allow for a little bitty breath of fresh air throughout my day.  (Thanks to my lovely teacher friend whose recent blog post reminded me to share my strengths and ideas with others....not to keep them to myself.)  So here goes....the little things that make my life easier.  Hope you can find a glimpse of decluttering inspiration!

At home...

I'm a tad basket crazy...

This basket sits on our table in the foyer.  It houses keys, an umbrella, sunglasses, etc.  (All the junk you need when heading out the door that I can't stand having sitting on tables around the house.)

Oh, I love this one! These are great post-it pockets that you can buy anywhere that has post-it notes.  It sticks to the fridge and is the home to all of our bills that are due or things that need to be mailed.

We have a very small section of our kitchen countertops between our sink and the wall going into the kitchen.  I never prepare food here, so we have this great organizer I snatched up at TJ Maxx that holds grocery ads, gum, pizza coupons, carry-out menus, etc.  I declutter it about once a month.  (Again...it keeps stuff off the countertops and hidden away!)

In the classrom...

(You'll notice there are quite a few more "little things" that keep me sane in the classroom.  After all, I do have 21 busy-bodies to keep in line all day.)

Snagged this up at Goodwill in my pre-teacher days.  This sits right next to my desk and the kiddos empty their "Take-Home" folders into the designated bins each morning.  (Notes for me, homework, and returned papers.)

Yes, simple idea I know.  But hey, as a first year teacher last year...I had to learn this trick! (Finished/Not Finished.)  The kids know exactly where to place their papers as they finish work.  (This holds me accountable that I don't let too many papers pile up...which is oh so tempting to do.)

So we have these big ol' honkin "lecture" carts that I guess some teachers would use to teach from.  Just not at our school.  Definitely not my "teaching style".  So I placed that eye-sore right behind my desk and put it to work.  There is a drawer for items for each day of the week...copies, manipulatives needed, science materials, etc.  There is a bottom drawer that houses materials for my volunteers that come in.  My volunteers know to go directly to that drawer to find the things they need when they come in to help.  This works perfectly.  Maybe not the prettiest....but it works.  (The top holds my overhead projector and my anecdotal notebooks, gradebook, clipboard, etc.)  If you are lucky enough not to have this monster to house in your classroom...you could easily do this with two of the 3-drawer Rubbermaid containers.

Can't say I came up with this.  My teaching partner from last year taught me this cute trick.  A simple file folder that sits at an absent student's desk.  As papers are passed out, they go straight into the folder.

Alright, I'm going to be honest.  These lovely mailboxes are expensive....especially on a teacher's budget.  However, I have learned that teachers are by-far the most resourceful and sharing people on this planet.  Someone didn't want this at the end of last year....it was looking for a good home (or the dumpster).  I saved this little mailbox's life.  One mailbox for each student.  (This is where I breathe a sigh of relief.)  Need to know who didn't pick up their homework? A quick glance tells me. 

(Each of my students has a number 1-21 and their number labels their mailbox.  If you don't have a system like this in place in your classroom....do it!)  The top basket holds our "Wednesday Folders"...the folders that go home from the school each Wednesday. (Hint to snag the "good stuff"....ask around! Be there when teachers are cleaning out their classroom or moving in at the end of summer.  Or...email or ask around and simply ask people if they have things they don't want.  I've also learned a lot of teachers are closet "hoarders". hehe.)

You clean-freak people are fidgeting in your seats.  I'm okay with that.  Kids aren't clean. Period.  So this looks a little messy.  Again, I'm okay with that.  This is on our whiteboard when you walk into the classroom.  Each kiddo has a popsicle stick with their name on it in the bucket. (Bucket compliments of the Target dollar aisle, heck yes.) They place their stick in their lunch choice each morning.  (This also serves as a quick "who is absent" check in the morning.)

This is my job list system.  Simply place velcrow on the door and velcrow on each crayon.  I rotate these each week.  It's that simple.

This is just a little something extra.  It is an extra bookshelf that gasp I don't use for books.  Now don't freak out.  My students have huge access to books in my classroom. I just don't use this shelf because I use those annoying wire shelvings that can make anyone go crazy.  (I didn't say I'm perfect...because those definitely don't allow for library perfection.)  The clear bins hold Science and Math notebooks because there isn't enough room in their cubbies.  (I have a "Tub Master" that hands out the notebooks before the mini-lesson.  Right now you are picturing arms swinging, notebooks flying and kids crying. No worries.  I model and teach them the system at the beginning of the year...so they handle this just fine!)  The red canvas boxes hold paper towels and Clorox wipes in one and a hand sweeper in the other.

This sits on my desk all day.  I throw papers in that I need to copy quickly after school.  Works like a charm for me.

So there you have it.  A few "little" things that seem so simple, yet they make my life so much easier.  Like them? Use them! Don't like them? Let me know what works better for you! I'm always up for some new ideas to organize!

decluttering bug

I have the decluttering and organizing bug. 

When I get in this mood....I better utilize it! I love to organize and declutter, but the truth is...I'm not always in the mood.  (Especially in this cold weather when I just want to be a couch potato.) Well the bug hit....one, because the winter weather pretty much traps you in your home with a deathgrip and two, I get inspired by lovely bloggers that I find in this world of blogging.  (Bless you, ladies!) So I did the big project a few weeks ago....the hubby's closet.  (Boo me for not taking a before picture.)  The "after" is still evident.  You'll just have to take my word on this one.  I am thinking positive on this one but my unorganized free-organizational-spirit husband doesn't always keep a space decluttered.  So get excited...you may just get a glimpse into that closet before and after...um...let's say this spring or summer.  (I think he can keep it clean...I think he can keep it clean...)

Now onto the little projects that may seem so silly and trivial to you....but they were driving me crazy! These little projects are three cabinet spaces in our kitchen.  Blah.  You know how you sometimes have to "learn to love" something....well that's me with our kitchen cabinets.  I am grateful for what we have...but it takes creativity to make it work! :)

This is our lovely top cabinet over our awkwardly tall cabinet space that we use as our "pantry".  This houses our lunchboxes, bulk bags of chips (Side note...I'm not a "bulk" shopper, but they were cheaper unit-price wise this week at the grocery store...hint, hint), our George Foreman, tea maker, grill tools, etc.  I look at this and cringe.

Before

After

(Not perfect to you organizing queens...but this works great for us.  Accessible and simple.)

Tupperware......

Really?! I let it get to this?!

(please don't tell Martha Stewart)

Before

After

I matched lids to bottoms, recycled the oddballs, and as you can tell, moved the contents to one of our big drawers.  Ahhh.  I can breath easier...this makes so much more sense in our kitchen.

Where the tupperware was now holds oven mits, new sponges and napkin rings (in the white basket), and my aprons.  (Again, it makes sense.  Oven mits directly next to the oven.  Duh, Cait.)

So no longer can my hubby sit in the living room and crack up as he hears me saying some unpleasant words to the tupperware as they topple out of the cabinet and I shove them back in with one hand while closing the door with the other.  Oh darn.

So there you go....hopefully I'm spreading the decluttering bug to you.  Start little....it'll make your progress so much more rewarding as the projects snowball....(like that Dave Ramsey talk?) 

....Now what else can I declutter and organize?

____________________________________________

p.s.  I moved my 2010 coupon savings running total to my sidebar.  Follow me through the year as I pinch pennies with coupons.  Call me a nerd if you want to...but it's so much fun.  Hope it will inpsire you!