Organizing Friday {Week 3}

Last week was HARD! But I am amazed at how messy and unorganized it all was!

After taking care of all of the drawers and cupboards I actually have a whole empty cupboard and 2 empty drawers! What?!

Here are the after pictures, it's still ugly and unpainted and not any different on that aspect.  The good news is hubby got to replace the ugly old pipes under the sink. Bad news? It didn't fix the kitchen drain issue we were having, so we won't be doing anything fun in there for a while. Plumbers are spendy!

Can't wait to move the microwave OFF the counter!

No idea what I will eventually use this for.

Or this one!

This is my favorite drawer! My coffee drawer!

This week is Pantry and Food Storage. If I was being smart I would have looked ahead I wouldn't have spent the little time I did on that, last week. Should make this week easy though!

We have a tiny pantry compared to what we used to have. Still adjusting and not over buying at the grocery store has been a HUGE challenge.  It doesn't look so bad right now. Not that it looks good, cause I know it doesn't!

I really want to make it pretty and practical! That's a hard combo with grubby handed kids 😐

Organizing Friday Week 2

I'm Following along with the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge.

Last week was sink and counters! Got that done but I'm a little, no scratch that, a lot scared of this week!  

Here are my before and after from last week. 

And After

Eventually we will get those wires taken care of and move the microwave in here. It's on the LONG list of things to do. But it hasn't been a priority yet.

Under the sink is much better too, we didn't redo the pipes yet but the pink stuff is gone and so are the spiders!

I grabbed a basket that will fit under here for recycling, instead of using the counter top. And the little tin is the perfect size for corralling dishwasher tabs, sponges and dish soap.

This week is kitchen cabinets and drawers.
Ours have really been abused since we moved in. Moving stuff here and there while we sand/paint etc. You get the point, it's a disaster!

Just a few of them. Some are worse than others.

It's going to take me all day today and probably a little of my free time next week to finish this up.

Let's see yours! Drawers and Cabinets take a lot of work to keep up! 

Any amazing tricks for keeping them organized?

{Fresh} Morning Routine Part 4

Ya know who else needs a routine? Kids! 

I can tell you first hand that when we don't have one going on, life is rough in the mornings!

Some things we do here that aren't actually part of our morning routine..

~ Here the kids have a few things they can do at night to make the morning smoother.

Backpacks, outfits and lunch can all be prepped the night before.

~Streamline necessities in the morning with baskets!

We have (and love) our Good Morning Basket

Gloves and umbrellas are all in 1 basket, so no hunting for them.

I think a visual checklist of some sort helps kids stay on task, which will help you! Less time

directing, more time doing what needs to be done.

We have used these CHORE PACKS for years now. They are going to be getting and overhaul soon!

How do your kids do mornings?

52 Weeks to an Organized Home

 In an effort to find a FRESH way to organize our home, I am letting someone else make the list!

This year I am Following Home Storage Solutions list, you can find it here.  

Some of the weeks won't apply to me but I'm sure I will have other things to do still. 

The first week is Kitchen Counters and Sink!

This one I can totally do! Although under the sink at our house is scary to me.  We haven't redone the pipes under there, there is still some 1970's contact paper and I am sure some spiders! 

I don't know that I will be doing under the sink. But I might see if I can convince hubby to haha.

Here is our before, just after breakfast today. Yowza.  It's not pretty. We have cabinet doors off that are being sanded so we can paint.

There totally is a spider! Ick!

So today this is what I am working on for Organizing Friday!

Are you following a plan for organizing this year? Just winging it? Want to join me in this one?!

I am always looking for other ideas on how to organize!

Instagram looks like there are a few before and afters with #52weekhomeorganizedchallenge

Oil Pulling Newbie

I've been reading SO much about Oil Pulling and all the benefits of it but was a little hesitant to try it. It sounds a bit on the gross side and not super convenient to do.  

After seeing what I had in my stash, I decided to try and make some pre-measured oils and that would make the only reason I hadn't tried it the gross factor. 

I am ordering this tray because it does a lot! And I have some homemade gummy elderberry attempts coming up too!

I mixed my coconut oil with a few drops of essential oil. Peppermint and Clove (individually, not together) poured them in the molds and let them set then I moved them to an airtight container. I started with a little less than most sites recommend because I don't know that I could do that much to start with.

With 6 of us there is pretty much a guarantee that someone will have some ailment, rash, condition that we could work on with natural options. I feel like that could be a full time job if I let it.  Starting with this and seeing if I notice a difference before jumping into the next thing.

Have you tried oil pulling? Any other natural remedy you swear by?

Better than Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

Nothing like ruining week old resolutions! I promise these are worth it! 

SO good! No Bake, So Fast and Easy!

Ingredients

~2 packages (about 2C crushed Graham Crackers)

~1/2C Ground Regular Oats, or oat flour

~1C Melted Butter

~2C Powdered Sugar

~1 1/4C Peanut Butter

~2 C Chocolate Chips (I prefer semi sweet)

Directions

I just throw the graham crackers and oats in the blender/food processor and grind them up together.

While that is working, I line a 9x13 cookie sheet with foil.

 

Once the graham crackers and oats are ground together, add the butter, powdered sugar and peanut butter. Let that all blend together. Then spread the PB mix on the cookie sheet as even as you can. 

I spray my spatula with cooking spray first.

Then melt the chocolate chips and spread it over the peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 3 hours! Then if you want nice edges, leave them out for 20 minutes or so and cute with a pizza cutter. If you don't care how it breaks up, cut it right away.  I cut them and then put them back in the fridge. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, if they make it that long.  They don't here!

{Fresh} Morning Routine Part 3

It starts the night before!

Remember, big things first! So what needs to be done at night for you to have a GOOD morning?

Write it down! Make a quick night routine. It doesn't have to be detailed or complicated! Maybe you don't even need a list, just set a time for 15-20 minutes and do what is most important to you that day.

Mine looks like this:

Tidy, because waking up to a mess bugs me.

Clothes, choose and lay them out. Including workout stuff
Breakfast Prep
Check Planner/ To do list

Prep Coffee (A MUST!)
Write in kids books (more on this soon)
Load Laundry, or at least have a load ready
Pack Lunches

Not always in that order, but usually.

The most important thing about nights?

~Go to bed on time, I swear I get days behind if I stay up even a little late.

It really doesn't have to be super detailed or long and drawn out. Just enough to make your mornings and the start of your day the best they can be!

{Fresh} Morning Routine Part 2

Rise and SHINE 

I don't care how EFFECTIVE your routine is, or how many things you can cram into the time you set for yourself, if you are miserable doing it, then it's just not right.

 2 hours is what I can do in the morning. Most mornings our kids catch the bus right after 7 so getting up at 5 would be my 2 hours. This won't be the same for everyone, I am not saying you have to get up at 5. You decide how much time you need in the morning.

Maybe you aren't naturally a morning person? I am, a little.  I find that music in the morning helps me get going as does getting enough sleep (or as close as I can).

I don't know if there is any 1 way to make it work but these are some tips that I either use, or have used in the past and worked overall, maybe some will work for you too!

~Give yourself some grace. Every morning isn't going to go well, but don't give up!

Waking up early is HARD!

 ~Important things first. Prioritize your time. What is important to you will likely be different than what's important to others. Make this YOUR thing :) Getting those important things done first helps set the tone for a productive morning.

 ~I talked about enjoying the morning, not always easy I know. Try candles, diffuse some oil, good music, maybe a splurge type coffee creamer, open those curtains or get ready for the day first thing. I feel better if I'm put together. Do something that makes YOU feel accomplished or is a stress for you, pay bills, balance the checkbook and get it over with.

~Get up before your kids! This is no secret to getting stuff done in the morning. However, at our house it's also not really possible. So don't scrap the early bird stuff just because your kids get up early too! We implement quiet time in bedrooms, or getting dressed etc (more coming soon). that way I still have a teeny tiny bit of alone time. 

What are 1 or 2  things you do in the morning to feel good?

{Fresh} Morning Routine

For sure my morning routine is NOT Fresh and hasn't been working for months,
maybe even a whole year or more! 

I've shared about mornings and how we do them. Except that was 2 houses and a baby ago. We really needed an overhaul. January is the perfect time. If I can get up when it's freezing  and dark out then it will just get easier as the mornings get lighter and warmer. Not sure how much it will change from what we were doing before, but we did have some changes that require some altering of our routine.

Quick list of reasons WHY we do morning routines. Key word is routine, not schedule!

 ~We have 4 kids
~Not a fan of being late

~My Sanity

~Calm and Happy Mornings

No one likes mornings where we are frazzled, stressed and rushing. Routines help me to make our mornings productive and peaceful.

I don't want it to come across as a mission to get MORE done,
but a mission to get what needs to be done, done BETTER.

How long does a routine take? Depends on what YOU choose! Super basic could be 20 minutes. I am going to give it 2 hours every morning and be intentional with every minute of it.

Just dedicating those 2 hours gives the rest of my day a super start. I get more done and feel better about things.

I can't tell you how much easier it is if you ENJOY your routine. 
If you hate what you do every morning, that is just going to be ROUGH! Mornings set the tone for the entire day. I have to constantly choose to be happy and thankful that I can do all this stuff and it makes the whole day better. I will share some more ideas about making it enjoyable soon.

  Part 1. What do I want to accomplish before the day really starts?

Knowing what I want/need to get done will help me make a plan. You in? What do you want your mornings to look like?
Part 2. Rise And SHINE
How I make mornings shine (as best I can)

Part 3. Night Prep
Make the most of your night to make your mornings work

Part 4. Kids Routine
Help to make their morning run smooth too!