Organization: a new resource inspires me to organize my way

Today I cleaned, cleaned more and then continue to clean. I like having a clean, organized, clutter free home. Unfortunately, my home is rarely the way that I like it. I have three small children and a husband that are all home for the summer. I feel like I am a maid and if I quit no one really cares, but me. I am the only one who cares because I am the one that wants a clean, organized, clutter free home...the rest of the family just makes messes and either doesn't really care what condition our home is in or expect that it will get to me and I will break down and clean. Unfortunately, the latter is usually what happens. I have tried to let it go. I am always telling myself, "Relax, just let it go...enjoy life...this too shall pass." The problem is it I really don't enjoy life with a messy house.

So since this is my problem and right now the real thorn in my side is the laundry, today during my workout warm up I was searching for videos on organization, specifically laundry and all that goes into it when I came across Mandie's vlogs and blog called Organizing Your Way. I instantly lit up and made an important connection. After watching a few of her videos and doing a more intense workout without my phone I looked up her blog on my computer. She has an amazing blog with very helpful tips. Her home is very clean, organized and decorated in a modern functional style. I am so impressed with her blog and her home. She is doing something right. It is difficult to believe that she has four kids ages five and younger. Plus, her philosophy to organizing is that it has to work for you or you won't do it and maintain it. I have tried other organization methods that all sound great, but they have not truly stuck because they don't work for me. Recently a friend commented on FB that I am always posting on cleaning and why don’t I follow such and such online. I try, but such and such just didn’t fit my organization/cleaning style.

Here is her introduction video. She shares what she is going to create with her blog and videos. I found it to be refreshing and I love her approach on making it work for you.



Here is Mandi's laundry video. I really like her system, but unfortunately, we don't have room for a family closet in our laundry room and our laundry room is not off of our kitchen.




Things I learned from her blog today that I plan on implementing this week:
1. She does a section rags and organization. I am so excited to use her system of purchasing new rags for washing hands and faces every six months and then placing the old ones in the wipe up rag drawer. I love the little three drawer organizer as well. I am hoping to find one that will fit sideways in my pantry. We will see. Tons of great ideas from that one entry.
2. I learned several principles for streamlining laundry from a link that Mandi has on her site for The 365 Day Organizer. I am not sure I will be able to make the laundry basket work for my three kids, but I like the idea.
3. I moved an Ikea chair into my office that has been sitting in our master bedroom for quite a while. I figured it will be nice for my husband to have a place to sit in there and we won't be tempted to use the chair as a clothing organizer if it is no longer in the bedroom. I will try to post a picture soon.

I am exhausted and so this post will have to be in two segments. I am enjoying getting back into blogging though and hope that you will continue to read my blog.

Warmly,
Jen

Lots of Jam

Today I made jam...A LOT of strawberry jam. I love making things and then having a years supply of it for my family. Unfortunately, the recipe that I used has a lot more sugar than I would like, but it is fabulous and since it is mainly for the family and not me I am okay with a treat for my kids and hubby once in a while.

My MIL and her friend came over to share in the jam making. We made 68 jars of strawberry freezer jam in less than 2.5 hours. It was great! I ordered the berries through the local rotary club. They were already hulled (cleaned and de-stemmed.) I used the food processor to chop up the berries in a chunky style...we like lots of strawberry chunks in our jam. It was really easy, just takes some time and upfront monies. My four year old, Big A helped with the first batch and then got a little tired of waiting for the berries to gel with the pectin. All in all, it was quite easy and the pay off is so big. We will make raspberry jam in a few weeks the same way.

Does anyone else make their own jam and if so what kind? I am very curious. I have only made freezer jam before and the process is so easy I can't imagine making any other kind.

Miche Bags Rock...

Michelle, the creator of Miche Bag's is brilliant. I can't believe someone did not think of this before. A purse that you can switch the look of without emptying the contents of your current purse. That is right. There is a base that holds all of your stuff and then there are shells that you can switch in under a minute to a new look. Seriously smart in my humble opinion.

Tonight I had some ladies over for a Miche Purse Party. Due to summer, it was a small crowd, but so much fun. We had wine and shopped for purses. I was hesitant at first to get a Miche Bag. I thought it would feel cheap and that I would not like it after a week or that it would be a fad. WRONG! I have had mine for about a month and I love it. I purchased the base and two shells as my first purchase and then I purchased a new shell tonight. They are so fun.

If you are local (North Puget Sound/Snohomish County) definitely contact Nikki to purchase your Miche Bag. If you are not, locate a consultant in your area. I think it is great to go through a consultant, rather than just ordering it on line. The customer service that I have gotten through my consultant is fabulous. If there is ever a problem, I have not doubt that she will make it right. Now I am thinking about the next shell I will get to add a whole new look to my wardrobe.

Have a great night!

Long Time No Write...

Hello Blog!
It so nice to see you again old friend. I know it has been a while since I spent time with you. The daily demands of life have taken over (a husband, three little kids, a house, work, commitments.) Now that it is summer and I am not working I can and will make more time for you. I think that I work better with goals and challenges so here is my goal: Post daily for two weeks. I have a lot of things that I have been thinking about posting, but just have not found the time to write about lately.

Here are some future posts that I am working on:
Cloth Diapering Journey
Potty Training Journey
Square Foot Gardening
The Simple Life
Healthy, Quick Meals
Meal Planning
Scheduling
Camping with little ones

I will see you later on today.

Jen

Giveaway: EcoChic

The EcoChic is having a giveaway of the best kind in my opinion, a cloth diaper give away. GroBaby cloth diapers have actually a few different options. The first is to use one of the cute shells with a cloth liner that snaps in and the second option is to use one of their biosoakers (earth friendly disposable liners). I have yet to try GroBaby, but have been wanting to for a while. Check out the giveaway on the EcoChic’s blog. If you don’t have little ones in diapers, why not enter anyways. A cloth diaper or diaper system like GroBaby makes a fabulous gift for any cloth diapering mama. I am typically not very lucky at these things, but would love to win this one especially. I want to try the Sunset Stripe GroBaby.

GroBaby Video

This is a nice little video. Please don't be offended if you do not use cloth. I didn't for a while and now I do. It is whatever works for you. I just thought this was an information packed video.

Busy Week

So here is a little bit of my to do list for the week:

-Purchase and prepare snack for Big A’s preschool class
-Complete and attend Bible study
-Finish up MOPS name tags
-Update MOPS Contact list
-Prepare to hand all of MOPS registration and finance over to new steering member since I am transitioning to be a DGL
-Send out Baby A’s announcements (she is two months old)
-Clean House
-Make Dinner
-Finish organizing the girls room
-Clean Little A’s room
-Put up things for sale on Craigslist
- Finish birthday present for a friend's daughter
-Finish sewing recycled wool longies
-Start recycled wool soaker

The list continues on, but I won’t bore you with anymore. I have so MUCH to do and I am feeling a little lack of motivation  I guess I better get off of the computer and get busy. The problem is that I also have to be mom to three under three while I accomplish all of these things. How am I supposed to do that? Plus, my kids do not play by themselves. They pretty much follow me around the house all day long and usually bring their toys where ever I am. Does anyone else have this problem?