Up To My Earlobes...

in laundry. Washing, Drying, Folding, Sorting, Storing... this takes a lot of time! Seems like there are about a million teeny, tiny baby pieces! I got out all of the winter stuff when it appeared to be cooling down, but now it's in the 90's again :( Not time to put away the tanks and shorts quite yet! Come on Autumn, it's October already!!!

So thankful I don't have to do it like this poor lady!

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

I've been so caught up finishing projects and starting new ones :( that I haven't had time to post. So far, Nathan and I have finished painting the dining room table and chairs and also painted a set of wicker I found. I've also rearranged and redecorated Elon's and the guests' rooms. As for cleaning and organizing, here is my list:

• pack up baby clothes
• scrub vent-a-hood, ring around burner
• clean out freezer and refrigerator
• clean blinds in kitchen, living room, den, dining room, master bed/bath, guest, office, nursery
• finish gifts for shower
• reorganize master closet, laundry room, coat closet, reorganize guest closet
• sort through boxes in Elon's closet
• clean under kitchen, master bath, guest bath cabinets
• clean baseboards in k, dr, den, lr, office, guest, nursery, and master
• hang picture in living room
• upholster dining room chairs
• rearrange patio
• finish patio cushions
• edge Elon's curtains with ribbon
• sew coordinating dust ruffle for toddler bed
• change bedding to spring/summer colors in master
• continue weeding out items for yard sale
• sort through boxes in garage for baby items
• construct crib

So as you can see, there is a lot to be accomplished before the baby comes... I pray my energy doesn't fizzle out!

The Closet Project...

So what happens when you get too caught up in organizing and completing projects... the rest of the house goes kaputz! I'm trying really hard to play catch-up on cleaning and complete at least one organizational project each day. Today I cleaned the sink, mirror, and toilet in the guest bath and plan on cleaning under the sink for my organizational project. Also, I am working on some crafts that need to be completed ASAP! What I wouldn't give for my 2 year old's level of energy...

The Closet Project-- Before:

And with the help of some decent shoe organizers-- After:

I know what you're thinking, "Wow, it's not even THAT organized;" but compared to before, what you're seeing is no small accomplishment!

Nesting...

I'm going through one space at a time, reorganizing and getting rid of. It is a long and arduous process! So far, I've conquered the maternity clothing, under my bed, and my dresser. I still have a looong way to go! I'm trying desperately not to overwhelm myself-- usually I would empty a space and then get tired half-way through trying to put it back together. This time, I am only doing what I can in 15 minute increments a day. Although I hate to admit it, slow and steady does win the race-- if you can just stay the course!

Keep It Moving...

My brother is flying in from NC to see me tomorrow so I am busy with preparations: getting the house squeeky clean, preparing a weekly menu and buying the necessary items, changing bed linens, even doing some yard work. I guess this wasn't the best time to begin organizing 4 closets, cleaning out the garage, changing out our summer clothing for winter, and determing what maternity clothes I'll be needing in the upcoming months...

I am one of those people who's all or nothing. Either it's the whole house is spotless, or it looks like a train wreck! I always start these enormous projects and run out of energy half way through... luckily, I have the impetus of Matt coming to keep me moving!

Isn't this just the quaintest little domestic collage!

A Good Thing...

Last night I found the coolest thing. I decided to try out some new recipes this month so I went to AllRecipes to take a look. After I registered, I found that you can simply find a recipe, then if you like it, click on "add recipe to recipe box" which automatically saves it to your account.



You can also click "add recipe to shopping list" and it will add all of the ingredients to a shopping list that it saves for you. You can designate a "pantry list," items that you usually buy every time you shop-- it will update these to your grocery list as well. You can also add and save notes to the recipe.

After you are finished importing ingredients from your recipes, you can add your own items by checking the boxes Allrecipes provides. It lists items by category {which helps speed up shopping}, and you can even put in the quantity. I was able to check diapers, shampoo, wipes, and lots of other things. It also has a custom item category for the non-typical grocery store items you may want to add. It was really neat not to have to waste time transplanting the recipe ingredients to my shopping list. Oh and another really smart thing, it also allows you to check items off your final shopping list of things that you already have that a recipe calls for-- salt, pepper, onions, whatever.

It took me a while to do all of this, but now I have a shopping list for all of my recipes saved so that I can duplicate meal plans quickly and easily.

At the bottom of the website, you will see a link to Taste of Home. I haven't gotten to explore that website as fully but it looked like it has the same capabilities; so if you like Taste of Home Recipes {like Mrs. Bonnie}, then hop over and give it a try! As Martha would say... "It's a Good Thing."

Paring Down

I have WAY too many clothes. Half of them aren't even flattering on me anymore. Lately, I've been feeling a little chaotic with so much stuff. Today, Marie and Elizabeth came over to help me regain my sanity. I kept most all of my church dresses, but wanted to minimize my casual/work clothing down to 14 outfits. Unfortunately, and I knew this would happen, Marie and Elizabeth weren't critical enough! I need someone to be downright RUDE in order for me to get rid of stuff! But I did get rid of a little, and I really do appreciate their input :} Here is what my room looks like after the demolition--









Now on to the worst part-- reconstruction.

Working Together

Since I am now working 30 hours a week, Nathan is going to be doing more around the house in the way of chores. I get a little stressed when I have to do all the housework, bills, shopping, etc.-- so he's going to relieve me of some of the burden. Towards that end, I compiled a weekly and daily list of things that need to be done and gave them to Nathan to look at. He is going to initial by the things that he would like to be responsible for. Hopefully, this will help me be a bit more organized with the housekeeping as well. Here is the list of daily duties:

Daily Cleaning
Kitchen
Empty Dishwasher
Dishes
Dinner
Sweep
Counters
Dishwasher
Hall Bath
Floor
Sink
Laundry
Master Bath
Floor
Sink
Laundry
Master Bedroom
Bed
Clothes
Hot Spot
Laundry
Elon's
Crib
Clothes
Changing Table
Hot Spot
Laundry
Living Room
Hot Spot AM
Hot Spot PM
Wipe Table
TV Cabinet
Foyer
Hot Spots
Laundry
Wash
Dry
Outside
Flowers
Plants
Rug

To see the weekly duties, or to print off my actual CHART, click here:
Daily Cleaning
Weekly Cleaning