Cleaning the Basement

We are finally tackling the basement and all the stuff it stores. There's some junk that we need to sift through and decide if we want to hold on to things until next spring and have a garage sale or just dump it off give it to Good Will or Salvation Army. There's a pile of kitchen gadgets that need a home until I need to use them. And lots of filing to do.

There's also this huge daunting pile of maternity, post-maternity, 0-3T clothes sitting in a corner. There's a box of baby shoes. A box of burp coths, bottles, liners, breast pads and nipple cream sits among the pile. Then there are the mixed boxes of outgrown clothes that didn't fit into the original sized box: a 2-T winter coat, some 3T jeans, a 24 month long-sleeved white onsie, a bunch of baby-sized hats and mittens... The list goes on and on. And this stuff takes up so. much. space.

I look at it and wonder if it's worth keeping. Seriously, it's the bulk of our storage items and it's really hard to look at it. We're wondering if the attic would be a better storage option because we don't know when or if we'll ever use this stuff again. And that just breaks my heart. Today I put away a pair of booties that I kept out for Elihu last year. I found it in a box of mis-matched items that were thrown together for the move. We're wondering how long we should hold on to this stuff until it's time to get rid of it. To have the best garage sale ever with boy clothes from 0-3T, maternity clothes from small to extra-large, and lots of baby supplies. If we ever do have that sale (and if it's because we weren't able to have more children) I don't think I'll be able to be at that sale. It will just be too hard to watch my precious baby's things sold for a quarter. I will hold on to a few meaningful items and maybe even regift some unopened items (you've been warned) but most of it will be sold. And I don't know if I'll be able to witness that.

I know this is a lot of hypotheticals and worries but I just needed to get some of them out of my head. My heart is burdened by all that stuff in the basement as I wonder about God's plan for our family. I pray that God grants me peace no matter what happens and that I can willingly open my hands and let my stuff go as God calls me. For now, the items will sit lovingly piled in the basement along with our box of wedding memorabilia, kitchen gadgets, crystal bowls, fondue pots, and decorative items.

Disarray

My house is in complete.disarray. I guess that's natural when you're moving in less than two weeks but still, it kills me. I even ran out to McDonald's this morning (at 5:30a) to get some coffee since our coffeemaker is packed.

The packing has been getting horrible. We're down to the bones but there are things that I'm unsure of when to pack. Like clothes. I'm planning on getting the laundry completely caught up so I can pack bags for everyone for 1-2 weeks of clothes. Then I'm going to box up the rest and we'll live out of our bags (doing laundry along the way) for those few weeks we have left in this house.

And then food/dishes. I really don't want to use disposable dishes for two weeks but I'm thinking at the end of this week I'll probably pack my dishes. It's hard with little people but we'll make due. The silverware is another thing. Not sure when to pack that or to buy disposable and then wash them as we go. That way, at least the "real" stuff is packed and ready to move. And I think we'll be having a lot of frozen pizzas so I can pack my pots, pans and baking dishes. :) It's crazy!! :) I should make some freezer meals this week in disposable pans so that I can pack my real stuff.

Then there's the officey stuff. Our phone books, stationary, pens, pencils, calendar, bills, stamps, computer items, printer paper, etc. And tupperware. When do I pack all of that? After I go through and make sure everything has a lid and get rid of my "Dutch" tupperware (ie. yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, cool-whip containers).

We've been packing since last August and I'm sick of it. I want things to be put away. I want everything to be in their homes. I want to have a clean, noncluttered home so I can drink my coffee in peace.

Sorry to whine, vent and think aloud, but I'm about to my breaking point with the packing. I just want to throw stuff in boxes and move already. :)

How do you feel about packing, moving and unpacking? Any helpful tips for this weary soul?

I Wanna Try

Yes, this is another blog list cause I can't get things done quick enough. :) So to document my "wanna tries" and to share them with you - you may even be able to try them before me - here we go...

I've been thinking about doing this in my boys' room:
a) books that have their name in them
b) good "boy" books
c) my childhood favorites



from Project Nursery

Oh, how I've been feeling this lately. Would love to get a print of this for my kitchen, living room, or laundry room.


from Etsy's Twitterpated Toad

No more searching for blue jars - you can just make your own out of jars from a discount store. Yay!!


from Bridal Buzz

A great way to spruce up old jelly or pickle jars so you can repurpose those too. Or even a blue jar lid. :)



from Design Sponge

Thought this would be a great pillow for our bed. :) And I could even make this myself.



from Apartment Therapy

I thought this was a great idea for storage under a bed. Cute and purposeful. Does anyone have any old suitcases I could have? :)


from Better Homes and Gardens








 

 
This is probably my favorite!! I LOVE the organization in this small closet. And it's cute ta' boot!


from Better Homes and Gardens

 Words can not express. Mmmmm (as I wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth). I don't think I'll be able to wait until summer to make these treats. Chocolate and Salted Caramel Pudding Pops?! Who wouldn't love to nosh on those right now?!



from Endless Simmer











Hope you enjoyed my latest findings. And please let me know if you have a chance to try them out before I get to them. :)

Works-for-Me Wednesday: DIY Recipe Card Holder

I have many cookbooks, cooking magazines, printed out recipes from blogs, and recipes in my recipe box neatly printed on recipe cards. I have a nice cookbook holder from Williams-Sonoma, but my recipe cards fall through the holder because they're too small.

I think I first saw this idea on Martha Stewart's website and I thought it was great...and I think it looks kind of cute.

You take a fork and place it tines-up in a glass or a jar. You then slide the recipe card between the tines and you have a recipe card holder. It's really slick, really easy, and doesn't cost a cent. And that works for me!!


For more Works-For-Me Wednesday tips head over to We Are THAT Family! Have a great day!!

Menu Plan 3/1-3/28

I plan my dinner menu 2-4 weeks in advance. I watch for good deals as I cook and move things around within my four week plan.

Week 1 - March 1-7
Sunday - Penne with White Beans and Spinach - Short Stop's Recipe; breadsticks - Mrs. D's recipe
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - meal at Growth Group
Wednesday - breakfast
Thursday (Date Night) - chicken and rice, corn
Friday - porcupine meatballs, baked potatoes, cream peas
Saturday - leftovers

Week 2 - March 8-14
Sunday - homemade pizza
Monday - sloppy joes, chips, veggies
Tuesday - Chicken Noodle Hold the Soup - Rachel Ray's Recipe
Wednesday - breakfast
Thursday (Date Night) - beef wellington, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole
Friday - birthday party at Valentino's
Saturday - hobo dinners

Week 3 - March 15-21
Sunday - homemade pizza
Monday - tacos, "potato ole's"
Tuesday - meal at Growth Group
Wednesday - french toast, eggs, bacon, fruit
Thursday (Date Night) - club brunch ring, salad
Friday - roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, dilled corn
Saturday - Nacho Pie, salad

Week 4 - March 22-28
Sunday - salad pizza, chicken breasts
Monday - spaghetti, breadsticks, salad
Tuesday - lemon baked cod, mashed potatoes, peas
Wednesday - breakfast
Thursday (Date Night) - Panera Gift Card
Friday - hobo dinners
Saturday - something from the crock pot

That's the plan. Things do have a tendency to change, so we'll see how well I stick to the plan this month. Considering it's "No Spend March" I'll be more diligent at sticking to the menu.

Do you have any good staple meals that you have once a week?

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Meal Planning

Well, I've been promising to put up a post about my meal planning. It really isn't too complicated.

First, I made a list of our favorite meals, main dishes and side dishes. I included the cookbook and page where they can be found, or if the recipe is on a recipe card in my box.

Second, I created a weekly calendar that hangs on my refrigerator door. It has a section at the bottom for "next weeks grocery list."

Third, I created a spreadsheet for the grocery store by aisle. I put all of our "usuals" on the list and nothing "special." That way, I don't get sidetracked and focus on the things we need instead of the things we want. (I'll see the things I want anyway.)

Fourth, I fill in the dates on the calendar and add any evening events that may affect our meal schedule.

Here's the process:

Sunday - usually homemade pizza and a side salad. We have church stuff most of the day so it's an easy homemade meal for us in the evening that doesn't require a lot of time or work.

Wednesday - the little boys and I will have breakfast. We'll choose something like omelets, waffles & bacon, etc. Dad has youth club that evening so he isn't home for dinner. I like to make something easy. And I'll usually do a double batch of Bisquick items (waffles, pancakes, etc) to put in the freezer for another week.

Thursday - date night. My husband and I usually go out on Thursday nights to give me a break from the kitchen. We don't spend a lot when we go out but we make it a priority. Anyway, I'll have leftovers or sandwiches ready for the kids, or some nights they'll get something "special" like hotdogs (since we rarely ever have those around because of my food allergy).

So, those nights are covered. That leaves Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Not too bad.

Next, I'll look at the calendar and see if we have anything going on the rest of the evenings. Twice a month we have small group on Tuesday, so either I'm cooking for a large group, or we eat at their house. And if there's a sports event for the middle school or high school I'll factor if we have to eat early, take something along, eat there, or eat when we come home. That determines how much time I have to cook something. And if there's anything else going on that will change a meal-time, I'll add that to the list.

Then I look at our tried-and-true recipe list. I try to vary the beef and the chicken. Sometimes it's vegetarian and sometimes it's fish. About every week or every other week I add in something new (probably a recipe out of my Food Network Magazine, Cook's Country Magazine, or from one of your blogs). That way, we don't get too sick and tired of the food we eat at home.

Then I fill out the master grocery list. I put on all the meat, most dairy, some fresh, and all of the non-perishables. Then I look at the weekly needs and add it to the bottom of my weekly calendar that hangs on the fridge. I can add items that we need to that list throughout the week, if we run out of cinnamon for example.

This is what it looks like for the next two weeks:

Sunday, February 22
Side: dessert
Main: appetizer x2 (layered taco dip, Chex and City Mix)
Veggie:
Oscar's Party

Monday, February 23
side: potato chips
main: BBQ sandwiches (cook the roast on Saturday and shred the meat)
veggie: cole slaw
AMS BB 8th 4:30p
Jess TCHLTB meeting at 6:30p

Tuesday, February 24
side:
main: leftovers
veggie:
Jess gone for baby shower

Wednesday, February 25 - new recipe
side: breadsticks-Mrs. D's recipe (freeze half)
main: penne w/ white beans and baby spinach-Short Stop's recipe
veggie:
Youth Club
Hubby's mom in town

Thursday, February 26
side: "potato ole's"
main: tacos
veggie:
Hubby and I gone until Saturday 1pm
Grandma to sit

Friday, February 27
side: chips
main: hotdogs
veggie: veggie sticks (celery, carrots)
Hubby and I gone until Saturday 1pm
Grandma to sit

Saturday, February 28
side: breadsticks (in freezer)
main: spaghetti
veggie: side salad

Grocery List for Next Week:
potatoes
P's apple sauce

-----------------------------------

Sunday, March 1
side:
main: homemade pizza
veggie: side salad

Monday, March 2
side: baked potato
main: porcupine meatballs
veggie: dilled corn
meal delivery (double batch for dinner)

Tuesday, March 3
side:
main:
veggie:
meal at growth group

Wednsday, March 4
side: toast with homemade strawberry jam
main: omelets
veggie:
Youth Club

Thursday, March 5
side: cheesy potatoes
main: baked ham and cheese buns
veggie: peas
Date Night

Friday, March 6
side: baked sweet potatoes
main: beef wellington
veggie: fresh green beans with toasted almonds

Saturday, March 7
side:
main: leftovers
veggie:
TCHLTB - Jess gone

Grocery List for Next Week:
sweet potatoes
onion
celery
carrots
milk

As for saving money during this process, I just save by sticking to my list. I'll also check the ads before I get to the store to see if anything I want on the list is on sale or if there's a coupon. If there's a really good deal, I might stock up on something (10# 93% lean ground beef for $2.79/#). Sometimes I might alter my list if there's a good deal and change things around. I always make my list in pencil so I can move meals around if I want to or add something different.

Hope this helps...as I write it out it seems more confusing that it really is.

For more Works-For-Me Wednesday tips head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Bucket of Shoes

Our older son has a LOT of shoes, thanks to his wonderful Papa and Nana. My mom is the best second-hand shopper around. It helps that there are three clothing consignment shops in my hometown and they're all really good quality. Anyway, I'm off the topic.

My parents had gotten our son some summer toys for his Easter basket when he was 2 months old. The toys are in the shed now waiting for another Spring where they can bring joy and delight to (now) two little boys. But I saved the bucket for the house. The shoe-bucket now sits by the door with ALL his current shoes in it. I change out the shoes for the season and sometimes the bucket goes in the big basket (which is now housing the hats, scarves, mittens, and gloves). I take joy in this little bucket because it saves me from the headache of finding his shoes so we can run out of the house because we're late...again. But more than that, I smile at this wondering how many years will his shoes fit in this little red bucket...'til he's 10? 16?


Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesdays.

15-minute Pick-up

FlyLady always says, "You can do anything in 15 mintues." And it's true. All it takes is 15 minutes. Just set your timer and get to work. No distractions. No jumping from room to room. Only 15 minutes in one room! It's amazing.

Check out what I did in 15 minutes this morning:

This may not look like much, but we're not talking deep cleaning, just picking up and putting things away where they belong.

This was probably my biggest mess and I still need to go through all of my papers, but at least they're not scattered all over the desk.

Here, again, I put things away that shouldn't be out. I didn't have time to wash the dishes, but at least all the dirty dishes in the kitchen and living room were at the sink. Makes it easier to do if you don't have to keep refilling the sink or not getting finished because you keep finding "one more cup."

I didn't get the towels folded, but I decreased the distractions by putting the toys away, the coats and shoes in the closet.

Remember, this is a 15-minute pick-up, NOT A DEEP CLEAN. I'm not even talking about vacuuming. It's just a pick-up and put things away. My husband stopped home after lunch and was impressed by how "clean" the house was. He treasures having the house picked up and I try to honor that. It definitely doesn't happen everyday, but it happens when I set that timer.

Now, GO! Set your timer and see what you can get done in just 15 minutes.

(The dishes are now resting in the cupboards and the towels are folded and put away. Sometimes I just have to remove the other distractions so I can get some "real" work done.)

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Kitchen Face-cloths

This is my first Works-For-Me Wednesday and I decided to participate because of all the wonderful advice I've read through Rocks In My Dryer. On to what works for me.


I get really grossed out by the kitchen washcloth. It's used for washing dishes and wiping counters. I try to get a clean one out every night because I can't stand that dirty wash cloth smell. Eww!!

I also use washcloths to wipe my kids' faces after eating. I started using regular washcloths but never knew which one was for the face and which one I was using to wash the bowl that just held raw meat. See what I mean? That's gross!!

My solution is to use baby washcloths in the kitchen. I buy the really cheap colored ones and keep about 10-15 in my kitchen linen draw. (I use only white baby washcloths in the bathroom so when I'm folding laundry I know where they go.) It's been a great way to keep our kids from the stinky washcloth in the sink. I've started bringing my own face washcloths to other people's houses because a lot of times they'll just use the kitchen washcloth for my kids' faces. YUCK!!

For more Works-For-Me Wednesdays check out Rocks In My Dryer.

Organizing Your Child's New Year

Like I've said before: I love calendars. I also love organization. I'm constantly reorganizing my home to make better use of space, prioritize items, declutter, and just for fun.

I've talked about bedtime routines before. Well, now with "school" starting for my oldest, I decided it was time for him to have a daily routine as well. I don't like to focus too much on the clock but put focus on the order of the day. I hang the calendar and routines on the refrigerator so they're easy for my toddler to find and reference. Below, I have pictured our routines for the New Year. Feel free to use these as a guide when making routines for your children. I used pictures and numbers so they can learn the routine before they can read.

Bedtime Routine

Weekly Calendar
(I put on the "special" things that we do each week; I don't put daily items on this calendar)

Daily Routine
(at this point all he knows are the pictures and numbers so it works pretty well)

My son loves to look at his routines and calendars. I didn't want them to get all messy or ripped and so I decided to protect the big ones with sheet protectors and the small one is "laminated" with packing tape. It's been a great way to redirect my son during the day. It's nice because he can look at his sheets and see what comes next. They're also nice when I have a babysitter. It's really easy to instruct them with the bedtime and daily routines and it helps my son to obey because he knows what's going on.

Organizing for the New Year

I love a new calendar!! Every year I enjoy putting together my new calendar and this year was no different. I get out my stickers and special calendar pens and write away. I love the potential of a new year and creating a well-organized calendar. It truly is one of my joys.

Here are some of the things I do to make my calendar more organized:

Use different color pens.
* I use green for birthdays and anniversaries. I also use them for births and weddings as they will go into the birthday/anniversary category next year.
* I use red for school events. That includes sporting events at the area middle schools and high schools (I'll talk about organizing these later) and for my husbands deadlines at seminary (this helps me keep him on track without nagging).
* I use blue for any church events. This includes middles school and high school church youth club activities, meetings that take my husband out of town, women's ministry meetings and events, church worship service changes or something we're participating in that Sunday, and anything else church/work (for husband) related.
* I use black for our family stuff. If there's something that involves cooking deadlines I usually put a box around it and if it's a doctor's appointment I circle it twice so it stands out. That's something I don't want to miss.

Use stickers.
Over the past several years I've purchased calendars that included stickers. This year my calendar didn't come with stickers, so I'm just going to use my leftover stickers from previous years.

Put phone numbers next to appointments.
I know the ped's number by memory, but not the ENT, ophthalmologist, plumber, electrician, etc. I always put their phone number on the calendar by the apt. so that if I'm running late, they're running late or I need to change the apt. I can call them easily without having to take the time to look the number up.

Daily schedule goes right on the calendar.
I am using a desk calendar this year so it's easier to do. I use the left-hand column reserved for notes to put a printout of my daily schedule. It's just a quick reminder for me. Also, I put the library hours, weekly cleaning schedule on the non-numberd days of the calendar. Another friendly reminder.

Highlight special birthdays/anniversaries/weddings...
For special days that require more than just a card, I put a little doodle around the day. This helps me to easily see if there's a gift I need to purchase or a special phone call I need to make. Otherwise I'll forget. I also put the date next to certain birthdays/anniversaries. This helps me to remember if it's a milestone that needs to be celebrated as well.

Ok, on to the organizing of sports schedules. My husband works full-time at our church with middle school students. He also helps out with the high school students, and so do I. We think it's really important to show our interest in the students outside of "church" time and it's a great way to get to know parents and the community we're serving. Our students attend different schools in the area, so we try to make it to at least one game of each school/gender/activity. We even try to go to games that our students aren't actually involved in because we know there will be students and parents there that we know. And it's fun. Our oldest son must think he's going to an NBA game when we go to a middle/high school sport. We get to have popcorn and cheer with an excited crowd. It's a fun thing to do as a family.

So, this is what I do: I print out all the schedules of the actvities: boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling for middle school and high school (this year it's mainly two schools). I then print out a blank calendar using Microsoft Publisher (I use the basic black and white calendar). I use different color pens for each event boys and girls. I write out all the home games on the days we would be able to attend (no Thursdays as that's our designated date night). This makes it easy to see the events better. Here's our game schedule for this winter:

Jan 5 - AHS 9th boys basketball
Jan 9 - AHS 10th/varsity boys basketball
Jan 12 - GHS 9th/jr varsity girls basketball
Jan 16 - GMS 7th boys basketball
Jan 26 - GHS 9th/jr varsity girls basketball
Jan 31 - AHS wrestling
Feb 2 - AHS 9th girls basketball
Feb 3 - GMS 8th boys basketball
Feb 6 - GHS varsity girls and boys basketball
Feb 9 - AHS jr varsity boys basketball
Feb 10 - AHS jr varsity/varsity girls basketball
Feb 23 - AMS 8th boys basketball

Mind you, the kids and I won't be going to all the games, but my husband will.

And here's an issue that I really struggled with this year:

Desk vs. Hanging Calendars
After a long deliberation, I'm converting back to a desk calendar. When I was a nurse at the hospital, I relied on a desk calendar because I could take it with me so I could write my work schedule down. But since I've been at home, I haven't really "needed" a desk calendar and have enjoyed having it hanging in the kitchen. But this year, I'm finding myself making appointments that require me to have a calendar along (doctor appointments, church meetings, etc). I don't want to have to bring my hanging calendar everywhere, so I decided to make the switch. I think I'm really going to like it. I will still have a birthday calendar hanging in my kitchen (my sister made me one from Snapfish). That will be a helpful reminder for sending cards on time and she put some great pictures on there.

Well, that's my calendar excitement. Like I said, I really love a new calendar. I look forward to creating ways to make it more organized so I can be more efficient and productive with my time. It's just fun for me!!

Anyone have any exciting calendar ideas?

The Library

We love our library! It's a great place to save money. We have yet to take full advantage of all the services our library offers, but this one is our favorite: reserving movies! Yes, you can reserve movies at the Ames Public Library. It's really simple to do:

1. Enter your Borrower ID number (it's on the back of your card)
2. Enter your PIN number. This should have been assigned to you when you received your card, but you can call the library to get a PIN.
3. Now go to the online catalog and type in a title. Choose a movie (or book) from the list by clicking on it.
4. Next you'll be at a page with the movie's information and scroll to the bottom. Click the button, "Place Request to Hold Item for me" at the bottom right-hand side of the page.
5. You will be shown a page that tells you how many people are in line to reserve this item before you and you have the option to "Cancel" your request or you can "Request".
6. The library will contact you (via email or phone) to let you know when your item is ready to be picked up. If there is a Bookmobile stop near you, you can also request to have the item brought to the Bookmobile location and you can pick it up there.

It's that easy! The Ames Library has new releases and a wide selection of films to choose from. You get them for one week and they're FREE as long as you return them on time. You can request more than one item at a time.

** Sometimes you have to be careful with children's movies because they can receive a lot of scratches and the DVD will skip around a lot.