Tidy Tuesday no. 2

Clothes Edition

I have a lot of work to do in this area but we are started with a giant sort/purge. Since we moved a lot of my clothes have been stuck in bins in various closets in the house. I've collected them all in the bedroom and have been diving through, one at a time. I've got the following piles going (see photo below) and it's feeling awesome! I have a laundry basket for the donation/sell items and when it's full I do a load of laundry. This keeps it easy so I know that they do not go back in the drawers or on a hanger.

My biggest tidy tip for clothes is Project 333 - a fall uniform that makes getting dressed easier each morning and also washing and managing clothes easier. It means that things I'm not wearing are AWAY and out of the flow of things. this worked so well for me when I returned to work after having a baby. I thought I'd only last a few weeks with my capsule wardrobe but ended up doing the full 3 months and then a little more. It's been fun to weed through the boxes and it feels very easy to part with certain clothes because i really haven't worn them in a year and a half or longer.

Here are some other clothing tips to keep things tidy. Have you tried any? Got any additional tips?

• apartment therapy has some good links
• i love how shutterbean.com uses labels!
• this gal has great ideas like only buy one type of sock and then you never have to match socks again!

Happy sorting!

Currently

The view from here...

Enjoying snuggles with our tiny person.
Reading this book.
Listening to this series during middle of the night feedings.
Watching this documentary and James Bond movies in small chunks as the little one sleeps.
Admiring the sunny weather from inside a warm house.
Cooking fried quinoa.
Making granola bars,
Eating anything that only requires one hand. These are particularly delicious.
Drinking water and #allthecoffee
Soaking up every moment before going back to work at the end of the month.
Inspired by this post to delete and organize phone photos.

Idea web

A few summers ago I got the ideas to make a list of fun summer activities I hoped and dreamed to accomplish. I also, however, didn't want to be disappointed if I didn't accomplish things on my list. Summer should be about fun and freedom! A list feels very much like "work" to me, something I need to address daily and be sure to complete. 

To keep things fun, I created the "Summer Idea Web," where things are added at random and adorned with drawings and other fun graphics to keep the pressure off. Here is the start to my 2016 list!

I also found this neat downloadable list that is a bit more of a check list. I like that it has a column for who requested the activity, which helps tell the story behind the list.

Perhaps I'll try each this summer and see what happens! Goodness knows there are plenty of organizing projects I have hopes of completing, so a separate project list may come in handy! Last summer before the little one comes is looking to be full of fun and accomplishments.

Happy summer planning! 

bullet journal

I just bought a few new moleskin journals and am trying out bullet journalling for the first time. I'm excited to see how it influences my other journals. Can a person have too many? Here's my current rotation of journals:

• meal planning/recipe journal
• school meetings journal
• church meetings journal
• journal just my notes and thoughts on "The Fringe Hours" book
• bible study journal
• sermon/scripture doodling journal
• bullet journal

It seems like a lot when I list it out in that way but I love that each one serves a specific purpose. It's quick and easy to grab my bible study journal and know that everything inside is what I may need.

Enter the bullet journal. This is not new, but I finally decided to dive in a try. I highly recommend watching the video a few times to get a feel for the foundational purpose/structure. Then you can adapt as necessary. Seth and I each got a journal and sat down at the bookstore to get set up. I'm interested to see if this becomes complicated for me since there is a lot of crossover between work and home tasks. I don't really have a good bag/purse system currently so it is rare for me to consistently carry anything other than phone, wallet and chapstick. For now the bullet journal lives on my desk so I can check it in the morning and evening. On a rare occasion where I'll be out and about after work, I'm planning to bring it with me so I can work in it between appointments.

 

Have you tried bullet journaling? Do you have a different method you prefer? I am eager to see my stacks of sticky notes condensed into one place so i'll keep you posted on how it goes!

 

30 days of lists

My Sunday morning...

1. wash dishes
2. take out the trash
3. go for a run!
4. laundry
5. weave in the ends of my knitting project
6. season the cast iron skillets
7. oil the butcher block island and cutting boards
8. email a friend
9. tidy the living room
10. make scripture sunday post
11. meal plan
12. sip tea
13. drink water
14. ponder my one little word for 2016
15. clean the bathroom
16. clean the stove
17. clean out my car

What did you do with your extra time?

fiber friday

Wow, I've been knitting a lot this week! I worked furiously on the Glebe Shawl for my mother-in-law. I LOVE this shawl and hope she loves it just as much. Check out the slideshow below or my Ravelry project page.

Before putting it in the mail I took these shots in our yard, which seemed like a lovely, autumnal backdrop for this back-to-school gift.

I also worked one morning on one point of the center star of my Midnight at the Oasis for the QAL. I sewed all 16 triangles together one morning before work. I have most of the triangles cut for the other 3 points, just working on how to organize my supplies. I want them to be handy and easy to grab so that when I'm inspired I can dive in! I saw a brief post on twitter about this idea of daily crafting and how to make it part of the routine. After reading the comments here are my ideas that I will try and implement for achieving my crafting goal this fall!


Craft Night! Choose one night a week where crafting is the goal. I'm leaning toward Thursday but without our fall schedule completely blocked out, it might change.


Break it DownBreaking projects into small tasks helps me feel accomplished. I aim to complete one task each setting. I recently did this with the baby quilt I made.

1. cut all the triangles 
2. arrange the triangles into rows then pin pairs to prep for sewing
3. sew all rows 
4. sew the rows into a top and add border 
5. make small fox for the back and baste the quilt together (quilting prep)
6. machine quilt the top and sew the binding to the front
7. Hand stitch the binding

That was the plan and I actually ended up finishing the whole thing in 5 days. When I completed something quilting I could assess the next step on the list and determine if I had enough time to complete another step.

Find a System
I like to create an assembly line and system to make things go smoothly. When I am sewing half-square triangles or something repetitive I set up the ironing board and sewing table as an L shape at the same height, I can plow through a bunch by chain stitching and eliminating the need to go across the room to iron.

Making a pattern you know is another way to help the process. Of course, I've not been sewing enough lately to want to remake items. Instead I keep trying new patterns. Perhaps this is a good one for me to try out this fall.

april goal - update

Wow! I'm not really sure where April went. It was a doozy and in some ways flew by. Here is a look at my goals for the month:

Run 50 miles
This seemed to be going so well, especially when I clocked a 6 mi. PR and then a 10 mile run. Then suddenly it was the 22nd and I was still 19 miles away! I had to really work to get the last few in but I'm even more proud of myself as a result. Mom and I ran a fast 5K on her birthday followed the next day by a 6 mile run. On Tuesday the 28th I realized how little time was left (due to many after work commitments) so I got up at 5:30am and hit the pavement for an early run. This was so awesome because it made me realize that I can go for a run in the morning and be ready for school with just a little extra patience. Double bonus: I got mad props for my hair that day! All in all it was harder than I expected but totally work the challenge.

Donate a Bag a Week
So we kicked off this goal during spring break with NINE BAGS. Felt like cheating a little but it was a great way to start. I technically took this last week off only because I didn't pass the donation center. There are two bags in my car and tomorrow is looking like the day I say goodbye. This challenge was great since I had spring break to dive into organizing. It also inspired us to go through some boxes from moving (2 or 6 years ago?) and we started to realize that consolidating was definitely an option. Many boxes had been mostly emptied and just had a few remaining items. I also was inspired to try a capsule wardrobe and packed away some wintery clothes in hopes for an easier time getting dressed in the morning. So far our quest for a tidy house is going wonderfully and we feel like we have more space to live in. Success!

Send 2 Cards a Week
Okay, maybe I set myself up for an easy month, but I blew this one out of the park as well. I think I averaged more like 3 or 4 a week. This is definitely a trend I want to continue. I still have quite a collection from my HappyMail deliveries and also have been using up some simple "thank you" cards I got from target. Love sending notes in the mail. Sometimes I feel like I can say things better in a few short words.

What's in store for May? Not sure yet. I want to keep it simple like April and will probably continue with a running goal since it's getting to be the time of year where being outside feels so good! I'll probably need to set a food goal since we sort of lacked in that area the last week of April (how many days in a row CAN you eat breakfast for dinner?). April - you were hard but you were successful. Onward!

april goals

Alright April, here I come!
I'm just setting three goals this month. They feel lofty so it seems appropriate.

Cleaning/Organizing
We've talked for awhile now about how best to purge and organize our house. Yup, 2 years into living here and we're finally getting around the a big overhaul! In December we did a Music Studio Overhaul and it has been an amazing space for Seth's studio and practice. We also started hanging art on the walls so it is beginning to feel more like a home. That being said, we are both overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that still exists in our small house and are motivated to do something about it. We're looking at a few different methods for how to best tackle this major project and since I can't set goals for other people on my blog I've narrowed it down to this. Once a week take a load of things to the donation center. Whether it's clothing, books, kitchen supplies etc doesn't matter. My main goal is to get things out of the house then out of my car and to a place where they can be more useful. Sundays are my goal day for this to happen because I can put it in the car before church and swing by the donation center on my way home.

Run More Miles!

print by Elise Blaha Cripe

My participation in the Big Climb last month meant I was hyper focused on circuit training and strengthening my legs and abs. Not a bad thing but it meant my milage shrank. I did run a 5K in March and was pleasantly surprised by my time. After running 7 miles with my mom last week I realized how much I miss hitting the pavement. So with my new kicks and Spring Break to get started, I'm ready to rack up the miles! I'm think about the 50 mile goal that mom and I used to aim for when we were first starting out. It feels manageable without being too lofty. I already logged 2 today, so I have 26 days to get 48 more miles!

Send 2 Cards a Week
I already started this goal on April 1 and just love the feeling of sealing up an envelope and putting on a stamp! I'm pretty set with cards between a resent "thank you" card restock and my HappyMail deliveries. I'm hoping to spread the love a little outside of my normal circle but it's hard since address sharing is kind of retro. I feel like I'm spoiling the surprise when I ask people for their address, but really, who doesn't love a fun card in the mail :)

I am excited to see how these goals pan out. Spring Break always gives me a boost so here's to hoping it will inspire me to finish strong! Happy April!

//get to work print found here//

One Little Word - be

Today I made a to do list to get the most accomplished in the last 36 hours of Christmas Break. After filling an entire page of things I decided to do something new.

At the bottom of the page I wrote "goals" and then I tapped into my one little word and listed the following:

Be productive

Be focused

Be patient

Be trusting

Be willing to ask for support

Somehow the list is now exciting instead of daunting and I'm ready to make things happen! What a refreshing new perspective.

more project life prep

today i searched around some more blogs to get inspiration and ideas for making project life happen in 2013! Cathy Zielske has some great templates to help with cropping and prepping photos to be printed at home. After playing around with the templates and watching her videos i created some template additions of my own!

Cathy has some nice digital projects available (as do many other scrapbookers that I follow) and i loved her idea of using hashtags from twitter to overlay on photos that she uses for project life. I took a few of my current faves and made .png files out of them so that i could easily drop them on top of photos before printing.

here is an example after i dropped the .png file onto the photo, made it white and adjusted the opacity.

 

it is so simple and adds just a bit of fun to the photo :)

here are a few other tips i picked up along the way:

1. have everything easily accessible!
2. choose a day that you are regularly available to sit down and work on the week's layout.
3. organize your photos when you import them into folders by week, quarter and project life (or what ever system makes sense for you)
4. do what works for you, not necessarily what others are doing.
5. precut cards and have them ready to grab and go!
6. enJOY the process (i am REALLY looking forward to this part!)

reduce, reuse, recycle

I've always been a fan of the 3 R's.
But when it comes to keeping the house clean, it is sometimes hard to feel like I'm helping the planet AND actually getting things clean.

Enter: Swiffer.
I was amazed when i first got a swiffer. however, i quickly realized that the whole planet-saving goal was going straight out the window with each use.

So I began to experiment. I tried using wash cloths but they were a little small. Dishtowels were not absorbent enough...
A few with materials and designs later, I think I've come up with a good a reusable solution to my swiffer problem! Here is a short, quickly thrown-together tutorial I created.

Materials Needed:
1/2 yard of 100% cotton flannel (it will pick up the dust like a champ!)
Sewing machine with coordinating thread
fabric scissors
ruler
* iron

* disclaimer: I am usually one who irons seams and fabric for a crisp, clean, even look. However, it is HOT right now and I made a judgement call. I do not iron my kitchen rags and towels, thus a few wrinkles and slightly uneven edges on this project would not compromise the effectiveness of the product. That being said, feel free to one-up me and iron between steps for said crisp, clean, even look. These make nice gifts too ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

These cloths can be used dry to catch dust and some dirt. You can also spray the cloth with a bit of all purpose cleaner for to improve dirt collection. I have also used the cloths sans swiffer to do light dusting and scrubbing where a paper towel might previously been used. So many options! Now go, save the planet and live in a clean house!

**One more disclaimer:  I know I am not the first to create a reusable cloth to be used with a swiffer but the above images and measurements are my own creation.

Slice of Life 2012 - 29

"When you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to something else." - Aby Garvy, weekly organizing tip

When I signed up for the weekly organizing emails, I pictured my house becoming magically orderly and tidy: Piles vanish with a "poof!" and coordinating baskets line the bookcases. While that would be lovely and wonderful, I have found that at the foundation of most of the tips is mental organization. More than having a cute file folder for paper, I need to intentionally sit down and sort the papers, make decisions and dive into my work. The quote above has been a major help in tackling the piles in my head and the clutter of my schedule. And hopefully it will influence the piles on my desk!