This video addresses what to do when you have a messy spouse who destroys all of your organizing systems like crazy, or isn’t on board with changing your home and purging.
My approach is love and logic based (yes, that’s the teacher in me…in fact all of these tips are the same things that I do with kids, too!). I mention in the video, this book– The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts
So, here you go…my rambly, goofy self…
Learn to make knock-your-socks-off DIY cleaning wipes and keep your kitchen clean and orderly…even when cooking. (My secret weapon!)
If you are looking for some of the items featured in this video, they are linked below. Our chop block comes from Wood Welded which is a store in Michigan (my home-state). It is an extremely high quality product, and no, I am not affiliated/paid/perked to say that! The exact price depends on the size you order, but typically an item like this will set you back $50-$100. You know me, I’m CHEAP, and in my opinion, this is worth it to have a quality piece. Ours was a wedding gift and it is one we use daily.
For those of you shopping on a tighter budget or wanting to try a more affordable option before taking the plunge, check out more online options or these highly recommended options….
In this video I take you with me to Dollar Tree and show you my favorite organization products it has to offer this season (Fall 2014)…I know it’s still summer, but they are gearing up for back to school so there are lots of super-sweet scores! Woot. Seriously.
I hope you enjoy touring the store and seeing some of my new organization systems at my house (I love seeing how people end up using what they buy!)
Don’t forget to watch my latest tag video here on all things YouTube (and some of my favorite YouTube channels) if you are interested. Love this community <3
Want to see a list of my favorite Dollar Tree and organizing products? Click here!
I’m so thankful for a mommy group that I am a part of that suggested ice painting. Carson is 13 months and he had a BLAST with this. So easy to do, perfect for summer, and FREE.
Our melted nubs after lots of painting!
Here is how they turned out on our art wall! Yay! (Sorry for the cell phone pictures). We also went to a birthday party this weekend. Carson was OBSESSED the balloons. He carried them around the whole afternoon. Gotta love a kid and his love of colorful things. 😉
Here is a step-by-step video tutorial!
I loathe laundry… I feel like it never ends. I like to have my drawers organized, though. It’s oddly very important to me. It stresses me out to have a disorganized drawer.
I know they sell these…
They are nifty (although expensive) contraptions–this one is called the MiracleFold— that allow you to fold your shirts perfectly. But I have a few tricks up my sleeves that have made putting away clothes at our house a breeze.
Here are my four favorite tips for laundry and t-shirt organization!
My favorite Essential Oil
Life is stinky. Period.
I wanted to share with you my DIY Air Freshener that’s just three ingredients…most of which you probably already own! You can download and print the labels below and try it for yourself. Take that yucky aerosol cans!
The ingredients are water, baking soda, and lemon essential oil! That’s it. This 4 oz-er of essential oil should last you, oh I don’t know…forever. My favorite essential oil is lemon, but you can be fancy 😉 You could try peppermint during the holidays or your favorite scent. You can find smaller quantities at craft stores, but they are more expensive over time.
I also use essential oil for a bunch of other cleaning, so it’s multi-purpose!
CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER WAYS I USE ESSENTIAL OIL
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE RECIPE LABEL FOR YOUR SPRAY BOTTLE HERE!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Some of you may ask about this, so I wanted to clear the air (so to speak 😉 ) Because you are using baking soda, you might notice a slight, white residue on surfaces you are spraying. This is a GOOD THING. This product is best used on upholstery and carpets (I don’t recommend it for hardwood or tile floors, although it won’t hurt them). The baking soda will continue to trap odors after the lemon scent has dissipated, and the very fine white powder will come up when you clean, dust, or vacuum. Baking soda is sprinkled on carpets and upholstery by professional cleaning companies all the time to trap odors. You probably won’t even notice it unless you have very dark fabric/carpets!
WATCH THE STEP BY STEP VIDEO:
Charlie and I headed to Nassau, Bahamas for 4 days and 3 nights this past week. It was our first time away from the little man (he was with Grandma and Grandpa) but we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary, and it was the perfect time for us to reconnect and just relax.
It was our first time in the Bahamas, so we were not expecting the amazingness that was the water. Oh my holy bananas. WOW.
We spend our afternoons reading (I’m reading The Rook…It’s my new favorite book), traveling to Rose Island (a private island) and swimming with dolphins. Life-long bucket-list dream right there.
You need not more words…here is the vlog 😉
Going anywhere this summer? Here are my favorite BUDGET travel organization tips for making your luggage–and therefore vacation–experience easier. And I’m all about the CHEAP!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CUSTOMIZABLE TRAVEL CHECKLIST HERE!
Featured in this video are these travel tubes for your shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash. They are the most economical and best quality I have found (perfect for in-flight, too as they aren’t supposed to leak!) They also come with pre-made labels. Yes, please!
WATCH MY 10 TRAVEL TIPS!
I LOVE 4th of July! And sparklers are my absolute favorite. I could seriously play with them all day… bright white lights are so romantic to me. I’ve totally gotten sucked in to those gorgeous Pinterest wedding photos with sparklers (tell me if you’ve been there, too! ha!). Even if you are a novice (totally clueless) camera girl like me, you can capture the same shots.
It was just Char and I snapping the photos, but it would be cute to make a heart as a couple. If you have older kids these would make amazing shots, too! Carson was fascinated, but it’ll be a few more years for him 😉
I have a Canon Rebel T3i and I LOOOOVRE it. These are the settings I use to make this bad boy get these pictures…
FAQ:
WHAT IF I HAVE A POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA AND NOT A DSLR?: Change your settings to “night” mode or “firework” mode and give it a try! You can get some pretty decent shots.
WHAT IF ALL I HAVE IS AN IPHONE?: There are tons of free apps designed for this! Just do a search for a “slow shutter speed camera” in the Apple store download. Easy peasy. Also check for a firework capturing download! Play around because not all apps are created equal.
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial here:
Oh, and here is how my mantle looks this year. The flag was free (we already had it) and the wagon was from Goodwill and was $1.99. I thought it was cute and festive. Oh, and lest we not forget I do have a flag on the porch. That’s it! Simple, festive touches 🙂
Happy photo-taking and be safe!!! <3
I know. So unlike me. But I’m talking about your photos.
There have been so many times where going through my phone, I would delete pictures to make space. I’m sure you do it, too. Eliminate most of those rapid-fire shots you took 80 of to get the right one.
If you have kids you know what I’m talking about 😉
We instinctively go through pictures and find smiles to save, because surely those are the moments of most joy and worth remembering. And then we delete the photos where we aren’t looking at the camera, it was slightly out of focus, somebody was in the middle of a sneeze, or the moment wasn’t what we were intending to capture.
But life is made of those in-between moments.
And when strung together, they somehow capture it better than those “look over here” smiles anyway.
I’m not a photographer, and I’m sure not “doing it right.” All of these images were taken with my iPhone. All you need.
Today, I’m thankful that I stopped myself from hitting that delete button on these guys. Sometimes we just move so fast and we are looking for “the shot.” I was moments away from deleting all of them…and then I stopped and hit the black and white button 😉
