Clean Sweep Part 2

Now I hope you have done your assignment:) The second part will be challenging if you haven't ridded out yet, but don't fear. There is still hope and time. Don't be overwhelmed. I can already hear you muttering underneath your breath about how you don't have time and aren't gifted in this area...go slow and pick one small task and you will feel so good after it's done that you will be motivated to do more.

I will only address a few categories today...toys and clothes to be exact... to be organized so if this doesn't apply to you then more categories will come later. If there is something I didn't address then feel free to ask me about it and I will address it the best way I know how.

So get moving sisters...and brothers!

Once you have your trash pile, your charity pile, your garage sale/and or consignment pile then you are ready to begin phase 2. *Side note: I prefer to give my good stuff to consignment vs. saving it for a garage sale because of lack of storage space for me*

The first thing I will address is toys...the dreaded play room...or if you're like me the small bedroom.

My daughter is two years old and loves all things girl and things in between. Purses, babies, jewelry, dress up clothes, kitchen stuff, etc. You get the picture. Things could get real cluttered real quick. My last purging was right after Christmas. I got rid of five babies and left her with four, two purses (she still has two), and all the little bitty junk that gets lost so easy. We don't collect McDonald's toys because for one she has never had a happy meal and two the stuff is junk and clutters up the room.

I organized her closet so that the play kitchen would fit in the corner right when you walk in so she could still play with it but it was out of the way in her room. She got a wooden doll bed for Christmas so all the babies get nestled in there at night. Her kitchen accessories are stored in a small container with a lid. I purchased a three drawer set from Wal-Mart in which the top drawer holds all baby stuff (play diapers, bottles, doll clothes), the second drawer holds all the miscellaneous items like small balls, her flashlight, play purses, etc, and the last drawer holds her dress up items and play jewelry. The rest of her toys are bigger sets that won't fit into drawers (play dough set, doctor play set and her play laptop that she doesn't know how to use yet but she acts like she does:) Those things nestle on top of the drawer set or beside it.

She does have a bookshelf for all her books.

That's about all she has. Doesn't sound like much but how many toys do kids really need? I think kids get real spoiled when they have so much. They no longer appreciate the simplicity in life when they expect to have a room full of stuff. Plus, it's more to organize. All kids have their favorites anyway.

There are obviously things I want to keep for her and Judah as keepsakes so purchase a bin for those things. I do keep most of her crafts and such from Sunday School. I have a basket in the top of the closet that I store those things in each week. When it gets full I will purchase a bin, label it and then store it in our outbuildings. You can't keep everything so keep the best of the best.

Put away the toys that you want to keep that your kids like but maybe have lost interest in and bring them out when they are bored with their current toys. It will be like Christmas all over again.

Encourage family to buy a small toy, coupled with an outfit or two and then give them money for Christmas and birthdays. I requested size 3T outfits for Libby for Christmas so I could put them up for summer or winter. She had plenty of 2T and besides she wears her favorites and some clothes she has never had on.

We have two accounts set up for Libby and Judah so anytime they get money it goes in there.

I also keep a bin in their closets to put out-grown clothes in. It keeps them neat and keeps you from leaving them on the hangers or laying them in the floor to go through later. I regularly go through their closet and purge those items that are getting too small, out-of-season clothes, or clothes she/he wore but I didn't like. Those items go in the give-away pile. By keeping the bin handy, you can put the clothes in there as you need to and they are out of site and neat. When it gets full, label it and store it. If it's your last child, then yoo hoo, you can give it all away right?

Another thought on the kids clothes. Because their closets are big enough, I hang up the next size they will grow into so I always know what I have so I don't buy more than is needed. Throughout the years friends have given us clothes for them but they weren't able to wear yet. Libby has her 2T's hanging up and 3T's on the end. Now when people ask what she needs I can just go into her closet and look.

Same idea for adults except you won't store your clothes in bins unless they are maternity clothes (mine are stored in two bins labeled shirts and jeans, shorts, dresses.) or seasonal clothes if your closets are too small to hold both. My closets are big enough to hold both luckily.


WOW! Didn't mean to be soooo wordy, but there was so much to cover...hope I didn't lose you on this one.

More to come later in the week.

Happy organizing!!!!!

Sewing 101

After several futile attempts at finding Libby some summer shorts at resale shops and because I am feeling thrifty, I have decided to sew her some myself. Wal-Mart and Target wanted $3.50 and $4.00 respectively for their solid and print shorts and because she needs several pairs, I opted out of spending so much money. A friend has blessed Libby with many hand-me-down shirts in awesome condition, but no bottoms to match them so she has been unable to wear some of them because she has no shorts to match. She has a few pairs of blue jean shorts and a few pairs of capris but no comfy, cotton, play shorts. I purchased a pattern from Wal-Mart and then went through my scrap fabric pieces and raided my mom's bins as well. I spent 2 1/2 hours today cutting out seven pairs of shorts. Libby helped by handing me the pins as I needed them. I showed her that they poked so she was very careful as she gave them to me. The navy and white checked fabric was from an old pair of capris my mom had outgrown that she kept back for such a project as this. She never lets anything go to waste. So, seven pairs of shorts technically will not cost me anything other than the elastic. Pretty cheap if you ask me. I still need to purchase other solid fabric as some of her shirts have prints on them and it would definitely be a no-no to put a printed shirt with printed shorts...I just couldn't do that:) Once I get the hang of making the first pair, I should be able to whip out a pair in less than an hour. It's been a while since I have sewn anything and even that was curtains and throw pillows and an easy-step-one-hour-skirt-with-elastic for me. My mom is overseeing my endeavor on the first pair to make sure I am doing it right, but after that I should be able to sew them on my own. I need to start learning to make more things besides pillows and curtains. I would love to pass on sewing skills to Libby. My mom is a great seamstress but I just wasn't interested growing up and I regret that. I would be so far ahead if I had learned when she wanted to teach me as a child. It's never too late to start though. I am excited about it and I know I will feel a great sense of accomplishment. I will post pictures when I am finished.

Around the Corner in 109 days

Christmas will be here soon.

It's not even Fall yet, but I am in the Christmas baking mood today. I am trying to get a head start on some of my baking for my Christmas baskets I am going to make this year. I am putting even more thought this year into gift giving and if you read one of my posts a while back on gift giving, then you know that I am going to try and NOT give junk to those special people on my list. I am not sure how to link back to the article, so if one of my sweet blogging friends would kindly tell me how then I will come back and edit it with the link.

I am making pumpkin bread today, the small loaves, to put into the freezer. I also have other ideas I will be doing, but some of you are on my list to receive one of the homemade baskets...the basket isn't hand made of course...but you knew what I meant, right? I am excited about all the different ideas that are swarming through my head, but one thing at a time. I can go broke real quick trying to purchase everything at once, which is why I am spacing it out.

Now that Libby is much older this year, we hope to start some memorable family traditions which I hope will carry on through all our children's adult life. I didn't grow up with any family traditions, or at least I don't remember any, so it's important for us to start with our child/children. Yes, we are praying for more children when the Lords deems necessary. We started the first year Joey and I were married getting each other an ornament every year at Christmas. He goes shopping for mine and I go shopping for his. Because this will be our ninth Christmas married, we have already accumulated a bunch, not counting the ones I have purchased here and there. This year we are going to get one together because our tree is already getting pretty full. We bought Libby her first ornament last year and will continue to buy her one every year. When she gets married, she will then take them with her to put on her own family tree. It can get kinda crowded on the tree especially if you have several children, but you could always hang them on alternate places, i.e., wreath, miniature Christmas trees for their room, garland, etc. That's just one of the traditions we have already started, but hope to make new memories each year.

No, I haven't gotten my Christmas music out yet...but I am tempted when I start my baking. As soon as October hits, out come my few Fall decorations that I have accumulated.

Well, I am signing off. Wish me happy baking!!

Gift Ideas

With several gift buying occasions coming up and Christmas around the corner (5 months), I have been pondering what to buy everyone. I don't want to contribute to everyone else's "closet clutter," and I don't want my gifts to end up in the "white elephant" stack or be shipped off to Hospice because they can't use it or already have a dozen of them. Personally, I think gift buying at Christmas has almost become ridiculous. People go into debt to buy gifts and then you have those people who have absolutely everything and no one knows what to get them so you end up purchasing junk. Does anyone have this problem? Oh, it's probably just me! I am on a mission this year to be creative, practical, a good steward (not go into debt,) and a non-contributor to someone else's clutter. With that in mind, below are some ideas that I have been coming up with the last couple of days. I'm sure you all have other ideas that you have done before in the past so please pass along the info and share with everyone.

For Women:
These following items will leave no junk laying around when used

-Candles
-Bath goodies
-Stationary or note cards
-Gifts in a jar (cookies, soup, muffins, etc) I love these because when you need a quick dessert, just add your wet ingredients and Voila, you have a scrumptious dessert. A side note: You will have a canning jar left, but you can use it to store other things.
-Gift certificates for a pedicure, manicure, massage, hair cut, lunch for two with a friend
-Homemade goodies to eat, especially for the non-baker who doesn't have time or doesn't enjoy baking.
-Scrap booking accessories for the avid scrapbooker (only buy for the avid, not the people like me who have good intentions because it will end up on a shelf somewhere in my closet and become clutter)

Practical Gifts (Sometimes these gift aren't' fun, but people can use them)

-New underclothes (doesn't have to be frumpy; can be cute :)
-Steak knives (eventually, knives become dull or if you are my mom, you till have yours from 1985 and you're down to three good ones :) )
-Thread, yarn, material, or needles for the one who embroiders, crochets (not sure how to spell that), knits, or sews
-Replace kitchen stuff that has become broken, just needs to be replaced, or new things (glasses, wooden spoons, an additional set of silverware, new tupperware, etc) Several years ago, I asked for cooling racks because I didn't have any and I use mine all the time when I make bread or cookies. Also, I have been slowly doing away with most of my Teflon cookware so I ask for stainless steel pots, pan, bread pans, etc. I still have a few things that I want to keep for those tough jobs that will stick in stainless.
-For the hobbyist in your family, think of what to add to their collection that they will use: stickers and paper for the scrapbooker, new paints or brushes for the crafter, new box, thread, or needles for the sewer, beads and accessories for the jewelry maker, an i-Tunes gift card for the walker or exerciser who likes to listen to music. New trowel, gloves, and garden bench for the gardener. Be creative
-New clothes or shoes (Having 20 pairs of flip flops is practical for me because I wear all of them until they wear out, lol)
-New flowers for the yard, garden seed, or a new tree (one year, Joey's friend David bought him a Live Oak for his birthday which we have planted in the front yard. Very practical and pretty to look at all year)
-New hand towels for the kitchen or bathroom or replace worn out bath towels

Fun gifts to have fun with. (They may or may not be practical, but if the receiver likes them, then by all means go for it.)

-New cookbook they have been wanting
-A fun, cozy, or practical book to add to their collection. If they are interested in learning about something, buy them a book to further expand their knowledge (homeopathy, herbalism, gardening, raising chickens, canning, etc. ) Maybe you can add to a series they have going, a self-help book they want, or a neat book on craft ideas.
-Flip flops in every color under the sun
-New black purse (Can you ever have too many purses?)
-Cute decoration for the house if wall space permits :)
-Photo albums
-Picture frames
-New CD or DVD
-Pretty tablecloth
-Something to add to their collection if they wish to add to it. (western decor, country stuff, enamel ware, etc.)
-New earrings
-Gift certificate to their favorite store
-Journal for the avid journalist
-Subscription to a magazine they will read
-Perfume

For Men:
I will group all the categories together for men since there aren't quite as many options for them that don't cost and arm or a leg. These are gifts that don't have to cost a fortune.

-Magazine/Newspaper subscription
-CD-DVD for the music and movie lover
-New clothing (under and outer) for the men who refuse to buy for themselves
-Gift certificate to their favorite store (Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Cabella's, Fry's, etc)
-Gift certificate for a restaurant
-New hunting or fishing gear for the hunters
-Movie theater gift certificates
-Cologne for the smelly good men
-Fancy coffee for the avid coffee drinkers (My brother gets new coffee every year from my mom because he loves all kinds of different flavors...don't buy Folgers :))
-A sermon series on CD or DVD (These are a big hit for Joey)
-New tools (guys go crazy over tools...most of them do)
-New book for the readers of the family

Then there are gifts for men that do cost a fortune, but if your budget permits then go for it. (Guns, big tools, i-Pod, etc.)

There is so much more to add to this list. Put on your thinking caps and send me some good ideas that maybe you have used before or new ideas you have thought of. I definitely want to keep the right perspective when it comes to gift giving at Christmas. Our focus should be on Jesus and not on the drudgery of gift buying.

Happy Thinking!