My NEW Car

Things have definitely changed in my vehicle in the last week. So much so that it feels like a new car! Last week I made it my goal to clean and organize my car as it was getting out of control!  (read about that here)  After getting a few suggestions and doing a bit of my own research, I found some things that will hopefully work for me and my family.  I did quite a bit of research online and first figured out what exactly I wanted to store in my car.  Once I knew what I wanted to store, I made a plan for where I wanted to store them.  Next up was a trip to the Dollar Tree!

Dollar Tree Purchases

Here is how I used those things in my car.

The green bin fit PERFECTLY into my center console.  Most everything that I put in the container was already in the console but it would never stay neat. The bin now keeps everything organized and in its place. Plus, I am still able to store a couple CDs beside the bin.

I used the tablet sleeves to organize items in the front driver and passenger doors.   In the driver's side door I put my car cleaning supplies.  The passenger side door stores pens, wet wipes, napkins and straws.

Apparently I had my flash on for one of the pictures... my car doors are really the same color!

For the second row of seats I wanted to find organizers for the girls.  They love to color and draw in the car but there are always color crayons, colored pencils and paper ALL over the floor.  With the help of a friend, I found some organizers that I am hoping will keep the floors clean!  They just arrived this afternoon and I couldn't wait until I got home to install them.  I used my break at work and went out to the car and set them up and I love them!

The girls are at Grandpa & Grandma's this week so I can't wait until they come home and start using them! Grandma, if you're reading this, feel free to show them!  I am pretty sure my oldest will love it as last week she was making an "organizer" for her room out of an empty pop box and envelope box!

Anyway, hopefully all of these things will help me KEEP the car clean! And keep my car feeling like it is NEW !

A STEP OF FAITH & A MESSY CAR

A STEP OF FAITH
This summer our family has taken a step of faith.  To make a long story a little bit shorter, we moved at the end of last month.   Our neighbors approached us months ago and asked if we had any interest in selling our home.  We didn’t think too much of it as there have been no homes on the market that we would want to purchase.  But in the last few months, things have fallen into place and we felt God’s plan for our family was to move. 

Friends of ours left this summer for Papua New Guinea for a year with Wycliffe Ministries and we were offered the opportunity to rent their house.  It has been an exciting move that has come with a little bit of anxiety! We need to find somewhere else to live by the time they return but we are trusting in a faithful God. We know he has a plan for our family.  We don’t know what exactly but we have faith that this was the right move for our family. 

So over the next year, I may not have as many posts due to the fact that we are living in someone else's home. However, there is always something to improve upon or fix so who knows, things may stay the same!

A MESSY CAR
For instance, this weekend after returning home from being out of town, I decided it was way past the time to clean out my car.  It was a mess!  Garbage, papers from the kids, color pencils, stuffed animals, a few remaining things from the move, empty grocery bags, packing paper, and a whole lot more!  

Not actually my car but it was heading there!

My car always seems to be a mess and I have decided I need to figure out a new plan for my car.  I need a system in place to keep it from getting that messy again.  

So this week that is my goal: 

ORGANIZE MY CAR!

I have already cleared everything out of the car and vacuumed, but now I need to figure out a plan.  I could use your help... how do you keep your vehicle clean and organized?  

Morning Distractions

Lately mornings have been a little more chaotic.  I'm not sure if it is the change in the weather or something else but the girls have been extremely distracted in the morning.  I am constantly giving the girls instructions in the morning and even then they get distracted and forget what they are doing.  I realize this is typical behavior for kids, however, it was delaying our mornings to the point where we were rushing to get things done before getting out the door.  It made mornings stressful.

Our solution?  CHECKLISTS! This way they know everything they need to do in the morning and they are responsible for getting it done.  I got colored clipboards for each of the girls and then used self-seal laminating pouches for their checklists so they could use dry erase markers with them. This way I only have to make one checklist instead of a different copy for each day.

This morning was the first morning using the checklists and the morning went MUCH smoother.  Ellia was even done early and had a chance to watch some cartoons before we left this morning which never happens.  Josie carried her checklist around with her all morning even after she was done with her list.  Hopefully that excitement stays with them.  The only thing I forgot to add to the checklists...our morning hugs! 

Small Victories!

This weekend with the help of my parents, we heavy-duty cleaned the girls’ bedrooms.  During this process we found many different boxes and bins being used to store the girl’s art supplies.  It was a little bit of chaos.  Years ago I had created this storage box for the girls art supplies and it worked well for the time being.  However, over the years they have accumulated a lot more and the box just wasn’t cutting it anymore, which explains the extra boxes and containers being used to store everything.

So my hubby and dad went to Shopko for me and picked up a solution to bring a little order to their art supplies. After a little assembly, we now have a new “art cart.”  Each drawer houses specific art supplies.  One drawer for color pencils, one for scissors and tape, one for stickers, etc.   So far the girls love it and I love that we were able to get rid of some more clutter.  Not only did we get rid of some extra boxes from their rooms, we were even able to clear out two baskets out of our entertainment center in the living room. 

The new "Art Cart"

I have been posting to this blog for a year and a half now and I think that it has made a big difference in our home.  The process of getting rid of clutter and bringing more order into our house has been a slow one but it is so great when you can see progress, even when it is as small of a victory as an “art cart!”

An Unplanned Project

While attempting to mash potatoes for supper last night, the masher slipped and potatoes flew everywhere!  Most of them fell between our stove and the fridge, of course, landing where I could not reach them.  So the fridge needed to be moved.

We've lived in our house for seven years and the fridge has never been moved. It's one of those projects that I always intended to get done but never got around to it. Now it had to be done!

Here is what was discovered in my next half hour:

• a bouncy ball
• a polly pocket doll
• a couple of the girls art projects
• A, J, & Z magnets
• a red popsicle (fun fact, I don't remember the last time we had popsicles in the house)
• a very thick layer of dust bunnies
• and of course, potatoes

So I guess I should thank the potatoes because the area under my fridge has never been so clean!

Overlooked Tasks

Even when you have systems in place to keep you organized, you always seem to go through phases where the chaos takes over and tasks get overlooked.  That seems to be where I am at the moment.   I used to do three simple things every night before I went to bed and somewhere along the line they got forgotten.  Today I am starting that process over again.

Before I can go to bed tonight, these are the three things I need to accomplish:

Clear off the bathroom counter and the bathroom floor.  Mornings are busy in our house so sometimes things don’t get put away.  Who am I kidding? Most every morning things don’t get put away!  My task is to clear the counter and the floor of anything that has a home elsewhere.  Hair ties and brushes need to be put back in their drawer.  My curling iron needs to be placed in the holder on the side of the cabinet.  The towel that didn’t get hung up after the shower this morning gets placed back on the towel rack.  The dirty clothes get put in the hamper.  Keep in mind this step isn’t about cleaning.  It’s about CLEARing the space.   I save the cleaning for the day I normally clean. 

Clean the kitchen sink and countertops.  If I have any dishes that have piled up during the day, I either make sure that they get put in the dishwasher or if there are only a few things to be washed, I hand wash them and put them away.  I try to make sure that the sink and counter is clear.  I also quickly wipe down the area. 

Pick up and put away 5 things that are out of place.  Sometimes you just don’t have time in the evening to pick up the entire house, so instead I make it a goal to pick up 5 things that are out of place and put them where they belong.  Sometimes I will only do the 5 things, but more than likely once I start picking up a few things I’m motivated to do more.  Just sitting here typing this, I can already see the five things to put away.

Before I even start tonight, I know how much I will appreciate these three tasks being done in the morning.  I can start my morning off with a little less chaos and stress.

Do you have a routine you follow before bed to help with the chaos? 

Why didn't I think of that before?

Do you ever say to yourself, "why didn't I think of that before?"

I had one of those moments this weekend while cleaning up the kitchen.  We have a hutch in our kitchen that I bought on Craigslist quite a few years ago.  The top cabinets originally had glass panels but when I purchased it the glass was gone.  The first few years I had it I used the cabinets to display cookbooks and other items, but in the last few years we have needed one of the shelves more for storage/food storage.  My temporary solution was a tension rod with fabric draped over it.  I had intentions of sewing curtains or figuring something else out down the line but never got around to doing anything else.  So it just stayed that way.

The fabric hanging looked fine from the outside, however, it was a pain to move the fabric every time you needed something from the cabinet.  Half the time the fabric was pulled up so that the bottom shelf was not covered which made it look worse than if it wasn't covered at all.

While cleaning off the hutch and rearranging the fabric for the umpteenth time, the solution came to me.  VELCRO!  Why I hadn't thought of it before I don't know.  I cut out panels from the fabric for each door and attached adhesive velcro to the corners.  Yes, I know the fabric isn't cut nice, neat or even straight but I really didn't care too much about how it looked from the inside.

 

The best part about the velcro is that I can change out the fabric easily.  The bad thing... now I want to go fabric shopping! 

The finished product