My new goal...

I am such a nerd for organizing. Today, I found my new favorite blog...IHeart Organizing! It's awesome and has inspired me already. I don't usually make New Years resolutions because...well...they (or should I say "I") always disappoint. I am, however, making a goal. My goal is to organize something at home every day. EVERY day. And believe me, there is more than plenty to organize.

Today was a good day for organizing. Before heading to the PTO meeting at my son's school, I took down all my Christmas decorations, organized them into bins (one bin of ornaments for the tree and another of my Santa decorations) and took them down into basement. Success! I feel so much better. I can't wait for the hubby to drag the tree outside.

After my meeting, I came home and organized a shelf in my bathroom closet. Yes, one shelf. But I'm so excited. It was my 'hair stuff' shelf and it was a mess. I didn't take a before picture, but here's the finished product:

Isn't it great?! The pink basket was a gift basket of goodies from Bath & Body Works that I received for Christmas. The two small boxes were also gifts. Perfect size for my elastic hair bands and for my clips and bobby pins. My curling iron and straightener fit perfectly in the corner. 

I just showed my husband. He said, "Oh wow. It's so.....organized." Clearly, not as enthused as I. Oh well...I'll show him. See that shelf above the organized one? That's going to be FUN. I realize that I will be needing more boxes/baskets/containers so I may have to head over to Target this weekend. 

I really am excited about my new goal! I hope I can sleep tonight.

The Aftermath

Christmas is fun...the aftermath, not so much.

I think I broke a world record for how many times a person has cleaned their living room in one day. Actually, to be completely honest, I was a little excited to clean. I was happy there were tiny pieces of ripped up wrapping paper on my rug. And piles of Christmas tree needles spread about. This is because we got a new vacuum cleaner! A Shark. And it's a beauty! It's a sad state of affairs when life's happiness is a new vacuum cleaner. My husband and I were like excited little kids trying out a new toy. He tried it for a little while and then I used it on the couch cushions. Good times! My favorite time to vacuum is in the morning before work. That way I can come home from work to a nice clean floor.

On another note - I'd like to find something for my living room. Where my tree is now. You can see the area I'm talking about in this previous post. When the tree goes, I want to add something new. Something like this that I found on Pinterest. This particular piece is a little out of my price range so I'm on a mission to find something similar. I'll be visiting some second hand furniture shops. Wish me luck!

The Zombie Apocalypse is Real

The zombie apocalypse is real...I know because I've been a zombie for a few days now. Who needs cable? Not me - I had the walking dead right here. Today wasn't so bad. I managed to get myself and my little family up and to church. And, we made it to 2 birthday parties this weekend - only because of the magic that is Dayquil.

Friday was another story. After about a week of sleepless nights and pretending I wasn't getting sick, it hit me like a ton of bricks. My son was home sick from school all week with a horrible cough. A cough that was worst at night and in the early mornings. A tossing-and-turning-can't-get-comfortable-no-matter-what-all-night-long kind of cough. An "I just want to be by you, Mommy" cough. It was one of those weeks where I drove to work and didn't actually remember the drive to work. Somehow my zombie-like brain got me there and got me through the day.

On Friday, I missed what was going to be a super-fun little road trip with a friend (still going to make it up to you, Kelly!) up north to a tasting party hosted by my favorite healthy-eating author and blogger*. But since I could barely swallow, couldn't really taste anything, and was in pain when I talked, I opted to stay home. After all, I was a zombie - and they like to eat human brains or something. At least that's what my 5-year-old dreams about. He told me one morning he had a dream that his dad and I fell out of bed, cracked our heads open and then zombies came to suck out our brains. WHA?! That would explain why I felt so miserable.

By the way...did I mention my dear little 3-legged dog, Annie, got into some chocolate chips on Tuesday and now my couch smells like dog puke and febreeze. Good times. I plan on tackling that smell when I'm feeling 100% better. I can handle some nasty stuff, but that smell is something else.

So Saturday was a little better. Went out for lunch with the boys and felt like I was going to pass out in Menards while we were trying to find someone who worked there who could help us with a shower module. Why is it that those sales vultures - I mean people - are always asking if you need help when you don't. But when you actually do - they are no where to be found?! We didn't leave Menards empty handed. We got 2 window scrapers, 2 candy bars and a giant packet of Starburst. DAMN them for putting that candy on sale at the check out! I was sick as a dog and still couldn't resist.

Today is the first day that my throat is feeling better. And just in time - I did an Advent reading at church and got to see my little man sing a couple songs with all the other Sunday School kids. They did awesome. But now I'm exhausted. The Packers are on and I may not be able to stay awake for the whole game. But I'll sleep good tonight. I'll get more sleep tonight than I have the past 5 nights combined. And we'll be back to normal tomorrow. My son will be back to school, I'll be back to work and I'll start to clean this disaster I've been living in for the past week. Tonight WILL NOT be night of the living dead.

I never liked zombie movies anyway.



*If you are at all interested in healthy eating, please check out Maria's blog: http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/. She is amazing as are her recipes!

I Ain't Even Lyin'!

Told ya. Socks. In the middle of the living room floor. In front of the Christmas tree. I wasn't planning on posting to the blog tonight but I couldn't resist sharing! And...I'm testing the blogger mobile app on my phone. Works pretty good.
Goodnight. Duty calls...there are socks to be picked up.

Neurotic Organization

Welcome to my very first blog. I'm really excited (and maybe a little nervous) so bear with me and go easy on me...I will do my best to not be utterly boring and undeserving of your attention!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I like to be organized, I like things to be planned well in advance, and I like - no, I need - to be early...for EVERYTHING. Most people probably find it annoying. Sometimes I annoy myself.

I thought I'd create a blog for two purposes. One - to be able to express my neurosis about being organized. Yes - it's neurotic, really. One time I decided to leave my husband's socks on the living room floor (his favorite place to take them off) and see how long it would take before he picked them up and placed them into the laundry basket. A week later, I was having MAJOR anxiety about it while he probably didn't give the socks a second look. Lesson learned - I just need to pick up the damned socks myself and I'll be a much happier person.

I have come to terms with the fact that no room in my house will stay clean for more than 24 hours (I have a 5-year-old boy). I can attest that it takes one 5-year-old about 10 minutes to turn a room from tidy to disaster. I'll blog to tell my stories - maybe they'll be entertaining - maybe they'll be depressing - maybe you've experienced the same thing.

If you've been to my house, you know how small it is. I love my cozy house for so many reasons. But it is small. I'm talking living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom small. We've gotten creative when it comes to capitalizing on space and organizing things efficiently. Which brings me to the second purpose of my blog. To share ways that we've made the most of our small spaces. And, to find new ways to organize. I'll share my ideas, pictures of things we've done, and cool things I've come across. If you have ideas or are looking for ideas, let me know. I love to find solutions when it comes to organizing and small spaces.

Cheers! (But put that glass in the sink when you're done. And rinse it out while you're at it.)