Guess What? I'm back...or at least trying to be

Well, I have been absent from this post for about 1 1/2 years.  I didn't intend to stop but my typical tendencies took over and I didn't take steps to get on top of them.  However, after walking through some pretty wicked postpartum anxiety I am going to give this a try again.  After the last "again" that I declared a long, long time ago.

As we all have read I am the queen of making plans that don't get completely finished.  So rather than making a plan to tackle, I will just tell everyone how things are going.  Like I mentioned I have pulled myself up out of a funk and honestly, I have seen how long I have lived with it by my habits around the house.  So many of the things I avoid actually have to do with anxiety.  I hate opening mail.  I dislike the very thought of it, so I let mail pile up.  Once I sit myself down to go through it the process is never as bad as I had it in my mind it would be.

So today, I began to straighten my garage.  This has been on my to do list for over a year.  Remember, it was originally on my plan that I created when coming up with this blog.  Well, I avoided it and avoided it.  I found one excuse after another.  Well, today I went out and started to straighten it.  I have made a huge ton of space and scheduled a pick up from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City.  This stuff will be gone to go help someone else by July 12!  Whoo hoo!

I think the next thing I want to address is the closet in the toy room.  I have opened a home daycare and need good storage for materials.  I will probably have to readdress the storage room to make space, but let's take it one step at a time. 

Happy Organizing!

Ding, dong the laundry's done!! (humming the Wizard of Oz song)

It's done!!!  It's done!!!  It's done!!!  Whoo hoo!!!  Laundry is so totally not my favorite thing to do in life and I habitually get behind and backlogged.  But I got through it...well, with a lot of help from the hubby.

Just look at my laundry room...

I won't embarrass myself and tell you that I lost count of how many loads it took to get on top of it...but I will just tell you that we were able to get it done and with a concerted effort yesterday and had just a little bit left to do today.

Now, the only problem that remains when you are caught up on laundry is that the drawers in the dressers are too full (my kiddo's complaint is that they "won't open, MOM!")...oh well...guess that's just a new project to add to the list.

I will admit that this whole "Organizing Emily" bit is creating somewhat of a monster because not only have I gotten caught up on laundry, I have made dinner, cycled the dishwasher wiped down the counters and cleaned out the fridge!  Booyah!!!  I'm on a roll.  Just check it out...

And check out the To Do list for the day...

Ahhh....I love To Do lists that look like that!!  How about you? (And again...I need to give a little shout out to the hubby for his effort...check out his contribution at the bottom of the list.  Without him, it would not have gotten done today.)

So thanks for indulging my little bragging moment.  We're making some progress and it feels really, really, REALLY good!!

So I Fell Off the Bandwagon.... :(

Well, I am back...I apologize for not posting in October.  Not only did I not post, I really didn't do any projects.  I did however keep my house better than I had before.  I straightened Aidan's toy room so now it again looks like there is carpet and although not perfect with my dishes, when they get out of hand it takes about 30 minutes and 1 load in the dishwasher to catch up rather than 2 hours and about 2 loads with a bunch of stuff handwashed as well.  (Phew, that was a long sentence)

I am not totally sure about this homemade laundry soap deal though.  I was impressed with it when I first made it and I will make at least 1 more batch, but it makes me nervous not to see bubbles in the water when I start the load and smell that "Tide" smell when the load is done.  BUT!!!  That does not mean I have given up...I will try it for a little longer and I will see what I can do to add essential oils to help with a scent.

I do have to do a little "product plug" for a second though.  In October I bought a new mop made by O'Cedar.  It is "Swiffer-ish" in that it has a removable cleaner pad and a well for cleaning solution.  For about $20 you get a mop that you can use your choice of cleaner and can wash the pad in the washer (it just Velcro's back on).  Aidan is in love with it.  He tries to mop the kitchen everyday...which is no problem in my book....and it is very easy to use. 

So to get myself back "on the bandwagon" I will propose this...November originally was supposed to be focused on the toy room.  I did discover that much of what I need to do in the living room is connected to projects that can be done in the toy room.  So here we go:

Weekends:
Nov 4- general household projects- laundry, straightening, removing Halloween decorations, etc
Nov 11- Organize games from living room into closet in toy room, move former coffee table out of living room, sift through shoes
Nov 18- Pack away underused/outgrown toys, donate some, etc.
Nov 25- General cleaning....enjoying the family since it will be the first year EVER when the hubby hasn't been working retail as a manager....Happy Thanksgiving for that!!! 

Everyday in between is again dishes and laundry and an all around attempt at "Organizing Emily!"

I hope everyone had a great Halloween...we sure did!  Enjoy the rest of your fall and get ready for Thanksgiving...it's right around the corner.

:)


~~~P.S. The cream of tartar trick works great with your drip pans on your stove. Just put them in the stock pot and remember your ratio of 1 tsp of cream of tartar to 1 quart of water.  I would make sure that you use a stainless steel or aluminum pot rather than non-stick.  Cream of Tartar is slightly caustic and I don't know what it would do to the "calphalon" type finishes.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Recently I have become interested in the idea of using homemade cleaning products.  Vinegar seems to be as useful as anything else.  It kills mold, sanitizes, acts as a fabric softener...the list goes on and on.  I am having tons of fun (weird...I know) using Borax in my cleaning as well.  AND don't get me started on the benefits of Baking Soda!! 

I got curious about making homemade laundry detergents and wanted to give it a try,  Many of the liquid recipes seem somewhat involved to make.  Then the detergent is goopy and will separate...really not something I want to invest a ton of time into while I'm trying to figure this process out.  However, I found a recipe for powdered detergent (although I'm not usually a big fan of powdered detergents generally) that seemed reasonable and is easy enough to throw together.  I got my recipe from www.tipnut.com and I highly recommend the site.

So here's the recipe:

Powdered Laundry Detergent
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

• Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

BTW- with a little research I learned that the soap should be finely grated for better dissolving but I did find someone who uses a regular cheese grater and has it in larger pieces.  She says that it works well for her.  I found that the soap doesn't mix as well in bigger shreds with the Borax and Washing Soda which are both incredibly fine powders.  So I recommend that you finely grate them.  I mixed up the batch and have the first load in the wash.  I will be curious to see the results.

ANOTHER BTW- don't worry about keeping a tablespoon near your washer.  Simply use your old dispenser cup from your last bottle of detergent...that cute little line that has a number 1 by it equals about 2 tablespoons.  I checked it...it works. 

YET ANOTHER BTW (ok this will be the last one!)- be sure to use washing soda rather than baking soda.  They are two totally different products and work completely differently...you can add a small amount of vinegar (1/8 cup) to the load to act as a fabric softener but I read some conflicting information about still needing a dryer sheet...I'll check this one out in more depth as we get into winter and things get really staticy around here...lastly, you can add a few drops of essential oils to your recipe to help with scent....PHEW, I think it got it all in!!!

I know, more silly information....but I am having so much fun doing this and I just want to share it all with you!!!  Have fun organizing!!!

oh AND...check out www.vinegartips.com!  It gives you 1001 ways to use white distilled vinegar! 

Cream of Tartar...who knew?

So I just wanted to let everyone know of a new secret weapon in the kitchen.  Cream of Tartar!!!  I know, who actually uses it?  We all have it for some reason...I had 2 1/2 little containers because I made playdough over the summer...but really, I never use it.

Until today!!  I noticed that my stockpot was developing that gross film that just happens...scrub though I may it just wasn't coming off.  So I went online and found a suggestion from another blog (can't remember the name, I think it was  Paystolivegreen.com or something like that...I'll figure it out). 

Regardless, they recommended 1 tsp cream of tartar to 1 quart of water.  Boil for 10 minutes and the scunge will be gone!  

Believe it or not it was true!!  I could see it getting cleaner while it boiled!!  LOVED IT!!! 

I've already started using vinegar to clean mold (and generally disinfect), borax to help with drains and laundry.  Baking soda for laundry and kitchen cleaning.  I am digging this whole idea of household items to clean your stuff.  It's cheap and with a little elbow grease, it works!!!

Anyway, I will let you go, that is enough about cleaning for one day!!  Phew!

Making Progress...

So we started off with this...

What a terrible mess.  Each time I started to work on it, I got pulled away to do something else and again always felt that I made a mess but never finished my work.  So we got to this...

 Not done by any means but getting there slowly.

Luckily yesterday I was able to push on through and we finally got this...

And this....

Much better!!!  Don't you agree?  Can you see my plates on the wall?  Here let me give you a better pic...

My beautiful plates!!!  My hubby gave me these for my birthday, while we were dating, after we both moved back together from our long distance locations.  I love them...and now I can actually see them again!!!  Whoo hoo!

Luckily yesterday wasn't only about islands and plates.  I was able, somehow to get my recipe book organized.  Unfortunately I didn't think to take a before picture, but the after picture is great.  And believe me, just think of a blue binder eating about half a pound of paper and you'll get the gist.  But check this baby out...

My favorite part about the rest of the day yesterday was that I was able to clean out my corner cabinet and purge so much junk!  I also organized my kitchen in general. I love this room again.

Ahhh...so much nicer!  I love that I have one more weekend left in September and a manageable project left.  My next project will be to purge the Gladware containers and organize the cabinets/counters. 

Until next time...let's have fun Organizing Emily!!

September Has Begun!!!!

Let's get ready to clean!!! 

I haven't done perfectly on my August mini project...but dishes certainly got done more readily than on a normal day.  During the month of September I will take on the kitchen...this monster (err, I mean room) taunts me daily and refuses to stay clean. 

My first goal in the kitchen will be to regain control of my beloved island.  This was one of my first big purchases after graduating college.  During my childhood my mother made toffee on a marble slab at Christmas time every year.  Naturally I learned at her knee how to make toffee and was so excited to find an island with granite. 

Only problem, it becomes my "collect all."  So to this I say "Goodbye, Junk!!!"

Deadline for completion:  September 6, 2011