A Clean Home Challenge 2: The Drawer Declutter

It seems like I woke up one morning and found that my serving utensils like spoons, spatulas and ladles had multiplied. They occupied a large drawer in my kitchen and I could no longer get that darned drawer to close... and it had migrated to a second drawer of kitchen mess. This was driving me crazy.

Yeah... it was really out of control.  I found a ton of flat out junk shoved in these drawers. Take Out Silver wear and Straws, note pads, treat bags, notes and half completed grocery lists to name a few.

The only way to really tackle any project is to just dig in to it. So I pulled everything out the drawers. I found kitchen knives that should not have been in these drawers and packaged them for Goodwill. I found measuring cups with the measurements worn off and unreadable. Those went to the Goodwill box as well.  Old spoons were destined to be discarded as well as several spatulas.

When the drawers were empty I disinfected them.

Next I pulled a bean crock out of my cupboards. I have had this item for 11 years or so... I baked in it one time, and used it to store left overs a few times. It was really one of those things that I don't need but don't want to part with. So it takes up cabinet space and is never used.

Realizing the crock is gorgeous I decided it would be better used as a spoon/spatula holder where it could be functional and admired.

The items I opted to keep were a perfect fit in the crock! I have 2 empty drawers now and I can grab whatever spoon or spatula I might need without having to rummage through a messy drawer to find it.

 I was really impressed with the results of this challenge. My kitchen looks better without 2 drawers that won't close. I reduced the amount of clutter in the kitchen drawers and I put a lovely item to use in my kitchen, and I disinfected 2 drawers.

This drawer declutter was a project that needed to be completed maybe 6 weeks ago in all honesty. It only took me about 8 minutes from start to finish and it didn't cost any money to complete.

I have 2 other drawers awaiting a declutter. One holds hand towels and napkins, one holds dishtowels. I am going to reduce my towels/napkins by selecting any that are stained, frayed or in another state of disarray to get rid of.  I hope to reduce the napkins/towels by half. My family should be able to survive with 7 hand towels in the kitchen instead of 15. We don't need 5 sets of cloth napkins for the 4 of us. This will hopefully free up another drawer for a total of 3 drawers to use in another way.

My 3rd Challenge for A Clean Home involves a DIY organizer that will cost you under $11 to complete. If you have kids you won't want to miss it!

I would love to challenge you to clean out a drawer or two in your kitchen. I would be thrilled to have to you leave a comment and tell me about your kitchen drawer declutter project.

A Clean Home Challenge 1 : 50 items

The holidays have come and gone, and while Christmas is a ton of fun for almost everyone, the aftermath of the holidays can be discouraging and overwhelming. After Santa paid a visit to my children and the gifts had been exchanged with friends and family I stood in horror looking at the disaster Christmas left in its wake. New toys and clothes were piled upon old toys and clothes...boxes and bags littered just about every surface. Scraps of paper were scattered here and there. Then we get into the bedrooms, where it was every bit as bad, except figure in that laundry, and random things like a new booster seat, were stashed in those rooms at the last minute before the family arrived to celebrate.

Just a few weeks ago I went on a cleaning spree. If you follow my Dear Weary Mom series you might remember the box of burdens post. I filled a huge box up and took it to Goodwill and Community Action. Despite that massive decluttering, my house needed another overhaul to accommodate Christmas.

When I really thought about it, my house needs another round of decluttering, a deep clean and a massive organizational effort. My family of 4 with 2 dogs resides in a very small house, only about 890 square feet. We have outgrown this house to say the least, but we are trying to stay here for at least 6 months. To last another 6 months in such a small space with a growing family is going to be difficult if I don't find ways to make the space we do have work for us.

With this in mind I have been collecting ideas, sketching plans and making lists of projects that I want to tackle to whip my home into shape.

Each post in the series A Clean Home will feature an inexpensive way you can clean or organize something in your home. The first Challenge I gave to myself was to  select 50 Items from my home to donate to Goodwill. I gave myself 2 days to gather my 50 items.

Among the 50 items I had 6 towels, 2 top sheets, 3 blankets, 5 pairs of socks, 8 toys from my sons room, 2 sleepers of Harper's. 5 kitchen knives, a cheese grater, a reusable bag, a measuring cup, dog grooming products, an outgrown coat and pair of bibs, baby shoes, 3 handbags, 2 clutches, 2 hats, a book, a few magazines, 2 bottles of shampoo I didn't like, a scarf , Christmas lights and a few t shirts. I exceeded my goal of 50 items and filled 2 medium size boxes. I still plan to sort through stuffed animals and pull 5 out for a donation to Goodwill, and I suspect there are a few more towels that won't make the cut for keeping, both bath and hand towels.

Now that I have reduced the amount of clutter in my house it is time to start organizing. I hope you will keep coming back to read more about my challenges in this series. Next time, we will talk about a very messy drawer in my house and how I plan to get it under control.

7 Ways To Entertain a 3 Year Old

Photo Credit: the photos belong to their respective owners. Visit the links to see the original sources.

It is winter and my 3 year old son has cabin fever already. I have been searching pinterest for activities to keep him happily learning and playing all day long. These are some of the cutest ideas I found.

This pretend plate of food for Thanksgiving activity would be a good way to build my son up to eating Thanksgiving dinner. He is pretty sure he doesn't like anything but chicken and crackers.

My son might be down with this pretend ice cream cone craft. 

Hand print flowers would be fun to make and cute to display.

My son would like this make a lion craft. This is a must try soon idea!

My son loves playing matching games so this Popsicle  game would be a lot of fun for both of us.

My son loves to check out tanks of fish so he would like creating a fish of his own I am sure.

My son really loves the idea of Christmas and he loves cereal. Win, Win.

10 Baby Items You Won't Need

When I found out I was pregnant with my son Roo I was ecstatic. One of the things I was interested in was the birth process! You can learn more about the hypnobirthing technique like I did. I did a lot of shopping for baby gear before my baby shower and I ended up with a ton of baby items I absolutely didn't need, and I used many of them once if ever. When I found out I was expecting again I had a good idea of what things I would not need. I am going to share a list of baby items you really don't need to help you save money when you are shopping for a baby shower or your own little bundle of joy.

A baby wipe warmer- I received a baby wipe warmer as a shower gift. I thought what a cool idea and couldn't wait to set it up I envisioned my son being blissful when a perfectly warm wipe touched his skin...Then he arrived and I found I was never changing a diaper in the same place. I became a master of changing diapers in any location. The pads in the warmer dried out super fast and it mostly sat around using electricity. Save your money on this item, it is really not needed.

Baby Blankets- I saw so many cute blankets that I couldn't resist buying about a dozen for Roo. Then I had a baby shower and received 9 handmade blankets and 10 adorable mass produced blankets. We had so many baby blankets that I ended up giving 5 away right off the bat. We had so many blankets in the end that my son only used a few of them once or twice. We didn't need to buy any blankets for Harper as we had so many and friends and family have offered her handmade blankets also. Save your money, don't buy any blankets until after your baby shower. Really you need no more than 6 blankets in my opinion.

Toys that are aimed at newborns- Let's face it, we can't resist buying some of this baby stuff because it is cute! Toys are no exception. With Roo he had so many toys at birth that it was crazy. People that aren't familiar with babies will buy them toys at birth (or so it seems) then act very disappointed when baby isn't playing with them right away. If you need to buy toys stick with teethers, rattles and similar items. You are better off to buy toys for future play. Think the 3-6 month age range.

Clothes from the previous season- I have a well meaning relative that works retail. She buys up all of the kids clothes she can for my family at prices as low as $1 per piece. This always makes me feel bad! She might bring 20 items to us from the previous season. My infant daughter cannot wear a 3-6 month tank top and short set when it is January. Before she could wear it she will have outgrown it and that is a waste of money from the well meaning loved one. If you are going to buy off season clothes, think how big will the child be when it is spring? And buy a bigger size than what the child is currently wearing.

Infant towels- these are cute, who can resist tiny little towels?! But really they are so thin and flimsy they are not super effective for drying a baby. You can use your bath towels on baby, it will be okay!

Tummy Time Mats- These are cute and look fun too, but you can save at least $30 by not getting one. Put one of the lovely baby blankets you have to use. Offer baby a few of those toys you couldn't resist or were given as a gift. A rattle, a large inflatable ball  or a child safe mirror will do the trick of engaging the child while he or she is getting tummy time.

Pacifier Wipes- You think you are going to use these. You have good intentions. Then you realize how busy you are, you forget about them. These are a novel idea but in my opinion, they are not worth the money. 

Diaper Genie- I am sorry the idea of a huge container of soiled diapers just grosses me out. Plus, this is just silly! Just throw the diapers away with your garbage and save your money. The refills on these are too expensive anyhow.

Baby Powder- this smells nice, don't get me wrong, but my pediatrician told me not to use it, it is like rubbing sandpaper on delicate skin and can cause breathing problems if inhaled. He said frequent changes and use of diaper ointment when needed are better options for baby.

Baby Shoes- my daughter is 6 weeks old. She has 8 pairs of shoes for the 0-3 month size. She has at least 3 pairs of each size of shoe until she is about 18 months old... don't get caught up in this style game! One pair, maybe 2 if you can't resist of each size is more than enough. Shoes are really unneeded considering baby cannot walk.

I hope this list helps you save money on items for baby. I would love to hear from you, what items did you have that you found to be completely unnecessary?

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Life With A New Baby

Some of you might be interested to hear how life with a new baby is going in my world, so I thought I would offer an update post.

Harper is sweet, she is cute, she is cuddly. She brings a smile to the face of anyone that sees her. She is tiny, still not at 8 pounds. We have a little joke that she is 1 pound of baby and 6 and a half pounds of cheeks as she has the roundest little face. She has grown, tonight her preemie sized pajamas were too small, but they fit just fine maybe 3 days ago. We are officially into newborn sizes and she is 5 weeks old.

Harper makes the best faces, as you can see in the photo above. She has us giggling daily with her funny baby faces. 

Harper sleeps well a few nights a week and keeps me awake a few nights. The long nights that she won't sleep without being held are totally worth it. The nights she sleeps like a log are odd, I find myself going to her room to check on her every hour or so.

Rolf is warming up to her. He will give her kisses, he strokes her face and hair and he has shown an interest in holding her a few times. The first 10 days were rough, he was jealous and he acted out a lot, but he is getting better with the idea of having a sister. I am relieved! I have made an effort to hold him, hold his hand, to tell him how special he is to me and how loved he is. When I shower him with attention he feels important and his outbursts are fewer and further between. I try to include him in the care of Harper and that makes life easier. He feels important when he is handing me a bottle, throwing a diaper away or bringing me a fresh one or fetching a blanket big enough for everyone to cuddle under.

Harper is starting to demonstrate her personality. She likes only one brand of pacifiers. She likes to be held but is not fond of being stroked. She wants to be held without any extra touching and she wants you to be still when you hold her. She doesn't like to go outside, she doesn't like to ride in the car. She likes her cozy house best.

Harper is fascinated with Rolf, she hears his voice and turns her head to watch him with big blue eyes. Rolf likes the captive audience and has no complaints. 

Since having Harper I have learned about slowing down, not taking on as much work and letting the house get messy. Before Harper I stressed about those things. I wasn't sleeping enough, I was over extending myself and I was obsessed with picking up the never ending mess. I have noticed that in the past weeks with my new found go with the flow attitude that I feel better about me. 

Life with a new baby has been good. The time has passed rapidly, but it has helped me to prioritize. Harper is all anyone could hope for in a baby. She is healthy, cuddly, sweet, adorable. She makes me very happy.