Laundry Room Update

Has this been a project or what?  Who knew a laundry room could cause so much trouble!! AND we haven't even painted it yet!  I've saved the best for last and not real clear on when we can get the painting done.  Hopefully, we will (hub and I) feel up to it next weekend.  This weekend will be spent with hubs daughter and her family!  Nana is waiting to see her Sophia!

So, I've finished the last "to do" thing I wanted to get for the laundry room.  Painting is all that is left.  All the little stuff is done.  It looks so much better even without the paint, so I'm excited to see what some paint color will do!

Here's some pics of how things are coming along....

Check out these Goodwill curtains and my iron wannabe rod that I got for $6 at Walmart.  Let the sunshine in!  I've never opened these mini-blinds in this room.  The brand new mini blinds look so much better than the old dust covered ones that were in there. 

Here's the bulletin board again....I'm loving it.

I found this rack at Hobby Lobby.  Perfect for hanging my broom, mop and other stuff.  A plus with a nice little shelf to place this mini suitcase on.  Perfect color for the laundry room.  Now what to do about the stupid electric panel.  Do I really need it?  Heh.

Check this out!  I took the material from the bulletin board and made little ties for the items hanging off of that rack.

Remember my rooster placemat pillow?!  I love it!  On top of the fridge it went....this area is still a work in process...you know Goodwill has something to go up there that I will find soon enough.

Here's the curtains I found to cover those bookshelves!  $5 for each panel.  Not bad, huh?

Here's the curtain opened.  This is working out wonderfully!

I cleaned off the top of the dryer and placed all my necessities for laundry in this basket.  It's a much neater space now.

Check out my new dresser!  Found this at a storage building sale.  The asking price was $150.  No way.  I just didn't want to put that kind of money into a piece of furniture I was using to tuck away all my linens in.  I told the lady I would pay $50 and she said take it!  So I did!!  I was so no expecting that one.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this.  Hub likes this look of the wood furniture look...I'm thinking some chalk paint is in the very near future.  I did a little decor on top and the green container holds all of my hangers!  If you can remember from a past post...the hanger situation was indeed a SITUATION in my laundry room.  They are hidden now and that's a good thing!

I ended up keeping  the shelves above the dresser.  I was able to move some stuff around and organize a bit more.

Here's a sneak peek into the drawers.  I managed to get all of our linens into these drawers.  I had 4 drawers to work with.  Top drawer is for washcloths and hand towels, etc.  Second drawer I used for the Master Bedroom sheets.  Third drawer is sheets for the other 2 bedrooms.  The last drawer is used for the overflow of towels I have.  As you can see my sheets are rolled. I tried to lay them flat, but simply not enough room.  I also rolled my towels. I have storage in both bathrooms for towels, so I only needed one drawer for those.   I like the rolled look.  It looks much neater than the way I originally had the linens in these drawers.  It gave me so much more room.

This has been a long time coming.  This was my ugly room.  I am now taking pride in my laundry/storage room.  I have used every inch of space that was available.  I can't wait to get this room painted.  I may spend the night in there!

Things going on in my head now....

I'm still working on my cleaning schedule.  I've got to wrap my head around all of those chores, even though eventually I did them and I keep a tidy house...it just seems like a lot of stuff to do!!  That is a work on project for sure!  I've got to come up with my days of the weeks and a schedule for sure.  Hopefully, I'll be able to show you on my next blog what I've come up with.

I'm still nagging my friend about the pics of her remodeled kitchen.  Ummm....seriously girl??  

Cleaning Schedule Update

Wow.  This was a bit overwhelming.  I found this site through another blogger called cozi.com.  I love it!  I have set up my monthly schedule on here and what is so fabulous about it was that I could actually break the schedule out by person, print it off and hand it to them each week to remind them what is happening!  This is a great site and I highly recommend when you have some time, read it.  It has some great tips.

So...back to my overwhelming cleaning schedule.  I found these guidelines on cozi.com to help with this process.  Here's the list of how to set this up for your home.

1. Create a Starter List

I stood in the center of each room and listed all the cleaning and maintenance chores associated with that room, making sure to include even the most remote tasks like vacuuming under the fridge, dusting the ceiling fan, polishing silver, changing the shower filter, etc. If you are looking for inspiration for deep cleaning, check out Cozi's Spring Cleaning Starter List.

2. Break it Down

Next to each task I determined the frequency of the task: daily, weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly, six months and yearly. I found that the daily tasks were already part of our routine so I considered those taken care of and focused on the rest of the list.

3. Create Weekly To Do Lists

From the remaining tasks I started four lists – Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. The weekly tasks hit each list, the twice a month tasks were alternated on Weeks 1/3 and Weeks 2/4 and the monthly tasks got added in turn one for Week 1, one for Week 2 and so on till all weekly, twice monthly and monthly tasks were covered.
Then, I reviewed the lists to make sure logical tasks were paired (such as laundering the dog beds, cleaning their crates and washing the actual dogs…). These four lists got copied for each month and laid out on the calendar. As a bonus, on months with 5 weeks you get a whole week off!

4. Add Remaining Chores

The weekly and monthly chores fall in place pretty easily but scheduling the quarterly, six month and yearly tasks took a little more effort for me. I needed to try it all on the calendar to “see” where things like ‘clean out garage’ or ‘pot shelves’ should end up.
I used a number of sticky notes and some trial and error, but by and large, I added a yearly task to the first week of each month, a six month task to the second week and a quarterly task to the third week. This worked pretty well once I rearranged to match task to season (like cleaning out the garage in the fall) and took into account if multiple tasks would require the same prep work (like moving the bed frame).

5. Put it on the Calendar

As mentioned, I kept my lists on sticky notes – ones large enough that I could write out all four weeks’ lists…resulting in twelve stickies that I can reuse each year when we start our new calendar. And did I mention Week 5 is an off week?

6. Evolve

I don’t know that it is possible to get everything on the lists on the first try but I have found this to be a fantastic framework to add to. It can be an evolving system for your household.
Check in with the family. The first thing my husband said upon seeing “the system” was: what about the yard? Right, that needs care too — so we added it in.
Reassess. Now that you are actually doing tasks on a rotation, is the interval right? Something might need to be done more often and some less often.
Consider changes when they happen. New drapes? Decide where their care fits on the plan. Replacing your flooring? Check out manufacturer recommended care and add it to the calendar.
Now, we haven’t followed our plan to a T, but having the lists done in advance and not having to try to remember the last time we dusted the pot shelves takes a certain level of stress out of caring for the house. Calendaring the chores seemed daunting at first but all in all this took about an hour and a half to accomplish. And since I do love a good to do list, I kind of even enjoyed the process!

Tan Wells is a working mom living in Las Vegas. She is the creator of Tan/Green, a blog about trying to be a granola mom in a fast food world.

I have started this process.  I went from room to room in my house and listed everything that should be cleaned.  I broke it down to weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly schedules.  I want to start this process in October.  However....I feel like I need a clean slate.  Which means...everything will have to be done one Saturday and that will be my start date.  Since we have our children coming in this week, it will have to begin next weekend.  Major cleaning overhaul.  At that point, I can begin scheduling the tasks out.  Thinking out loud here...I don't think I actually want to do everything at once.  So...back to the drawing board.   I would like to have at least most of my weekends free from housework!  Mind you, there are things on this schedule that I almost never have done.  Shamefully I say this.  I hit and miss.  For the most part, I have a very clean house...but there is that lurking dust bunny just waiting to be found.  Trust me, there are plenty!!

I've started my list now!  I love my schedule at cozi.com.  I haven't even started reading all the ideas they give you.  Now...back to the drawing board!  Who knew a house had so many things in it to CLEAN?!

Here's the link:
http://cozicentral.cozi.com/

The blog that gave me the cozi web page is:
http://orgjunkie.com/2011/09/make-organizing-hectic-schedules-simple-with-cozi.html

Baked Tilapia Anyone?

I had several fillets of tilapia that needed to be cooked.  I cook 3 meals a day, most days.  Hub comes home everyday for lunch, some days I'm creative...other days we either eat leftovers or have a sandwich.  Yesterday I was in a creative mood.  I always seem to make tilapia here the same way.  Coat it in Italian Bread Crumbs and grill it with olive oil.  Easy.  Tasty.  A no thinker.  Today I searched the internet to find something a bit different for lunch.  I found it at Allrecipes.com.  I had everything I needed to make this recipe at home, so I was going to give it a try.  There was one thing I wasn't certain about...the recipe included a can of tomato paste.  I wasn't sure if I cared for tomato paste on my fish, ya know?

Here it is plated up...

Does this look yummy or what?  Asparagus on the side was an added bonus.  I swear...my hub is so spoiled!  Who gets this at lunch?! 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom of a medium baking dish with about 1/4 cup olive oil.
2. In a small bowl, blend remaining olive oil, tomato paste, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Arrange tilapia fillets in the prepared baking dish, skin side up. With a spatula, spread the olive oil and tomato paste mixture over the tilapia, heaping the majority in the centers of the fillets. Arrange onion and green pepper slices on and around the fillets.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes, until fish is easily flaked with a fork. Remove from heat, top each fillet with 1 tablespoon butter, and set oven to broil. Broil 5 to 7 minutes, until butter is melted and lightly brown

Here's the link to the recipe in case you would like to print it off.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/baked-tilapia/detail.aspx

This was so flavorful.  The onions and peppers just exploded in your mouth.  The tomato sauce mixed with the spices was just wonderful.  If you're tired of the same old baked fish, try this recipe!

The asparagus was cooked on top of the stove.  A little olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.  I like my asparagus a little crunchy and it was just perfect as a side dish.

Enjoy!!

Do You Have a Cleaning Schedule?

If you are like me, you work Monday through Friday.  Then...on the weekends you are busy cleaning house and catching up.  My Saturdays always feel as if they fly by.  Some weeks I do strip the beds, vacuum in the middle of the week and try and keep the laundry caught up before Saturday arrives.  Afterall...even though I am working here, I am able to toss a load of laundry on....or vacuum a room.  It's sort of hit and miss.  I need a schedule.  I want to take my Saturdays back and feel as if I actually have a weekend.  I have my best thinking moments after midnight.  I've usually woke up for the first time around midnight and then I lay there with visions of cleaning schedules, etc. going through my mind.  It's kept me awake the last 2 nights....so down on paper "persay" my thoughts go.

Let's break down the household chores:


 ~Laundry-I usually do one or two small loads per day.  I have found that doing small loads each day is better than larger loads every other day.  It takes very little time to fold or hang up a few pieces.  Sorry energy efficient people....this works for me and I've been able to go to bed with only what was used that day and tossed in the laundry.  I do wait on my whites to wash every other day.  My colored clothes are done daily.  I usually hang up most of these clothes and not use a dryer anyway.  I'm being efficient in that way, right??  Laundry will go down as a daily duty for me.  Key is to stay ahead.

~Vacuuming-  For most people this is a weekly job.  I can remember when I worked outside the home, I vacuumed every Saturday morning.  Of course, no one was here to require any other vacuuming during the week.  Now that I'm home and I have a lot of kidlet traffic, I have to do a mid-week vacuum to our family room and kitchen.

~Bathrooms-I usually do a good wipe over every day or so.   There's just something about mirrors in our household and toothpaste.  I have threatened to have a camera placed in the bathrooms to actually see the process of slinging toothpaste everywhere.  So...my swipe over is usually after I've cleaned the mirrors and then I just spray the sink area with windex.  I can't stand a toothpaste splattered mirror.  On Saturdays, I do my big bathroom clean up. That means on my hands and knees around that awful toilet.

~Kitchen-Even though I clean my kitchen everyday, it's a hit and miss in those little nook areas.  I don't pull everything off the counters and do a general overhaul.   I need to at least once a week bleach my counter tops and wipe down everything that sits on the counters. 

~Linens-I do this weekly.  There's bed bugs you know! and skin and stuff...yuck!  On my bedding I have a light weight white blanket and a coverlet.  I don't wash these weekly.  I do need a schedule to do these though.  I think this could fall under a monthly schedule.   I would like to change these 2 beds on certain days during the week.  I'll have time to catch up the sheet washing and not have so much to do on MY Saturdays. Maybe Thursdays on one bed and Fridays on the second bed?

~Dusting.  Well...I dust.  Not everyday like my mom.  Yes...she dusts all of her furniture Every. Single. Day.  I know, right?  I do think I should dust twice a week.  Dust seems to find my furniture everywhere I live.  I seem to dust the family room more than anywhere else in the house.  I suppose it's because that's where everyone is.  I'd like to see this on a schedule.

~Mopping.  I hate to mop.  Not sure why, but I do.  I usually mop once a week unless a spill happens.  The only places that need to be mopped are my bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen.  I feel like I should mop these areas after I vacuum.  So...I'll have to coordinate that with vacuum days.  I think once a week is enough of that silliness!

~Sweeping the outside areas.  Another job I just hate.  I need to get this done though.  I have a front and side porch, along with a back patio area.  The patio I normally hose off.  I should really consider assigning this outdoor job to hub, right?!  I think it needs to be done at least once a week.  I'm horrible at this.  I have a tree with a zillion leaves in front of my front porch and well...if I swept daily it wouldn't matter.  I hate that tree.

So there you have weekly things that need to be done around the house.  There is so much more that could be done.  Monthly cleaning.  The dreaded places in your house.  Those baseboards....windowsills......ceiling fans...light fixtures...lamp shades....dusty walls.  I just can't get around to all of that as often as I should.  Perhaps if I put it down in writing on a schedule, I could get these things done. 

I'm going to work on a cleaning schedule and then let you have a look at it in a later post.  I've got to wrap my head around times, days and such to put this all together.  I have a small window in the afternoons that I could get some of these things done.   I'm sure I've forgotten some things...but I'll take one room at the time and get a cleaning schedule of each room of my house.

Am I a neat freak nut?  Why yes I am.  Thanks Mom.

DIYing Part 2

Busy day Saturday.  I did find the material I was looking for to cover my bulletin board in the laundry room.  It wasn't what I had found a couple of weeks ago...SOMEONE snagged that one up!  But...I was much more impressed with what I ended up with.

I had the material.  I had the stapler.  I needed a ribbon to outline the bulletin board with and I needed glue to attach it to the board.  I found myself in Walmart in the crafting section.  Something I rarely do.  I was a newbie crafter!  Heh.

Here's what I did....first the material...

Awesome colors!

Finished Look!

Yay!  Go me!!  The frame will be painted I think.  After I see what the color on the wall looks like...I'll go from there.

Here's a before shot!

After:

Amazing what a little change up to a bulletin board can do to your decor!!

I can't wait to show you the other 2 changes in the laundry room! The curtains I found for the bookcases and I found a dresser.   Guess what?  I have a LAMP in my laundry room!!  I'm so excited.  It's beginning to look like a part of the house now.   I have 2 projects to do here....the curtains need a piece of material attached (go hemming tape) to the bottom to make it the correct length.  I had 2 choices...go too short or too long.  I opted for too short.  I can choose a fabric to attach that will blend well with the sage green walls.  The 2nd thing is this great piece of furniture I found at a storage unit sale!  No...not storage wars...but how fun would that have been?   I'm going to look for some Annie Sloan chalk paint and I'm either painting it black or a cream color.  Not sure yet.  It was the piece I have been looking for.  I got it at a ridiculous price. I could not  have had the dresser tossed in the car fast enough.  The lady was clearly delirious and I took advantage of her!  I'll be sharing this with you soon.

Last thing to do is paint the laundry room.  Big job.  Small area.  Big items in it to be moved around.  HALP!

http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/2011/10/creative-things-thursday-and-features_19.html

Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Getting My Craft On!

Yesterday was DIY crafting day here at my house.  I had a couple of projects going on at the same time and then Hannah decided to join in on the craziness.

Remember my list from yesterday?  Here's what I got done.

1.  Replaced the mini blinds in the kitchen and laundry room.  It looks much better now!!

2.  Buy a curtain rod for the laundry room window.  I can't wait to show you!

3.  Buy spring rods for the bookcases.  Did it!

4.  Shop for curtains for the bookcases.  Found them!

5.  Search for material to put on my bulletin board.  Did it and finished it!  It looks amazing!

6.  Buy materials needed to  make my roo pillows!  Did it and only made one.

Hannah and I took off early yesterday morning and went thrifting.  She found more LP's for her collection.  The Sound of Music, Grease and Dumbo.  If she keeps going, you'll soon be hearing me complain about all the LP's laying around in her room.  Here we go again!  I was so happy that I was able to find everything I needed to get these DIY projects done.

I'm going to share one of them with you today.  The roo pillow!  It was so easy!  All I needed was the placemats, hemming tape and some polyfil stuffing.  I did learn to be patient when you iron the hemming tape on.  I tend to rush things and had to re-do a couple of spots that had come undone.  My placemats were very thick, so this caused me to have to hold the iron on each section a bit longer.  All in all...it worked!  It looks amazing.  I was going to make 2 pillows, but decided I didn't need 2 right now and I was sweating people!  Geesh.  How much can one person do?!  After the holidays, I may go back and make the 2nd pillow once my kitchen table decor goes back to normal.  The red roo pillows were not a match made in heaven with the orange Fall decor right now!

Here's how it all started....

End Result!

Be still my heart!  I made a pillow!   Right now it's found its home on top of the fridge in the laundry room.  Next to my centerpiece from the kitchen table.  Matches perfectly!  This will look amazing at the kitchen table on each end chair once the holidays are over.  Plus, I'm giving you a sneak peek of the curtains I found for the bookcases.

As I said, Hannah jumped on board with the pillow making.  Here's her little creation!

Cute, huh?  She has a basket of material and she made this little pillow for her room.  I think she did a great job.

Can we say DIY bulletin board?!  I can't wait to show you tomorrow!!  The laundry room is coming together.  I'm looking for a chest of drawers to hold my linens now.  So...I'm like a crazy woman on Craigslist right now.  This will enable me to take down all the shelves that hold those items and store them in drawers.  Perhaps a lamp and a pic for that table?  Hub hung the curtains yesterday...I couldn't wait!  We did a couple of other things.  Painting is next.   I hate to paint!  Any volunteers?!

It's time for me to get my couponing game face on this morning.  I have some serious grocery shopping to do today.  Our precious granddaughter Sophia will arrive on Thursday for a few days and we're looking forward to spending some time with her before she's off to Disney World. Oh and her parents will be here as well.  *winks*

Is she just waiting on Nana and Papa kisses or what?!

I'm linking up to this party!

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2011/10/sunday-showcase-party-with-my-memories.html

http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/

Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Knick of Time Interiors

A Day of Rest

Probably not.  I'm itching to go thrifting.  I've been battling a sinus infection all week and my famous last words were..."if I can just make it until Saturday, I'm not leaving the bed".  Well...I have left the bed and it's only 7:45am.  One of the last things Hannah asked me last night before bed was..."we're going to Goodwill tomorrow, right?" 

These are things on my mind this morning....

1.  A new mini blind for the laundry room.

2.  A curtain rod for the curtains I purchased for the laundry room a couple of weeks ago.

3.  I have a very large bulletin board with state required notices for my daycare on it.  I want to cover it with some material that will match the sage color. I actually found some material at Goodwill last week I should have purchased for this.  I hope it's still there.  Sort of spruce this up.  It takes up alot of room on one wall and it needs some sort of wow factor. 

4.  I've decided to use spring rods on my bookcases.  I'm searching for a couple of curtains that I will use to cover the ugliness of that storage space. 

My plans were to paint this weekend.  Ummm...no.  I've had a rough week of just not feeling well and I need a break.  I think thrifting around for the items I've listed above will keep me busy and make hub very happy.  I may pick up some paint samples and start matching those curtains up with a green color. 

Here's an idea I saw on another blog that I can't let go of...

Do you need pillows??  If you're like me and change out your placemats every so often on your kitchen table...you have placemats stored.  So....the blog I read the other day was so helpful with what to do with those placemats.  It was a great idea.  It was a my kind of idea!  Easy.  Of course these have to be cloth placemats.  If you've been following my blog at all, you know I love my roo's.  I have roo placemats.  Stored.  So...today, my plan is to get my craft on.  You take 2 placemats....take the no sew strips and iron them together on 3 sides....stuff the "now" pillow and close it at the end.  What do you get?  2 pillows!!   Roo pillows for me!  Where will they go?  In the most aggravating place ever to my family.  I'll be waiting for the comments after I get done with this project.  I want the pillows in the chairs at each end of my kitchen table.  I know.  What we do for decor.  I'm so doing it.  I can't wait to take you through the process.  Yes...there will be pictures of this DIY project!   You know you have cloth placemats tucked away!  Go get them!

Okay...so no pics today.  Just some babbling.  I'm headed to the shower and in the rain...Hannah and I are headed out this morning!

Crochet Runners??

You know...I forgot I had a couple of crocheted runners for tables.  They were tucked nicely away in a drawer and then yesterday it dawned on me that I could use those with my Fall Decor.  Right?  I mean seriously...how many pictures have I seen lately with some sort of layered look on dining room tables?!   I haven't been totally satisfied with my kitchen table...and this finished it off.  It's not in the way...I don't have to really move it that often and it just added so much depth to the look of the arrangement.  The 2nd one I used on my formal dining room table.  This is a keeper for always there!!  I love the look!

Isn't it amazing how just one small thing can make such a difference??

Are You Prepared??

Are you?  For an emergency that is?  Even a band-aid emergency!  I've always had "things on hand", but I've never actually had one place to find all that I may need.  I inherited this suitcase from a friend and didn't really have a use for it, so it became my Emergency Kit.

Here's a pic....

Cute, huh?

Next was the task of putting the things I actually needed in this kit.  What did I do?  I googled it, of course!!  In case you didn't know...these are things that are recommended for every emergency kit.

Tylenol and a thermometer.  I have the adult fever reducers in our medicine container.

I just found out recently that Visine AC is needed if you get anything in your eyes.  It will flush it out and relieve it almost immediately.  This information was told to me by an eye doctor.  Trust me, it works.  Hub just had to use this the other day when he dusted his glasses off with a paint brush (don't ask) and the particles from the paint brush got in his eyes.  An immediate reaction, but the drops cleared his eyes up quickly!

This is a tubular stretch bandage.

Bandaids!  I have so many different sizes.  The front 2 boxes I have tons of.  I got all of these free!!  I had $1 off coupons and look at the price!  $1.  Cha-Ching!  What child wouldn't want a Tattoo bandaid?!

Instant Cold Packs!

A box of alcohol swabs.

Bug Bites?  Did you know that Meat Tenderizer will take the sting out?!  I didn't!  Plus, some anti-itch cream for those bites!

The mask was recommended.  Hmmmm....got it anyway....I guess I'll know when I need it!

Goggles were also recommended.  No comment.  Maybe a blood spewing moment occurs.....?  I'm so grabbing these goggles!  What?!

Cotton balls and tape are a must have!

A pair of gloves and I have more stored elsewhere.

Dressing Sponges.....

Tweezers and scissors for sure!

Last, but the most important is instructions for emergency care.  I have several pages to help me through any emergency until help arrives.

So, there you have it.  One bag, one place...an emergency kit.  It's labeled and easily identified in my laundry room.  It's the zebra print bag!!!

So...my question for you is.....

ARE YOU PREPARED?!