Organization...a few notes from one un-organized blogger

Keeping it real...people think I have it sooooo together. I don't. Shhhh.....don't tell anyone.

This is my desk area. It is a converted coat closet between my kitchen and laundry room. It is quite neat. Very organized. And an excellent use of space in my small house. I love it. I know where everything is and where it goes. Up on these shelves, I am a Filer.
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This is also my desk area. Think of there not being a break between these two photos and that is exactly what it looks like - those organized shelves directly above this mess. I spend a lot of time here. Note the cordless phone, cell phone, check book, glass of water, hair bows, stacks and stacks of paper, the kids extra art supplies.
Here, I am a Piler.

I just stumbled upon this article about organizing and found it to be very insightful. I don't have time to read books about organization. I don't follow thru with so many plans I know would work well or have worked well for others. But this article made sense. You can't fight your personality. You can't turn a piler into a filer. I would venture to guess that I am a hybrid - closets and kitchen cabinets must have "a place for everything and everything in its place" (filer) but my desk, counters, top of the dryer, etc. all fall into the piler category. Anyway, just thought I might share a few take aways I learned in this quick read and othr random thoughts. I probably should be taking care of some of my hot spots right now but I blog about them instead. Typical time not well spent for me! But I guess it kind of keeps it on the brain and I might tackle some of the bad spots around my house!

My mental notes from the article and comments and other notes from my brain:

-Don't fight your style - I know I am a hybrid filer/piler and my perfectly filed places don't make me nuts. My piles do so I need to not fight myself - these areas have been pile hot spots forever and I need to work with it. Oh my gosh - if I wasn't a hybrid filer/piler and I had to be careful every time I opened a cabinet for fear stuff will fall out on me, I would go seriously batty! At least some areas give me sanity. Before I had Kate, bought boat loads of Sterilite basic white basket bins that I have used in every cabinet in my house. They were $1.67 at Wal-Mart. I have my whole pantry/cabinet organized in these. Basically, like the article says, piles contained in containers instead of loose on shelves. It is perfect for me. You could use shoe boxes but that would require buying a bunch of shoes since I had no boxes hanging around...hmmmm...that may not have been such a bad strategy! :) No, the bins were cheaper than shoes. :(

-Find hidden areas for systems (like dead space behind doors, etc.) I put up built in shelves behind a bedroom door and it was the best storage idea and has been used for books or toys or craft items, depending on the way the room was configured. I hung an over the door towel rack in my laundry room for all swimming suits/towels/pool gear we always use so it is not piled on the floor or in all different rooms. We took out the builder basic single shelf in our laundry room and put in stock Home Depot cabinets. Quadrupled our storage space in there.

-Neatly contain your piles and sort thru regularly. I know this is an area I need to work on. The in box for school work still has some of last year's stuff in it!This year I did stop saving school papers though - I give the kiddos a high five on a job well done and into the recycle bin it goes! (Or occasionally on the fridge for a special test or project.) I just still need to pitch stuff from last year...

-With the above stated, put limits on what you will store and keep. My friend Maddy told me she just got rid of all her baby toys. Only first children actually play with baby toys. Subsequent kiddos just want to play with what the big kids have. It is so true. I am going to go thru our baby toys - Kate will be chewing on My Little Ponies and not a bunch of teething toys whether I have them or not. We will keep a few, be mindful of age appropriate (if they are tiny enough to put in the mouth) things from the big sisters but I think we need to pass the baby toys on. Also, as I am going thru my Halloween things and fall decor, I have so many things I am storing and don't put out. Gone!!!

-Regarding limits, set limits for pile-free zones. I need to do this. I just need to decide that the pony wall/ledge between my kitchen and great room is NOT for stuff. Period. Then I won't have to look at the piles when I stand at the sink. I think I need to put something pretty there instead. I have had an idea brewing, I just need to do it.

-Clear storage is often better than solid - you can visually see what is in a bin. I think solid bins look neater but clear bins help you always know what is where with a quickie glance.

-Sometimes you do need to invest in lovely storage bins if you need to live with them all the time. I have found great ones fairly inexpensively at Ikea, Home Goods, Ross/TJMaxx/Marshall's, etc. I think I would have a heart attack if I went someplace like the Container Store - fantastic useful things but too spendy! Even a bunch of cheap $2, $4, $6, $8 bins and boxes do add up though so be prepared for the investment.

-Actually use your furniture for storage. My friend Kristin recently moved to a smaller home and lamented that she had to actually store stuff in her cabinets and armoires and such because she didn't have as many closets in the new house. I have to do this - no furniture just to look pretty here! My friend Danika recently posted a picture of an armoire she got off of craigslist - it is pretty and sits in dead hallway space - it stores boxes of cereal and cake mixes and other pantry goods.

OK, so now I am inspired to work on the piles and make them work for me instead of working against them and being frustrated all the time. Maybe I will start tomorrow. Or Wednesday. Did that article say anything about procrastination?

So I come home from picking up the babysitter...

..and hear Kate crying. Lindsay comes running to the door and says "Mommy, Kate was crying so I gave her some applesauce and she really really liked it so we kept giving it to her and now she keeps crying when we stop. So, can I feed her applesauce?"

Ha ha ha! I had to laugh and grab my camera. Apparently my children started my baby on solids. I have been dreading the day I finally broke out the rice cereal and fruits and veggies. I have it already, I was just putting it off for several reasons: 1. It is a mess. 2. It is time consuming 3. Their poops change. Sure, she has had a microscopic teeny tiny bite here and there, a dab of ice cream so we could watch her react to the cold, a french fry to keep her occupied at TGI Friday's. But spoon feeding her in a high chair in the kitchen? Not yet. I DID dig the high chair out of the garage today and cleaned it up so it was ready. I DID set Kate in it tonight while I finished getting ready to pick up the babysitter but I put toys on the tray. It was a new place to sit and be entertained and distracted. But no food yet.

(Can I just say I am so glad they decided to feed her applesauce and not the chili they were eating for dinner...we may have had a Mr. Mom moment..."Are you crazy? You don't feed a baby chili!")

Now that the high chair is up and the big kids have dabbled in feeding her, I don't think there is any turning back. I mean, she will be 6 months old this week. And apparently I have two little feeding helpers.

We watched Ellie this morning while her mom had a stake meeting - she came with us to the soccer games and then we selfishly kept her for the day. They asked for a tea party lunch - they went all out with dishes and stemware and making specialty place mats and coasters, flowers and butterflies for decorations. I made triangle sandwiches, apples with caramel dip, yogurt parfaits, carrots with ranch, and crystal light raspberry lemonade. As I sat with the girls enjoying the tea party, Ellie told me that it was (and I quote) "The best lunch she has ever had!" Thanks Ellie!

Then they played fashion show which turned into Project Runway. I sat on the couch as the audience/announcer/judge and commented on every ensemble as it came down the runway and then called them back for questions from the judge and announced the winner of the round. The above photo was when the theme of the round (each round had a theme for design of costume/outfit) was to dress as one of the others. Caroline was Lindsay. Lindsay was Ellie. Ellie was Caroline. It was so funny - they did a pretty good job too! And then I saw their room. Do you know what happens with repeated rounds of Project Runway? A bedroom knee-deep in clothes and costumes. I kid you not.

Simply a Fun Halloween Night

We had a fantastic Halloween night. We did not make any huge plans for attending any parties having just spent 5 days in Halloween Time Disneyland (working on that entry...my camera was missing after the trip so I couldn't upload until tonight) so we were just planning for a low key night trick or treating our neighborhood. But today we were invited to a block party at a friend's house two blocks away (we have usually ended up there anyway) so we were excited because really, trick or treating our part of the neighborhood is kinda lame. Not a lot of kids and a lot of dark houses. Party Poopers. So we carved our jack-o-lanterns after school today. (Which does not observe any Halloween traditions. Also Party Poopers.) We left our pumpkins glowing and headed over to the block party with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to share.

Costumes...Lindsay wanted to be Girl Pirate so we pulled together what we had in our stash of dress up and costumes and it turned out we just needed one accessory - I made a vest that she wanted to lace up with hot pink ribbon. Caroline was really torn. Her new Tinkerbell dress? A black kitty costume we already had? She had two chances to dress up - for preschool this morning and tonight to trick or treat. She decided to be Belle for preschool. Not Tinkerbell. Just Belle. She was lovely, actually. There is a girl in there afterall! Tonight though, she was a darling cat. And now for Kate. I had a couple of options. One, an adorable penguin costume I made when Lindsay was a baby, is in Colorado where it was used by Meghan's Audrey last year. Forgot to have her send it back. Molly offerred a chicken that Brynley used. Then I remembered I had a turtle I made for Caroline when she was 10 months old. Bingo! It was so cute! Steve and I donned orange T-shirts and I topped it off with a witch hat. Totally creative, I know.

A great time was had by everyone - the food was fantastic at the party the girls loved being in the big group of kids trick or treating and saying thank you (usually after the parents escorting from the street shouted "say thank you!") and admiring tons of spooky decor. We all had fun showing off our little turtle. Our friend Glen ended the night with golf cart rides and sparklers for the kids. Afterward we went to see Grandpa and Debbie and show off the cutie girlies.

Our Block Party crew. At the home of Glenda, the Good Witch of the North, (Kim) on the left.

Click collage to enlarge. Simpson family Halloween Shenanigans
Trick or Treating, pumpkin carving, cookie baking, food eating, camera posing

Princess Belle for preschool. Totally from left field this morning, she wanted to be Belle for preschool. And a darling Belle at that!

Our little Turtle, Kate! We loved showing her off - she was quite the little Halloween trooper. And what happened to the brim of my witch hat??

Our Girl Pirate. Lindsay was so excited to put together this costume. And I hardly made anything - just a thrown together vest. She got to wear one very large hoop earring. I think that was the most exciting part for her. I was actually a pirate in 2nd grade too!

Our black kitty. She was so sweet - this was actually a costume I put together for Lindsay when she was 2 years old. I had shortened the arms and legs of a size 4/5 unitard. I didn't adjust anything, just let out the length in the arms and legs. I left the fur where it was sewn on 4 years ago. It worked - especially since she decided to wear her black boots. Makes her look a little Cat Woman!

Our big girl darlings together!

Four goofy faces.

Here's a tag while I am gone to Disneyland!

Support your local lemonade stand. This past saturday the girls had a lemonade stand and made about $14 bucks. They were trying to earn more spending money for Disneyland. We leave tomorrow bright and early and come back Monday or possibly Tuesday. We may need an additional day. Daddy really needs a vacation. He has not slowed down a moment since July working crazy man hours. We never see him. So, here is a tag to get to know me a bit better. These are so goofy but kinda fun.

Four jobs I have had:

1. Soccer Referee
2. Dairy Queen
3. Kinko's for like 100 years
4. Site's USA Sales Rep (demographic software)

Four movies I have watched more than once:
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Dead Poet's Society
3. The Parent Trap (the original, of course)
4. Top Gun

Four places I have lived:
1. Aloha, OR
2. Provo, UT
3. Springville, UT
4. Chandler, AZ

Four TV show I watch:
1. House
2. ER
3. The View
4. Project Runway

Four places I have been:
1. Hawaii
2. South Korea
3. Mexico (for only a day...and I live 3 hours from there!)
4. I went on a student exchange to an all-girls boarding school in Upstate NY. Does that count?

Four Celebrity's you have met:
1. Donny Osmond (at Kinko's - I helped him make his son's baptism program)
2. Marie Osmond (at Kinko's - I helped her with visuals for a YW lesson)
3. I don't know anyone famous. I can't even think of a brush with the great or near great right now and I used to play that game with a girl I worked with at Kinko's! Which by the way is not even called Kinko's anymore. I went their today and it is called FedEx Office. An era has come and gone.
4. Still got nothin'

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Dairy, almost anything, especially ice cream
2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
3. Breakfast foods
4. Mexican Food

Four places I would like to visit:
1. England
2. Bali
3. France
4. Italy

Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Simplifying and continuing to make my home more livable since moving isn't likely right now
2. Losing the last 12 pounds
3. Lindsay turning 8 - it is after all, her favorite number because she gets baptized.
4. Kate's foot correction completed

Four friends I am tagging:
1. Alison R.
2. Katrina C.
3. Molly A.
4. Jeannie S.

Baby Kate got some Bionic Booties!

Some photos of the babes and her new pink braces. They are tiny! I mean, I know she is small but they are just less invasive than I imagined. Thank you, modern medicine! She is adjusting as well as could be expected. I think the first 24 hours they were quite the novelty but now she gets kind of anxious when it is time to put them on again! We give her an 1-2 hour breaks twice a day. Today we go for a re-fit because I think there are a couple of pressure points that need to be tweaked and the bottom velcro keeps coming off when she kicks her feet together so that may need to be changed as well.

Her sleeping feet. They don't look that different from normal but it is enough to warrant intervention since it has not improved and only gotten worse. She is normal from the heel to the middle of her foot than everything turns in to the center. her big toe should be more of a straight line from her heel and the outside of her foot should go out like a V. They are not just bent because she is scrunched up. They are always like that.

On Monday for FHE, we stamped her feet to scrapbook and frame.

Fitting with Alan. He is great! A dad of 4 girls so he understands the need to be girly with the pink braces.

Chillin' at the park.

Playin' in the jungle.

Getting a hold of one and playing with it. No, she didn't take it off - I had just removed them for free time.

Sleeping. She still slept all night, her usual 9-6ish sleeping pattern. We said lots of prayers that she would be comfortable her first night. Second went just as well.

In her saucer - they make a little noise when they hit the bottom - maybe we have a tap dancer in our future?

Up close and personal. After today's re-fit and another fit follow up next week, then we will Bling those Braces! (You know, in the spirit of Pimp My Ride and Trick My Truck!)

"Now do you understand...

...why mommy keeps telling you to stop putting stuff in your mouth?" I said to Lindsay as we cuddled on the couch late last night.

I was curled up on the couch enjoying some quiet alone time with the TV when all of the sudden I heard screams coming from the girl's room (who had gone to bed 45 minutes earlier) and then Lindsay came running out of her room. She was screaming and shrieking "Oh no!!! Owww!!! I can't get it! Ouch! Aaaaaaa!!!" I couldn't get her to calm down enough to tell me what was wrong and it was dark and I couldn't see. I finally calmed her down and she was sort of able to talk. "I was in bed and some how I accidentally got this button in my mouth and now it is stuck!" I turned on the light and saw a silver thing about the size of a nickel and it was stuck under her tongue. What the heck? (I have load of buttons that I bought in bulk by the pound. We use them for crafts and projects and there are occasional weird snaps and button parts mixed in the assortment of fun and colorful random buttons.) Lindsay decided this piece of a button that is used to make fabric covered buttons belonged in her mouth - it is the piece that has all the sharp metal teeth that grip the fabric! She had managed to get 3 or so of these little teeth fish-hooked into the underside her tongue. It was the weirdest sadest thing! She screamed and kept scrunching up her tongue as I attempted to un-hook this button from the underside of her tongue. I finally got it. I gave her a soothing popsicle and she cuddled on the couch with me and watched Project Runway. The end.

Aack! Can you imagine this thing hooked into your tougue? Molly asked if I took a picture. A good blogging mom would have taken a picture of the button while still stuck in her mouth. I didn't. But here is the offending button.

Edited to add: My Uncle Joe sent me the following in an email:
"Mer, maybe you can remind her of this 10 years from now when she wants to get her tongue pierced." That's our Uncle Joe!

Sew Much Fun!!!!

Lindsay had been begging me to learn how to sew. Maddy is openly "bitter" that my early sewing was coached by her mom and her mom never taught her how to sew. (All in good fun!) So, I decided to have a little Sewing Camp for Lindsay and Ellie. I was 7 when Maddy's mom helped me make some gifts for my new baby sister Meghan and I figured now was the perfect time to start with the girls. (In exchange for sewing day at my house, Maddy had a scrapbook day at her house and the girls made a darling scrapbook album. ) Caroline got to go and play at Zoe and Lucy's house while the bigger girls would sew.

I decided we would make some fun and funky skirts and would add a little embellishment with yo-yo's - an old quilting decorative technique that is making a comeback in crafting.

First, we took a fun trip to downtown Mesa and picked out some amazingly fun fabrics at Blissful Living Studio - they carry some of the best boutique lines of fabric like Heather Baily and Grand Revival . Not the usual (yawn) selection at Joann's.

The girls and I talked about why it is important to learn how to sew and why we need these skills and how pioneers made their own clothes and often their own fabrics and had to fix their torn clothes because they couldn't just go to Target and buy new ones!

I got yo-yo template makers for each girl and we learned how to thread a needle, sew in and out thru the template, and sew on a button as the finishing touch. I LOVE their looks of concentration!

We took a break, had waffles and Crystal-Lite for lunch, and found a tiny lizard in the backyard.

Ellie's yo-yo's on the left, Lindsay's yo-yo's on the right.
Oh, how cute!

I did the cutting and measuring. That lesson will come later! I kind of made up the pattern as we went along. (This would come back to haunt me as I had to re-make the tops of the skirts because they were too big but that is OK because in the end the pattern I created was perfect.)

We learned how to line up right sides together and carefully pin.

First, we practiced sewing a straight line on paper with a piece of duct tape as our easy to see guide. Then they graduated to side seams of their skirt.

We had to figure out a way for the girls to reach the foot pedal!

Skirts in pieces. I made and attached the ruffles and and did the waistbands. The girls did all the straight seams.

Close up of finished skirt with cluster of hand made yo-yo's.
How cute is that?

Lindsay is in heaven and adores her finished skirt! Ellie loves hers too - I still need to get a picture of them together - they are so darling. We even put a yo-yo on a hair clip and that is dang cute too! Lindsay is a yo-yo making machine and has since assembled a bin of scraps and continues to make yo-yo's in her free time. We will be thinking of a project to use her yo-yo creations.

THE NEXT DAY...

We even got Caroline and our neighbor Dylan in on the action! He came over to play and we told him we were making yo-yo's and he was welcome to join us! (I am going to assume he thought we were making something different.) Dylan's dad called to check up on him and I literally think I heard his jaw hit the floor when I told him that Dylan was hanging out with us...sewing! Dylan ended up making 5 yo-yo's that day - one for himself, his mom, his dad, and one for each of his dogs!

It has been a while since I have sewn for my kids. Well, I did make Kate's blessing gown, but it has been a while for the big girls. I was again bitten by the sewing bug and am going to start whipping out these triple tiered ruffle skirts. They are so darling and fun and feminine yet can be funky enough for my spunky Caroline. Oh, I can't wait! I am so thrilled that my girls want to learn about sewing and are interested in it - it is a dying skill and I am happy to keep it alive in our home. There are so many fun projects we can do together.