More Flylady Fun and the Functional Kitchen

I haven't really posted in a while on my progress with my Flylady routine.  I really hope some of you have gotten on the Flylady site and are taking your baby steps.  I am at various stages in the zones of my house.  In some places I have moved on to Zone cleaning, in others I am in the decluttering stage, but overall I have moved on to the actual zone cleaning.  

This week we are in Zone #2, which is the kitchen.  It took me a few weeks to get my kitchen completely decluttered but wow, what a difference.  I even have had time to organize my recipes!  The kitchen used to be such a battle because it was always a mess.  Every evening I would spend at LEAST half an hour getting it back together, sometimes I would just leave it and then have mess upon mess the next day.  Now with just keeping my sink clean and putting things WHERE THEY GO (novel idea, huh?), the kitchen is under control.

My last area of chaos was my tupperware area.  We all have this area...and it looks like heck...

Don't you love seeing my messy cabinets!

There was just no rhyme or reason to this.  I had a bottle sterilizer and bottle drying rack in here, considering my youngest kicked the bottle habit over 6 months ago...they had to go.  I have yet another bag for Goodwill (if I will ever actually take them has yet to be determined).

Here is the after.  I have no idea if this will last...but at least I have next month to straighten it up :) I totally loathe tupperware, but you have to have it.  But it's clean and organized for now...we'll see how this goes.

So I wanted to talk a bit about having a functional kitchen.  I think a lot of people don't cook because they just don't have their kitchen set up in a way that makes cooking easier.  I am always looking for new ways to organize my kitchen and make it more functional.  Like this morning I switched my silverware and dishcloth drawer.  Now my dishcloth drawer is next to my sink and the silverware under the plates cabinet. 

You don't have to have a huge, gourmet kitchen to have one that works for you.  We spend a lot of time in our kitchens so here are some tips that have helped me make mine work.

#1)  The Purge - many of us have tons of stuff in our kitchen we have never seen and will never use.  Get rid of EVERYTHING you do not use.  I actually still have stuff to get rid of, but it is a process.

#2) Prep Space - cooking requires prep time, so make sure that you have clear surfaces (especially near the stove) to work on.  A thousand knick knacks on your counter is cute, but if it gets in the way of cooking, it doesn't belong in the kitchen.

#3) Re-Claiming Counter Space - keep the small appliances you use regularly within reach and the ones you don't off the counter.  

#4) The Dish Rack - (*does not apply if you don't have a dishwasher) I didn't have a dishwasher for a long time so when I got one I realized that my dishrack was turning into dish storage because I never put my dishes away.  I decided to start keeping it under the sink and pulling it out when I needed it.  Then I just quit using it altogether.  This way my dishes are immediately dried and put away.  Sometimes they hang out overnight on a dishtowel, but by morning they are gone.  Besides, it's one less thing to clean, those things can get dirty.

So here is my kitchen.  Absolute proof you don't need a jazzy oven or even matching appliances to have a really functional kitchen!

 LOTS of clear counter space here!

 No DISH RACKS! Nothing in the sink either, if I have to place dishes somewhere, they go on this counter, where I can SEE them.  They end up in the dishwasher faster this way.

 The little corner on the left is where most of my prep action happens.  My spices, knives, prep bowls and oven are closeby.  Since I don't have a pantry,  My food is in the lower cabs in pull out organizers.  This makes it easy to grab my stuff for dinner.  Again, only appliances I use constantly are on the counter.

My amazing dad and hubby made these floating shelves for me and while I wish they only help gorgeous platters and vases and other pretties, it works better to hold cereal, a basket of potholders, cassarole dishes and my cookbooks.

It's not a magazine kitchen, but it's a kitchen that is (usually) clean and it is easy to cook in.  Which is the point of having a kitchen afterall :)

Organization doesn't happen overnight, but any area can be conquered just taking 15 minutes a day.  If you have any questions on making the Flylady routine work for you or on making a kitchen functional you can email me.  If I get enough, I can post them on here and answer them.  Fun!

Have a great day!

Making Old Things New

We had a busy weekend getting seeds planted, yardwork done and getting stuff done around the house.

The spider plants in the back are actually from LAST YEAR! Yes something survived in my yard for a whole year!  They are a little sad from the many frosts this winter but defintiely ALIVE!

Our neighbors put an old dresser out to the curb a couple weeks ago.  It's in pretty bad shape so we figured in would be perfect to put on the porch to store some tools.

I put a couple coats of paint on it, not trying to be too perfect with it because this is piece is a little more shabby than chic so I wasn't trying to pretend, haha!  I mod-podged some fabric on the smaller drawers and we kept the old knobs in their original condition.  Half broken and all.  I think its cute, and since we don't have a garage, this is serving a practical purpose by storing tools :)  It is also home for my seedlings and the aloe and succulents I got.

I always like trying to re-purpose something before I go out and buy something.  Our homes are filled with enough stuff as it is!

Now to be completely contradictory I bought something new for my bathroom.  I definitely recommend this for the bathroom storage challenged, you can pick this up at Target (like you really need a valid excuse to go to Target, hehe).  I am loving the new armoire since we have had virtually NO storage in our bathroom except a plastic three-drawer number.  But the plastic drawer thingy will have a new home in my closet as the holder of "projects-which-will-never-be-need-to-be-done".

So now that I have a place for my towels and such I realized two things: 1) I need new towels; and 2) I need to quit buying shampoo and conditioner.  I should probably take all the money I'll save NOT buying shampoo and buy new towels!  The bathroom reno is coming along slowly (the painting and decorating) but it's definitely getting there.

Just Do It!

Yesterday I hurriedly finished my daily chores and took a quick peek at my Weekly Chore List.  If you follow the Flylady you know that this is just a list of things that should be done in each room weekly to keep things clean.  I noticed that it was Thursday and I was REALLY behind on it.  So I had a choice.  The kids were still napping so I could either A) sit on my bum in my sorta clean house and try to do everything on Friday.  Or B) Get it done, out of the way.  So I chose B, considering a few of the things (cleaning out my freezer/fridge) haven't been done in a loooong time.

While I was cleaning out my freezer and thinking of how much easier this would be next week since I was getting it good and clean now, I had a thought.  I am the ultimate procrastinator, always have been.  How often do we sit and look at the same pile of junk whether physically or figuratively and keep thinking "tomorrow, next week, when my kids are older, when I have more energy, when I have more time, I don't have time..." the list goes on.

Well here's the kicker...sometimes you just have to DO IT.  Tired, with misbehaving children, and out of time.  And I am not just talking about cleaning.

Example:

After Isabela was born I was determined to lose the weight.  Having my kids pretty much back to back had totally wrecked me and left me pretty chunky.  I made a choice to make my health a priority and in doing that making my kid's future a priority.  Isabela was about 2-3 months old when we signed up for the YMCA and I began going 4-5 times a week.  It has been a slow and difficult process, I did it with no crazy diets, no fad supplements and I am nearing my target weight.  It feels REALLY good because I did it when it would have been easier to sleep in, my kids were cranky, when it took an hour just to get out of the house.  It is really something to be proud of.  Today, I feel amazing and have even started running again, something I haven't been able to do in ages.

Sometimes we as moms need to muster up a little girl power, get off the couch and say, I am AWESOME and I can do this! I'm not going to let my messy house rule my life, I am going to do something great for myself and I am not going to feel guilty about it!

Think about the accomplishments that have gotten you where you are.  I NEVER toot my own horn, but here I go.  I am a full time mom, a full time college student, I have a 4.0 GPA and have been on the President's list every semester, I have a blog (even if no one reads it),I love working out, I have lost probably over 35 lbs all by myself,  I have awesome kids and a great husband and a mostly clean house (thanks to the Flylady).  These are all AWESOME things.

Let's all determine to say "I'm going to do it NOW" everyday to one thing that we have been putting off.  Today, mine is mopping the bathroom floor.  It can be that small or something big like strapping those kids in the stroller and walking a mile.

We aren't promised tomorrow and I want to spend everyday being able to cross off something on my checklist and the one that God has for me.  

Life isn't about all the big decisions, it's really the small ones we make along the way that mold us and take us to the big decisions.  So off I go...gonna mop that bathroom floor.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? - Baked Fish

I am so happy to be doing my Wednesday dinner posts again.  I'm doing a super simple dinner tonight as I haven't had much time since I got my computer back to research new recipes.

Tonight I am doing fish and I think this is an oft neglected meat because sometimes you just don't know what to do with it.  But, fish is full of excellent nutrients that aren't found in other meats and its lean and really good for you and your kids (note - consult your doctor if you are pregnant before consuming lots of fish).

When it comes to fish SIMPLE is best.  I am using Tilapia because it's a nice firm fish that doesn't fall apart on you easily and it's almost always BOGO at Winn Dixie in the frozen food section.  That's another nice thing about fish, it is just fine frozen.

Today I am using:

Frozen Tilapia

Panko breadcrumbs

1-2 eggs, beaten

Chef's Style Seasoning Salt

Box of rice

Fresh green beans

Start out with your thawed fish and season on both sides with the seasoning salt.  This will add flavor and not just saltiness.  Dip your fish in the egg, then the breadcrumbs and lay on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, I bake until the edges just start to brown.  It is best to serve these right out of the oven.

Easy huh?  You can serve this with just about anything.  Add some applesauce for the kiddies (or the grownups) for an extra serving of fruit.  A baked potato or roasted potatoes would be awesome too.

It's not the most glamorous meal, but its really healthy, yummy and can take less than 30 minutes.

On a side note - just about everything for this meal was on sale, making this a SUPER cheap meal :)

Be sure to check back next week, I'll be trying out something new :)

Night Time Cloth Diapering and My Go To Diapers

We have been having nighttime diaper issues since about 6 months ago.  We only cloth diaper my daughter, who is 1 1/2 right now and she was ALWAYS leaking.  We ended up putting her back in disposables for night time since we use them for big brother anyways.  Well I thought about it and that was 30 diapers a month which wastes money, which completely defeats the purpose of us doing this.  We could save a whole box of diapers by trying to figure out how to keep her leak free at night in CDs.

Well I happened upon a blog post at Cloth Diaper Addiction about this very topic and it was about using prefolds at night.  I'm like seriously...you must be kidding.  But prefolds are cheap, I already have them and it really couldn't hurt.  My daughter has even woken up wet in sposies so we needed a new option.

So I did just like she did.

 Here I have an Imagine prefold, a Thirsties hemp doubler and a Bluebery diaper cover.  In the blog she places the prefold sideways, so the center panel is left to right not up and down, this didn't work for us so it really just depends on the prefold you are using and your baby's shape.

Fold up like so and place inside diaper and fasten.  No need to use a snappy, just lay inside like you would a pad and because there is a little extra bulk, it won't move around.

This worked like a CHARM!  She woke up dry even though she woke up in the middle of the night (teething) and had another cup of milk.  She usually never wakes up so this will definitely work on a normal night.  I have no idea why this worked...but who cares!

So this brings me to my favorites.  I haven't used tons of diapers mostly because I don't have the time or money to try a million brands, I just stick with what works.  

My workhorse diaper is the new Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diaper.  It just WORKS.  It can always last for longer than the typical 2 hours, is perfect for going places and using with daycare, nursery workers and other family members.  Super easy to put on (we use the snaps version) and they wash nicely everytime.  Not a SINGLE complaint here.

My second favorite is a surprise and ties in with my nighttime diaper dilemma.  PREFOLDS.  I LOVE PREFOLDS.  They seem really old fashioned and maybe aren't as stylish but I love them.  Here are a couple reasons.  They are CHEAP.  Wash and dry easily.  No stuffing! (My favorite part). Incredibly versatile.  Incredibly absorbent.  Prefolds scared me a bit at the beginning of my cloth diapering journey, but now, I just wish I had more!  Add some fun diaper covers, a few Snappis and some hemp inserts and you are good to go.

And that's it.  I am sure other moms could give you a list three and a half miles long, but this does the trick for us and to me, cloth diapering should be SIMPLE, not more complicated that disposable diapering.

Questions are welcomed :) I love answering them :)

Happy to be Back Again

I am sooo glad to be back and blogging!  It has been a dreadful couple of weeks without my laptop and even thought it's not my old one and I am not used to the keyboard yet. 

The week of our break-in was a big week for us.  My parents were coming in to help us with our bathroom remodel, and if you have ever done a remodel of any kind, you know what an undertaking that can be.  My parents got in Thursday afternoon and me and my mom headed off to a hotel with the kids.  My dad and hubby had the bathroom demo'd and the new bathtub in and completely tiled and I think the new window in by that night!  We had some major roadblocks the next day but they managed to finish everything by Sunday afternoon.  

Here are some before's and these have to be the worst before photos ever, it reminds me of a bathroom in a prison, AHHH!  These were taken after some of the demo was done.

Because we had to replace our door and we decided to go ahead and replace the window, my new vanity got knixed from the budget, but our current vanity is fine until we get a new one.  We also have a super nice toilet for some reason, we priced it and apparently its the ONLY thing in the house that the previous owners spent money on....weird.  So the only thing we had to replace was the horrid claw foot tub and tile :) That and the walls were a mess so lots of drywall work (thus lots of drywall dust all over my house...)

So after one meltdown and some serious hours put in by my dad and hubby my bathroom looks like this.

 I would call this Phase II as we still have to paint, put up new towel bars, decorate, and put the frosting stuff on the window.  But all in due time...

 

I grabbed this photo of the inside of the tub real quick this morning.  For some reason this photo makes the tile look yellow-y but it is actually white.  And excuse the ghetto towel over the window...

So we managed to survive the remodel.  My dad and hubby did an INCREDIBLE job.  You really have no idea.  It took a while for the house to completely recover and it has been a LOOONG couple weeks with no computer and having no internet escape. 

So I am back :) resuming my blogging duties and hopefully going to finish some of my projects that have been postponed due to all this chaos!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Sorry for the Absence...

A couple of weeks ago I came home from bible study to find both of our laptops and our TV stolen.  Both me and my husband do a lot of work on our computers so this has been really devastating for both of us.  I am writing this from the computer lab at my school, I have been coming here several days a week to do my schoolwork.  Not the ideal situation, but at least it is here. 

I will hopefully be back up and blogging again next month, but I just wanted to pop on here and let everyone know I am indeed still alive :)

Hope everyone has been doing well and I so miss reading all my favorite blogs (it just isn't the same on my iphone...)  I have had to do a couple projects with instructions from my phone and while I am glad I have it...I absolutely cannot wait till I have a new laptop!

I also wanted to mention how important it is to KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS.  We have a fairly successful neighborhood watch in my area and we haven't had any experiences with theft in quite some time.  Soon after the theft at my home our area started seeing auto thefts.  A neighbor a few streets down noticed a neighbor behaving suspiciously and caught him trying to break into her vehicle.  Just as we suspected, we had a criminal actually move in and it is possible this person(s) may be responsible for our theft and others.

Now that being said, I am not saying to watch your neighbors because they are probably criminals, but you really never know and if you do not know your neighbors, you might not know when there is suspicious behavior going on around their house.  We should not be so insulated from the outside that we don't even know our neighbor's names, it is absolutely essential to having a safe community.

So everyone stay safe and get to know the people around you, you never know, you might make some great friends!