Get ready for National Spring Cleaning week!

Well I would say this goes hand in hand with my recent theme. I have been busily working away in my home...and I have also been computerless for most of this last week. But I'm back! Aww...I know you missed me. :) So, on to the important stuff...

Are you starting your spring cleaning this week? Are you planning on doing any at all? Do you have any tips that you can share with us? Here is a website from last years big Spring Cleaning week. As someone who needs to be accountable, I am about to share my accomplishments and goals.

Remember the kids' books and all that mess? That is such a problem area in our house. Everything is moved to it's proper place and books are sorted and weeded through, but it is still a constant mess. *sigh* I was hoping reorganizing would solve the problem but that isn't meant to be. Now I know it will always be a challenge and be ready for it. I also cleaned out my clothes and closet, along with the kids. Winter clothes got packed away and summer clothes came out to play in the dresser drawers. Part of this effort involves trying clothes on. Not such a big deal for the kids, but for me?....so I have been working out with P90X and watching what I'm eating very carefully. Never the less that is not a miracle and I have a lot of hard work ahead of me. For now, I am topping the scales at the heaviest I have ever been, even while pregnant. Sorting through my clothes was thoroughly depressing. I think the most depressing part is that I will have to get some summer clothes that fit my "new" body. There is no way I will lose the weight I need to before I need something to wear besides the one pair of jeans that I have that fit and some sweatshirts. I am so freakin' motivated that by the end of the summer I will be one hot mamma. I hope.. I pray.. I beg

This morning I shampooed my front room carpet! I normally don't use shampoo ever and stick with hot water rinses, but my carpet needed it this time. After that the kids and I moved outside to clean up the back yard and back patio. We were super productive. Does that mean that I get to take the rest of the week off? Oh wait, no, wrong idea...I'm supposed to keep going strong. What is next? Tonight I do the carpets in the family room and tomorrow I clean out the garage. Wish me luck! And good luck to you too. :o)

Frogs, shoes, beds and aprons.

How do you start out your day? In my quest to become a more successful homemaker I am exploring it all. Here are a few things I have come across in my search. Basically, the idea is the same behind it all.

Eat your frog! Look at that cute little guy. Can't you just imagine swallowing him whole? Yuck, no. So, you need to start out your day doing your least favorite job. Eat your frog first thing and everything after that is a bonus.


Get dressed! Whether you are going out for the day or staying in, get dressed. And that means right down to your shoes. Put them on and lace them up. You are ready to go. Personally I prefer a sensible pair of heels to sneakers, but whatever floats your boat. :)




Make your bed as soon as you get out of it. Don't put it off and don't ignore that chore as being unimportant. Along these same lines, clean your sink before bed. Wake up and made your bed and have a sparkly clean sink at the end of
the day.


I have tried it all in an effort to motivate myself to have an extremely productive day. Through trial and error I think I have found what works best for me. I put my apron on. The other day I was chatting on the phone with a friend and mentioned putting my apron on. She knows me well and started laughing, saying "watch out, Mandy's getting busy!"

Today is the official launch of my part in the Snyder's declutter challenge. I have several areas prepared for this weekend, depending on how well things go. Tomorrow is Z-man's birthday party so I have to have the house looking somewhat presentable. I don't want to get too optomistic, so I will keep it real and start with one area.


The childrens' books. They have lots and lots of books. I am mostly pleased with this, but have been thinking in terms of decluttering. Do you remember my post about twaddle free literature. My kids are blessed to have a lot of cherishable stories to jump right into. I do believe, in that mess of paper and binding, that there a more than a few twaddle full books as well. I am not just going to find a neat and tidy spot for the books, I am also going to sort through them. I have never been one to part with my beloved books, but I think I need to be ruthless when it comes to this messy corner of our home.

Now I'm going to go charge up with some fresh grapefruit and toast and then get to work!

http://www.thesnyder5.com/2010/01/500-pound-declutter-great-declutter.html

You know I was just talking about my declutter project yesterday. I need to be accountable. And then what do I find?! This great declutter challene from the Snyder family! Not only are they on a major decluttering challenge, they weigh in. Their goal over there is 500 pounds of clutter to get rid of. Already over 300 pounds, I think they are well on their way. So here I am, joining their challenge. This is a great challenge and I encourage any of you who are reading to participate.

For my first area of challenge I am going go retroactive. Sure, some might call it cheating, but I don't see the need to throw ugly words around. :) At the end of last week I decided to switch my bookshelf and computer desk. I wanted the desk, and internet, in a more public place. And the bookshelf...oh my! The kids destroyed it on a daily basis, leaving books and papers scattered all over the floor.



Look at me! I was so proud of being all burly and moving the furniture that I had to show this off. I moved that sucker a couple of feet! The Hubby moved it across the house, but I moved it a couple of feet! I know, I'm just awesome like that. :) The books are all put nicely back on the bookshelf in my bedroom. Sorry, forgot to take a picture of that. The desk and computer is all put back together and functional. I am so glad I made this switch.

Next up...the kids' books...

The Art of Aprons.

I am a domestic engineer ...or a housewife ...or a stay at home mom ...or a homemaker ...or a housekeeper ...or a cook, or .... You get the picture. :)

"Wearing an apron is just good sense...An apron is domestic armor, shielding our clothing against the splatter and tatter of keeping house. Wear an apron and your guard is up." ~EllynAnne Geisel from APRONISMS * Pocket Wisdom for Every Day.

I had a basic red apron stashed in the far back of my kitchen drawer. After much frustration over the fact that every single one of my shirts have holes right around navel level, I finally fished it out from it's exile. I looked at it suspiciously and slowly slipped it on. Wow! I loved the way it felt, and the way it looked. The best part about it was that it worked. I mean, it kept splatters off my clothes, kept tears from my shirts, and kept my dishtowel nice and handy. How incredibly practical is an apron?! I felt like I had spent years avoiding a stereotype and so avoiding an apron. I now wear my apron off and on throughout the day and always feel my best when I have it on. It is not only my "armor" but an inspiration as well. I feel beautiful and feminine when wearing it. I feel prepared and energetic. I will never be without this friend of mine again!

My apron is a simple red full length apron. I admit to a new obsession. While I love my apron, especially because it is my favorite color, it is plain. That sure serves a purpose...but who wouldn't want a lovely apron like the one pictured above? So now I find myself often sifting through the never ending treasure chest of Etsy. Those ladies are fabulous! Not only do I want to spend any life savings on gorgeous apron after gorgeous apron, I want to break out my sewing machine and start making my own. Nothing has made me look twice at my stowed away sewing machine for quite awhile, so that is saying something. If you know of an apron that you don't think I can resist, please post a comment and tell me about it!

One last tidbit. Aprons are not just for beautiful women. They are for delightful little girls too! The next apron pictured may or may not be wrapped and under our tree waiting for a certain 7 year old..

Thinking Christmas.

SHHhhhh! I'm going to spill the beans on some Christmas presents. My kids are getting magazine subscriptions for Christmas this year. Have you ever heard of Cricket, ladybug or Ask? Check these out. They were highly recommended to me and I must say that I have been very impressed. So if you are thinking about what to get the kids, I am passing on the recommendation for these.

So speaking of Christmas...is anyone stressed over the holidays yet? I start my seasonal shopping and preparing in June. And so what if my kids don't want to listen to Christmas songs in the summer? Since I am a HUGE fan of Christmas, I am always ready for it. This year I have been following simple mom's 12 weeks to a peaceful Christmas to work on preparation. I will be sharing some ideas from simple mom and others on enjoying holiday cheer.

Spiderwebs work

I am not an organized person. I constantly make myself to do lists and put them throughout the house. You know, the usual kind of lists:

1. Clean bathroom
2. Do dishes
3. Do laundry

and so on. I don't stick with it. They are useless lists in my world. Thanks to a suggestion from Simple Mom , I started a new form of organizing my to do list. I have had a couple of people ask me about this, as it has meant great success for me. It is what I refer to as a spiderweb list. I break up my chores into different reasons for what I am doing it for. I have four main elements in my day. Business, Self, Housework and Kids. Then I add my chores to each section, keeping in mind the different aspects to my jobs. For instance, instead of writing down Laundry, I separate that into three chores; Wash laundry, fold laundry and put away laundry. This works wonders. I am famous for either leaving washed laundry in the dryer and wrinkled or folding all of the laundry only to leave it for too long and a two year old tears down my neat piles like Godzilla destroying New York. I also cross off jobs as I do them, to show myself that despite what it feels like, I am making it through my day. Lastly, if I do something throughout the day that I didn't have written down, I go to my list and write it down and cross it off. At the end of the day, when I see what I have done, it really does help.