What We've Been Doing Lately: The Spring Edition

What have we been doing lately? A little of that, a little of this. But you know what we haven't been doing? Enjoying the weather. This has been one coooold spring.


Going to the eye doctor. From an injury gotten while blowing up a balloon. Heard (barely audible) while the pediatric eye doctor was examining Kay, "I hate balloons. I really, really hate them." Me too, doc. Me too.

Making stupid images on SnapChat. Oh to have the time management skills of a tween.

Baking Princess Leia cookies. Obviously. Because it was May 4th.

Spring cleaning. Did I enjoy finding this random pack of cards with my beloved home state of Virginia on them? Yes, yes I did. Did I keep them, since there were only 43 of them? No, no I did not.

Downsizing. This is Sharpie the pig's house. In the recent clean-up mentioned above Sharpie the pig got to stay. His home, however, was recycled.

All of this activity took place under the ever vigilant eye of the resident policeman.

I've never felt more safe. Except for when balloons are around.

Happy Spring!

Magic Marbles

I've been on a bit of a cleaning and organizing kick lately. The youngest is six now, which means whole categories of baby, toddler and little kid stuff can be taken to the curb one and for all.

The amount of space this is clearing for giant Lego structures and lacrosse sticks is welcome, as older kids have as much crap as younger ones, it's just different crap.

Among the many things I found when cleaning up the kids' rooms, were these three marbles. If you're seeing this photo and asking, are those ordinary marbles? The answer is yes, yes they are.

But once upon a time, they were magic marbles. I forget the exact circumstances, but as soon as I saw them I remembered how these were the most prized possession in all the land. Now, I ask the kids, "anybody want these?"

And they answer, "Nah, We don't need any marbles."

And here I am again, providing one of my many mom services, to save and cherish the memories that even the kids have forgotten.

But don't get me wrong - I cherish the memories. The marbles are happily nestled in the giveaway box.

Looking to Get Organized? Ridgewood Closets is Giving Away a Custom Closet!

Enter for a chance to win a closet worth $5,000!

Are you looking to get organized? Then go visit the Ridgewood Closets Facebook page for ideas and inspiration, AND they're giving away a custom designed closet worth $5,000! Storage, organization, hectic morning issues solved!

Entering is easy. Leave a comment on this Facebook post telling why you need extra storage or a new closet.

On October 31, 2015, Ridgewood Closets will pick one lucky winner at random from all closet give-away comments.

For design inspiration, visit Ridgewood Closets on PINTEREST.

Conditions: The winning entrant must be based in the following New Jersey counties: Bergen, Essex, Union, Passaic and Morris or in New York City or Brooklyn.

For full promotional details plus terms and conditions, see www.ridgewoodclosets.com/fbpromo.

How to Organize Your Kids' Rooms - Guest Post from Gigi K. Miller of Vision Organizing

Thank you so much Gigi for sharing your tips for organizing kids' rooms - I love all of these ideas and am inspired to de-clutter and get my kids organized today!

 
Overview
Kids' bedrooms often serve multiple functions and organization is a crucial element in making the most of the available space. This is a place where kids complete homework assignments, read, listen to music and play with friends. It also functions as storage space for books, clothes, electronics, sports equipment and toys. So how do I create an organized space that my kids will maintain? 

Follow these 5 steps to cut the clutter, maximize available space and create organizing systems that are simple and easy for your kids to maintain. 

Step 1:  Design a Space with Kids’ Needs in Mind:

The first thing I suggest is to look at the space from your child’s point of view. Is it easy for them to access clothes, books, toys?  Consider these questions and then purchase pieces that allow your child to easily retrieve what they need when they need it. For example, install or move an existing rod to a lower position in the closet, use open floor bins or stackable drawers to store socks, underwear, and t-shirts. Use the upper rod and shelving to store out of season clothing and extra bedding. 

 

Step 2:  Define Your Zones:

Decide what functions your kids’ rooms need to serve and then clearly define the space into zones.  For example, a desk and shelving unit may serve as the homework/reading zone. A table and art supplies may serve as the arts and crafts zone. And a trunk of dress up clothes, a train table and bins of toys provide a play zone. Creating zones will make it easy for your kids to determine where items belong.

 

Step 3:  De-Clutter Your Space:

Take inventory of toys, clothes, books and everything else in your kids’ rooms. Toss old or broken items out and donate gently used items to a local charity. One good tip is to keep an empty bag or box in the closet to collect donate items. I suggest de-cluttering 3-4 times a year. Take your kids with you when you drop off donations. It is important that they learn early on the importance of giving to others. Use the one in one out rule. One new toy or book means one is donated.

Step 4:  Designate a Home For Everything:

Sort like items together and store them close to where your kids will use them or in their proper zones. This goes for clothes, toys, games, and everything else. For example, toys and games should be stored close to or in the play zone. Toys should be sorted into categories by type or size. Organize clothing by categories as well: short sleeved shirts, pants, sweaters, and so on. Use labels or pictures to help your kids return items to their proper homes. For younger kids, color code categories.  A pink bin for socks, a red bin for t-shirts, and so on. he important thing to remember here is to set up a system that works for your kid. Every kid is different and finding the right system takes time and patience.  But it will be well worth it for both of you!

Step 5:  Make Staying Organized a Routine:

For younger kids, make it a game by turning on music and setting a timer to see how fast they can return items to their proper (and labeled) homes. For older kids, create a check list to include items such as making the bed, folding clothes, putting away books and preparing school items for the next day. Take it a step further and create a morning check list and an evening one to help kids better manage their time. 

Finally, make getting and staying organized a family affair.  Work together as a team and encourage each other to keep you home clutter free and organized!

____________________________________________

About Gigi K. Miller:  Gigi serves as the Marketing Director for The National Association of Professional Organizers- Georgia (NAPO-GA) and is the owner of VisionOrganizing, an Atlanta based company that works with individuals and businesses.  As a Professional Organizer, Gigi utilizes her highly honed organizational skills towards helping others realize the benefits of living an organized life. Vision Organizing's mission is to create customized solutions for home, work, and life that are simple, practical, and easy to maintain. For additional information, please visit www.VisionOrganizing.com.  

Connect with Gigi for all things organization and start living your organized life today!

Vision Organizing on Facebook: /VisionOrganizing
Vision Organizing on Twitter: @Organizer
Vision Organizing on Pinterest: /OrganizerATL

Giving the People What They Want: 10 Cute and Clever Dry Erase Ideas - Mostly DIY

My Dry Erase Crayons.
Purchased thinking I would maybe
one day make one of these
DIY Dry Erase Boards.

I love Pinterest.  I have almost 100 Boards and over 2,000 pins on everything under the Pinterest sun. I have an entire board devoted to Nutella and another board just about Big Duckie.

And yet the board that gets the most action on Pinterest is.... Cute and Clever Dry Erase Ideas - Mostly DIY.

So if you are looking for cute and clever dry erase ideas - mostly DIY - here are 10:

1. Make super-awesome dry erase table signs - excellent for entertaining.
2. Write with dry erase marker on top of the washing machine anything inside it that shouldn't go in the dryer.
3. Glass + Burlap makes a really cool dry erase board.
4. Glass + Scrapbook paper makes a really pretty dry erase calendar.
5. Use dry erase paint and make an entire dry erase wall.
6. Love this - a dry erase clock to write in what the kids are doing when.
7. The Dry Erase Clipboard - loves it.
8. Bamboo Dry Erase - great design statement.
9. Dry Erase Board with a list of what the kids need to do.
10. And last, I'm a big fan of the Dry Erase Decision Maker. Some days I could really use one of these.

Do you have a favorite Dry Erase idea? Share in the comments below!

And if you're on Pinterest leave your name so I can follow you!

Click and Improve: The Solution for Hassle-Free Home Improvement (and a Discount Too!)

We bought our house in scenic New Jersey almost two years ago. Like most new homeowners, when we moved in we made a list of things that needed to be repaired immediately, and a list of things that we should also get fixed, but that were less urgent.

And two years later? Yes, that's right... we've checked nothing off the list.

So when the nice folks at Click and Improve (an amazing company that makes it easy to actually complete your home improvement projects, instead of just thinking about your home improvement projects) contacted me about trying their service, I finally got one of the items on our endless list done.

The ceiling in my eight-year-old daughter Magpie's room had been damaged by a leak in our roof, and so in addition to needing to be repainted the ceiling also needed to have the peeling plaster repaired.

Magpie complains incessantly about the bits and pieces of plaster floating down from her ceiling, so I figured repairing her ceiling could move to the top of our home improvement list.

Part of why I had put-off the ceiling repair for so long was because I didn't know where to start. I didn't know who to call, or how to explain the condition of the ceiling. Luckily, the Click and Improve website makes it easy to determine what service you need. When you choose "Painting"  you are given several options, such as interior or exterior, and there are even visuals for explaining your job for handy-impaired folks like myself:

Once scheduled, I used the imminent ceiling repair as an excuse to have my daughter clean her room. In case you don't understand how momentous that is, lemme show you before and after photos:

The painter showed-up on time the following morning, and Click and Improve even gave me a courtesy call to let me know he was outside my house.  He did a great job, and by the end of the day the old, cracked, peeling paint on the ceiling was a distant memory.

Seeing how easy it was to get this repair done - which has been on my to do list for over a year now - I'm inspired to get on track and finish the rest of my home repairs as well. With the help of Click and Improve, I think it might really happen.

Try Click and Improve for yourself! Enter the code "HANDPRINTS" at checkout and receive 10% off any service. Expires 8/1/2012.

You can find Click and Improve online at ClickandImprove.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. 

Click and Improve currently serve the greater New York City metropolitan area, including Long Island and parts of New Jersey, and are expanding rapidly.

To learn more, here's a video that explains how to easily Find Your Home Repair Solution.

I received a free service from Click and Improve to review their service, by my opinions and enthusiastic support are all my own.

What's at the top of your home improvement to do list?

The New York International Gift Fair: The Eco-Awesome Edition

This is my third, and penultimate, post about the Gift Fair, covering just a few of the many eco-awesome products I saw there.

A few of my eco-awesome favorites:

Modern Twist – I love just about everything from this company that makes“eco-chic products for a sustainable planet." All their products are 100% recyclable and reusable, and have terrific modern design. They have BPA and chemical free Kidz Placemats ($17) that are made from food-grade silicone so they won’t tear or crease. These placemats are also available as a Kidz Box ($26) which also includes markers kids can use to color (and re-color) their mats. There are also great placemats for us adults ($13-$18).

Photo from Modern Twist

Artterro - These eco-friendly art kits are perfect for crafty kids. Each kit contain the supplies for a project such as collage jewelry or art dolls, and are designed to be open-ended and encourage kids to use their imaginations. When you're done, the box from the kit becomes the frame to display your creation. Made in the USA of all natural materials.

Woolly Boo - This NJ-based company makes gorgeous bedding and sleep sacks, all from organic wool and cotton and all made in the USA in conjunction with farmers and weavers who are committed to sustainable practices and fair trade. New this year is the All-in-One Nap Mat, perfect for kids to use at preschool, day care or when traveling.

Tomorrow I'll be back with a final Gift Fair update, which of course will be all things Duck in honor of Big Duckie.

You can also see my picks for 10 Great Finds from the New York International Gift Fair at BaristaKids.com.

A Trip to DUANEreade and A Few Thoughts on Getting Organized in 2012

I am one of those people who tries really, really hard to be organized.

And yet, I am also one of those people who can never find a pen, or paper. And one of those people who always has to spend ten minutes searching for the sheet of paper that has the information about what time the school play is at.

But not this year!

This year, I'm going to be the person who has is totally organized. Or at least sorta organized.

But before I could take on my organizational plans, I had to get a haircut. Badly. So I took the train from scenic New Jersey to Manhattan and got there with enough time to spare that I had time to stop by one the new remodeled DUANEreade store in Herald Square (1350 Broadway, at 35th Street).

The Duane Reade had a great vibe, and I loved this wall of favorite New York things:

I also loved the store directory, not only so I could find my way around the store, but also because it has whole sections for "Apartment Living" and "What I Need." Exactly.



I headed upstairs (yes, it's two floors of shopping fun) to the office supplies section to see what might be there to help me get organized. There was an over-sized PlanAhead Monthly/Weekly Planner Calendar which was perfect for scheduling me, not to mention everyone else in my busy family.

I also got a box of  envelopes, which I'm going to use to keep all of my can't-lose important items, and then my super-organized self is going to tuck those envelopes into the appropriate week in my new fancy Planner.

And do you know what this all means? This means that when the next birthday party comes along - I'll be ready. And the kid's ongoing weekly lessons? The ones where I can never find a pen, or a check? I'll be ready for those, too. Because this afternoon I'm writing the lesson checks for the next few months, and then I'm putting all those checks inside the envelopes ahead of time for the lessons, and it will be one less thing to have to remember all the time.

I'm hoping these little changes will be just the beginning of a less frantic and way more organized year.

Other things making me happy on my visit to Herald Square? That Macy's still had their decorations and windows for the holidays, they are really spectacular.

I felt a little bad my kids weren't with me to enjoy them, too. But, oh well.

I left Herald Square and headed downtown just in time for my haircut with Rod at Soho Organics (192 Sixth Avenue).

Later that night when I got home, I got to work updating my calendar with recurring appointments and other upcoming dates.

It felt good to be organized. And yes, I know it's just a start.

Do you have organizational tips - please share, clearly I need all the help I can get!

For tons more photos of my trip to Duane Reade, check out my Google+ Album.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, #CBias. The opinions, and the money spent, are my own.

For all the latest and greatest from Duane Reade, follow them on Twitter @DuaneReade and via the hashtag #DReade. You can also like them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DuaneReade).

NaBloPoMo - I Hardly Knew Ye

So, I did it. A month of posts in honor of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) plus one more for good luck, for a total of 31 posts. It went by so fast. How is it December tomorrow already?

I had a lot of fun participating, and to be honest, I don't think I wrote any more (or less) than in any other month. The only difference was instead of hitting "draft" as I usually do, I hit "publish" instead.

I started the month with the plan to use NaBloPoMo as a time to clean-out my lingering - perhaps even malingering - posts in draft status - I had close to 200 of them.  As of today, I now have 143. Not exactly empty, but progress just the same.

And my basement that started the month looking like this:

Ended the month looking exactly the same. So much for the whole idea of "making yourself publicly accountable."
And perhaps best of all, at the end of this month of writing my own daily posts and reading the posts of others, I got this in the mail, my very first article in print - 5 ho-ho-ho-liday books in New Jersey Family magazine.

So, NaBloPoMo I enjoyed spending time with you. And while I'm sure we'll meet again it won't be in December. For now, I have a basement to clean. And a few posts to publish, or delete.

That should keep me busy.

Thank you New Jersey Family for all the opportunities you have given me and for making my first tear sheet possible (though my husband has asked me to never use the phrase "tear sheet" again).

NaBloPoMo and My Plans for a Month of Housekeeping in November

Today is the second day of November, and I'm "two for two" with blog posts this month. Why am I mentioning this?

Because I'm participating this month in NaBloPoMo - which is short for National Blog Post Month - and means nothing more (or less) than committing to write a blog post every day in November.

And for me, I've decided to dedicate my month of posts to housekeeping.

This month, I'll be writing all the posts I've been meaning to write, but haven't yet for one reason or another.

This month, I'll be doing some actual housekeeping around my house. Like transforming my hoarder-like basement from this...

...to this. Well, I don't exactly have the this quite yet, but I will by the end of the month.

And last, I'm either gonna delete or publish all (or at least almost all) the draft posts hangin' around in unpublished neverland. Would you believe it if I told you I have 176 of them?

And when all that's done, I'll have put together 30 posts for NaBloPoMo November, which if I was the sorta person to have a Life List, would be the kind of thing I'd like to cross off of it.

What are you going to do in November? And if you blog, will you be posting every day?

Tomorrow's post for NaBloPoMo will be making good on a bet I lost to my husband -- that's right, he's leaving instructions for me.

A Portrait of Polly (Pocket) in 827 Tiny Pieces

Two weeks ago I photographed my kids gigantic Barbie collection. This week I'm documenting Polly Pocket: A Portrait in 827 Tiny Pieces.

Here, I present the Polly Pocket dolls all twenty-something of them:

But the Polly Pocket dolls are not the main part of the story. The real story of Polly Pocket is the itty-bitty accessories. The nineteen purses.

The fourteen pairs of matching shoes.

And in our case, the thirty-five unmatched shoes:

My mother and I, who are both clearly a similar type of crazy, spend forever matching the shoes. We put them in pairs, in little plastic boxes.

We admonished the children, "Put the shoes back in the itty bitty plastic boxes when you're done!"

We begged the children, "Please, please don't mix-up the shoes!"

Of course, they don't listen. Instead of matched shoes in the itty bitty boxes, there is this:

Sigh.

But what really gets me is who makes these shoes? Are "they" out to drive moms (and grandmas) out of their minds? Who thinks to make eight pairs of hot pink doll shoes that are all different, yes oh-so-very-similar.

Look closely. These are nine more pink shoes. That don't match. Not a one.

And maybe now it's time for me to stop matching shoes, and instead, to take the advice of an older friend, whose children are now grown (and who turned out just fine).

She told me, after listening to a particularly long tale of Polly and her shoe collection, "Quit talking about how the Polly Pocket shoes keep getting lost and get out the damn vacuum. Life is too short."

What do you think - should Polly and her shoe collection get the vacuum?

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny. Because that's what I like to do.

Head over to Kelley's Break Room and My Life and Kids to read a lot of really funny stuff.

Barbies. And more Barbies. And even more Barbies.

For all of you who visited the Polly Pocket retrospective last week, thank you for coming by and for your comments and commiseration.

This week, I thought I'd go ahead and share my Barbie collection woes as well.

I have two daughters. They're ages five and seven. In these years they have managed to amass a boggling amount of Barbies. (And Polly Pockets, but you've already heard about that.)

Yesterday, in an effort to put our home in some sort of order before yet another school year is upon us, I had the girls clean their rooms. And then for fun, I took a photo of all those Barbies. Ten Barbies, plus a Flairy and two mini Kelly-sister-of-Barbie dolls.

Of course, then I realized there were tons more Barbies lurking in drawers and secret hiding places. Are you ready for this? 21 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll (I think from High School Musical), 1 Flairy, and 2 mini dolls.* 

I'll be honest, it didn't really seem so bad.  Then we went downstairs. Where there were more, oh so many more. Final Barbie over-consumption tally? 27 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll, 2 Flairies, and 3 mini dolls.

It's actually sorta funny that my daughters have so many Barbies, as I am not really a fan myself (for all the usual feminist reasons) and Barbies were not a part of my childhood (again, because my mom had the same feminist reasoning).

Magpie and Kay - I can't wait to see what you think of this collection when you're adults, and perhaps, feminists too.

As you may recall, the home clean-up continued with Polly Pocket: A Photo Essay in 867 small pieces. Next up, I tackle my son's enormous car and train collection.

* One of the mini dolls is not photographed here because Kay had to play with her even if it totally messed-up Mommy's blog photo, not to mention the accompanying copy on her blog post.

Let this be proof I didn't let my blog interfere with your playing.

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny. 'Cause I like funny. And Kelley and Anna who run this hilarious weekly party. Follow along on Twitter with #FindingtheFunny

Oh, and I like you. And your hair. Did you do something new?

Instructions for My Husband: Don't leave the dirty cookie sheet in the kitchen sink.

The cookie sheet is very large and takes up the entire kitchen sink. And said placement of equally said cookie sheet makes it impossible for me to wash (or even find!) pertinent dishes that may be under it. In addition, a cookie sheet in the sink makes it impossible to pour anything down the drain, or in general to, uh, use the kitchen sink for any other possible use besides cookie sheet storage.

This cookie sheet situation is particularly irksome when I discover it at the exact same time that I am also embarking upon making breakfast for two three fairly impatient and hungry children. Not to mention Mommy who likes to prepare her coffee sooner rather than later.

Please either wash the baking sheet your fucking yourself, or at least let me know it's in the sink so I can wash it myself before the morning rush.*

That would be great. Thanks! :)

* This second option is merely an example, and not really a viable possibility.

This is my twentieth instruction for my husband in my ongoing series. The cookie sheet situation has been irritating me since 2008 when we had two impatient children. Now with three kids, it really annoys the hell out of me.

Image source.

Five things I won't be doing this summer

With my kids quoting to me daily the countdown of days left of school, I am beginning to feel the pressure of Summer Vacation looming. I want the kids to have a fun summer. I also want me to have a fun summer.

I want us to have a fun summer.

So I'm resolving today, as Memorial Day Weekend kicks-off, that I won't be doing any of the following things this summer:

1. I won't be doing the dishes. That's right, I'm taking the summer off. We're going to eat on paper plates for the whole, entire summer. Yes, I know this will have a bad impact on the environment. Mother Earth - I'll get you back in the fall, I promise.

2. I won't be tracking anyone's screen-time. I'm usually strict about how much screen-time my kids get - and we essentially don't have any TV, Wii or DS during the school week. On the weekend, I go through endless machinations to be sure the older ones don't watch TV when the toddler is around (I don't like him to watch any TV at all). And even my husband drives me crazy when he leaves the TV on and watches Infomercials. But not this summer. Watch, click and drive whatever you want. But when school starts, I'm back to my usual Draconian policies.

3. I won't be online very much. Living here in the Northeast, we only have so many nice days, and most of them occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I'm going to spend them outside, cultivating my fledgling garden and hanging with my kids, hopefully poolside much of the time. Twitter - I'll be back to my obsessive ways come September.

4. I won't be taking on any major home improvement projects. We moved last July, and my quest to unpack and have everything just-so in our new home completely consumed me for the entire summer. And here I am a year later, still with boxes to unpack, closets to unstuff and lights to install. So anything still undone can wait a little longer. It will all still be there when summer ends.

And last..

5. I won't be feeling guilty about any of these things I'm not doing. Life is long, but summer is short.

What won't you be doing this summer?

Thinking about summer has put me in a nostalgic mood for my childhood ones. I'm posting 1970s photos all weekend long on Facebook for your holiday amusement.

Shelves in the Attic

My attic

As I've discussed here before, I'm a big collector. Mostly, I concentrate on items with an Americana and/or feminist twist - Amish quilts, milk caps, suffragette postcards, and of course jewelry and shoes.

I also have an extensive ribbon hoarding issue collection, and a nice supply of vintage fabric and beads. 

And what is the number one, most important thing for a collector to have? Space. Lots and lots of space. And for the first time, I have this too.

We recently bought a house (coincidentally?) from an avid collector. A collector of such insanity extent, that no one else could see past his copious stuff and appreciate the house. For me, his collections of dolls, boats and maps were all part of the home's charm.

Not to mention, he had my perfect attic.

My perfect built-in shelving, two-zone climate controlled, air-purified museum storage quality attic.

Are you a collector who dreams about endless shelves in the attic? Or do you think collector is just a fancy way of saying hoarder?