Going Green...

This week will have a wee bit of a GREEN theme!

Let's start out with this family picture wall that I just LOVE!  Simple BRIGHT frames (I'm not sure if they are IKEA, but they have some similar.) and a painted floor runner.

So simple, but WOW!


BHG



Happy.

With end of the month deadlines and Betsy's birthday this weekend, I've been a little "blah" and haven't found my "voice". 

Instead of posting nothing, thought I'd share something that made me HAPPY when I saw it this weekend!

Ahh, Jenny Lind beds in COLOR!  Makes me want to buy a lake cottage for the sole purpose of lining up three in a row!!!  Swoon!

My DIRTY little secret.

Yesterday I was out and texted a friend that I was going to stop by to drop something off for her, "Was she home?".  She responded, "My house is nasty and I'm coloring when I should be cleaning."  This made me laugh.

So after I popped in and chatted with her for 10 minutes or so, then I was on my way.

Then I started thinking, dwelling, like I always do.  I thought back and whatever "nasty" is...I didn't see it. 

If someone offered me 1 million dollars I would not be able to tell you if I smelled any weird odors, if there were crumbs on her counters, if there were dishes by her sink, if her toilets were clean, if there were toys everywhere.  I'm serious.  I have absolutely no idea.

I saw her.  I saw her cute children.  I left knowing that she listened to me, because I was on a rant when I got there.  I left knowing that she was kind because she thought of me and gave me a few things for me and my kids as I left.

That got me thinking, dwelling, even more.  What kind of impression do I give?  If my house is clean when I have people over, do others think that it is always like that, and I'm judging them?

If someone "popped in" on me, would I be obsessing about what they don't even see? 

Here is my DIRTY little secret...and this may or may not make you want to "pop in" on me.  My house is RARELY clean.  If someone "popped in" on me most days:

-crumbs are all over the floor, tables, counters

-at LEAST 5 pairs of shoes are at the bottom of the stairs and scattered around other areas of the house where you are highly likely to trip on them (even though we have a designated shoe closet.  GOSH shoes are a BATTLE around here...)

-not a SINGLE throw pillow is on the couch (because my children have a strange obsession with throwing them on the floor)

-the art table is a disaster of cut paper, glue and several rotten apples (they don't show you the rotten apples in PB catalogs) (these rotten apples may not only be at the art table, but in other very odd places around the house where only a child would lay down an apple...and they may not be found for days...)

-there is a VERY large mountain of mail on the counter

-at LEAST 15 items are by the sink, including no less than 5 dirty baby bottles

-EVERYTHING has tiny-children-hand-and-finger-smudges...the walls, the light switches, the windows, the mirrors, the sinks, the doorknobs, the counters...

-PILES everywhere.  Clothes piles, mail piles, shoe piles, pillow piles... You get the picture.

-my stove top has globs of black stuff on it.  (I starting cooking something the other day and smoke was coming off of it and I seriously thought it was going to catch on fire.)

-a faint (or strong) smell of urine or poop because our dog is old and has at least one accident per day (or Jay has missed the toilet target...again...even though he has had 3.5 years of practice)

-my bathrooms are as dirty as a truck stop (not a nice truck stop...the kind that you stop at when you are in the middle of nowhere, one with no posted cleaning schedule, one you leave thinking you may have contracted a disease)

And that is JUST downstairs.

You don't believe me, just ask my husband...or my college roommate...

He teases me when I'm in the middle of a "people are coming to my house" psycho clean that, "Wow, we REALLY need to have people over more often."

Yesterday taught me that they are not seeing what I see in my own home.  They are not judging me.

When I have people over, I get crazy.  If I have a 30 minute warning I can do A LOT, and it is unbelievable what BEFORE and AFTER can happen in 2 hours. (I should be on a reality TV show.)  When the pressure is on I'm a bit "Martha".  I FREAK.  If some one popped by and saw what I mentioned above I would apologize over and over and make excuses and point out things that they didn't even notice, when I should be listening, when I should be being a friend, when I should be being "Mary". 

That's the truth, there I said it.  So friends, if I go in your home and it is not up to your expectations.  Don't worry about me judging, or even noticing.  Just hand me a crayon,  I'm feeling right at home.

Rub 'n Buff (Take 2).

Sidebar:  After spending less than $500 Cammie is back up and running!  Yay!  Turns out she just wanted a little attention.  200k...here we come!  One of my many nicknames from JB is "hotrod" and I thought I'd really done a number on her due to my "hot" foot, but the mechanic actually said that she was looking REALLY good for a car with 175k miles (Gold Star!).  When I told my parents this, they were shocked and we had to explain that he meant under the hood, NOT the interior.  #immessy #mythreekidsaremessy #nofoodinthecarrulesneverlast #myparentsarenotmessy (I know that hashtags don't have a point here, but I just love 'em.)  

So after figuring out that Rub 'n Buff was really easy, I found this HUGE mirror at a yard sale for $20 and saw BIG possibility.

Before. (You can see where I have started a little bit on the left.)

Before.  She's lookin' rough.



After reading reviews online I used my fingers to do the rubbin'.  Proof that you can do this project a few weeks postpartum, in your bedroom floor, in a skirt, barefoot.



Side-by-Side Before and After

After.  What?!  Is this the same mirror?!



The reveal. Our dresser is BIG (and rarely this clean).  She's a perfect fit!

Rub 'n Buff Reveal

Part 1 HERE.

So I just realized that I gave a little Rub 'n Buff tease, but never showed the finished product. (Pretty typical since I have a zillion unfinished things going on around here...but since I DID finish it, I thought I might as well share!)

I love how she turned out.  With WAY more patience than me to do it right with a zillion coats...my mom is my go-to for paint projects.  She painted this with a spackle paint.  The intention was for the wood to show through, but I initially picked a color way too light, so the light color is coming through the final color.

I had the hardest time getting the green just right (I used samples and went through three samples...three trips to HD. Ugh!)

I am ALL about a paint color name.  My house has LOTS of color and I can go room by room and remember my paint color names.  My friend Tara will appreciate this one since she shares our LOVE for a good pickle...when I picked up "Dill Pickle" I KNEW I'd finally gotten it right. 

Another finished Rub 'n Buff reveal post soon!  A thrifted mirror!

Rub 'n Buff Redo (Take One)...

Labor Day weekend we bought a new couch.  You know how when you get one new thing it sparks change in the entire room?  I love that!

I moved the dining room rug to the living room, got rid of the living room rug, moved a table, and got rid of a table.  Lots of change!

That said, I have a little cabinet in my foyer that was my Me-Me's and the handles on it were broken.  I had taken several of the broken handles off and it has been bare for years.  I periodically have looked for replacements, but have had no luck.  I didn't want to settle for something I didn't love, so I've just waited.

Well, I was in Hobby Lobby last week picking up some mats I had cut and looking for Rub 'n Buff.  (My friend Missy had suggested this metallic rub for a mirror that I found at a yard sale.  It's for our master, but needs a little "umph".  More on that little project later.)

While in Hobby Lobby I looked through their handles and found these:

 

Before


The color made them too "country" for me, but with Rub 'n Buff already in hand, I saw potential.  Anthropologie potential.
 

After.


I really love the way they turned out.  I think they are Anthropogie-esque AND at a price of $4.50 each instead of $17+. 

Handles...In Progress.


Now I think she needs a little paint...kinda like new earrings sometimes call for a new dress!


There's a place for everything...

And everything has a place!

Organize:  Crayons. Markers. Colored Pencils.
Baskets...Target $1 Spot.

I find myself saying this phrase so much that my kids are finishing the sentence for me.

Up soon:  Home organization.

Schedules (part 2)...

Thank you for your comments on the last post.  I've decided to leave the morning bed making to the kids...the kids do a decent job and will get better with practice...I may straighten up a little after the fact, but y'all have inspired me to not give up on them.

I love the idea to take the mail vertical.  I'm on the lookout this week for folder holders and cute folders!  I already have a HUGE bulletin board in the laundry room as "command central" for school schedules and calendars...beside of it will be the perfect place for the "mail station"!

15 minutes downstairs (mornings)

Okay, so after my 15 minutes upstairs  I head downstairs for 15 more minutes (cue timer!).
-Start the washer with the clothes I brought down.
-Open the blinds.
-Straighten pillows and make sure coffee tables are clear and wiped off.
-Shake out tablecloths or change them (if needed).
-Windex windows (if needed) and sliding glass door (ALWAYS needed).
-Start/Unload dishwasher (except silverware-Bet's chore)
-Wipe down counters and appliances with a soapy cloth.
-Wipe down powder room sink (if needed).
-Change powder room towel (if needed).
-Clean powder room toilet (if needed).
-Water porch plants.
-Take inventory of paper towels, toilet paper, Glade Plug-ins, dog treats, detergents, soaps, etc.

Up next...Afternoon schedules with the kids (including Manners Mondays).

Schedules...

Since we all had brand-new schedules in May, when I went to part-time days, we used the summer to get used to our new days.  I did not have a firm schedule for every day...I treated it like "summer" and we were very spontaneous.

Summer Fun!  (Photo taken last summer.)

Now that school has started I've been working on our weekly schedule.  One for ME and one for the KIDS.  My next few posts will be about this...Areas that I KNOW I need HELP with are Groceries and Mail!  If you have an awesome SIMPLE system to share with me that works for you PLEASE do!!!

ME: 
Inspired by Fly Lady (Reality Check-I do NOT use her entire cleaning schedule.  She is AMAZING!  I just grab bits of it that work for me.), one thing that has been SO helpful to my "choose to love your house" time is the TIMER!  I've been using the timer for a while with "time-outs", but have just this summer started using it for cleaning/organizing and am pretty much addicted!  (JB even commented the other day that he feels like he is on the set of "60 Minutes".)

I have a tendency to "putter" A LOT and the timer keeps me focused. 
putter-verb To be active, but not excessively busy, at a task or a series of tasks

Every morning I time myself for 15 minutes upstairs and 15 minutes downstairs.  Within those 30 minutes I get an AMAZING amount of things done!  I really don't even believe it myself!  Since I'm timing myself I don't "putter" or get distracted.  I am efficient and a bit of adrenaline even kicks in!  The BEST part is that when I am through with this 30 minutes each morning I know that I have accomplished SO MUCH and my day has just started!!!  I can be more focused on my work when I'm not thinking of the million things that aren't done around me.  AND I also know that I won't be discouraged (or embarrassed!) to invite someone inside who may pop by for a visit.  I am satisfied and proud of my home when it is clean!

15 minutes upstairs (mornings):

-I open curtains and make ALL the beds.  (I was having the kids make theirs, but they weren't making them like I like and I had to look at their unmade bed until they got home (when they do their 15 minutes of timed clean up)...which bugged me.
-Put the most "full" clothes basket at the top of the stairs. (I have three bins in our closet we all use labeled Darks. Colors. Whites.)  If none of the three bins are full I grab towels or sheets, but something is going down for the washer.
-Put things back in their places in my room and bathrooms.
-Check showers and bathrooms (and supply drawers) and see if anything (shampoo, conditioner, soap, toilet paper, etc.) needs to come up from the laundry room or go on the store list.

I have seen this trick on several blogs:  I keep a bin upstairs (under the guest sink) and a bin downstairs with large trash bags, Windex, paper towels, a "Chore Boy" scrubber, toilet cleaning wands/scrubbers, foam soap refill bottle, Magic Eraser and Chlorox wipes to make the next steps QUICK.

-Empty wastebaskets. (if needed)
-Wipe down bathroom counters with Chlorox wipes.  Use "Chore Boy" to scrub toothpaste off sink. (if needed)
-Clean toilets. (if needed)
-Windex windows and mirrors that need it.  (There is ALWAYS a window that needs it!...One day I will miss wiping away those grubby little hand and face prints!-Sigh.)
-"Magic-erase" any scuffs I see.
-Fill soap dispensers. (if needed)

15 minutes downstairs (mornings) coming up next!

Chores with small children...

When I've been talking about chores with the kids I have been categorizing it as something you choose to do because you love your house, love your family and love helping others (See Family Motto).  It's a simple explanation and I think they get it.  They have had chores in their rooms for a while...keep floor clear of toys and clothes, keep closet organized, put away clean clothes into drawers, etc. 

I've been making a big deal about the PRIDE that comes from a clean space with signs and praise.  I have found that what works best for us is to set the timer for 15 min every day when we get home (Fly Lady) and we all three clean up our rooms...at the end I go on and on about how proud I am of my clean room and they do the same and then I say "Now that we have our rooms clean and our chores done we can have some FUN!"

Lately, I've been enlisting their help in other areas of the house. 

As I mentioned here, most of the time when you expect more of your children, they will exceed your expectations...and I'm finding chores fall into this.

When Justin was in Omaha I asked Jay to start feeding the dog.  I showed him very specifically how to do it the first night...each and every step nice and slow.  The second night he fed the dog as I watched.  Since then he's been feeding the dog each night and he REALLY loves that he's helping and doing a chore that DADDY did.

Well, although Bet has some chores of her own too...she really had a fit..."What AM I going to DO EVERY night when Jay feeds Stonie?!"  Hurriedly, I said, "How about you organize the shoe closet? (We don't wear our shoes upstairs and there is a small closet downstairs where we keep our shoes.)  It is a WRECK!  Every night you can straighten shoes up."  She wasn't really satisfied that this chore was as fun, but she said "Okay." and got to straightening.

So she's been doing that each night.

Last night we got home late from the beach and we all threw our shoes in the shoe closet and apparently there was some sand on the shoes.  This morning, Bet goes to put her shoes on for school and next thing I know she has pulled out most of the shoes in a pile and instructed Jay to get the small dustpan and brush that I keep under the sink.  I peeped in to see what they were up to and she was dusting up the sand and muttering about "what a sandy MESS" the closet was!  She sent Jay to throw the sand away as she put all of the shoes neatly back!

Inside I was CHEERING!  It wasn't time for her to be tending to the closet and I hadn't mentioned a THING about it...

Moral:  Kids LOVE to help.  If you teach them how they can help, they can be a big help!  When you expect more of children, they will EXCEED your expectations.