Successes in Doing More

The last couple of weeks I've been trying to be more present, better at keeping house, and better organized. I've actually had some success in keeping up with life a little. At this phase I'm actually getting things done and you know what, I'm doing more by doing less!

1. I took good old facebook and pinterest off of my phone. I'm not giving it up for good. I'm just not getting pulled in for 2 minutes here or 5 minutes there. I didn't realize how much time I spent before just looking at the updates that pop up on my phone.

2. I'm not multitasking quite as much. Ladies, the men kind of have it right on this one. Moms typically do 5 things all at once, because we have to.  There is so much going on! Typically you're more efficient and complete tasks faster if we do them one at a time.

3. I eat the frog first. I take on the hardest part of the day early on. Now, this isn't always first thing of the day depending on how things are going (like the baby waking early or schedule restrictions), but rather starting out with the hard part when I have time to tackle it. I get stuff done during nap time, so the big item of the day happens as soon as little man goes down.

4. I get up earlier. Getting up before my toddler allows me time to fully wake up, shower, get a cup of coffee and have a quiet moment to myself before the craziness starts. Also if I've been running behind it gives me a chance to tidy up before we start the day. (This was not something I could do until we got to sleeping to a reasonable hour. The kiddo used to be up at 4 or 5am every morning... honey there is no getting up earlier sometimes!)

5. I have less stuff! There is less to clean and less to find a brilliant way of organizing when you get rid of the excess. After staging our house to sell in Idaho I realized I want  to live more like the dream we were selling to home buyers. When you get ready to sell a house many of you will be told to get a storage unit and move things you don't absolutely need out. You do this so you can show people the extra space you have. I did this. Now we don't have a TON of things, especially by today's standards, but we have a lot of things we just don't need. We also tend to hang on to stuff between moves because we might need it in the next place and I don't want to get rid of it just to buy it again. Well, we both decided to not keep the extra stuff. We'll be going through our things and cleanse. Even with a bigger home we're getting rid of things. If it's not loved and used regularly it's gonna go.

6. I decided to be okay with the imperfect. There are times I only have time to get one thing done and the rest just has to wait for another day. It's okay if it isn't perfect. In some senses it's almost better. Some of the places I've felt most at home at are the places where people didn't apologize for living life. They cleaned and decorated and organized, but it wasn't perfect. If I don't get it all done there is always tomorrow and that's okay.

Ziplist

I mentioned ziplist in an earlier post and it was when I had first started using it. I have explored it in a little greater detail recently and need to reaffirm my love for it. I think it's really going to simplify meal planning and there by saving me precious time!

Store recipes in ziplist.
I love me some pinterest. I've found several great recipes I want to throw into the recipe rotation. Previously I have to open it up on my phone or the computer and spend a minute searching for it (the searching is much easier now with the search my pins option). NOW, when I find a recipe I think I'm going to make with some frequency I can go to them online and hit my sweet recipe clipper toolbar button. Whammy, it's in my recipe box! You can add a note to remind yourself of alterations you might have made previously. Why store recipes in ziplist?

Easily add ingredients from recipes to your shopping list.
I never really bothered adding recipes when I first started using the app. I was just happy to have a list on my phone. I recently started adding them because while meal planning if I choose a recipe I have already entered it will pullup all the ingredients needed and I can check or uncheck items based on what I have on hand. I don't even have to enter a single item!

Meal plan and sync your calenders.
I have been doing meal planning on a piece of paper and just transferring to the refrigerator so the hubs can see it. I have a great little dry erase removable sticker by 3M I use for the front of the frig. I can write out the week's meals. I prefer to do one week at a time because my husband's schedule and interest for different flavors changes from week to week. I have a friend who does a whole month at a time and so her dry erase board is a little larger. You can plan out a day at a time or a month out on ziplist and you can sync it to your calendar. I have meal plans in red on my ical. It's right there at my fingertips and easily discernible from the rest of week's activities. Now, do I still use the week menu on the frig? You bet! I love technology, but I have a real love for great love for low tech solutions.

Bad Days & Good Music

There are those days that no matter what prepping you did, no matter how prepared you were at the start, it just seems to go down the drain. *sigh* Yesterday and today we have ugly weather outside and and that gloomy mood has crept indoors. Little man has a mad case of the grumpies and it's bringing this momma down.

I can't get anything done! I feel like I'm running in mud, getting nowhere and exhausted. He's crying, or playing but needing to constantly be touching me. That strawberry needed to be thrown, it wasn't as good as the last one. He's too flustered to even get the "more" out, so it just turns into a meltdown. At some point today, Pandora went on and I made the best of it. It's all you can do! I have my happy station and while the little guy played underfoot I got the dishes in the washer. We got a snack. The counters were cleaner and the day felt not as hopeless. That is a win. If I do nothing else with my day, it's a win.

Food Prep

After a wonderful weekend camping at Cliffs of the Neuse we did our weekly grocery run. Now this is my little journey of self improvement ... so here we go. I'm trying this week to simplify getting dinner on the table each night. The kiddo tends to reach his limit while I prep dinner. Since I'm a believer of a good offense being a good defense I'm planning ahead.

Now I've seen tons of make ahead frozen crockpot meals online. I've not had much luck with those. I did however get a magazine with some great recipes in it. Better Homes & Gardens has never let me down. This magazine actually has some great tips on streamlining the process. It also has some delicious things to make. My husband was flipping through it yesterday and mentioned he didn't dislike the look of a single thing.

One thing I'm adding to my routine this week is cutting veggies. Since I already know what I'm making for the week with my meal plan posted on the refrigerator. This is also a great help for the hubs to know what I'm making. I don't get asked every night what's for dinner.  Last night I cut up veggies for the first two nights. I'm going into dinner tonight only needing to cook noodles and mix everything together before popping it in the oven.

One oldie but a goodie from my bag of tricks that is making another appearance is labeling! My husband is the spoilage police. Well, there's no question of how long it's been in the frig or what it's for if it's labeled. I'm writing out either what it's prepped for and what day it's being made or when the leftovers went in the frig.

Happy Campers

So spring has sprung and we pulled the camper out of storage for the year. The hubs has been waiting for that blessed day when it's warm enough to plant in the garden and start camping. It's here, and believe me the garden is in full swing and camping trips are on the books.

 

I love these guys! I think N's favorite part of the day is being outside with his daddy. 

 Camping trip #1

It's going to happen sometimes... it rains. It did the other week when we went to the beach. We showed up Friday night in the rain. We camped, in the rain. We left, with clear skies, but it was cold and windy. It happens. Times like that and I'm very thankful for owning a camper now. We had fun regardless and we learned a little too!

So this was the first test run of "normal" camping as compared to the cross-country move that we did last year. It's our first camper and it's a learning experience! I've done a lot of searching in forums and pinterest for ideas on storage. LOTS of stuff out there for RVs, but not so much for the tiny campers. This is the first post of a few things I've discovered for tiny camper storage. I have a couple other ideas that I just haven't gotten around to. It may not be the best fit for everyone, but it's working for us right now. 

Sleeping with an Infant or Toddler in Tight Quarters

So on the move out here we slept on the queen and put up and broke down the pack n play on the dinette that you can make into a bed. What we learned from that was that once we put him down that was it. We were ALL in bed for the night and don't think about moving or making noise... he'll sense it and stay awake. Solution: We flipped it. N now has the queen bed area for his pack n play and we sleep on the dinette together. I put up a curtain so that he can't see us and will quickly nod off at naptime and bedtime and allowing us to come and go or watch a movie on our little flip down TV. 

 It's a rough picture, but this is it. Removing the mattress gave us enough vertical room that we could turn the pack n play and have more room for other things like a popup laundry basket.
The hubs left the foam mattress pad down for a little cushion.

 What do you do with a toddler in the rain?

  Play inside! We found ourselves playing trucks on the rest of the queen bed area.
Which brings me to the next 2 pictures...

The RV queen mattress size makes for a PERFECT fit with the alphabet mat.
I got this one at Ross for under $20 and have 6 extra tiles and a few border pieces left over. 

Drawing a Blank for Storage

I saw a blog of a couple that lived in their RV. She had some great tips on organizing and a good point in that big cubbies and cabinets seem great, but how do you make the most of it? Here's what I found that fit and since we're generally only weekend camping this is just enough space for clothes. 

 Clothes for me and baby plus the ever present need for diapering supplies

There's an awkward angle at the back of the cubby so this little guy fits perfectly in front 

and keeps track of all the small stuff like hair ties and playing cards.  

Under the bed

DH got two drawers since his clothes are always bigger. These were great stacking drawers that I found at Target. You'd be surprised how many bins and drawers etc. are too big to fit or too small to be usable. The extra space there I use to store more diapers and shower flipflops.

Small bins are great for dividing out space. These little guys were in the dollar section at Target and hold a few kitchen items and chemicals (laundry detergent etc) that need to be out of reach from little hands. I keep them secure while in tow with a tension rod.

A message board for shopping list or writing down local numbers
and the kitchen towel out of reach of the toddler.

Finally I have a little touch of home on the road. The last owners added the key hook
(a great addition) and I added a little Clemson spirit.

The Little Things

What is it about the little things being in order that makes my day so much better?! Amazing difference I tell you! Having the counters clear and table set for the next meal just makes it feel so much cheerier in the house. Now the rest of my house could be a disaster, but the little things can uplift me just enough to dig into some of that in between the diapers and playtime with my little man. Have a great Friday everybody and a blessed weekend!

Time Saved. Shopping Done. Win!

Is it sad that I get so excited about little things like not having to walk around stores to get what I need? How life has changed after having baby!

I've been prepping the camper for this spring over the last few weeks. Scouring the internet and pinterest for ideas on how to organize in such a tiny space (we have a smaller rpod with a baby). I've found some great ideas, but not all of them are even usable in our tiny camper. The storage cubbies we have are really deep and oddly shaped making it hard to find bins or anything to organize clothes and stuff we want to put there. Lots of trial and error, but I found the perfect stackable plastic drawer system, but sadly our Target didn't have enough. I bought them out and looked up online what other store would have them. Yep, my luck, the closest ones were an hour away. Well I was slow on getting into Raleigh to run errands and checking online today I saw that they have them at my store again! Not only that, but I could order it and pay online so tomorrow when I'm coming home from the gym and little man is ready for his nap I can pop into the customer service desk, show my ID, and grab n go! Will I still wander the aisles of Target other days, yes, but it's nice to have this option for those times I know it's tight getting things done and back home before someone loses it.

What else have I grown to love for low stress shopping?

Amazon Prime Can you tell I like my online options? I can get a lot of stuff cheaper through amazon and with prime I can get 2 day shipping. I like buying those cumbersome items like big bags of kitty litter this way. My fedex guy loves me for it I'm sure.

Soap.com And all of its sister sites. I can order (again) bigger items like toilet paper and paper towels. They accept coupons (have to mail them in) or they also have ecoupons available.

ContainerStore There is an option for pickup there as well. I could get sucked in there, but if little man is with me it needs to be quick.

Harris Teeter or the "teet" as my sister-in-law calls it. I haven't used this yet, but just recently heard about online ordering and curbside pick up. This was a tip from another mom. You do have to pay per pickup or you can pay for a month and it's unlimited. I'm looking forward to this during deployments for sure!

Get it Together

Who hasn't  done it? You've rolled out of bed and you're doing good to have changed into yoga pants. The baby didn't sleep last night because he/she is teething or sick. This has been my life for the last three months. We've been moving, life is inconsistent, we've managed to hit baby losing mom's immunity at cold/flu season and he's trying to drop his first nap. It's a little hectic.

I take quick moments for myself, and now that we've got the house coming together and a little more flow to the day I'm trying to not be frump-a-lumpagus. I'm hitting up pinterest. I've got the love/hate with it, but more on that later. I'm trying to find the time to look presentable since we're trying to get out more after hitting the 1 year mark. So here are a few of my finds...

When it's tight, shower at night 
There are those days you're gonna have to get up and roll out of the house pretty quick. Now that we don't do morning naps (most days) that time to shower and put a face on sans baby is gone! I have fine hair and sleeping on it can end with poor results, but there is always a ponytail or topknot. I saw this blog on pinterest and she's also suggested not washing your hair everyday. I'm wondering though if sometimes these are people with thicker hair/longer hair who are able to pull this off. We'll try it. It doesn't hurt or cost anything to try it.

Comfortable can be cute!
So the site mentioned above also talks about it not saving you any time to dress nicer than yoga pants. This is true if you're comfortable coming up with cute outfits. I'm not a fashionista, but I'm getting better! What has gotten me out of my slump of mini tees is looking at the people who I feel always look put together. I look at the basics from their wardrobe and use it as a template. My go to look lately is cute flats, a basic top and some accessories and I'm set. I've learned to never underestimate the power of a good accessory. It's like the spring blooms on a tree. It's small, but can have a real impact.

Again I'm no fashionista, but this outfit is super comfortable, baby chasing appropriate,
and an example of how one scarf makes this monochromatic outfit more interesting.

Keep the basics in your bag
Keep a tube of mascara and lip gloss or my fave, Rosebud Lip Balm, in your diaper bag/purse. I also keep a hair tie and bobby pins in my wallet.  If you run out the door, you can take 60 seconds, while kids are still strapped into carseats at your destination to freshen up and feel like you've got it together.

Set it out at night
This is one that I've known, but don't regularly practice. Find more time in the morning when things are set out for you ready to use. Trim those precious seconds by putting your coffee cup out, program the coffee maker, set out your clothes and your kids' clothes, and anything else that will allow you to get ready with less fuss.

Progress not perfection
Pinterest perfection shouldn't be your ultimate goal. Like I mentioned above I see people who I really admire for their style that looks effortless. It's something I want for myself, so I'm working on that in a way that fits my budget and body. I'm proud of the changes I've made in clothes and also in my schedule and other places I've been working to improve. I'm consider myself winning if I'm moving forward. And you know what, even if I take a few steps back, I'm still better than I was when I started and that is fantastic. Don't be the perfectionist that doesn't start because they can't attain perfection.

I'm blogging. It's not perfect. But that isn't the point. I didn't wait until I could take pictures and edit them for this post. I'm trying to do all the things above, so I don't really have time for that right now, but one day maybe I will. Today I completed a task for myself and that is what I call winning.