Another Obsession - Organizing

Among my other obsessions, I am obsessed with organizing.  I have to admit, I get a bit of a 'high' after organizing a cupboard, closet or toy shelf!  We live in a small house, so organization and optimizing space is key.  I can not tell you the amount of times I have rearranged Miss 5, 3 and 1's playroom, just for the fun of it.  I can't stand clutter.  When things are left laying around I get a tightening in my chest and I go on a daily rampage to get it all put back in it's place.  I can not leave the house if it is a mess.  I will be late to wherever I need to be, just so I can tidy the house up so I don't have to come home to a mess.  De-cluttering is weekly occurrence.  I am always looking for an excuse to get rid of things.  When The Children's Wish Foundation or Diabetes calls to let me know 'that there will be a truck in my area' picking up household items, clothing and toys, I literally hang up the phone, grab a garbage bag (or two) and walk around my house looking for things to get rid of!  If it hasn't been worn, played with or used in the last few months, it gets donated.  When my husband can't find something...guess who he blames?  And...he's usually right...but ssshhh...don't tell him I said that!

Hi.  My name is Vanessa.  I am an obsessive compulsive putter-awayer, re-arranger and de-clutterer.  I have problems, I accept that!  That's the first step, right?
 
Here are a few of my little tips for organizing small homes with young children.

Hair Accessories - With 3 young girls, we have collected A LOT of headbands and hair clips.  To organize hair clips, you can purchase a frame or canvas and hot glue ribbons of various widths and colours onto it.  My hair clip board is hung on the wall of my girls' bathroom and they get a kick out of picking out their own hair accessories for the day.  For headbands, I used to shove them all in a pail.  When I pulled one out, they all fell.  My good friend Tammy (Secret Life of a Stay At Home Mom, Houswife Hacks Part 2) gave me the idea to cover a paper towel roll with fabric and place it back on the holder, decorate it with your own special touches (ribbon, fabric flowers)...and
VOILA...the perfect headband holder!

 

Art Stations - My daughters love to colour, draw and create so I like to have art materials available for whenever the creative juices are flowing.  I purchased kitchen utensil holders from Ikea to use as marker containers and an extra rod to hold a roll of easel paper.  Miss 5 and Miss 3 have their own stations to eliminate fighting and to give them their own space...although they usually squish together and work at the same table!  They also use their tables to create with play-doh and paint.

 

More Labels -  I love these hanging chalkboard labels (from Target) to organize our toy bins on the main floor.  Every cabinet has toys in it.  I can't stand looking at toys all of the time, so the playroom is in the basement and we keep some favourite items upstairs in our main living area...discretely hidden in pretty much every piece of furniture!

Baskets on Stairways - I often keep a basket on my stairway going up to toss things in throughout the day that need to go back upstairs.  The girls like to bring things down from their rooms.  A book, a stuffy, a toothbrush, a taken-off-headband.  At the end of the night, I carry the basket up with me and put everything back in it's place.  This saves me having a complete anxiety attack due to all of the little bits and pieces being scattered around the main floor.  The same goes for going downstairs.  I have a mail-type basket there to gather drawings, artwork and other keepsakes to be taken down to sort out into the girls' art boxes when I have a few minutes.  I take photos of the Art I am not keeping and save the photos in an App called Artkive and file the rest into their memory and art boxes.

Clothing and the Never-ending Laundry Pile -  Just this summer, I decided I would only keep clothes that were a complete outfits.  Every top had a 'matching' bottom.  This allowed me to sort through Miss 3's hand-me-downs quickly, because there seemed to be a lot of random tops and mismatched bottoms.  I began purchasing Miss 5's new clothes only in complete outfits.  This also helps her when choosing an outfit.  This top, goes with these bottoms.  They are pulled out of the closet as a set.  When I am doing laundry, I take a couple of extra minutes to match up the outfits and I stack them in their closets this way.  Not only does it help Miss 5 pick out an outfit, it also helps Mr. 34, my husband, dress the girls when I am not around.  He once showed up to a party with my (then 1 year old) daughter dressed in pants and a dress with an overall dress over top, and a sweater!  I guess he tried...lol...maybe a little too hard.  For me, I am too much of a control freak to allow my daughters to have full liberty in choosing their outfits and apparently my husband needs my guidance!  So this seems to work for all of us.

Coat Rack at Child's Height - Nothing drives me more crazy than the dumping of jackets, shoes and backpacks upon entering the house.  Unfortunately we do not have the luxury of a second entrance or mudroom in our house.  So I have taken a little corner in my house near the front door to create an area where they can hang their own jackets and backpacks and neatly put their shoes away.  Now we just need to teach Miss 1 not to touch the neatly put away shoes!

Ouchie Basket - Every time I go to grab a Band-Aid (which has become a bit of an obsession with Miss 3), I cringe at my over-flowing medicine basket.  I recently re-organized the items into a drawer system and OMG, what a difference!  To grab something in the middle of the night (for teething Miss 1) is SO much easier.  I took everything out of their boxes to make it more compact and easier to store.  It's the little things in life :).

 

I hope some of these ideas help you to get organized and save you time, so you can take a minute and go to Starbucks and get a grande-half-sweet-non-fat-no-water-chai-tea-latte...without the kids...and sip it very, very, slowly...in the car...listening to anything but 'If you're Happy and You Know It'...that's what I would do!

 













 

Miss 5's Fabulous 5 (favourite lunches)

Miss 5 is going into SK this year.  Last year was quite the learning curve to figure out what to pack for her for lunch.  She was used to hot lunches at daycare, didn't really like sandwiches (although would eat most sandwich ingredients if it was deconstructed), had a classroom with nut and egg allergies (eggs being her most favourite food), and of course the constant battle of her 'ever-changing' taste buds!  I wanted to be sure to pack enough food for her, but not too much that she would get discouraged.  By about June, I had it all figured out!


I am not a nutritionist or food expert, just a Real Mom trying to pack 'mainly healthy' lunches.  If I see another 'back-to-school lunch packing post' on facebook with various salads as a 'kid-friendly' options, I think I may scream.  I mean what real kid eats salad?  Unless it is Caesar Salad...which is actually just lettuce with dressing people!

Miss 5 is not a sandwich lover.  Nor does she love dips or sauces.  If I would agree to feed her a vegetarian raw food diet (with the exception of bacon), I believe she would be very happy. 

Here are Miss 5's Fabulous 5 (favourite lunches) from last year.

Top Left: Banana Sushi - Whole grain wrap, spread with no-nut butter (or alternative), roll around a whole banana and slice into 'sushi' pieces.  Sometimes I put in kid-friendly chopsticks for Miss 5 to use!

Top Right: Snacky Lunch - Cheese and Crackers, veggies/fruit and dip, ham rolls...any healthy snack-type foods.  Small amounts of a variety of foods that your child can 'pick' at.

Middle: Quesadilla - cheese, peppers, chopped chicken folded in a wrap and oven baked.  Miss 5 is not a sauce or dip lover, but salsa for dipping is Miss 3's favourite.

Bottom Left: Pancakes.  We sometimes have pancakes on Sundays.  If there are leftovers, which there always are, freeze them and pull a few out for a quick lunch.  They can be defrosted in the toaster or microwave.  Miss 5 likes hers cut into 'fingers' for easy dipping.  The same can be done with French Toast or Waffles.

Bottom Right:  Egg Muffins.  These are an absolute favourite in my house.  Shortly after school started, Miss 5 could not bring them due to classroom allergies, but I am sure she would have if she could.  Cut 3 wraps into quarters.  Press the pieces down into a greased muffin tin.  Mix eggs (5) with milk as if making scrambled eggs.  Fill 'cups' 2/3 full with egg mixture,  Sprinkle with shredded cheese, peppers, ham, whatever you like.  Bake at 350 for 15min or until eggs are set and edges of wraps are crispy.  Store in fridge and reheat in oven for lunches...yummy! 

More yummy ideas coming your way soon.  Enjoy!



Getting 'School Ready'

There can be a lot of anxiety surrounding getting your child ready to start school in September.  When Miss 5 started JK last year, I nearly had a nervous break down in August.  Although she and I were excited, there were so many unknowns.  I became obsessed with finding the perfect backpack, lunch containers, food ideas, labels etc. because it was the only thing I had control over.  It was the one thing I could do to help her day at school be a good one.  I am a bit of a control freak, so the thought of dropping her off at 'big school', not knowing what she would be doing, who her teacher was, what time she would have lunch, when she would have recess, when she would have snack, or if any of her friends would be in her class, kind of freaked me out!  Up until then, I had chosen all of her programs.  I had chosen her daycare and I was able to spy on her in her preschool setting via secured webcam for goodness sake!  But, bringing my then Miss 4 to the large elementary school doors and waving her off into the 'unknown' on her first day of school became a little bit more tolerable, because I knew that I had packed her one hell of a good lunch!!

Here are a few things that I purchased to help make packing lunches a little easier.  Miss 5's school requires a litter-less lunch.  No wrappers or garbage.  So investing in some good quality containers is key.  Remember they that your child needs to be able to open everything independently.



• A Bento-style lunch box from Easy Lunch Boxes...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this container.  It was super easy to pack, prepare food ahead of time, and easy for Miss 5 to open.  They are also dishwasher safe.
• Silicone cupcake liners (from Bulk Barn) to divide the Easy Lunch Box container even more and make it pretty!
• Drink Thermos if you are planning to send milk or juice.
• Food Thermos if your child doesn't each sandwiches and has been spoiled by a hot lunched at daycare up until now, like mine!
• Reusable Ziplock bags. These ones are 'Lunchskins' brand from Target, are dishwasher safe and close by velcro.  Great for snacks and the environment! 
• Large cookie cutter to cut sandwiches into fun shapes...not sure why but kids get a big kick out of this.
• Divided snack container.  I love, love, loved these too!  Miss 5 had a really late lunch last year, so I always gave her a 'big' morning snack.  I was able to pack a fruit or veg and snack in the same container.  Miss 5 knew which container to eat from first and the locking lid was easy for her to open.  I found these ones at Solutions.

• Ice packs to keep lunch boxes and drinks cold.  I found these ones at the Superstore.
• Indoor shoes, Large Ziplock bag with a change of clothes, extra undies and socks, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and a good quality lunch bag that will fit your 'Easy Lunch Box' container.  
• As you know, I love my labels.  I used Mable's Labels to label everything Miss 5 is taking to school.  Thanks to a good friend, I stole her idea to order the labels with our last name only so when Miss 3 is ready for school, she can use them too!
• Lastly, invest in a good quality backpack.  Miss 5 went through 3 last year.  She had a very crowed cubby area, especially in the winter, and the shoulder straps riped... twice.

Happy packing!!!

   

 

Obsession Confession

I have several obsessions.  I love my label maker.  I label EVERYTHING.  I mean, EVERYTHING.  I labelled the garbage cans as to which type of garbage goes in each one...I'm crazy...I know.  I am an obsessive compulsive hanging-picture-straightener.  I straighten pictures on other people's walls...on a regular basis...'cause all of the pictures on my walls are already straight.  I also straighten pictures in public places...like restaurants.  My husband loves that.  I make my bed everyday with all 12 decorative pillows, just in case.  In case of what?   I'm not sure.  I refill the kcup coffee maker storage drawer every time I make a coffee so it looks 'pretty' the next time I open it.  I cannot stand wire hangers.  All hangers must be the same type in each closet and all clothes and coats must hang in the same direction.  When my husband and I were first married, I hung left (because I was a natural lefty forced to be a righty...that's another story...you didn't think I got like this on my own did you?).  Anyway, I hang left my husband hung right.  He eventually conformed to my ways after several instances of huffing and puffing.  Everyone who know me thinks I am a little nuts.  My family knows it, my friends know it, my husband definitely knows it and most importantly, I know it.  I think my little ones are starting to know it too!

'Miss 1', 'Miss 3' and 'Miss 5' were in the car with me while I drove behind this car the other day and it took absolutely everything in me not to ask him to please pull over and 'kindly fix his car'.  I mean...as Miss 5 would say: 'seriously'???

This is my blog.  I am a stay at home Mama to 3 little girls and I am married to the very best man on the planet.  Since becoming a Mom, I have become obsessed with all things 'kids'.  I absolutely LOVE planning kid's parties and packing school lunches.  You don't have to say it, I already know...its not normal.

I hope you enjoy reading my ideas and I look forward to hearing yours!