Whiny Wednesday

Don't worry, I'm not planning on "Whiny Wednesday" becoming a weekly blog staple, but I have a few things that I need to get off my chest:

Pet Peeves.

1. Denim capris. I hate them. I can't even tell you why, but for some reason, whenever it warms up outside and these things come out again, it bothers me greatly. It's irrational, I'll give you that, but still. If you're not going to wear denim long enough to be jeans, cut them off above the knee so they're shorts. Thank you.

2. Misuse of the English language. Especially misspelling and comma errors by "educated" people. Granted, I appreciate the fragment and use it frequently in the blogosphere. For emphasis. See? However, spelling it "calender" and producing run-ons as excuses for complete sentences are unacceptable. I also find it incredibly annoying that the top dog at this educational establishment does not seem to know how to use a period and inputs ellipses instead... all the time... without good reason... ugh. Professionalism, people! 

3. Incompetence. I don't think it's too much to ask of people to be adept at their trades. 

4. Non-competition. Is that even a correct phrase? Either way, if you're going to compete at something, play to win. Isn't that the definition of "compete?" Don't give me the I'm-just-here-to-have-fun nonsense. I'm here to have fun, too, and it's not fun to lose. 

5. Commitment breakers. This is pretty self-explanatory, but if you say you're going to do something, be a person of your word. I'm sorry your nose is running and you had a late night. Suck it up and keep your commitments. 

6. Reply all. Okay, so I know this mostly just applies to my workplace and people's inability to push the "reply sender" button when responding to a mass e-mail (see #3). BUT seriously, nobody cares that you need to switch prom duty for graduation. 

7. Ignorance of excellence. Our soccer program is outstanding, and I'm not just saying that because I coached in the program for four years until Avery was born. However, I find it amusing infuriating that the basketball team got a celebratory send-off for the second round of playoffs while the soccer teams barely had a mention in the announcements on the day they were BOTH playing in the regional quarterfinals (that's the fourth round if anybody's keeping track). Shoot, when the football team had their one win this season, you would've thought they won state. The double standard is ridiculous. (Both soccer teams won, by the way, and will be playing in the regional semifinals this weekend.)

Okay, I'm done for now. I will be back to my gracious (ha!) self tomorrow when I return for the final organization challenge update.

Happy Wednesday!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! Link up by going here and then posting your confessional on your own blog. 

Here's what I have (not) been up to...

It was not me who bummed fifty cents off my student teacher so I could buy a Dr. Pepper at lunch today  because I downed my huge glass of water before noon. I mean, I don't even like Dr. Pepper.

It was also not me who paid all my bills at school during my conference period since I was too tired to do it last night.

Speaking of last night, it was not me who let my daughter scream and cry while I tried to pick her nose. I mean, come on, those boogers have to go and the little blue booger-sucker just doesn't always cut it.

And although I'm sure I had many other not me moments this past week, I was too drugged up on cold meds to remember. But wait, that's not me either! Doh!

Weekend Update

Attention: after two long weeks of cold/flu/allergy symptoms, I finally feel like a semi-functioning human being again! Yippee! I even managed to get my contacts in this morning. That, my friends, is a welcome improvement from my previous state. Ahhh, to be able to breathe again.

I felt like I cheated my weekend a little by being home from school so much last week, but the last few days were definitely needed and a welcome stress relief.

Friday

I took the day off from school to get everything ready for the teacher training I was running on Saturday. I seriously don't know what I would've done if I hadn't taken off... I spent the whole day putting folders together, reviewing my PowerPoint, buying supplies, sending reminders, setting up the room, and wondering why I didn't delegate anything. Lesson learned. Anyway, here's the room after it was set up (I could only catch two of the three tables in the picture, but you get the gist).

On Friday night I worked the soccer playoff game that we hosted at our stadium. $25 cash to sit in the press box for two hours? Easy breezy. Cha-ching!

Saturday

Saturday morning was the actual training that I had been dreading nervous about since I took on the Children's Ministry Director position in January. I was actually very pleased with the way it turned out though, and I probably won't be quite as worried about our next one in September.  I can only hope.

We were planning on going to visit Nana and Pop in Denton that afternoon/evening, but funny thing about that plan, I kinda forgot to make sure they were free. They weren't. Oops!

So Matt worked his cutie patootie off in the yard (scooped dog poop, mowed, weed eated [?], tilled a garden, and put up a fence around said garden; now that's a real man, folks) while I played with Avery, prepped for the Sunday School workshop I was teaching on Sunday, and organized my guest/craft room and closet. Aren't we exciting??

Sunday

After a great morning at church, my super-awesome husband (have I mentioned how much I like him??) grilled up some chicken for our yummy lunch while I fought with Avery over her baby food. She's not liking the purees so much anymore apparently because after all was said and done, there was orange goop everywhere. Nice. So she ate some real (cut up in tiny pieces, duh) green beans with us! 

Avery had an awesome nap, and then we set out on our mission to buy our new living room furniture. Y'all, I have been on the hunt for over a month and have had absolutely no luck. We decided to try again at the three outlets on 360 in Grand Prairie: Ashley, Rooms to Go, and the RoomStore.

We started off at the beginning of our quest thinking that we'd look for leather because of spills, dogs, etc., but I just really didn't want to do all dark furniture in our main living area (our tables and entertainment center are espresso colored) and I don't feel like leather is quite as comfortable. So I decided to keep the red theme going (our current sofa is a fantastic tomato shade), but then I decided it would be too overbearing to have three red pieces (and my OCD wanted all three to match, so mixing colors and patterns was out of the question).  

Yesterday successfully ended our quest for "grown up furniture" when we fell in love with this set at the RoomStore.

I cannot wait for it to be delivered on Thursday! We have to wait a couple weeks for the chair, but we'll get the sofa and loveseat this week. And that also means that I'll be able to put our sofa in the garage sale in a few weeks.

We celebrated the success by eating dinner at Texas Roadhouse on the way home. Yum-my. We haven't been there in forever, so needless to say, we devoured our fair share of peanuts and rolls with cinnamon honey butter.  

Avery even got to eat big people food again! We weren't planning on being out so late, so I didn't bring any baby food jars with us. I thus ordered accordingly (broccoli and a sweet potato with my chicken tenders) and Avery ate sweet potatoes with me!  She seriously looks so grown up eating from my plate. It's a fun stage though, and I'm excited for her to (slowly) start making the transition to table food! 

Monday hasn't even been so bad. Matt gets to go to the Mavs game tonight while I have a meeting at church and an indoor game, and Avery gets to spend the evening with her "Aunt" Debbie. Bring it!

Friday Five

This was a weird week. You won't hear me complaining though because it's FRIDAY!

1. I was at school for a total of 2.5 days this week. I'm writing this from the comfort of my zebra chair at home. I am about to go work my little booty off at the church today though, so let me make it clear that I am not taking a day off.

2. My first teacher training session of the year (for Children's Ministry) is tomorrow. Ohmygoodness I am not ready yet (hence the "day off" to still work). I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty nervous. I'm learning a lot though. Things like, maybe I should learn to delegate. Ha! We should have a good turnout though, and if nothing else, at least we'll get to eat Chick-Fil-A. That always makes anything better, right?

3. Tylenol PM is a waste of money.

4. Has anybody ever tried e-mealz.com? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the $5/month or if I'm better off just planning our menu myself.

5. I really have nothing else that's beneficial to say for numero cinco. I just keep thinking about my ever-growing to-do list for today and how I better get on top of that.

So on that note, I'm out! Happy Friday!

30(ish) Day Challenge: UPDATE

I feel defeated. Not by this challenge, but by this dang throat/nose/ear/chest garbage that has crept up to bite me in the butt.

Ugh.

I have felt so miserable this past week that I have camped out on the couch from about 6 pm until bedtime. It's pathetic really. I am unbelievably thankful for my sweet husband who has cooked for me and taken care of Avery and the puppies while I've been wallowing in my own misery. And he only makes fun of me a little. BTW, I don't usually do this, y'all. I hate to just sit around, even when I'm sick. And please don't ask why I haven't gone to the doctor. I haven't had a fever at all, oddly enough because I sure feel feverish but whatever, so therefore I refuse to make an appointment. Case closed.

But today I'm feeling a little better. Just in time for the girls' playoff game tonight! Go Lady Panthers! 

I digress. The purpose of this post is to bring you up to speed on all my, uh, progress. Well, friends, the challenge took a little hiatus this week. I only got ONE project crossed off the list. However. That project was a major one, so all is not lost. I also have every intention to finish each task by the end of March, so I will still be able to conquer my Organizational Everest. 

Alas, here's what I did this week:

Pantry: BEFORE

Pantry: AFTER

So minus all the processed food that awaits us in there, I was happy to get it all categorized back into the appropriately already-labeled shelves. That's right. I label my pantry shelves. And now my secret's out. 

Anyway, here's what's left on my list. Yikes, I only have 6 more days in March!

cup/glasses cabinet

plastic/rubbermaid/etc. cabinet

medicine cabinet

sock/underwear drawer

purses/bags in closet

shoes

gift wrap

filing cabinet

game closet

baby gear cabinet in kitchen

pantry

freezer

media shelves

Avery's blankets

Avery's toys

Avery's sock/headband drawer

Stamps

Craft paper

Home notebook

Recipes

Books

Laundry room shelf

T-shirts

Soccer gear

Glove box

Cookbook cabinet

Junk drawer

Addresses

Bathroom cabinet

Cleaning supplies

Computer desk

Sickies

So as much as I was dreading the first day back from Spring Break, I spoke too soon. Avery started running a fever (101.8) last night and was no better this morning. I couldn't even get out of bed this morning, so we took the opportunity to play hooky and be miserable together.

There was lots of sleeping, wiping up snot, sleeping, cleaning out gunky eyes, and more sleeping.

Of course we couldn't get into our pediatrician (we never can unless we plan way in advance), so we saw the other pedi in the practice, who it turns out, I liked a lot better than ours. Is it bad to switch pedis in the same practice? (I think I'm on a doctor-switch thing right now though because I just switched eye doctors and am seriously considering changing my girly doc...)

The verdict: Avery has a double ear infection along with all sorts of upper respiratory garbage, thus requiring her first antibiotic prescription.

Even though it's on my way home, I hate Walgreens very very much, so I had them go ahead and send the prescription to Walmart. When I tried to pick it up, they assured me it would be ready in 15 minutes. Cool. Except that 15 minutes was actually one hour. Not cool. But I did get to see my friend Jenny, who I hadn't seen in AGES, so we had some time to catch up. Cool. By the time they had finally finished Avery's prescription, I was achy, chilled, and hardly able to stand, and Avery woke up from her slumber. Not cool. Thanks, Walmart.

Matt did cook for us tonight though, and Avery even got in some practice time on the piano. Ha!

We're doing the half-day switch tomorrow, and Avery's allowed to go back to school on Wednesday. This week isn't turning out so bad after all...

Sunday Night Dread

I hate this feeling. Sunday night rolls around, and after a perfectly good weekend, I am filled with dismay over the fact that my job actually requires me to go to it. Ugh. Have I mentioned that I'm excited about next year??

Speaking of that perfectly good weekend, here's why I don't want it to end...

FRIDAY

Matt's birthday! My favorite person in the whole wide world turned the big 2-7, so we agreed to let Avery spend the night at her grandparents' so we could have a night on the town kind-of-lame-but-really-fun-because-we're-lame dinner/movie date.

Lucky for me, he chose my FAVORITE restaurant (one of the many reasons he's my favorite person!), Chuy's. Ah, bliss. Hello, Chuychanga! YUM.

Then, because I'm a good wife, he even got to pick a Man Movie (vs. the normal Chick Flick that wins out at my persistence, ha!), so we saw The Green Zone. It was surprisingly enjoyable, political agenda aside. Good call, Matty.

And THEN, after months of keeping my mouth shut about his surprise gift, he opened his present of peanuts, sunflower seeds, trail mix, candy, and all of the necessities for us to go to...

...Rangers' Opening Day!!!! He was so surprised. Score! :) We've never gotten to go because of our choir and soccer schedules, but this year it finally worked out. Now if we can just wait until April 5th. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

SATURDAY

In the morning I met my best friend, Jenn, for breakfast at the Chisolm Grill in Waxahachie. (Side note, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food and completely reasonable prices. Will definitely do breakfast there again.) Jenn's moving to New York this week, and since she's been living in Arkansas and I never see her anyway, I was glad to be able to catch up with her while she was in town before she moves even farther away from me. Tear. We ended up just talking (nonstop) for an hour and a half until we had to part ways. I miss that girl!

After I picked up Avery, the afternoon was filled with a girls' shopping excursion with my new friend Kyndra and her daughter Kaelyn. We headed to Arlington for the Just Between Friends consignment sale. They have it twice a year, and I got some major scores when I went in the fall. I got a few cute dresses for Avery, but my favorite deal of the day was this:
Kate Spade diaper bag that I snagged for $35. No joke! It's perfect and I love it (well, as much as you can love a material item)! It's in perfect condition, too.

Avery just loved peeking through the double stroller to try to steal Kaelyn's socks. At least she's easily entertained...
That night Kyndra and her husband Jeff came over with both of their girls for dinner and an attempt at game night. I say "attempt" because there's only so much competing that goes on when you're constantly interrupted by three precious baby girls. For the record, the girls were winning when we had to quit. I'm just saying. It was fun though!

SUNDAY

Church today was rough. I really don't want to get into my frustrations because this is not the time nor the outlet to do so, but I was very encouraged by our associate pastor's sermon on living by the spirit. He used a great analogy about how learning to live by the spirit was like a baby first learning to walk; at first it's a conscious effort, step by step, but after a while it becomes second nature. It seems simple enough (and maybe it was so effective for me because my own baby has begun to pull herself up and take supported steps), but the conscious effort thing really stuck out at me. Life in Christ takes discipline. That's hard. And I believe that's also why so many people don't do it. Myself included.

We had a fantastic lunch at my parents', I ran some errands, and then spent the evening with Matt, Avery and Nick.

And now it's bed time so I can continue the Sunday Night Dread as I read my not-so-classic literature. Check out our new kitchen island! I'm out.

30(ish) Day Challenge: UPDATE

I'm not gonna lie, I'm exhausted tonight, so this challenge update will be (relatively) brief:

This week was tough, mostly because we were out of town for three days, thus making it especially challenging to complete tasks. I've been working overtime though, so I'm pretty much caught up. Plus, it's my challenge, so I make the rules, right? Ha! Here are some before and afters...

Baby Cabinet

This was probably the project that I'm the least proud of. It's cleared out a little, but it needs to be revisited soon. I just don't have a lot of storage solutions for this stuff right now. It's frustrating, quite honestly.

T-Shirt Drawer

Success. I thought the t-shirt accumulation would end once I graduated from college. I guess I didn't consider that high school teachers/coaches get lots of t-shirts, too. What a relief to discard many of them!

Activewear Drawer

Soccer shorts, soccer pants, soccer socks, regular shorts, random workout stuff. Folded and sorted accordingly.

Avery's Room

This room was out. of. control. I'm so relieved to be done with one of my "bigger" projects. I'm actually calling this more than one task because ohmygoodness, there was a LOT to organize here!

Cookbook Cabinet

This one's tricky. It's above our microwave (above the stove), so it's totally out of my normal reach. Hence the reason stuff gets thrown up there. I cleared out some random stuff that had no business being there in the first place, straightened the books, vacuumed some sawdust out (how did THAT get there?), and now it's a whole new cabinet.

If you're keeping track...

cup/glasses cabinet

plastic/rubbermaid/etc. cabinet

medicine cabinet

sock/underwear drawer

purses/bags in closet

shoes

gift wrap

filing cabinet

game closet

baby gear cabinet in kitchen

pantry

freezer

media shelves

Avery's blankets

Avery's toys

Avery's sock/headband drawer

Stamps

Craft paper

Home notebook

Recipes

Books

Laundry room shelf

T-shirts

Soccer gear

Glove box

Cookbook cabinet

Junk drawer

Addresses

Bathroom cabinet

Cleaning supplies

Computer desk

An Eventful Thursday

I realize this might not be that exciting for most of you. That's okay. Here's today's recap anyway:

We started off our morning trek at 10 am by taking care of the mundane errands like stopping by the post office to pick up some certified mail (Doesn't mail that requires your signature make you feel important? I was sorely disappointed to discover that my mystery letter was simply the acceptance of my resignation.) and then heading to the bank to deposit a check and Costco for some not-so-cheap gas. Man, isn't my life fascinating?

(No, that picture is not of my husband. Or my minivan.)

We continued our quest for living room furniture by checking out Weir's Furniture on Knox St. Their sofas were way too traditional for my taste. Checked out their clearance center a few blocks down. That's usually a hit or miss. Today it was a miss.

The real reason I wanted to head up to Dallas was to go to The Container Store. As anyone who is psychotically methodically organizing her house would tell you, that store is heaven. I went in there to buy this:

And I was pretty good. I did buy these as well. Hey, it could've been much much worse.

Shopping makes you hungry. Plus I had a 30% off coupon for the Gap and we were right by Northpark. Unfortunately, I never know the fastest way to the food court at that stupid place, thus beginning our foreverlong foray to my fast food establishment of choice, Chick-Fil-A. Matt doesn't quite share my affinity for delicious chicken nuggets and beautiful waffle fries, so he opted for Panda Express instead. They do say opposites attract.

After picking up these wardrobe staples at Gap (plus a third tee in solid royal blue), I discovered that the stench that had followed me around the store was, in fact, coming from my offspring. Wonderful. It was time to leave anyway, so we made a pit stop at the restrooms so I could take care of said smell, only to discover that the diaper changing pad (along with diapers, mind you) was nowhere to be found. It was in the bag when we left. It has effectively disappeared. (And that's a baby must-have!)

Since we weren't going home for awhile, I made a desperate run-in to Tom Thumb by the mall to snag some "cheap" diapers to get us through the day. Shoot, even the grocery stores in North Dallas are fancy. (Do I come from podunkville or what?) Even the off brand was still 24 cents a diaper. Stupid rich people.

We dropped Avery off with my mom so we didn't have to try to entertain her in the waiting room at the dentist, alternating as the other got their teeth cleaned. I love my hygienist. Not only is she someone I sincerely admire in the real non-tooth-related world, she's a fantastic mouth cleaner! She even remembers that I hate anything fruity on my teeth, so she always uses minty polish after she's done digging in my teeth with that hideous pointy thing. And Matt and I were both cavity-free! Hehe, I feel like a little kid when I say that, but hey, it's a big deal!

AND ironically enough, while we were at the dentist, my mom texted me to inform me that Avery got her very first tooth! No wonder she woke up screaming last night!

After our disappointment with the "fancy" furniture store, we stopped by Big Lots (that's right, I have no shame) just to see if they had any semi-decent couches. They didn't. But they DID have the perfect island for our kitchen. So we bought it. Eek! I can't wait to see it all set up!

Ours is a black cart with a stainless top, but you get the gist.

A friend from church asked us to go by her house today because she wants give her daughter's fort/play set to someone who will use it since her daughter's outgrown it. It's awesome and I can't wait to get it set up in our back yard. She won't even let us pay her for it; we just have to go disassemble and move it ourselves. No problemo. (Especially for me, since I'm pretty sure Matt will get to do most of the tough labor. Ha!) I loved playing on our fort growing up, and I can't wait for Avery to have a play set of her own.

We were running out of time at this point, so we stopped by my parents' to pick up Avery, who was sound asleep. Go figure. So after we bummed some food off of them, we ran home to let the dogs out and get some food and pajamas for Avery, dropped said food and pajamas off at their house so Uncle Nick could babysit, and then went straight to church for our respective meetings and got home by 9:30.

I'm tired.

But tomorrow is a certain somebody's birthday and I LOVE birthdays!!

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Break So Far

Friday Five

This Friday is especially awesome because at 3:45 pm we officially begin the glorious week of Spring Break. Here are some reasons I'm celebrating:

1. On Saturday we get to have grown-up time with our sweet friends, the Urquharts. I actually met Whitney through our parents who are friends, and we have so many things in common it's almost scary.  Whitney and her husband have a sweet little girl who has been so generous to pass down her outgrown clothes and toys to Avery, and that has been such a blessing to us! I hope I can do the same for others, but unfortunately most of my friends who have babies younger than Avery have boys. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want to be decked out in pink. Anyway, the grandparents are watching the kiddos, so we're looking forward to some adult conversation and maybe a board game or two. (Okay, that sounds lame I know, but we love games so back off. And I say "back off" in love. Hehe.) 

2. After church on Sunday we're heading to Baytown to spend a few days with Matt's family! We're so fortunate that, even though we live almost 5 hours away, we've been able to see them about once a month since Avery's been born. I even hear that they've got some fun activities planned while we're there, so I'm extra excited. :) 

3. Matt and I both have dentist appointments when we get back in town. Now that might not sound like something to look forward to, but oh. my. goodness. it's been a year since I had my teeth cleaned. Gross. Until then I will be in fervent prayer that I have no cavities. Our dentist has the friendliest hygienists (in fact, one of them is our pastor's wife and I love her), but while that should be a positive thing, I get stressed out when they ask questions while they have sharp scary tools in my mouth. Do I answer right away and hope they can interpret my open-mouth speech attempts or do I wait in uncomfortable silence until they stop and I can answer clearly? It's such a dilemma. I usually just try to answer and hope they can translate the babbling. It's just awkward. 

4. Today I'm ordering my totally awesome rock star office chair! Matt conceded, so I get to order the zebra print. I can't WAIT to get it set up in our study.  Here's the picture again in case you missed it on Tuesday (eek! I'm so excited!):

5. And the best part about a week off of school is the fact that I get extra time with Matt and Avery. It's a huge bonus to live with your favorite people! I'm also planning on tackling my "big" organization projects for the challenge since I'll have bigger blocks of time to work with. Clean closet anyone?

I hope you have a fantastic weekend, and for my teacher friends, enjoy your week of freedom!

30(ish) Day Challenge: UPDATE

It's Thursday, which means it's time for the UPDATE! I knew you were just dying for a peek at my organizational progress, so the time has come! Okay, okay, so maybe you weren't anxiously awaiting this reveal about to burst with curiosity, but here's what's gone down in our casa over the last week:

March 4, 2010

Home Notebook: BEFORE 

Home Notebook: AFTER

I've had a lot of questions about what a home notebook actually is, so my interpretation is a collection of recipes, birthday lists, contact lists, cleaning schedules (I know, I'm a dork. Am I still dorky if I haven't actually followed the schedule for months?), menus, decorating ideas, and anything else that pertains to the running of our household. (Mine includes lots of magazine cutouts in page protectors.) If you want some ideas on how to put together your own notebook, check out some inspiration here.

March 5, 2010

Sock/Underwear/Swimsuit Drawer: BEFORE and AFTER

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to post pictures of my panties (as cute as they may be!), so you're welcome. :)

March 6, 2010

Tupperware Cabinet: BEFORE

Tupperware Cabinet: AFTER

This cabinet will be the hardest to keep organized. I'm just saying. And notice the empty spinny storer thing on the left; it used to be full! Where did all my containers go?!?

March 7, 2010

Computer Desk: BEFORE

Computer Desk: AFTER

This is another area that is quick to become cluttered. I have a tendency to just throw any kinds of paper on the desk (okay, maybe not toilet paper. gross.) with the thought that I'll "get to it later." By the time I get to "later," it's just overwhelming.

March 8, 2010

Medicine Cabinet: BEFORE

Medicine Cabinet: AFTER

I found my label maker! I was wondering how I was going to make it through this challenge without it, but fortunately I don't have to wonder anymore! Yippee! (p.s. I organized this cabinet by types of medicine: first aid, vitamins, pain, cold, stomach, kids, and dogs)

March 9, 2010

TV Console: BEFORE

TV Console: AFTER

We store our DVDs out of sight in drawers at the bottom of the shelves that sit on each side of the TV console (wow that was confusing). But the console itself had become a problem area because we had our collection of TV seasons, video games, game consoles, dvd player, remotes, etc. all haphazardly thrown in there. With a little change in the shelving layout (and the removal of the GameCube, which Matt refuses to let me sell), it looks so. much. better. 

March 10, 2010

Freezer: BEFORE

Freezer: AFTER

The good thing about organizing/cleaning your freezer is that you have a time limit. I mean, you can't let everything thaw out, right? This fix (cleaning included!) took me a grand total of ten minutes. How's THAT for an organizing challenge?

So here's where I am so far:

cup/glasses cabinet

plastic/rubbermaid/etc. cabinet

medicine cabinet

sock/underwear drawer

purses/bags in closet

shoes

gift wrap

filing cabinet

game closet

baby gear cabinet in kitchen 

pantry

freezer

media shelves

Avery's blankets

Avery's toys

Avery's sock/headband drawer

Stamps

Craft paper

Home notebook

Recipes

Books

Laundry room shelf

T-shirts

Soccer gear

Glove box

Cookbook cabinet

Junk drawer

Addresses

Bathroom cabinet

Cleaning supplies

Computer desk

Are you inspired yet? I love love love before and after pictures (of anything really), so my hope is that these will not only help you, but they'll serve as a reminder for myself to not let our home get so out of control with clutter. It seriously feels SO good to see that ever-growing pile of garage sale merchandise that is soon leaving the house. Simplicity is a freeing thing.

How's your challenge going now that we're a third of the way through? I've heard from friends who have taken on the organizational challenge this month (or are planning on it for the next), my friend Kati is going Meatless in March, and Tami is writing letters for her 30 Day Challenge (I love that idea, btw!). You guys have helped motivate me to keep going. 

Just 20 more days!