Enjoying the summer

In my book, summer is best enjoyed by doing. Whether it be the pool, the park, the zoo, the sprinkler in the backyard, or what have you, spending time outside and within the community screams summer to me.

Most days between 11-2pm you will not find us at home. Or if we are at home we are most likely outside. I know, worst sun hours ever, but what’s a mom to do when that’s prime awake time?

We.must.get.outside.to.wear.her.out. Amen?

Plus Elizabeth yearns to be outside. She seriously is on the verge of throwing tantrums when we are inside. So out we go. I remember when I nannied having to force the boys outside on some days…not so with this one. She’s forcing me outside.

And so I learned that in order to go out and not be frantic, rushing all around trying to remember everything, I came up with a plan.  A way for mom’s to enjoy the summer. Because I know sometimes that getting out of the house seems like more work than its worth some days.

I learned while nannying that being prepared is a great way to set yourself up for success and ultimately means more summer enjoyment all around. So here’s how I’ve tried to set myself up for success…so far it’s working because we’re getting out and momma is not stressed about a thing. I created two main stations that for the most part remain in our car. The “pool” bag (basically my summer diaper bag) and the “car” tote.

Pool Bag:

This bag resides on my passenger seat and gets last minute things thrown in like my wallet, snacks, and lunches. I tend to wear my swimsuit to the pool and just throw in undergarments for afterwards. For E, since she’s not potty trained, I change her at the pool.

Inside: Snack (cheerios/raisins), sunscreen, hat/sunglasses, onesies, swim diaper, E’s towel, my towel, E’s swimsuit, swim toy bag, diaper pouch w/ diapers,wipes, diaper cream and a pacifier, plastic baggies (for wet items), and a toiletry bag.

Toiletry bag contents: bug spray, hand sanitizer, kleenex, tylenol, face and hand wipes, clorox wipes, and alcohol wipes.

I tend to be in and out of this bag all throughout the day no matter our activities. Because it stays on my seat or the floor in front of the seat I normally just throw in our last minute items when I hop in. The diaper pouch has been my most loved item…on Sundays we just grab it out for nursery and if I’m running in somewhere I just toss it in the stroller or my purse. I also always keep a swimsuit in this bag. That way if we happen to be somewhere and a suit is needed we have one. I also keep cheerio/raisin snacks in here. Obviously if your kids were older, granola bars, etc. would work. But raisins and cheerios, while not so exciting, fill the need when hunger grows rampant and do not melt in the sun.

When I nannied we had a similar system at their house. But as soon as they got a bit older they were all in charge of their own sling bag. They were in charge of their undergarments for after the pool, goggles, swimsuit, and towel. It worked great and helped them learn to take some responsibility for their own things.

Car tote:

This bag has been a lifesaver this summer. In my absentmindedness we’ve been places and realized we have no diapers, we needed a blanket, or we forgot a sippy. Thank goodness this was in our trunk. My mom gave me the super cute 31 Tote as a fun gift and it has worked perfectly. This bag shares trunk space with our stroller, fits perfectly above the wheels and always stays in the car. Always.

Inside: Diapers, swim diapers, wipes, first aid kit, snacks (cheerios/raisins), bib, extra sippy cup, pool float, sand toys, and a blanket.

This is so handy for last minute trips and for remembering where things are. Going to the park and need a toy, great…sand toys in the trunk. Heading to someone’s pool and need a float…great in the trunk. Going to a concert in the park and need a blanket, check…got it. We’ve used everything in here this summer so far while we were out exploring the city and it worked perfectly. Especially the extra diapers/wipes and the blanket. Who knew how many times you might need a large blanket to spread out?

Keeping things organized and in the same place has really allowed us to enjoy the summer more fully with less stress. We get out more, we’re not trying to remember a hundred things at the last minute, and we’re covered when we forget.

Obviously the contents will look differently for everyone but it’s helped us so much this summer that I thought I ought to share. I’m sure I’m forgetting some important things we should have in our bags…

So tell me, how do you keep organized in the summer?

Making a list

 

 

Every year someone asks us for a list of gift ideas, either for Christmas or our birthdays. For years, I would scramble last minute to try and figure out what on earth I should ask for. It was pure craziness. What ended up on my list were things in the aftermath I would look at quizzically and wonder what I was thinking. So for the past few years we’ve been taking a different approach.

I know so many people still make hand written lists, don’t give gifts, make a board on pinterest, etc. but we utilize the list feature on Amazon. Each one of us in our little family of 3 have a list. And all year long I add to them things that we think would be good ideas for gifts. I love that I can delete and add at my discretion and it definitely makes giving gifts easier.

You might wonder, but what if something I like is not offered by Amazon? Well, I downloaded their “Universal Wish List” feature to my browser bar. With the click of a button I can add things to any of our lists from any website. That makes things so much easier. I also have the Amazon app on my phone so I can scan things in the store, see if Amazon carries them, and if they do add them to the list. If they do not carry it, I just snap a quick picture to add online later. And if I didn’t have the app, then like I did for years on end, I just snap pictures in any store of the items I want to remember and then come home and manually add them to the list. I do this all the time with books I want to reserve at the library!

Amazon is not giving me anything to talk about this…I just love it! Plus I love how almost everything is cheaper on Amazon than in the store. So we can give great gifts and save money. My parent’s love it too because they can get us things we like and have them shipped usually for free. When you send so many gifts to those out of state, postage can add up quickly!

Living far from family, I wish everyone made Amazon lists. It would make it so much easier to buy gifts that need to be sent and it would help ensure that the recipient would not receive duplicates. That’s a bonus to…when someone buys something, it gets removed from your list. How great is that!

So I’m curious as Christmas gets nearer by the day, how do you try and stay organized with gift giving? Do you use Amazon lists?

Finding Balance

 

 

I’m not type A.

If you know me well you are not at all surprised. Most days I’m behind on things, treading to keep my head above water. I drop the ball, forget things, am absentminded, and am often off in my own world.

Add pregnancy to the mix and well, it’s been a little crazy around here. I am exhausted. The three week reprieve I had from exhaustion has passed and I’m back to sleeping 8-9 hours a night and running our of steam by lunch. I remember years ago pulling all nighters, working full-time while in school full-time, and still maintaining a social life. Even then I never felt like this.

And yet, I try not to make pregnancy an excuse. Our house still needs to get clean, we still need food on the table, and disorganization/messiness drives me crazy. Not accomplished as they may have been pre-pregnancy, but they need to be done. These past couple of weeks my computer has put me to the test. I could write and dream, catch up on life, research baby things, the whole bit and before I knew it I was rushing to get to work, get ready, read my Bible. I loathe rushing. We’ve arranged our life with margin, something Alex and I crave.

And yesterday as I sat in Bible Study, my study unfinished, not because I didn’t have time, the Lord softly convicted my heart. And I already knew change had to come. I know it will not get easier when the baby comes; I’ve watched two toddlers and a newborn from sun-up to the time reinforcements come through the door. I’m not naïve about what life will look like in a few short months. But I want to be prepared.

So I made a rule and asked my husband to help me. You see, my non-type A personality is not naturally prone to organization or schedule. I’m more apt to have piles everywhere, but I will know where everything is! So we help each other, because that husband of mine is beyond Type A. Opposites really do attract:) Task at hand: I asked him to help me ban the computer before 11 am. Today was the first day.

After waking and getting out of bed by 7:45, I finished cleaning all three bathrooms, loading/unloading the dishwasher, my quiet time with ample time for prayer, a load of laundry done, others folded and put away, cleaned the kitchen, and got ready and ate breakfast by the time it was 10. Amazing what one can accomplish without the distraction of a little black box of entertainment. Since I amazed even myself, I grabbed my computer a little early and it felt good.

I’m not sure where you are on the Type A – Non Type A scale, most I know are like my husband, but if you tend to be like me, I just want to share there’s hope for us. There’s hope, praise the Lord, there’s hope!

In the next few months before baby girl arrives, I’m hoping to re-connect with the schedule I had before I was pregnant, modified of course. Days of the week for certain activities, a cleaning rotation, more creative meal planning, and figuring out how to keep this big house clean. 

When I get my plan together, I’ll happily share. Because maybe all of us outliers or not, can encourage each other toward finding balance in our lives, in our homes, in our hearts. And most importantly, finding time to put God first. Because at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

Spring Cleaning: Your Clothing

Now that we’ve gone through the closet, it’s probably now a good idea to gather some tips as to what stays and what goes.  I’m a thrower or giver.  You might be a saver or hoarder.  We’re all different in that way but we all need some little tips to help us either keep things worth keeping or throwing things worth throwing.  Neither way is completely right so we all need a little help.

Every season when I switch the closet I inevitably begin weeding out things that have seen a better day. Then go the items I haven’t worn in awhile.  The ones that never fit right or have warped in the wash machine.  Every item gets held up, looked over, and sometimes tried on just to make sure.  Multiple piles are made and then donated, sold, or thrown away.  I will also find myself at other times throughout the year going through this whole process again.  Although that’s less likely, because THIS can be time consuming.


Here are some great tips for going through your clothing or any other closet/items that need weeding through:


1.  Designate an area for 3-4 piles:  Give, Consign/Garage sale/Craigslist, Throw and Maybe.

2.  Look the item over (for holes, smells, under arm discoloration, shape, and color).  If anything is not up to your liking put it in the appropriate pile. Most often these end up in give or throw for me.  It’s good to assess the condition the item is in and place accordingly.  REMEMBER: CONDITION

3.  If you are unsure about something, try to come up with an outfit for the piece.  Try it on.  If you don’t feel comfortable or it doesn’t fit right it probably never will.  Let it go.  You must feel comfortable in the item or you will never wear it.  REMEMBER:  COMFORT

4.  Assess the last time you wore the item and how often it gets used.  Obviously your favorite little black dress you wear twice a year is a keeper if you love it and look great in it.  But that cardigan which “cost $2.50 on sale and has never fit right so you have never wore it” must go.  Fit is important and ill-fitting clothing is never a good thing, this includes things that have either shrunk or been misshapen in the washer.  Repeat after me if doesn’t fit right now, it NEVER will!  REMEMBER: FIT

5.  Parting with sentimental items are hard.  If there are a few that have a story, store them in a plastic bin and find a home for the bin.  Go through this box every year or so and see if the memories are still strong.  If so, keep it.  Some people can get ride of their wedding dress, I can’t.  I still LOVE trying it on!  REMEMBER:  SENTIMENT

Those were just some quick tips on sorting through clothing.  Remember CONDITION, COMFORT, FIT, and SENTIMENT are ALL important tips for sorting through clothing.

Happy Sorting!

spring cleaning: your closets

The hubby and I have always shared a closet.  From the time we got married until now, there’s been one closet for the two of us.  And it’s worked and I can honestly say, it’s never been an issue.

If you are just checking out C&A, this is part of a series of spring cleaning areas of our lives. This is the second post following de-cluttering your purse!
                                               (this is not our closet)

There are ways to organize a closet and make even the smallest closet work for two.  Our best decision ever was to make a clothing switch by season.  It’s work but I think it’s best even if you don’t share a closet.  Here’s my reasoning:

1.  Bi-yearly everything in your closet gets to be seen with new eyes.

I love this.  It makes me go through our clothing.  And it makes purging so much easier.  Every fall and every spring I go through everything, every drawer, every hanger.  The whole bit. Bags of clothing are earmarked for Goodwill or the Consignment store. 

2.  We cannot hoard.

By going through everything at least once a year, we keep hoarding at bay.  Right now we have 3 Rubbermaid bins.  2 for clothing and 1 for shoes.  We store them in our closet since we’re in an apt. This means that every time we go through things, we cannot keep any more than can fit in those 3 bins.  Either it’s in the closet, in our dresser, or in a bin.  It’s perfect.  I like simplicity, less-clutter, and I love not hoarding things we will never use or wear.  We cannot buy more than we can store.

3.  It’s fun.

Switching out the closets is something I will always do even if by chance we end up with more space.  I love it.  It is mood brightening.  In the spring it’s fun to pull out spring hued clothing, shorts, and flip-flops in anticipation of sunny days.  In the fall I long to bring out the cozy sweaters, corduroy pants, and fall hues.  They speak of cozy nights by the fire and trips to the orchard.

I wish I could get everyone to do this.  It’s so worth it.  Even if you don’t have a lot of stuff. 

How do you usher in the seasons when it comes to your clothes closet?  Do you make a switch with the seasons or is it just too much work?

Spring cleaning: your purse

Since I’m so excited spring is here I figured it’s right time to have a new series.  In the next few weeks I’m spotlighting some spring cleaning ideas.  Purses, closets, finances, clothing, and most of all life.  We get a little cluttered through winter, hibernating amongst our things.  So I’m thinking we can all help each other find new ways to de-clutter, re-evaluate, and re-organize some of the things we surround ourselves with.


My purse is seriously an issue.  It goes with me everywhere.  I have a few favorites and they all get used.  And stuffed to the brim with lip gloss, old receipts, papers, kleenex, and other random things.  Most often when they need to be switched I look the other way and stuff the unwanted one in the closet until the next time I’m ready for that bag to reappear. 

Problem.  They go back to their home still stuffed full.  Because who has the time to sort through at the point of the purse switch.  Maybe you do.  I’m not that organized…YET!

But last month I tried to change all that.  I plopped down on our couch, did a little googling, thought through my needs, and did a little de-cluttering.  Every purse was pulled down.  The papers and junk we tossed in the trash, all gone through first I might add.  Old purses that haven’t seen the light of day for years were donated.  But once this was all done, I was still faced with an issue. 

The wallet issue.  I wanted something that would hold all the cards (credit, gift, savings, etc.), my checkbook, receipts, cash and change, and my cell phone in a pinch when I just need my wallet.  I also didn’t want it to be bursting at the seams.  I looked high and low, perused, tried, and then found the one.  It was spendy, not gonna lie.  But I think I’ll have it forever.  (ps…I’ve seen wallets like this one half off at TJ Maxx or knock-offs at other stores)

Here she is, the HOBO Lauren:

A beautiful neutral.  Because she has to remain classic and timeless.

Opens and closes with a sturdy magnet.  Most used cards and license right at your finger tips. (Costco Amex, Debit Card, and HSA card).  This is also the spot I store receipts from the day to be sorted through at night.

Inside she’s amazing.  One side opens to hold all my other cards.  Store cards, discount cards, and gift cards.  I can also stow my phone here and still close the pouch.  The other side has a zipper pouch perfect for change. I also stow my checkbook and register here along with any cash I have.

Seriously she’s changed my life.  No longer am I looking for 5 different items when transferring purses.  Instead I just move Lauren.  So handy, so mobile, so organized.

My other great trick:  I have a handy little pouch with a mirror inside that I keep my lip gloss and chapstick in.  That way that little pouch gets moved as well.  I might toss a pack of gum in there too.  It’s come in incredibly handy when the hubby needs chapstick. 

Again, streamlining life, one step at a time.

(check out how much one of my favorite bloggers loves her lauren too!)

How do you keep the purse clutter and switch under control?

favorites on the web

Lately I’ve been trying to streamline my time on the internet.  Too often I can get all caught up in browsing away and then I look up and there went the time.  I’m a paper and pen kind of person but I know that in order to streamline some things I

These are some of my favorites right now that I’m hoping will help me quicken my time on the internet so I’ll have more time for more important things.

1.  Pinterest

In the past I’ve been bookmarking all sorts of things and categorizing them that way.  I’m loving this new site that I’ve been turned on to by a friend.  Although I joined about a month ago I finally started “pinning” today and I already love what I see.  It’s a great way to save pictures online of clothing, house inspiration, kid stuff, etc. and everything is grouped however you choose with a link to the original photo.  All you have to do is click “pin it” and you are all set to preserving all the things that tickle your fancy.

To sign up for Pinterest, follow the link below:

http://pinterest.com/invited/?email=andreabrogle@gmail.com&invite=f9b676d7

2.  Grocery IQ

Although I have only gotten started with this app/website I’m sure it will help me strategize and better prepare for grocery shopping.  With the ability to make lists for certain stores, view coupons, and find out what favorites need restocking, I’m certain this is going to save me some time.  It’s always a bit time consuming to set these things up, but after the hard work, it’s certain to reap big in time savings and energy.

3.  Evernote

 

I’m constantly leaving a trail of sticky notes behind me.  It’s really a epidemic I’m afraid.  I often find myself rewriting the same thing because I lost the post it or having my desk covered in little yellow squares.  In my 30 for 30 I mentioned wanting to become more organized and this app/website is sure to pave the way into being an organized woman.  Best part?  I can write things on my computer and it will automatically sync to my phone app or the other way around.  I like that.  Never will I miss something again!  (or so I can hope).

Now to only get comfortable using google calendar to sync our lives together.  Not sure I’m ready for that.  But these above, I love.  I hope you will too.

What technological things do you use to streamline your life?  Favorites please!