This is How We Do It: Kid's Clothes

Clothes are something we all have to face and face routinely,  so having a system in place really helps our home life run smoothly.

Twice a year, I get really excited because the "changing of the clothes" time is upon us! And this year I had a sweet volunteer offer to help! I just love training this little momma!

It all starts by taking every item out of each drawer and vacuuming it clean.

 It's so lovely to start with a blank canvas!

I sort all of Grant's outgrown items into three stacks, one to keep to pass down to Morgan the next year, one to donate, and the other to trash. It is very rare to have to get rid of items, so most of  the time I just move these items to the left section of our trundle drawer under the boy's bunkbed.

Morgan's clothes get sorted the same way, but with his sort I am very strict on what I keep. Since Grayson is 4 years behind, it needs to be a very special outfit to warrant being stored that long. It's better to just pass most things onto someone else to enjoy. Also, after two boys, many things are ready to to be passed onto someone's ragbag. ;)

Now it's time for some fun!

At the end of last summer, I raided the clearance racks all over town to find some great bargains(something I do at the end of every season). As I find these cheap treasures, I stash them away in the trundle drawer. I keep a list of what I need with me as I shop as to not get miss matched items or too many things. (Like if I find plaid shorts with a red stripe, I would add a red golf shirt to my list or I would write 3 nice outfits size 6)

So now I get to pull everything out and refill the drawers with fun new outfits and "new to you" clothes!!!

 Here is Grant's new summer wardrobe above and Morgan's is below. Both pictures are missing one set of good clothes, as I had already laid out their church clothes for the next morning. I'll also be buying one more playshirt for Morgan.

Here are what the drawers look like after items are put in.  For the boys, I roll their laundry as this keeps their drawers tidy and clean. Most items I get for them mix and match, so I just line shirts up front and pants/shorts in the back. This also makes it really easy for them to fold and put away their own clothes.

Underwear lies flat, socks get balled, but everything else, including bathing suits, get rolled.

 

 Jammies, socks, undearwear, and swim suit drawers.

 Grant's play clothes.

Grant's nice clothes.

 I left his jeans in, just because it's Michigan and it could snow tomorrow ....or in June.

Morgan's play clothes. Again rolled with shirts in the front and bottoms in the back.

Again jeans are left in the nice clothes drawer, something I never had to do in OK! ;)

Now it's time to move onto Paige's clothes! It would be a lie if I didn't say I was totally giddy with this job!

So far, it has been a breeze to find girl's clothes on clearance, many for around $1. 

Paige's clothes get folded in outfit packs, with a bottom folded with its matchig top. Also, if their are leggings, a skirt, and top,  they all get folded together for easy grabbing by my little fashionista! ;)

 

Socks, tights, jammies, bathing suit, and undies(aka kitties)!

 

Play clothes!

Nice clothes. And she has three dresses hanging her closet.

 

By keeping clothing choices greatly limited, clothes aren't over taking our home causing stress, drawers stay tidy, and laundry day is quick and simple! Our clothes get a lot of wear since there are fewer option, so I don't buy used, especially when 2+ kids will be wearing them. However, by shopping clearance racks and buying less, our clothes budget remains small. 

 

When we first had kids, we had so many clothes that half of their wardrobe never got worn, or got worn once or twice and I was constantly folding, washing, putting away, and organizing clothes. I actually found items with tags still on them when packing up outgrown clothing. Such a waste. God has shown us that being a good steward and buying only what we need is a blessing to our family and also allows us to help others with the money and time we save!

 

Want to minimize the headache of clothes?

 I recommend the following:

 

~Less is More~
 Aim for (per person per season) 4-6 play outfits, 4-6 nice outfits, 5-6 undies, 2-3 jammies, 4-5 socks, 1 dress shoe, 1 nice shoe, 1 bathing suit/cover up

 

~Keep Drawers Tidy~

Roll outfits that can be mixed and matched

Fold set outfits into easy to grab packs

 

~ Evaluate Needs~

It's easy to buy things you don't need when they are cheap

Make a detailed list before you shop - stick to it!

 

What are some tricks you use to keep kid's clothes under control?

 I'd love to hear them!

 

 

 

Things Are A-changin'!

  After a 8 year adventure, our medical training journey is finally coming to a close! It's been challenging, exciting, stressful, fun, and totally amazing! God has used this time to grow Tom, our marriage, our family, and our faith in Him. It hasn't been perfect, we've made many mistakes, learned new things, and seen God's grace in everything that we've experienced, but it's now time for a new adventure!

This is Tom's last week of residency! He's had his last call night, last moonlighting shift, last teaching service shift, last clinic day, last elective day, last academics, and presented his last journal club.......whew! And that was all from June 22nd to June 28th!

Come Saturday morning, a medium moving truck, driven by my sweet Bunny, will make it's way from our home in Sapulpa, OK to Vicksburg, MI. Our new rental home, (that we started renting back in May) the "Yellow Farm" will be waiting to house him for the 19 days he will be there training and working his first shifts as an attending at the Bronson Vicksburg Outpatient Center Emergency Room. I'm just so proud of him! Who knew 9 years ago that this would be route our adventure as newly weds would take us.

I'm just giddy about not only getting settled in our new place, but I'm also ECSTATIC about his new schedule. When we first were planning on specializing, an OB/Gyn residency is what we decided on.......now four years later, I'm so thankful that God nipped that decision in the bud and allowed us to change to Family Medicine. Because of this detour, it opened a fabulous door to work in an ER setting which allowed our faith, family, and friends to take their rightful priority! The road we picked would have led to long clinic days and late call nights; but God's path has now allowed Tom to work eight 24 hour shifts a month and then have about 22 days home with us......no, it hasn't sunk in fully yet!

The kiddos and I will be hanging out here at the Sapulpa house, missing our daddy terribly for those nineteen days but we already have some really fun things planned, so hopefully the time will fly by! In the last 10 years since we met, the longest we've even been apart was the 7 days I traveled with mom and the kiddos to find a place to rent in Kalamazoo a few months back. Just let me say, I'm not a fan!!

Anyway, I'm just praying that little "Bertrum" stays put and waits for daddy to get home before he makes his appearance! Then once he arrives, we'll all be off to start our new journey in the "frozen tundra"!!!

Stay-cation 2013: Leapin' Louies

A family favorite is to head to Leapin' Louies for three days of swimming and splashing fun!! Not only is it a super cheap vacation, but by not wasting money on gas we get to stay longer and by going during the week, the place is usually all ours!!!! This trip was back in February, but I'm just now getting to the pics!!!

Paigy had the best time and was so proud of her new bathing suit and cover up (a $2.00 clearance purchase from Kohl's at the end of last season!) She kept stopping to pose!!

 We were so glad daddy was there to pull us all around the pool and play games!

 Woogy was just as brave as ever, charging down the slides, swimming under water, and leaping from lily pad to lily pad!!

 Look at the camera people!!!

 Splash!!!

 My largest child had a great time too!!!

 Gotcha!!!

We did have a great time, except for the stomach bug that hit Grant on day 2! That's why there are no pictures of him, then we all got the bug by the end of the week. I'm so sorry housekeeping - I cleaned what I could! 

Papa and Nana joined us too one night and we all had pizza and sat in the hot tub!!! 

Thanks Louie for another great stay-cation!!! 

Organizing 101: The Kitchen

All the trash, bags, and boxes I cleaned out of the kitchen.

Well things always seem to get worse before they get better. I decided now was the perfect time to take food out of bags and boxes and get things into re-fillable containers to help cut down on clutter and spills.

In the last week, I had cleaned up spilled animal crackers and cereal three times due to little helpers and had noticed that some of our chips and cereal had gotten stale before we used it and I just can't stand to be wasteful.

 

I talked it over with Tom and we decided to get some great containers from Home and Garden to put our items in that would not only keep them fresh but keep little ones out of the snacks!

 

This is my broom cabinet, it didn't have many things in it, but was still untidy and cluttered.

 

I rearranged some things, threw out some things, and sent some stuff to the shelter and now it's a lovely place to live, if you are a broom and mop, of course!

I got rid of a box of wine glasses we had gotten right after getting married, we don't drink, so I'm not sure why we even had them. There were multiple kitchen gadgets and odds and ends that needed to gp!


I don't have much cabinet space but I now have many cabinets that are totally empty!

 

I now feel like if we were to move next week, I could have ANYONE pack my kitchen up and KNOW that I would be moving nothing but what I actually love and use!! How freeing!

 

My hubby helped me clean the over until it looked brand new !


Awe, clutter free cabinets!!

 This island only has my stand mixer on one side, some kitchen towels, and a junk drawer that only has a few things inside it now! I LOVE EMPTY CABINETS!!!!

Once it was all said and done I had 5 bags full of donations, and 4 bags of trash!!!

Home Organizing 101 Challenge

Over the next 14 weeks, I will be participating in the Home Organization 101 challenge! I'm already super excited and have made huge strides in the first hot spot, THE KITCHEN!!

Would you like to join??

I purge all the time, but lately I've realized that my purging has been half-hearted. As long as things were fitting in the area they needed to fit in, I felt pretty good. But God has really been working on my heart and has shown me that I was putting this stuff in front of Him.

 

I thought it was stuff I would eventually use, but when I really stepped back and saw what I was holding onto and my clenched fists, I knew it was time to bless someone else with it.

An added bonus is that we will most likely be moving this upcoming July and I really don't want to move ANYTHING we aren't using.

I also came upon this fabulous blog that really encouraged me on my mission! What she says as she's trying to turn loose of some throw pillow, small dishes, and knives really inspired me....

"The truth is, decluttering should be hard. I should be standing in my kitchen with tears streaming down my face, beating my breast and calling out to God over all the times I wandered through stores full of fragile items, justifying myse...

lf as I put things I don't need into my cart. I should be on my knees repenting for caring more about polka dot dishes than starving orphans. I should be begging God to never let me forget again that we are here for something so much better than spending and consuming and storing up treasure here on this broken earth. We are here to touch lives. We are here to spend our lives on HIM.

How many more children could we have sponsored through compassion international if we weren't so busy filling our home with trinkets? How many people in our community could we have reached out to if we weren't spending our time trying to find a parking spot at the mall?

But instead I stand in my kitchen wondering whether I want a more authentic walk with the maker of the universe, or some really cute polka dot dishes.

And this realization, this conviction, brings me to my knees. Lord, break my heart with the things that break yours. "
During the last three weeks of August the sermon's at church were about contentment and again, these messages were transforming! I encourage you to listen to them!

I was being bombarded by these all of these messages on contentment from every angle and would be a fool not to listen, take heart, and put what I've learned into practice!

Join me on my mission to simplify, give to others, and rethink what needs really are!!!

Helpful Hints: Laundry Shortcuts

Feel like your drowning in a sea of laundry? Why not simplify your routine by getting most of it done while you're asleep?

Start a load of laundry right before you head to bed and you can start your morning with almost one chore checked off your list!

I've noticed that my energy level starts to go downhill around 3:30ish in the afternoon, so this way, I've gotten a big chore off my list while I'm still bright eyed and bushy-tailed!!

Here are two easy options that can really shorten your chores for the day. Option one is good for a traditional laundry routine. Option two is great for those in the season of mothering little nursing ones or can work great if you are an early riser or have a hubby that gets off to work early and can switch the load.

1. Start a cold load the night before "laundry day", and then pop it into the dryer first thing that next morning. Right after taking your morning shower, wipe down the bathroom with your towel and start the hot load. By the time lunch time hits,  you will have two loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and ready to put away!
2. Start your hot load the night before, make sure to wipe down the bathroom with your towels before tossing them in. In the middle of the night or early morning, switch the first load to the dryer and start the cold load. By the time you are up and around, the hot load will be ready with a nice warm towel for your morning shower and you will have the second load dry by the time breakfast is over!

What are so ways you minimize your laundry duties?

Motherhood Monday: Cast the First Stone

Last Monday, I shared my heart break over the outlook of many women's view of home. I was moved by their responses and saddened about the state of our world over the fact that being home with kids, family, and responsibility led these women to talk in such negative terms.

Thankfully God has transformed my heart, but yes, I used to be one of those women.

And some days my heart reverts.

When we had our first child, I felt it was my duty to load this little one up, drive all over town for play dates and activities. This little guy, who was so young, had no clue what we were doing, but I felt this urge to be busy. To fill our time with constant motion. To focus on things that had no lasting value or purpose. To do anything to pass these boring, mundane hours.

At that time, I had no grasp on the notion of being a homemaker, a helpmeet, and a mother. Sure food was cooked, laundry wasn't piling up, and things were pretty clean, but I wasn't focusing on making our home a haven for my family. I wasn't nourishing my marriage or children. I would love to be able to go back to that time and tell that 23 year old to just enjoy the "being". I love that term.....being. Psalm 46:10 comes to mind when I think of this term, "Be still and know that I a God."

God has such an awesome role for women who are willing to accept it and thrive in it. Don't get me wrong, there are many days when it takes a LOT of effort to enjoy this job. But God has helped me to see the blessing that come from being home.

I'm not sure when home turned into a four letter word, but from the comments I read on that blog page, I saw a true distaste and hostility towards being home. Home, by definition is "one's place of residence, a congenial environment". That sound like a wonderful place to be and it sounds like one has to actually be there for it to fall under this description.

Next time, I'm going to share some of the benefits and blessings we have gained first hand by my being home!

What's your view of home? Sanctuary or sanatorium?

Treasures.....Earthly or Heavenly?

Last time, I shared how we as a family are on a mission to live a simple life. Not just because it's fun, (sometime it's not fun) but because the Lord has impressed upon us the need to turn to Him to get our satisfaction in life not to this world and the things it offers.

In the Bible, it says in Matthew 6:19-21

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

We constantly feel the pull of the world on us, to keep up with others, buy the newest and greatest, and fulfil our "needs" with things that are really wants. Adult peer pressure is a big distraction from living the way God wants us to.

God knew that these worldly things would be a great temptation to us or He wouldn't have been so clear and direct about how we should live.

So in order to give temptation the boot, we had to start thinking in a different way. When deciding that we wanted our home, our lives, and our hearts to look different than the world, we knew that others might not get it or understand our new focus, but we felt a total peace about what we were about to adventure out into. Our thinking had to change from "I want that!" to "What do I already have?"

We had to make a conscious decision to choose CONTENTMENT.

We needed to start saying "Thank you" to God for what He had blessed our family with, and start saying, "No thank you" to what the world was offering. The world offers temporary excitement, but it will decay and turn to dust, but if we focus our lives on stockpiling heavenly treasures we will have eternal rewards waiting for us.

We think it is so important that any family goal  we have is based in scripture and that we are trying to accomplish it for the correct reasons. Heart issues are of highest importance, because habits wont really stick if they aren't based in true convictions. Those convictions lead us to making decisions with eternal significance.

We've had many hurtle we've had to face on this journey, and one of the biggest has been having how we got  here? No little girls grows up saying,

"I can't wait to just fill my house to the brim with things I don't really need so I can clean, organize, and hoard them!!!"

Yet somehow our house was full of things that we just HAD to have at one point. We didn't stop to ask any questions about the purchases we were making.....they were cool, they were needed, and we wanted them now. Months, weeks, and days later, those same items were stuck in a closet or drawer gathering dust and taking up precious space.

We've had to take a step back to see why some things are in our home and why we bought them. We realized that decluttering and purging is great, but the real way to practice simple living is to be intentional in everything that we do. We realize we can't stop the "stuff cycle" until we start really evaluating what we are bring in to our home. We've introduced a new evaluation technique that we review with any purchase we are thinking  about making. Here are some of the questions we ask ourselves:

• Do I need this?
• Do we have something else that serves a similar purpose?
• Where will this item live?
• Does it fall into our budget?
• Would I enjoy packing this item into a box and transporting it when a move comes?
• Have I talked to my spouse about this?
• Have we prayed about it?
• Have I walked away from it, thought about it, researched it, and still want it?

What are some questions you ask when evaluation a purchase? Have you been convicted about the things your purchase?

Hot Spot #3: Toys and Clothes

Please don't take my toys!!!

So I'm a little late posting the pictures but this got completed early last week! This is the closet in the play room. This is where we keep all the toys, craft supplies, and school stuff! I have been cleaning out other spaces and have found things that belong in here and have just been stuffing them in random places, so it was SOOO time to clean and reorganize this closet!

Before:

After

I'm so excited to have much more space in here, to get rid of unused items, and to have space for curriculum that will be moving in late this summer! It also makes it so much easier to put things away when they have a home and there is space for everything!

It's That Time Again! (and Giveaway!!!!)

I don't know about you, but I am so in the mood for some spring cleaning!!!! I don't think that there is anything quite like the feeling of pulling everything out of a space, throwing away the junk, blessing others with items no longer needed, and putting only the most special items back in in an organized fashion! It's liberating! It's frustrating! It's humbling!

During the month of March, I will be joining the challenge given by Simple Mom to simplify our lives by unburdening ourselves of the stuff that is laying seige to our homes!

On Mondays (the 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th) in March, there will be a new Hot Spot to work on that week! There will be a prize at the end, but as Simple Mom says the real prize, "is a clean, more decluttered home."

Here are the Hot Spots:

*5th - Kid's Stuf ~ Toys, clothes, etc.*

*12th - Kitchen and/or pantry*

*19th - Closets, counters, & drawers*

*26th - Choose your own adventure*

Since it's only the middle of February and I'm ready and rearing to go, I thought I would spend the next two Mondays preparing my heart and head for the Great Spring Purge of 2012!

I've always been a pack rat at heart. I have great emotional attachments to things, the feelings those things give me, and the guilt of letting an item go. But as with everything in life, if you are trying to fill a round hole with a square peg, it's not going to work. I used my things as a crutch for many years when I should have been relying on the Lord to fill that space.

I used my stuff, my wordly goods, to try to complete me in a way only my Savior could. Only in the last couple of years have I been able to let go of those mere things and realize that they can't fulfil me. I've learned that not only can they not fill a void, but they also distract me from who the Lord wants me to be.

Stuff has held me prisoner for much to long. I've had to

buy it,

clean it,

store it,

move it,

organize it,

straighten it,

dust it,

box it,

unpack it,

declutter it,

and sadly there's been times I've worshipped it.

It made me feel good, feel important, and feel special. Those are feelings I shouldn't be trying to get from material items. By God's grace, He has opened my eyes and heart and showed me that STUFF can be a derogatory word and has shown me my errors and given me a fresh outlook!

I'm so excited to share this journey with you, so I hope you will come back on Mondays to hear how the Lord has convicted our family to focus on Christ, not our things and to share your progress!!

GIVEAWAY!!!

To get this party started I am giving away a copy of Karen Ehman's The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized!! This is a fabulous book that shows you how to manage your time, eliminate clutter, experience order and keep family first! I really enjoyed this book and I know you will too! It's a easy read and it may help you in your journey too!!!

To enter, please leave a comment on why you would love to win this book!!

Extra entries:

* Join the Challenge*

*Share this post on FB*

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Project Simplify/ 40 Bags: Paper Work

Paper piles are my nemesis, so I have to work extra hard to stay on top of them!!

Fridays are my normal day for filing and dealing with paperwork, but since I don't have much each week, it usually ends up getting stacked on the top of our little bedroom TV until the 2nd Friday of the month when I pay all the bills for the month.

When the mail comes I try to open it right away while standing by my kitchen island, that is where I sort it into piles, bills and things that need to be dealt with, trash, and file.

The things that need to be filed get moved to the TV.

(I picked this location as it is high enough where little hands won't scatter my pile)

We use a cardboard file box, so that each year when we are finishd filing things away, we can just stick the entire box in our storage area and we will know where everything is. I move things like warrantees and other ongoing files to the next year's box so I don't have to open the old box all the time.

Things that need to be paid or dealt with, go on my cute bulletin board in my laundry room until the 2nd Friday and then I go online, pay all the bills, and then I file it away with my TV stack!!! It's nothing exciting, but it seems to work.

I Hate Waiting!

So I'm combining two challenges that I am wanting to participate in....the 40 Bag Lent Challenge and Simple Mom's Project Simplify! I love challenges!!

Anyway, my goal is to get 40 bags of stuff out of the house and I'll be following the hot spot challenges from Simple Mom to get the job done! Lent doesn't start until Wednesday, but I just couldn't wait!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Here is my mound of stuff I'm getting rid of!! I got a lot of extra space, one empty drawer, and almost an entire shelf left empty!! This added 5 bags of donation things to tally and I had a bag of trash! I already have 4 bags of donations sitting on our porch and I already dropped of 2 huge boxes of donations earlier this week which probably equal around 6 bags!! I'm just super excited to see the floor in the bottom of my closet!!!

Total Tally: 16 Bags