Project Simplify Week #5--The Big Finale

It is the 5th and final week of Simple Mom's Project Simplify event.  For me it has been 5 crazy weeks but I am so proud of the hard work and results!  This week, Tsh allowed us to pick our Hotspot.  At first this really annoyed me (I like to be told what to do ;)).  She had a list of suggestions and as I read them to S and he suggested that I take on the basement.

I laughed and told him that next week leading up to our yardsale and for the week after that, he and I would be doing that one together :)

I suggested I do the back deck,

but really I don't think the before/after pictures would be too dramatic ;)

I then thought of all the pictures I need to organize/scan and all of my computer files that need to be organized but I knew those projects would not bring the same satisfaction that the rest of the Hotspots had provided.  So, I decided on....The Kids Bathroom!

The Kids bathroom was "clean" to the passerby but open the vanity or the closet and you would find a whole other world.  Toiletries from the 1990's that had been moved from my college dorm, to many apartments and then settled in the cabinets were piled high.  I found tools, enough new toiletries and cleaning supplies to open a pharmacy, old medications, jewelry, piggy banks...you name it, It was in that BATHROOM.   Six trash/recycling bags later, the bathroom is just filled with up to date and useful materials.  I reorganized everything so that it functions for us at bathtime (moved kids towels into the bathroom) and I am so happy to now know where everything is!

 One of the many drawers of the vanity before/after

 one of the two cabinets before/after

 the dreaded closet before/after

I was tempted to throw in the linen closet this week for fun but after S's lecture on taking on too much....I decided to refrain.   There is always next week ;)

Our Theme for April--Renewal

Renewal seemed like the perfect theme for our month with the combination of Spring, Earth Day and Easter :) 

 Lil C glues raindrops on the Umbrella she decorated

 

Z's Umbrella (it says "April"), our song and our April Showers Window

Last week we talked all about Spring and Easter.  We learned a little song about April, we are keeping track of the rainy days this month to see if indeed April Showers Bring May Flowers, we decorated for Easter and S and the kids made umbrellas for our window :)

 Lil C's Flower (she colored it ;)), our Rain Chart and Z's Eggs

This week has been all about seeds :)  We have eaten seeds, read books about seeds, played with seeds, planted our tomato seeds, have worked to plan and prep our garden, and have learned all about photosynthesis.

 Z eating English peas and the seed kit that my mom got him

The rest of the month will be spent getting our compost pile up and running again (we are toying around the idea with vermiculite--worm composting), Z would like to see recycling in action (searching for an field trip), we will visit the Stonyfield Yogurt factory,  we will plant some saplings, Z wants to make robots out of recycled materials and we plan to do some Easter Crafts as well. 

  Our Countdown to Easter Chain and the April Garland we made.  It includes all that we will be learning about this month (Earth Day, Easter, Spring and Turkey...my dad is there for 5 weeks).

Happy Spring to You!

Supermom Dropout

My head is whirling as I write this post.  After a complete burnout moment today (I think I actually said to Caroline that I was over her?!?!?!?!), I melted to S on the phone.  As always, he was able to get to the root of the problem and helped me to realize once again that nobody can be Supermom.   I am on overload and trying to do too many things perfectly.  I need to take a step back, take a deep breath and re prioritize once again.

It was all going along pretty well for awhile.  As you know, I am on a super minimalize/simplify/spring cleaning kick and have been working so hard for the past 7 months to get this house in shape.  Throw in cooking most of our food from scratch (we try not to buy processed foods anymore), trying to stay on a strict budget (couponing for unprocessed foods is REALLY hard), "homeschooling Z" (homeschooling is in quotes because really all we do is play...that is what preschool is all about ;)), keeping to our daily routine/schedule (although Simplicity Parenting has helped me so much with this part of our lives), living the life of a start-up family and trying to keep our connections with friends and family....it is a lot to do.  So when I started my Power 90 exercise and diet regime this week....the camels back broke :( 

I love to have happy and loved kids, I love to have a clean house, I love to eat and make healthy and simple foods for my family, I NEED to stay on this crazy budget, I love being home with my kids full time (call me crazy), I LOVE and NEED to be around friends and family and honestly...I need to workout.  So how does one do it all? 

As S pointed out, you can't do it all PERFECTLY...it is impossible.  So he suggested putting all of the things I want to do down in order of priority and focus on the high priorities first.  Obviously the kids come first (always do) and making connections with family and friends come next.  As for the rest, it is important for me to continue on this simplification journey so I will continue to "obsess" over that.  However S pointed out that I am only capable of obsessing over one thing at a time.  When he heard I was back to counting calories, he had visions of my crazed Weight Watchers Days and begged me to stop.  He asked me to keep a food diary instead and just pay attention to what I eat (make sure I am getting enough protein, veggies etc.).  He is right...calorie counting makes me crazy, spring cleaning makes me crazy and two crazy things at a time is just too much.  I need to stop the calorie counting and tone down the crazy cleaning and I think my camels back will be good as new :)

Yikes!  Thanks for hanging with me through this post...I needed to get it all out :)  I am off to pour a glass of wine (do I have to write wine on my food journal??) and relax for the rest of the night :)

Trip to the Science Museum

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  For us it was great because S did not work all weekend!!!!  It was heavenly to relax and enjoy time with him.  He did get out on Sunday afternoon/evening to meet up with one of his best friends, but other than that he was all OURS.  Yes the sink is still broken (he has totally moved into the other bathroom), but we got some quality time in with him and that is what counts!  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the weekend so I am going to share some from last week :)

Our Second trip to the Local Science Museum this Month (got to love Library passes!!!)

 the bernoulli principle

 digging for fossils

 Inside the cow barn (yes my baby is on a leash ;))

  Pulley's and Robotics (that is my best friend La's little guy C)

  inside a submarine and playing with legos

gears with La :)

 fun with a cardboard ramp and the dishwasher box

Project Simplify Week #4--Pantry and Refrigerator

This Week's Hot Spot over at Simple Mom was the pantry and the refrigerator :)  I spent about two hours total over two days taking care of this chore and though it was not too tough, I am glad it is off the Spring Cleaning List :)  I took inventory while I was in there and I am feeling once again in control of our food.  

 

Tsh also asked us to consider while we cleaned, the types of food that is in our homes.  I have to say that over the last two years we have done a lot of work in that area.  We eat very few processed foods (and the snacks that we do eat have only a few ingredients that we can pronounce), we eat a lot of whole grains (switched to brown rice), try to buy produce that is local and in season (and organic if it is on the dirty dozen list) and order our meats from US Wellness or local farms (and really only eat meat 2-3 times per week).  By simplifying our diets we have also simplified and reduced the grocery budget and still eat really good and healthy foods.  Real Food on a Real Budget, Animal Vegetable Miracle and Food Rules are three books that really helped me with this simplification :)

pantry before, pantry after and pantry close up
I threw out a few things and tidied up but since my MIL and her best friend organized it before Lil' C was born, I have done a good job of keeping it neat :)
(can you tell we are at the end of a two week grocery shop??)

 

Bakers Cabinet Before, Bakers Cabinet After

I did  ALOT of work in here, threw out ALOT and moved the spices back to this space.  

This spice move freed up a drawer :)  I threw out sooo many old spices.  

The garbage still smells DELICIOUS!!!

Stuff I pulled out of Bakers Cabinet to keep and then I put my ingredients in Canning Jars :)
Looks so much better than the plastic bags that they were in!

Fridge Before, Fridge After
After the last power outage I cleaned this out so there wasn't too much to do
We are so frugal now that we really don't waste food very often. 
I think I had to get rid of a half of a lemon and two old pickles.  In the old days I would be throwing out half of the refrigerator every two weeks!

 Freezer Before, Freezer After
Much cleaner, much more organized :)
 All I had to get rid of was an old melted popsicle that was hidden :)


Thanks again Tsh over at Simple Mom for Week 4's Hotspot.  It was something that has been on my list for awhile (especially the bakers cabinet) and I am glad it is now checked off :)

Happy Cleaning!