2016 Decluttering Challenge: Part 6 (Bonus Room Bookshelves)

 In June, Savannah and I organized her games, art supplies, and toys that are stored in the built-in bookshelves in our bonus room:

After

We selected black, gray, and white storage containers from Ikea and Wal-Mart that coordinate with Tal's other accessories in his man cave. On the top shelf, the black magazine holders contain a few of Savannah's favorite books and notebooks. (The rest are on her bookcase in her bedroom.) We also put some of her art supplies in a rotating organizer and labeled the markers, scissors, glue, and pencils so they are easily accessible:

The middle shelf contains labeled shoeboxes that are filled with card games, small games, Tinkertoys, flashcards, K'Nex, markers, pencils/colored pencils, crayons, paint, leveled books, puzzles, and Rainbow Loom and bracelet making items:

On the bottom shelf, Savannah stores her board games, make-up and hair accessories, and Legos. Since Savannah and I labeled all of her games and art supplies a few months ago, Savannah has done an excellent job keeping the bookshelves neat and organized. Whenever she removes an item from the bookshelf, Savannah puts it back where it belongs. I'm so proud of her!

2016 Decluttering Challenge: Part 5 (Mud Room Cabinets)

As part of my 2016 Decluttering Challenge, I purged and organized our kitchen mudroom cabinets and cubbies:

Before

After

To get started, I removed everything from the cabinets. Then, I grouped similar items, put them in several plastic shoeboxes and drawer containers from Wal-Mart, and labeled the contents with my label maker:

The left cabinet contains mostly office supplies (manila folders, address labels, stickers, staples, paint chips, batteries, punchers, command strips, paper clips, stamps, checks, calculators, tape, stapler, envelopes, pens, scissors, white-out, and rubber bands):

The middle cabinet has craft paint, spray paint, extension cords, furniture movers, kids' paint, and greeting cards:

The right cabinet has light bulbs, cookbooks, lighters, matches, flashlights, fireworks, lint roller, magnifying glass, camera, camera charger, and lint roller:

 I also purged this storage container that had been sitting on our kitchen counter for months. I originally thought the container would be a great way to organize Savannah's markers and colored pencils, but the sections were too deep. After I cleaned out the storage container, I donated it to Goodwill, so it wouldn't become a clutter magnet again in the future:

2016 Decluttering Challenge: Part 4 (Medicine Cabinet)

At the beginning of 2016, I set a goal to declutter 1-2 areas of our home each month. Over the last few months, I've worked on simplifying and organizing our home (even though I haven't taken the time to blog about my progress).

One of my goals was to tackle our medicine cabinet (which is located in our upper kitchen cabinets, so our meds will stay dry and out of our girls' hands):

Before

To begin, I emptied and wiped out the sticky containers. I threw away old, expired, and empty meds, as well as items that we hadn't used recently. Then, I sorted the products into simple categories that make sense for our family (first aid, pain and itch, allergies, cold and flu, Savannah and Hadley, miscellaneous, and sunscreen and bug spray). To save time, I reused the same labels. Our family loves our clean and organized medicine cabinet!

After

Crisis Averted

Over the weekend, our family discovered that Hadley (who will be 2 years old on October 10) is allergic to shrimp (and maybe all shellfish). While our family was eating jambalaya for dinner, Hadley immediately broke out in red welts all over her body. Her eyes got red and swollen. Hadley started rubbing her tummy and arms like she was itchy. She kept sticking out her tongue. Then, she vomited several times. 

Although Hadley hadn't eaten any shrimp for dinner, she had an allergic reaction when she ate the rice and sausage that was mixed in with the shrimp. 

Tal and I gave Hadley some Benadryl, and her symptoms disappeared quickly. Thankfully, Hadley didn't have trouble breathing, so we didn't have to call 911. However, from now on, we will have read food labels carefully and be extra careful when we eat at restaurants.

Bike Ride

Tonight was a beautiful night for a family bike ride on our street!

Hadley (23 months)

Potty Training

Earlier this week, Hadley, who will be 2 on October 10, pooped in the potty for the first time! We are so proud of our big girl!

Kitchen Makeover: Part 1 (Parakeet Green Door)

Earlier this week, I painted the exterior door in our kitchen 

(that leads outside to our screened porch and backyard):

Before

I used Parakeet by Sherwin Williams. 

It's a lime green with some brightness, but it's not bright enough to be neon green (thankfully):

I love how our new green door coordinates with our living room rug, couch pillows, 

and striped mud room cushion (shown below):

Our kitchen door is a great place to have fun with color and to carry our color scheme of lime green, light blue, and navy blue throughout our open living, kitchen, and mud room areas!

  

Trash Can Enclosure: Part 3 (Reveal!)

Our trash can enclosure is done!

In the past, our trash cans were an eyesore from the street: 

Now when I stand on our sidewalk, the side of our house appears neat and attractive with our trash can enclosure: 

In July, Tal dug four holes and set the posts on the side of our house:

Next, he built the platform and ramp for our trash cans:

Then, he installed the rails and lattice: 

Finally, I gave the enclosure a couple coats of white paint:

 Our trash can enclosure cost around $250, which includes wood, lattice, and paint. This wasn't a glamorous project, but our new trash can enclosure has definitely improved our curb appeal!

Almost 2

Check out Hadley, who is wearing braids like Elsa from Frozen. I can't believe our princess will be 2 years old on October 10!

 

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched, 

but they capture everyday moments from the last couple weeks that I want to remember forever.

Hadley (22 months) loves riding on Daddy's shoulders:

In 2017, Tal and I are planning to start updating our laundry room and 3 bathrooms. Over the last few weeks, we have been shopping for tile and developing a design plan. We like the tile collection below. It is an off-white marble-like porcelain tile with grey and brown veining. The collection includes 5 different sizes of tile with same subtle pattern. To keep our laundry room and bathrooms cohesive, we plan to use tile from the same collection...but alternate the sizes and shapes to keep the rooms interesting. For example, we are thinking about using the hex tile on the bathroom floor in the half bathroom, as well as on the shower floor in the master bathroom. We might use the large subway tiles on the walls of the master bathroom shower but lay them in a herringbone pattern in the laundry room. 

Hadley makes me nervous when she wears Savannah's glasses:

 Savannah LOVES her name plate and initials (SEA in Seastar) on her bike:

Our family has been soaking up the last few weeks of summer by swimming at Falls Lake once a week.Check out Tal and Hadley below. We have the beach practically to ourselves!

Savannah wanted me to take a picture of her with the orange Halloween shirt that she picked out to wear at the pumpkin farm: 

Savannah took a selfie wearing a chef hat:

On Labor Day, the girls and I went to the mall...

...where we played in the play area and went out to lunch:

Savannah did a great job writing about how to be a good citizen:

When Savannah was 20 months old, she dressed up as a ladybug for Halloween (shown below):

A few days ago, I got the ladybug costume out of our attic, so Hadley could wear it for Halloween this year. Savannah thought it was hilarious that she could still fit into the costume...6 years later!

Today Tal and I enjoyed a rare, impromptu lunch date (at Pizza Hut) while Savannah was at school and Hadley was at her babysitter's house. I had the day off from school. Tal called in sick to work, so he could get some rest and go to urgent care for an asthma attack. (Being around the hay and corn at the pumpkin farm on Saturday triggered his allergies and asthma.) Thankfully, Tal is on the road to recovery after doing a breathing treatment, getting some meds, and sleeping most of the day: