February Goal Setting

Do you set goals for your household and yourself?  I used to but then stopped after having our second child because my goals would never be reached.  Once I stopped pitying myself because poor old me didn't check everything off my list for the day, I started accomplishing more around my house AND began being happier with my kids.  What is the correlation between accomplishing home goals and my happiness as it relates to my children?  Well, I'm a total Type A personality with a super-sized side of slob. Prior to having kids, getting through a goal list that included twenty items a day was no problem, in fact, it was fun. Once babies came into the picture it was a different story. Accomplishing one goal a day was sometimes, okay...most times, a challenge and I began feeling resentment toward my children. It's pretty embarrassing to admit that and even saying it to you now makes me feel ashamed. However, one day a light bulb went off in my brain and the solution I found was to make my goal list OUR goal  list.

We now begin every morning reading over the goals we made the night before. I then ask for suggestions on how each child feels he can help me so that we reach our daily goals. This tactic is working wonderfully in many ways. The first, it's giving the boys a sense of pride and accomplishment. It's also teaching them to live each day with a plan and a purpose. Lastly, it's bringing us all together in a positive way because when they stay with their task I give them a ton of praise.
 

Here are the items we will base our February goals around.  Of course, I will post updates with the final product for each area listed above. Before I do that, here are pictures of the current state of affairs. 

Take a deep breath........

Cookbooks need purged

Freezer needs help

Craft space and pantry  

Food storage area

Garage - I'm not yet brave enough to show you a picture of my garage because if you were to judge me by my garage you would 100% believe I'm a legit hoarder.  There's a long story to explain why my garage looks messy, but the real story is we live on a three-story townhouse with too many steps for a pregnant woman with two toddlers. Walking down to the garage to clean and organize is the very last thing I want to do. HOWEVER, I WILL CLEAN AND ORGANIZE it this coming month. 

If you feel the way I used to feel regarding not being able to reach goals with kiddies around, I strongly urge you to make an "Our goals list".  Keep me posted on your goals and share some pictures of your final product. 

Our Tubby-Time Toy Terrors Are Over!

Do you have a love/hate relationship with bathtub toys like me?  I LOVE them for obvious reasons....they keep the kids happy and quiet (well, at least not fighting) for thirty minutes while I fold laundry while listening to Wendy Williams from afar.  I HATE them because they lay in the tub or all around the bathroom while not in use.

We used to store them under the bathroom sink, but ultimately a child would get out of the tub, sudsy and soaking wet.  Then I would freak because water would be everywhere.  I also tried the laid back approach which was letting all of the toys in the bottom of the tub, but it seemed like every evening someone would get a puncture wound when attempting to get in the tub.  We've had punctured feet, hands, legs, and tooshies.  So, it was obviously time to find a solution that would actually work for us.

By now you may have figured out that my favorite shopping spots are the Target dollar bins and the Dollar Tree.  I always begin with the Dollar Tree because everything is $1.00, and most of the time I buy stuff that is 2/$1.00.  Target's dollar bins are awesome, but it never fails that I walk around and buy other crap.....I mean, wonderful stuff that I'm sure I'll use someday. ;)  For this project I didn't want to spend more than $5.00, so off to the Dollar Tree I went!

The items I would need popped out at me almost immediately.  The bins were 2/$1.00 and I found 10 suction cup hooks in a pack for $1.00!  And, ladies and gentlemen here is my $2.00 solution to a problem I've had for the last four years!!!

This is super easy to do.  Just add a little water to the back of each suction cup, line two up in a straight line, let sit for a while, then attach the lip of the bin to the hooks.

Do you have a tub toy solution that you'd like to share?  We'd love to hear from you!

Check out these wonderful blogs that this post is linked up with.

Remodelaholic
A Bowl Full of Lemons
 

A Dark and Cool Place to Call Home

How many of you wonderful people actually have a designated spot for onions and potatoes?  For the past four years (I'm not even joking), upon returning home from the grocery store, I have plopped the bags of onions and potatoes on top of the counter and that was their home until all used up.   It was a gorgeous look. ;)

In an effort to make things pretty AND functional I began searching for the perfect spot. By golly, I found it, and it's perfectly perfect!  We have a cooktop stove with cabinets underneath that held my mixer, oils, toaster, and a toaster oven that takes up a tremendous amount of space and has been used twice in five years.

After finding homes for everything but the mixer, the entire right side of my cabinet was empty and calling longingly to the potatoes and onions.  Next, I had to find something to hold said veggies. Voila!  About a year ago Target had stackable bins on clearance so I bought two for the boys' room, but they just didn't work the way I envisioned. Yep, you know where this is going.....

Doesn't it look so neat, tidy, and functional?!  Onions are on the top because they're used daily, and potatoes are in the bottom bin. The little holes in the bins ensure that the potatoes won't get damp and gross.  This was a huge victory, and the best part is every time I open that cabinet I'm proud of myself.  Lame, but true.








This post is also linked here:
Remodelaholic