Time for some professional help

I finally bit the bullet and accepted that I can't do it alone.  I've tried.  But I really can't do it. 

So I contacted a professional organizer and had her come in for a consult.  And it turns out I'm not that far gone!  There's still hope!

I have a list now and have already gotten started on it.  Hopefully by Christmas, the upstairs will be more manageable and I can tackle the office *shudder*. 

I just need the accountability

Well, I haven't posted in a bit.  And my house shows it.

I have no idea why my cleaning habits seem to correlate to how often I post on the blog, but I'm using this Monday to get myself back on track.  Especially since the hubby is home sick today so I can have {some} help with the kids.

I've also noticed that for the most part, I'm pretty good at getting the daily and weekly stuff done, but I haven't ventured into the monthly stuff.  So this week, I'm going to just focus on the normal tasks and hopefully I can start adding the bigger stuff soon.

One plan is to get up earlier.  I was up at 4am this morning to go line up for kindergarten registration, so hopefully I can start getting up before the kids, at around 6am and get a head start.  I'll see how it works!

Sometimes it just helps to have a little help

With the holiday season fast approaching, and with many events happening at my house this year, including Christmas dinner, I need to find a way to get my house in order.  Overall, it hasn't been horrible, but sometimes, as mentioned in a previous post, you can't get to everything and some stuff starts to slide.

Lately, in my house, that's been the laundry.  Just when I thought I had been doing a pretty good job of keeping it up, I realized that all three hampers in my room were full.  I guess I had just been on top of the kids clothes.  Darn.

So yesterday, while I was out at a football game, my wonderful husband did all the laundry.  Man did it ever feel good to come home to that!  Now I can get back to focusing on other areas of the house.



Like the rest of the house!

Fresh Start....again

All it took was a weekend.  A long weekend, in fact.  And was it ever long.  In between trying to celebrate Canada Day, we did a HUGE clean up in the whole house.  Re-organized almost the entire upstairs.  And there are still a few little areas that need to be finished up, but it looks a TON better.

Sometimes I just need to power through it, get it all done, and then the maintenance on it is much easier.  I've also set up my new app and if I can remember to check it everyday, or perhaps a few times per day, and can take a few minutes to get those tasks done, then I should be able to stay on track.

Here's hoping that I have a clutter free summer.  And some good weather.

Playing Catch Up-almost at one year!

Being sick sucks. Having sick kids sucks. Being sick and having a sick three year old and a healthy 8 month old sucks even more. And then there's a sick husband, housework, dirty laundry, dirty diapers, clean laundry, dishes, ugh. And of course, you can't keep on top of all this while you're sick, so instead of being able to enjoy feeling better, you get to deal with the house first.

So we're finally feeling better, it's safe to say we are no longer sick, but the house definitely needs some love. Clutter-EVERYWHERE. And I just remembered that the end of February marks one year since we moved. And I've always said, it takes a year to get settled into a new house. So not only does this house need a good solid cleaning, I have just under two weeks to finish up any 'move in' type of things that I had wanted to do. More artwork on the walls, just a general sense of feeling settled in the house.


So today, Day 1 of Operation Overhaul, I'm going to re-de-clutter the house. Major tidying up to do. Will go along and dust while I'm at it. I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm sure I'll figure that out as I go along cleaning today.

The storm before the calm

There must be something in the air. I have two close friends who are moving this weekend, both have almost 3 year olds, one has twins. Good luck to both of you, I can't wait to see after pictures once you guys are all settled in. I have another friend who is rearranging her craft room and kitchen nook with an almost 3 year old and a newborn, and I decided to rearrange my playroom. I have to say that other than the pile of stuff that needs to find a home elsewhere in my house, I LOVE the new playroom. I have a reading/quiet corner, an art center, a newborn area and a play house/imagination station. Toys are organized into bins with a play house bin, a train bin and a small toy bin. My bookshelf is organized and the toy box is clean. This makes it easier to clean up, which means it's easier to clean the rest of the house.

But the process can be so discouraging. In order to do a really thorough job, you have to basically make a huge mess by pulling everything out. So as moms, with toddlers who are experts at distracting you and pulling you away from what you're doing, it's nearly impossible to finish in one sitting. Meaning that in order to actually finish the job, you have to put the mess away, or whatever of it you can, only to pull it out again when you *think* you have enough time to finish. I say *think* because with toddlers (and those of us who also have newborns) you NEVER have enough time.

So to anyone who is thinking about rearranging a room, and to my good friends who are in the middle of moving, and probably in the middle of a pile of boxes, don't get discouraged. It's all a part of the process. And the end result is MORE than worth it. And when you're done with the boxes, I'm sure your kids will LOVE making forts and playhouses!