Home Reset 2020- Laundry Room

My laundry room is where all the odds and ends of my life end up.  The laundry room houses our donation boxes, clothes that our daughters have outgrown, our old baby equipment, tools, craft supplies, deep freezer, and extra bedding.  When I go through the house, the laundry room is the landing place for items that I need to deal with.   It can quickly become a disaster.

I was able to tackle my whole basement over the long weekend while my husband and children were sick.  We were confined at home and the kids were content to just hang out and play.  It was a lot of work but it only took a few hours to sort everything.

Before:

See?  I really meant that this room is my landing zone.  This room felt overwhelming, but it just took some dedicated time and it all came together rather quickly.  I think that this room could have been much less overwhelming if I had made an effort to donate as I went through rooms and if I sorted through the girls' clothes as they outgrew it.  We don't have a donation center where I live, so I often just pile it up until we make a trip into the city.  Sorting through my children's clothes is often easier when I have had a bit of time and space to evaluate what I really want to keep.  This room has only looked this terrible for the 8 weeks it has taken me to go through my entire house.  I can live with that.

After:

Ahhhh.... It is so much better.  You can still see our donations piled in the right side of the photo.  Those have since been taken to the city.  We came up with 8 boxes for donation.  I also had a full bag of garbage come out of this room.  

I sorted through my kids' clothes.  I kept clothes for my youngest daughter, though I limited the number of items that I kept.  The items are sorted into diaper boxes according to size.  I know that there are 'prettier' ways of storing this, but I like to use items that I already own.  I labelled each box with the size and stashed them on the top shelf.  Items in poor repair were made into rags or thrown away.  I donated anything that I didn't think we would use.

I went through our craft supplies, games and puzzles.  I only kept what we use.  I did the same with the baby items and clothes, as we are open to having another child.  I tried to keep anything we might need for another baby.  We still had much more than we needed so I donated some of the items.  I went through our actual laundry supplies.  I recycled a few empty containers and organized what was left.

This room seems so open and functional now.  I am so happy that I was able to have the time to tackle this project.

Checklist:

• Go through items.  Get rid of anything that is broken or in disrepair.  Removed items that don't belong in the room.  
• Wipe shelves.
• Put items that belong back into place
• Vacuum floors.
• Clean appliances.

Friday Finds- Finding Fred

I have decided to share something with you every Friday that has brightened my day or brought value to my life.  This week I want to tell you about the podcast Finding Fred .  The podcast is about Mr. Rogers and his work. 

My daughter's Daniel Tiger birthday cake.

I don't have memories of Mr. Rogers as a child.  I watched a lot of Canadian programming as a child and Mr. Rogers wasn't a show that I had seen a lot of.  Flash forward a few years and I was looking for a show for my daughter to enjoy.  I found Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood from the Mr. Rogers' company.  It is a great show that speaks to children on their level.  It talks about feelings and how to sort through them.  It is filled with love and sweet songs.  My daughter loved it and so did I.  The show is based largely on Mr. Rogers' work and uses many of the songs that he used on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. 

This podcast delves into Mr. Rogers' perspective on life and how he used the radical act of love to make generations of children feel seen, appreciated and loved just the way they are.  The podcast asks us to consider how Mr. Rogers would respond to our world and challenges us to meet the world around us with love.  The podcast is wonderful and I really hope you take the time to check it out.

Happy Friday, friends!

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Planning 2020

I don't have any outfit pictures for you today.  I spent most of my last two weeks in sweat pants, taking care of sick kids.  We have had a few warm days and the days are getting longer.  I just received my seeds for my garden in the mail and I am in a spring frame of mind.   I though that I could write a bit about my planning process for my next capsule wardrobe.  I plan to start using my new capsule wardrobe on March 17.

1.)  Spring is a strange mix of  winter and summer with some in between temperatures, as well.  I will need clothes to suit all of these temperatures.

2.)  I love colour in spring.  I will be adding more colour to my wardrobe this season.

3.)  The warmer weather makes it much easier to wear dresses.  I like wearing dresses so I am very excited about this.

4.)  Size and fit.  My body has changed in the last six months.  I made a few purchase to account for my body changes.  My old clothes don't all fit and I want to be comfortable.

My colour inspiration for my next wardrobe comes from my garden, of course!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

2020 Home Reset- Kid's Closets

I have two daughters and they each have a bedroom.  They are young (2 and 5) and I often find myself just shoving things back into their closets in the hustle of our daily lives.  I tackled their closets  during my home reset and it went a lot faster than I anticipated.

Miss. Em's Closet (2 year old)

Before:

I pulled everything out and removed anything we no longer use or that she has outgrown.  I wiped down shelves and replaced the items.

After:

Miss. E's closet (5 year old)

Before:

Miss. E's closet took a little longer, as she is old enough to help and provide opinions.  We took everything out.  We removed items that Miss. E has outgrown or won't wear.  We went through her jewelry box and she donated a few things that she doesn't use.  We went through her shoes and "small things jar" (where she keeps her trinkets).  She donated a few things and threw away a few things.

After:

Ahhhhh... So much better, right?

Checklist:

• Remove every single thing from the closet.
• Get rid of anything in poor repair, that does not fit, that doesn't get used.
• Wipe the shelves, vacuum the floor.
• Replace items neatly.

Winter Capsule Wardrobe- 19.02.2020

I don't really have a theme for this week's wardrobe post.  It is a lot of casual wear which is what you can find me in daily.  I found a new way to wear my sweater dress by tucking it into my jeans.  It looked cute and gave more versatility to the dress.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Happy Family Day!

Today is Family Day in Saskatchewan.  We are celebrating by staying home to recuperate from our colds.  I have been working hard to reset more areas of our home but I won't be posting another room until next week.  Happy Family Day!  I hope you have a lovely Monday.

Winter Capsule Wardrobe- 12.02.2020

This year, I actually got a babysitter for Valentine's Day (well, actually the day before Valentine's day...).  I came up with a few date night looks for this post.  I always try to include a few dressy options in my capsule wardrobes in case something comes up.  I also like to use accessories (scarves, jewelry, etc.) to dress up my outfits.  Fun fact:  I was wearing the red scarf from this post the night I met my hubby.

This one is quite casual, but I like the pop of colour with the leopard print.

Of course, my beloved jumpsuit had to make an appearance.  This jacket is blush pink, even though it looks kinda beige here.

Happy Wednesday, friends!