The Saturday Spruce-Up – Back Porch Spring Cleaning

March 31st, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up – Back Porch Spring Cleaning)

All winter, every winter, my unused back porch turns into a catch-all room, a storage room, gathering dust and odds and ends including old lamps, stuff for Salvation Army, and who knows what else? Yesterday I spent naptime moving furniture and stuff, vacuuming, scrubbing and DE-CLUTTERING. It feels so good to have my cute little porch back.

Here’s the shameful before picture with a winter’s worth of junk:

Yikes! That's embarrassing... and this is the entrance we and guests use every time.

The view from the back door. Layers of dust and junk. I do like the bamboo shades though.

I included this one because you can really see the dust build-up under the bench. It's awful. Why am I posting these on the internet?! What is wrong with me?!

Okay, so here are the after pictures that (somewhat) redeem me as a wife, mother, and human being.

Aaaah. Much better. It's all scrubbed, washed, vacuumed. Much, much better.

This is a doll clothes armoire I had when I was a little girl. I love it as an end table!

No more dust under that bench!

Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?

Have a great weekend!

The Saturday Spruce-Up: The Kid Emergency Bag

March 24th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: The Kid Emergency Bag)

Okay, so this bag I keep in my van isn’t for actual emergencies, but more for normal “kid” emergencies. We were at a local indoor playground recently (Going Bonkers) and my newly potty trained two-year-old wet her pants. I frantically searched the diaper bag for anything that would fit her, then ran out to the van while my little girl cried quietly because she still wanted to play.

Out in the van, the only thing I could find was a pair of gym shorts (and it was below freezing out) that my four-year-old hadn’t quite grown into yet. Why did I have shorts in my van in the middle of January? Because sometimes I can be a bit way too unorganized, and this pair happened to fall out of a bag of hand-me-downs we had received from another family.

I brought the shorts, thinking we were just going to have to make them work, when a good Samaritan–another mom I barely know–offered her son’s extra pair of sweat pants without a second thought. All I could do was keep saying, “Thank you! Thank you so much!” And thinking to myself, “I wish I was her right now. I wish I was smart enough to have extra clothes for my kids. Why am I NOT a type-A personality?!”

Then I discovered that it doesn’t take a type-A personality to put together a kid emergency bag. Here’s what’s in mine:

The Van Emergency Bag for Kids

  • Diapers
  • Wipes
  • Extra set of clothes for each kid, including socks and underwear
  • Jacket or sweater for each kid
  • Jammies for the baby

I just put it all in a bag, and it stays in the trunk of my van. Easy as pie! (I never understood this saying… it’s not really that easy to make pie.)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I also found a car emergency kit placed in an adorably decorated plastic wipes case on the blog Rips in My Jeans (found via Pinterest, of course!). So I decided to make my own. Since I know I’ll never make the time to actually cover the box in cute fabrics, I’m just using Tupperware. Here’s what’s in my box:

The Van Emergency Box

I like that the Tupperware is clear so I can see everything inside without taking off the lid. This piece is a square #2 Modular Mate with a blue lid.

  • grocery bag for trash
  • hand sanitizer
  • Wet Ones
  • ibuprofen
  • lotion
  • white petroleum jelly (good to use for diaper rash cream or lip balm or for small cuts)
  • tissues
  • a safety pin
  • a small amount of cash & change
  • non-perishable snacks (I have Craisins)
  • a hair tie
  • a pen
  • bubbles (my maniacs go absolutely nuts for bubbles)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Now I can feel like one of those actually-making-Pinterest-projects, wore-her-skinny-jeans-home-from-the-hospital, super-organized-tidy-house b moms… even though I’m really not.

The Saturday Spruce-Up – Trading "Luck of the Irish" for Faith

March 17th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up – Trading "Luck of the Irish" for Faith)

Today’s Saturday Spruce-Up is a quick fix in attitude and outlook on the wonderful holiday of St. Patrick’s Day. Jeff Cavins, a reputable Catholic author and speaker, posted this on Facebook today (with my highlights in bold).

Today we are giving up the “Luck of the Irish” for the “Faith of the Irish”.Photo courtesy of Jeff Cavins' facebook page

How many times have you discussed with your spouse or colleague what you would do if you won the Powerball? You can get lost in that dream world of “what if.”

Projecting out into the future what life would be like if you had the winning numbers, creates an illusion that more than likely will never come true. Instead of putting your hope in the lottery, put your hope in the same God that St. Patrick put his hope in.
Today for Lent, let’s emphasize that we are not dependent upon luck, such as Powerball and pulltabs but the providence of God and His faithfulness. 

Jeremiah the prophet said, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
There are things in life that are more important than material things. Jeremiah goes on to say, “There is hope for your future, says the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country (Jeremiah 31:17).

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

Just to show you how serious I am about this, I’m not even eating Lucky Charms for breakfast today.

PS: The Irish have a longstanding history of spreading the Catholic faith around the world. We need to pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters in Ireland today.

My own plans fall through all the time, but I trust in God that He knows what He’s doing, and He’ll take care of me. Why Catholic? this year is focused on prayer. Last week and the next few weeks, we are focusing on the “Our Father”. Although many of us can recite it without even thinking about it, the challenge is to really think about each line and what it means. Pray with me (and think about each line!)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

“Thy will be done” is the phrase I’m focusing on this week. Which parts of the “Our Father” are the most challenging to you? Which parts comfort you?

The Saturday Spruce-Up…

February 18th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up…)

…was pretty boring this week. I cleaned out my medicine cabinet, my entire laundry room, and my towel cabinet in my bathroom, but nothing that makes for good photos.

So instead, I thought I’d post a song I discovered a couple of years ago: the ONLY song I’ve ever heard with my name in it! And they even spelled it right!

Bryn by Vampire Weekend

Ion displacement
Won’t work in the basement 
Especially when i’m not with you
Here in the heartland
A feelin so startlin
I dont know what i should do

Oh Bryn, you see through the dark
Right past the fireflies that sleep in my heart
You know its easy to see
Wait for the season to come back to me

Nights by the ocean
A westerly motion
That moves california to sea
Eyes like a seagull
No kansas palm beetle
Could ever come close to that free

Oh Bryn, you see through the dark
Right past the fireflies that sleep in my heart
You know its easy to see
Wait for the season to come back to me

I don’t really know what the song is about, except that he likes a girl named Bryn. I may not be “Sweet Caroline” or “My Sharona”, but this is one for all the Bryn’s out there!

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Saturday Spruce-Up: Upper Kitchen Cabinets

February 11th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in 2012 Resolutions | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: Upper Kitchen Cabinets)

This week’s Saturday Spruce-Up again is super lame. I don’t even have before pictures. Enjoy.

I took everything out of my kitchen cabinets, wiped out the insides with Clorox spray, and only put back in the things I actually use.

I also organized my "big spoon" drawer. I removed everything I don't use on a regular basis.

The box of stuff I'm donating, including an entire set of dishes, a few bags and purses, clothes, cook books, etc. I love de-cluttering!

Told ya, lame. But at least you got to see the mint green paint and amazing vintage contact paper inside my kitchen cabinets…

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The Saturday Spruce-Up: Double Feature

February 4th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in 2012 Resolutions | Living Simply | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: Double Feature)

The last couple weeks and weekends have been a little too busy around here, and I feel like life goes too quickly when we’ve got too many activities going on. That said, I haven’t been able to make as much progress on the house as I’d like, but I did get one little area under control.

First let me explain this area. It is our front entry way, but it is the least use part of our house. We have a big screened in back porch, and everyone enters through there into the kitchen, not the front. So this tiny little area has been an hot spot for me to pile junk.

So just looking at this tells me how long it’s been since I had this little space all cleared out. There is a baby swing in there, people, and my baby can already walk. That means it’s been a good nine or ten months since it was used. There are boxes of random papers, “projects” I’ve been meaning to work on, and a tipped over hand-me-down magazine rack filled with old Better Homes & Gardens. Plus this entryway needs drywall and a paint job, but that’s a different project for a different day.

Okay, I admit, this is a lame project for the Saturday Spruce-Up. Lame. Check out the “after.”

So it still needs drywall, trim, and paint, but at least I can get to the front door (and even get it open!) if we ever needed it as an emergency exit or if a stray pizza guy comes to the wrong door.

Now for the awesome part of the Saturday Spruce-Up. But Bryn, you already showed us so much amazing change in your house, how could there be more?

Well, folks, be prepared to be stunned. Presenting: My son and his flippin’ sweet preschool ‘fro.

Oh yeah, I had to include Peach in there too because she's awesome.

Well if I had Peach, I had into include Vanilla too, right?**

Yes, our son had a super sweet four-year-old white boy afro. It took forever to get it all washed and the shampoo all out, plus it was starting to look funny unless I gelled it. And am I willing to gel a FOUR-YEAR-OLD’s hair every morning? Unlikely.

I went to the gym to work out one Thursday evening and here is what I returned to find (in a fort of course!)

I'm not sure what's happening with the elephant and the black stallion...

That’s right, my honey buzzed TT’s hair while I was gone. I wouldn’t have objected, so it was a really fun surprise. No, he no longer has his sweet ‘fro, but we have no more crazy bed head, and no more gel. Nice.

So there ya go. One lame and one awesome Spruce-Up. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

** P.S. The picture above with TT & Vanilla is the TV I mentioned in my Super Bowl post yesterday. See? We are definitely living like no one else now so we can LIVE like no one else later. Thanks Dave Ramsey.

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The Saturday Spruce-Up – Coat Closet

January 21st, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in 2012 Resolutions | Living Simply | The Saturday Spruce-Up | Uncategorized - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up – Coat Closet)

This week’s Saturday Spruce-Up is the big closet in our bathroom. Since we moved in six years ago, this closet has been a catch-all–just throw something in and quickly shut the door. When I actually opened it up and cleaned everything out, I couldn’t believe how much stuff we had packed into that tight little space. Here are some before shots:

This isn't even a true before shot, that would have been WAY too embarrassing...

Crowded, unorganized shelves, lots of clutter, and general dustiness

 

I am attempting to turn it into a little mudroom. Our 1400 square foot house is always tight on space, so I want to eke a little more use out of this big closet. I still want to paint the inside walls and get something to contain the shoes, but check out these “in progress” shots:

We're getting there!

Now I have a place to put two baskets of dirty laundry so my bathroom doesn't get taken over, a basket for winter hats, mittens, and scarves within the kids' reach, and a shelf for my diaper bag. Love it when everything has a home!

And we even have room for coats in our coat closet! Plus, the shelves are organized with gift bags, duffel bags, and stuff to sell on ebay.:)

No fancy-schmancy makeovers here, but at least we now have a functional mudroom instead of an embarrassing mess. Have a great weekend!

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The Saturday Spruce-Up: My Tupperware Cabinet

January 14th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in 2012 Resolutions | Living Simply | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: My Tupperware Cabinet)

Today starts a new (hopefully) weekly series to get my house spruced up by summer. Welcome to the Saturday Spruce-Up. I am hoping to post different projects around my house, declutter-ization and organization in our little “That 70’s Show” house–notice the groovy brown vinyl floor and mint green insides of our cabinets shown below.

Today I organized my Tupperware cabinet. Okay, so it’s not a very big project, but I have to start somewhere, right?

So here is the before:

I may have thrown a bit of a mommy-fit last night looking for a lid of a piece of Tupperware I was using for leftovers. Can’t blame the kids for this one…

Anyway, as you can see, it was a crazy mess even before my little outburst, with papers and random items I have hoarded crap that needed to be thrown out or to be found a new home.

I spent a couple hours–yes it took hours–to go through the entire cabinet, I even found some papers and junk mail from 2009. Yay. After everything was cleared out, I finally had room to put the Tupperware I use back in, and I am even getting rid of some of it that I never use. I’m hoppin’ back on the declutter train!

Here is the after:

Aaahhh. Much better, and I even have all the lids together. I’m taking just one step at a time, and I’m on my way to ridding my house of CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome, thank you, FlyLady.net) for good.

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