A New Training Plan

The good news is that it's February 11th and I've actually kept up at least part of my New Year's resolutions.

The bad news is that it's not the part where I write more on my blog.

For those of you paying attention, that means that I've made our bed every single day since the start of 2013! It might not happen until three in the afternoon, but it happens. And I know some of you might be all like, "Not impressed." I don't blame you. It's probably a totally normal occurrence for most people. But it should be obvious to you that I, especially when it comes to matters of staying organized and mess free, am not like most people.

I need to start small. I need clear-cut directions. If I get overwhelmed or intimidated I lose focus. Remember when my sister helped me get organized? It didn't all stick, but the parts that did involved a label maker and specific instructions on where things go. Our bathroom closet is filled with sets of plastic drawers that say things like "First Aid" or "Dental" or "Shaving Needs" and in a shocking turn of events, I can go to those drawers almost two years after Kristin helped me set them up and find Neosporin or razor cartridges or nail files exactly where they're supposed to be.

I'm also this way, I've realized, when it comes to running. For so many years, I would think "I want to be a runner! I'm going to go running!" And then I would lace up my shoes, hit the pavement, and feel like keeling over ten minutes later, muttering curse words under my breath and vowing never to run again because running sucks. Then I read an article about this plan called the "Couch to 5k". You start small - like running for 30 seconds at a time. But it doesn't suck at first, so you keep at it, and then before you know it you're eight weeks in and you can run 3.1 miles without stopping. There is a specific schedule, and if you follow it, it works. I've actually done this program at least three times - once before Mike and I got married, another when Anna was about nine months old, and I finished it again a few weeks ago. I never, ever, thought I could be a runner, and then I ran two half marathons in one year. Luckily, my friend Katie and I just decided to train for a 10k, because I know that I need to follow a training schedule to stay motivated.

So I guess my bed-making resolution was kind of my attempt to start "training" for a more organized house. I'll probably be in training for a reeeeally long time, but that's ok. It's working. Our bedroom is staying neater. It's amazing what a smoothed bedspread and fluffed-up pillows will do for your overall attitude - it's spilling over into how often I deal with the pile of clothes I let accumulate at the foot of the bed and how often I vacuum. Maybe I can call it my "Slob to Neat Freak" training plan? And maybe, just maybe, it could actually work?

All you neat freaks out there - what should be my next step? What's something small (remember, baby steps!) that I can add to my daily routine that would help me reach my goal?

And I know I keep saying it, but I'm really going to try to make the time for this space more often. I always feel like I need to write these epic posts, when really, all I should be doing is documenting our everyday lives. The neat and the messy.

I Need A Kristintervention

In more ways than one. For reals.

Today is my sweet sister's birthday. And while Kristin is basking in the sun in the faraway land known as Florida, I am sadly stuck in Michigan. (Although, no complaints about the weather, because I have been doing quite a bit of basking myself. Thank you, Mother Nature!)

We won't be drinking margaritas together to celebrate, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been on my mind all day, because I sure do miss her.

Do you know who else misses her?

My house.

Remember that time she came over and basically kicked my ass and ordered me around and forced me to get organized? Weeellll...let's just say I haven't exactly been living up to her expectations. I'm pretty sure every surface in my house has suffered my abuse, and it ain't pretty.

I don't think I can convince her to leave the beach to, ya know, beat me into organizing my life. Which means I must take matters into my own hands.

I've been pondering a few things I've seen on Pinterest, like a daily cleaning schedule or one of those "52 Weeks to an Organized Life" deals. I don't know. I'm feeling overwhelmed. And embarrassed.

On a scale from one to ten, how pitiful is it if a stay-at-home mom wants to hire a cleaning service? (Although, as I said to my friend Katie today, my house is too much of a wreck to probably even get a cleaning service to come!)

You gotta start somewhere, right? So Kristin, in honor of that magical day you entered the world, I'm going to clean at least one room of my house today. If that doesn't shout "I'm so happy you were born!", then I'm not sure what does...

Happy Birthday, sister! I hope your day is surface-abuse free and full of wonderful things that make you happy. I love you!

Anyone have any tips or pointers for me? Experience with those daily cleaning schedules? HELP ME!

Organized Living

I know that everyone is probably getting really sick of hearing me talk about organizing my house and life. To be honest, I'm getting pretty sick of it, too. But I have to say, even though it seems like I'm having a semi-serious love affair with my label maker, that I'm feeling much less like pulling my hair out and much more like relaxing with a glass of wine in my mess-free home.

So, I thought I'd compile a list of the things that I'm doing, or at least trying to do, to keep me in that happy place.

1. Go to bed every night with a clean kitchen. This one can be a challenge. So many nights after cooking dinner and giving Anna a bath and putting her to bed, the last thing I want to do is head back into the kitchen to wash a bunch of dishes and wipe down counter tops. As tempting as it is to leave all that stuff for the morning, waking up to a messy kitchen seems to set the tone for my day. And since Anna's favorite game is "climb into the dishwasher and try to pull out knives", getting it all done when she's asleep just makes a lot more sense.

2. Don't let clean dishes sit out, waiting to be put away. I was a big-time abuser of my dish-drying rack. Like, if there was a game show to see who could stack the most dishes on one of those things without letting them all come crashing down, I would have won. I hate putting stuff away, so I didn't - I just kept adding to the pile. Finding the things I needed became like playing Jenga - can I pull this spatula out from underneath this frying pan and mixing bowl without collapsing everything? So my sister made me do a crazy thing. I threw away my dish-drying rack.  Instead, I have this new little absorbent mat. I can fit a couple of things on it, but it pretty much ensures that I'll put things in their proper places within a reasonable amount of time. Again, not having a huge mountain of clean dishes to look at sets the tone for the rest of the kitchen.

3. A place for everything, everything in its place. I didn't come up with this one - in fact, I think it's a pretty common expression, especially in the organizing world. My sister shared it with me, and she got it from her organizer friend Carol. (Side note - this woman is amazing. And if I had a lot more money, I would definitely hire her to come to my house instead of forcing my sister to do it all for free! In fact, I still might, since Kristin told me yesterday that some of my closets were a little "daunting" for her. Hmmphf.) I'm working really hard on putting things away, in the same spot, so I know where I can find them. Remember the pictures I posted of my bathroom closet? I can't tell you how amazing it is to think "Oh, I need a nail file" and instead of rummaging through eight different drawers and looking under the couch and rifling through my purse, I just walk over to the drawer that's labeled "Nails" and pull out what I need, and put it back when I'm finished. Genius!

4. Baby proof the crap out of your house. Obviously, if you don't have small, devilish children running around, you can skip this step. Up until a few weeks ago, I had done minimal baby proofing. I'm not saying my house was a death trap - I had locks on all the cabinets that contained chemicals to keep Anna from chugging bleach and gates up to prevent her from tumbling down the stairs.  But I had never bothered to install latches on all the drawers in my bathroom. So while hair clips and extra toothbrushes and tubes of lipstick don't pose an immediate threat to Anna's safety, they were definitely imposing on the neatness of my house. Because as quick as I could gather those things up and put them away, she was right back in there flinging them around. Same thing goes for my kitchen. Tupperware containers aren't necessarily dangerous, but having twelve of them strewn about the floor makes it a little difficult to keep up an organized appearance.  My awesome husband got out the power drill a few weeks ago and installed latches on our bathroom drawers and I locked up all the kitchen cupboards that Anna can reach. Even though I feel kind of bad for her when she's yanking in frustration on the drawers and cabinets that now won't open, it's pretty great that this won't be happening again...

Is there something on my face?

5. Make the bed every morning. Again, this one is all about setting the tone. A made bed just looks nicer, and it's much harder for me to justify flinging dirty clothes on the floor when our sheets and comforter aren't in a tangled mess and all the throw pillows are arranged neatly.

6. Put laundry away IMMEDIATELY! I think this one might be the toughest for me. I've written about it before. Like I said earlier, I hate putting things away. So often, I fold laundry and then just leave it sitting in the basket, thinking to myself that I'll put it all away before bed. And then bedtime comes and I'm exhausted so I put if off again and before I know it the clean laundry is mixed in the with the dirty and I have to start all over again. I've been trying really, really hard to stay on top of this one, even if it means putting Mike's laundry away for him too. Even though I don't like it, I know it's a necessary evil and in the long run will be totally worth it.

So there you have it. I still have a long way to go, but I think these things are definitely helping me conquer my inner messy demons.

Any tricks or tips you would recommend? 'Cause you know I still need all the help I can get...

Let's Do This!

I've been thinking a lot about motivation lately. Or, more accurately, the lack of motivation that seems to be a constant presence in my life. As I type this, there are about fifty things I should probably be doing. Like cleaning up last night's Fronanas (that's what I've decided to call it - last night we made chocolate with rainbow sprinkles), or folding laundry, or weeding in my garden, or wiping up the smoothie that Anna spilled all over the coffee table. Instead, I'm goofing around on the Internet and seriously contemplating a nap.

It's a funny thing, motivation. Because, at least for me, it seems to only appear when I really need it. Procrastination and I go way back. In college, I was the girl who started her papers the night before they were due, furiously typing into the wee hours of the morning, scrambling to make it to my professor's office with my freshly printed essay in one hand and a ridiculously large coffee in the other. I distinctly remember that the one time I actually completed a paper more than an hour before it needed to be handed in I got a C - a clear indication (so it seemed) that I was much better off waiting to work on any assignments until the last minute.

The same thing goes for my house. Until very recently, the only time I would put a concerted effort into straightening up was when I knew someone was coming over. Because even though I never really loved all the chaos and frustration that went along with my unorganized habits, I could never motivate myself to get it together unless I knew how embarrassed I would feel if anyone saw how messy I really was. So the hours leading up to a visit (from anyone) would be spent maniacally dusting and scrubbing and throwing things into closets. Or bathrooms.

Not too long ago, I ran a half marathon. I trained for over four months, and during that time I think I missed only a handful of runs. I had no problem hopping on the treadmill four or five times a week, and actually, to my surprise, grew to love and enjoy and look forward to my runs. I was totally motivated. I became a runner. And then after my race was over? I think I've gone running maybe four or five times. Suddenly, with no race to train for, I can barely lace up my shoes and get out the door.

Why is it that I can never keep my house clean just for myself and my family? When I know that I love running and how it makes me feel, why can't I seem to hit the pavement when there isn't a race looming in the distance? 

Luckily, I don't have any more papers to write (I hope). My house is a work in progress - my kitchen and bathroom surfaces have been abuse free for over a week! - and I hope one day soon to not shake in terror at the prospect of someone stopping by unexpectedly. I half-jokingly tossed around the idea of sending weekly photos to my sister to prove to her that I'm staying diligent. Or inviting people over for weekly parties. At least then I'd have an excuse to drink...

I've come to the conclusion, though, that sometimes we need deadlines, or house guests, or sisters, to motivate us to do the things we can't seem to do on our own. Sometimes we need the races to push ourselves to get off the couch. And that's okay.

Which is why I signed up for another half marathon. Detroit, I'm coming for you. Right after I finish folding all this laundry...

I'd love to hear about what tricks and tips you have up your sleeves for staying motivated.

Happy Tuesday!

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle

First of all - how come no one ever told me how much fun label makers could be? I'm thinking I would have totally been organized like a hundred years ago if I just had this handy little tool to help identify the contents of all my plastic bins.

I'm still a work in progress over here, and my organizing drill sergeant had to go to Florida, so I'm on my own for a few days. But here's a sneak peek at what I've been doing.

Alphabetized spices, say what?

Importance Level: Extremely High

Mike requested a tiny corner to have as his own in our medicine cabinet. I did much, much better and gave him his own shelf - and even labeled it for him! Yes, I am having too much fun with the label maker!

What my bathroom closet looks like...impressive, right?

I also had to include a few shots from my whirlwind trip to Chicago to rendezvous with NKOTB (and Caitlin - my original NKOTB partner in crime). The concert was a total blast, and I apparently was having so much fun  that I forgot to take many pictures. Don't worry, though. Joey was there and he still has the ability to make me swoon. Sigh. Most of the concert goers were women around my age, and it made me laugh and smile to think about how many of them were just like me - taking a night off from dirty diapers and Elmo to feel like a kid again, with the addition of a few cocktails.

The red wine stained teeth were NOT a part of the original concert...

My train ride companion - Garrett's popcorn. Yum.  Yum. Yum.

And finally, to start your weekend off right, here's a little video of the girl who makes me swoon the most. Tilt your heads to the left (I promise to work on my video skills!) and try, just try, to not be jealous of Max.

Happy Friday!