Basement Organization…

August 17, 2015 julie

Probably the most uncreative title I’ve ever written for a blog post. But- to use my least favorite sentiment ever- it is what it is.

Our basement was one of the last things on our renovation list. There was a disgusting amount of dust and debris pushed through the old subfloors into the depths of the basement. It housed all our tools and paint from the reno once we moved in and it was probably a good home to a fair amount of spiders for a while.

We knew we would eventually get it cleaned up. Maybe put a fresh coat of dry lock on the walls, some paint on the floors- but as the baby stuff started to pile up (and then be outgrown so quickly) we knew that storage was not just a wish list item but a must have.

As usual, my Dad deserves the majority of the credit for this. He did the backbreaking (and head bonking) work of sweeping, power-washing, painting, etc. But once we had a clean slate, Jared and I spent many a night and nap time, assembling shelving and hauling all our bins and boxes from our guest room down three flights of stairs to the basement. There was also a handful of things left in my parent’s basement that finally came home to ours.

So don’t expect a HGTV-worthy reveal. This makeover wins in function not fashion. It’s a huge difference from feeling like you needed to wear work boots to trudge through your disgusting basement before to now moseying down in white socks to grab a roll of paper towels. And speaking of paper towels- woo hoo to bulk shopping again! Holy cow it’s so nice to be able to get the 5,000 pack of baby wipes from Costco and have a place that’s out of sight to store them.

OK, so here’s the basement way back in Spring of 2013 when Dad and Jared were taking measurements for the rennovation before we even moved in.

And now…

The shelves give us a ton of space! Along this stretch I have all our house bulk items, cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, batteries, entertaining stuff like platters and cake stands.

Holiday stuff, crafting, and gift wrap run along the back wall.

I even have an old desk down here that got pretty beat up in the move. But it totally works as a space to wrap a quick gift or break out the sewing kit to hem a pair of pants.

Baby stuff, as you can see is accumulating…

And if you notice the black and yellow post above- that was another genius suggestion by Dad. These lally columns are all over the basement and have nasty rusty schmutz all over them. Some are worse than others but while we were assembling all these shelves, we lost a couple of t-shirts to rubbing up against the rust. A cost-effective solution- rope!

We’re really, really happy with the space. It’s added so much to our everyday lives knowing that we have all of our things properly stored in a clean space and being able to access everything in sans knee high rubber boots! Did I mention a new subpump and dehumidifier are also contributing to our peace of mind?

Anywho, I know we’ve had more dramatic and definitely more beautiful room reveals, but to be honest, this is one of my favorites.

Don’t Grow Up! It’s a Trap!

March 11, 2015 julie

How did this tiny naked boy go through so many clothes in the span of 11 weeks? Well no matter how, he did. And he’s getting bigger every day! As much as I love looking back at the photos of him when we first brought him home, I couldn’t be happier to have a perfectly plump (and super tall!) boy.

Yup, our little man of just over 2 months is wearing almost exclusively 6 month clothing! So to make room for all these new clothes, I’ve been throwing all the tiny tops and bottoms, hats and booties, jammies and onesies in two bins under his crib. Well those bins were starting to bust at the seams.

Time to organize and label, label, label!

I know if everything is organized and labeled by type and size it will either help me out in the future if we have another boy, or help whomever we pass on the clothes to. (I’m looking at you cousins! That baby-making train isn’t far from the station! Toot toot!)

So first I dumped out everything I’d been storing and sectioned them into piles.

There’s newborn jammies, hats and socks, 0-3 month sweatshirts, 3 month pants and onesies, and 3 month jammies. Oh yeah, and those newborn cloth diapers from when I was blissfully pregnant and said I was going to “give it a try.” I think one week in, Jared looked at me after Eli’s fifth poop of the day and said, “remember when we were going to try cloth diapers?” and immediately we both just bust out laughing. All power to those who do and those g diapers we bought are insanely cute but cloth diapering falls under my parenting mantra of “good for them! not for me.”

So after the sorting I corralled some essentials…

Then started folding and bagging my piles and labeling each bag.

And before long…

And all of these bags fit nicely into one under-the-bed bin.

Now hopefully the 6-9 month clothes last a little longer. And if they don’t, thank god for Carter’s 25% off coupons and Old Navy 50% off sales!

Gift Guide 2014 | For Baby

November 3, 2014 julie

My family made a conscious decision this year to simplify Christmas. I firmly believe that kids make Christmas. I mean, an office Yankee Swap is brilliant in it’s awkwardness and cocktails do seem to taste better (and slip down faster) around the holidays but let’s face it- it’s all about the kiddos. Who doesn’t want to watch a toddler tear into a huge package only to spend the rest of the evening entertained by the cardboard box itself? So this year, we’ve made a ‘No Adult Gift’ rule that I really hope everyone sticks to- because we sure will.

This year, the shopping budget is devoted to my three nephews, one little niece, and one pretty special baby boy who may or may not celebrate his first Christmas this year. In honor of our new tradition, my gift guide series this year is broken up by age group and stops firmly at teens!

First up, Baby of course! Enjoy…

Baby

The original Ergobaby Carrier is more of a gift for Mom and Dad than Baby but be rest assured that baby will be safe and snug in this top rated cozy carrier.
Baby Metallic Moccasins? Ah, yes please! The soft-soled shoes are made with durable leather and are suitable for infants and toddlers alike. Plus I’ve heard that the more your baby wears these, their little baby footprint becomes embedded in the sole. So no, you can’t ever get rid of those!
Perfect for little baby hands, this smooth wood Porcupine Shaker entertains babies for hours on end.
If babies could talk, would they be as witty as this onsie? There are tons of hilarious onsies out there but this Muscle Man Onsie is probably my favorite.
My sister-in-laws swear by activity gyms and I’ll take those momma’s advice on anything! This birch play gym is as chic as it is entertaining.
You just can’t go wrong with books. Barnes & Noble has a whole section on their website devoted to the classics by age group.
Having a winter baby, I’ve been sort of obsessed with hand knit beanies and booties. Etsy is a great place to find all sorts of designs and colors but it’s at those local craft fairs that you’ll really find something special for a bargain!

Cleaning Tools & Gadgets

March 12, 2014 julie

Cleaning House

It’s the final installment of my Cleaning House Series and today I’d like to share my arsenal of favorite cleaning tools. I can go green all day long with homemade cleaning products but you sure-as-shit aren’t going to see me on my hands and knees scrubbing a floor. No, I like my shortcuts and modern conveniences as much as the next gal.

And my favorite convenience with out a doubt has to be my iRobot Braava. I’ve gushed about him before but since he came into my life last September, I think I love Braava more and more with every swipe.

Braava comes with two microfiber cleaning cloths that get tucked on to a bottom flap that locks with a magnetic seal. The cloths are fantastic for trapping crumbs and scrubbing floors but with our dark floors, I tend to send Braava out every couple days. And on those quick dust sweeps, I gear him up with a basic Swiffer dry cloth which works just fine.

Where does all that dust come from anyways? And hair! Lord, I could make myself a wig!

Sorry, that way gross. Let’s move on…

Where Braava takes care of our wood floors, my Shark vacuums take care of our rugs. Ever since I went off to college with my teeny Shark Dustbuster, I’ve been in love with the Shark brand. They’re so light weight and powerful… plus they’re freakin’ adorable with their sleek design and lovely lavender color!

shark

With the Shark Navigator upright vacuum and the Shark cordless Dustbuster, I’m invincible! The vacuum is really light weight with a nice handle on top for getting up and down the stairs. The attachments work well for upholstery and the clear canister in the center is super easy to detach and dump into the garbage.

The Dustbuster comes in handy often. I love that it’s cordless and charges in this perfect little docking station. It’s perfect for cleaning up small messes especially all our small construction projects. Sawdust is no match for the Shark!

If you’ve been holding out on cleaning technology, try one of these happy helpers and I guarantee you won’t miss the dustpan!

Clean without Chemicals

1 Comment March 11, 2014 julie

For week two of my Not-Quite-Yet-Spring Cleaning Series, I’d like to focus on the gadgets and products that I use to clean my home.

By now, you may have realized that I take cleaning seriously. Cleaning extends into every area of my life including clean eating and more recently a clean, chemical-free lifestyle.

Chemicals have made their way into everything from the milk in the fridge to the shampoo in the shower and no where are chemicals more prevalent than in all those cleaning products. Allow me to scare you for a moment…

Butyl cellosolve, a chemical common in all-purpose, glass, and other types of cleaners, damages bone marrow, the nervous system, kidneys and the liver. And yet you spray it on your counter where you prepare food!

And what’s even scarier- no law requires manufacturers of cleaners to list ingredients on their labels or to test their products for safety. It’s up to you to make sure your home is a nontoxic environment. So let’s take some initiative and try making some perfectly effective cleaners from safe products you probably already have in your home!

First, can we start with getting rid of anything that says WARNING, DANGER or POISON? I mean, that’s just common sense people. OK, now on to the mad scientist ingredient mixing fun!

The Power of Baking Soda

Baking soda’s cleaning power is mostly physical- acting as a mild abrasive to gently wear away stains. But there is chemistry involved too! Baking soda reacts with the grease found in many stains to form glycerol, a common cleansing ingredient in soaps. Mix it with vinegar to create carbonic acid which will boost the corrosive action of the vinegar. This concoction also releases carbon dioxide which enhances the scrubbing effect. And bonus! As a weak alkali, baking soda neutralizes acids in odor molecules to eliminate strong smells! Use baking soda to remove rings around the toilet, sink, and tub, the film that builds on shower doors, and vinyl surfaces. I always have an open box in the fridge to absorb any stinky odors that may linger.

Vinegar: Not Just for Dying Eggs!

Distilled white vinegar can be used as a deodorizer, disinfectant, mild acid, and preservative. Vinegar’s acetic acid will dissolve calcium build-up found in coffee pots, sinks, showers, dishwashers, and windows. Vinegar also cuts through dirt, grease, mold and helps to carry away foul odors as it evaporates. Every month or so, I like to fill my coffee maker with half a pot water, half vinegar and send it through a brew cycle without the grounds. It disinfects and cleans my most precious morning appliance with minimal effort.

When Life Hands You Lemons, Use Them to Clean!

Lemons are arguably one of my favorite things in the world! I love the smell, I love the taste, I love their bright, happy yellow color! Fresh lemon juice contains citric acid which can deodorize, remove stains, brighten whites in the laundry or kitchen, clean glass, inhibit mold, and disinfect toilets to name a few. One of my favorite lemon cleaning tricks is removing stains from food storage containers. Just squeeze the juice into the containers, rub with a little baking soda, and let sit overnight. No more tomato-sauce-stained tupperware!

There are countless ways to cut chemicals in your cleaning routine. Check out these recipes from Good Housekeeping. They have a homemade potion for every product from stain remover to brass cleaner. Happy (healthy!) cleaning!