OPERATION END THIS INSANITY: Photo Organization pt.1

I was originally going to tackle our budget and making a family binder with a whole slew of organization to start implementing into our lives but I decided not to do it just yet. I wanted to tackle something more fun this week especially since we are still getting hit with the Polar Vortex and I am avoiding going out since the roads are so bad so I am going to get a grip on all our pictures.

I have not scrapbooked in over a year and have only gotten a few pictures actually developed.

Thank God for my Aunt Erin doing our wedding album for us because there is no way I would have been able to get it done in one week.

So here are my plans for this week:

• Finish sorting and categorizing all the pictures on our computer.
• Find an effective way to backup our pictures instead of cds.
• Scrapbook my Bridal shower pictures.
• Do a Shutterfly book for our Honeymoon pictures.
• Finish putting the pictures in the Project Life album I have of Tank and Diesel.
• Find a way to start doing yearly photobooks for our little Family. 

Sorry I don't really have any pictures for this post.

But there will definitely be more pictures on Saturday of what I get done.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I am actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow since I have been cooped up in this house since Friday evening, cabin fever is kicking in.

Operation End This Insanity: Closet Organization pt.2

How are you all surviving Snowmageddon 2014?

We got so much snow today that I didn't even end up going anywhere which kinda blew my big idea for our closet makeover out the window. That is okay because I was perfectly content with laying around with the furbabes. We even went out to play with them in the snow for a little bit after cabin fever started kicking in.

It was nice to go out and get some fresh air but I cannot stand the cold so it didn't last long.

Anyways back to the closet makeover.

If you missed part one last Saturday you will see how much better it looks now!

 Here is a little before and after

 We cannot believe how much better it looks now.

The major difference is the new paint.

I ended up using a gallon of paint I bought a couple months back at Habitat For Humanity for $8. Unfortunately the color was not on the can but I have ended up using it for the kitchen and now our closet. Definitely the best $8 I have ever spent.

Now how about a break down of what is actually going on in here now:

 I was going to use shower rings on a hanger for scarf organization but then I found these hangers from some blankets we bought at TJ Maxx and they are working perfect for all my scarfs.

This is Anthony's side (he has about 3 loads of laundry that need done) and in the back are my summer dresses. I ended up pulling all of our camo, hoodies, and coats out and putting them in the laundry room closet. 

 Over here we are hanging all of our pants and above are belts and camis on a circle hanger.

We are a little behind on laundry too because the rest of our pants are in there right now too.

Below on the other side are all of my clothes.

Can you tell I purged out a full laundry basket of clothes to get rid of?

I was easily filling up a whole bar and a half in here before.

It is so much easier to get ready now.

 Some more of the organization is just putting stuff in baskets.

Above is all my swimwear (left) and lingerie (right) and below is a long basket I got at Hobby Lobby for our wedding programs to go in and it is now the home of all my workout shorts.

My favorite part is the mini gallery wall I did on the back wall.

The heart was a wedding gift my cousin Missy made me and the other picture frames are all from TJ Maxx.

The chalkboard I made for our wedding as a menu on the bar and I am still trying to decide what I am going to put on it now. I figure some quote since this would be one of the first things I read in the morning while getting ready for work.

Some stuff I did to end the insanity we had going on were

• Pull out all the clothes we no longer fit into or just do not wear.
• From now on we are doing the little trick of flipping hangers to decide what needs to go at the end of the season. My method is going to be backwards from how it is done normally. When I put clothes back I am going to put them back in backwards then in the six months I will pullout what is still facing in. I am doing this because I am more likely to pull something out to wear that is easier to take out and then I will most likely wear something more than once unless it is a favorite.
• I moved all our hunting gear to the laundry room closet since they are so bulky
• I also moved all our hoodies and coats to the laundry room closet because usually when we get home from work we take off those clothes and put on comfy clothes (sweat pants and hoodie) and by having these items in there we can take off our dirty clothes and put them in the right basket to be washed.
• Socks and underwear were moved to on top of the dryer in little canvas tote baskets so they can just be pulled out of the dryer and thrown in the correct basket without spending the time to actually sort them. We all know there is always a match missing anyways.
• I was originally going to put a tall skinny dresser at the end of the closet against the wall where we would store socks and other under garments along with running shorts and whatever else couldn't be hung up. I had the dresser painted already at my Mom and Dad's and was going to go get it today but then it ended up snowing like 7 plus inches and even the interstate here was closed because the County and State are running out of salt. Needless to say the dresser idea was nixed and in exchange I put up the awesome gallery wall, so it all played out for the better anyways.

I am planning on checking back in here in a month on the result of if this was a successful change for the better. I am hoping it will prevent us having clothes building up on the floor and laundry getting so backed up because it never makes it to out of the bedroom. Tomorrow I am going to be revealing the next project we are going to be working on to be more organized in 2014 and hopefully for years to come if we can make it a habit and stick to it.

I hope you all are having a great weekend!

Things I don't do but I should be doing...

I am always finding myself while I am doing something thinking: "Self, you should be doing this more often than you are" or "why don't I do this more often"

These tasks could be super simple or extraordinary fun things that aren't every day occurrences.

Maybe if I document them I will be able to hold myself more accountable...

so here it goes, here is a list of some of my flaws and some just down right funny things that I am missing out on in life. Enjoy and go ahead and judge me. 

Let's start off and get the embarrassing stuff out of the way, BATHROOM DUTIES:

• washing my face. Too often I fall asleep on our big chair that both of us fit on and I wake up at 11:30 and tell Anthony it's time for bed. Then the scene turns into one right out of The Walking Dead and we somehow end up in bed. Obviously zombies don't wash or scrub their faces at the end of the day. As I have gotten older I have noticed that my face isn't as durable and flawless as it used to be and I should probably start preserving it better. Maybe if I just wash it when I get home from work in the evenings after I change out of my work clothes I will be better off. What are some of you face cleaning habits? 
• flossing my pearly whites. I don't even think we own dental floss. This is kind of one of those things that I only remember about right about the time I am sitting at The Smile Shack (yes that is the name of my Dentist office! not kidding) and the dental hygienist asks
  DH: when was the last time you flossed?
  B: (trying talk while she has both hands in my mouth & instread just mumble & act like I cannot talk)
  DH: goes to remind me that I should be flossing 2-3 times a day and offers a free pack of dental floss
  B: (still mumbling and starting to taste the blond from my gums that haven't been flossed since the last time I was in this same position) okay I will try to remember
• washing my hands. First off I do wash my hands when I go to the bathroom and if I have just pet Tank or Diesel and am getting ready to cook or prepare something to eat. But I realized today that I don't typically wash my hands after handling something at work that who knows where the person before me has touched. We get some pretty sketchy people in the office and most of the time I just take their cards to make copies and don't even think about washing my hands after. Thinking about this is disgusting me out but sometimes I just get too wrapped up in the task I am trying to complete. I really need to get a bottle of antibac on my desk for those times I forget to go wash my hands.
• Wiping from front to back. Please tell me I am not the only one that forgets about this little rule. It really just isn't convenient and wasn't instilled in me as a toddler. You would think after getting like 5 million UTIs this would kinda stick out to me but I always forget.

Okay now that all the blushing topics are out of the way here are some that are more everyday...

• make my bed. Usually I only make my bed once or twice a week. But when I do make it the feeling that I get when I come home cannot be compared to any other feeling. There is just something about walking in your bedroom to a already made bed or pulling the covers back to go to bed at night. Now if only I could do it every morning.
• go on hikes or walks. Every time I go on a hike by myself, with my husband or with the dogs I always think to myself "self, this is so much fun! You should do it more often" then I don't do it for another month or so. It is so rewarding to just go walking in the woods or on a trail and not think about work or other struggles of life. I really need to try to take a walk at least once a week.
• go visit elderly family members. Whenever I visit family members that are older I leave with a great feeling. I realize that they might not be around much longer and that I should cherish every free moment I get to spend with them but then my busy life gets in the way and my priorities get out of whack and I put it off. 
• delete texts, missed calls and voicemails. I just did this last weekend and it was so refreshing to look at my phone and not have a book of texts there that are 7 months old and voicemails that dated back two years. I now have so much more room on my phone and I might even set a reminder on it to clear everything more often.
• back up pictures. Last weekend I sat down and started burning a bunch of our pictures that are on the laptop to cds. I made it through 2007, 2008 and somewhat through 2009 and I ran out of patience. Once I get everything backed up and I am planning on taking it off the computer and keeping up to date on backing it all up.
• categorize everything. It started last week when I started sorting through all our pictures and putting everything into a category (year, month, event) and continued yesterday when I decided to start categorizing my bloglovin account. Now everything is super organized and I just need to stay on top of it instead of waiting til last minute.
• read books more. I find myself reading magazine subscriptions or catching up on blogs on my ipad every chance I get night instead of just reading a book. The last two nights I have set aside time to read a book I started a couple months ago but got distracted and didn't finish. It felt so good to get my eyeballs and fingers on a real book page! My goal is to start reading more and even join a book club. I also started following a couple bloggers that blog about reading and have challenges that I am looking forward to participating in. Definitely stay tuned for some book reviews and recommendations.
• plug in my electronic devices at night. I am constantly playing catch up with keeping my phone and ipad charged. You can almost always find me sitting near an outlet with one of the devices plugged into the wall. We will leave the house to go on a fun little Sunday drive (you know the ones where you want to take lots of awesome pictures so you blog about it) and my phone will only have 30% battery and the point and shoot will be deader than a door nail. Point being proven with this blog post. The laptop is dead and the power cord is not working, my phone is dead and my only charged up device is my ipad which at a measly 7%. All of this is not working and it is almost 7 a.m. MUST PLUG IN EVERYTHING WHEN I GO TO BED AT NIGHT!
• wake up early. Every morning I have an alarm set for 6:30 and another for 7 and another for 7:15 oh and one for 8:30 because well if it is 8:30 I am officially late for work and have 30 minutes to get there before I am french toast (not real sure why I am referring being late to work french toast because well being late to work is a bad thing and french toast, well it is hands down the best breakfast food in my cookbook!) But this morning I am up super early and I am getting so much more done. One being my bed being made and having a chance to get a couple chapters read of my book. Oh and I am not trying to figure out what to blog about today because I am getting this typed (very slowly - blogging from an ipad is not fun). Now if I could figure out how to force myself out of bed every morning this early. What is the trick?

Okay so now that you know stuff about me that isn't exactly easy to spill all over for everyone to read are you planning on coming back still?! Oh hey your still here! Thanks so much!

I know we all have little quirks of things that we need to get a grip on to make life easier and it so hard but I really think if we hold ourselves accountable for it we might actually start doing it.

Well that is my plan anyways. Hopefully it can stick.