Cleanliness is Happiness

One of the most difficult things about settling into a home is getting organized. Ugh. Just thinking about it is frustrating for me.

I totally admit that all my cleaning and organization skills(z!) are practiced NOT inherent. I was the messiest kid and for the first few years of my adult life my home was a wreck. Mostly I hated laundry, dishes, deep cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms, & cleaning up after other people. So, basically I hated life in the cleaning zone. Previously I was married to slob of a man who didn't know how to put a dish in the sink, let alone rinse it off, who wouldn't mind climbing over laundry piles to get out of bed, who didn't notice the difference between a pee stained toilet and a freshly bleached one. Then you add into the mix his disgusting friends that were a constant at our house? Yeah. Not a pretty picture (don't get me wrong, I was partially to blame and I know that. Like I said, cleaning was never a natural thing for me.)

Re-building my life from the ground up after my divorce gave me a new appreciation for my "stuff" and my space. I enjoyed having clean clothes neatly organized (it helped that I was skinny enough to enjoy wearing those clothes) in my closet, I enjoyed displaying my jewelry on pretty hangers, I found my happy place in vacuuming floors. I was far from perfect, still am, but I started practicing and building habits that would make my life happier, cleaner, and more organized.

So, back to the house organization. The clutter, oh how it taunts me. Batteries, cords, single socks, scissors, papers, tools big and small, pictures, books, cleaning supplies, wrapping supplies, holiday decor, constant laundry piles (the consistency of dirty laundry makes it clutter), toys, dog items, more toys, kitchen knick nacks. I mean, seriously, the list could go on and on. This isn't even the half of it and if you are a normal human living a normal human life you probably totally get what I'm saying here. I've had enough!!!!!!!!

Last week I posted a picture of my before and after laundry room. I wish I could say that it was the first time I had to totally clean out that room but, oh boy, how the clutter builds up in such a small narrow space. It was probably the third for fourth time! I've been so happy with the final results of that day. The cupboards were organized for the first time since we moved in and I have a lot of great plans to make that space functional, and pretty. Everyone, Google search "awesome laundry rooms" and you will see my inspirations!

So, my goal is to do one space at a time until every nook and cranny in my home is neat and tidy and prepped to stay that way by giving every little piece of clutter a labeled home.

This week, inspired by this photo, I started on my pantry and refrigerator (one of those places that requires constant attention).
{via Tidymom}
Beautiful right?!?!?!? (check out her post for suggestions on how to make the most of a pantry do over)

I forgot to take a picture at the beginning of my work and it's probably a good thing. Look at the bottom shelf of this "mid" before picture. The entire thing looked like that, or worse!!!


After about an hour of purging, wiping down, categorizing, and arranging I got it looking like this:

It's nothing like my inspiration picture because I don't really have ANY budget to work with so the cute containers, baskets, labels etc are going to have to wait. For now this is ten million times easier to live with. It's been a few days and we've managed to keep it this way. Mad loves to go in there and search for "crackers". Which is basically any crunchy snack. I love to open the door and know where things are. Hopefully I'll have a pretty pantry when all is said and done and I can't wait to get to work on that! I didn't take pictures of my fridge (be grateful!) but it is like a different world in there.

Right now the three of us are battling The Sickness and I don't have much hope of getting anything done this week. But, with a lot of Zicam, Vitamin C, and some Thera Flu miracles, could definitely happen. I haven't even decided which space to start next because a lot of my "to do" areas need money spent to make my time worth while. I suppose I now need to learn to organize on a budget!

People, I just want to link you to my new favorite blog that has really given me the drive to get things done. IHeart Organizing. The blog, and the creator, are great and it really inspires me to get shiz done around here. My home style is totally different than hers. Meaning, the framework of my home just doesn't compliment modern, but her ideas are a push in the right direction and it helps me get excited about what I can do around here. Add her to your blog feed friends!

I admit that most days my dishes are dirty and sitting in the sink, toys are scattered, and, like today, every item in every drawer in my bathroom has been pulled out to decorate the floor to my toddler's liking, I just know that this is a step in the right direction in making my cleaning life easier and less all consuming. Oh, and ALL of it is ten million times better than what my younger self would have had going on! Ew to the old and in with the (not so) new!

Lazy Days?

The summer is passing too quickly and I fear that if I focus too much on it ending, it will already be over before I enjoy these last weeks. And by enjoy I mean totally overwork myself in an attempt to get our house/yard/life organized and beautified by Mad's (if Mr. Bear is the original Angry Bear then our Baby Bear, who will soon not be the babiest of baby bears, can be my Mad Bear, since Mad is what I call her at home. Though I can't say I'll let go completely of my Baby Bear nickname anytime soon, or ever at all) 1st birthday. Birthday + party = people in my house.

I don't want my family and friends who haven't seen this place yet to think we're those awesome neighbors with dead grass. That might be what we are now but after this past weekend we are the awesome neighbors with dead grass and new randomly placed plants. Plus some piles of old ugly mulch that we are trying to get rid of (there is a lot of it!).

Rewind for just a minute. Can you believe this little imp is going to be 1? ONE!



Basically since buying the house I've worked my body to the bone and found even more energy than I ever realized I had. I can cook, clean, care, AND do yard work. Except on the days I work in the yard it's nearly impossible to get anything else done. I spent almost all day Saturday & Sunday outside trying to get the front yard ready for new grass. I'm sunburned and sore but we made progress. Unfortunately when I work in the yard I miss this little lady as she buzzes around the house doing what she does. Have I mentioned that she will be 1 in two months? I'm not ready for it. Already she feel so big in my arms when I nurse her. My sweet sweet baby.

This is her being a bookworm. She loves to read just like her mama and daddy.

You Have it & Then You Don't

Truly it has been an overwhelming feat getting adjusted and settled, neither of which I've done completely yet. Each morning I'm pulled in 3 directions. Play with baby, clean the house, or organize and unpack what is left in boxes. There is so much to do every day that I just start everything at once. We play on the floor for two minutes before I plop Baby Bear into her high chair and get out some breakfast dishes. Then I fold the laundry, after giving Baby something to make noise with of course, wash two dishes, and finish breakfast. When Baby Bear goes down for her first nap I am pulled in two more directions. Finish the chores I halfheartedly started, or shower because, lets be honest I look pretty awful. Before I realize what exactly I'm doing I find myself outside dressed in cotton shorts, my night nursing bra hanging out of a tank top, and an over sized cardigan, watering our practically dead trees. Once the trees are watered (thank God I took care of that urgent chore!?) I go into overdrive trying to finish what I started.

I won't lie, my house looks incredible for, oh, about 10 minutes every day. But don't you know that once you clean a mess up it's cause for making another? It's true. Breakfast mess gives way to lunch mess which is simply a prelude to the massive dinner mess. I can get the first two cleaned up fairly quickly and the third I'm working on. Working really hard, can't you tell? I suppose I should congratulate myself on making meals at all! The last couple of months, er since I was about 5 months pregnant, I've been slacking in the cooking department. I've made a small handful of meals but in truth The Bear has really been doing the bulk of the cooking or we have just been eating out. No more. I am truly striving to be the perfect housewife & mother. Next thing you know I'll be wearing dresses and low kitten heels while I cook in my lacy apron instead of too big rolled up jeans and a t-shirt that accentuates my postpartum belly.

I want to be that woman who has a hot meal ready when her man walks through the door. But who the hell are those women anyway? Robots? Do their babies not demand attention? Do they have a magical shower that also cooks meals and does laundry when you turn them on? Maybe I've yet to master the art of manipulating space and time. Could someone please send me that "how to" book? I keep reassuring myself that I'll get the hang of it, That I won't feel like I have to constantly choose between a shower and a clean house, time with my daughter or cooking a fresh healthy meal, sanity or complete and total INSANITY! Alas, today I am still struggling to figure it out. A hot shower not followed up by hair styling, a meal that took far too long and tasted far too mediocre, folded laundry that never found its way to the closet. I suppose I now know where to start tomorrow morning.......

*Here are some pics of Baby this last week. And no, I don't usually leave remotes and cords hanging around. Oh the joys of unpacking!

It's What We Do & How We Do It

Baby Bear is napping. We're going on two days of napping more than an hour each nap. = Heaven! Mr. Bear just left again, off to New York City until Saturday morning when he returns. On Sunday night he flew to L.A., then to San Fran on Tuesday, home to us for Wednesday night to drop off presents and snuggle with me in bed for one night, and now he's gone once more. So I'm here, trying to make time to write while wearing new pink shoes and the prettiest of pretty new earrings. Mr. Bear spoils Baby and I. He says he doesn't care if Baby Bear wears jammies all day long but he must be lying because he has impeccable taste in baby clothes (and shoes too!). He also buys the best jewelry (see photo).



While The Bear has been gone this week Baby has learned to crawl up the stairs and call for her Dada in the morning. The first morning he was gone she woke up at 3:30, in my bed of course, and said, in the sweetest yell you've ever heard, "Dada? Daaaaada?". He wasn't there to answer. This morning she was up at 6:30 and sat up, climbed on top of The Bear and hollared, "Daaaaa. Dada.", it was lovely. For the next hour she crawled around the bed smacking her lips before moving in for the slobber fest that is her kiss. She completes this kiss by chomping down on my face with her razor sharp teeth. It hurts. A lot. Then she cackles and smacks her lips in search of her next victim. I may start waking up in the dead of night panicky because I can hear lips smacking, coming to claim my flesh. I have a child zombie only she hasn't yet broken skin.

Tonight it will just be the two of us again. Hopefully by the time The Bear is home we will know if we have a house yet. All I'll say is that we've found our home, the one I see us raising our babies in the for the foreseeable future, but the market is so complicated right now and it seems that all the forces are working against us successfully becoming home owners. Let me just say, it's not us, it's them. If I never hear the words "short sell" or "negotiating price" or "bank" ever again it will be too soon. Now I have to go mentally prepare myself for a hectic weekend of BBQing and extended family by taking three shots of tequila (kidding, sort of). Yayhoo.

Times They Are Changin

I really despise moving. Really. The mess, the disorganization no matter how organized we try to be, the effort. UGH! And thinking that I will have to do this not just once but TWICE in the next 4 months makes me want to cry. *CRIE* While Mr. Bear travels it's up to me to get what remains of our house in order. This means lots of laundry and lots of decisions and lots of packing away things that I hope I don't need.

You see our condo has been sold but they haven't even broken ground on our new house yet. So, in the interim, we are moving in with Mr. Bear's brother. I love him and I love his house, there is plenty of room for us, but I hate giving up our own things for these few months, and I hate knowing that we are infringing on his privacy. But mostly I hate that I have to pack and move and then unpack and then pack and move and unpack again. I suppose I should be grateful because once we unpack in the new AMAZING house I won't have to worry about it again for many many years. I'll just need to worry about furnishing and organizing a house that is triple the size of our condo, landscaping a huge yard, & finishing a basement. Then I have to keep it all clean.

Baby Bear's room is mostly packed, although it looks like a bomb went off in there. Mr. Bear packed most of the kitchen and excess storage stuff. Now I'm just feeling like I don't know where to go next. I don't want to pack anything I'll need this week and I don't want to pack something and send it off to storage if it actually needs to come with us. I'm tired and lonely and wish The Bear was here to keep me company. I suppose I should go start some more laundry while the Baby naps. *le sigh*

The Thing About Dreaming Is.....(Part Deux)

Ok, do you recall this post about my dream house? Well I sure do and at the time I thought, "Melissa, this is a mighty TALL order. The Bear loves you and wants you to have everything you could ever want or need but a dream house might be years and years away." I was prepared to have a house that wasn't my dream house.

Just recently we moved from "looking into looking" for homes to actually looking LOOKING for homes . The whole ordeal stresses me out to no end. Down payments, bank accounts, qualification, credit score, FINDING A HOUSE!!! Bidding wars, disappointment, tears, anger, sadness, NO dream house. I was not looking forward to it. The anxiety alone made me want to stay in our cramped two bedroom condo, which we outgrew the day I moved in with him.

Today we saw my dream house. I mean, seriously, my DREAM house!!! A bathroom fit for a queen (my best friend is seriously considering moving into the closet it's THAT awesome) with a tub I can only use once a month because filling it will cost a fortune! A kitchen that makes The Bear drool. They use the word "Gourmet" to describe it. Yep. And a yard. A real one. One that I can plant veggies and flowers in. One that I can have BBQ's in. One that my babies (do you like how I added an extra baby in there heh) can play in for years to come. It even has a front porch. A long one. It's not quite out of Happy Vally, but close. We'd probably still have all mormon neighbors but a girl can hope right?

I don't want to speak too soon, and I told The Bear I wasn't going to whisper a word to anyone, but I think it might be ours. Yep, closet and everything. All mine (to share with Mr. Bear). I want to cry. Mr. Bear is doing official stuff right now, he even called me to ask about stuff like whether or not I wanted shelves built in around the fireplace (EEEK!!!), but we still have lots of not so fun stuff to wait and see on (see the second paragraph about anxiety). If all goes as planned it will be built and ready for move in sometime in August. Are we actually going to live in a home that fits all of our stuff by the time Baby Bear is one? A girl can hope right?

Here's to hoping. Send good house vibes our way!