20 Day Challenge

As most probably have seen The Organised Housewife has started a challenge- 20 Days to Organise & Clean Your House- well I have joined this challenge and I am trying my best to do it each day.  It is a very good idea and just before the challenge began I was in a bit of a flap!  I needed to sort and tidy ALL of my house but I was procrastinating and just not sure where to start. So imagine my delight when I saw this challenge appear, it was a sign and it feels good to be at least starting to organise my house.  I am not sure I will be able to stick to it each day or have to (as there are some rooms on the days I either don't need to organise or don't have that room) but I will be doing it as much as possible and hopefully at the end of 20 days my house will be tidy overall making it easier to keep on top of.

My cleaning bucket- shower wipes, bathroom cleaner, toilet wipes, dust wipe, toilet dics, mirror wipes and eucalyptus oil.

Another view of the cleaning products.  This was a Pre-Task

So after getting organised with my cleaning bucket I felt ready to go.  It is amazing how much easier it is to start cleaning and keep going when you have everything you need in one spot and not having to stop and search for a product.  I have also cut right down on the amount of cleaning products I buy- one for a money saving issue and the other because you really only need a few products that do several jobs!

I then got started on Task 1 which was the kitchen.  My kitchen has been an issue for awhile and I recently just managed to clear the bench tops and paper mess which has made my life and sanity so much better!  So below are the after shots of my completion of Task 1.

Under the sink- all my cleaning products for kitchen, plus sponges and room sprays.

This side is bug sprays and dishwasher tablets.  Our bin is on the door hence the huge space here.

Only the regularly used appliances on the bench.

Finally a clear bench top 

To the right is all of our vitamins (whole family) plus fruit bowl

I have been slack since this first task though as I have skipped task 2 and 3, well missed I should say as I do intend to do them but I may just take a little longer.  But after just one task I can see the benefits of this challenge.  I will keep you posted once I complete more of the tasks.

Have you joined the challenge? If so, how are you going?  I would love to hear how others are going or any other tips for cleaning/organising?

Wordless Wednesday- My Life

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for yet another Wordless Wednesday post, this time see what makes me smile daily!

Rainbow Party

I can now breathe a sigh of relief that Miss P's Rainbow Party was a huge success and went as I had hoped it would! I was my normal stressed self the night before and the morning of the party but as guests arrived I began to settle. This post is more pictures than words but they tell thousand words!

Family pic before guests arrive and all are clean and tidy

Birthday girl in front of the candy buffet

Miss P was so excited and I think the "when are my friends getting here?" started at about 8 o'clock in the morning!  Both the kids helped me decorate outside with streamers, balloons and banners whilst hubby got ice and other things from the shop for me- teamwork! We didn't have a strict plan for the day, I had planned 2 games- pass the parcel and pin the pot of gold on the rainbow, the rest was just free and fun play.

Candy buffet time

Mmmm lollies thanks daddy

Relaxing with good company

Got to have pass the parcel

More relaxing and fun

As per usual I had way too much food but I much prefer this than running out of food!  The adults food consisted of cheese and meat platter, party pies, chips, assorted wraps all help yourself!  The kids had a party plate each full of rainbow coloured treats- so much junk it wasn't funny but its a party!  The kids plate consisted of Rainbow Rice Krispies, mini rainbow cupcakes, rainbow bread, rainbow fruit skewer, rainbow jelly cup and a cookie.  Not much was left on the plate either!

Food time

Birthday girl enjoying her party plate

The best moment was the cake, actually it was the most nerve racking as I couldn't wait to cut into it to see if it turned out ok.  I think I had sweat pouring off me as I was cutting it.  It was perfect, I was so happy and proud of myself!  We gave Paris the first huge slice and she loved it!

The cake before

Soaking up the attention...Miss P that is 

Our beautiful princess!

Nervous!!!!

Ah success!!!

She could hardly pick it up

Yummy

The day was such a wonderful one and I am glad we have these photos as life long memories of our little Miss P's 4th Rainbow Party.  The long nights working on the decorations and the days baking all paid off when I saw how much fun she had!  Miss P said to me in the bath that night,"mummy thank you for giving me the best party ever, can we talk about my 5 year old party now?" Ah the innocence of them, and my answer was "not tonight honey".  A huge thanks to my beautiful mum who helped in so many ways before and on the day and actually after it too.  Miss P idolises her and so do I.

These 2 have a bond no one can break

Overall it was a fantastic day.  I am definitely over baking rainbow cakes and cupcakes for a few months though!

Kate xxx

Wordless Wednesday- Our Day At The Park

One on one time with the little boy whilst big sis is at school!

Kate xxx

Getting Organised

I always feel so good after I have done some organising at home! Today after our play at the park I started on organising the kids writing and reading areas.  This area is really important as I like to encourage writing and reading so having a tidy and organised place for them to do this is essential.  I was reading through one of my favourite blogs The Organised Housewife and I came across her section on organising school items and I was instantly inspired and knew exactly how I wanted it.  I took bits from her ideas and then worked with what we already had- why fix something that's not broken I say.  The area itself and the storage was working well it just needed to be better organised and clearer to all.

Firstly I went through each drawer and threw out scrap paper and rubbish that had found its way into the draws.  There was a lot of this as Master X is obsessed with packing away but packs everything away including rubbish!  So once the drawers were cleared of junk I sorted through what we had and put them into their relevant categories.  As we only have 3 drawers I needed a few categories in each so they are broad category, but this works for us.

 Above is the main learning station, next to this is the table and chairs.  On top is the magazine holder for the HOMEWORK, the small box storage is currently empty and the orange box next to this has sunscreen, wipes and anything else we need for outside (our back door is just next to this so handy for when we are getting ready to go outside).  I will explain the drawers below.

 This is the big bottom drawer and this is where Miss P stores her school bag and school library bag.  This is a great size drawer and Miss P can get her things out with ease so great for her to help in the mornings and afternoons.

This is the drawer above the big one.  It contains all of the kids educational games and puzzles.  There is peg board, egg numbers/shapes, threading, Leap Frog reader, flash cards and pre reader items.

And this is the top drawer.  Inside here we have all of the kids workbooks- I like to pick these up every now and then as Miss P really likes them and soon Master X will be doing them. Kmart often have them on special.  Also we have colouring books, school pens for homework (green container), word cards (pink container) and glue, scissors and erasers (blue container).

 

Above is what our reading and writing area looks like.  There are plenty of books, blocks, puzzles and a comfy foam mat to sit on. The kids love this area as the kitchen is right near not so when I am in kitchen they can be close too.  Beauty of our house is its very open!  The red bucket is right near the back door and next to the writing station, it holds shoes, towels and hats for outside.

So I still have a lot more things I want to organise but I definitely feel refreshed after doing this and feel a lot more motivated to organise other areas, might wait until after Miss P's party on the weekend though!!  Make sure you visit The Organised Housewife she has some fantastic ideas and places to start.

Kate xxx