HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Hot Spots In Our Living Room

What’s A Hot Spot?

I found the term ‘hot spot’ from a website that helps you clean and declutter your home, called Flylady. She describes a “Hot Spot” as a place that attracts clutter. You know the areas in your home that do this…usually, they are flat open surfaces like a countertop, chair, table top, or can even be the floor…places we put things instead of putting them away. We all know clutter attracts clutter, so the more things we put there the more things get put there. In time, your hot spot can turn into a wildfire, one that is raging out of control and becomes a huge spot of clutter that eventually takes over the whole surface.

Last Saturday I was feeling like Hot Spots were taken over our home. I was determined to do something about it, so instead of allowing myself to clean, I decided to tackle my hotspots. I grabbed my camera to document the process for you, and will share my hotspots with you and hopefully motivate you to put out your own hotspots before they become raging fires!

My Living Room & Dining Room are connected and are the first things you see when you enter our home. Because of this, I usually keep these rooms picked up and clutter free. I have spent time minimalizing our Living Room, so we are at the point where this room really doesn’t have clutter in it.

The one area that can tend to attract clutter is the ledge in the above picture. It is an area that separates the Living Room from the Dining Room and is just an easy place right in the center of our home to leave items that eventually turn into clutter.

HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying/ Sponsored

Organize Your Phone In 10 Easy Steps

I get bitten by the organization bug much harder in the fall than in the spring. The cool, crisp fall weather makes me want to just hunker down in a cozy home, and there is no cozy if there is clutter! I love sitting under a warm blanket with a fall scented candle lit, scrolling through my phone and doing all the things our amazing phones do these days! I was doing this just the other day, about to instagram my yummy cup of Pumpkin Spiced Chai Latte, but, then…in the midst of my insta moment…the annoying ‘out of storage’ screen pops up.

How many of you have gone to take a photo with your phone, only to get the dreaded little screen that pops up letting you know that you are out of storage? Ugh, this has happened to me so many times! Well, no more. It is time for some fall organization of my phone, starting with photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive

Phone Organization

Step One:

Get photos off my phone and onto the cloud with Amazon Cloud Drive.

Todd and I have been Amazon Prime members for a few years now, and love it. The free 2-day shipping is great, and we also love Amazon Prime Video. What we didn’t know until recently that if you are a prime member, you already have access to Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, which provides unlimited, secure photo storage as part of your Prime membership!

I was very excited about the unlimited photo storage, especially when I found out there is a handy Amazon Photo App for my phone. What this means for me is any photo that I take with my iPhone can easily be stored in Amazon Cloud Drive. This can be done by setting it to automatically store every photo you take, or choosing them manually. I no longer have to take up precious space on my phone and see that dreaded warning screen telling me that I have no space left to take another photo!

As a blogger, this is especially exciting. I take most of my blog photos with my phone, and before discovering Amazon Cloud Drive I had over 2,000 photos on my phone! Many of them were photos taken for my blog, some I had already used, and some I had not. They are were all screaming to be organized! I had access to another type cloud storage, but it is also being used by my whole family and all of their devices, and is one that is not unlimited, so it stressed me out to upload all my many blog photos to that specific cloud storage.

I plan on using Amazon Cloud Drive for my own personal iPhone photos, my Kindle photos, and my personal laptop photos, paying specific attention to my blog photos. I can’t believe I will finally have all of my blog photos in one spot, accessible from all devices. Talk about Fall Organization! This is something I have desired for a long time. Once I get all of my personal & blog photos organized, I will then see to the rest of my family’s photos, which will probably end up on Amazon Cloud Drive, too, since it is unlimited!

Don’t have Amazon Prime? No worries, I will explain at the end of this post some amazing deals offered for you from Amazon Cloud Drive for non-prime members.

Now that photos are off of my phone and I have freed up a ton of storage space, I can organize the rest of my phone.

{my sweet screensaver…can’t believe they are teenagers now!}

Step Two:

Update Apps

I had not been able to update my apps due to lack of…yep…storage space. Now I can! I had 37 updates just waiting there for me, and now my phone will work with efficiency.

Step Three:

Voicemails –Listen to & delete all voicemails. I had listened to all of mine, but had not deleted them. They were starting to pile up! I also went in my settings and set them to automatically delete after a certain period of time.

Step Four:

Messages — Read, respond to, & delete all messages

Step Five:

Voxer –(I’m assuming you all have and love this app as much as I do) I listened to and deleted all old messages (these were taking up a ton of space!) I use this awesome walkie-talkie type message app everyday. It makes driving in the car so much more fun when I am alone. I blab to friends or listen to my messages and just love how it turns car time into connecting time!

Step Six:

Reminders–I took a quick peek at all of my reminders and clicked off items that were finished, and deleted lists that were outdated.

Step Seven:

Frequently Used Apps –I put frequently used apps on front home screen. This is my personal preference, then I use folders on the second home screen. There are several ways to organize apps. Some like to do it according to color, some like to alphabetize them. On my front page I do a combination of color and type.

Step Eight:

App Folders–organize rest of apps in folders on 2nd home screen. I saw a great idea online recently where you organize according to action word:

~look up (yelp, contacts, safari, contacts, weather)

~listen (music, spotify)

~talk (message, FaceTime, ichat)

~shop (amazon, walgreens, iTunes)

~share (snapchat, twitter, vine, periscope)

~photograph (photos, instagram, Amazon Cloud Drive)

~navigate (maps, around me)

~read (amazon reading app, mashable, Bloglovin’)

Step Nine:

Contacts–Go through contacts and update information.

Step Ten:

Notes – clear out notes. Delete unwanted, file the rest into Evernote

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Oh my goodness I can’t tell you how much better using my newly organized phone is!

What made the biggest difference is dealing with my boatload of photos. It took quite awhile to move over 2,000 pictures using the Amazon Cloud App, but that was to be expected with so many photos. Now that the bulk of my photos are moved over, doing just a month at a time is super fast. I find myself keeping about a week’s worth of photos on my phone, as I like to share them on social sites like instagram, so that gives me some time to do just that while still staying organized and on top of my photos.

Want to know more about Amazon Cloud Drive?

Photos and files can be shared via private links from within the Amazon Photo app or by selecting a folder or file to be shared using the web interface on your computer. Love that! This would be super useful for holidays or vacations, to share with your friends and family.

If you are already a prime member, you have access to Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, which provides unlimited photo storage as part of your Prime membership. In addition, Prime members get 5 GB of additional storage space for videos, movies, music, and files.

If you are not, Amazon recently announced two unlimited storage plans, both start with a free 3-month trial:

Unlimited Everything Plan ($59.99 per year—equivalent of less than $5 per month): Store an infinite number of new and existing photos, videos, files, documents, movies, and music in Cloud Drive.
Unlimited Photos Plan ($11.99 per year—equivalent of less than $1 per month): Similar to the Prime member benefit – non Prime members can also store an infinite number of photos in Cloud Drive without worrying about taking up space on phones, cameras, or other devices. This plan also includes 5 GB of additional storage for videos or other documents and files.

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What about you? Do you store your photos in the cloud? Do you find yourself annoyed when your phone photos take up all your storage space? Do you have any more phone organization tips for me?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up

I was at a bookstore this weekend and was browsing through the best-sellers, and came upon this book by Marie Kondo. I was intrigued and am still thinking about the book on this Monday morning, so I decided to buy the Kindle version. I’m excited to get to reading it and hope that it will give me the bit of inspiration I need to get my spring organization into action!

Here are some things I have learned about the book from around the web:

WHAT IS THE KONMARI METHOD?

The Konmari Method was created by Japanese organising expert Marie Kondo and is described in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

Kondo’s theory is that we are happiest when we are surrounded by things we love. The Konmari method consists of gathering together everything you own and then keeping only those things which ‘spark joy’. You hold every item before you decide what you want to do with it, and items that are not kept are thanked for their service, which, believe it or not, makes it easier to let things go. Key points in the Konmari method include decluttering by category and using efficient storage methods.

DECLUTTERING BY CATEGORY

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up espouses a specific order of decluttering by category. You begin with clothes, then books, then papers and finally Komono, or miscellaneous items such as CDs, skincare products and electrical items. You finish up with photos and other sentimental items because they are the most difficult to part with.

EFFICIENT STORAGE METHODS

Marie Kondo advocates carefully storing items so that they are well cared for and easy to find. For example, she suggests folding clothes so that sit upright in your drawers and allowing socks to rest by not rolling them up into balls.

{a short video of Marie folding an underwear drawer}

BASICS OF THE KONMARI METHOD

{source}

1. Discard first, store later.

You cannot organize clutter. The first step is to get rid of everything you don’t need.

2. Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.

“Tidying is a special event. Don’t do it every day.” If you do the job right, once and completely, you won’t have to do it again.

3. Storage experts are hoarders.

“Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved.” But organized clutter is still clutter.

4. Sort by category, not location.

“Tidying up by location his a fatal mistake.” Sort by category instead, in the following order: Clothes, books, papers, miscellany, and then things with sentimental value.

5. “Does this spark joy?”

If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t, get rid of it. (Important documents not included, but there are fewer of these than you’d think)

6. Never pile things.

Vertical storage is the key. Stacking has two problems: you can stack much more that you can store vertically (not a plus if you’re aiming for clutter-free:, and stacking is hard on the things at the bottom.

7. Learn how to fold.

Kondo is adamant about proper folding technique, which enables you to store things standing up rater than laid flat. This method is amazing for visual types, because you can see everything at a glance, much more effectively than you can if your clothes are hanging or vertically stacked.

………………..

I’m eager to read the book & will let you know if I use the techniques.

Does this appeal to you? Have you read the book?

For more KonMari inspiration, check out these Kon Mari Pinterest Boards.

Counting Gifts/ FAMILY/ Featured

My New Way Of Counting Gifts

Thanks to Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, I have been counting gifts for years.

The most helpful time to count gifts was when I was going through cancer treatment. I know during that trying time it helped immensely to focus on the blessings in life. I even got my girls involved and we together we looked for ‘treasures’ to count. The good even in the bad.

When I become mindful of all of the wonderful things there are to discover in a day, it changes me. It changes my attitude, my heart, & my perspective. It is hard to have a bad day when you are looking for gifts to write down.

I love having and using tools to help this process. The camera in my phone is one such tool. I often take photos of things I see as blessings, big or small, and store them on Instagram. I call them ‘Captured Life Tidbits‘ –they are just all the ‘goodies’ of life that I find beautiful. I have also used the notes app in my phone to list gifts, but I found I’m more successful when they are written on paper.

I’ve been thinking a lot about listing the gifts and being faithful in keeping track of them day by day. Because it has been on the forefront of my mind, I was delighted to find the perfect tool for listing all the wonderful tidbits of life.

Enter Moleskine 2015 Weekly Diary/Planner

I am a huge Moleskine fan, and have over 10 Moleskine journals that I have written in throughout the years. They are a well-made classic. I know there are so many cute journals out there, but I’m a pretty simple girl who loves plain & classic. I picture how a journal will look lined up on a bookcase, and I always end up grabbing a simple Moleskine.

I’ve always bought the hard cover journals, but lately I’ve been crushing on their soft cover journals that come in a package of 3. I keep them in my bag. I use my phone note app for a lot of things, but for certain things (like my Christmas list) I like having a paper journal to write in.

The 2015 Moleskine Weekly Diary/Planner

It has the perfect amount of space to list gifts each day. The new 2015 journal gives you a few days before the new year to start, which I have taken full advantage of.

I will pull it out of my bag during the day when I am at home, and have it in a central location or close by to jot down a gift when I notice one. I will also take it with me in my bag for on- the- go gift listing, but if I forget to grab it, I use Siri to help me list the gifts while I’m on the car or out and about. I then grab my journal right before bed and transfer any lists of gifts that i mad during the day on my phone. It then is right there by my bed when I wake up, ready for me to find my perspective for the new day.

Can you see why I need something that is well made and durable? This book will be by my side and on the move all year!

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So there is my plan.

What do you think?

Have you ever counted and listed the amazing goodie- tidbit gifts of life?

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Christmas/ FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties

How To Simplify Christmas

Christmas always makes me giddy and excites me. I love the hustle and bustle. I love how twinkly lights create an instant atmosphere. I love carefully unwrapping the ornaments that we have collected over the years. I love how it gives a reason and motivation to have parties and get together with the ones we love. I love having an excuse to eat lots of sugar. Last but not least, I love focusing in and celebrating the birth of God in flesh. Emmanuel.

Each year, I have tried to simplify Christmas, chiseling it down a bit each year. There are many different reasons why one should simplify Christmas. Even a simple Christmas looks different for different people, depending on what season of life you are in and how you are wired. This year I find myself cutting even more of “should do’s” and “to-do’s.” It is freeing. I am finding the more I remove, the more meaningful Christmas is & the more I can focus on all that really matters.

1. Make lists, but just a few.

I used to have an entire binder that I would use for Christmas. It was helpful, especially when I was a rookie at being a homemaker and planning holidays. I have found though, that most of it is not necessary.

I have written 3 lists for the holiday:

~People I need to buy gifts for

~Celebrations/Parties and their dates & times & whether I need to bring a dish or a gift to exchange.

~Food I want to make–including what type of Christmas cookies!

2. Keep decor simple

I used to put up two Christmas trees–one pretty tree and one traditional tree. The stand of one tree broke last year, freeing me from one tree. I decided to mix the ‘pretty’ tree with our traditional ornaments, & it ended up being one of my most favorite Christmas trees.

I also got rid of a ton of Christmas decorations the last couple of years, purging while packing them up after the holiday was over. I used to have a little something in each room to make it festive. Now I keep the decor to the main rooms, and maybe a festive candle in the bathroom. It is just as beautiful & now decorating takes 1/2 the time.

3. Let decorating be a process, & enjoy it.

I used to rush through the decorating process, getting it all done at once. When I was going through cancer treatments, I learned to do things slowly and in steps. It’s ok for it to take a few days. It’s ok to wait a while after Thanksgiving to get it done. Christmas is not an emergency. Enjoy the process.

4. Have a cookie exchange.

I would rather bake a bunch of one type of cookie instead of a bunch of different types of cookies. A cookie exchange is a great way to have a variety of cookies while saving money on a bunch of different ingredients. Invite 6 friends, have them each bring 7 dozen of one type of cookie, then exchange cookies, with everyone goes home with 6 dozen different types of cookies! The 7th dozen is to eat during the exchange. All you have to do is have some little plates, napkins & something warm to drink. Use social media to invite your guests…no need to buy invites, stamps or take a trip to the post office.

5. Use Pinterest

I have some amazing Christmas boards on Pinterest. One is for Christmas food, one for Christmas decor, and one for Christmas Cookies. I use the decor board for inspiration. I might pin elaborate, beautiful pins, but most of the time it is for the inspiration or to take one element of the photo to copy & make my own.

I recently went through my Christmas decor board and made a secret board from it, pinning only things that I think would be fun to implement this year. They are all simple, fun things…many of them my 11-year-old daughter could do.

I use my Christmas boards for food inspiration, making a food list from those fun boards. No need to go search all over the internet when there is Pinterest!

6. Have a stash of simple, homemade gifts to give away to those you care about.

I have another board on Pinterest called Homemade Gifts where there is a ton of inspiration! Some would take a lot of work, and some are simple. I plan on looking for something simple and easy to do, a small little something to have on hand for people like my mailman, hairstylist, therapist, and even my close girlfriends who I don’t usually exchange with, but want them to know I love them. It could be as easy as buying 12 small mason jars, some jute or ribbon & ingredients to make homemade hot chocolate. Mix up a double batch, print out some fun jar toppers, write instructions with a Sharpie, and set aside for when needed.

7. Skip the Christmas cards.

I used to write a family newsletter and send out over 100 cards. It was such a process! Now with social media, I am in touch with more people and can see pictures of their families and know with a click how they are doing. I use this to my advantage and no longer send out Christmas cards. I know my friends and family are ok without a card from me, especially if they know it keeps me from being stressed out. Eyy! Just the thought of trying to find everyone’s address makes me sweat a little!

If you still want people to know you love them, send an online greeting.

8. Buy store-bought instead of homemade.

Now that stores like Trader Joes are starting to use ingredients I would use at home- without added chemicals & preservatives-I take advantage of what they could make for me instead of killing myself in the kitchen. This is especially true for sweet & fun food that gets eaten during the holidays. Their biscotti can make Christmas morning coffee extra special, their popcorn tins add fun to family -decorate-the- tree -night, and their cranberry sauce tastes just like homemade & uses the exact same ingredients as my favorite recipe.

9. Shop online.

Skip the crowds & shop from your cozy home in your cozy pjs. I plan on taking 2 evenings this week to go through my list and figure out what can be bought online. Target has free shipping during the holidays. I do lots of shopping on Amazon with free shipping on most items thanks to Amazon Prime. If you do shop on Amazon, kindly Click Here and I will receive a small percentage of your purchase for referring you, with no cost to you!

Amazon is a great. I have a niece and nephews who make Amazon wish lists so all I have to do is log on and see what their little hearts’ desire. It makes shopping so easy!

10. Read the Christmas Story.

We have a Christmas tradition of buying a new Christmas book every year. My girls still love to read through these books, and I love how it keeps our mind on the true meaning of Christmas. We have also worked through the Jesse Tree book a few different years, which was my absolute favorite way to focus in on the Christ at Christmas. This simplifies my brain in reminding me what truly matters.

So there are some ideas I have for you.

What are ways you simplify Christmas?

HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing

A Revolutionary Dish Rack

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Rubbermaid, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #RMDishRack http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV“

I’ve never wanted a dish rack sitting out on my counter top, which is why I would call the Rubbermaid dish rack ‘revolutionary’ because my mind is now changed. I know, it sounds dramatic, but seriously, this rack is pretty & looks great in my kitchen. No more nasty stained, flimsy plastic dish racks that are not even close to sturdy enough for expensive cookware, flatware and pots that need hand washed. No more eyesores sitting out on the counter top, and no more risking your most loved dishes being ruined by piling them in the sink or sticking them in the dishwasher.

This rack is sleek and made with much thought. There are no sides on the rack so it can hold large platters and cookie sheets. It is perfect for bar ware and good enough to be a holding spot for your precious china as it air dries or as you hand dry each piece yourself. The silverware container is removable, so if not needed, removing it provides even more space for plates, pan & platters. It also makes it very easy to clean. I especially love the wide rows, they are all the perfectly spaced with the back two rows giving even more room for pans. It resists mold and mildew with Microban, which is an antimicrobial protection product.

The Rubbermaid Dish Rack was so pretty that while I was at Target I had to buy 2 of them. I was able to get one for 15% because I am a Target Cartwheel card holder & they were having a special offer. Are you familiar with Cartwheel? I simply downloaded the app to my phone and whip it out during check out for them to scan. I’ve been amazed by the savings through Cartwheel.

So what did I do with my second Rubbermaid Dish Rack?

I used it to organize my daughters art supplies! The minute I saw that it did not have sides, I knew it would be the perfect thing to organize supplies & hold canvases, frames, mats and finished projects. The removable plastic container for utensils is perfect for her paintbrushes, pencils and markers. She loved it and it is modern & cool enough for my 13-year-old to be ok with having it in her room.

One more idea I had for the Rubbermaid Dish Rack was to use it when we eat buffet style. It would look great sitting on a buffet table holding plates in between the rows, and flatware in the utensil section. The little foot up front is a perfect place to lay a pile of napkins. I would even take it outside to set up for a buffet style picnic!

As for storing the rack when not in use, I plan on adding a hook in my pantry to hang it. Again, it is pretty enough that I don’t mind looking at it and don’t feel like I need to hide it away. I want it out in the open, easy to grab.

So how would you use the rack? Has poorly made dish racks kept you from using one? What do you think of this Rubbermaid dish rack?

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