31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty-Six : Taking Care of Yourself

You are probably thinking "what in the world does this post have to do with organizing your life??" Stay with me.

Sometimes we work so hard to make everyone happy and everything great in our lives. We do the grocery shopping, the laundry, the cleaning, the cooking, the driving everyone from here to there and back to here. We wipe noses, bottoms, and tears. We go to bed so tired that we can't sleep because all we can think about is all the things we have to do the next day. We plan parties, playdates, real dates and holidays. But sometimes we forget to organize time for ourselves.

Time for yourself often feels like the last item on the priority list, but it shouldn't be. Just like spending time with your spouse or significant other, having time for you is not bad or wrong or selfish. It's necessary to recharge our batteries. I love my family more than anything, but I need time on my own occasionally and that doesn't make me a bad wife or a bad mom. Here are a few ways that I make sure I have time for me.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty-Five : Baby Girl's Room

Today's post will pretty much be all pictures since they pretty much speak for themselves. Organizing my baby girl's (age 4) room is a constant process. Even with regular clean-up everything ends up mixed up. Her closet is made up of a hanging section for clothes and cubes to store toys and games. The games were taking over...

I relocated the games to a cabinet on the backside of the island and it opened up a lot of space. We even have an extra spot open for overflow! The black basket took the place of the green bin and holds mostly little brother's toys that he plays with regularly.

31 Days to a Normal Life : Day Twenty Four : Using Gadgets to Stay Organized

Technological tools and gadgets carry a huge workload these days. With our phones capable of everything from managing our calendar to providing restaurant reviews and traffic alerts, using the phone for talking doesn't even seem to be the norm anymore. Smart phones, tablets and laptops make technology portable in a way that wasn't possible until fairly recently. The other day in the car, while the Maroon 5 song "Payphone" was playing, my 4 year old asked me what a payphone was. As I was explaining, I realized that the idea of needing to access a public phone is completely foreign to her. Anytime we leave the house, I have a phone right there in my purse so why would I need a payphone??

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty-Three : Saving Kid's Artwork

Kids accumulate a lot of stuff. Even if you are religious about purging unused toys, clothes, books, etc, they still manage to bring in more. Once they reach school-age, they start to bring home papers, art projects, and all sorts of "mementos." We're not even to the schoolwork stage, but we have a miniature artist on our hands and for the past two years, we've accrued a lot of artwork.

Inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night - from Fancy Nancy Art Camp

It's not that I don't love and treasure every single piece. Even the ones that make you think "what am I looking at??" are precious. But the fact of the matter is that we don't have the space to store the abundance of masterpieces that come through our door. I don't want to just callously throw them away (although some I do) but I just can't save it all. So what can you do??

Sweeter Still's First Feature!!

I'm so excited to share some awesome news today! Yesterday my linen closet revamp was one of the favorites featured at the Keep Calm & Link Up party cohosted by Becoming Martha, Chase the Star and Wait Til Your Father Gets Home!

I am really honored to have been chosen for a feature and I'm grateful to all the awesome gals at Keep Calm & Link Up! You should definitely check them out. Each blog is full of creativity and the link party is newer so join in the fun each Thursday evening.

If you are a new visitor from the KCLU party, thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll stick around!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty-Two : The Junk Drawer

I don't know about your house, but in ours, the junk drawer gets out of control faster than almost any other spot when it comes to clutter. I try to reorganize it every couple weeks and it still looks like a tornado blew through. I tried to brainstorm ways to avoid the junk drawer in our new kitchen, but when you get right down to it, there is random stuff that needs a home and it usually ends up together.

Here's ours before:

It's not completely out of control, but there's a lot in the mix making it little more than a guess where to find something or where to put it back when you finish. 

Thankfulness Thursdays/ Week Thirteen

It's week thirteen of Thankfulness Thursdays and Thanksgiving is now just a month away. Inspired by Ashley at Domestic Fashionista, each week I write about someone or something for which I am thankful. It's just a small way of counting our blessings in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Be sure to stop by DF and read Ashley's post and link up your own!

This week is really simple but I'm thankful for the fall weather.

Finally in the last weeks of October, we're experiencing a little feeling of fall here in southern California. It was still 78 yesterday afternoon, but the mornings and evenings are crisp and cool. When I wake up, the house is chilly enough that I'm wearing slippers and a sweatshirt or robe over my pjs. And I've actually been able to wear a light sweater and boots! After so much heat this summer, the chill in the air is a welcome arrival.

I'm ready for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch and while I've had fall decor up for a few weeks now, it finally feels appropriate. I've been making some delicious soups that are just right for cool evenings and I'm all geared up to decorate for Halloween. Thank you, autumn, for finally showing up!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty-One : Organizing Your Car

As a mom, I spend a lot of time shuttling from place to place in the car. Having just gotten a new car a few months ago, mine still feels pretty neat. I put more effort to keep it clean and organized because it doesn't have years of wear and tear. Regardless of whether your car is new or old, there are easy ways to keep it up that don't take a lot of effort.

I recently purchased a small plastic coupon organizer from the dollar store to manage important information that we keep in the car. If you've ever been pulled over or in a fender-bender, you know how important it is to have your insurance and registration handy.

The organizer came with labels for the various sections so I made one for registration and insurance info. I also designated one section for emergencies, which has contact info for roadside assistance. I also put a pocket-sized notepad and pen in the back just in case. I store the whole thing in the glove compartment so I know exactly where all the important papers are when I need them.

I bought a small first-aid kit for around $10 at Target that has some basics in it like bandaids, advil and antiseptic wipes. It's small so I keep that with a package of wet wipes in the side pocket of the driver's side door. In the pocket of the front passenger door I have a couple plastic bags and a small roll of paper towels for spills, sickies, etc. Our car came equipped with a jack and jumper cables, but if yours doesn't, I'd suggest having some for emergencies.

Because we live in a pretty warm climate, I don't keep too much else in the car for emergencies. If we lived somewhere cold or snowy, I would have a couple small blankets, water and antifreeze. Most of the driving that I do is within city limits and typically pretty close to home so I don't worry too much about us being stranded for a long time. If you spend time driving in isolated areas, you'd want to be prepared with some bottled water, snacks, etc.

To keep the car tidy, I make it a habit to pick up the trash, toys, clothes, etc. that inevitably end up in the car every day. Rather than having to clean a giant mess every so often, doing a daily sweep makes it easier to deal with a small amount. Like most chores, doing it more often makes it take less time and energy.
What do you keep in your car for emergencies?

Sweeter Still is on Facebook!

I'm excited to announce that Sweeter Still now has its own Facebook page! I'll be adding links to new posts, sharing news and even giving hints about posts to come. 

Go check it out and give me a like if you want to stay connected to the Sweeter Still blog!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twenty : The Importance of Routine

There's something familiar and comforting to most of us about a routine. A sense of peace that comes from the habitual. Most of us have routines that have become so ingrained in our daily life that we don't even think about them. For instance, I bet you have a shower routine. I know I do. Every time I shower, I follow roughly the same steps in the same order. In fact, my shower program is so drilled into my brain now that I've actually derailed the process by trying to go out of order and ended up with facewash in my hair. I'm not kidding.

Routines are especially important for children. I've never read a book about parenting that didn't emphasize the importance of pattern in the daily life of a child. There are different extremes to which you might follow your particular routine, but it seems to be almost universally agreed upon that children thrive when they know what to expect each day.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Eighteen & Nineteen : Sweating the Small Stuff

I know the popular catch-phrase is "don't sweat the small stuff." There's a whole book about the concept of not worrying about the little things in favor of focusing on the big picture. But as a mom, while my overall job may be to help my children grow into kind, loving and responsible adults, my day-to-day duties are largely focused on the small things.

The small stuff in my daily routine is what adds up to the big picture for my family. At face value, doing laundry is about making sure my family has clean clothes to wear. In the grand scheme of things, keeping up with the laundry is a way of showing my husband and children that I care, and in turn teaching my kids that even doing simple chores is a way of caring for others.

My big goals might be letting my kids know they are loved and helping them to grow physically, mentally and emotionally, but on any given day there are still breakfasts, lunches and dinners to be made, teeth to be brushed, diapers to be changed, toenails to be clipped, clothes to be washed, groceries to be bought, and bills to be paid.

I couldn't tell you who the seventeenth president was, but I can tell you that Fancy Nancy & the Posh Puppy is the purple book and that if a certain lovie isn't in the bed, it's probably on the couch or under the dining table. I could recite The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who or How the Grinch Stole Christmas if necessary. I remember the name of every doctor my kids have ever seen and the foods they love and hate. I know that the easiest way to get them to take medicine is to pretend to give a dose to their stuffed animals first.

I'll never be a world leader, but I can tell you that both President Obama and Mitt Romney had someone in their lives who taught them to brush their teeth, blow their nose and use the potty. At one point someone was making sure they had clean socks, that they went to school and that they learned to read. Someone knew their favorite story, their allergies and their most ticklish spot.

None of these small things is the most important aspect of my family's life, but my attention to these details gets us from one big moment to the next. By handling the small stuff, it allows our family to enjoy the big stuff. When I've got these things covered, my husband can go to work without worrying that things get done. My kids may not recognize it yet, but somewhere down the line (probably when they are living on their own) they will realize all the things that I did to help their lives run smoothly and to let them focus on what is most important for them. Because I love them. And because my hope is that someday they will do the same for their own families based on what they experienced as children.


You can see the previous days in the series here. Thanks for following along!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Seventeen : Meal Planning, Part Three

I thought since I'm a meal-planner-in-training, I'd offer up some great resources from seasoned planners to encourage your own menu-planning efforts. Even if you are already great at planning your meals, you might find a new printable planning sheet or tip to make things run even more smoothly.

Simple Mom

You might not want to hear this, but the holidays are literally around the corner. This post from Tsh at Simple Mom is specific to December and details not only their menu plan for the month, but the batch cooking she plans for busy times.

Keeper of the Home
Not only is Stephanie really on top of meal planning, but she also focuses on feeding her family "real foods" and avoiding processed foods. This post (written by one of her contributors) is about getting back on the meal planning wagon and gives her actual menu for two weeks. The entire blog is chock full of great menu planning tips and strategies, but this post is a great starting point.

Faithful Provisions
I sort of stumbled upon this blog and while I'm not a couponer (funny that we use that as a word now) I really enjoyed all her resources for menu planning. She has a lot of printables to help keep you organized.

5 Dinners-in-1hr
If you want to be a real go-getter, then this one's for you! You can buy a subscription and receive monthly plans with grocery lists that train you to prep five dinners in an hour that can be easily reheated during the course of the week. If you aren't into the whole advanced meal prep idea, Michelle still has awesome recipes on her site and lots of great tips for making delicious meals for a family.

I hope you find some of these awesome blogs/posts helpful! Do you have a favorite meal-planning resource??

Check out the previous days of the series here!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Sixteen : Meal Planning, Part Two

Yesterday I admitted that I am horrible at meal planning and that it's one area where I would really like to improve. Whenever I read about someone who plans meals a month at a time (or actually cooks for a month at a time) I feel like such a slacker and so envious of their mama skills. I can at least make the effort to start out a week at a time.

I'm not the most able graphic designer and I don't really have the time to design my own meal planning sheet. And seriously why kill myself doing this when so many talented folks have already done this and provide free printables?!

Thankfulness Thursdays/ Week Twelve

Week twelve of Thankfulness Thursdays and Thanksgiving itself is not too far away! Inspired by Ashley of Domestic Fashionista, each Thursday I post about something for which I am thankful. If you're feeling grateful this week too, jot it down and hop over to Domestic Fashionista to link up!

Today I'm thankful for our network of support.

Last weekend we celebrated the baptism of our son and it was beautiful to see all those who joined in the festivities. We are blessed with wonderful godparents, who I know will treasure their duty and play a significant role in the life of my baby boy. Many of the same people who have celebrated with us at times of triumph and rallied around us in times of strife were there to yet again surround our family as we welcomed our son into the community of God.

I'm thankful for a group that will celebrate this momentous occasion with us regardless of personal beliefs. For those who don't lay a claim to the gift of grace, I pray that our ceremony would impact them in some small way. I'm grateful of course for our little guy and pray for a lifetime of blessings upon him. How fortunate we are to have so much love with which to surround him.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Fifteen : Meal Planning, Part One

Confession: I am awful at meal planning. It's one of the areas that I know would really help me, but I'm inconsistent at best when it comes to planning our meals in advance. I'd really like to improve on this so the next few days will be about taking some steps towards consistent menu planning.

To start off, I wanted to have some back-up meals in the freezer that can be thrown in the crock pot when I know it's going to be a hectic day. Even this takes some planning because the meals have to thaw beforehand. I think I can handle looking ahead at the week and seeing that Thursday is going to be busy so I better thaw a freezer meal Wednesday to make dinner easier the next night. Are you following me?

I did some research on good old Pinterest for freezer meals and found myself a brand new blog to read. It's the mecca of meals, crafts, DIY and it's called Six Sisters' Stuff. You might have heard of it; they have like ten zillion followers. The post that I found on Pinterest was this one about making 8 slow cooker freezer meals in one hour. Yahtzee!

I chose three of the eight meals to start: Black Bean Taco Soup, Hearty Beef Stew, and Cilantro Lime Chicken. I made a shopping list and took my little guy to the store to stock up.

I labeled gallon ziploc bags with each meal, today's date and the time each needs in the slow cooker. Then I just followed the instructions on Six Sisters and dumped everything in. I browned the ground turkey for the black bean taco soup first and let it cool while I put together the other two meals.

Now I have three ready-made meals that just need heating up to make dinner a snap!

Join me tomorrow for more adventures in meal planning and check out the previous days in the series here.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Fourteen : Much-needed Inspiration

The longer I write this series, the more I respect bloggers who post daily or almost daily. It takes a lot of work to come up with a quality post for each day. Today instead of taking a break, I'm sharing some of the organization blogs and sites that I find most inspiring and motivating. Get ready to see some serious organization skills!

I Heart Organizing
From DIY to creative storage to printables to keep you organized, this gal does it all! Jen is a home management guru and clearly works hard to make her home not only orderly, but beautiful.

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Toni takes the cake when it comes to organization. Her blog is full of fabulous ideas and tutorials to help you get control of your own home.

Organizing Made Fun

Becky has a zillion ideas for organizing on a budget. Her blog is a great reminder that you don't have to blow the budget or have endless space in order to be organized.

I hope this gives you some good motivation to tackle some organizational projects! I'll be back tomorrow with more ways I'm getting life in order.

Check out the whole 31 day series here!

Leibster Award Nomination

I'm really excited to share that I was nominated for the Leibster Award by Mary at Cherry Blossom Love! I've been reading Mary's blog since the beginning of October and it's great. She's a new mom, talented with graphic design and all around awesome so you should check out her blog!

The Leibster Award is geared towards building up recognition of smaller blogs (less than 200 followers). Each nominee selects other small blogs to nominate as a way to spread the blog love! Here are the rules...

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Thirteen : Vacation Recovery

We just got back from a four day trip to the LA area for some great time with family and friends. I'm sorry that I had to skip two days of posting, but I promise to fulfill the 31 days anyway. At the last minute, the hubs was able to take some extra time and we extended our trip, which was awesome, but also meant packing in a hurry and not enough time to get posts ready for our absence. Boo (but yay for our trip)!

Now we're back and I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about how I "recover" our family and home from an out of town trip. Here's what happened when we came home and unloaded the car...

And that's not even all of it! So what do I do??

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Twelve : Packing the Family for a Vacation

Yesterday I offered some helpful tips for prepping your house before a vacation! Today we're talking about getting the family ready to go. Packing is easy enough when you are only planning for yourself, but when you factor in kids who need diaper changes, snacks, and activities to keep them busy, it can become quite the ordeal.

I'm a classic overpacker. It is what it is and I've learned to accept it. I truly hate the feeling of not having something I need on a trip so I tend to overcompensate a wee bit. Fortunately, I've tamed it down since having kids who require so much extra stuff just so that we can actually fit it all in one car. I'm also a big believer in learning from prior experiences so here are a few things I'm doing this time around to ease the stress. Remember the intention I set in the beginning of the series...

Packing us up in an orderly way will help to keep things running smoothly during not just the packing process but the trip itself.

Thankfulness Thursdays : Week Eleven

Welcome to another week of Thankfulness Thursdays inspired by Ashley at Domestic Fashionista! Each week I share someone or something for which I am thankful as a way to remind myself of all that I have in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

This week I am thankful for the beautiful place we call home.

I've lived in a lot of different parts of the country. I was born and raised in New Hampshire, spent high school and then some in Colorado, went to college in Washington state, lived for a year after college in Texas and finally moved to San Diego seven years ago. Each place has its own beauty and unique qualities, but I'm very happy to call southern California my home.

We have such temperate weather. No more starting the car fifteen minutes early in the morning to warm it up, no more shoveling snow and no more scraping the windshield. We don't get a lot of rain and we live just far enough in from the coast to enjoy an abundance of sunny days year-round. Sometimes I miss the New England autumn or the snow-filled Christmases, but mostly I'm happy right where I am. I'm thankful to have such a beautiful place to live with my family and I need to remember to take advantage of it more often.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Eleven : Preparing Your Home for a Trip

Welcome to day ten of my efforts toward organizing our home and family, one step at a time! If you missed any of the previous days you can check them out here!

Today we are talking about how to get your home ready before you leave for a vacation. There's so much to do before a trip, not to mention so much excitement and anticipation. Just a few simple steps can help keep your house safe while you are out of town.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Ten : Tracking Our Schedule

Today I'm bringing back a previous post about our weekly calendar with a few updates.

I found a great printable week-at-a-glance calendar at Mommy Tracked. They have a bunch of other options but this one looked like it would work best for us. It has a space for each day of the current week, plus small sections for kid's activities and the dinner plan for that day.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Nine : De-junking Your Purse

Tell me if this situation sounds familiar... You're tackling a trip to the grocery store with both kids and your cell phone starts ringing. You reach with one hand into your purse for the phone while keeping the other hand on your toddler who has outsmarted the shopping cart seatbelt and managed to turn himself around still buckled. While you dig furiously through your purse with your free hand, your toddler continues to lean precariously over the edge of the seat, laughing hysterically as you hold onto the back of his pants. Normally you'd ignore the phone but you're waiting for the pediatrician's office to call back so you can tell them the the snot flowing freely from your preschooler's nose is now definitely looking green and not clear. Finally your fingers grasp the phone just as the pediatrician's office number lights up under the heading "missed call."

At any given time, the contents of your purse can mean the difference between sinking and swimming. It's not enough to carry your phone, but the ability to find the phone when you need it. It's not just a hold-all for papers and receipts, but having the receipt on hand when you need to pick up the dry-cleaning or return an item at the store. Often my purse feels more like a dumping ground than a well-ordered carryall. If you feel the same, then keep reading!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Eight : Linen Closet, Part Two

Were you wondering if I was ever going to reveal my reorganized and revitalized linen closet?? I spent the weekend working on it piece by piece and truthfully, only the cabinet is done. I have plans for the closet portion, but I really want to share the cabinet now!

The first thing I wanted to do was add some personality. The inside was still this bland cream color that used to be on all the trim and the doors. When we overhauled the kitchen, we had the entire interior of the house painted and now the walls are a light gray and the trim is a crisp white. Love.

So in a bold move on my part, I painted the inside of the upper cabinet in the same light gray as the walls. I did it during naptime and while it was a nice change, it didn't really do much.

The top two shelves are painted and the bottom section isn't. Could you even tell? Me neither. So I hopped over to Michael's and found some pretty scrapbook paper.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Seven : Pantry Alternative

Yesterday I shared how we removed most of our upper cabinets during our kitchen renovation, leaving us with a lot of drawers for storage. One of the biggest changes we made when we took down the wall between our kitchen and living room was getting rid of our pantry. Because of the new layout, there isn't space for a typical tall pantry cabinet. Instead, we use four large drawers to store our dry goods.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Six : Kitchen Drawers

Welcome to day six in the series! If you haven't been following along, you can see the days you missed by clicking here.

Today I'm sharing how I organized the drawers in our recently renovated kitchen. We took down two walls in the renovation and lost a lot of space where upper cabinets used to be so now we mostly use large drawers. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Five : Real Life

Sometimes you have great plans for a project and things just unravel. I had every hope of revealing the linen closet makeover today but it's not happening. I'm sick. The kids are sick. The little one didn't nap today and that's that. I feel bad that I don't have the finished product to share today, but sometimes life happens :) I hope to finish the closet over the weekend.

In the meantime, come back tomorrow when I share how I organized our newly renovated kitchen!

You can check out the previous days from the series here.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Four : The Linen Closet, Part One

Welcome back to another day of organization here at Sweeter Still! If you missed the first few days, start here and you'll find links to the following days.

Today I'm moving from one closet to another - the hall linen closet! When our house was built back in the early 80s, they had some really interesting design ideas. And by interesting I mean I don't think they really thought things through. Instead of one giant linen closet, they created a set of cabinets and a small closet right next to one another in the hall. In my eyes, it's an incredible waste of usable space and someday we have big plans to renovate this area.

So we've got the upper and lower cabinets and the little closet, plus that very handy display area (or you can use it to store the drawers from the bathroom that need to be childproofed so the kids don't get stuck in the bathroom.) I just see this as one big closet that opens up to have full use of the space. Wouldn't that be amazing?!

The biggest problem we have right now is not utilizing this space to its full potential. The cabinets get messy easily and the closet storage is not being maximized. Check it out.

The ironing board is taking up more than its fair share of space here. And yes that's my wedding gown in the monstrous white garment bag. Step one to clearing out this space is taking my gown to be professionally stored because we will not be "putting it in a rubbermaid bin and throwing it up in the attic" as someone in our home once suggested. (eyes rolling)

The top cabinet holds mostly towels, as well as cleaning rags and the iron. The bottom cabinet is mostly sheets and random linens. I did a pretty recent linen purge, but I'm guessing there are a few items that escaped so I'll definitely go through it again.

Here's some of my linen closet inspiration. I could just swoon over some of these.

BH&G

BH&G

This one gives me some ideas for the open space between the upper & lower cabinets.

Real Simple

Tune in tomorrow to see the updated linen closet/cabinet!

Thankfulness Thursdays/ Week Ten

Welcome to another week in the Thankfulness Thursdays series! If this is your first time visiting, this series was inspired by Ashley at Domestic Fashionista as a way to remind ourselves to count our blessings during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Be sure to check out her post and link up if you feel like joining in!

This week I am thankful for waking up without pain! If you read my week six post, you know that I threw out my back and was in a world of hurt. We had to call in a lot of help while I was down for the count and every day was spent managing my pain in some form or another. I was fortunate to find a good sitter to help watch the kids and a great chiropractor to help me work through the injury.

Finally after about three weeks of gradually decreasing pain, I am waking up without that familiar ache in my back! It is such a great reminder of how lucky we are to have access to medical care, insurance and doctors. I am so happy to get out of bed without feeling stiff all over for the first half hour of the morning (not so wonderful when two young kiddos wake up full of energy and ready for the day.) So this week, I am simply thankful for healing!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Three : Master Bedroom Closet, Part Two

I've been hard at work making some small, but effective changes in the design of my closet. Of course there are bigger things I'd love to do, like swap out our sliding doors for big hinged doors that would let us use the space even better, but that is for another day.

Today I'm sharing how you can create a much more organized closet space just by removing clutter and using what you have.

                   

You can see that I removed a lot of junk. Lots of hangers waiting to be filled with clothes I actually want to wear (hello hidden perks of reorganizing)!

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day Two : Master Bedroom Closet, Part One

In case you missed yesterday's introductory post, let me remind you of the intention I set for this series.

In my humble and non-expert opinion based on the opinions of many experts, one of the major steps toward a more organized and orderly life is clearing out the clutter. You know... the unnecessary crap that most of us continuously accumulate and then form an even-more-unnecessary connection to, making it that much harder to get rid of it. That is my personal definition of Class A clutter.

Obviously there is also Class B clutter, which I would define as the sometimes necessary stuff that we bring into our lives/homes/cars/purses that without proper management ends up being very difficult to distinguish from Class A clutter. This would be things like bills, school papers, basically anything important and made of paper, clothes, home decor items, toys, etc. You get the idea. If we let it pile up and take over, it will... take over. I may not be on the waiting list for an episode of "Hoarders" but I certainly have my problem zones. This leads me to today's subject: the master bedroom closet.

31 Days to a More Organized Life : Day One

At the beginning of each yoga class at the studio I attend, the instructor prompts everyone to set an intention for the class. It could be a single word, a phrase, even a goal. The point is to use that word or phrase to maintain your focus throughout the class. If you get distracted or tired, you can quiet your mind by recalling the intention that you set. Today I'd like to set my intention for this series.

My goal is not perfection. I don't have any illusion that at the end of October, I will have magically transformed into a younger, more brunette Martha. My attempt is reflected in the phrase above. I want to be thoughtful and purposeful about how I organize so that our family can live more peacefully.