HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween to all of you! I hope you enjoy your day! Are you dressing up today? If you have kids, what are they dressed as? Here at my house we have a vampire, and Minnie Mouse! And their costumes were hand made by my mom! Enjoy your day, eat lots of candy, and make sure you brush those teeth before bed! :)

Chocolate Banana Bread

After washing our dishes, I decided I could make some Chocolate Banana Bread with the 5 over-ripe bananas that I knew my kids would not eat. It was so yummy! I wish I could send you each a piece! But since I can't I will share the recipe! 
                                       Chocolate Banana Bread
-2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup white sugar
-1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
Mix this all in a bowl
Now add each of these to the bowl with the above items
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 5 ripe bananas (mashed)
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
After mixing everything I put the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan that I sprayed with Pam cooking spray. Bake on 375 degrees for about an hour. Or until your knife comes out clean! Enjoy!!!

Living Room Cleaned and Rearranged

Look at this mess, I call the living room! It was bad, I had everything that was in my daughter's room moved into this room, so I could get her room clean. And now the stuff that did not belong in this room was moved to the down stairs living room and spare room. I have many boxes I need to go threw and just throw stuff away! If you have kids you know that is not always as easy as it sounds. I took many breaks while cleaning this room, and moved EVERYTHING around! 

I moved the living room set to the other side because my daughter has started climbing it and looking over the ledge that drops to the stair way! Two reasons that I did not like that, she could fall over and who knows how bad of an accident that would be and because I have put photo frames on the ledge to prevent everyone from piling junk on it. It has worked in the areas that frames are on, I need to get a few more frames to finish it off. I moved the guitar area from one corner to another, and now it is not the center of attention when you walk into the room. After getting everything in place I swept and mopped the floors, and it kind of traveled to all the other upstairs rooms...so now all the floors are nice and clean! :) I can not wait to paint this room, and when I do I will be sure to share! Until then let me know what you think of the change! Oh and is it bad that I can't wait to put a Christmas tree in my big bay window???

Linen Closet

I am really liking the side by side before and after photos. It really shows the difference! Any who, this week on a A Bowl Full Of Lemons they are working on how to organize your linen closet. And once again, this is another area that looks like a dumping ground in our house! I did not have to do too much as it was somewhat organized when I started. I used some baskets a few months ago to put things like extra lotions and cleaners in, so some of it was already "contained". This time I added the cute "baby colored" basket and put my daughters bath towels and some soap and lotion, next to our regular towels. One day when our bathroom is gutted and redone, I will do something fun to decorate using the towel! Until then this will just have to work. Up on the very top shelf I have all my candles and extra  "(good)smelly" ;) stuff. The blue drawer container has q-tips, mini first aid kits, and some medicine. Then I used a USPS box for some gum, chap stick,and cough drops that I got FREE with coupons...So there were a bunch, and they were a mess before the box! Then the bottom shelf has toilet paper, tissues, and a box with extra bath mats, and shower curtains! As I use up my candles and lotions this space will get a lot better looking! 

Blow out Sale in eBay store

For the next 4 days my eBay store will have a 15% off blow out sale on all summer items! Over the next few days I am going to try and stock the store with some winter clothing, holiday items, and home decor stuff! Check out what we have, and see if you find something you could use! I have great feedback, and ship all items within 24 hours of payment! Check back tomorrow for a post on my linen closet! :) All Day Deals at Kaila'a

Daughter's Closet

It has been a busy past few days, which is why you have not seen a new post! This week I have been working on my daughter's room. She is almost two and has really never spent time in her own room, which made it the perfect "dumping ground". She sleeps in our room with us, and her toys are usually in the living room. I thought now that she is becoming a "toddler" I would get her room cleaned up and get her more used to it being "her room"! I started in the closet. Took everything out on the bottom, and moved it to the living room. (Most of the stuff that was down there was eBay stuff. I left the stuff hanging (top hanging areas) until we get our spare bedroom turned into my eBay office. I made her some cute boxes and labeled them "socks & undies" and "pajamas" and put those on that first shelf. I want to make some more boxes for the extra hangers, and a few other items. Moved all of her wipes, and toiletries to the second from the top shelf under her extra "blankies". I moved her toy box from the living room to the closet, and that is as far as I have got so far. Come back soon to see the rest of her room!

Master Bedroom Before and After

Oh boy, where to do I begin? First off I am embarrassed by the disaster I had in my room! Do I have to show you the pictures? I just want to pretend that my "after" photos are what it looked like before!! It was a dumping ground, and things that should not have ever been taking into that room where in there, everywhere! 

 If your room looks like this, then you need to join in and do a big clean up! I started at the night stands. My daughter seems to think this is her climbing wall, so we are now trying to break that habit, and keep them clean and neat at all times! In the cleaning book I purchased the other day, it had a little side note, " Every morning pick up anything that does not belong in the room! Put it where it does belong" I think I am going to try and follow that! While cleaning on the side tables and under the bed I noticed that there were a ton of magazines and books, and not enough space. I recycled magazines that I no longer needed/wanted. I have been wanting to get some nice magazine holders for the bedroom, since our daughter also likes to throw them on the floor! Well right now it is not in the budget to go buy a ton of organizational items, so why not make them! I am a big fan of DIY!! I took some boxes I had from the post office, and made some nice magazine holders. 

 These were the Medium Priority Flat Rate boxes from the USPS. This was the longer sized one. I took the magazine holder I had in the bathroom (see Under the Bathroom Sink Post) and traced my outline. Then I cut. I did not have any nice fabric like I used in the closet bins, so I used some nice wrapping paper. It has the words Mr.&Mrs. and is super cute. It was this or holiday, princess, or transformers wrapping paper. Those would have looked silly in my master room! I covered them in the paper, and there ya go! That's it, a DIY magazine holder. I have seen other people use cereal boxes, but I personally wanted something a little thicker and more durable than the cereal box. I finished cleaning, and got everything finished and this was what I was left with...

What do you think? I am very pleased with my work! I was also very tired, and could not wait to jump into that cozy bed! 

This was my first attempt at using "Pic monkey" do you like it, or would you prefer to see each photo individually like posted on other posts from my blog?

MASTER BEDROOM- THE CLOSET

Over at A Bowl Full Of Lemons  they are working on the Master Bedroom. I thought since my room was small I would start with the closet (also small) :(

 It was a mess. Can you tell we were just throwing things on the top shelf? And look at that laundry basket...over flowing! I took some tips from the books I got and put them to use. 
- get rid of clothing you do not wear, or that does not fit
I then took the laundry basket to the hall and sorted it out to start getting it clean! I really do not like our basket, the clothing gets pushed to the bottom and it just "packs" it down in there. So I switched it with my now empty basket from the eBay post a few days ago! :) yay me for getting it empty! In the organizing book it talks about using bins and baskets to store things, so it looks neat! Well it was not in our budget to buy new baskets. Thanks to The Life of a Farmer's Wife I used her idea of using boxes I already had. She used diaper boxes. I did not have any diaper boxes, I do however have a ton of Priority Flat Rate mail boxes I got for free at the post office for eBay.  

Things You will Need
-Boxes 
-Fabric 
-Scissors 
-Tape(I used shipping tape)
-Hot Glue Gun
-Hot Glue Sticks

It was nice that I already had all these things somewhere in my house! After taping down the flaps, I cut my fabric to go around the out side. I think The Life of a Farmer's Wife might have done her's a little different. Then I put hot glue around the bottom, and placed the fabric as close to the edge as I could. Once this was done I put some hot glue on the inside of the box on the very top. I pulled the fabric so it laid flat on the outside, and made sure it was nice and smooth. That's it...You're done! This is what is should look like. 

Since my boxes were going in the top of the closet, and I knew no one would see the inside, I did not mind it looking like this. If you are putting it someplace someone might see the inside,or if you really would like to see the inside covered, you can do the same thing we just did! I thought they came out very good for my first time! I made two, and it made so much space in the top of the closet. 

I want to make a few more, and maybe keep my flip flops up there this winter. I found the hanging organizer down stairs (collecting dust). Right now I have my summer clothing (shorts, capris, and tank tops) in it. I moved our safe, which will be moved again soon to the location it is being bolted down to (since we do not want it to ruin the beautiful wood floors!)I think it looks much better. Now go clean your closet and tell me all about it in a comment! :)

Mail Delivery

I was very happy when these came in the mail. I ordered them on eBay a few days ago. I was browsing the books and it looks like there is a ton of great info in them. I noticed a ton of references to websites that might also come in handy here soon. I can't wait to share tips and tricks that I learn in these books! Feel free to post a comment about one of your favorite cleaning or organizing books, websites, or magazines!

Under the Bathroom Sink

Every morning I go crazy pulling out my make-up bag and all the things I need to get ready. It was a mess! It does not help that we have two really small bathrooms. 

I have to make do with what space I do have for the time being. Before I cleaned it up, the door would not close. I took everything out, and tossed anything that we did not need, or that was just shoved under there. Then I put this handy magazine organizer under there! If it is not in your budget to buy one, you could easily use a large cereal box!Just cut the top off, and the shape of this and there ya go, a DIY magazine holder. You could even cover it in fabric, or wrapping paper to fancy it up! I then put my blow dryer and curling iron in it (not hot)(make sure its nice and cool, or it could melt, or start fire). Now the door shuts and it looks so much better under the sink. This should make it easier to keep it organized and cleaned. One day, when I have bigger bathroom, I will have more options on how to store my things! Until then, this will work just fine for me! 
 
 

Fun Morning with a Good Friend

As a stay at home mom, you are often home alone ALL the time. You start to realize that your conversations are usually in baby talk, or are always about kid topics. Having that one good friend that you can get together with can make life so much more enjoyable. I do not have too many friends now that I am a mom. Life as a mom can be really busy, and not everyone understands that, or that you have to bring your kids with you everywhere. I have been back in touch with one of my middle school friends, and I have to say...I have really enjoyed the time around her and her cute little boy! It is so nice to just get out of the house and have an adult conversation, with someone other then the hubster! LOL We have hung out once a week for a little over a month now. Today we met up at Barnes & Noble. I had a Iced Chai with pumpkin spice! So YUMMY, try it next time you get a drink at Starbucks! It was nice to have some "girl time" while the kids were playing. After that we did a little shopping next door at TJMAXX, my all time favorite store! That place is going to get me into trouble. Now I am home, and about to finish laundry...and get some things done. Hope you have a great Tuesday!

Fridge Organization/ Clean up

When was the last time you cleaned out your fridge? Did you have to clean up spills, or sticky jelly? Or maybe you left some food in the fridge for later, and now there is just no identifying what that item is, because you left it WAY too long?? Well that used to happen a lot in our fridge. Now I try to keep it clean, and wipe it out about once a week. However we sometimes forget we have some leftovers, and then they sit...and sit...and sit...then one day when we need tupperware I find it pushed to the back of the fridge with who know what sitting in it. This is what it looked like this week before cleaning it out...   

 It was not too bad this time around. I did have to throw some old fruit, and some old Chinese food from last weekend. Remember my laundry post? I bought some place mats at Target...well I am using them in the fridge.

 I also used my label maker, that way everyone knows where things belong. The place mats will help when we have spills that sit in the fridge too long (if someone leaves it for me to clean). I can just lift the place mat, wash it, and put it back in. So much easier for me! 




What do you think? Better?
I once read that you should put your raw meat on the bottom of the fridge, that way if it leaks, or juices drip it will not be on other food items. And if it does its at the bottom of the fridge, and wont get on anything that you plan to eat or drink. I made the top right area my "left over station" that way all leftovers are right up front when you open the fridge. Drinks are to the left of that. My fridge looks really empty right now, we need to go shopping! And don't mind that half eaten hamburger, someone was full and wanted to save it for later! 

*ALMOST Halloween*

HALLOWEEN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! WE ARE PLANNING ON BRING OUT THE DECORATIONS SOMETIME THIS WEEKEND, AND MAYBE EVEN DOING A FEW DIY THINGS WE HAVE FOUND ON PINTEREST. (I COULD SPEND ALL DAY ON THAT SITE) I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT WILL BE SUPER COLD THIS HALLOWEEN, WHICH IS NEVER FUN FOR MY KIDS, OR ME! SATURDAY WE HAD TO GO TO MY SONS SOCCER GAME, AND IT WAS VERY COLD, AND ITS NOT EVEN WINTER! THIS JUST MEANS THAT IT IS GOING TO BE AN EXTRA COLD WINTER HERE IN COLORADO...WELL MAYBE NOT. IF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO COLORADO, AND EVER PLAN TO...BRING A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS (SEASON WISE) OF CLOTHING. BECAUSE IT IS REALLY COLD (I THINK IT IS SUPPOSED TO FREEZE TONIGHT) AND THEN MONDAY OR TUESDAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE 70'S. THIS KIND OF WEATHER IS ALWAYS TYPICAL IN COLORADO. IT WILL RAIN, SNOW, AND BE SUNNY ALL IN THE SAME WEEK, AND SOMETIMES IN THE MONTHS THAT IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO DO SOME OF THOSE THINGS! CRAZY WEATHER! WELL I THOUGHT I WOULD COME ON AND JUST JIBBER JABBER FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND NOW I HAVE TO GET BACK TO WHAT I WAS REALLY DOING...LAUNDRY! MEET BACK HERE ON MONDAY MORNING TO SEE WHAT I AM DOING IN THE FRIDGE..;)

All my piles for eBay...+ a question for you!! :)

eBay, eBay, eBay, oh how it can get me into trouble. ;) I did not like to shop when I was younger, but now...I LOVE TO SHOP! When I found eBay about a year ago (I knew about it but never went on the site till last year) I was so excited! I saw people selling things like chicken nuggets (in the shape of someone famous), used socks...and things I would never think to put on eBay! I knew if those people could sell that stuff...then I could easily sell my stuff! 
 This is all my stuff

Yet another mess I need to tackle! Right now my method is not working. My question to my readers is...

What is another way I could set up things that need to be listed on eBay?  
I am doing good with the "after" I post part. My daughter has a lot of space in her closet, and she is usually not in her room. So this is what I do with it after I post it. 


<-------------------- I usually hang the clothing, or if I run out of room in this area I have some rubber maids right under this stuff that I put things neatly folded, of things that I can't hang in. 


 



 --------------------> 
And I keep the envelopes I use right here too. I really want to get our spare room turned into an office so that I can move everything out of all the other rooms and get more organized. But that is not an option at this time :( My weight scale is on the kitchen table, and my printer is on my desk down stairs. I know, I know...all over the house! I am almost positive if everything was all in one area, or less areas that I would get more done!  

 

Then when it sells it looks like this! 

I put these cute little tags on them that are bright yellow. This is what they say: 

Thank you for your eBay purchase. My goal is to earn your 5-STAR 100% positive feedback. If you had any problems with this transaction, please give me an opportunity to MAKE IT RIGHT before leaving negative feedback.  

  This is to remind my buyer to go leave me some feedback. Because I have had many buyers that forget to leave it, and we don't want that now do we?? Now I need to go and post some stuff on eBay! If you would like to visit my eBay store there is a link on the top of the blog! Thanks in advance to all who answer my question up above!

Aqua Blue in the Laundry Room

         Aqua Blue In The Laundry Room

 

I found a few things at Target today! I thought to myself, "what color would go good with my black washer and dryer?" When I saw the aqua blue I knew it would be perfect! The basket on the dryer was on clearance for less then $5. I used that to put the stain remover and dryer sheets. The idea for the basket was from the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons and I think she may have used the same colors too! :)

The photo frame I had collecting dust in a different room, it was originally black, and from Walmart. I had some aqua colored paint from a project I am working on, and painted it this afternoon! In side the frame is a free printable that I got from the blog Bringing Crafty Back

 

Then I found some fun place mats at Target for $1.99, I bought a few because I am going to use them for a different project coming soon! I wanted to get a beverage dispenser ($18.99 at Target) for my laundry detergent, make it a little fancy! I got that idea from the Organizing Made Fun 
blog. I wanted the place mat in case something spills or drips, it can be lifted and cleaned in the sink. I had the flower pot under my kitchen sink ($2.99 at Lowes) and thought I could clean it out and use it for loose change?? When it is full I can split the money between my two kids! So far I love the change, and would like to add a few more things when this area is fixed up(hubby's job)!

Laundry Room Mess

I feel like jumping to the laundry room today! Laundry is something I usually do daily (well I try to) ;) I used to follow Fly Lady, have you heard of her? Well she has great tips and info on cutting clutter and getting on a schedule. It was fun and easy at first...and then not so much. So now I just do what I can, when I have the time in between all the other activities and craziness we have going on! I have been following A Bowl Full Of Lemons and her Home Organization 101 where they are in the Laundry Room this week! I love how much space she has in her laundry room, and all the order she has! As you can tell my laundry area looks about how the kitchen counter looked yesterday! 

 
Behind the washer and dryer, is our down stairs bathroom, which we are almost finished with! :) To the right of the washer is a little space with the water heater, and laundry supplies. I will be going to Target to get some fun colorful items for my laundry area after my 20 month old has her gymnastics class. Any suggestions for this space? 

Much of what was on the counter was stuff to go into recycle. It took me about 2-3 minutes to clear just one side of the counter.
Not long right? You can do it 5 minutes at a time. If that is all the time you have, before you have to walk out the door, then do it real quick! You will be happy when you come home, and half the work is done! That's what I did, because here in about 30 minutes we have to go get big brother from school! Then we have some appointments, which means when I get home, it will almost be dinner time! Here are some fun photos I thought you would get a kick out of.
This is a Clorox wipe container , I covered in in fabric, and now we put the Walmart bags in it! Cute and handy! What do you use for your bags?

 
I got this at Ross a few years back. It says 
A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious

Well it is time for me to go to the school. Let me know what you think of this half of the counter? What would you do different? More on the rest soon! :) Bye for now

Lets Tackle the Kitchen Counter!

Do you ever fall behind on the weekends, when the kids are home and everyone is busy? Well I sure do, so you are not alone!! I have been trying to keep up with cleaning and organizing while potty training my 20 month old daughter. (more on that in a different post) We all just got over being sick for over a week, and with potty training and all the other activities we have going on, the kitchen counter has just become a crazy mess! I cook every night, so this can not continue to look like this...

 

 We live in a home that we are updating everything in, which can become very overwhelming at times. Our kitchen has old EVERYTHING in it, well not old food. This photo shows you how many cabinets I have for dishes, canned food, and any items you might keep in a kitchen! Not many right? And we do not have a dish washer, or as hubby would say, we have a dish washer, and it comes with the house....hahaha that dish washer is usually me! The good news ... we are updating every room in our home! Which means new EVERYTHING, and we will be adding a dish washer (yay for me)!

Over the next few days I will post what I am doing in this area, and reorganizing things and getting this mess under control. Join me! Start by taking a photo of what your space looks like (this will show you a side by side of what you have done when you are finished). Ask yourself why you have the things you have, do you use them, is this trash ect. type questions while you are cleaning. If you do not use it and do not need it...Why keep it? Sell it, throw it, or donate it! There are a few things I plan on selling, throwing and donating while going over this area of my home!