New Diet? I'll Try It!

3-Day Diet Day 1 Breakfast

A while ago on Pinterest I found a 3-Day diet from Training This Body. This is also know as the Military Diet if you want to search for other sites on the internet. I thought having two jobs would make me weigh less or at least maintain because when would I have time to eat. The truth is I gained 10 pounds and I am achy and always starving. I haven't made time to workout, besides the occasional 5 min walk at lunch. I kept telling myself that I just need to get through this or that and then I can concentrate on my health. The other day my husband mentioned that I should join a gym. He usually doesn't say anything, so this is when I weighed myself to find the weight gain. They do say that lack of sleep will lead to weight gain. I have been trying to sleep but I have a hard time falling asleep.

Grapefruit spoon

I'm hoping this will at least get me down a few, if not 10 pounds and then I can work on the next 10 pounds. After that I will try to maintain. I ate my breakfast at 6:30am. I have been trying to keep busy but I'm hungry! I'm going to try my best to get through day 1. I picked today to start since I am only going to work 3 hours today, 8 hours Thursday, and 3.5 hours on Friday. I am also going to walk on my treadmill for 1.5 hours or 3 miles each day. I should be able to post on Saturday my results. And here is the ugly truth, at 5':

Starting Weight: 140 lb

It's a New Week

I think last week was pretty successful for me for the most part.  I didn't go over budget too much and didn't go out to eat.  I spent $41 in groceries, but I do owe my sister $10 for when we went to Costco and she paid.  I also was below my $40 in gas because I only spent $38.23, which it helped when my husband put gas in when I was out of town.  I also was able to run/walk 11.3 miles this week, and I actually did run all the run times on the schedule I set for my Friday run.  I did end up having to spend $6 on paint to make helmets for my daughter's play.  Next week is going to be harder because my daughter has play practice all week, but this is the week before performance.  I will need to make sure she has snacks to eat while there, but I do have granola bars and rice crispy bars on hand.

Some things I want to keep working on:
flossing
hydrating my face and changing pillow cases to keep my face clean
drinking water
not spending money excessively
cleaning and organizing (need to keep up with following Noni's ebook)
I need to make a chore chart and motivate kids again

I do have things I would like to spend money on especially when I get a job, in order of greatest importance to least:
New running shoes ~$100
Treadmill (used) ~ $100
Robot sweeper $130.00
George foreman grill $42.00

Since I have already paid and signed up for a marathon in the fall, the shoes and treadmill are on the top of my list.  I could really use a robot sweeper because I don't have any carpet and with a dog, my floors need to be swept every day.  This vacuum would save me some time and keep the house clean (let me know if you have any experience with these things).  I just kinda want a foreman grill because it slants and runs off fat, but maybe I can prop the griddle I have up and do the same thing.  Saturday night as soon as I started grilling the storm hit and I was outside in a complete downpour.  (Of course it stopped when I was done cooking, go figure.)

Tomorrow I have a lot to do:
get kids to and from school
put laundry away and tidy up living spaces
dishes and sweep floors
work 1 hour on rummage and misc clutter
son's t-ball practice
daughter's play practice
finish costumes for play
return items to store I don't need
wax my eyebrows
run 5 miles

We will have to see what I actually get done and what I decide I can put off for another day.

Money spent today: $0
Miles ran today: 0

Progress and Juice Diet

So this week has been busy, and I'm sure next week will be too.  It seems like a lot is going on next weekend in my town and I won't even be here.  Yesterday I went to Costco and stuck to the plan except I bought some apples since my sister requested them and I buy her food to watch my kids two days a week.  I ended up spending $45.94. Not too bad.  Next I went to the mall to get my wedding ring checked, and my daughter talked about how she had never had chocolate dipped strawberries.  We passed by Godiva and they had them in their display so I splurged and got them.  5 for $10 plus $.60 tax.  Ouch.  Next stop Target to get mouthwash and more cotton candy for the ugly cake which cost $4.76.  Not too bad.  After the fair we stopped and bought a juicer for $83.94 ( I'll explain this), and also my husband was sad that ice cream in our freezer melted so I bought sonic for $8.15.  If I wouldn't have really thought about this I would have said I spent about $80 to $100 today.

Total for Saturday: $153.39, yeah this is more of my typical weekend routine of spending money.  So my total spending for last week was $262.16.  Over $151.86 for the three weeks.  That is a lot and I'm not sure if I'll be able to make that up.

I might have to rethink my strategy.  They other day I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  It was an Australian guy with an Australian juicer going around just drinking juice.  He lost weight and helped get himself  off medication.  He also had a few others try it and got them hooked on it too.  Now I like drinks so I thought "What an idea".  I'm not sure how it really works but I also found this website: Juicer Recipes.  The movie also has a Facebook page and a website to help you get started on juicing.  The whole problem is they said it cost $14 a day.  For us that could be times 2, plus I don't plan on putting my kids on this diet or giving them crap, easy food while we do it, so I'm not sure how  this will work out.  My plan for now is to start with food to help clear my skin, then do a two week detox, and then repeat again in 3 months.  I'm not sure what my husband plans to do, but he wants to lose weight.  If you don't want to invest in a juicer there is also this website: Green Monster Movement.

So I need a new plan.  I think this week I will just keep blogging about what I am spending.  It is my daughter's birthday so I want to buy her gifts and also it is my nephew's birthday and I still need to get him gifts.  I'm also still in need of 5 more window treatments and decorative hardware.  I think I will keep dwelling on these things till I buy them.  I have been doing well on my saving money on the side so I do feel good about that aspect of life.  Maybe by next week I'll have a good plan.

Putting Together My Menu

I really started menu planning this year and it gets easier every time I do it.  It makes it easier on my food budget, and it especially prevents me from getting fast food all the time.  I first start with looking at the ads for my local grocery stores. In my area I have: Hy-Vee, Fareway, Dahl's, Aldi's, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Sam's Club.  I mainly just look at Hy-Vee and Fareway ads online.  I plan around what meat they have on sale. I look for less than $1.99/lb.  I then search around the internet for recipes that I would be able to use these meats on, keeping in mind the ingredients I have on hand.  I figure the less complicated ingredients the better.  On weeks that I feel a little overspent, I try for more meatless dishes and to use what's in my freezer and cupboards.  I then make out a grocery list and make sure to check my cupboards for any items I have on hand.  If you have time you can also look for substitutes to save money as well.  I start out by shopping at Aldi's because they have a lot of items for less.  On my grocery list I note prices for any items that were advertised at any of the other stores, this way when I'm at Aldi's I can try to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck.  What I can't find at Aldi's I buy at Hy-Vee or Fareway.  There is a Hy-Vee across from the Aldi's so I can hit these two up at the same time.  I work near a Fareway so I can go there right after work.  I make sure to check ads on Wednesday just in case Hy-Vee is having a big sale, which could be Thursday one day, or a two day Friday and Saturday sale.

  I rarely shop at Dahl's because I find them over priced.  I have been to Trader Joe's a few times but it is a little out of my way.  I don't have a Sam's Club membership, but my mom made me a second on her Costco membership so I get in there for free.  I find the best deals are when they have their coupons.

 I am trying to keep a price list going by Shoppee,  an application on my i-touch. You log prices by store and then by category. Then you can log the item name, item price, units/item, units, and notes.  It is easiest to keep the item name broad like eggs instead of large grade A eggs.  Then you can write this part in the notes, and I also include if this is a sale item, if I used a coupon, and the date I was in the store.  After you log these prices in, you can push the shop button and it will show you buy category and item name where you found the best deal.

 I think if I start keeping track of exactly what I buy over a month's period of time, it would help me to be able to buy things a month in advance.  The less shopping trips, the less gas you use, the less impulsive buys, and the more you might make use of something out of your pantry/freezer.  I could also buy things at Costco for a month in advance.  I try to  shop there only once a month so I don't overload on bulk purchases. As always, saving money is a work in progress.

Putting It All Together

Between 40+ hours at work and a hard college science class, with 2 kids and a household to run, things have been busy. Now that my husband has a new position things are going to change around here. I haven't quite got everything figured out yet but hopefully sooner than later. I hope to be home for the weekends and all but 2 evenings. So here are my plans for cleaning and grocery shopping:

Daily-
morning: empty dishwasher
              start a load of clothes
nightly: wash pots and pans
            load dishwasher
            clothes to dryer
            make lunches, pack backpacks, lay out clothes
Weekly-
Sunday: balance checkbook,bedrooms and laundry
Monday: living, dining room, vacuum & sweep
Tuesday: main bath
Wednesday: kitchen, vacuum & sweep
Thursday: 1/2 bath
Friday: plan meals, vacuum & sweep
Saturday: grocery shopping & basement

It will be a change for my kids to get up and get to school for before care, usually we are rushing out the door to get my son to school and then I had 30 min before my daughter starts school. I'm going to have to make breakfast easy and portable. Beside cleaning and cooking, I also need to help with homework.  My son has speech flash cards and my daughter has all kinds of 2nd grade work. I figure I will do homework after dinner from 6-7 and then it will be bedtime. I hope to have a meal plan to publish for this next week and to get back into that habit. How do you streamline your busy week to fit everything in to your schedule?

I'm going to make myself a checklist and I hope this will give me motivation and encouragement to keep up with an organized routine.

Dog Days of Summer

Now that it is State Fair season, the heat is here too.  I haven't been keeping up with the house work, just making the bed and trying to keep the sink from smelling. I have been leaving a lot of the meal cooking to hubby, so I haven't had any meals planned.  I did withdrawal money this week and I haven't used my credit or debit card since. I thought it would be hard, but then again it is Monday and I have about $10 left.  I just bought a lot of meat at the store that I hope will last us in to next week.  I go out of town for the rummage sale on thursday night, and the family plans on doing the fair Thursday day.  I have started trying to get the kids back on the school time routine, my son is having a hard time waking up early.  I'm still waiting to hear about financial aid and what classes I will need to take to be able to start college again.  Classes also start next week so I just signed up for two I figured I would need.  At this point in my life I'm just trying to keep my head above water and struggling not to put in notice to my job since we can't afford it right now.

Yeah, Me!

So I had an inadequate amount of sleep last night, again.  I woke up and had to get 3 tired kids wrangled into the car.  I spent most of the day at my sister's house with 7 kids and two other adults.

I did go to my test, which I did fairly decent.  I need to work on my algebra, but by that point I wasn't able to stifle my ADD and was ready to go. I do need to figure out square root equations again.  I wish I would have gotten this urge a month before because it is so close to school starting.  I am already disappointed by the school I am trying to attend.  After I took my test today, I told her I already have my bachelor. She told me I probably didn't need to take the test if they had know that (I put that in the application). But I did good so, whatever.  I'm having a hard time figuring out what steps I need to take to get through and schedule classes.  I haven't been able to talk to my boss yet, and let him know I plan to start school which could be interesting.  I hope I can work a schedule out so I can at least work through the holiday season.  This will give them adequate enough time to find a replacement.

So now that I'm home, I washed some clothes, cleaned bathroom and kitchen counters, and did the dishes. I also made the bed this morning. I feel so much better sitting here and relaxing because I got things done. I hope I can keep this up into the following week.

Day of Wrongs

So I got up early again today, but just barely. I have made my bed and cleaned the living room.  I can't seem to get myself out of this funk where I would rather self destruct than get things done.  I did have a few positives for the day: my niece and nephew are in town, my husband cleaned the kitchen and bought groceries, and  I persevered and my son is sleeping alone in his own bed for right now.

I am nervous because since it has been so long since I took my ACT, college wants me to take a test in math, reading and writing. My prep test online didn't go too great, and I don't have time to study. I wanted to go to bed early to get some sleep, but I procrastinated on putting the kids to bed. Now I'm worked up because I struggled to get my son to bed, probably due to over tiredness, which is my own fault.

It has really been a day of struggles: I had to throw away a family pack of chicken legs because my husband doesn't know how to thaw chicken, I ruined two boxes of mac and cheese because we had no milk, my sister asked at the last minute for me to pay her for babysitting and to pick the kids up from summer camp, I haven't found make up or an outfit for my high school reunion, I found out I needed to take that college test,  and I dread this crazy weekend coming up.

I hope to be able to study somewhat tomorrow since the test is at one, then I can attempt to clean the house after that. I can reward myself with a blizzard since the CMN event is tomorrow. Something to look forward to at least.

Hiatus

So I worked 8 hours days this weekend and didn't prepare for this weeks meals. I also have to take my son to Super Hero Camp which is 9am to noon. Well this requires me to wake up early, which is hard because I work nights so my mind likes to stay up, then I also work at 1 so I have to run across town to drop him off then go back across town to get him then take the kids to my sisters so I can work.  I do have wed and thurs off so those are my days to power clean and catch up (I will be making my bed these two cleaning days off).  I hope I can pick up a few easy meals to make for the next few days after I drop my son off Tues morning. I also went to the community college today and asked some questions. I put in my applications and sent for my transcripts so I can see what my options are. I already have my bachelors so that doesn't leave me an option for Pell grants. I'm not sure how we would afford for me to go to school, but I am all ears for any advice.

Working on Life

So I thought I set my i-Touch to wake me at 8, but I ended up getting up at 8:30. I didn't have time to work out so I started in on the kitchen. I did the dishes, cleared the counters, and picked up all the stuff that got deposited on the floor from my daughter's party.  I also swept the floor and cleaned off the stove. The microwave is still clean from the last time so that makes me happy.

I also made my bed and cleared all the misc items from my playroom's extra bed.  I have a box of rummage, a box for the laundry room, and a box for upstairs to sort out.  I thought I would have more for the rummage, but most of it was stuff we still need or junk.  I did find $2.93 in change amongst the junk.  I also now have an empty  tote which will help out with toy sorting.

I found another whole box of my daughter art work. I need some advice on what to do with all of it. I wish I would have dated it but I didn't. I have a little bit of an idea of when some of them were done.  My thoughts were to put them in a scrapbook type deal, and maybe take picture of the 3-D items.  A good project for a "Tackle It Tuesday".

What Did I Do With My Time?

Wow, it has been 4 days since I had a post.  I haven't been keeping up on my daily cleaning list the last 4 days, but I have been to the amusement park, the movies and work.  Yesterday my husband actually mowed the lawn, cooked dinner, and washed the dishes, all without me asking.

I do need to update my budget but it will take some time since I have fallen so behind. But at least I did get my meals planned out for this week.

Today I have:

made my bed

put away dishes, dishes in dishwasher and cleaned pots from lunch

swept kitchen floor

cleaned off counters and toilet area

started a load of wash.

I also will post tomorrow pictures of my extra room I have been working on.

I went to bed fairly early last night and made a whole schedule on my i-touch for today. I have followed it and got a lot accomplished. I have worked out the last 2 days with Jillian's 30 Day Shred. My shoulders are hurting today even though I am doing level 1. I am not too good with routines, but I would like to try to keep this up for at least until my high school reunion Aug 8th. Wish me luck!

Today Was Ok

Well I did:

make the bed

loaded dishwasher, ran it, and hand washed pots and pans

cleaned off counters

emptied purse of unnecessary junk

swept and mopped the kitchen floor again! (two days in a row)

Tomorrow we are going to the amusement park for most of the day so I probably won't get a lot done.  I also went to the fair to get my daughters exhibits judged and watched a minor league baseball game live and free thanks to the library.  Now off to bed since spell check was having a hard time figuring out what I was trying to say.

Thank Goodness It's Over

 Today I put all the laundry put away, mowed the lawn, cleaned the microwave, moped the floors, cleaned the bathrooms, made my bed, washed out the garbage can, and swept off the steps to the basement. I will have to work on the budget and plan meals tomorrow.  I was exhausted after all the housework that I just wanted to sit down for the rest of the day, but we were out of milk. So I ran to Costco and my husband added somethings to the list. I ended up spending $112! I guess I will have to just wax my eyebrows at home.

I also bought my daughter and myself a drink at the gas station for less than $2, since we drove out to the fairgrounds tonight to set up her 4-H booth. I asked another mom if anyone had volunteered to be next years leader yet, but between the 2 other sets of parents to be leaders, she said her and the others are just willing to help out. So this leaves no one to continue on this group! I will have to call the council and see how many groups are in this area to join.  The one I'm in now is in the neighboring town so there can't be too many out there. I don't feel like I'm that organized of a person to be able to lead a group of K-3.  I have helped some at Daisy Scouts as Cookie Mom and dabbled in volunteering at the school, but I get overwhelmed and look forward to the end of these task.  4-H would be year round except for August. Yes it's only once a month meetings, but I would need to plan ahead and budget. I also have a job where I have to work weekends which interferes a lot with family life as it stands already.  This life thing is hard.

Adding to the Plate

So I started following  A Slob Comes Clean blog on June 24th. I should really look at adding something else to my daily list. I currently

Make my bed


Fill and/or empty dishwasher as needed with any dirty dish. I try to wash those that can't be put in the dishwasher right away


Clear the table after every meal.


Wipe down counters and clear the clutter in the bathrooms and kitchen


Put stray clothes in hampers or in the laundry room


Put items out of place back in place: toys, books, mail, etc. 

Not that I get all these done every day, but I try more than anyone else in the house.

So I think I will add wiping down of the toilet and toilet area since I have a son.

I am still on vacation from work until Friday, but we have a lot of things to do this week.

Today I made my bed, put some laundry to wash, cleaned up before we went to the store,and cleaned up the  table after lunch. I plan to clean up the table after the kids go to bed since there is a project on the table from 4- H and it needs to be wiped down. I also need to catch up on the dishes that didn't get done since I was gone and my husband was still home. Tomorrow I'm gonna go wild and put all the laundry put away, mow the lawn if it doesn't rain, clean the microwave, mop the floors, clean bathrooms, plan meals, work on my budget, and hopefully find and mark some rummage.  I'll have to keep myself motivated and give myself a personal reward if I get all of these things done. I think I will go get my eyebrows waxed since they really need it.

I Need Some Motivation

Yesterday and today I did make my bed. Yesterday I also emptied the dishwasher and cleared the clutter of papers from my paper basket, my end table and my computer desk. After that, it wasn't much progress in the straightening of the house.  I ran around getting errands done for the trip and preparing for my daughter's birthday party. Before every birthday I try to update the scrapbooks for people to browse through for fun while the kids are getting entertained. You really don't know how much your kids grow until you see pictures.

I got up this morning and really didn't have much motivation to do anything except that I needed to use the bathroom. It makes me think what kinds of things would motivate me to really do things in the morning? Sometimes I get up just because my dog needs let out or I have to go to work, the kids need something or it might be the fact that something smells horrible.  I would say the thing that motivates me the most right now would be my kids. I try to teach them to do most things on their own but my son is only 3 so he needs help.  I keep the milk on the top shelf of the frig so even my 6 year old can't reach that on her own.  When I get up to do things for the kids, I end up picking up garbage off the floor or emptying the dishwasher. I worry that when they are able to take care of themselves what will be my motivation? I think I need to start finding it now.

I will be gone until at least Monday, so until then..............

It's Always In The Last Place You Look

So I have been trying hard to keep things clean and organized. It has been a lot cleaner around here since the kids went on a camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa. Today I have made my bed and ran the dishwasher. I have plans to do more tonight, but need to get motivated after a stressful day at work. I even went in an extra hour in the morning to try to get some things done, but it didn't help enough.

So the bedrooms are fairly clean, as are the dining and living room. The kitchen needs a little de-cluttering and so does my computer and our end table. The toy room is clean since I put a lot of toys away in the laundry room.

My plans since I started my vacation tonight are to get some more items ready for the garage sale in August, and to scrapbook for my daughter's birthday party at the end of the month. I always try to play catch up when their birthday's come around otherwise I would never do it.

 I still would like to find my sunglasses and spare cars keys since I have time. My least favorite quote is "It's always in the last place you look." Well of course.  I'm not going to keep looking for something after I've found it.  Where have you found your lost items? I need some help since I feel I have looked in all the obvious places.

Black hole

So yesterday I was feeling good. Then the kids left. I feel saddened and a little panicky because it wasn't time for work yet so nothing to take my mind off of the kids. I decided to jump in the shower and head to the library. As soon as I was half way there I realized that I forgot my purse. My plan was to go from the library to work so I had my lunch and my gym bag full of books, but no purse. So I had to turn around and go home.

So I should have taken the chance to vacuum but I didn't. I then remembered that I need to plan my daughter's birthday party,  so I booked a shelter and emailed some e-vites.  I am having it during the week which I thought would be better since it is summer and a lot of people go out of town.

Today I have:

made my bed

did the one dish soaking in the sink

vacuum and tried to clean the carpet:

This is my dining area, the left is nail polish stain, and the right is just a black mystery stain. I used the bissel carpet cleaner which didn't help much. The nail polish I used non acetone nail polish remover, then got board and cut it out. The black hole is still drying. I hope to get rid of this carpet next year and re polish the hard wood underneath.

I also cleaned the odds and ends out of the bedrooms and worked on a corner of the laundry room.

I have need a space for extra supplies like the Dugger family has a store in their house.

I found this box from  moving and inside it was 2 items packed in bubble wrap. So I decided since I bought this frog I should use it and stop hiding it away afraid it will get broken or stolen. So now it is in my garden jungle in the front yard. I'm sure it cost me around $5 5 years ago, and have never used it.

So here is the end result. Most went to the garage since it was tools.

Someday I will get to the other side.

Game Plan for Life

Wow, it's not even 11am and I have done everything on the daily list. First time I actually did this list completely. I need to vacuum, but my mom is sleeping. I even got my daughter to put her own clothes away. She was complaining that it would take forever and they are supposed to leave in an hour for camping. I told her I could time her if she wanted to show her it wouldn't take that long. She finally got it done and realized it doesn't take that long. I hope this will spur less arguing about chores in the future. She is going to turn 7 soon so I hope to implement a chore and homework chart . She needs motivation for both. Part of this is of course me too, but she is very good about reminding other what they should be doing so I hope she keeps me on track.

See these links for further inspiration:

A Slob Comes Clean "Kid's Daily Checklist"

Kaboose daily list

Fallen Behind

Yesterday I got up and started making some of the meals that I had planned for the weekend. I started the Mexican pork in the crock pot, put brownies in the oven to bring along to my friends house later that day, and started the sesame chicken. It turns out that I didn't have enough soy sauce for the chicken so I will have to finish that today.  Soon enough it was time to get my son's t-ball pictures retaken, so we took off for the next suburb over. When we got there 15 minutes later I realized I left his glove for his game at the house. Since my sister lives there I was able to get into her house (she just happened to be near my house at the time, shopping at the mall) to get him a glove.  After his last game of the season, we scooted off to my friends house to see her 2 month baby and go swimming in her pool.  After a couple hours of fun we headed home.

I don't know if it was all the driving or the fresh air or frustration that exhausted me. No one seemed to want to eat dinner except me and my son. Then I realized Big Brother 12 was on in less than half an hour and I wanted to see if I could get any reception. Got that working after I found the remote and a half broken antennae.  All I could do was lie down after all this and think of all the things I still needed to do. I thought maybe if I could take a power nap then I would get up and finish my kaboose list.  But my husband decided he needed to go see a friend who got a promotion, and my kids wanted to fight right next to me, so I wasn't able to nap.

I did make my bed and empty and reload most of the dishwasher. I also packed my kids and washed some clothes.

So I woke up this morning to somewhat of a mess. The crock pot was still full of juices I was letting cool:

So I sat down for a few minutes to read A Slob Comes Clean. I am still catching up on her older post.  It motivated me to decided I better get up and do the dishes that were mocking me and it wasn't so bad. Took less than 5 minutes to empty and clean the crock pot and put a few dishes in the dishwasher.

I dumped the liquid into 2 plastic bags before tying them up, and put them in the trash to throw out the whole garbage so the dog doesn't get into it again. Sorry the pictures are blurry, I was in a hurry. Then I cleaned off the dining room table and I feel so much better. Now I am trying to figure out what to do since the kids are leaving with my mom today for camping. I will have to work 8 hour days today through Wednesday, but Thursday is a whole day off and Friday my sister and I will leave to join the family at the family reunion over 10 hours away.

So I'm feeling somewhat optimistic for this week. I'm going to try to find some extra money and put a rubber band around by wrist to snap when I feel the urge to spend. I heard Dr Joy Browne tell someone to do this for smoking so I think maybe it could work for my spending habit.  I do feel good because yesterday I remember my friends birthday was coming up and my first thought was to run to Walmart for a cookie cake, and then I started to think of other things I could buy while I was there. I resisted that urge and made the brownies. It's amazing that I have a huge brownie box with 5 easy to make pouches of mix sitting in my cupboard from Costco, and I still 1st think of going out to buy something. 

OK, now I'm off and running.

Game Plan for Life- Saturday

So with following my list, I have:

Kitchen: cleared some clutter, load/empty dishwasher, did dishes

Bathroom: nothing, our counters don't get too cluttered since they are only sinks and the backs of toilet, how lucky is that!

Bedrooms: I made my bed, did a lot of laundry, all the dirty clothes are downstairs

So I haven't followed the whole list yet but I did look at it. Maybe I need to add my own notes and make it less vague for my atmosphere. I need to work on clearing more of the clutter. It isn't at it's worse, but I look and see things that need to be put away.  I did get all the laundry put away except for my husbands, but I did get it folded.  I also cleaned the kids toy room and swept and mopped it a little. I did stick a lot of toys that didn't have a place in the laundry room to be sorted later. I also took a little nap and made dinner.  It seems if I'm not running around like a crazy person then I can feel how tired I really am and need to take a nap.

Here are pictures of my clean laundry piles:

Before putting them away.

After.

I bought this shelving unit at Lowe's 6 years ago. It has held TVs and books, clothes, tools, canned goods, and now helps sort my laundry to a point.  The gray tub holds extra blankets, as you can see we have plenty of small blankets. I will need to weed this out and would like to replace them with some usable ones. Maybe I can make quilts out of all the little fleece throws my mom has made for the kids. The basket in the front is my husbands clothes which I will put away when I get a chance which should be soon because I'm sure he will dig through it and mess up all the folds. The bottom of the shelving unit is extra sheet sets with the sheets inside pillow cases. Once I clean out bedroom closets then I can put some extra blankets in rooms too. As always laundry is to be continued.