Simplifying Life and Letting Go Of Perfection, One Load Of Laundry At A Time

This is just part of my project for today.

We have a lot of bodies to cover in this house.

Which means we have a lot of laundry that goes through our washing machine.

But if there is anything I have learned about being a mom, it is that I canNOT do everything.  I can't. And I'm learning to be just fine with that.  Really.  Truly.  Honestly.

One of the things that I have let go of is the laundry process.

I actually do pretty well keeping up with laundry (we try to keep  minimal amounts of clothing for each child so this helps cut down on the amount of laundry.  This tip is FREE.  You're welcome!)

I should also mention that I don't presort my laundry before washing...but don't tell my mom that part.  I know, I know, I'm breaking the #1 rule of laundering clothes.  But I just can't keep laundry going for so many people if I'm constantly trying to make full loads of different kinds or colors.

The part that always gets me is the folding and putting away.  We will have a growing mound of clean laundry piled up in our bedroom for days sometimes, before I get around to finishing the laundry process.

But I wanted to share a secret that has helped tremendously!

I stopped folding the laundry and putting it away.

Yup.  It's true.

Well, at least my kids clothes.

Now, instead of meticulously folding and putting clothes away (that are inevitably going to get all messed up in the next search for the favorite pants that were intentionally placed in the back of the drawer...ahem) I simply go through these next age-appropriate steps.

1. While Sorting the laundry - If I come across something that is Josh's or mine I immediately fold it.  BAM!  Done.  Then I have a girls pile, a boys pile and a Jude pile.  Towels and dish cloths are also folded right away.
2. The girls are old enough to turn their clothes right side out on their own.  So after their clothes are piled up together I go drop them off in their room and they put them away as they see fit, into their own drawers and closets.  I do still match their socks (because I'm a nice mommy;).
3. The older boys just transitioned over to this stage.  Previously I was turning their clothes right side out for them before placing them into their pile.  Then I go drop their pile off in their room for them to place in their drawers and closets as they see fit. I definitely match their socks as well (because poor boys have a hard enough time even getting said socks into the laundry in the first place).  I also put their undies and socks in their bins (since I'm an extra nice mommy to them, ha!)
4. Jude has just transitioned up a stage as well.  I used to turn his clothes right side out and then fold them.  I would make a stack of shirts, a stack of jammies and a stack of pants.  Then he could put them in his own bins.  NOW, though, I just turn his clothes right side out and pile them up for him to place in the appropriate bins as he sees fit.  He shares undies and socks with Cai so he doesn't have to worry about putting those away (because like I said, I am an extra nice mommy and I love my boys more, lol.  Just kidding, Rainy is reading this over my shoulder so I just needed to see her smile:).
5. Then all that's left is to put Josh's clothes away, my clothes away and the towels and dish cloths away. (and sometimes I'm not feeling like a nice mommy any more and ask a kid or two to do that step as well, hehe)

And because we all like a nice word diagram to help solidify a new process here you go:

Sort (into piles) --- Drop (in their rooms) --- Let Go (of your laundry control)

You might be surprised at the ones who actually decide to "fold" vs. "stuff".  Plus it frees up extra time in your day/life for other things (like playing Settlers of Catan or Dutch Blitz...because those are very important things to make time for).

We, as mama's, can get so uptight about things around the house.  Find some little steps you can do, like this, that can aid in letting go of some of those perfectionist tendencies.  It'll bring such freedom.  I promise!

***2018 UPDATE ~ Each of the kids are now at the stage where I simply sort their clean clothes, socks and all, into a pile (a boys pile and a girls pile) and they are in charge of all the rest! We don't do enough laundry, nor do the kids have enough clothes, to justify making full loads of just one person's clothing. So I do a couple of loads every other day or so and it keeps everybody going just fine.***

Meal Prep - a little motivation and a brand new system

Meals are one of my anxiety triggers.  I know, that sounds so silly, but I'm just being completely honest.  Trying to keep our pantry stocked and my family fed is a never ending process.  And then there is the trying-to-figure-out-what-to-eat-for-dinner question that always makes me feel panicky if I'm not prepared.

I grew up with a full-time working mama who made it a priority to feed us well.  We spend many nights eating crock-pot dinners in the teacher's lounge after a long day of school and activities.  She taught me to grocery shop in bulk and plan ahead.

And I was pretty good at it for a while.  I remember sitting on the front porch with my notebook and recipe box planning out our meals every month.  But then we kept adding kids and life just got in the way.  Feeding my family healthy home cooked meals is still a priority for me but I neglected to be proactive about it so it became a constant struggle and stressor.

So when my friend, Magan, posted a photo of her meal-prep day last month it triggered some pretty good motivation.  She is a full-time teacher, wife and mommy to two.  She HAS to be on top of her game in order to get her family fed and her budget in check.  Her post was just the motivation I needed to get my butt back into gear and figure out a new system for this large family that never seems to get full.

So with her fresh motivation and my mama's example I think I figured out something that will work for my family in this season.

1 - I grab my calendar, my computer (because Pinterest) and my menu board.

2 - I list out the next two weeks (that is all I can wrap my head around, plus our budget will only allow for 2-weeks worth of groceries at a time).  I write if it needs to be a quick fix or crock-pot night and then place the weekly traditional meals on my list so I know that those are already covered (i.e. homemade Pizza/Movie night)

3 - I only have a  handful of recipe cards that we use now because the internet has completely taken over.  But sometimes I find it's hard to find my favorite recipes.  This is where Pinterest comes in handy.  I create a board for the month's meals.  That way I know exactly where to go for my recipe each night and I only have to sift through a few to find it.  After I use it I move the recipe to my other folder for "Cooking Repeats" or nix it if we ended up feeding it to the chickens because it was a recipe #fail.  (but of course that NEVER happens, ahem).

4 - I write the meals in the appropriate slots on my calendar (with a note as to where the recipe is...cook book, card or Pinterest) and add the next weeks meals to my menu board for easy access.

5 - Next I get two grocery lists going.  One for the big trip to get the ingredients to put the meals together as much as possible beforehand, and then a list for the next week to get the final ingredients or produce we might need for sides that might not keep in the refrigerator for two weeks.

6 - Go shopping.

7 - Come home and do as much prep for each meal as I can.  That means prepping the meat, ziploc bagging up the ingredients to throw in a crockpot, mixing spices with the meat for swedish meatballs or prepping a side such as cole slaw.

So far this system has been a HUGE stress relief when it comes to dinner.  I KNOW what I'm making each night, I have the biggest prep work done and with minimal prep time during homework/piano lessons in the evening we have much happier hearts all around.

Freeze and Silence

The Colony is made up of 7 different people, with 7 different personalities, who hardly EVER all wake up on the same side of the bed on any given day.

When Rainy was super little we taught her how to communicate that she was touchy.  I, for one, am not one to get touchy or irritable, ahem, but if I were I would want the freedom to communicate that to my little people placing their sticky little all over the hem of my shirt.

Not that we gave her the green light to stay in her funk, but at least we knew that we needed to be sensitive toward her touchiness until she got passed it.

But now, when we have 5 children, crammed in the back of one car, whether it is just to run errands around town, or going to Nonnie and G-daddy's house, we are bound to have some incidents of touchiness and obnoxiousness and even possibly some irritability on mama's part (that last one is certainly not likely though;).

So we have implemented 2 different Colony-friendly phrases: "freeze" and "silence".  Don't be jealous of our creativity, it really took a lot of energy to come up with those phrases!

Anyway, if all we hear from the backseat is "Zeeeeeke, STOP!", or "Don't do that Cai-booooo!" we simply turn around and tell them that they are on freeze.  This means that they have to sit on their hands, removing the temptation to touch or bother their seat neighbor.  This works so effectively that we have actually done this in the doctor's office, because I'm pretty sure the room with the sign that says, DANGER: RADIATION, is not supposed to be open and closed, and open and closed, and open and closed, after being told that closed doors are off limits.

If any number of Colony members are caught up in a verbal stand-off, and no party is willing to "drop it like its hot" then they are automatically put on silence.  They are unable to talk anymore until the timer goes off.

Sometimes they don't need yet another talking to about why we don't spit on our siblings or steal toys away, or tackle Jude like he is a big boy, they just need a quick "reminder".  And for a child like Cai-bo this may be all he needs.  Very rarely does he need any other kind of discipline than stern, heartfelt words and/or a quick little reminder like "freeze" or "silence".  The poor kid breaks down in a puddle of tears as soon as the words are uttered.

This won't work forever, of course, but this week it has worked like a charm:)

Flash Centers

It takes our family a while to get used to anything new.  Even if that "new" is a good thing...like summer break.

We'd been having a less-than-par first few days with a lot of griping, whining and arguing, all from the kids of course;)

So, one rainy afternoon I decided to implement a little structure to help the day move along a little better.

FLASH CENTERS

I created 6 different centers.

Intentionally things they like to do but don't necessarily GET to do very often.

(does any other mom love creativity, but HATE cleaning up the aftermath?!)

I also intentionally had centers that they could do completely on their own.

I wrote each center on a note card and laid them upside down.

Turned on some "simmer" music.

They each drew a card.

I set the timer for 15 minutes and started it once everyone was in place.

When the timer went off they would do a quick clean-up of their area to get it ready for the next person.

Come back to the carpet and draw another center.

We did this for almost 2 HOURS ya'll!

Two solid hours of quiet, solitary play!

It was WONDERFUL!

*I forgot to get a picture of the Nuudles center*

Play-Doh has been a big hit this summer so far

Arts and Crafts
there were NO boundaries here and every supply imaginable

Color Wonder

iPad learning games

learning manipulatives

This will definitely be a repeat activity during the summer break.  And I imagine we'll switch it up with different stations every time.

Feeling...BLUE

Well, after our plumbing fix got postponed THREE TIMES because of rain, and the fence quote needed a surveyor before getting their astronomical quote to us, I was getting antsy to get SOMETHING done with this house we now call ours.

So, first things first...our bedroom.

It was this dark, hunter green.  Not the most romantic atmosphere booster:)

And this is what we came up with...

...and the unedited nighttime shot with the phone:)

(Kelly, this post is for you!:)

Make It Something To Grab

Life gets busy, ya know?

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, or work outside the home, or are newly married, or are about to take your mid-terms, life just gets busy.

And a lot of times the first thing to be neglected is food (and sleep).

At least for me anyway.

I get so tired of scurrying around the kitchen fixing 5 plates of happiness for the taste buds (you like that?) that by the time I sit down I don't want to fix myself anything to eat.

It's a terrible excuse, I know, but most of the time I just want to heat something up or go grab a handful of something out of the pantry, and we all know that those kinds of foods most likely are NOT in the 100-calarie department.

And then you'll find yourself in front of the mirror in the dressing room trying on new bathing suits and...
ahem, hypothetically speaking...anyway,

You get the picture.

But then I came across this blog!

It has been a great catalyst for being more proactive in conducing a healthy environment in my kitchen.

So, I thought I'd share my research with you.

Picture a nice springtime Saturday cold, rainy Saturday with the sounds of children playing happily in the background fighting over Mickey Mouse sunglasses and Elmo slippers, while I merrily therapudically chop produce...

I did a little research (because everything on google search is totally accurate) on the best ways to store prepared produce and decided to slice and dice what I had on hand.

HOMEMADE RINSE

1 part vinegar to 10 parts water

ORANGES

slice and store in airtight container

BLUEBERRIES

rinse and pat dry

i used the same container and placed a paper towel on the bottom to absorb excess water

EGGS

I've mentioned this before, I hard boil a dozen at a time to have them on hand

STRAWBERRIES

trim the tops off

rinse and pat dry

just like the blueberries, place back in original container with paper towel on the bottom

ONIONS

slice and dice a bag of onions

I froze the diced ones for future cooking

I stored the sliced ones in an airtight container

CARROTS

scrub the outer layer (I don't peel them)

rinse and pat dry

cut to snack size

cover with water and store in an airtight container

CELERY

rinse and pat dry

cut to snack size

wrap in a paper towel and place in saran wrap or produce bag

CUCUMBERS

peel

slice

wrap in saran wrap and place in airtight container

GRAPES

rinse

take off the stem

store in an airtight container

RESULTS

I've been very impressed.

Everything still tastes and feels fresh!

(Actually, I can't speak for the blueberries. They were consumed in less than 24 hr.)

I have opted for healthy eating and snacking since it is just as easy as grabbing a handful of goldfish or chips.

Meal preparation time has been cut significantly.

And THAT, my friends, makes this whole experiment worth it.

Moral of the story:

By making "it" something to grab, you can make "it" something to grab.

Chew on that for a while;)

I've Got A Good Idea

Don't you think that every new parent should be given a crash course about children's health?  I would love to have a real first-aid kit that includes a stethoscope, one of those tonsil stick thingies, and a nose and ear light...thing.  See what I mean?  I don't even know what those instruments are called, much less what to look for when they are used!

So, if someone could go ahead and organize that class, make it mandatory or at least offer an incentive to sign-up such as a freebie bag (everybody likes freebies...and bags!) full of these instruments.

How many co-pays would this have saved me over the last 5.5 years?

Got any good ideas?  I'd love to hear them!

I've Got A Good Idea

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a Universal way to get onto an interstate?

So often we are left guessing which direction we might have to turn to get on the interstate and left guessing until the very last second.

This causes a problem in traffic, ya know?!

What is your brilliant idea this wonderful Thursday morning?

I've God A Good Idea

Sometimes I have these brilliant ideas, so I thought I'd put them out there just in case one of my entrepreneur readers wanted to put them into practice and become a millionaire or something;)

Red Box Parking

I think stores that have Red Box movie rental stations right inside or outside the door should have a half-dozen or so 5-minute (or 15 min. for those S.L.O.W browsers!) parking spaces up front near the entrance.

That way, when you want to run in and just return a movie you won't get a ticket for parking in the fire lane;)

What do you think?  You think someone could accomplish that one?

How about you?  Do you have any brilliant ideas you'd like to share?