Today is one of those days. You single parents know what I'm talking about... those days where you just wish you could come home and have someone to talk to. Someone to release your frustrations with. For those of you with a significant someone, I hope you realize how lucky you are. You have someone to go home to and complain about your day, or share how great your day has been with. Someone who listens without judgement.
Today I need someone who would listen to me, and not judge me, and give me solid advice. Someone to just talk things out with. Usually, I can decide those important things on my own. I have to. But I sincerely miss those times when I can bounce ideas off of someone who loves me and understands my struggles. Someone who is invested in things as I am.
Ahhh single parent life.... some days are amazing. Others you wonder how you got here. Just have to remember how truly lucky I am with what I have....
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
"Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth." - Erma Bombeck
I will have to remember this quote in about 8 years!! Especially the way my daughter trashes the back seat of the car. Sometimes my daughter is a hot mess, I don't know where she learned that from?! :) Anyway, her disaster area, also known as the backseat of my car, has lead me to my new blog! Organizing your car!!
Of course I forgot to take any "before" pictures, but it would have been too embarrassing to post any way. I started by cleaning every thing out, obviously. And I vacuumed EVERYTHING. I think it was the first time it was ever vacuumed, but my dad claims he vacuumed it one time! Then I got to organizing!!
In the back, my daughter had about a million little toys that she sticks in the side door storage, of which she misses half the time and the toys then hit the floor. Of course they then slide all over the car. Good times!
So I went to the dollar store and got a little plastic bin and put those toys in it. It fits perfectly under the passenger side front seat, so she can reach it easily. Also in the bin are pencils and pens so she can write in her car journal that's in the net storage on the back of the front seat. There is also a wipe board she likes to draw on.
I got a second bin that holds tissues, plastic grocery bags that we use for trash, and Shout Wipes that we keep in the car in case we need them. This container went under the driver's seat. Again, easy for her to reach and out of the way. As you guys can see, there is still plenty of room for feet!
I also found one of those caddies I've seen on Pinterest. I found it in the Target $1 area about a week or two ago. My daughter uses it for drinks and to hold any snacks. I LOOOOOOVVVEEEE this! Keeps the mess contained! Well except for whatever lands on her clothes! That is a whole other blog in itself!
The back seat is organized!!! And has stayed that way for a whole 4 days!!! It's a miracle, right?!
Next up was the front of the car. As much as I'd like to say I keep it clean, anyone who knows me, or has gotten a ride in my car, knows that it's not true. Usually, the poor passenger has to wait while I gather the school papers and study guides that my daughter and I review in the car, and the mail I pick up and never take in the house! So I found a foldable basket at the Christmas Tree Shoppe for about $6 or $7. I keep it folded and under the front passenger seat until I need it. It makes it so easy to take things in and out of the house, and easy to move so a passenger can actually sit there! Who knew?! A seat for sitting. What a concept!
The total cost of organizing my car was .... drum roll please.... $11!!! Well that's it. The end of my organize your car so you aren't embarrassed to give people a ride blog! Hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to leave me a message with your thoughts on the blog. And pass it on to your friends if you think they would be interested. Thanks! Until next time...
Of course I forgot to take any "before" pictures, but it would have been too embarrassing to post any way. I started by cleaning every thing out, obviously. And I vacuumed EVERYTHING. I think it was the first time it was ever vacuumed, but my dad claims he vacuumed it one time! Then I got to organizing!!
In the back, my daughter had about a million little toys that she sticks in the side door storage, of which she misses half the time and the toys then hit the floor. Of course they then slide all over the car. Good times!
So I went to the dollar store and got a little plastic bin and put those toys in it. It fits perfectly under the passenger side front seat, so she can reach it easily. Also in the bin are pencils and pens so she can write in her car journal that's in the net storage on the back of the front seat. There is also a wipe board she likes to draw on.
I got a second bin that holds tissues, plastic grocery bags that we use for trash, and Shout Wipes that we keep in the car in case we need them. This container went under the driver's seat. Again, easy for her to reach and out of the way. As you guys can see, there is still plenty of room for feet!
I also found one of those caddies I've seen on Pinterest. I found it in the Target $1 area about a week or two ago. My daughter uses it for drinks and to hold any snacks. I LOOOOOOVVVEEEE this! Keeps the mess contained! Well except for whatever lands on her clothes! That is a whole other blog in itself!
The back seat is organized!!! And has stayed that way for a whole 4 days!!! It's a miracle, right?!
Next up was the front of the car. As much as I'd like to say I keep it clean, anyone who knows me, or has gotten a ride in my car, knows that it's not true. Usually, the poor passenger has to wait while I gather the school papers and study guides that my daughter and I review in the car, and the mail I pick up and never take in the house! So I found a foldable basket at the Christmas Tree Shoppe for about $6 or $7. I keep it folded and under the front passenger seat until I need it. It makes it so easy to take things in and out of the house, and easy to move so a passenger can actually sit there! Who knew?! A seat for sitting. What a concept!
The total cost of organizing my car was .... drum roll please.... $11!!! Well that's it. The end of my organize your car so you aren't embarrassed to give people a ride blog! Hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to leave me a message with your thoughts on the blog. And pass it on to your friends if you think they would be interested. Thanks! Until next time...
Monday, February 20, 2012
"Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor." - Samuel Johnson
So one of my new goals is to be more frugal. You know, more than just eating Mac & Cheese for dinner 5 days a week. So I thought I would post on a couple of things that I've done to decorate on a small budget.
The first small project I did to clear space off a table I had, was to put all my family pictures on the wall in my hallway. All the frames were from the dollar store. The letters spelling family were from AC Moore. All these items cost me about $25. The fabric that the letters are being hung with came from old material I had that use to be my grandmothers. Believe me, it was the most "normal" looking material in that box! This is how it turned out...
Not too shabby, huh?!
My latest project was for my friend who recently moved. Another mom, making it out on her own for the first time as a single mom! You go girl! Anyway, she is renting a place that has NO drawers in the kitchen. Can you believe that? We didn't understand how that was even possible! So I told her I was on a mission to solve this problem. I was determined to find something and Pinterest the shit out of it! Here's what I found at Good Will for $12.97...
The hardware was old and not attached. So, we went out at got black paint, new hardware, and material to make a curtain. I filled in two holes in the top drawer (as well as some knicks and scratches), removed the bottom two drawers completely, and sanded the whole thing. Then painted everything black, put in a spring rod under the top drawer, and made the curtain. All of it came together for under $35 and this is it below.
Really love this piece. I can't wait to do more things like this. I've wanted to for a long time. I am getting a crib this week that I plan to make into a desk for myself. We will see how that goes. I just wanted to show you, that you can have beautiful things, without bustin' your budget! :)
Don't forget to post comments. Or even request a furniture do over! ;)
The first small project I did to clear space off a table I had, was to put all my family pictures on the wall in my hallway. All the frames were from the dollar store. The letters spelling family were from AC Moore. All these items cost me about $25. The fabric that the letters are being hung with came from old material I had that use to be my grandmothers. Believe me, it was the most "normal" looking material in that box! This is how it turned out...
Not too shabby, huh?!
My latest project was for my friend who recently moved. Another mom, making it out on her own for the first time as a single mom! You go girl! Anyway, she is renting a place that has NO drawers in the kitchen. Can you believe that? We didn't understand how that was even possible! So I told her I was on a mission to solve this problem. I was determined to find something and Pinterest the shit out of it! Here's what I found at Good Will for $12.97...
The hardware was old and not attached. So, we went out at got black paint, new hardware, and material to make a curtain. I filled in two holes in the top drawer (as well as some knicks and scratches), removed the bottom two drawers completely, and sanded the whole thing. Then painted everything black, put in a spring rod under the top drawer, and made the curtain. All of it came together for under $35 and this is it below.
Really love this piece. I can't wait to do more things like this. I've wanted to for a long time. I am getting a crib this week that I plan to make into a desk for myself. We will see how that goes. I just wanted to show you, that you can have beautiful things, without bustin' your budget! :)
Don't forget to post comments. Or even request a furniture do over! ;)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
"House work can kill you if done right." - Erma Bombeck
Welcome to my blog. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm hoping my life as a single mother will entertain you and give you something to relate to.
This is my first post and it's about CLEANING! Who out there adores cleaning? Seriously, if you know someone, please send them my way, I could use the help! I'm not the most organized person, and now that my daughter is of an age where she is involved in a lot more, I had to come up with a plan. Our house was a hot mess most of the time.
After some research on Pinterest, I found what seems to work best for me is giving the ILLUSION that my house is clean. I LOVE magic! There are so many blogs out there on organizing and cleaning, and I love them all. However, at first I thought these people were crazy. Every blog told me I needed to clean each night. At first I was like, "Are you kidding me? I'm a single mom, work all day, run around to my daughter's activities, make dinner, do some more work at home, take care of the dog, and now you want me to clean too?!" Typically, by the time I get home and through all of that, I'm lucky my dishes get done. All I want to do is plop my big butt on the couch and watch mindless TV so I don't have to think anymore for the day. Anyone relate to that??
However, if you are anything like me, your weekends are usually just as busy as your week days! How does that happen? So my "big" plans to clean everything on the weekend would never come about. The biggest thing I've done to help with the mess is PURGE!! That got rid of a lot of things that were just taking up space but really had no use. I will get into my purging in another blog at some point, but it was my first step. Next though was cleaning...
I actually made a schedule to clean. I find that if I do the one or two things a night BEFORE I sit my big butt down, things are much easier to manage. The cleaning schedule that works for me is looks something like this:
Morning Routine: I have about 20 minutes while my daughter dresses herself and brushes her teeth. She's a slow mover in the morning.
Afternoon Routine: This varies day to day because of our schedules. Should take about 25 minutes with the exception of making dinner.
Weekend Routine:
This is my first post and it's about CLEANING! Who out there adores cleaning? Seriously, if you know someone, please send them my way, I could use the help! I'm not the most organized person, and now that my daughter is of an age where she is involved in a lot more, I had to come up with a plan. Our house was a hot mess most of the time.
After some research on Pinterest, I found what seems to work best for me is giving the ILLUSION that my house is clean. I LOVE magic! There are so many blogs out there on organizing and cleaning, and I love them all. However, at first I thought these people were crazy. Every blog told me I needed to clean each night. At first I was like, "Are you kidding me? I'm a single mom, work all day, run around to my daughter's activities, make dinner, do some more work at home, take care of the dog, and now you want me to clean too?!" Typically, by the time I get home and through all of that, I'm lucky my dishes get done. All I want to do is plop my big butt on the couch and watch mindless TV so I don't have to think anymore for the day. Anyone relate to that??
However, if you are anything like me, your weekends are usually just as busy as your week days! How does that happen? So my "big" plans to clean everything on the weekend would never come about. The biggest thing I've done to help with the mess is PURGE!! That got rid of a lot of things that were just taking up space but really had no use. I will get into my purging in another blog at some point, but it was my first step. Next though was cleaning...
I actually made a schedule to clean. I find that if I do the one or two things a night BEFORE I sit my big butt down, things are much easier to manage. The cleaning schedule that works for me is looks something like this:
Morning Routine: I have about 20 minutes while my daughter dresses herself and brushes her teeth. She's a slow mover in the morning.
- make the bed
- start a load of laundry
- empty the dishwasher after I have made our lunches
Afternoon Routine: This varies day to day because of our schedules. Should take about 25 minutes with the exception of making dinner.
- make dinner
- organize a drawer while dinner cooks
- switch over laundry
- Clean kitchen counter & sink
- wipe down table surfaces & mirrors in main living areas
- put away laundry
- spot mop floor ( I love my Swifter)
- wipe down bathroom
- run dishwasher
Weekend Routine:
- vacuum house very well
- dust house
- empty garbage
- clean out fridge
- scrub bathroom and tub
- wash floors
- organize an area (depending on time a drawer or a closet!)
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