With the decluttering finally finished, the next step in my journey from cluttered to clean had arrived! Prepping the storage area & measuring for the storage boxes!
Here’s where I begin to see the fruits of my labor!
Chris Stone of NeatlyDesigned.com has shepherded me through this process, gently (plus a dash of humor & firmness!) helping me clear out this mess!
So here are the steps for this decluttering process so far:
A clean space to organize is a treat! You know you don’t want to put all your nicely organized items back into a dirty area! You also want to make sure you have the right sized storage bins, so you can actually close the doors! So follow along! And next week, you can see how we put it all back together!
So when I decided to do this video series with Chris Stone of NeatlyDesigned.com, I thought to myself,
This will be great! I will get organized and someone will actually HELP me do it! Easy Peasy! . . . Well, I was in for a shocker!
What I didn’t expect was to feel a combination of anxiety, embarrassment and attachment to silly things like fuzzy balls and googly eyes (watch the video and you will understand)!
Laura is not too happy!
When you have clutter, there is a reason you are keeping it around, whether you know why or not. When you start to get rid of it, you start to see patterns. This video is meant to really illustrate the sometimes difficult process of letting go of the clutter! These are my true and honest reactions; I’m not acting. And the funny thing is, Chris knew it was going to happen! She’s a pro, she’s seen this before with all of her clients, and knows how to help people get through it to a nice, clean, organized space!
So sit back and enjoy! And realize, if I can do it, so can you!
Welcome to the first in the video series, A Simple Challenge: Clear The Clutter. I’ve teamed up this month with professional organizer Chris Stone of Neatly Designed to give you a helping hand in getting started in your decluttering process. In today’s video, Chris and I begin the process to tackle the hidden clutter in my media cabinet/craft closet – AKA My Anxiety Closet!
BTW – I highly recommend subscribing to Chris’ blog for great tips & little nuggets of motivation! They really do help keep you going!
My Personal Clutter Journey
For years, I was really good at a mass purge every six months or so – I was forced to when the kids were little to go through their stuff because they were outgrowing everything so fast! But as time sped up (parents of teens and pre-teens will understand this concept of time flying!), I seemed to have less and less time to get things done!
Now, I believe most people have clutter, whether hidden or in plain site. Many will go along and live in their clutter, either unaware or unwilling to deal with it. Avoiding, putting it off, waiting until they have a quiet day, etc. That is, until something happens and they force themselves — or are forced — to deal with it! My moment of truth came when my oldest left for college. I have, for at least the last year or so, been ignoring the piles of junk accumulating in and around my house!
My Media Cabinet/Craft Closet/Junk Hideaway! AKA, My Anxiety Closet!
Between doing projects for SimpleSolutionsDiva.com, family activities, sports, and just wanting to eek out those last few moments with my “baby’ before she left for college, etc., I found myself throwing things in a closet saying, “I’ll get to it soon!” Well, I think I reached that point of being just grossed out by it all!
And the subtle (and not so subtle) requests from my patient husband just got to be too much to ignore. . .
So join Chris Stone and I, as she shepherds me through the process of clearing out my clutter! I hope it will help motivate you to take care of some of the piles in and around your home!
P.S.: I have to say, I find this has helped me feel lighter, more organized, and I actually have more time and energy to do the things I want to do. I think I was being paralyzed by the piles!
The Heat is on this summer, and we all are looking to cool things down a little. The Simple Solutions Diva has a few icy beverage recipes & ideas (all non-alcoholic), perfect to chill out with this summer!
Fruit Kicks Up Drinks To The Next Level
Put the fruits of the season to work! If you have strawberries, peaches or raspberries, and they are about to become overripe, puree them in a blender and freeze the puree in ice cube trays – pop a few cubes into a glass to add a refreshing, fresh flavor to any lemonade or iced tea!
Fruit Puree Recipe:
2 Cups Fruit (Wash and remove stems – like strawberries – or peel fruit – like mangos or peaches – first)
2 Tablespoons sugar – I used 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour puree into ice molds, cover with plastic wrap and freeze 24 hours. Pop out and serve immediately in favorite beverage like iced tea or lemonade. Save remaining in freezer bag, removing as much air as possible from the baggie!
Perfect Iced Coffee
This is a bit of a process, but so worth the effort! Start it in the early morning (or the night before!), so you have it in the late afternoon! This will make a large batch for the week. Plus, you can freeze any leftovers in ice cube trays to add to your future iced coffee the next week (and the coffee ice cubes won’t water down your coffee)! Best Review From The Biggest Critic – My husband says:
This iced coffee maintains its integrity as the ice melts!
This large-batch recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond – you just can’t improve on perfection with this recipe! She has two types – regular iced coffee and vietnamese iced coffee – both are YUMMY! Click HERE to go to her fantastic recipe!
Crank Up The Heat To Chill Out
Sometimes it takes adding a little heat to get you to cool down! The theory is, if you sweat a little, it is your body’s way to cool you off! This Jalapeño Watermelon Limeade is a perfectly tasty way to cool you off – just enough of a kick, balanced with sweetness!
Jalapeño Watermelon Limeade
Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon, pureed in blender
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 5 limes)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2-3 pinches of sea salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Jalapeño Simple Syrup (see recipe below) in each serving glass. Use this amount as a guide-add more or less to taste!
Jalapeño Simple Syrup Directions: In a saucepan, cook 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeños-I used canned, but you can use fresh- boil for five minutes, Set aside and allow to cool; strain through a sieve, store in air tight container in fridge for up to 1 month)
Directions:
Combine the watermelon, lime juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and water in blender and blend! Serve in ice-filled glasses, stirring in 1/2 teaspoon Jalapeño Simple Syrup (more or less to taste!). Garnish with a slice of lime and a wedge of watermelon!
When you are in a hurry for a decadent dessert, who doesn’t like chocolate? Here’s a recipe that is perfect to make and eat with the kids! Warning – this serving was so big, one mug (an oversized mug!) would have been plenty for two people!
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons chocolate chips, optional (really, if you are making cake, GO FOR IT!) 😉
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Add the dry ingredients to a large, microwave-safe coffee mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly, being sure to scrape the sides and the bottom well to incorporate the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix.
Place mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes. The cake will rise and will peek out over the top of the mug, so don’t worry and think that it will explode!
Cake right out of the microwave – looks a little spongy and it is oh, so good!
Allow to cool, add some vanilla ice cream (why not!?!) and enjoy! So good you don’t need frosting!
Thank you so much to my assistants in today’s video, Dylan and Kingston! They were a big help AND they did a great job!
