More Spring Cleaning - Does it End?

     Before I get into my latest cleaning adventure I'm going to take a moment to indulge in myself and show you a picture of my belly. For a while there I was a little depressed at how saggy the 2 time pregnant belly was but hey, I'd just lost 30 lbs and there was a little extra sag that hadn't had time to tighten up before this little guy came into existence, but now it's tightening up and I look more pregnant than fat. :D So here I am at 24 weeks! (And can I just say that I'm thrilled that I didn't have to photoshop my acne out? The Dr. gave me the okay to continue to use Proactiv and thank heavens for that!)

     So anyway, I'm down to the wire here on preparing for my "half move" as I like to call it. That, coupled with my early nesting desires, has lead me to perform a giant purge on all the junk in my house. I've never liked all the junk I have but I've also had a hard time separating myself from my junk. Thoughts of "but I might need it again!" or "but that lotion bottle is still half full, who cares if I don't like the scent!" keep running through my mind but in the last month I've decided that enough is enough and it's time to purge. You saw my closet makeover (even more amazing is my storage closet makeover that I haven't even posted yet haha) but yesterday I decided my bathroom needed some TLC.
     My bathroom has always been clean but the cupboards were FULL of stuff that I didn't need. In the end I managed to DI a few more things (which I wish I would have discovered sooner since I just made a DI trip on Saturday haha) and I filled up an entire trash bag with half full bottles of lotion that I probably would never use again anyway, old shampoo and conditioner bottles with just a little left in them, expired antibacterial ointments (expired by several years, I might add), and various other things I just have no use for anymore. Can I just say that it was an extremely liberating experience? Holy cow! Normally I worry about how wasteful it is for me to throw things like that away. I don't have much money, how could I throw away a perfectly good bottle of lotion just because I don't like it? (I know, it doesn't make any sense to me now that I've purged it out from under my bathroom sink haha.) Letting go and throwing away made me feel so good! And even though under my bathroom sink is still full, it's full of stuff that I use and I can promise you that I'll be much more careful when I buy things in the future. (Hint: Don't buy a giant 3 pack of lotion at Costco, torture yourself with the first 2 bottles and then have to throw the 3rd bottle away, just buy something you like even if it's more expensive to buy it somewhere else instead of in bulk at Costco with a coupon!)
     Today I've got big plans to clean out Ashley's linen closet and under her sink (the linen closet may be more of a fiasco than mine, but under her sink will be a breeze, there's almost nothing in there!) and the best part of this whole de-junking and spring cleaning process is that I have ZERO plans to replace what I got rid of with more stuff. :) Well, I guess having a shiny, sparkling clean house is a plus too. ;)
     Anyway, the whole point of me blogging about my soon-to-be junk free house is that I've really taken to heart the message to simplify. I've been thinking so much about that concept for a long time now and I'm finally doing something about it (I attribute that to the "half move" and the nesting haha) and it feels so good. A simplified life is a fun, relaxing, carefree life in which I get to spend more time with my kids (I can say kids now even though one is still chilling in utero haha) and I have to spend less time cleaning my house. So I challenge all of you who read this to simplify and start enjoying life the way it's meant to be. Muster up the courage I know you have to clean out and simplify! It feels so good and there's just something nice about opening up a closet to get out your summer clothes, or getting under the bathroom sink for that new tube of toothpaste and being able to see exactly everything that's in there and where it's all at! I can't even explain the amount of stress that has been lifted off my shoulders because I know exactly where things are at when I want them. Have fun simplifying your life!

My Closet!

    Now I know I promised ultrasound pictures next but I haven't had the time to scan them in just yet (I'm hoping to knock that off my to-do list during this lovely 3 hour block of time while Ashley's napping!) but I was just so excited about my closet being finished that I had to post the pictures! Keep in mind it's not much because I've got such a small space and no money for a closet system that I'll have to rip out and patch up holes in when we move or else keep here (which I wouldn't be willing to do anyway). And I know the closet isn't small, but my house in general is small which is why non-closet items are stored there. In reality I'm lucky to have this big of a closet and I'm so grateful for it! Now, for the before pictures click here. And here are the afters!

     Like I said, it's not beautiful because I have to have non-closet items in there but I think it's a massive improvement from what it was! I think this would be a lot more dramatic if you had all seen this transformation in person but just know that I am so happy with my newly re-organized closet (and I'm quite happy that I finally had the chance to spray for roaches in there too... makes me feel better about reaching into the corners for those shoes I haven't worn for a while haha). Ashley's closet is almost done, though I've got some big items I need to sell to get them out of the way and then I'm pretty much done! And I promise, ultrasound pictures to come very soon. :)

More Than I Can Chew?

     So blogged about re-organizing, or I guess putting it into organization for the first time haha, Ashley's closet and I honestly and truly thought it would take a day. And perhaps it would have (I don't think it was too much to ask for) if it wasn't for the fact that my closet looks like this:

      Yup, just as bad or worse than Ashley's. You may be wondering what in the world this has to do with organizing Ashley's closet. Well, all of my crafting supplies are currently in her closet because at the time we moved in, her closet had the most room. This poses a problem when I decide to work on a project while she's napping and I find, to my utter devastation, that I have left everything or at least sometime I really, really need in her closet and I can't get it out or she will wake up (too bad for me, I've got a really light sleeper). So the goal was to move the majority of crafting supplies that I most often get at into my closet to avoid this problem. Naturally this meant I had to re-organize my closet too (which was on the list of things to do, but a little farther down). This lead to needing to get into my storage closet (also in my bedroom) which is smaller and even messier than the other closets (pictures to follow) and so now my house is in complete disarray in my noble attempts to organize my house better so that it's cleaner and easier to clean.
     *Sigh,* looks like it will take me much longer than the weekend to figure this mess out but once it's done I'll have before and after pictures of TWO clean and well organized closets! Yay! Then it will be on to the storage closet... (insert twilight zone music here).

Spring Cleaning

     I had the sudden realization a few nights ago while lying in bed awake and unable to sleep (again), that I've only got about 2 months before we pack up to live in Cedar City, UT for 6 weeks which means I have to get ready for this baby in 2 months, not 4 or 5! We'll be back late July, but at that point I've got one brother coming home from a mission and the next one leaving on a mission, then we'll be visiting the Sorensen clan up in Salt Lake some time in August, plus I'm trying to squeeze in a beach trip somewhere in there which means August will be one busy month and before I know it, September will be upon me and I'll wonder where time flew. At that point I think I'll be too big and too tired to start on any major household projects that need to be done in preparation for Baby #2 (and yes, I've got some major projects...)
     I also have a confession to make. Don't worry, it's not a bad one. In fact, it might be really good actually. I'm obsessed with organization blogs and I stalk quite a few of them to get ideas on how to utilize my small yet happy space. I recently found another organization blog that I've fallen in love with and I think her way of life and organization are the closest to mine that I've found yet. (Yay!) So she's got millions of little ideas that are really going to help me out in my quest to organize (and stay that way).
     I'm not really sure where this organization/clean freak attitude came from but it came about sometime while living with roommates I think. Anyone knowing me growing up knows that I'm a pack-rat, I don't like to get rid of things that I think I might use later (that might have more to do with a tight budget than anything haha) and I'm way too sentimental for my own good which means I end up storing a lot of things that I shouldn't (my old t-shirt I made with my cousins in high school to wear to the midnight selling of the 6th Harry Potter book - do I really need that still? yes... i made it!... with family!...). But alas, this leads to a disorganized home which is the last thing I want. I'm also a big fan of the phrase "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" and I really want to take that to heart in the next few months as I prepare to do a half move and make room for Baby #2 (who's gender we will know in less than a week!).
     Because I need some motivation, and because I'd like to see how far I came once I'm done, I've taken a lot of lovely before pictures so that later I can blog with my before and after shots. I'm ridiculously excited for the after shots. And as nerdy as this sounds, I think I'm really going to enjoy the project. Some projects are the most fun when they're finished, but I think this project is going to be fun for me the whole way through. My only stress point right now is money to buy appropriate storage and I'm going to have to convince Spencer that this is well worth the money (right? Isn't my sanity worth it?) so we'll see how that goes. :)
     I'm going to tackle Ashley's closet first (as much as mine is driving me crazy) because her room is the most important in terms of preparing for the baby. And just so you can get as excited as I am about this whole closet makeover, here's the before shots!

     I know it's bad, don't judge, this is why I'm fixing it. :) And strictly for your viewing pleasure, here is one final picture of my little monkey who has just finished eating, pulverizing and smearing banana in her hair. Gotta love it!

     How could I be mad, right?