Spring Cleaning

My husband and I have decided to stay in our home until our 2nd some gets to school age.  Hopefully by that time we will be school loan free and daycare payment free.  Our goal for this is to be able to get the house we really want.  I have a pinterest folder that I have labeled My next home that I am forever adding my wants for that house in.  I like it because I put paint colors, decorating ideas, and tips and tricks.  While I spend my time dreaming away I realized that I needed to make our space work :)  One thing that drives me nuts is our closet.  We do not have one of those gigantic walk in closets.  Our stuff is crammed in there together which drives me crazy.  This weekend I studied the space.  I found a few things I new would give me a little more room.

1.  My shoe rack won't keep my shoes on it, so it takes up wasted space.  My shoes are forever sliding off.  I am done fighting that fight.  I bought one of those over the door hanging shoe pocket things and put all my flats on that.  I did take one level off my current shoe rack and put my shoes with heels on them because they do stay on. 

2.  I purchased several of those plastic drawers to house in my closet.  I got one large 3 drawer one and 2 smaller 3 drawer ones as well. I don't put the wheels on so that fit perfectly below our clothes.   I previously had a hanging shelf organizer in the closet.  That thing also drove me nuts.  The way our shelving is you cannot attached it completely so it kind of hung a little crooked.  I had to look at the clothes in their and that did bother me because it was never folded the way I wanted it to be.  

So far I am loving the renovation.  I cleaned up my purse box and put them in the bottom drawer of the large 3 drawer.  Used a small shoe box container for my wristlets and wallets.  Used a basket to sit on top of the drawer unit for my outerwear items.  I also purchased one of those hangers made for scarves so I can hang them up instead of keep them waded up.  I needed two of those and have 2 scarves through each hole :)  Have you started any spring cleaning?  I also did our fridge, bathroom vanity, and pantry.  Stories for another day.

Shoe rack from Target: 15.00

http://www.target.com/p/honey-can-do-over-the-door-clear-shoe-organizer-storage-rack-black/-/A-12227233#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=Over+The+Door+shoe 

Scarf Hangers: 10.00 at Bed Bath and Beyond

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/70361-real-simple-scarf-belt-hangers-black-set-of-2.html

Sterilite 3 Drawer: Small Green 14.00 at Target



http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-3-drawer-cart-green/-/A-13168240#prodSlot=dlp_medium_1_8&term=sterilite+3+drawer

3 drawer large: Walmart 17.00




http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart-Green-Glaze/22582949?findingMethod=rr

Best Tips for a DS and Young Child

My son got his DS last Christmas when he was 3 1/2 years old.  He had played with my cousins when we were on vacation that previous July and was hooked :)  That was all he talked about Santa bringing him.  We got him the blue DS XL.


I learned that the Xl means the screen is bigger.  He had the Leapster since he was 2 and had done very well with that.  He is also an expert on an Iphone.  I don't know what we will do with these kiddos when they get school age because they are so advanced with technology.  That is another story.  Since he was so young I wanted to get some protective gear in case of dropping or falls.  I looked all over the internet and saw this item below had great reviews.  This is a must have item if you have a DS.  It does make it bulkier, but well worth it.   Better than shattering a screen or breaking the whole thing. They make these in both the DS and the DSXL.  The Nerf Body Armor is a must have :)

http://www.target.com/p/PDP-DSI-XL-NERF-Armor/-/A-13617211



The games that come with the DS are very small.  This is a big responsibilty for our son to keep up with, but he has not lost one.  We purchased a game case to keep his games in because it was overwhelming to always put them back in the boxes and if we wanted to take the DS with us this made it easy to take his games as well.  This will hold up to 12 games which we haven't reached yet.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/POWER-A-DS-12-Game-Clear-Case-Black-DS-Nintendo-DS-Dsi/17350685

The last item that I would recommend is a car charger.  We actually got a starter kit that had some extra stylus and other items in it.  The only things we used from it were the car charger, screen protectors, wrist strap,  and the extra stylus.

http://www.nintendo3dsgamer.com/3ds-starter-kit-aqua-blue/



We have a small pottery barn backpack (will show this in a later post) that we keep all his DS stuff in and other items we need for running around town, going out to dinner, or traveling in the car.  I think it has helped him keep up with his DS stuff because when he is done it has to go back in that bag.  He also knows that he has to put his games in the case before he puts a new on in the DS.  We taught him this from the beginning with lots of supervision and now he does this all on his own.  He knows our expectations for keeping these nice things and he does it.  I will also post later some of his favorite games that he can play.  His dad and him tore of the supermario when he first got it.  That was very cute to see :) Please comment below if you know of any other good tips for keeping up with the DS with little ones.  This was an investment that we want to keep intact for a long time. 

Thank goodness the playroom has a door :)

Our 2 boys have all the toys that one can ever hope for.  Way more than I ever had growing up, but we won't go there (still trying to figure out why our inground pool is now heated for my 4 year old, but I took those chilly swims all my life).  My boys are blessed in that they have my parents, my husbands father and stepmother and his mother for grandparents.  Mine sons were the only grandchildren until this past August, which means spoiled.  Back to the reason for the post.  We have a really cool area under our stairs on the first floor.  When we built our house it was supposed to be for storage.  It a little room that is under our staircase in the shape of an L.  A very dear neighbor ran some electric in there so the boys can have light.  This room has quickly gotton overun with toys.  My second son is in the baby toys that are large an bulky.  So after Christmas I could take it no longer and made an upstairs playroom as well.  That way it is all not housed in one location and they have a place to play if I need to work upstairs.  The room upstairs was our office.  We took out the desk and put in bookshelves and toy boxes.  That all looked great until I put the toys in bins.  Being a teacher I have tons of these baskets and brought them home.  I couldn't figure out why it was driving me crazy to look at it until I saw this blog post.  I love this blog because I apply the things she uses for her classroom to my house as well.  Check out his blog if you like organization tips :)  How do you handle organizing all the toys in your house??

http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/01/storage-tip-1-go-uniform.html?showComment=1328369686378#c6093509280243716160