Keeping your Toddler in Bed

Because Miss O co-slept through infancy, we didn't have a TON of trouble keeping her in her bed when we moved to a toddler bed in her own room around 16 months.  Sure, there's the occasional night that she would get up and come to the living room when she heard us and friends chatting during our Financial Peace University class or Bible Study.  And we've had a few sleep-walking type events at midnight or 1am.  But these things are truly the exception not the rule.

Mornings, too, haven't been a huge issue.  Because O loves cuddling in our bed (and so do we!), if she wakes up "too early" in the morning, she comes straight to our room.  So long as she has a binki, she cuddles in just fine for a few more minutes of rest for mama and dada.  And again, while it's rare, a little Curious George on an iPhone will keep her busy for 30-60 minutes if mom and dad want to sleep LATE (aka, 9am).

But even before O, we had friends who SWORE by the concept of a toddler clock.  You might know the type (this one seems to be the most famous brand).  The idea of these clocks is that your toddler learns what colors mean what-- blue as time to go to bed, yellow as time to wake up (or get out of bed)... and the fancier ones have timer functions as well with red for "time out" and green as "reward time."  I've always heard AMAZING things about these guys.  And even considered buying one, not as a need to keep O in bed, but as a want to teach her independence with her daily routine/schedule.  The problem for this cheap-o mama... these guys can cost $50!!!

But this week, I learned about a GREAT idea that I think would possibly work just as well.  The simple dial timer!  My family bought these a couple years back when our home was broken into.  We decided to put timers on the living room lights so that they come on and off in the evening, even while we're out.  And despite the fact that our anxiety about burglars has significantly reduced, I still enjoy having the timer on difficult to reach lamps.  I change the times along with the sunset times at different times of year too, which helps cut down on using lights during the day time when we can use sunlight from the windows instead.

But the brilliant idea this week was to install one of these little guys onto a lamp or string of Christmas lights in the toddler's room!  You can set the timer to turn the string of lights on at the "right" time to get up and out of bed.  With the slightly fancier ones, you could even set a second timer to turn the lights on at the end of a previously scheduled nap time too!  And the BEST part, these guys cost about $4-5!!  Amazing.

What work-arounds do you and your family use to save money in comparison to the typical item on the Toys'R'Us shelf?

First Year Essentials

Hello mamas out there!  I have SEVERAL friends who are getting pregnant or trying to get pregnant.  So I've been asked more than once in the last month, "what is YOUR list of essentials for the first year?"  I'm so glad you asked!  I think that the baby industry is second only to the wedding industry these days in convincing people to buy things they don't need at prices twice as high as they should pay.  Ick.  I hate it.  I did a lot of research before Miss O was born, but even still, I ended up owning some things that I didn't need.  Thus, more than a year in, I think I've finally fine tuned my "essentials" list for year one.  


Transporting Baby- we chose to get a car seat and a "snap and go" stroller (aka a frame stroller) for that car seat.  It was small, compact, traveled well on the T and via our small car, didn't take up too much space.  We used it for 1 year until O outgrew the bucket car seat and needed to size up.  We never felt we needed a "larger" or different stroller, except for a couple weeks where I daydreamed about having a "jogging" stroller so I could work out... then I went back to work, and didn't have time to work out with baby anyway... glad I didn't waste the money.  Now that we're on to larger kiddo, we have a larger/sturdier "umbrella stroller" and a convertible car seat.  Again, I don't feel the need for anything more/larger.  This fits all our needs.  We were gifted this Tricycle for O's first birthday and daddy loves to take her out in it.  But I always wish that we had the stroller instead.

Receiving Blankets- we LOVED swaddling Ms. O when she was tiny.  Despite that, we really only needed 5-7 max (had 10-12 and some never got used).  The normal cotton ones you can get at any baby store were fine, but we really loved the slightly larger, slightly stretchier ones that were available.  One brand example is aden and anais.  The larger size meant we could use it longer and the stretchier fabric felt more cozy and made swaddling easier.  Much to my surprise, I did NOT use any of the "pre folded" swaddling contraptions with velcro straps and stuff.  They collected dust and I re-sold them quickly.

Diapers - for the first 3-4 months, we loved our Gdiapers.  Now we use bum genius all-in-ones.  I think the "all-in-ones" make cloth diapers a really easy decision.  All of the inserts and snaps and things on other types are stressful, STILL, when I look at them.  I think somewhere between a dozen and 2 dozen cloth diapers is a good start, dependent on how often you want to do laundry.  We use the cheapest store brand we can find on amazon when we use disposable.  I've never met a brand that wasn't "good enough."
 
Diapering Accessories - if you're going to cloth diaper, I'd recommend you get these items from the start: a diaper sprayer, a wet bag for home, and some wet bags that are smaller/zip up that can go in a diaper bag for being out of the house.  Brand doesn't matter.  Buy the cheap one.

Breast Pump - get a good one.  It's worth the money and your insurance probably covers it.  I loved the Medela Pump n' Style.  I actually owned two (got them both used), which was PERFECT for having one at home (in case I needed to pump in a crisis, or I took it with me to Hebrew Rehab) and one at work.  I had extra pump parts too, which made the back and forth to work a little easier/less stressful on my new mommy memory.
 
Places for baby to sleep - even though we co-slept from night one, we really appreciated having a couple of safe sleeping choices for those first few months when O was in the "lump on a log" phase.  We used a Summer Infant Sleeper (great for tossing in the car to go to Grammie's house.  Also good for the back yard and the living room floor).  We also used a "travel bassinet" (not this exact one, but similar).  We used it only in the bedroom.  We were handed down a pack-n-play and didn't use it much because it felt so hard to rock her to sleep and then lay her down so low to the floor with such a tall wall.  It also took up more space than we wanted it to in our little apartment.  By Christmas (8 months), my mom tried to put her in a pack'n'play at Nana's house and O absolutely hated the cage.  It lasted about 5 seconds.  After the first few weeks, though, my favorite non-bedroom sleeping apparatus was a boppy with a blanket underneath it.

Places for baby to sit/lay when you're freaking out- we were handed down a baby swing which we looked at and thought it was too huge, too plastic, and we'd never use it.  But when O was fussy and I couldn't think straight, it was our go-to.  She napped in it once a day during my maternity leave.  I gifted it away by 4-5 months when she was more mobile.  I've heard other moms talk about vibrating chairs similarly, which have the benefit of being able to drag into the bathroom while you shower.  I think every mom should have ONE device that you can strap him/her into and walk away if you need to pee or cry. :-)

Bathing- we owned one of these little baby baths, but I don't think it was a "must."  I only recall using it a couple times.  When O was little enough to sit inside, she slipped, slid, and didn't have good trunk support.  It took two of us to bath her in there, so it wasn't helpful for me alone.  When she was too little to sit independently, I actually showered with her most often (daddy could help when he was home, but I could do it alone when needed).  Once she sat up, we bathed her in the kitchen sink.  Once she could stand, we use a bigger tub that goes down inside our bathtub... it is sorta like a big tupperware bin... that way it's more easily cleaned if she poos in the tub and it also uses less water to bathe her than filling the whole bathtub.  We also have about a dozen baby wash cloths and maybe 2-3 baby towels with the hood (which are SO CUTE).  Don't get suckered into other baby bath things like robes and slippers-- useless.

Bottles- I really wanted to be earthy and use stainless steel or glass bottles.  But the truth was, the day care wanted plastic only.  So I succumbed to that and just used the medela ones that came with/attached so easily to my breast pump.  I was always sad about it, though.  Switched to Evenflo glass as soon as we were using a nanny part time.  I used Evenflo, Gerber, and Medela slow flow nipples, as they were all interchangeable.  

Other feeding: We have daddy's old fashioned high chair.  We were gifted/handed down a Bumbo, but used it about 3 times total- don't buy it.  I'm craving a smaller high chair or booster seat that would sit on top of one of our kitchen chairs or attach straight to the table, as I'm ready for the high chair to take up less space in my kitchen.  We had about a dozen cloth bibs which we didn't use at all until she started eating solid foods (between 4-6 months for small amounts of purees, 6 months + for solids).  Now that she's bigger, we use larger easy wipe bibs and only have 2-3 of them, because they don't have to be removed from the kitchen for washing, so they get reused more and we need less.  We never really used specialized "burp cloths," but instead used about a dozen pre fold diapers as burp cloths.  Once O was eating solid food in the chair, we use about a dozen baby wash cloths to wipe her face/hands/the table, rinse out, and then wash at the end of the day.  

Dishes: we have found small glass bowls and real silverware at Bed Bath and Beyond, and don't really use any plasticware very often or dedicated baby dishes at all.  Plates are just distracting, we put food straight on the tray unless it's a puree.  We love our Foogo straw cups-- have 2 of those and essentially don't drink out of anything else except for the occasional open cup.

Clothing: My advice to moms is don't buy anything yourself until after a shower, if you have one.  Clothing will be the thing you have coming out your ears.  I'd say regardless of weather where you live, your 0-3 month sized set should include about a dozen onesies, 5-7 sleepers (with feet or the little elastic bottomed/dress kind), 2-3 caps, and 2-3 pairs of little mittens that keep him/her from scratching themselves.  ALL OTHER CLOTHING IS JUST FOR STYLE, so it doesn't count as a "must have" but OMG clothing shopping for babies is so much fun, so enjoy it once you decide to do it! :-)

Pacifiers - didn't want to use 'em, but O proved me wrong.  We have about 6 that are in the rotation and couldn't survive without 'em.  Brand doesn't matter.

Monitors - our house is so small, we didn't NEED one.  Were handed down a video monitor which proved nice once in a while, so if your home is big enough, the video was a cool feature.  We gifted this away after O was big enough to a) shout loud enough for me to hear her quickly or b) climb out of her floor bed and walk into the living room to find me.

General "health" supplies: baby nail clippers, baby thermometer (rectal is the only one that's reliable), baby snot sucker - you'll probably get one at the hospital-- ask for a spare.  Also have baby tylenol on hand in case you need it in the middle of the night.

Baby Wearing Devices: my favorite was the Moby Wrap until O was walking (11-12 months).  Daddy loved the Bjorn when she was little enough for it.  As she's gotten older and bigger, we transitioned to a Beco (I think we bought it in February at 10 months???), which is just like the Ergo.  I love that I can put her on my back in it.  I also love that it has a little hood that helps keep it dark to get her to sleep.


What things did YOU think were essentials in year one???

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home cop-out

Hey all,

So for those of you who were (either anxiously or dreadingly) following my decluttering, I've officially decided I'm finished.  I'm not finished decluttering, but I'm finished blogging about it.  I have a few "days" that I never did and am dreading and a few "days" that I did and never posted about... And the idea of finishing the project on the blog has been keeping me from posting!  I think of something fun to post about and then think, "ugh, but I can't until I'm done with the decluttering posts!"  So, I'm done.  I'm just not gonna finish the post series and that's gonna be okay.

Right?  Right.

:-)

Now you can all look forward to the post tomorrow about Baby O turning 5 months!  Wowie Wowie!

Hugs from Boston...

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home, Week 6

Chug, chug, chug, chug...

Challenge #26: Bathroom #2 - Today I decided to tackle the dreaded junk cabinet in the bathroom.  This thing is a) HUGE and b) full of stuff that I always say "but I might want to use that some day!" about.  As Ben said, "it had become a real hoarder zone."  So here's the list (most of which will go STRAIGHT in the trash): travel case, old pain meds, pedometer from AARP, eye mask/socks from airline, two old nail polishes, two eyebrow pencil sharpeners (I don't even own an eyebrow pencil anymore), alcohol prep pads, hair combs, tiny lotions... many of them... bronzing pads, Colgate Wisps, ear plugs, hair bands, foot scrubs, mouth wash samples, eye glasses case, sharpie, ace bandage, travel tooth brush, wrist brace, two little containers for holding crap, skin crystals, nail files, razor blades for a razor I don't own, two lip glosses I've hated for years, a scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner, 3 airwick air fresheners, several small jewelry cases, a container of orchid food from 2007... Yeah... this pile is disgusting.  I'm so proud of myself today.  I didn't attack the jewelry pile.  I'll tackle that another day...

Challenge #27- Entry, hall or mudroom closet - red full sized sheets (they started staining everything else in the wash after YEARS of being fine), an old canvas tote bag I don't need, 2+ bags of old tshirts that we're never gonna wear that I was keeping for "an art project" that I will never actually finish, a picture frame, 15 plastic hangers... extras 'just in case,' 2 curtain rods from 3 apartments back, a container of soap making materials... another art project I'll never actually do..., and a box of packing paper from when we got our dishes, 2 wall maps, a fleece jacket, a fleece vest, and a moose hat

Challenge #28 SHOES! - black flip flops (worn out), tennis shoes (I don't think I've worn these for more than 3 years!), and black keens (a hand me down that I never really used).  I confess, I kept my tan TOMS that I got married in.  They're old.  They're worn out.  But I got MARRIED IN THEM.  I can't throw them out, can I???

Challenge #29/30- Basement- Day 1&2. If you don't have a basement, this could be your garage, attic, a storage closet, etc.  Ben and I chose to tackle storage spaces in an order that made sense for us-- we have a couple of them-- basement and "the toolshed," aka, Ben's storage space for work stuff and beer stuff.  Since the toolshed is lived out of more, he tackled it first.  I was STUNNED at the pile of stuff he was able to get rid of.  It included WAY more than 10 items, especially in the category of "work stuff."  I'll be honest that there's no way I can name each of the items, so I'm not going to try.  I wanted to let the pictures speak for themselves.  But now I can only find the picture of the beer stuff, not the work stuff.  I don't know where the other pic went.  But the other pile was HUGE.  I. Mean. HUGE.  I am so proud of my husband.  All those items are now in the trash, recycle bin, or good will.  

8 Weeks to a Decluttered Home, week 5

I'm picking up speed here... trying to complete the entire 8 week challenge while it still counts as "summer" (aka, before Labor Day, I guess).  I wouldn't be able to do it without the help of Hubby.  He takes all my piles to Good Will when I don't have the energy to try to sell them or give them away to someone more specific.  I really only worry about the breakable stuff... I've seen what the back of our Goodwill looks like.  And I'm not convinced anything breakable actually makes it out of there.

Here's the next 5 challenges (technically):

Challenge #21- Clothing- Kids closet(s)- Day 1 - See #19 about why I get today off!  Woohoo!

Challenge #22- Clothing- Kids closet(s)- Day 2 - See #19 about why I get today off!  Woohoo!

Challenge #23- Clothing- Master bedroom closet - I cheated a bit with this one... I actually did most of this work a few weeks back when I was weeding through maternity clothes.  Some got re-sold, some got given back to the person from whom I borrowed them, and some are in a box for the next "maybe baby."  I definitely pitched 10 items or more from the closet at that time.  But this time around, I pitch out a few button down shirts with stained pits, a few scarves that I'll never wear (not the warm ones, the decorative ones), and a couple dressier tank tops.  On Ben's side, we pitched out several button downs that don't fit well.  Forgot to take a picture of the pile before Ben took it down the street to the Clothing drop box.  Ah well.

Challenge #24- Clothing- Master bedroom dresser(s) - again, maternity clean out happened a few weeks back.  But many of the items in the drawers stayed, actually.  I'm still wearing maternity tshirts, especially on lazy days/days off.  But this time around, I had a couple pairs of undies that should be tossed (don't worry, I won't show you any pics of my holey old underwear).  And Ben's drawers dropped several pairs of boxers (replaced with new) and a couple pairs of shorts.

Challenge #25- Bathroom #1. - a turquoise towel set that I owned YEARS ago (2 bath towels, a hand towel, a washcloth), 2 green towels that were hand-me-downs from somewhere, a pink bath towel, a striped beach towel, 3 christmas hand towels, a stack of 10 little tea-towel things that we got when we got married and have decided not to use, a bottle of gel from 2006 (probably not gonna use that any more).

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home, Week 4

I guess that just reading my lists of crud I'm throwing out is probably getting boring for some of you.  But I hope that it can be an inspiration, instead, about being minimalist.  Remember, if I expect to keep Baby O's life minimal, consisting only of the few things I think she needs, then I need to model that for her.  In addition, as she begins to be more mobile, I'll really appreciate knowing that the only things I have in the house are things that I really intentionally kept.  That way when I grouse about not being totally baby-proofed, it's my own darn fault... and my recent fault too!

Here's the next 5 challenges:

Challenge #16: Magazines and newspapers - This is another area where Ben and I don't really need decluttering too much.  We do get a few magazine subscriptions, but I tend to read and then recycle within the week that it arrives at the house.  We don't get any newspapers.  We do get a TON (at least in my opinion) of other media mail items like catalogs.  But similar to the magazines, we don't keep a huge stack of them... we tend to read/review, save one if necessary, but pitch most within the week.

Challenge #17: Decorative items in living areas - Ben says "if anything, we're too sparsely decorated."  I'd agree on our walls.  We painted last year and then didn't ever really decorate much outside of the kitchen.  But I did find 3 things to get rid of... two little boxes that were sitting on my dresser that I don't need any more.  And a framed photo from our bathroom that I'm bored with.  Three is better than nothing, right?

Challenge #18- Furniture - This is PERFECT timing for us!  We've been talking (and this project encouraged a bit more conversation) and are making several furniture changes.  When I saw "furniture" on the challenge list, I never thought I'd have a lot.  But I do!  They include:

- We have 2 full sized box springs to throw out... mattress will be close behind. (This will be the subject of a future post, once done)

- Ben fixed the broken kitchen chair.  

- We're looking for a new, smaller kitchen table.  But won't throw our current one until we replace it.  But we're close!!!

- I have an extra exersaucer type furniture item that I JUST posted on craigslist and I think a woman is gonna come get it from me later this week! 

- We're officially getting rid of the crib!  We've been cosleeping and love it.  We have a small bassinet that we use occasionally.  And when Baby O outgrows the bassinet as a part time sleeping space, Ben agrees with me that we can do a Montessori nursery!!!  (That means crib mattress directly on the floor.  This will be the subject of a future post, once we have it done)

- We trashed the icky metal rack that's been in the Bathroom since we moved in and we both hate.

Challenge #19- Clothing- Kids dresser(s)- Day 1 - Due to how fast Baby O is growing right now, this is actually a near constant project for me these days.  I always keep a brown paper grocery bag in her room which has clothes that she's grown out of.  Once the bag is full, I post it on craigslist and another local JP site to try to sell it.  I currently have a full bag of about 30 items that are in the 3 month size that I'm trying to get rid of.  But I don't think anyone is doing online shopping a ton right now, 'cause it's August and everyone's on vacation.  I promised Ben that if I can't sell this bag's worth by 9/15, I'll donate it somewhere instead.

Challenge #20- Clothing- Kids dresser(s)- Day 2 OR organize/clean your freezer - I used this as freezer time.  Mostly I needed to organize how I'm storing my breast milk in the long-term storage freezer.  I have it all in a bag, but over time it's gotten a little sloppy.  So it was nice to spend a few minutes straightening up.  I also keep a list on my fridge in the kitchen about what is stored in the deep freeze, so that I know what I've got when I'm trying to decide what to eat for dinner.  So I updated that.

8 weeks to a less cluttered home, week 3

Here we go again!!!

Challenge #11: Children's books- Day 2. - See my comment in the last post about why I'm not doing kids books decluttering right now. But the originator of this challenge suggested that if I don't need to do kids books, I use this day to clean out your purse or diaper bag. - a heart key chain, 4 cloth nursing pads, and several business cards and receipts. I don't really count those paper items as stuff gotten rid of... and this is no where near 10 items. But hey, every little bit counts, right?

Challenge #12: Adult Books, day 1 - 4 motherhood books, 3 coffee table books, 2 other random books, and 7 text books from my days as a pediatric SLP which are far too outdated to do anything with.

Challenge #13: Adult Books day 2 OR Fridge cleaning or organization - I used this time to focus on my fridge, threw out a few bad veggies and double checked the expiration dates on all of my fridge door items like dressing and sauces. Not exciting. Nothing worth taking a picture of...

Challenge #14: Medicine Cabinet - oy! This has been on my to-do list for quite some time. My sweep included: 3 colognes, 2 containers of mini hair spray, a couple of pony tail holders, a couple of free sample tubes of random stuff we don't use, a lip gloss, some expired no-doze (where did we get that?!?!?), 2 tweezers, and a roll of skin tape.

Challenge #15: Children's art work, certificates, special notes or cards, etc - woohoo!  Day off!  Not applicable for me yet!!!  But it does remind me that I need to start working on my Baby O scrap book.  Maybe I'll make that the next project after I finish this declutter...

Okay... some my piles for this week are depressingly small.  But as I walked past my desk area (see week 2) while doing Adult books, I found a set of decorative shelves that I bought with wedding money and never put anywhere.  Guess I didn't really want them after all. :-)

Which brings the grand total for week three to be::::::: -->

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home, week 2

So... needless to say, you probably noticed the delay in posting "week two" of this activity.  I actually only JUST FINALLY got the goods from week one to the goodwill drop off earlier this week!  I guess the return to work significantly slowed me down.  But I'm finally back on track and continuing on with week 2 now.  If you need the link to the original idea, you can find it here: 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home. 

I'll also say, before I start my list and add my picture, that just about 12 months ago Ben and I did a significant overhaul on our living room.  We were very unhappy with it for the first year that he/we lived here.  So we decided if we were resigning our lease, we were going to spend the time and money to make the livingroom a place we wanted to be.  At that time, we literally emptied the entire contents of the living room into our spare bedroom (now nursery).  We repainted and only put things back into the living room that we actually wanted.  So I'm unsure how successful I'll be at coming up with the recommended 10 items on each day.

Challenge #6: Kitchen other (anything left untouched in the kitchen) - crock pot cook book, 3 pink vases, a red vase, a purple vase, a clear square vase, 2 round lightbulbs, a pack of ping pong balls, a wall outlet cover.
Challenge #7: Kitchen cook books and recipes - hm... I did cook books the day prior when I was doing "other."  So I used this day to clean out the cabinets under our fish tank.  It's technically in the livingroom, but all of the items stored there are extensions of our kitchen supplies.  Turns out I was hoarding WAY more vases than I realized.  I got rid of: 2 square vases, a round vase, 4 taller clear vases, a mismatched plate, a wicker basket, a silver flower pot, a set of 4 glass coasters, and a tall clear jar with holly print on it.
Challenge #8: Videos, DVDs, and CDs - We paired down a lot of this stuff about a year ago, so I was surpised that I could still get rid of: 16 writable CDs, a Nooma dvd, a fake fireplace dvd, a small CD/DVD case and a large handful of CDs that I won't list separately because it's embarrassing to realize what I used to listen to!!!
Challenge #9: Desk or work area - This area has truly gotten out of control over the last 12 months.  We never really "finished" the organization last summer.  So it's always a bit of a mess.  One of those "organized messes" that only we know where to find things?  I got rid of: a wooden box, a pack of markers, some stickers, a check book cover, a scientific calculator, a container of tiny erasers, two containers of hand sanitizer, an old phone, some tiny locks with keys, a couple of random keys that we don't know what they go to, a huge sharpie, and a key chain light from NU.
Challenge #10: Children's books (Day 1) - eh.  I'm not really willing to touch these right now.  The ones I have are either a) from my own childhood and have already been paired down to my favorites or b) new/hand me down gifts for Olivia.  As the daughter and granddaughter of a librarian, i'm impressed that I have less than 3 feet of bookshelf space with kids books on it.  And I'll call that "decluttered enough" thankyouverymuch!

So all in all, my week 2 loot looks like this:

8 weeks to a Less Cluttered Home week 1

For about a year now (maybe more?) I've been following Stephanie over at Keeper of the Home.  I really enjoy her blogging style and her stories about her family.  This summer I'm taking a challenge with her called 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home.  I won't reiterate the whole idea here ('cause that would be plagiarism!)  But please go to her site and read about it.  It's a truly inspired idea.  I "liked" her site on facebook so that I get the daily updates about what I should be de-cluttering.  I'm a few days behind her schedule, but have started in the kitchen and am working my way through.

I think this is an important task to be doing right now for a few reasons.  First, I have only a week and a half left of my maternity leave... it feels a little like impending doom, thinking about adding 20 hours a week of work into what feels like an already busy schedule.  Secondly, though, I know that we need to make space for new things that will be added to our lives over the next months and years as we collect things for Baby O.  But third, if I expect to be minimalist with Baby O, then I have to be minimalist with my own life and belongings.

I'm amazed at what we still have in the cabinets and drawers that are either a) totally unused on a weekly basis or b) still doubles from combining households over 2 years ago!  Once I get a drawer empty, cleaned, and refilled with only the stuff I plan on keeping, it looks so darn snazzy!

I plan on sending all the stuff to Goodwill.  If I were really motivated, I'd try to sell it all on craigslist.  But I just don't think I'll take the time/energy for that.  And hopefully it will get a good home with someone new if I send it to Goodwill.  However, if you live in the Boston area and know a better place to donate things to (I am a bit worried about this), please message me!

My Progress Thus Far:
Challenge #1: Kitchen drawers - 17+ items including egg timer, two can openers, 3 large spoons/spatulas, 3 plastic spatulas, bottle opener, alcohol pour spouts, cheese knives, a mis-matched spoon, and several other tiny items
Challenge #2: Kitchen cupboards: eating dishes and storage containers - only 9 items including 3 plastic tuperware containers (we've stopped microwaving plastic, so we never use them), soft sided travel cooler, a glass pitcher, two mis-matched wine glasses, a kleen kanteen, a travel mug.
Challenge #3: Kitchen cupboards: cooking items and small appliances - only 9 items 3 loaf pans, muffin tin, cookie sheet, hand-held electric mixer, a plastic bowl w/lid, my half broken crock pot (though I need to replace this soon!!!), an extra bread basket
Challenge #4: Kitchen drawers (junk/misc drawers) - ah... maybe this is why I had so many in challenge one. The thing is, we only have one more drawer in our kitchen that I didn't sweep on #1. But I just swept it out about a month ago because it was driving me nuts. And I easily threw out 10 items. So we'll consider that done.
Challenge #5: Kitchen Linens - I only put 6 dish rags in the pile.  But we don't really have that many to begin with.  And I don't wash them that often.  So I got nervous getting rid of more than that.


I know I'm supposed to have 10 items in each category.  But I figure I might organize differently than the designer of the challenge does... so maybe that's why I have a ton in challenge 1 and am struggling to find the 10th items in challenge 2 and 3???  Or maybe I'm just still a pack-rat at heart and I should pair down further... hm...

The final success of the day is that when Ben saw the pile, there's only ONE item he made me take back out and keep.  Not bad, eh?

Green Christmas with Children

Hey guys... this is why I can't be a "real" blogger.  'cause I get busy and I don't write a post for 10 days.  And then by the time I return, the title of my blog doesn't make sense any more because I know what gender my child is.  No... I don't know the gender yet!  But we ARE finding out soon!  The ultrasound is on Thursday and the Gender Reveal party is on Saturday.  So exciting.  You gonna be there?

Anyway, I don't have any brilliant links to share tonight or new information about ways to live green in the city or with your kids.  But I have been thinking about it, as always.  This last weekend, I hung out with a few of my lady friends from church, working on a variety of craft projects for ourselves and for Christmas. See my friend, Emily's blog for details:
http://emitate.blogspot.com/2011/11/craft-night-doing-something-for.html

And while we were working away with our hands, the two of us ladies who were expecting got all sorts of amazing mama advice from our two friends with kids under the age of 3.  It was wonderful!  One thing we talked about is how to keep your Advent Conspiracy principles with extended family who may not follow Advent Conspiracy.  What is Advent Conspiracy you ask?  Check it out here:
www.adventconspiracy.org/

I think I leaned toward this concept for years, just simply because of my frugality and my green-ness.  But it's so nice to take that principle of spending less and turn it into giving more in other ways, through time, donations, etc... really linking my moral and practical values to my Christian beliefs.  But I will say that as an impending new mother, I'm nervous about how to follow through with Advent Conspiracy when involving extended family and in-laws in family holiday traditions.  My current thoughts are:

- make requests for items that we/baby actually will need over the next 12 months, whether it be clothing, educational items, toys, etc.
- encourage the concept of less-is-more and minimalist living by request family/friends spend time and perform acts of service for our family rather than putting wrapped items under a tree
- model great behaviors by giving recycled/reused, homemade, or acts-of-service gifts or by giving donations in family's honor rather than giving brand new retail gifts
- love family anyway, even if they don't understand what we want to do and buy us more than we want or need despite all of the above.

Anyone have any other brilliant suggestions for me?  I love hearing your advice!