Small Delay In My Chores

Hello sweet readers. I just wanted to let everyone know that the 40 chores in 40 days and blog postings came to only a temporary halt this week. I came down with a mean case of strep that is totally kicking my tail, and have spent the last couple of days in bed. I will return as soon I promise. =)

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day #15)

Today I cleaned out my oldest son's closet. I am really bad to just pile clothing on the top shelves rather than putting it into drawers. So, this little clean sweep was well over due. I also moved a few things that were too small for him over to his brothers' room. I added a crate for him to throw his shoes in. I also picked up all the snow clothes that were dumped at the bottom of his closet. It looks a little neater now. A nice, neat closet of shoes, clothes and mostly school attire! =)

Before

And After

Bambi Inspired Fashion (Polyvore)

I have a confusion to make all of this 40 chores in 40 days things is wearing on my creative right brained self so what to do I do....Several things actually I spend way to much time on pinterest, I drive my husband nuts on doing more creative home decorating projects and remodeling, I prepare to breakout the sewing machine(I am usually not patient enough to do sewing projects), and I go back to my old stand by of Polyvore. So it's a large possibility that you are going to see many of my Polyvore sets posted in between all these chores blogs. Lately I have been on a Disney, fairy tales, girlie girl kick so prepare yourselves for lots of pink, lace, ruffles, and tiaras!

Today's Polyvore set inspired by Disney's Bambi. I felt this set was very Autumn. I would totally wear this outfit mostly those boots! Boots and Christmas are the only things I enjoy about cold weather.

4/10 Disney Challenge (Bambi) by mysticiris featuring embroidered jackets

Costumes Ideas For The Guys

Okay I already featured the costumes from the web that I loved this year for us gals. Now it's the gentleman's turn. These are a few of my favorites some for creativity, some for genius application of makeup, and others just because they are pure fun! I also discovered while looking for costume ideas for my husband that men DIY costume ideas are actually kind of difficult to find. What are the men in your life dressing like this year?

Shark Attack

SHARK ATTACK!!! How creatively genius is this idea from tHe fiCkle piCkle. Perfect costume for dad's of little boys. I simply love it, and this one is for sure going in my own Halloween ideas!

Mad Hatter





This guy is a pro he simply must be. I couldn't get over how well down the makeup and costume are. It's an darn close to perfect match to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland's Hatter. I found this guy over at Costume Works.

Plastic Army Men

Also found these adorable toy plastic army men over at Costume Works. I give this duo and A+ in the creative department! This would be great to add in to a group of Toy Story costumes.

Where's Waldo



Lastly is this Where's Waldo from wtfcostumes.com. This Waldo goes above and beyond the striped shirt and hat. This guy is for sure a spitting imagine of Waldo. I am loving all the effort he put into his costume!

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 14)

Yesterday my internet was down for the majority of the day. Which kept me from posting, but it's back today so on with the 40 Chores in 40 days.


I don't know about everyone else, but in my home, between the five of us, shoes can be scattered everywhere. So, I put an old ugly red crate as you walk in the front door for shoes to be placed in, one so they aren't being tripped over and two we aren't on a search for them come school mornings. It actually has worked out very well and it's not too difficult for the kids to remember. The only problem is the shoe crate can become overflowing with shoes and it's ugly. So, on day 14 of the 40 days of chores I weeded out all the shoes, mostly summer sandals that aren't being worn, and returned them to closets. I also replaced the crate with a black leather basket that I just happen to have stuffed full of books downstairs. I don't know that I am completely happy with it, but it will do until I figure out a better solution. I also admit it's much better than the red crate

Before

It's not a big differenc, but at least the ugly red crate is gone!

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 13)

Day thirteen here and the coat closet has been tackled and concurred! It was a job and it also reminded me that I need to make a list out for my hubby. He needs to organize all his tools. I don't even know what some of that stuff is, however I was able to weed out a few coats and make the closet much neater! Ya for day thirteen! =)

Costume Favorties For Us Gals

I love the costume part of the Halloween season it's my favorite part of Fall. It even trumps the chocolate and apple cider, and I do love my apple cider! So I thought I would post a few of my favorite costumes I have run across on the world wide web.  I mostly love DIY costumes only because they take more thought and creative juices, but I will admit some of the store bought costumes can be cute these days!

The Mermaid

Love this do it yourself tutorial from Traci Hines, and her use of sequins for scales is pure genius. She posted a video and step by step directions on the Etsy Blog. If your looking for last minute costume this would be all to cute.

The Book Fairy

This Book Fairy Costume from Liliedale is the perfect costume for the book lover.  The lovely creator of this costume was kind enough to even to give us step by step directions on how to become a Book Fairy on her blog.

The Comic Beauty

This is just speechless, and probably extremely time consuming, but this little Comic Book Beauty that was featured on Charmed would be sure to make you the talk of the party. This costume would be a walking talking work of art!

The Hamburglar

Hamburglar super cute costume idea from What I Wore and looks fairly simple to assemble. Would be be super cute to put the whole family in McDonald's themed costumes. Oh and P.S. What I Wore has lots more super adorable costume ideas this one was just my fave!

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 12)

Another junkie kitchen cabinet de-clutter. Now, if only a little fairy would come and achieve the rest of the cabinets and reline them all with new updated paper! I think that paper has been there since the house was built in 1974. Like I said before, it really hasn't been too overwhelming to achieve one goal a day! Another question for my readers...Where do you store seasonal kitchen items...cookie cutters, platters, Christmas dishes? Oh and terribly sorry, but I once again didn't get any photographs. So much for getting better at that.

40 Chores in 40 Days(Day 11)

Mirror mirror on the wall, who has the messiest vanity of them all?....Oh that would be me. You know that saying, "My room was clean until I had to find something to wear"? That's my motto! My side of the room where my pretty little white vanity stands as a catch all for all the outfits, hats, jewelry, scarves, and whatever else I can pile on, seem to find a home there. I fuss at my children all the time for their messy rooms, then I look at mine with huge guilt. It's often more messy than theirs. I blame it on lack of storage and my inability to get anywhere on time, which results in not picking up after the tornado of getting ready hits my bedroom. So, today I took the giant leap into cleaning up and clearing off my vanity. It looks nice now. You can actually see the mirror now! I used a couple of little boxes for hair accessories and make up. I also used a paper towel holder for all my ponytail holders and hats that I wear often in the fall season! Eleven days down, only twenty nine to go. That doesn't sound too bad if you say it real fast!

Before...

After

Before inside the drawer

And After

40 Chores in 40 Days(Day #10)

The linen closet was the task at hand today. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be. I managed to cull out a big black trash bag full for the nearest donation center. I also took a tip from Pinterest.com and stored all the sheet sets inside their matching pillowcases. I also only kept one extra sheet set for each bed. I did once again learn a few things about myself while taking on this project. One, if someone holding a gun to my head and told me to fold a fitted sheet...I would most likely die fore sure. My right brained self just can't seem to manage that task. Two, I don't have a single pink color schemed room in my house yet I keep bringing home pink towels and wash clothes. I think it's my fight for some girliness in my life surrounded by boys. However, it really doesn't seem like good decorating tactics. Three, I need new towels and where did this huge collection of beach towels come from?

I forgot the picture again. Just imagine all the shelves like the top one!

After

40 Chores in 40 Days(Day # 9)

40 Chores in 40 Days

Day number nine here. I have to say I admit it feels good to get organized, but I also admit it's a slow process and I am quickly discovering that I may need another list after I complete this one. At least I am making a start, right??? Well folks today's task is one of the other junk drawers in my kitchen. It had things like batteries, thumb tacks and random knick-knacks. I cleared out a few of the useful items and distributed them to new homes. Then, well, I flipped the drawer over the trash can and dumped the rest. Pretty simple! I relined the drawer with new paper and I now have an empty drawer. On to day # 10 see you then!

Oh, if you have a any tips about how to organize batteries and chords I am all ears.

Before

After

40 Chores in 40 Days ( Day # 8)

I know I haven't posted my chores in a few days. I apologize for that. I promises I have not skipped a day of doing them. I just haven't had the chance to get them posted. In real time I am up to day 14, but here in blog land I am only on day 8.

Okay, day number 8 marked off my list with the tackling of one of three junk drawers in my kitchen! This drawer had mainly lids from Tupperware and jars. Does anyone else feel like something eats the Tupperware dishes leaving only their lids as evidence? My drawer was full of at least fifty lids that had nothing to fit so I dumped them and kept only about 10 lids that did have their mate. The result was one less junk drawer that now actually server a purpose! Sorry folks, forgot to take pictures this time as well. I will try to get little better at that.

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 7)

Day number seven...the toy purge! Okay my friends, today I tackled the room of my younger two boys with the help of my sweet Mom. We weren't as successful as I would have liked to have been, but we did manage to fill two large trash bags for donation, 1 of trash, and 1 tub to take to Granny's house. My children have way too many little knick-knacky toys, but at the moment it's all my youngest plays with. He is a total superhero type of kid(which I totally love about him), while my middle son is a Toy Story Fanatic!!! Seriously, he hasn't grown out of this stage since he first laid eyes on the first movie when he was about 2 years old. He is now 6 and still going as strong as is his huge collection. I think he even has a few more on his Christmas list....OH JOY! So, I couldn't make any of that secretly disappear while he was at school. I think he takes inventory. Am I the only one out there that has a hard time getting rid of toys? Also in today's cleaning I decided that I need to purchase a couple more toy chests or buckets for their room. I also need to simplify the cleaning method so they are able to do it themselves in a way that is. at least, visibly pleasing to Mommy dearest! Because right now, I have everything sorted into different boxes, tubs and shelves and that will only happen in my dreams. So, I myself need to lower some expectations of how I want their room cleaned and figure out a plan that works for all of us, not just me. Because honestly Mommy can't do it all on her own and quite frankly, I shouldn't have to! =)

Questions for you My Readers?

1. How do you get your little ones to clean up after themselves?

2. How do you store toys?

4. Any ideas out there about a clothes hamper for a kids room?

3. How do you purge toys. (I was kinda thinking every new toy that comes in, one has to leave?)

Before...UGH

After...Much Better

The Toy Story Collection!

TV Corner Before

After...I know we still live in the early 90's with our VHS collection. What can I say we like vintage!

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 6)

Almost two hours and one major allergy attack later, the ex-playroom is finally clean! Now that chore made me work up a sweat. I discovered when looking over this room, pre-cleaning, that I am apparently the stuff hoarders are made of. Not that I wanted to keep anything, just the sad fact that I let it get to this point. We rarely use the downstairs part of our home. I pretty much only go down there to do laundry. So, I suppose out of sight, out of mind played a large role in the pure destruction of this room. That and I somehow manage to have monkeys instead of children. Having a playroom downstairs was a bad idea in the first place. They would never go downstairs and play. I think they believed something inhuman lived in the downstairs quarters that would eat small children who didn't obey their parents. Okay so I totally made that up! I have no idea why they never used the room that was full of way too many toys, but when they did use it they became tornadoes. Several months ago (okay maybe a year ago) I donated all the toys in the playroom so all that remained was pretty much trash and things that had no real home assigned to them. Removing and reassigning homes to lost things was the task at hand. Sounds fairly simple in theory. Some of you are probably laughing that I find organizing and de-cluttering to be such a difficult task, others of you are probably gasping in horror/shock that I am indeed a slob. It is even more shocking to those of you who know my Mother. She has one of the nicest, well kept houses I know. I did not get that gene from her. I only wish for it and truthfully, envy it. I think she somehow finds cleaning and decorating to be fun. Strange and unusual concept to me.

Anyway.... Here are a few things that I learned during this task.

1. Saving boxes from old electronic devices is never a good idea

2. Vacuuming with a shop vac takes a lot of time

3. I am not fond of small, dark spaces (I.E. the closet under the steps) Not afraid of it, just not fond!

4. However, I am terrified of spiders and I think they know it

5. It feels really refreshing to be accomplishing these chores and it really hasn't been too overwhelming

HUGE MESS! I can't believe I am posting this publicly

After

Before Closet

After Closet...No more boxes!

I am very grateful that this project is over and I am super excited about the plans I have for this room now. Here are a few photos that I am drawing inspiration from for our new home office/library! I know it's a while down the road, but just thinking about it makes me smile....I heart books, and a room where they surround me gives me a happy heart! Thank you pinterest!

I love everything about this space found on The Life of Polarn Per

BOOKS!!!!

Piano...I would imagine there will be some guitars as well!

More BOOKS...and love the curtain as well!

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day #5)

Today was an easy day. So easy, I almost feel guilty until I remember that tomorrow I tackle the old downstairs playroom that will some day be my library/family office. I envision lots of bookshelves, but that's another project for another day. Right now, the playroom is full of everything we don't use and really don't need. It's a job I am not looking forward to, never-the-less it must be done.

In the meantime, today's project was cleaning out my makeup bag, ditching all the unused stuff and storing the occasionally used items in a box on my vanity. I keep my makeup in a travel bag because we are on the go a lot, Also, we are a one bathroom household and quite frankly it just doesn't make sense to store it in the bathroom. However, I do have a plan for makeup storage in the future, but for today just a good cleaning out. I couldn't believe how thin the bag seemed when I folded it. Anyways... Yay, for another chore marked off the list! Only 35 more to go!

Before

All Boxed up...Mostly Nail Polish

What Made The Cut

After

40 Chores in 40 Days (Day # 4)

Day # 4

Today I tackled the TV cabinet/entertainment center. It was quite an undertaking to do by myself, mostly because I moved it out from the walls to do a good vacuuming and dust bunny removal. I was attacked by the massive amount of chords, which actually inspired to me to write up my husband a little list since I was scared I would unplug something in fear of never being able to figure out where exactly it came from. I figured organizing the chord system was a task better left up to him, so I just stuck with the cleaning, purging, and decluttering part of the job. It took me a good hour to accomplish the job, but it feels good to have cleared out so much storage space. Tomorrow's task is much simpler, but as for the rest of the week it's filled with some real doozies.

Before and After

What a MESS!!

Another Before

And After...Much Better

Day #4 Complete!