Beautifying Our Home: Declutter, Organize and Simplify.

If you haven't yet noticed- I love the itty-bitty details that are implemented at weddings and events.  It's the little things that people notice which make a good impression- themes, colour-coordinated decor, labels, frames, etc.   What about on a personal level? When you walk out your door...are your nails neat and nailpolish done? Is every strand of your hair on your head in place? Does your purse carry all the essentials? Well, whether it's an event, myself, or my home- the attention-to-details are essential...but when you have a lot going on- things tend to become scattered!  This year, I'm attempting to organize my busy-as-a bee-life...and my mind.  I want to spend my time and energy focusing on my family, planning events and enjoying my weekends - rather than cleaning and looking for things that may not be in place.

Here are our goals for projects at home ....

• Recycle, sell, donate or throw away item that don't "spark joy"- so that there's nothing in our house that we don't use.

• Weekly Groceries and Meal planning - healthy, easy recipes, that are inexpensive and will be enjoyed by the whole family- especially our picky-eaters.  

• Every single closet from the linen to the nursery to the master bedroom shall be well-kept,...with only the clothes that fit, fashionable and wearable.

• Do something about all our kids toys.  I beg you please- don't give my kids anymore toys as gifts...it's driving me crazy! Take them out to the park, do kids activities, sign them up for sports or hobbies...but the toys galore are close to going out my door. 

• Everything in our home from our kitchen pantry to our bathroom drawers to our toddlers shelves will be organized into labeled containers.  

• Each single sheet of paper will have a place to be filed in, colour-coded, and won't be left on any counters or side table.  

• Family movie night or game night would be great but more importantly a date night with hubby every few weeks would be wonderful.  My DVDs need to be organized as well, placed in albums.

•  A calendar of events, appointments, work schedules, kids activities will all be filled in on time. Some "me-time" would be nice too----zumba, yoga or coffee with friends.  Oh, a massage- I need a massage.     

• Our kids daily routine will be down pat. Getting dressed, eating meals, naptime, playtime, bath time, homework, story time, and finally bedtime.  

• Budgeting Finances shall be on track.  Our monthly expenses, education savings plan for our children, life insurance, an updated will, retirement planning....and of course - we need to save for our annual vacations.

• My scrapbooking and crafty section of our room will be organized to a tee. Ribbons, labels, cardstock, and gift wrappers, will be organized.  

• I have printed photos and digital photos which need to be backed up on our hard drive, and placed in photo albums-  or have photobooks created and ordered.  We still need to enlarge our wedding photos and playful photos of our kids.

For the month of April, some of my girlfriends and I will be doing a "Chuck Challenge." On April 1st, we have to "chuck" 1 thing - whether we donate, recycle or throw it away.  On April 2nd, we "chuck" 2 items, April 3rd is 3 items and so on...and we have to share daily pics to prove it.  I'll keep you updated on how we did at the end of the month :)

Alright.  Let's tackle all this "Spring Cleaning!" and hopefully we can maintain it all.  

MCB xo

This is where some of my inspiration came from:

http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/project-organize-your-entire-life-principles-of-an-organized-playroom/

http://www.unoriginalmom.com/20-command-center-ideas-inspire/

http://jershaanddup.com/free-colorful-konmari-checklist-pdf/

http://spaceforlivingos.com/2012/10/3-steps-to-organized-files.html
http://www.unoriginalmom.com/10-unique-meal-planner-ideas/

http://www.housemixblog.com/2014/07/03/how-i-simplified-and-organized-my-house-room-by-room/

http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/09/home-organization-101-kitchen.html

http://rainonatinroof.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/15-days-to-decluttering-your-home-and-extra-cash.pdf
http://www.twotwentyone.net/nursery-closet/

http://www.hellobee.com/2013/11/25/how-to-declutter-your-home-in-one-week/
http://happymoneysaver.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/myweeklycleaningroutine.pdf

http://www.misstiina.com/free/MissTiina-Everyday-Journal-Cards.pdf
http://iheartplanners.com/organizing/

Drink Coffee. Read Books. Be Happy

We just bought a house, are presently demolishing it and renovating the whole place to our liking.  My husband is taking care of the gigantic work and the itty-bitty details.  When asked if there was something I'd like to add...I said "a built-in bookcase....or a little library of my own!" Yes, I want the laundry room to be upstairs, and a walk-in closet like every woman...but I'm hoping to have a nice display for my books!  I keep every book I've ever read...so I'm excited for my books to have a place in our home.  Just imagining myself sitting in a little nook of our house, sipping a cup of coffee and immersing myself into a different world within a book----is something to look forward to already...My method of relaxation.  I've known this ever since my dad taught me to read at 4 years-old and for years afterwards, would get angry with me when I was reading past my bedtime with a very dim light.  Reading is a favourite pastime of mine and I'm attempting to raise bookworms of my own!

These are the 4 books I've read recently and absolutely love.  The summaries are from Goodreads.com- Come join me there and feel free to give me some reading suggestions! https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8355962?shelf=read

MCB xo

What I Know For Sure 
by Oprah Winfrey

As a creative force, student of the human heart and soul, and champion of living the life you want, Oprah Winfrey stands alone. Over the years, she has made history with a legendary talk show - the highest-rated program of its kind, launched her own television network, become the nation's only African-American billionaire, and been awarded both an honorary degree by Harvard University and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From all her experiences, she has gleaned life lessons—which, for fourteen years, she's shared in O, The Oprah Magazine's widely popular "What I Know For Sure" column, a monthly source of inspiration and revelation.

Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in What I Know For Sure, a beautiful cloth bound book with a ribbon marker, packed with insight and revelation from Oprah Winfrey. Organized by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these essays offer a rare, powerful and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world's most extraordinary women—while providing readers a guide to becoming their best selves. Candid, moving, exhilarating, uplifting, and frequently humorous, the words Oprah shares inWhat I Know For Sure shimmer with the sort of truth that readers will turn to again and again.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

by Marie Kondō 

This guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this book featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

Secret Daughter

by Shilpi Somaya Gowda 

On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.

Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband, Krishnan, see a photo of the baby with the gold-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion. Somer knows life will change with the adoption but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.

Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies, Secret Daughter poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families—one Indian, one American—and the child that indelibly connects them.