It's officially 2012. My lesson plans for the next two weeks are written and I am headed back to work today- when New Year's falls on a weekend we go right back into the swing of things at school. I'm excited about 2012- my first full year as a wife. We're pretty settled in here at the Townhouse, and I have several New Year's goals related to making it an even better place to live.
Organized Bills, Mail, and Responsibilities = Happy Finances
- To-Do: Find a calendar with nice big boxes for 2012.
- To-Do: Obtain either a bulletin board or shutter system as shown above for the kitchen wall with space for bills, invitations, etc.
Making the Most of Limited Bedroom and Bathroom Space = Quicker Morning Routine
- In the spirit of starting the New Year with a clean slate (myself being the slate), I did a closet-cleaning overhaul; I did all of my laundry so that I could see how much space ALL my winter clothes took up, put summer clothes away, and took out items that are too worn (fabric pilling, holes, etc.) or that I never wear (poor fit or not as cute in real life as in the store). I made a rag pile and a Goodwill pile.
- I ordered drawer dividers and a cosmetics organizer from the Container Store.
- I cleaned all my makeup brushes, threw away expired products, and ordered new Mary Kay
- To do: go through all my purses and make a Goodwill pile and a consignment pile.
- To do: actually store my jewelry instead of throwing it on the dresser in a tangled pile of chains. I am hoping to find something similar to PBTeen's Chloe rotating organizer (shown above) at T.J. Maxx or Marshall's, otherwise I may have to spring for the real deal which is expensive but perfect.
Organized Cabinets = Easier Cooking
- I ordered a spice rack from Stacks & Stacks which I liked because it will not require pouring all of our spices into new bottles. It's a little pricey but it will be an improvement over our current cardboard box of spices, and it has labels so it will be easy to check whether or not we have a particular spice before starting a recipe. Let me tell you, getting halfway through a recipe, digging through the box o' spices (which all look similar, so I have to pull them all out and read the labels) and discovering that we do not actually have the needed spice = cooking fail.
- To-Do: Put cereal and pasta into clear BPA-free containers so that it is easy to see what we have and what we need.
- To-Do: Use containers to corral boot camp blends, coffee and creamer, and baking powders.
Healthy, Organized Cleaning Products = Healthy Family with Clean Clothes and Dishes
- I was so excited when I found out that our town house has a dishwasher- my mom's house did not. I got really freaked out the first time I went shopping for diswasher packets- they were almost all made with chemicals I could not pronounce. I found Seventh Generation dishwashing pacs to be the healthiest looking: they do not contain chlorine or phosphates and use citric acid to clean. The formula is biodegradable.
- I also use Seventh Generation laundry detergent and fabric softener.
Are you taking steps to be more organized, efficient, or healthy this year? Do you have any favorite "healthy" cleaning products?
