•  A grilled peanut butter & jelly. My dad used to make these for us when we were little (the only thing he could make), and I still love them.  • 

I got a 32 on my ACT but that’s not the point  [Moosh in Indy]  •  “If you think you’re perfect for something but were overlooked? Don’t get mad, get active.”

Long post title [Nicole is Better]  •  The internet version of ‘leave a penny, take a penny.’

How to be a Happier Mom [The Happiest Mom]  • Not a blog post, but a list of great posts. 

Making the Online World Work For YOUR Biz [Life as an Artistpreneur]  •  “Here’s the thing: you are not for everyone, and neither is your business.”

Does She Sleep Through the Night? [PhD in Parenting]  •  “…the mothers that are on the receiving end of this question feel pressure to get their baby to sleep through the night.”

Wedding Undergraduate: The Chair Rant [A Practical Wedding]  •  I wish this site had existed when I was wedding planning!

3 comment(s)

Let’s chat about resolutions, debating vs. peace-keeping, comfort foods (YUM), and homebodyishness. That’s a word.

Deanna | Soul Like a Spider

Are you a resolution maker? Why or why not? If so, what’s your most important resolution this year?

Do you enjoy a good debate or do you prefer keeping the peace?

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

Deanna Ogle is a writer and web designer from the greater Detroit area where she works at a small software firm. A few of her favorite things are carnations, hair dye, peanut butter, and bluegrass. When she is not working she can usually be found curled up with her husband watching movies. She is published in the anthology “The Age of Conversation 2: Why Don’t They Get It?” by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan and has had articles featured in Provoketive Magazine.

Find Deanna: Blog | Twitter

Ashley | Photo Hut

Are you a resolution maker? Why or why not? If so, what’s your most important resolution this year?

Do you enjoy a good debate or do you prefer keeping the peace?

I’m all about keeping the peace. I was never all that great at debate, I think mostly because I’m easily swayed, so even my opponents make points that make me think both sides are right.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Pasta is my go-to comfort food. Especially filled pasts like ravioli and tortellini. I recently made this slow cooker tortellini stew that was to die for :).

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I am a 20-something newlywed who is a social media marketer by day and a skydiver, yoga practitioner and photographer by night and weekend. I’m new to the Etsy scene and am loving getting my photo prints out there to share. Whether you want them on canvas, matted and framed, or the print alone, I’m confident one of my pieces will make a great addition to your home decor. I’m a big believer in the small business, so I figured why not start a little slice of my own.

Find Ashley: Shop | Twitter

Aleigh | Indigo + Canary

Are you a resolution maker? Why or why not? If so, what’s your most important resolution this year?
I used to be a big resolution maker and I’d make 100 resolutions in categories like “Work” and “Health” and “Person I Want to Be.” But then I realized it was just one more thing to stress me out, so I ditched the resolution thing entirely. Last year I decided to try something a little different, though: I made one resolution that’s more like a mantra. It’s to be good to myself. It’s broad enough that I can interpret it in so many ways, from seeking work/life balance, to mindful eating, to staying on track with my exercise, to nurturing my friendships…and it’s not technically measureable, so I can’t beat myself up if I don’ achieve it. It worked out really well last year, so I’m doing it again this year!

Do you enjoy a good debate or do you prefer keeping the peace?
Ha! Well, I’ve been told by more than one person that I should’ve pursued a career as a lawyer. So, yeah. I love a good debate, but only if it’s a true debate and not a fight or an attack.

What’s your go-to comfort food?
Oh, this is a tough one. I really, really love food. I think probably Thai or Vietnamese food. There’s something about rice and spicy sauces that can turn around any grey day or foul mood.

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I’m both! I love to travel and I’m pretty adventurous—I’ve been trying to plan a trip to hike up to Machu Picchu for a few years now. My last big trip was a two-week exploration of Russia, and I completely fell in love with the people and the history there.

Indigo+Canary is a new beauty blog, where Aleigh writes about current obsessions, favorite (and a few not-so favorite) natural beauty products, along with DIY beauty recipes, and natural beauty inspiration.

Find Aleigh: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Becky | What Bex Loves

Are you a resolution maker? Why or why not? If so, what’s your most important resolution this year?
Not really…I am constantly trying to better myself through cleaner eating, moving more, working on my patience (and bad language…), spending less, saving more.  Instead of waiting for December 31st, I try to let the previous day go and work harder on all these things with each new day.

Do you enjoy a good debate or do you prefer keeping the peace?
In my younger years I really enjoyed a good debate, you know, back when I thought I knew EVERYTHING.  But as I’ve gotten older (just turned 32!) I’ve come to respect the fact that everyone has their own reasons for what they believe and most of us aren’t going to be swayed from our views.  I mean, I still think I’m right about most topics, but I don’t need to convince others of that anymore ;)

What’s your go-to comfort food?
Well, I’ve recently had to cut gluten out of my diet, so this has completely changed this answer!  Before the diet shift, hawaiian pizza or twizzlers.  Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, however, has always had wonderful soothing effects.
Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I have literally been around the world.  China, Italy, Costa Rica, Iceland, Cabo, Bermuda, Napa. I *LOVE* to travel, but more recently a nice homemade dinner, a bottle of wine and a few friends sounds pretty amazing, too.  I’ll always have wanderlust, but it has definitely been toned down lately.

Hey there!  I’m Bex.  My tag line reads “wife. daughter. sister. aunt. godmother. friend. worker bee. law student. makeup addict. world traveler. lover of wine and tequila, although not together,” and all of these many hats I wear have led me to discover SO many things out there to love.  From beauty products, to books, to movies, to gifts, to experiences, to travel destinations to…well…maybe something I haven’t even discovered yet!  My theory is that there is enough negativity out there on the interwebs, so you’ll only read about things I LOVE on “What Bex Loves.”

Find Becky: Blog | Twitter

Erin | Reinventing Erin

Are you a resolution maker? Why or why not? If so, what’s your most important resolution this year?

I love me some goals. I’m not too fond of resolutions though. I like to start the year with 12 intentions I privately set for myself. It could be things like, “spend more time walking my dog” or “try new things” etc. I choose to use the word intention rather than resolution, because I feel like I set myself up for failure when I resolve to change things. I’d rather  intend to live my life healtier and happier by choosing smaller goals.

Do you enjoy a good debate or do you prefer keeping the peace?

Well, I really hate conflict. I don’t like to leave things unresolved, and I worry way more than I should about other people’s feelings. I do however love to debate- you know, those fun conversations with differing opinions- with friends or family. I have strong opinions. I try not to ever force those on people, but I also love hearing why some people feel differently than I do. We can all educate each other.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Candy and ice cream
Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I am both. I love to travel and can’t think of any place that I DON’T want to go to. At the same time though, I love spending time at home. I’m not the type of person who needs to be out an about constantly. Part of the reason I’m trying to buy a house is so I can have more get togethers at my house, rather than always meeting friends out.

Erin is a happy, grateful, occasionally cranky young lady who prefers experiences over presents. She’s a graduate student studying creative writing and loves the #5, lowercase letters, alligators and ice cream.

Find Erin: Blog | Twitter | 101 in 1001 Blog

Want a spot for February? Get more information about advertising here and sign up here.

I usually close comments on advertiser posts, but I really enjoyed reading the responses to these questions, so I want to invite you to respond in the comments to any or all of them questions.

1 comment(s)

Today’s Closet | Front Closet.

This is the first apartment we’ve lived in that has a front closet for our coats and shoes. Before this, we had coat hooks and a shoe rack. We’re living large with an entire closet for our coats.

Which means we also have one more place where clutter can congregate behind closed doors.

Before

We keep random bike stuff, tools, and camping stuff in the front closet in addition to the usual coats, winter accessories, and shoes. Oh, and canvas grocery bags to grab as we’re running out the door. And a broom and mop since it’s close to the kitchen.

After

Not the biggest transformation, but it still makes me happy. Less shoes, less coats, less hats/gloves/winter junk, and so on. And, yes, we store our umbrella stroller like this. (Although, since taking this photo, I can say it’s been in the trunk of our car for the past few weeks, just hanging out because I keep forgetting to bring it back up to our apartment. Keeping it real.)

The Process

1- Got rid of stuff I don’t want or use. (Always the first step to ‘organizing.’ Don’t just make it look neater, get rid of what you don’t use!)

2- Only keep three pairs of shoes for each of us. (We don’t wear shoes in our apartment because it grosses me out to think about outside germs/dirt/general grossness on the streets being tracked into our clean apartment. Which means we accumulate a LOT of shoes in the front closet if we’re lazy about bringing them back to our bedroom closet.) (Also, isn’t it crazy how much less space my three pairs of shoes take up than Mike’s?)

3- Put stuff away, but neater.

The Casualties [What I Got Rid Of]

A grocery cart cover for Gabe which I only used a handful of times before realizing it was one more thing to carry into Target. And also, a little exposure to germs is healthy, right?

An old nasty water bottle.

A jean jacket I can never get to match anything.

An unneeded storage container.

Extra hats, scarves, and gloves without a match. How much winter stuff can you wear at one time, right?

And other odds and ends.

Lessons Learned:

• It will get messy. Clean it out.
• Stop leaving your shoes in the front closet. It makes it messy and breaks the shoe rack (which is already broken, but whatever).
• Don’t keep stuff you don’t wear or don’t use.
• Mike likes to keep camping stuff in the front closet. Even though we haven’t camped in two years.
• Related, pick your battles. (Uh, this is more about relationships and marriage than about decluttering and organizing.)

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Link up below with your blog post and we can go take a look!

Cleaning Closet Clutter Link Round-Up:

2 comment(s)

Remember how I told you about our built-ins on Wednesday? Well, here is the other one. AKA: the reason I wanted this apartment. It’s in the main living room/dining room area:

Before

Shoved full o’ junk.

After

Empty shelves! The holy grail of decluttering.

The Process
I’ve already culled my books to the point where I have a single bookshelf, so this area is largely Mike’s domain, limiting my decluttering abilities. (I don’t get rid of Mike’s stuff. That’d just be mean.) (Except for socks with holes in them because WHYYYY do men insist on keeping holey clothing?)

Then I took all the books and organized them by non-fiction topics and novels. Then I took all the board games (and got rid of a few we never play with) and moved them from a cabinet Gabe can reach to a shelf up high. Then, I took everything else and threw it in a cabinet because I didn’t want to deal with it. I finally forced myself to open the cabinet a week later because this is how I used to do things and I am NOT going back. Deal with the junk drawer, Ashley.

I also put my current papers and things I need to deal with now in a little cute basket (left over from the craft declutter, happily!). I also put my camera in there. (These things are the things that usually sit on the dining room table because I don’t want to forget they exist. Hopefully this will help me keep it less cluttered!)

The Casualties [What I Got Rid Of]

Not much, honestly. It was more of a relocating-Mike’s-stuff-to-Mike’s-area. Some board games, some picture frames (SO MANY PICTURE FRAMES), some blank cards, and so on. Oh, and my giant exercise ball we haven’t used in ages.

Lessons Learned:

• Slow and steady wins the race.
• A little bit of organizing a day keeps the clutter monster away.
• Stop talking in stupid cliches.
• Or are these idioms?

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Link up below with your blog post and we can go take a look!

Cleaning Closet Clutter Link Round-Up:

16 comment(s)

7 Ways to Successfully Work at Home with Toddlers in Tow | The Mogul Mom | I needed to read #7.

How to Treat a Man | Peter DeWolf | “We like our ratty old t-shirts. Accept them.”

Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory | This American Life (Okay, not a blog post. But listen! It’s great.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I don’t have many links to share this week, because my internet was out for two days (I NEARLY DIED). I’d love links to your favorite reads from this week!

1 comment(s)

When we moved into this apartment a year and a half ago, I wanted this specific one because of the built-ins. There is a wall of built-in bookshelves in our living room/dining room and a desk in Gabe’s room with shelves that span the entire wall. I just love built-ins. They add so much character and we can own less furniture, since it’s already in our apartment. Plus, it made putting up the awful wooden paneling in Gabe’s room worth it.
I’m lucky enough to use the desk in Gabe’s bedroom as my sewing/craft area. Until Gabe gets old enough to demand I stop taking over his room, anyway. I absolutely adore how I can display my fabric and have other, less pretty craft supplies tucked away behind the built-in cabinets.

Before:

This has been one of the messiest areas in our apartment. In every apartment we’ve lived in, there has been a Very Messy Room (aka: the second bedroom), where everything would get thrown when company came over and which would double as storage. Until my born-again minimalism conversion, Gabe’s room was this spot in our house. A laundry basket shoved full of papers and so much other random, random odds and ends was under the desk, while the surface was filled with clutter.

Because of this, and because it’s in Gabe’s room, and thus inaccessible when he’s sleeping, the desk has a tendency to morph back to its earlier, messier days. Behold:

Yikes.

After

Annotated:

The Process:

1 – Throw out or recycle trash. (There are no trash cans in our bedrooms, and I can surprisingly lazy as a result.)

2 – File paperwork. (So much paperwork.)

3 – Get rid of craft stuff I no longer use or want.

4 – Reorganize supplies, refold fabric, and continue to declutter.

5 – Realize it still looks cluttered, and remove all the picture frames (I hardly notice them, anyway) and replace them with the pennant I made for Gabe’s birthday party.

6 – Revel. This has been, by far, the best transformation thus far. I keep peeking in Gabe’s room to marvel at the clean, empty space. It’s just begging to be used.

The Casualties:

Lessons Learned:

• Go through and file paperwork monthly, not annually.
• Stuff will accumulate on the desk top. To combat, go through daily or weekly and put things where they belong.
• Continue to declutter and get rid of any craft stuff I don’t use. Be honest with myself. The less stuff I hold on to, the more likely I’ll use the stuff I have.

ALSO:

I am giving away or selling all of this:

It’s basically just shipping, so check out my Etsy shop or email me if you want something!

8 comment(s)

Today’s Closet | Under the Bathroom Sink

Today’s ‘closet’ is more of a cabinet (CHEATER), which means it’s going to be a quick one. Hurray for instant gratification!

Before

I throw stuff under here that I don’t want to use much. My medicine cabinet and two drawers are full of just the things I use on a daily basis. So, the bathroom sink cabinet is out of sight, out of mind. (It’s hard to get a shot of the whole thing, since we have a baby gate in the bathroom. Mostly to freak guests out, but also to keep Gabe away from the toilet.)

After

Certainly not a dramatic difference, but when you see all the junk I got rid of, you’ll realize just how much I had crammed in there.

The Process

1- I took everything out and laid it on the ground.

2- Stuff that was empty or unusable, I threw out or recycled.

3 – Stuff that I used daily, I moved to the medicine cabinet.

4- Stuff that was ‘back up’ toiletries, I moved to the ‘long term storage’ bathroom cabinet in our second bathroom. (Dear God, I have a ‘long term storage’ cabinet. Next thing you know, I’m going to start classifying my towels like Monica Gellar.)

5- I put everything left back in the cabinet. It wasn’t much.

The Casualties [What I Got Rid Of or Moved]

An old razor, a long-forgotten deodorant, baby tools, and an empty box were among the gems I found in the cabinet. As well as a leaky sink problem we didn’t know existed. Without all the junk to absorb the leak, we didn’t hear the telltale drip, drip, drip.

Verdict:

Clean out your cabinets. You never know what is lurking under there. Dun dun dun dunnn.

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A Note on Having a Clean House:

I saw a sign the other day that said, “A Clean House is a Sign of a Wasted Life.” I’ve also read a few sentiments about how there will be time to clean when our kids grow up. Or how spending time with our babies more important than mopping our floor. And, yes, I agree! To a certain extent. My house is certainly not clean 100% of the time, but the thing is, I don’t clean instead of hanging out with my toddler. I don’t clean instead of traveling the world. I don’t clean instead of going for a run. Nope. I clean instead of wasting more time on the computer. True story. I clean instead of working long hours at work. I clean instead of zoning out in front of the TV. I clean because when our little apartment is clean, my mind feels at ease and I can relax. The moments I spend neatening up each day add to my happiness, they don’t make me miss out on it.

Cleaning up after myself doesn’t come naturally to me, it’s something I have to work at daily. You know what does come naturally to me? Wasting hours of time on the internet and being lazy. In fact, I pay far more attention to Gabe when I’m cleaning than when I’m putzing around online. For me, this is far more apropos than that other sign:

(See also: a bloody finger is a sign of a broken internet)

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And now, I want to see/read/hear all about your closet cleaning!  Link up below with your blog post and we can go take a look!

Cleaning Closet Clutter Link Round-Up:

4 comment(s)

From a recent photo shoot | See more here.

Eight | She Likes Purple

Noteworthy: Pencil/Chalk Brushes | Pugly Pixel

The Average American Ate (Literally) A Ton This Year | NPR

Dear Reader | E Tells Tales

Questions to help you make some goals | Simple Mom

1 comment(s)

Today’s Closet | Gabe’s bedroom

Gabe’s closet is home to all of his outgrown clothes, baby gear, clothes to grow into, AND everything he’s currently wearing. Not to mention diapers. It’s basically our baby storage as well as his closet.

Before

…Oh God, this is embarrassing….

Okay. Deep breaths. Here it is:

(This photo is also terrible, but you get the idea: CHAOS! MESS!)

One of the first things we did when we moved in was remove one of Gabe’s closet doors to make his clothes and diapers more accessible. The other side is home to boxes of old baby clothes and gear. I love exposed shelving, but it comes with the responsibility to keep it neat. Which, clearly, I have issues with.

The challenge with baby and toddler clothes is that they are quickly outgrown, so if you don’t get rid of the too-small stuff every few weeks or months, you end up with mountains of clothes for a tiny person. Then there is the (happy) problem of storing hand-me-downs in all sorts of future-Gabe sizes – from 2T to 5T. (I simply cannot imagine the day my little toddler will be wearing these huge clothes, but I know he will.)

After

Wonder just how crazy I am? I present, Exhibit A:

Yes, I organize my child’s clothes by which have snaps and which don’t. And then I made an image to show you how I organized his closet, only making me crazier.

The Process

1. I went through his clothes to find anything that he had outgrown, then I made two piles with those: giveaway and pack away.
2. Then I went through all the to-grow-into clothes to make sure I liked them all and there was no overlap (ie: multiple jean jackets).
3. I got rid of anything he hadn’t worn much or was stained.
4. I culled the rest of his wardrobe by limiting him to four of each kind of shirt. Although…I made a lot of exceptions.

The best gem I came across was a snow suit that Gabe will be able to wear this winter. I made him try it on and collapsed in laughter for a good five minutes:

I cannot wait until there is snow on the ground and we can take him outside in this.

The Casualties [What I Got Rid Of]

The majority of clothes were packed away for future babies (perhaps there will be no future babies…or no future babies who are boys, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it!), but I did get rid of a few blankets and clothes that I never much liked. As well as a baby carrier.

Verdict:

This took a long while, but it just motivates me to clean out his closet with more regularity. For the first few months, I would just shove any outgrown clothes into boxes, whether he’d worn them much or not. I beg you, don’t make the same mistake! Get rid of any baby clothes you don’t like before packing them away. If you didn’t like them enough for your first child to wear them, why will you put them on your second child?

And I need to not buy Gabe any clothing for a long, long time. Gabe’s burgeoning wardrobe is partly my fault, since I can’t resist sherpa lined hats or onesies with bow ties and suspenders. (“It’s only $2!”) I basically never need to buy him clothes thanks to my mom’s weekly clothes purchases and tons of hand-me-downs.

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Also! Next Monday, I’ll have more closet clutter to show you and I’ll start having a link up at the bottom of the post where you can link to your posts about Cleaning Your Closet Clutter. Then we can all go visit each other and be impressed and inspired to continue trudging through our closets. Deal? So, clean out your closet and blog about it!

You are welcome to use this badge in your post if you like:

Just grab this code and paste it in the HTML editor of your blog post.

Happy cleaning!

15 comment(s)

Although we seem to have a pretty good method for keeping our living areas clean and clutter-free most days, I have a confession: most of my closets are shoved full and cluttered.

They were clean this spring after my great decluttering, but I’m learning that the decluttering is never done. The clutter slowly creeps back until one day you open your linen closet door and are SHOCKED to see piles of stuff you don’t even use crammed in there.

The Situation

The problem with clutter, even behind closed doors, is that it makes it harder to find the things I actually want to use. This means I am housing a bunch of stuff I don’t even touch, which is silly. We usually keep stuff we don’t actually use for one or more of the following reasons:

• We don’t even realize we have it.
• We might want to use it someday.
• We got it as a gift and feel guilty getting rid of it.
• It has sentimental value.

Let’s address these reasons.

The first reason can be solved by simply taking a few hours at a time to go through a closet, a cupboard, a room, or a particularly messy area in your house.

The second is usually not a good reason – if you haven’t used it for a year, you likely don’t need to hold on to it. Sometimes the cost of keeping something outweighs the cost of­ replacing it when the time comes. Perhaps an exception to this is maternity clothes and baby gear if you think you’re not done having children. (But even though I’d like to have more kids eventually, I still took a carload of baby extras to Goodwill this fall – stuff like baby clothes I never liked, an extra swing, and more crib mattress sheets than we’ll ever need.)

The third reason is a tough one to tackle. However, I’ve realized that if the tables were turned and I had gifted someone an ill-fitting dress or earrings that were not their style, I’d want them to get rid of the gift instead of letting it clutter up their house. I think we all want to give useful, pretty things – and if it’s not working for you, don’t feel guilty – just get rid of it! Plus, it might be callous, but the person will likely never know I got rid of it.

The fourth reason is another tough one. Memories and sentimental trappings certainly have their place in our homes and hearts. However, that doesn’t mean we need to keep every card, note, photo, and souvenir since kindergarten. The amount of sentimental stuff we choose to keep is different for each person, and might vary at different times in our life.

Going Forward

Each Monday and Wednesday for the month of January, I’m going to tackle a messy, cluttered closet and show you the before, the after, and what I got rid of and why. Play along with me and let me know your results in the comments!

This Week | Linen Closet

I’m going to start small with a closet that doesn’t need too much work. Since it won’t take long, I’ll get the satisfying sense of decluttering that will motivate me for future, messier closets.

BEFORE

Uh, no photo. I sort of forgot to take one. Just imagine a closet with too much stuff in it.

AFTER

The Casualties [What I Got Rid Of]

Towels: We only need one towel per family member plus a few extra for guests. Not a thousand wash cloths.

Bed sheets: We probably only need one set per bed, including Gabe’s crib, but I saved two. How many sheets can you use at one time?

Blankets: You already saw how many we have. We don’t need more.

Verdict:

Yep. That was gratifying and spurred a few other closet clean outs in one day! It took less than an hour. Plus, it was a rather small project, so I could do Gabe was awake.

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Join me Wednesday to tackle another closet! And let me know if you decide to play along. I’m quite a decluttering enthusiast. (Mostly because I’m the laziest cleaner ever…and getting rid of stuff is easier than cleaning it.)

16 comment(s)