Laundry Hack

Laundry was once the bane of my existence as a mother---until my MIL taught me her secrets. Mary-Ann is genius at home organization. She made a few minor changes to our laundry room (like the small shelf and the clothing rod seen in this photo). Now I hang up all of my clothes, all of Ryan's clothes, and all of my children's clothes as soon as they are dry. PJs, shorts, socks, and undies go directly in individual baskets which each child is responsible for putting away. All of the older kids are also responsible for placing their hanged-up clothes in their respective closets (Nathan isn't quite tall enough). I do laundry once a week and it never leaves the laundry room unless it's folded or hung up because it takes me just a few minutes to put the clothes on hangers. Gone are the days when I had 5 baskets of laundry to fold at a time. I take 10 min each time the dryer buzzes on laundry day and I only have to deal with it then. It's glorious. I actually don't dread laundry anymore. This system has saved me from laundry hell. I love it.

How I Built This

Are you into podcasts? If so, what are your favorites? If not, what are you waiting for?! I'm a self-proclaimed podcast junkie. I listen to them when I'm cooking, cleaning, driving, and even exercising. How I Built This is one of my new favorites. It's put on by NPR, so it's nice and polished, and Guy Raz (a household favorite of ours) is the host. Each week he interviews a different entrepreneur about how their successful business came to be. Every single episode is interesting and motivating and leaves me thinking, 'What could I create into a business?' My favorite episode so far is his interview with Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx undergarments. It's just so inspiring and interesting, you can't help but cheer her on.

Must-See TV

Have you seen the Great British Baking Show? I'd heard buzz about it for awhile but frankly thought it sounded like a snoozer so I avoided it. Curiosity finally got the best of me and once I started watching it was hook, line, and sinker. I even got Ryan to willingly watch it with me. It's like any other reality TV show but it's unlike any other reality TV show because there is virtually NO drama between contestants. No back-biting, no sabotaging, and no snarky remarks at or about the judges. It's totally a show that the whole family can watch (Davis, my little sous chef, joined us a few times). Give it a watch for a couple of episodes, you might be surprised how much you like it. Now excuse me while I go try to master the art of baking French Macarons.

Project 333

I recently heard of Project 333 while watching a documentary on Netflix about Minimalism. I was in the thick of working on some really intense fitness goals, but I told myself that once I accomplished those goals, I would focus on Project 333. I'm still working on those fitness goals, but a friend motivated me to take the plunge with this project and the positive peer pressure won out.

If you've never heard of it before, it's a minimalist idea that centers on clothing---you narrow your closet down to 33 items and you wear only those for 3 months and box the rest of it up and get it out of sight. This includes shoes, jewelry (except for sentimental pieces like wedding rings), outerwear, and accessories (like gloves, hats, scarves). It does not include undergarments, lounge clothes, or exercise clothes (unless you wear them all day long). You can read more about it here. I took the challenge on three weeks ago and I must say that I really like it. I said goodbye to a cluttered closet! Goodbye to decision fatigue about what to wear! And goodbye to purchasing items I don't really need just because they are "on sale." I'm now much more interested in clothing that fits me great and that can stand the test of time.

I didn't mention this project I took on to Ryan because I was curious to see if he would notice. He didn't! We'll see how I feel about my clothes in another 2 months, but something tells me this minimalist idea is one I will want to stick with.

Maddie @ Nine Years Old

On a date with her to downtown Camden. 

Making post cards at our family reunion in Bear Lake.  

Marshall Point Light House. One of our most favorite spots in all of Maine. 

Maddie is such a light in my life. There are so many qualities about her of which I am proud. She is kind, thoughtful, gracious, intelligent, hard-working, and compassionate. She loves her family and shows that love often. I want to hang on to nine-year-old Maddie forever. She just ran her first cross-country meet yesterday and I am so proud of her. Running is hard work and she is doing so well with it. She currently loves Harry Potter, white bread, mint flavored ice cream, and sugar snap peas. She still lets me read to her and kisses me goodnight every night. She is one of my life's greatest blessings.