September Blogging Challenge: Chores

Todays, prompt is your favorite and least favorite chores.....*sigh* I hate chores period really. I mean, let's be honest they stink. They are the few items in your life that never go away. They are always there, haunting you, taunting you needing to be done. There are daily ones, weekly ones, monthly ones, and yearly ones. They are always there, but, I suppose if you wanted to look at this positively you could see them as constants. They are always there for you, you can count on them needing to be done, I suppose if you have no other order, chores are the one thing you can bank on. So, we'll look at it more positively. Chores are our buddies, always needing tending to, they love us! ;)

So, my favorite chore I'd have to say is.....

Img Credit

Yup, making the bed is my favorite. I just love how after you make it your room looks all beautiful and serene. There are lots of pillows on the bed, and it just looks fit for royalty. I also love how tight the sheets are when you go to crawl into it in the evening, it's like you cared enough to tuck yourself in, makes me feel very princess like with all my pillows and a nicely made bed. Makes me feel like I cared enough about my husband and myself to go the extra mile. Here's a graphic about making the perfect bed: 

Img Credit

Here are 5 great reasons to make your bed every day:

1. Maintain order-I know if this gets done the rest of my room will remain clean and orderly.
2. Teaches responsibility-I had to make my bed everyday from a young age, I know there are certain things you just have to do.
3. Pride-it shows I care about my home and my room. Makes me happy to keep my door open and let anyone see how I care for my personal belongings. 
4. Thankfulness-There are many people who don't have a bed to care for, I am thankful I do and want to care for it in that manner.
5. Energy-if my bed is unmade that lets me know it's okay to crawl back in, I tend toward laziness and if I don't make the bed, I will probably not accomplish anything.

So, that was a long drawn out explanation on my favorite chore, but I was inspired! I didn't realize I loved making the bed so much and all the benefits it had for me! 

My least favorite chore is definitely...

Img Credit

Img Credit

Img Credit

A few funnies about the dishes. I get a bit of help from my wonderful husband and daughter when it comes to the dishes because they know just how much I dislike them. They make my hands dry, they are dirty, plus they are never ending! We try to be as "no waste" as possible so I don't buy plastics and we try and keep track of our glasses so we aren't using a hundred of them and I try to reuse my breakfast plate for lunch when possible, but somehow they still multiply. Maybe I need to get my dishes condoms. LOL! 

But, I will say when they are done, I feel like a million bucks! I do love a glistening kitchen!

What are your fave and least fave chores?!

Menu Plan Monday #20

Here we are, 'round at Monday, again!

We had a great weekend. Our new restaurant Friday didn't go quite as planned. We were quite tired and just wanted to relax, so we just got some take out and enjoyed just doing nothing. Then, Saturday the kiddo came home from camp so we did New Restaurant Saturday. We tried a place called the Tap and Barrel, it's just a 10 minute walk along the water from our house and it's new so we had to try it! They didn't have the crispy chickpeas I wanted, but the kiddo and I split a fantastic pretzel and then I moved on to a veggie burger with a side salad. It was quite delicious!

Isn't that tee tiny little mushroom adorable?!

 Hubby had the complete opposite of me, he made up for my missing bad fat content (as any good husband does ;))! It was all quite delicious and we had the most amazing view during our meal.

My picture doesn't do it justice, but it was a gorgeous day despite the clouds!

Also, here is a sampling of what I got at the farmer's market this week....

Now the beginning of the week is a bit off as the husband is off on business so the teen and I are doing it easy....

Menu Plan Monday Link Party

Breakfast
Monday: Peach cobbler oatmeal bake
Tuesday: Eggs with fruit and avocado
Wednesday: Leftover peach cobbler oatmeal bake
Thursday: Veggie egg scramble with oatmeal
Friday: Whatever is leftover or egg sandwiches
Saturday: Breaka (our fave coffee shop) or pick something up at the farmer's market
Sunday: Eggs, bacon/sausage, paleo pancakes

Lunch
Monday: Quiche with tomato soup
Tuesday: Homemade veggie subs with soup and salad
Wednesday: Leftovers from Monday
Thursday: Homemade vegan spaghetti o's
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Leftovers/light easy things
Sunday: fruit/popcorn/nuts just easy stuff

Dinner
Monday: Stuffed squash
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken sandwiches with salad and veggies
Wednesday: Leftovers (this is our D&D comedy night)
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner
Friday: Try Korean BBQ again (hopefully we will find a true BBQ place this time!)
Saturday: We are supposed to be having family in town, may go out with them, if not we will just do surf and turf (one big steak, then shrimp and lobster)
Sunday: Again, with family in town we will be going out either Saturday or Sunday so we're playing that by ear.

This is my prep:
Sunday make and bake the peach cobbler oatmeal, and the quiche.
My fruits for the week are soaked in diluted vinegar and cut up and stored in individual containers for the week.
Four salads are prepped and set aside, along with two relishes for my husband (diced cucumber and tomato).
I premade a honey mustard dressing for each salad.

Snacks:
Cacao nib granola bars
Fruit kebabs and paleo mini-blueberry muffins

Prep for these: I made about 10 fruit kebabs and just stored them  in quart size ziploc bags (2 kebabs per bag) so they are grab and go. At the same time as I was baking the cobbler oatmeal and quiche I whipped up the muffins, once cool stored in snack size ziplocs so they are grab and go. Same with the granola bars only I wrapped those in parchment.

This way there is no way I can deviate from my menu this week. We are back to school next week so I will be diligent about sticking to our eating schedule!

Well, I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Purse Organization

So, today I want to share with you a little tutorial that will save you tons of time! I was going to post something else today but was inspired by A Bowl Full of Lemons Weekly Organizing challenge to organize thenshow off your purse! Well, over the last year my purse has been pretty darn clean usually. I attribute this to a couple of things.

1. My beautiful daughter isn’t really a “kid” anymore & carries her own purse so I don’t have all of her junk in there.
2. I have all of my items organized in to little areas in my bag!

Seriously, it is amazing how nice everything will stay once you get everything in where it needs to go and give it a “home”. This also makes changing bags super easy! Which, if you’re anything like me it’s close to the top of your do to list  once you get dressed for the day! Check out my lime green right now. So…here it is…my bag!

This is everything all laid out. Yes, I took these while in my car...that is a rare occasion!

So, we are city dwellers. We live right smack in the middle of downtown. I love it, but it means that when we go places I need to be prepared because I can’t just “stop home” or grab something out of the car because we walk everywhere or take transit. So, preparation is a must, this is how I ensure we have everything we need!

These are a gem!!! I love to wear heels; it is a rare occasion that I am not wearing heels so I always carry a pair of foldable flats in my bag. These ones are from “Fit in Clouds” they are amazing. They've lasted me a year now & I've literally walked miles in them! I've even loaned them to a friend in need. So, I definitely recommend investing in them, they are well worth the money!

Next is my little emergency kit. 

I have always tried to have one of these since I was a teenager. I put this one in a bag that was a free sample from target once! In it I keep the following:

• Shout wipe for stains
• Advil (in it is also 2 DayQuil pills)
• Carmex for the winter
• Hawaiian Tropic lip balm for the summer
• Dior sparkle lip gloss because some days just need sparkle ;)
• Bandaids
• The lipstick I wore the last time we go out (yes, it’s Barbie pink…it’s fab, don’t hate)
• A small notepad my mom got me. She probably thinks I got rid of it ages ago when really it goes everywhere with me!
• More pens than I realized I had!
• Way more nail files than I realized I had!
• A Ziploc bag. Yes, this is “odd” but, my teenager gets terrible motion sickness & since we take transit a lot I keep it in there just in case & that way we have a way to zip it up until the next stop.
• A pad & a pantyliner as you can never be without that as a woman my age & you never know when a friend may need one.
• Dior cosmetic mirror.
• Bobby pins & safety pins.
• I am out of mints so I need to get some of those.
• I am also out of double stick tape so I need to get a small roll of that. I keep it in my kit just in case of a wardrobe malfunction I can tape it back together ;) Sounds silly but it’s come in handy…obviously, since I am out!

The last thing I have is a mini-first aid kit. This is what I have in there:

• 2 antiseptic wipes
• Aloe
• Large bandaids & gauze
• I need to add in there some hand sanitizer

I also keep in the back pocket an antique mirror with a crochet case that was my grandmothers. It still has the little makeup applicator pad that smells delicious. It makes me smile every time I see it.

That covers my bag! I want to see yours now!! Feel free to send them to adjustingandreadjusting@gmail.com, I’d love to share some with my readers!!!

Now, in the comments tell me what your must have item is that you’d know instantly was gone from your bag? Mine would be my foldable flats. My feet would explode some nights without those! ;)

Linking up to this awesome new link party: Organize It! Link Party

I selected this post to be featured on Blog Nation. Please visit the site and vote for my blog!

Meal Plan & Prep Monday #6

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!

We had a rather fun weekend on this end. It was a holiday weekend here as today is Victoria Day...apparently celebrates the birthday of Queen Victoria which is mostly a Canadian holiday, apparently. I have a lot to learn about Canada being a transplant and all, but hey any day the kiddo and the husband can be home with me I'm not going to complain!

We had a blast this weekend. Iron Man 3 Friday night with an amazing homemade meal of ribs, zucchini, corn, and pear sauce. I was originally going to do mac and cheese but when making my meal plan discovered I needed to use up some pears so I made cinnamon pears. Check out the pic, it was very delicious!

Hubby & the kiddo before Iron Man 3.

Ribs, cinnamon pears & corn. Such a delicious meal!

Saturday was a workout day and we worked on projects and just enjoyed being together. It was cloudy, but luckily we have an indoor pool so we were able to make great use of that!

Now for Sunday we have decided to forego our Sunday treat of donuts because it doesn't start our week off well and usually leaves us all feeling pretty crummy. So, a workout (since I missed Wednesday due to not feeling well), then a trip to the first farmer's market of the season! It was fun & I found some awesome greens, but I can't wait for the main one to start where there will be actual farms. This one was just a bunch of expensive retailers selling their "organic" stuff...guess that's what happens when it's sponsored by the most expensive hotel in town! Here are the green's though!

So, now that you know exactly what we've been up to let me share my meal & prep plan with you for this week. My goal is to make sure I really do all my prep because when I do we always have a great week...unlike last week! ha!

Breakfast

Monday: Carnation instant breakfast and banana/oatmeal parfait
Sunday prep: measure out 8oz milk in a mason jar, add in 1/3 cup carnation, shake & put in fridge (x2). Cook up oatmeal. I use Coach's oats for now from Costco so it's 8oz water to 1/3 cup oats. Boil 5 min. Let cool. In two mason jars put a thin layer of oats on bottom sprinkle with flax meal, layer with chopped frozen fruit of choice. Add another layer of oats, put some more fruit & flax meal or chia seeds. Top with a small dallop of yogurt (greek/soy/coconut whatever) & sprinkle with a little maple syrup. Store in fridge until ready to eat.

Tuesday: Cereal with bananas
Sunday Prep: For kiddo measure out 3/4 cup of cinnamon toast crunch (X2), measure out 1/3 cup of milk (X2) store in jar in fridge. Put cereal in bowl, cover with plastic wrap. For me, measure out 1 cup of nature's path, put in bowl covered with saran wrap. Measure out 1/2 cup almond milk. Store in jar in fridge. Put banana's on top of bowls.

Wednesday: Carnations with banana/egg white mug with iced coffee
Sunday Prep: see above for first one. Measure out 1/2 cup egg whites, throw in some spinach, grated cheese & sliced onion & a soy veggie patty. Store in jar until ready to heat in microwave. Premake coffee in mason jar 8oz coconut or almond milk, 1 packet of stevia, 1tsp instant coffee, 1tsp vanilla (X2). Add ice when ready to serve.

Thursday: Cereal with bananas
Sunday Prep: see Tuesday.

Friday: Protein plate/leftover cinnamon rolls that were frozen & hot cocoa
Sunday Prep: Boil eggs, when cool put in tupperware plate along with slices of cheese, half a banana muffin with peanut butter. Serve with iced coffee.

Saturday: Omelette's with leftovers from Wednesday's dinner.
Sunday Prep: None. All made fresh-ish.

Sunday: Homemade donut holes.
Sunday Prep: None, make fresh Sunday A.M.

Lunch

Monday: Ham & cheese crescents with fruit salad
Sunday Prep: Chop fruits for salad, sprinkle with lemon juice for flavor/preservation. Crescents will be made fresh since it is a holiday for us but if you want to pack them in a lunch go ahead & lay crescents on baking pan put ham & cheese in center. Roll up & bake at 350F (176C) for 8-10 min. Let cool & wrap in foil and store in fridge. Pack in lunch. They can be eaten cold or reheated! Hubby loves these because they are one of the few things that reheats very nicely.

Tuesday: Leftover ribs/apples, oatmeal parfait & raw spinach,/veggie burger & cottage cheese.
Sunday Prep: Prepare this burger recipe. It's excellent for freezing so you'll have many for days to come. Portion out ribs & tuck away in container in lunch bag & store in fridge with sliced apple topped with a drizzle of lemon juice for preservation. Portion out spinach & cottage cheese.

Wednesday: Leftover crescents/green smoothie
Sunday Prep: After lunch on Monday portion out leftovers into tupperware. In blender combine 8oz almond or coconut milk, throw in whatever leftover frozen fruit from last week (I have strawberry tops, pear, apple, and peach), throw in whatever green you have on hand, I have spinach, toss in a table spoon of flax and a tablespoon of nut butter. Blend up & freeze. Take out Tuesday night to defrost overnight.

Thursday: Subs with fruit
Sunday Prep: none I prefer my subs fresh. Fruit will be whatever leftover fruit needs to be used up.

Friday: "lunchable" for the kiddo, meet hubby for lunch
Sunday Prep: portion out crackers, cheese, and lunch meat for the "lunchable". In reusable juice box container pack a fresh juice, and send with a little piece of chocolate for dessert.

Saturday: Late lunch/early dinner: Mongolian BBQ Maybe...
Sunday Prep: None :)

Sunday: Just a light dinner with whatever is leftover.
Sunday Prep: None. Just raid the fridge. ;)

Dinner

Monday: Grilled cheese with chicken noodle soup & homemade veggie soup
Sunday Prep: Chop veggies for soup, store in bag in fridge.

Tuesday: BBQ chicken crescents/bbq chicken salad with side salad
Sunday Prep: Chop & make salad.

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner: very vanilla vegan pancakes, omelette's, bacon and veg sausage
Sunday Prep: make pancakes & freeze

Thursday: homemade hamburger helper & salad.
Sunday Prep: mix together spices for hamburger helper.

Friday: bbq pork sliders and side salad/bbq pork salad
Sunday Prep: None. This will be made from the leftover ribs that were frozen after last Friday's dinner.

Saturday: Late lunch/early dinner
Sunday Prep: NONE!

Sunday: Baked spaghetti with garlic bread & salad
Sunday Prep: Salad will have been made already, otherwise the rest will be made fresh.

So, that's what we are having for the week! I hope everyone get's their meals prepped & ready to go so you can have just as relaxing a week ahead!

Meal Prep

So, I know I am posting this sort of late (although, it is only 10pm here), but I did want to share my meal prep. I don't prep every single thing, but I do prep a lot of it so it's grab and go and it makes it easy for me to healthier without having to think. If I have to look for something many times I'll go for an unhealthier version of something! :-/

So, here is what I did:

I had my daughter help me prep breakfast food:

On the left is pre-measured milk & cereal so all she has to do is pour the cereal to the milk & eat it right from the mason jar. Then, the right side is premixed carnation instant breakfast that she eats with either an apple or a banana. 

These are fruit parfaits. On the left is a 1/4 cup greek yogurt on the bottom with a bit of frozen mixed berries, then a  1/2 cup greek yogurt with more frozen mixed berries on top. The one on the right is a 1/4 cup greek yogurt on bottom with 5 frozen peaches, then a 1/2 cup greek yogurt & a handful of frozen strawberries on top. I prefer the frozen ones when making parfaits so as they melt the sauce makes the yogurt sweet. The granola is some I had made a while ago & needed to use up. It's just random amounts of quinoa, wheat germ, chia seeds, a few oats, and some coconut with a tsp of vanilla poured over it & a few drops of stevia baked at 350 until toasted.


Next I prepped some snacks for after my workouts. One set is some greek yogurt and peanut butter with apple slices, the other is one sweet potato cut in half and mixed together with some unflavored hemp protein powder.

Next, I saved the second sweet potato I made for later in the week with lunch, then I pre-cooked a few potatoes for lunches & my twice baked potatoes on Friday or Saturday (without my menu in front of me I forget which day hehe). 

Finally I made myself some fun drinks for this week! I've been getting kind of tired of my regular, plain old water & I've been having some digestive issues so I made some waters that will help with that and will give me something tasty to drink!!

This, I'm not sure where the recipe came from as my mom gave it to me, but you are supposed to drink the whole 66oz pitcher each day. It really helps with digestion!! I love this drink. It's 66 ounces of water, one small cucumber, 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger, and one lemon sliced. Put it in the water & let soak over night! It's delicious and refreshing!!

Last are these two. The left is 8 oz of water with a mint green tea bag, half a sliced lemon, and a small handful of frozen strawberries. On the right is what I love to call my sunshine water because of all the pretty yellow in it! It's just 8 oz of water, half a sliced lemon, and a few frozen peach slices! Put them in the fridge & let soak over night!!

For my dinners I chopped the scallions & precooked my bacon. Tomorrow while I do some cleaning I will make my soups so they have time to simmer on the burner. I already precooked my potatoes for the twice baked's so those won't take as long that night. Otherwise my meals this week were pretty easy and there wasn't too much "work" to be done. 

What do you do to get ready for the week???

Meal Plan Monday

Hello all! We are back at Monday! Try not to hate, Monday is having a bad day too! 

So, moving on, it’s that time for meals again. Yes, the family DOES want to eat this week (and I'm sure you do too!). Seems this happens every week, eh??

So  this is what is on the menu for us this week:

Breakfast:

Kiddo-Carnation Instant Breakfast (3 days) (If anyone knows of an Organic drink like Carnation's that is GMO free & is sold in Canada let me know), Lucky Charms (2 days, not typical but she’s been begging so I figured one week won’t kill her, certainly didn’t me!)

Me-Fruit & yogurt parfait (2 days), Egg quesadilla & bacon (one day), Green protein smoothie (2 days)

Saturday-Omelets with bacon and home fries

Sunday-Donuts

Lunch:

Monday-out to new Organic Pizza Place with daughter by her school

Kiddo-Tues/Thurs: subs & veggie soup; Wed/Fri: Pizza discs and cucumber slices

Me-Tues/Thurs: Quinoa pizza bites with veggie soup; Wed: Sub with veggie soup; Fri: Lunch date with hubby

Saturday: Just light snacks: homemade tortilla chips, boiled eggs, cheese, pickles, lunch meat

Sunday: Leftover twice baked potatoes & salad

Dinner: 

Monday: Sweet & sour pork tenderloin in the crock pot with fried rice: Put pork tender loin in the crock pot with the ingredients from this sauce recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. When read to serve it in a pan heat 1T of olive oil throw in some leftover rice along with corn and peas and carrots (I'm using green beans though because that is all I have), when heated through make a well in the center and crack the egg, and fry up & mix into the rice. When done dish out onto plates and top with sweet & sour pork.

Tuesday: Corn, bacon, and scallion sautee serve with green salad

Wednesday: Soup (tomato) and mozzarella grilled cheese (hubby gets back this day so I want to do something easy).

Thursday: Turkey burgers with gravy (gravy recipe from P90X cookbook) and salad

Friday: Homemade Calzones with salad (I use this recipe for the dough for the calzones, I just sub white whole wheat flour & omit the sugar. Then, divide it into 6^th’s, roll each one out nice and thin and stuff with ricotta, mozzarella, and any toppings you want), then fold over & press together and bake at 350F (176 C) until done. 

Favorite Calzone Stuffing:

Sweet Italian Sausage

Spinach

Pepperoni

Provolone

Onions

Mushrooms

Bacon

Saturday: Pork chops, twice baked potatoes and salad or leftover veggies.

Sunday: Whole BBQ rotisserie crock pot chicken, with rice (double batch because leftovers from chicken and rice will be used next week), and corn/green beans/salad (pretty much whatever leftover veggies are in there & need to be used up). 

Well, there is my fabulous Monday Meal Plan! I will be back later on today with how I prep everything so cooking and getting the kid & husband out the door in the morning isn't too hectic! 

What is on your menu for the week???

Meal & Fitness Planning

So, I've already talked to everyone about monthly meal planning. This is key to fitness, I think. Since after all abs are made in the kitchen! So, here is my monthly meal plan for April:

So, in my house my husband is a very, very, very picky eater! So, I often have to cook the same meal but a "regular" version for hubby and a "healthy" version for me and our daughter. I'll break that down a bit more on Sunday when I do my weekly meal plan with recipes.

Now, meal planning isn't the only important planning you should do for a month. It is important to plan your workouts. Whether you do it for a week at a time or a month at a time you should have a plan! I learned this when doing P90X and Insanity. Here is my workout schedule for the month of April:

Now, it just so happens I am actually restarting Insanity this week along with training for a half marathon. A workout schedule this rigorous is not for everyone. Please consult a physician before starting any sort of workout regimen. I have one down day during the week where I will be doing cardio recovery (which is a yoga-ish workout, not very intense) and running a fast hill run by our house. Sunday's are my off day. I can choose to do nothing on this day but, I typically don't because I usually need a good stretch after six days of hardcore workouts. So, Sunday's I will either go to the local Lulu Lemon to take them up on their free yoga offerings or I will get out the P90X stretch DVD and stretch my little heart out. There are also a lot of stretching video's on YouTube, just remember to stretch to keep your joints limber!

How to fit in a workout? Do you often find yourself saying you can't workout because you don't have time? Well, it is time to put the excuses to bed. Think about how many hours you spend watching TV a night, how many hours do you spend reading a night, how many hours do you spend having your evening wine? Well, if you took just one of those hours you could get in a workout. Or how many hours do you wake up before having to go to school/work/get the kids ready for the day and just whittle the time away drinking coffee and talking on the phone??? That is the time you could fit in a workout. The bottom line is if it means a lot to you you will figure out how to fit it in. For me it is extremely important. I took this last week off and I have been exhausted and not feeling well. But, when I do workout I have tons of energy, I get more done during the day, and am overall much more alert. 

So, what is your favorite workout? Mine is a run on a hot, hot day!!! 

Farewell...

Farewell. Yes, farewell. Farewell to junk. I figure while I am getting rid of junk in my house and making it the wonderful, glorious home we want I figure I will get rid of the junk in my fridge and pantry too! So, years ago we cut out processed foods and started eating a healthier diet. At the beginning of 2012, when hubby was finally on board we cut out the junk of eating out too. We literally almost didn't eat out at all unless we could go somewhere that had local, healthy options. Well, when we moved in July of 2012 somehow we lost track of what we wanted in our health and have been trying lots of new, delicious restaurants near us and have been late night snacking on our favorite desserts! Not good people, not good. Five nights a week of oat fudge bars, nanaimo bars, the best Belgian hot chocolate you will ever drink, poutine, etc., is not good for us. So, after gaining some unnecessary weight we just finished up all the junk in the house (yes, I know most people would toss it but I cannot waste food, I just can't), and are ready to start back on our delicious food journey.

When we first went on our food journey we cut out all sugar and sugar substitutes and we are doing the same again. Normally we only use stevia, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, raw honey, and agave. However, for the next 30 days we won't be eating any extra sugar aside from that which comes in fruit and veggies. This is very, very hard to do but it can be done (and should) be done for your health. 

So, over the next 30 days my family will be following a high protein, low sugar diet. Now what can we eat you ask yourself??? LOTS of things! Tomorrow I will post my April dinner meal plan. Thirty days of clean, dinners. 

Our goal for the month is to concentrate on fueling our bodies to get us through the day, not eat to just eat to eat. 

(Img credit: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/food%20is%20fuel)

Remember fueling is good, junk is bad! I will see you all tomorrow with an amazing dinner menu!!! 

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, dietician, etc I am just an everyday person looking to get healthy and share my ideas with the world. Before changing your diet make sure to consult with your doctor first to make sure you find the right eating plan for you!!!

Organizing the house: Master Bathroom

So, many, many months ago I joined an awesome organizing challenge on A Bowl Full of Lemons. It was the Home Organization 101.  Winter was busy for us and I was adjusting to all the rain up here in Vancouver and just couldn't get motivated. So I didn't do a whole lot. But, in January they decided to "revisit" the organizing so I jumped right in. However, before I go into my Master Bathroom let me give you some background....

Now, growing up I was a very, very organized person. Heck, my best friend and I when we would get bored would reorganize my drawers! How lame right?! Well, I got married at 18, had a baby at 19. Hubby was working full time as was I, and we were both going to school full time! That left the house typically neglected. It was never a pig sty, (well, okay, sometimes it was lol), but eventually it would get picked up. It was organized somewhat, never to my full standards though and it was always clean "enough". Well, slowly but surely as this hectic schedule became the norm we fell into a routine with cleaning and organizing. Well, about two years ago when we were on our, I think, 7th move across country I finally told hubby that I would find a job if after a year we decided to stay where we were, well that didn't happen so we moved again. So, I am on my second year of staying home and I am more and more perfecting my home. I am planning on going back to work soon but want my home to be "perfect" before I do and have a full on system in place so the house practically takes care of itself. This is where the Home Organization 101 comes in. I am a procrastinator by nature, but, if someone gives me a schedule or I get sick of it I'll take care of it. So, Toni, over at A Bowl Full of Lemons gave me a schedule. I have adjusted the schedule to my needs as I have areas that I felt were more needy at the beginning than at the end. I chose to showcase my master bathroom today because I just did it yesterday and I felt it was a beautiful transformation. Plus, I have a super fun tutorial!

So, I started with my tub. I made a paste of baking soda and vinegar and I scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed my grout. It is now a beautiful off white and matches the tile again, no mold or mildew to be found! Second, I took a little (maybe an inch or so) of rubbing alcohol and water (maybe 4 or 5 inches of water) and scrubbed the really scummy areas of tile to get the soap scum off. It worked like a charm, then I scrubbed the tub and got rid of any old razors and bottles. Then, I moved on and emptied and cleaned the trashcan (using the alcohol and water mixture here to disinfect). Then, I sprinkled some baking soda in the toilet with about 20 drops of tea tree oil and then sprayed it with some vinegar, let it bubble and scrubbed. Then, I sprayed down the toilet with my homemade all purpose spray (equal parts vinegar, water, 10 drop of lavender essential oil and 4 drops of tea tree oil). Then I moved over to the sink and put away all the toiletries organizing under the sink as I went (wiping down all the bottles and making sure all the first aid stuff was together). I then wiped that down with my homemade grout cleaner (1/4 teaspoon Dr Bronner's, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol and 2.5 cups of water, I also added a few drops of lavender essential oil).

Then, it was time to organize the make up. I love make up. It is fun for me to play with it so I have quite a bit. I went through it all and took out my brushes and set them aside (you do this too because I have an awesome fast and easy tutorial at the end here). Then I wiped down all my make up getting rid of really old stuff and stuff I didn't like (if you use a lot of MAC then save those pods because you can turn them in for a free lipstick or a free eye shadow when you have 6). I then put it back in the storage container I use grouped by like items.

Here are a few pictures:

Now, here is the amazing brush cleaning tutorial.

Supplies:
Small bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap (you can use any kind here I had the unscented one on hand so it is what I used)
Water
Cup
Your dirty brushes

Fill your up about an inch or two from the bottom with warmish water, then add about 20-30 drops of Dr. Bronners. Take the back of one of your longer brushes and stir it to get the soap really mixed up in the water. Then, wet one of your brush a bit with warmish water then dip in the soapy water. Trace it back and forth on your palm. Do this until the water runs clear. You may have to do this a couple of times if you have a pretty dirty brush or if you haven't cleaned your brushes in a long time. Now, if you have a brush that has never been cleaned, fear not I have a short cut for you! Simply squeeze some Dr. Bronner's directly on your palm. Wet the brush a bit then rub directly in the liquid soap. Your palm will turn colors simply run your palm under the water, do the same with the brush and repeat until it is completely clean. (The single picture on the right, if you look on the left was completely pink it hadn't been washed in YEARS, it took 3 passes through the straight Dr. Bronner's, but it is 100% white again!) My brushes and my daughter's brushes look brand new! Just check out the pictures:

So, that is all I have for you today! Try the gentle brush cleaner and let me know how it works for you!!!