What Will You Leave Behind?

In light of recent events, you can't help but think about the security of our own lives, and the idea of mortality sinks in even deeper. As a mom, it is hard not to become emotional thinking about losing a child or something happening to me, leaving my children behind. We cannot walk through this life thinking this is how it is and how it always will be, life comes and goes and it is about how you live it. Will you be remembered for the good that you have done? Will you be remembered for the changes you made in other peoples lives? Or will you be remembered for things other than good?  I am not writing this to put a cloud over your day, but to inspire you to contemplate your life and the fragility of it. To wake up and do what you can to inspire others and leave a legacy of only the best of things and memories behind for your friends, your family, and your children.

I am going to start simple. About 6 months ago I was looking through some magazines and realizing that I wanted to keep some of the recipes, and some of the tips pages, but not the whole magazine. I remembered about how back in jr. high and high school I would make scrapbooks with my friends by cutting out dresses in magazines that we wanted and pictures of women we wanted to be like and pasting them into a journal. So I took this idea and started making my own scrapbook of the magazine clippings, recipes, and ideas that I like. This activity lead to an idea of putting together a scrapbook for my kids containing family recipes, advice, and all the information you want to leave behind for your kids, heaven forbid you are unable to teach it to them yourself.

Not only is this a great way to ensure that your kids will know you and remember you and remember your heart, but it is also a wonderful way to start a tradition for your family. What I would't give to see a book like this from my grandmother to my mother, or to have one from my mom.

How to start:

It doesn't have to be fancy. I am not a "scrapbooker" by any means according to today's standards. I cut magazines and glue them into a journal. I don't get fancy papers or take an hour to arrange each page, not that that is bad, I just don't have the patience for it. If that is what you can do, that is wonderful! Remember this is something to be passed down throughout the years, so make it good!

1. Ideas. Start making a list of the things you wish to pass down. Some examples: advice, recipes, stories you want them to know, your own life lessons, how you met your true love, the day they were born, crafts, how to change the oil in your car (if you are handy like that), gardening, your wishes for them in their lives, how to be money saavy, your favorite websites, how to bargain, the list is limitless.

2. Once you have begun your brainstorming process, now you can begin to organize them (if you want to, I like both organized and random ways of putting things together). Decide if you want to just get a regular journal and write and/or cut and paste into it. If you do it this way, it is a little more permanent than getting a special scrapbook or a binder that allows for moving pages around. Arrange your thoughts into categories (as listed above).

3. Gather your tools: journal, paper, glue, magazines, pens, markers, crayons, what-have-you.

4. Go.
This is an ongoing project because you will of course have things come up in life that you will want to add to the book, so keep that in mind as you are working.

I decided not to put up photos just yet, because I want you to dream up your own book to pass down. Make it personal, because it is!!! Most of all - have fun!

Life is uncertain. Truly LIVE your life and you will be remembered.

Craft Shortcuts

Crafts

• When doing a craft (such as sewing something that requires eyes or circles), and you want your circles to be as round as possible and the same size, I use a button and hold it against the fabric as I cut so I can make multiple circles the same size.

Kitchen Organization

• Whether or not you live in a small space, it always feels good to utilize your space well. I live in a very small home and have a tiny kitchen, but somehow it always ends up being the place where people like to hang out when they are over. I had to find ways to make everything fit, and with only 4 regular sized cabinets, 2 drawers, and a minimal pantry, I had to do something to make it all work. I found this great idea in one of the amazing home magazines available - use chair rail around your kitchen to hang things up. We made these chair rails by getting some wood trim and screwing in some pegs (dowels cut to the same size). As you can see I was able to hang some baskets, where I keep wine corks, paper, pens, etc, I hung up my pots and pans and since they are metal I use them as a way to display photos of my family with magnets (that I also made). Another organization tool are these awesome shelves my husband made to hang on the chair rail, where I keep my vitamins and spices.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Another tip to saving space is to go to Ikea and get the book shelves that have the supports above the shelf (not below). The supports also work as book ends so things won't fall of the shelf. I hung them right below the ceiling, and above my kitchen window. This is where I keep my large spice containers, and dried goods. You can use any container for flour, beans, pasta, etc, I found a lot of mine at Bob's Red Mill, but when I find I need another, I look around for a clear plastic container such as an old almond container from Costco, or you can even keep your rice in an old clean and dry milk jug. If you use clear plastic you can lable it with a sharpie and if you later use the container for something else, take a dry erase marker and scribble on the sharpie words then wipe with a dry paper towel and you viola, it is clean to re-label as something else.
  
  
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 Another quick tip: Go to your local craft store, there you can find sheets of metal typically used for making magnetic calendars, games, or displays. Measure and cut a strip to the size you like that fits on the front of your cabinet doors in your kitchen (also this is an excellent way to sharpen your scissors, if you don't want to try it or it is too hard to cut with your scissors, sharpen them by taking tin foil and folding it several times and cut into small strips, this not only will sharpen them but you can take the foil strips and put them in your garden, it will reflect the sun on your plants and also prevent slugs from getting to your crop). If you can't cut it with kitchen scissors, then use a ruler and score with a blade over and over until you are able to bend and break it apart. Then cover with your favorite paper that matches your kitchen. You now have another magnetic and cute surface in your kitchen (and/or bathroom) to hang recipes when you are cooking and they won't get gunky from your ingredients, or seeds you need to remember to plant, or notes to your family, etc.

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• If you like to go to antique stores you may find those old wood coke bottle carriers, you may think they are cute but don't know what you would do with them, well....they are excellent for organizing spices (Penzy's is my favortie spice store, and you can also get the perfect spice jars at Cost Plus, or be a good earth steward and reuse old vitamin bottles or the like - well washed and dried - for your spices). You can also hang it up in your bathroom to organize your make up, floss, small perfume bottles, etc.
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Garden Planters

Got extra baskets lying around but don't know what to do with them? Turn them into flower pots. The ones with the flat backs work especially well for hanging up agains the wall outside, you can even find really cute ones at the Dollar Tree. Reuse an old plastic grocery bag to line the inside of the basket (this will retain the water and soil for the plants). Fill with soil and plant your favorite flowers, I have used Geraniums, Fusia, and many other types of trailing plants. As you can see here, I also used an old tea kettle as a flower pot too.

Bathroom ideas

Running out of detangler or leave-in conditioner? My daughter has curly thick hair and tangles are unavoidable, which means we heavily rely on spray detangler. I have found that if you simply put the remainder of your conditioner (about 2-4 tablespoons) into your empty spray bottle, and add water, you are good to go. If you don't have a spray bottle, start with the kids detangler from Dollar Tree. You get a pretty good detangler for just a $buck and then you have a reuseable bottle thereafter, a great deal!

Want to save more on bathroom items? Reuse one of your old foam soap dispensers and don't go out and buy the special foam soap that costs ridiculous amounts and are mostly water anyway, just take 2-4 tablespoons of regular hand soap, add water and shake in your dispenser.

I now have 2 growing girls, that I know some day are going to overtake my bathroom and I don't like a lot of stuff on the counter, so I had my handy hubby install a shelf right next to the mirror/sink in my bathroom so I can put my curling iron/straightener, and blow dryer on it. This way I don't have to wait for them to cool down before returning them and filling up a drawer, and they are still out of the way. The other great thing is I had him cut a hole large enough to directly insert my blow dryer into it to take up even less space.

Organizing & Purging the House

Are things just piling up around the house? When was the last time you did a true cleanse? When I was a kid we moved around 25 times before I left home for college, this gave me the tools to know how to purge, and also how to rearrange furniture. I have now lived in my home that my husband and I have owned for 6 1/2 years, the longest I have lived anywhere. Even though we don't have any plans on moving, I still feel the need to go through my belongings every 6 months to make sure we aren't keeping anything we don't need or have to move - just in case. I also rearrange my furniture every 3 months because I feel the need for change. I understand those that don't like change and don't feel the need to move things around, and appreciate that, but it certainly is a great way to put some excitement in the everyday routine, it allows you to get a new perspective in your house, and the perfect start to the spring clean.

• Step 1:  Turn off the TV and turn up the music, get movtivated!
• Step 2: Pick a room. Have a goal of just getting that room done in one day - it is possible. If you get it done and feel motivated, move on to the next room.
• 3: Pick a corner of the room or maybe a closet, start pulling stuff out (I have to make a mess to get organized). Get a garbage can, a garbage bag and start making piles. Whatever you can't recycle, reuse, give away, or keep goes in the garbage can. Make a pile for recycling - you know old receipts, boxes, papers, plastic, etc. Anything that can be donated to a local school, church, or donation center goes in the garbage bag (when it is full immediately put it in the back of your car and drop off the next time you go anywhere - make it a point so it doesn't stay in your house or your car - and it feels good when you drop it off, and it is tax deductible - get a receipt!). The rest of the piles are things you have still use for and have decided to keep. Organize according to where you want them to go, kitchen items go in a pile, bathroom items go in a pile (if you are like me lotion, combs, hair bands, etc always end up all over the house - I save $ every 3 months by collecting all the hair ties around the house and putting them back in the bathroom instead of buying a new packet thinking they have all been lost), etc.
• 4: Once you have pulled out and separated everything, pull out the vacuum and get the carpet, corners, floors, inside drawers. Wipe down any hard surfaces with a damp cloth to remove dust or particles.
• 5: Place back everything in its spot, wipe down anything that is dirty or dusty before placing it back (perfume bottles some times get dusty, lotion bottles, etc, but if you have not used them in a long time, consider getting rid of them so it isn't taking up space - PURGE!)
• 6: Take out trash & recycling
• 7: Sit back, drink some tea (or whatever you like), and bask in the beauty of the cleanse. Good job!

Around the House

So you know it needs to be done, but you don't know where to start. So you procrastinate, find something else to do, watch a little TV - cause there is always something to catch up on, and by the end of the day you realize you didn't get anything done your really wanted to get done. How do you get past this perpetual cycle into being a productive housekeeper? Get motivated, get inspired, get ideas, get creative, then get off your ass and do it! I think if you are a procrastinator, then make a list of what needs to be done, then start with your least favorite. Then you know it will be done and you can move on to the more fun things keeping you movtivated to keep going.

I have put together some tips on how to get started with purging your house, some creative and fun ways to organize, garden, reuse things in your household, and cheap ways to make things you may have gone to the store to pay full price for. Enjoy and feel free to comment, I love new ideas!