Category Archives: organization

my summer grab & go bag essentials

Summer is officially here! That means we need to get out and soak up the sunshine as much as we can (I mean, it’s Michigan it could snow tomorrow *wink.*) One thing I’ve learned since having two kiddos is that it helps to streamline our “get out of the house to the car” time as much as possible. I mean, on a normal day it can take me 20 minutes to coral the kids out of the house and to the car!

After I put together our Mary Poppins gone fishin’ bag it hit me, I needed a Summer Grab & Go Bag! This way all the things I could possibly need are in one place – no more hunting and running around last minute to find the sunscreen or a hat. So now whenever we leave the house, all I have to do is grab this bag on our way out the door. Besides, when we’re out running around town you never know when you might hit up a splash pad and need a towel!

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must haves for fishing with preschoolers

Last Summer Michael took up a new daddy-daughter hobby, he started taking Grace fishing. She really took to it (partly because they always go with friends and often stop for donuts, what kid wouldn’t love that?!)

This weekend is Free Fishing Weekend here in Michigan, for two whole days folks can fish for free without a license. While Michael now has his fishing license and a tackle box complete with fish hooks and bait, it hit me that he (unlike me) doesn’t carry around a Mary Poppins bag full of tricks for kids. So I decided to put together a little Mary Poppins gone fishin’ bag for him.

Must Haves for Fishing with Preschoolers | twoplusmeandyou.com
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clear the clutter: kids space

Clear the Clutter KID SPACE | twoplusmeandyou.com

Happy Monday, I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We had a low-key weekend just hanging out at the house. Friday night was pizza and movie night — I introduced the girls to a classic Disney movie, Mary Poppins. At the end Grace told me that she wanted to watch the movie “every day.”  That made my heart smile. We watched it again on Saturday night. *wink*

Even though we had a fairly uneventful weekend I seem to be dragging a bit this morning. It’s definitely an extra-large cup of coffee kind of day.

Speaking of which, grab your cup of coffee and settle in, because this one is for all the mamas struggling to keep their kids stuff  organized — I know I’m not the only one.  I mean  there are about 1,000+ boards called “playroom organization” or something of the like. Between the crayons, legos, books, barbies, etc. it can get out of hand quickly. And can someone tell me why children love to dump out the entire bin of toys? Not just like one bin because they’re looking for something, but they empty every. single. bin. Why?!

playroom

Our playroom is an ever evolving task of mine, always a work in progress. I’ve scoured Pinterest boards for ideas and inspiration, continuously on the hunt for ways to make our playroom the cutest little put together space on the block.  Funny little story…

When Grace was a baby I tied labels to all of the cubbies with pictures of what belong in them. I had seen it on so many Pinterest boards — it looked cute and I convinced myself it would help us keep the room tidy. WRONG! No one paid attention to the labels. When it came time to cleanup kids just put toys in whatever bin was closest to them — parents too! After everyone left I would go back and re-organize to put everything in it’s right place. *facepalm*

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clear the clutter: laundry room

Clear the Clutter LAUNDRY ROOM | twoplusmeandyou.com

TGIF! Was it just me or did this short week seem long?!!

I have to admit, the house is looking fantastic!! We’re so close to having everything in it’s place and organized, but I have to admit, I’m starting to lose my motivation. We’ve been going so hard, but when paused to look around and admire the work, well, I got tired. It’s like when you come home from work at the end of the day, you’re going strong: making dinner, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, doing dishes, bathing the kids, etc. but you know you can’t stop until it’s all done because the moment you take 10 minutes to sit down – game over. You’re done for the night. That’s how I think I’m starting to feel. Luckily I’m committed to the Clear the Clutter Challenge which is just what I need to motivate me to finish the last mile of the race. We can do this!

Earlier this week I shared my newly de-cluttered linen closet and as promised I wanted to share a few pics of my newly cleaned-up laundry room.

We have a fairly small laundry room – there’s not a lot of room to maneuver. Here’s the room before…

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clear the clutter: closets

Clear the Clutter CLOSETS | twoplusmeandyou.com

Happy Monday y’all!!

I don’t know what it is about January that makes us all buckle down on the clutter (isn’t that supposed to be reserved for “Spring Cleaning?!”) but whatever it is, Michael and I have the bug. We’ve been crushing it since the holidays taking each room and getting rid of all the crap clutter and turning it into livable usable space again.

Over the weekend I tackled the laundry room and linen closet. I’ll share the laundry room in another post, today I want to focus on the linen closet.

I’ve always been most proud of our linen closet because it was the one area that actually stayed organized the longest, but lately it’s become a bit unruly and needed some attention…

Clear the Clutter CLOSETS | twoplusmeandyou.com
my linen closet BEFORE

Now for the after photos…

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dear 2018

Dear 2018 | twoplusmeandyou.com

dear 2018 ,

I’m not one for making resolutions (because let’s be honest how many of us stick to them?!) but I am feeling very inspired by what may come of this year. Plus my motivation level is at an all-time high (probably due in part to me being at home full-time,) I would say my current status could be categorized as “crushing it.”

The past year (mainly the last 4-6 months) has helped me realize a few things that I need so for 2018 I have set some goals. Goals > Resolutions.

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