lifehacks...

So i have been going a bit stir crazy the past few days. i wanted to walk but it was really hot, Cecelia is teething and got shots so having her in the heat is unbearable, and i have blisters in between 3 of my toes so walking hurts and i want to heal my feet before starting walking again so i have no more excuses!

My solution has been to decorate, organize and "lifehack" my life. I am pretty proud of the results. First was to get pictures hung up on the wall and set. I am HORRIBLE at this and things always end up crooked and awkward. So instead of taking credit i will give it all to my sister. she hung them all up and arranged them. but it looks nice and after 1.5 years living in the house it's nice to finally have pictures actually hung up on my wall.

Below are the pictures of my decorating. my goal is to be festive and inexpensive without looking cheap. And i am using fake flowers-i am highly allergic to a lot of real flowers, especially autumn ones (mums are the worst allergy i have). i found a way to make them smell amazing and make my house smell amazing.... ready for it.... it's a genus idea.... i take all my fall candles and leave the lids off or cracked and when i store the decorations for the rest of the year store them with the candles. so when i open the box everything smells like the candle! I have one box (clear storage boxes) with all my apple scented candles and some of my fall decorations and another box with all my pumpkin smelling candles and the rest of the decorations. careful mixing scents.... after 9 months in an airtight container mixed scents can be a horrible idea. But overall it's worked out very well for me a couple of years now, all my flowers smell fresh and yummy with my favorite scents, the candles are ready to light and i don't need to buy new flowers every week!

the photo wall in our living room. (yes we are watching Big Bang theory). i did the flower arrangements in two vases we got from a wedding shower that have an S and a K on them! excitied to have some fall decor to go with all the pictures!

this is the shelf kel put up on that wall too. I call it my "mantle" because we don't actually have a fireplace or traditional mantle. Check out all the fall decor on it. Plus it's the perfect place for our GIANT wedding album.

these are wine bottle that my Sister in Law helped me spray paint! The original idea (off Pinterest, you'll see all my little crafts were ideas i got from there) was to make them look like candy corn. i liked the idea of shading them but i wanted something that works past Halloween and until Christmas. i think the glittery darker colors make it more seasonal and less Halloween-ish.

Mr Gnome (i know, super original name) wanted to look pretty too. sparkly garland and the flowers a friend made for out wedding top it off! Plus i LOVE my coffee mug display case kel made!

more flowers from out wedding. i love putting them out! i just put a command hook on the inside of the cabinet and then hung the flowers on the outside so the hook doesn't show!

 So after decorating i started working on some simple things to make my house and life easier and cleaner. First i worked the budget and i have exactly $20 in the budget i could allow for home improvement items we normally would do without. First thing i got was a kooshy floor mat for the kitchen. i hate washing dishes because my feet and back hurt and i always slip on the water that inevitably spills. This was on sale plus a coupon and matched all my wine decor nicely.

not sure how to turn the picture around, but you can see the idea!

 Next is a stupid simple solution i saw on Pinterest and thought it's nice but unnecessary. then for $2 (with coupon on sale) i thought i'd give it a try. That and my friend did this and blogged about it and if she could do it then why the heck shouldn't i? It's a good idea, looks cuter than the big nasty bottle and makes me use less because it comes out slower!

my dish soap in an oil dispenser! much better than the jumbo sam's club size bottle falling in my sink 800 times a day!

this is a candle (apple scented) i got for $7 on sale and the holder was $5... then i had a $10 off $10 coupon so total i spent $4 (taxes-ugh). I HATE buying super expensive candles because i think it's a worthless expense yet i LOVE candles and how amazing they make my house smell so when i see them on sale i JUMP on it! I'm also super picky about scents (see floral allergies mentioned above) but i love getting them as gifts.... bad combo!

 

 

( For any friends wanting gift ideas i like pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and fruity smells, no florals! )

we got this off etsy and LOVE it! I'm so proud of our little family especially when it is becoming increasingly more popular to have a family without a mom AND a dad in the same family groups (not my favorite fad ever). i want people to know we are proud of our family and the traditional matter in which it was formed and this tells people how i feel when they walk in the door.

 Next i organized my kitchen. EVERYONE i know has a "jenga" cabinet! you know- the one with all the Tupperware that falls out every time you open it and no lids ever match the dish and cussing ensues when you are pressed for time to find the right size container with the correct lid.... you all know what i am talking about and are possibly shamefully blushing at the embarrassment that is your cabinet. i HAD one and then i got sick of it. Unlike most people i have SO MUCH cabinet space i have a hard time filling it. which means instead of being neat and tidy i throw things in the cabinets and can't ever find it again. Honestly my kitchen i like the "room of requirement" except not helpful or handy just messy (props to my friends that got the reference). My biggest issue is every time i steal/ take  am given food from my parents i end up keeping the dish (oops.... except their "jenga" cabinet is the worst and i know they have plenty of little dishes). 

I made a decision that-like pens without pen caps (stupid and wasteful, non clicky pens NEED a pen cap or are to be thrown out immediately!) -any dish without a lid is to be thrown out and a lid without a dish would also be thrown out. i played a matching game for 35 minutes until all dishes and lids were matched up and paired with similar dishes and lids. Magically only 2 dishes (both deformed by the dishwasher anyway and WAY old) and 4 lids were tossed. now things fit nicely and i even manage to consolidate 4 different cabinets into 1 (so not i have 4 empty cabinets, but i found ways to fill them productively, you'll see).

the result, all lids and dishes are to be put away TOGETHER or suffer their fate in the trash can. i LOVE having extra space. Plus now that my cabinet is full i need no more and have nowhere to put it all so i might start giving things back to my parents. i even fit all the baby dishes in here!

these two shelves ended up empty so i made one a "glass dishes" shelf and organized it and the other is where i put all of our baking/bread making supplies that WERE on my counter. it also keeps the spices easy access for cooking and cleared our pantry for other items. I am also very proud of my clear counters and fresh produce!

   Finally i did a SIMPLE activity that has already been a huge help and success for all of our allergies and sinus. i love fall, everything about it EXCEPT harvest season. my allergies go NUTS from August to november/the first frost. Every pollen on earth is exposed during harvest seasons and i get TONS of headaches and sinus infections and nasal issues. i saw this and thought i'd try it. It's baking soda discs that i added three common essential oils. Lavendar (helps relax your body and relive sinus pressure/headaches), eucalyptus (also helps relax and it clears out your nasal passages) and rosemarry (clears headaches and sinus plus helps dull down the intense smell of the other two scents). you make the discs, add the oils then throw one in your shower. the steam and hot water releases the scents and you breath pretty ALL day. i put on in Cecelia's tub and showered her last night and she was no longer snoring ans breathed clear all night. even her snotty nose this morning was running but not stuffed. Kel did one this morning and it worked great even helped him get up and relax.

So i've been TRYING to keep busy. If you have any ideas for things i should try out let me know. I really am enjoying my time off, and i like crafting and organizing (not cleaning but i have to do that either way), but i can't wait for someone to hire me. think of all the creative energy i can give back to a job!

Is there any "lifehack" you tried that worked or didn't work? Tell me about it!