Organizing Mamas: Baby Nursery Inspiration

I am officially in the third trimester of my pregnancy, yay!!! I feel so incredibly blessed to have made it this far. I'm praying to stay pregnant as long as possible.

From previous experience I know it's in my family's best interest to go ahead and get prepared for baby as soon as possible. Little Mike came earlier than we expected and there were still some things that needed to be done once we were home from the hospital. Not fun.

I want to be ready this time. So this week for the Organizing Mamas Challenge I'll be trying to gather some ideas for a neutral baby nursery. I have been resting so much that I've actually ended up in a really time sensitive place. Thankfully, this challenge with Mimi from Unlikely Martha has been keeping me somewhat on task.

Living on a military base doesn't allow me to do as much as I would like to as far as decorating goes. Our home is over a hundred years old. The bedrooms are small but the house has a cozy charming feel to it. I plan to do a neutral 'nursery' so that the baby can share a room with either Sav or Little Mike. I just can't afford to give up our guest room right now. Our parents need a room when they come visit. 

I am very attracted to a room with a grey base. It can be easily transitioned to a boy or girl's room by adding different colors. 

That room is very similar to what I'll actually be working with. The walls in our house will remain white so I have to bring in color with furniture and decor. I found this crib on Amazon that I really love because it comes in different colors. I could easily choose a color that already matches the decor in Savannah or Little Mike's room.

I don't know why I'm so drawn to grey right now. It honestly doesn't go with either of the kid's rooms so I'd have to do a total room makeover for grey to work. I'm tossing around the idea. I like simple, easy and timeless design because moving is inevitable I want their rooms to work no matter where we're living.

For Mama's with multiples... Have you ever had kids share a room? How did that work? If giving up my guest room is worth it I'll consider it. Sleep means everything to me so I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep the sleep flowing around here.

Now go check out Mimi's post to see her mud room makeover update!

Organizing Mamas: Kitchen Pantry Reveal

This week has been so busy. I haven't blogged much because Savannah's birthday consumed all of my free time. I'll do a post one day this week about everything we did to celebrate her turning five.

Now that I am sort of back in the swing of things Mimi from Unlikely Martha and I are revealing our spaces for the Organizing Mamas Challenge. This could not have come at a better time for me. While I was recovering from my hospital stay my Mom was in town and she pulled my entire kitchen together. It's so organized in here and I am loving it. I can actually find lids to containers now. My heart is so happy.

My pantry before was a hot mess. There were things stuffed and crammed all over the place. Little Mike would take stuff out, throw it away or hide it somewhere in the house. Now all of his favorite items to play with are out of his reach and no longer in bright eye catching colors. He has lost all interest in the pantry. Again, my heart is happy.

Here is a before pic of the pantry...

And here is the after...

One of the things my Mom did that I loved was that she completely removed all the medicine out of the pantry. She also got rid of the cereal boxes. One of my favorite new features of my pantry would be the snack tub. I don't buy much junk food but we always seem to have tortilla chips (because chips & salsa are household staples here) whatever snacks I buy for the kids. The smaller tub on top is filled with kid friendly snacks like fruit snacks, breakfast bars and applesauce. The larger tub holds popcorn bags and chips. 

The bread basket freed up space on my kitchen island (another heart happy moment) and I love that the potatoes and onions have a basket of their own. Military housing doesn't provide much storage in some of the historic homes (like our's) so you really have to get creative with making the small spaces work. I think my Mom did a great job!

What do you think of my pantry makeover? Now head over to Mimi's blog to see the reveal of her space. She recently did a blog overhaul with a new name and vibe to match. Be sure to stop by and show her post some love. She's got so many great DIY/home posts!

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes for Back to School

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. 
#BackToClean #CollectiveBias


Summer is quickly coming to an end and that can only mean one thing, it's time for all things Back to School. If you've been reading my blog lately you know that I have been on a cleaning rampage around here. I have been reorganizing, decluttering and coming up with new ways to make keeping our house clean and germ free as easy as possible.

I had promised Savannah a trip to Target. She earned a shopping trip for being such a good girl this past week. While we were there I picked up my favorite go-to cleaning product, Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. 

I absolutely love how Clorox Disinfecting Wipes make cleaning so easy for me. When you have a almost five year old, two year old and you're 19 weeks pregnant you need cleaning to be fast and easy. I'm all about effortless housekeeping so I make sure we never run out of these.

I get several packs of these wipes at a time because I keep them all over the house. Each bathroom gets a container and of course I keep them in the kitchen. I also have them in the kid's play area, the laundry closet and in the arts and crafts closet. Having wipes all over the house keeps me from making a mad dash to the kitchen whenever I need one.

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes clean and disinfect at the same time. When I use these wipes I know that 99.9% of germs including viruses that can cause colds or the flu are wiped out. (see what I did there) Another great thing about Clorox Disinfecting Wipes is the clear-drying formula. I absolutely hate filmy wet surfaces so the clear-drying formula is probably my favorite thing about the wipes.

Here are  all the many ways I use Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to keep my family happy, healthy and germ free during the Back to School Fall season. 

In the kitchen:

• Disinfects sink & countertops
• Daily cleaning of fridge door, oven door and dishwasher door (i call this "little hands zone")
• Stovetop & range
• Clean & disinfect inside of fridge
• Cleans microwave inside and out
• Cleans & disinfects finished hardwood kitchen table
• Highchair 
• Cabinets
• Pantry doors
• Garbage can in & out

Arts & Crafts area:

• This easel... (wait until you see the after photo)
• Floor in paint area
• Walls in paint area
• Arts and Crafts apron

In the bathroom: (Super easy daily cleaning while kids are in tub)

• Nightly cleaning of shower and tub between big cleans
• Sink - goodbye leftover toothpaste
• Potty Training seat for toilet
• Actual Toilet seat

General germ-free uses:

• Doorknobs
• Light switches
• Back to School gift for teachers
• Grocery store carts (put some in a little zip bag for your diaper bag)
• Cars - because spills happen there too. (always get a lid for your kid's milkshake)
• Outdoor water tables and toys

So that's how I use Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to keep my house germ free! Gearing up for back to school has been so much fun. I can not believe my first child will be off to school in a couple weeks. I'll be sure to send her to school with some wipes to keep the spread of germs at bay in the classroom too!

Are you staying germ-free as you send your little ones back to school?

Organizing Mamas: Kids Play and Homework Space Challenge

I think everyone has that place in their house that ends up collecting all the stuff that doesn't have a true home. Since I have been on a mission to declutter and reorganize our home to prepare for the new baby I thought it would be a great idea to start focusing my attention on our kitchen next.

One of my favorite bloggers recently did a kitchen pantry makeover that inspired me to start pulling my kitchen together. If you don't follow Mimi over at Lipgloss and Binky you should be. We will be decluttering and reorganizing our homes in an effort to make a big impact on the everyday lives of our families.

So far my little projects have done wonders for me. Next up on my list is the desk in our kitchen. It's where I'd like for Savannah to do her homework after school and during our home learning time.

This desk is a mess and it drives me crazy. No matter how clean my kitchen is it never looks all the way done because of this desk. Stay tuned for the makeover...

There is also an area in their play space that drives me crazy. I have been able to find a solution for their toys but I'm still working on how to make their little library function better. I honestly feel like the library needs a new location because I may need to use that space for the new baby's crib. Savannah has agreed that if the baby is a girl she is more than welcome to share her room.

If it's a boy I guess that means I'll be losing a guest room...

Here is the space that needs the work...

That bookshelf is about two to five books away from collapsing. The bin next to it is full of books that need a place on a shelf. I'd love to find a good wooden bookshelf at a thrift store. I'll be hitting up several to see what I can find.

Anyone else have a play space or homework space that needs a small makeover? 

If so, share it with us on IG, FB or Twitter using the hashtag #OrganizingMamasChallenge. In two weeks we'll be sharing the results of our makeovers and we can't wait to see your's!

Now head over to Mimi's blog to see the space that she's working on. The play space and homework room in her house is super cute!