Organizing Your Bedroom Closet!

Welcome to another Thursday organizing post!  

If you are just joining us, we have been getting organized using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book.
 

 

It has some great info and tips on organizing various parts of our life and home. You can see past posts here:

Week 1 about Organizing Your Mind and Life Vision HERE,

Week 2 about Organizing Your Priorities HERE,

Week 3 about Organizing Your Schedule HERE

Week 4 about Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule HERE.

Week 5 about Organizing Your Personal Information HERE. 

Week 6 about Organizing Your Finances HERE. 

      Week 7 about Organizing Your Bill-paying System HERE.

        Week 8 about Organizing Your Receipts and Taxes HERE. 

Week 9 about Organizing Your Files HERE

                          Week 10 about Organizing your Magazines and Newspapers HERE.
                                               Week 11 about Organizing Your Email HERE
                                                Week 12 about Organizing Your Mail HERE
                                         Week 13 about Organizing Your Child's Toys HERE.

Week 14 about Organizing Your Crafts HERE.

Week 15 about Organizing Your Photographs HERE.

Week 16 about Organizing Your Purse or Wallet HERE. 

 Week 17 about Organizing Your Vehicle HERE.

                                                  Week 18 about Organizing Your Pet HERE.

Week 19 about Organizing Your Books, CDs and DVDs HERE.

Week 20 about Organizing Your Entryway or Mudroom HERE.

                        Week 21 about Organizing Your Family Room or Living Room HERE.

Week 22 about Organizing Your Kitchen Countertops HERE.

Week 23 about Organizing the Kitchen Cabinets HERE.
Week 24 about Organizing the Pantry HERE. 
Week 25 about Organizing the Refrigerator HERE.

Week 26 about Organizing the recipes HERE.

Week 27 about Organizing the dining room HERE.

Week 28 about Organizing the Laundry Room HERE.

Week 29 about Organizing the Bathroom HERE

Week 30 about Organizing the Medicine Cabinet HERE.

Week 31 about Organizing Your Child's Clothes and Closet HERE.

Week 32 about Organizing Your Child's Memorabilia HERE.

Week 33 about Organizing Your Child's Bedroom HERE.

This week we are onto our bedroom closet! I have really been dreading this one to be honest. My closet is a place where I put things to go through later. Problem is, I hardly ever have make time for later. lol So it tends to get pretty cluttered. Can anyone relate? Anyone??!

This book has inspired me to make time however. I have been plugging away, with my 3 year old's help (who by the way, thinks the things I pull out are fascinating! lol) and have been throwing things out, sorting things, putting them in more appropriate places, getting rid of clothes, etc. It actually feels like a weight is being lifted and it feels great!! 

Here are some before and after pictures I took recently.
There is definitely more to do but it's a start. Now that I am started, I am so motivated to keep going. There's something about organizing that just puts you in a good mood....after you finally get started! lol 

Here's a before picture. You can see that although things are hung up, they are not organized and it makes it hard to find anything in the morning. 

I pulled everything out and put it on the bed.

I also threw things on the floor that are headed to Goodwill because they either don't fit anymore (too big - YAY!) or because I just don't wear them anymore.

I was shocked at how many jeans I still had that were too big for me. It really freed up a ton of space in my closet. And hangers too.:)

But one of the BEST things I found as I was going through these old jeans was......

So it truly does pay to organize clean your closet once in awhile! lol


Now things are a lot easier to find. And I know that what I have still fits!

This Week's Goals:

1. Narrow your mess by tossing! Don't be afraid to get rid of things you don't use or don't like anymore. Get rid of clothes you haven't worn in 6-12 months. Someone else may really appreciate that sweater that just sits in your closet. Or those jeans that just don't fit anymore:)

2. Empty your closet and evaluate your space. Make sure it is working for you. Invest in extra rods, more shelving, shoe rack, baskets, etc to use the most of your space. Make things accessible.

3. Put clothes back and arrange by category and color. Hang hangers and clothes in the same direction. This will make things look more organized and be easier for you to find things quickly.

Tips:

1. Trouble deciding whether to keep an item? Put the hanger backwards. If it is still that way in 6 months, then you know you won't miss it.

How do you keep your closet organized?

Thanks for reading and don't forget to enter the Basic H2 organic concentrate giveaway (enough for 1 window bottle and 1 all purpose bottle of cleaner) by liking my Waterways Music facebook page and leaving a comment. You can also enter by referring a friend to my fb page or blog, following my blog and commenting and/or following me on twitter @WaterwaysMusic.

Have a great day!!

Rebecca 

Back to School and Healthy!

It's that time of year again! Back to school with cold and flu season following closely behind. Have your kids started school yet? My oldest will start his second year of preschool this week. I can hardly believe how fast the summer has gone! The kids in my area have already started and my husband's university is in full swing too!

Germs, germs and more germs!! They are everywhere of course, but especially in school classrooms! Kids are continually sneezing, coughing, not washing hands properly (or at all!) and sharing their germs with their neighbor, who shares it with his neighbor, family, etc. So how can we help with this?

PREVENTION!!! 

Here are a few tips to help prevent illness...

1. Proper Hand Washing. It's our first defense against infection and disease and can prevent illness and the spread of illness. It is important to teach our kids the proper way to do this and to make sure they do it regularly. At the very least after using the bathroom and before eating. My kids and I sing the ABCs while we wash to make sure we are scrubbing long enough.

 from the Center for Disease Control website:

When should you wash your hands?

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal or animal waste
• After handling pet food or pet treats
• After touching garbage

 

What is the right way to wash your hands?

• Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
• Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse your hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

The CDC said that washing with soap and clean water is best. However, if you do not have that as an option, hand sanitizer with 60% or more of alcohol is the next best thing to kill many germs.

Germs are so easily passed - door handles, sharing a pencil or pen, shaking hands, etc and then you touch your nose, mouth or eyes! There you go! You may have just passed whatever germs were on your hands to your body. Is your body ready to battle the germs? 

It is argued that it is good for kids to be exposed to germs. I agree with this. But I also feel that it is important to have our defenses up when we are exposed so we won't be hit too hard and take down the entire family in the process.

2. Teach your kids to keep a distance from another child who is hacking or sneezing. Kids aren't the most sanitary, so many don't cover their cough or sneeze, putting the germ particles into the air for the next child to breathe in. Teach your child how to properly cover their cough or sneeze into their sleeve instead of their hand.

3. Supplement with good quality vitamins - they will fill in the gaps in nutrition and also build your child's immune system.

Not all vitamins are created equal. It's important to research your vitamins to make sure they are actually doing your and your kid's body good!

My kids love their Incredivites chewables. They are made from the #1 natural nutrition company in the US - Shaklee. Incredivites is the most complete kids multivitamin on the market AND it contains Lactoferrin, the immune booster found in breastmilk!! No other vitamin has that. 

I also give my children chewable vitamin C. Vitamin C is known to help the immune system and fight infection. My kids love these too! This is what my mom gave me when I was young! The vitamins in one of Shaklee's Vitamin C chewable is the equivalent to 1.5 organic oranges and since it is water soluble, you cannot get too much.

At the first sign of sickness, my entire family takes Defend and Resist Complex. This is fantastic at keeping sickness at bay.

My kids have generally been very healthy and have never had an ear infection:)

Thanks for reading! I hope this info was useful to you. How do you keep your kids healthy as they head back to school?

Have a healthy day!:)

Rebecca

Organizing Your Child's Bedroom! (it can be done!:)

It's Thursday again! Back to organizing!! 

If you are just joining us, we have been getting organized using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book.
 

 

It has some great info and tips on organizing various parts of our life and home. You can see past posts here:

Week 1 about Organizing Your Mind and Life Vision HERE,

Week 2 about Organizing Your Priorities HERE,

Week 3 about Organizing Your Schedule HERE

Week 4 about Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule HERE.

Week 5 about Organizing Your Personal Information HERE. 

Week 6 about Organizing Your Finances HERE. 

      Week 7 about Organizing Your Bill-paying System HERE.

        Week 8 about Organizing Your Receipts and Taxes HERE. 

Week 9 about Organizing Your Files HERE

                          Week 10 about Organizing your Magazines and Newspapers HERE.
                                               Week 11 about Organizing Your Email HERE
                                                Week 12 about Organizing Your Mail HERE
                                         Week 13 about Organizing Your Child's Toys HERE.

Week 14 about Organizing Your Crafts HERE.

Week 15 about Organizing Your Photographs HERE.

Week 16 about Organizing Your Purse or Wallet HERE. 

 Week 17 about Organizing Your Vehicle HERE.

                                                  Week 18 about Organizing Your Pet HERE.

Week 19 about Organizing Your Books, CDs and DVDs HERE.

Week 20 about Organizing Your Entryway or Mudroom HERE.

                        Week 21 about Organizing Your Family Room or Living Room HERE.

Week 22 about Organizing Your Kitchen Countertops HERE.

Week 23 about Organizing the Kitchen Cabinets HERE.
Week 24 about Organizing the Pantry HERE. 
Week 25 about Organizing the Refrigerator HERE.

Week 26 about Organizing the recipes HERE.

Week 27 about Organizing the dining room HERE.

Week 28 about Organizing the Laundry Room HERE.

Week 29 about Organizing the Bathroom HERE

Week 30 about Organizing the Medicine Cabinet HERE.

Week 31 about Organizing Your Child's Clothes and Closet HERE.

Week 32 about Organizing Your Child's Memorabilia HERE.

This week we are working on our child's bedroom. Teaching our kids how to organize at a young age, will help them to be able to do it throughout their life! What a gift!!

We don't keep a lot of things or toys in our kids rooms. We have other rooms, closets, toy boxes etc where toys are kept. For us, toys seem distracting to my young boys during nap time and bed time, so we mostly only keep clothes and books in their rooms. Bookshelves are great! When they bring a toy into their room during play time, they learn to return it when they are done playing.

This Week's Goals:

1. Set your child up for success: make sure they can reach their clothing in their closet, fix sticky dresser drawers, make sure closet doors are easy to open and close, etc.

Keep things easy and simple for your kids.

2. Go through and sort into four piles:

Toss

Sell/Donate

Put items back that don't belong there

Keep

3. Too many stuffed animals? Get rid of the ones that are not being played with. Keep only a few. You can display on a shelf, in a hammock, toy box, etc.

4. Categorize and store: games, books, toys, etc. Clear plastic storage containers work great. You can label them with a picture of the contents and keep within reach of your child.


There are several good examples on google images to give you some visuals. 

5. Keep a bulletin board in their room to display current artwork, pictures, etc.

Tips:

1. Point systems can be a great motivation for kids to keep their room clean

 

2. Keep a hamper in their room to develop the habit of putting dirty clothes there in stead of on the floor.

3. Too much stuff can be overwhelming to kids. Keep it simple!

How do you organize your kid's bedrooms?

Thanks for reading! Have a terrific day!!

Rebecca  

How to freeze tomatoes

We have been getting a lot of tomatoes from our garden lately. 

I have made salsa, guacamole, used them in salads and recipes and given them to friends. I have also blanched them so I could freeze them to use later. I love adding them to soups and sauces in the winter time. Freezing tomatoes is really easy. 

 How to Blanch Tomatoes:

1. Wash your tomatoes and cut off stems and blemishes. They should be firm.

2. Add a few tomatoes to boiling water and boil for only 60 seconds. I only do a few at a time since you don't have to boil for very long.

 
 3. Remove tomatoes from boiling water with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl of ice water for a few seconds.

 4. Remove skins of tomatoes. It should slide off easily.

5. Cut tomatoes into desired size pieces. I like to dice or chunk mine for future sauce and soup recipes. You can also remove seeds if you wish.

6. Put portions of tomatoes and juice into ziploc bags, label and freeze.

That's it! It is SO easy! I used to buy canned tomatoes for soups and sauces but then I learned that BPA leaches into canned goods, esp. tomatoes since they are acidic. So freezing fresh organic tomatoes is much better. I look forward to having these from my garden when the snow starts flying here in Indiana:)

What do you freeze from your garden?

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!!

Rebecca

Lose Weight and Keep It Off - It's a CINCH!

Hello! Are you among the billions of people in the world who are overweight to obese? Or maybe you've been struggling with that last 5 or 10 pounds? How many friends or family members do you know who are in the "Globesity" category? Have you been on diets before that just do not work? Or maybe you lose weight quickly and then gain it all back plus some? 

Are you ready to make a change?! I am so excited to show you how! How to lose fat. How to keep muscle. How to lose Inches! And most importantly - How to say good-bye to it for good in a healthy way! It's time to get your health back!!! It's time to get your LIFE back!! The time is now!!!!

There are some scary statistics out there. One of which is that our children are predicted to live shorter lives then we are because they are carrying too much weight and moving less. That is the bad news. The good news is that being overweight is not a life sentence! YOU can make a change! YOU can set a good example for your kids. I can help you do that and I WANT to help you do that! 


Does this Diet Cycle chart look familiar? Are you ready to change that?! 

The chart below is a pretty telling, showing how the amount of adults who are obese has drastically increased from 1994-2009. Along with the extra weight, comes more diagnosis of Diabetes. 

Diabetes, heart disease and cancer CAN be prevented! 

OK, so enough of the depressing stuff.  Onto the good news  - something that can help you if you want the help....

Enter CINCH! 

(wild applause and cheers from the many folks who are carrying less pounds and inches and having better health because of Cinch:)

Cinch is an inch-loss program through Shaklee, the #1 natural nutrition company in the US, that WORKS! It is powered by the amino acid Leucine, which is clinically proven to:

LOSE FAT

KEEP MUSCLE

LOSE INCHES

And Actually KEEP IT OFF!!!!

Shaklee's Cinch program was modeled after how athletes train and retain muscle mass while working out. Leucine has been proven to do that.

Many diet programs do not work because they burn muscle mass and not fat. Your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto the fat. When you are off the diet, your body gains it all back (and usually more) as fat! Blah!

My Story... 

Many of you know that I have two adorable little boys.

After my second son was born, I had some baby weight to lose. I was not eating healthy and was stressed as my son was pretty sick when he was born 6 weeks early. I was turning to unhealthy food for comfort and convenience. I never took an official before picture of myself, but I did find the pictures below that show the excess weight in my stomach area and on my arms and face.I didn't even realize how big I looked until I saw pictures like these. The camera has a way of telling the whole truth, doesn't it?


This was in Sept.,2010. you can see the extra inches in my waist and face in particular here.

This was in October, 2010. I was trying to take a picture of this mirror after I cleaned it with Basic H2 window/mirror organic cleaner. Nice and clear, isn't it? :) 
You can see the extra inches around my waist.

At this time, I was starting to use Shaklee's nutritional supplements.

 Soon after, I began having a daily Cinch Shake. I also enjoyed a  snack bar when I had a sugar or hunger craving mid-afternoon and Cinch energizing tea mid-morning for an extra pick-me-up. Not only did all of this help reduce my baby weight, but it also gave me a lot of energy as I took care of my two young kids. 

Here is a picture a month later, in Nov., 2010, at my son's baptism. I was starting to reshape. You can see that in my arms and face. I was also finding myself having to use belts to keep my pants up! lol. I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, but did have some inches to shed as well as some reshaping to do. I was on my way.

Now I enjoy a Cinch Shake every morning along with my Vitalizer vitamins to help maintain my optimal weight and fill in the gaps in my nutrition. I also continue to have a snack bar and energizing tea when I am hungry mid-afternoon. It all tastes so delicious and is so easy to grab for a busy mom on the go like me! 

Here are a couple recent pictures of me since being on Cinch. I feel so great and full of energy! I can honestly say that I have more energy and feel better now in my mid 30s then I did when I was in my early 20s!

I heard some very inspirational testimonies at the Shaklee conference in Las Vegas last week. One was from Tasha Starr, who is a stay-at-home mom who lost 95 pounds on the Cinch plan and looks fabulous! 

Tasha before Cinch:

And Tasha after Cinch:

Tasha has been sharing her story with many people, helping them to get healthy with Cinch too. And because of that, she has built a very successful Shaklee business for herself, sharing health and also wealth with others. Pretty cool, huh? If the earnings plan is something you are interested in hearing more about, just ask!





We also heard Jacqui McCoy speak, who you may remember from the TV show Extreme Makeover: Weight loss Edition. She has such an inspirational story! Doctors told her that her only hope for her weight was surgery and she was only 30 years old! 

Jacqui lost over 200 pounds working very hard in the gym, eating healthy and well-balanced meals and also through Shaklee supplementation! Isn't her after picture fabulous?

 Jacqui realized that she needed good vitamins to help power her days, fill in the gaps in her nutrition, and give her energy for those intense workouts. Her mom, who has been using Shaklee products for many years, introduced her to Vitalizer and now Jacqui has shared this with all of the season three contestants too! Even her trainer on the show, Chris Powell and his wife, are now taking Vitalizer because they see the quality and value it provides them every day and saw what a difference it made for Jacqui!!

The Cinch Plan...

So you're ready to take a hold of your weight with Cinch? It has a 100% money-back guarantee, and at less then $3.00 per meal, what do you have to lose? Oh ya - WEIGHT! So here we go!


Here is a sample Cinch plan for someone who has a lot of weight and inches to lose.

You also should get 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise in most days. Walking is a great and easy way to do this. 


I LOVE all of the Cinch shake mix flavors. The shakes (as well as the meal bars) provide you a complete meal with the appropriate amount of protein, carbs and fat to keep you feeling full and to lose the weight. I have some yummy recipe ideas for anyone who wants them. Just ask!

And all of the products have a low glycemic index, which is great for people with diabetes for lowering blood sugar. I have heard some pretty amazing testimonies from type 2 diabetics who have lost weight with Cinch and are no longer diabetic! Awesome!!!

The Cinch 3 in 1 Boost is exactly that: 3 products in 1 supplement! It is a multi-vitamin, metabolism booster and helps reduce sugar cravings!

 

I really love the meal bars and snack bars. My kids do too! I have to sneak them if I want to keep them to myself. lol

I also love this energizing tea. Hot or cold, you can't go wrong and it helps me keep up with my kids:) 
 

 There was also another exciting announcement made at conference - the New Cinch Snack Crisps! (available late September). I was able to sample these at conference and they are SO yummy! And crunchy! And gluten free!! They have 7 grams of PROTEIN per serving! Where do you ever find 7 grams of  protein in a chip?! Brilliant!!

 If you don't have a lot of weight to lose, but just want to reshape and tone up, I would suggest what I did: 

One Cinch shake or meal bar to replace one meal a day (breakfast for me) along with the Vitalizer strip of daily vitamins, and one snack bar or half of a meal bar per day. You could also have the snack crisps if you choose.

 Here's a great snack comparison:

now the REALLY good news......



How To Get FREE CINCH!!

You can get a whole month's supply of Shaklee's Cinch products for FREE ($299 value). It has everything you need for your Cinch Transformation!

 
When you order this awesome Transformation Pack for 3 months on autoship (can cancel or change anytime), you get the forth month FREE!!! How great is that? This offer ends at the end of Nov. 2012, so you would have to get started by September to take advantage of it. With this pack, you will have access to Cinchclub.com where you can meet other people on this Cinch journey, ask questions to doctors and dieticians, find meal ideas and more! How cool is that?


If you are used to grabbing lunch or dinner out for $5.00-10.00 per meal, then you will save money (and calories!) with Cinch as it comes to less then $3.00 per meal and is easy on the go! Save money and lose weight? Yes, please!!




 

AND, Shaklee has an awesome Cinch challenge going on right now where you could win $10,000!!! I saw Edgar Ortiz do this at the Shaklee conference and it was so awesome to see! Doesn't he look terrific? Ask me for details on the contest.

A lot of info? Yes! But a simple plan to follow? Absolutely! Can you do it? YES, YES, YES! Do you want to do it? That is up to you. Know that you will have support of our Shaklee team and help along the way.  It is possible to get to a healthy weight. Whether you need to lose 5 or 100+ pounds, Cinch can help you achieve your goals safely and naturally. You can do this!!!


"What you believe and perceive, YOU CAN ACHIEVE!" - Dr. Forrest Shaklee
 

If you are in the Lafayette, IN area, you are welcome to join me and my Shaklee group on Aug. 31st for a fun Cinch inch loss Kick off meeting to see if Cinch is for you and sample some of the products! Ask me for the details.

Thanks for reading! Have a very healthy day!! :)

Rebecca