Spring Break!

I feel kind of bad that I have not taken many pictures of the kids this past winter. I am not a fan of the cold-so the camera did not make too many appearances.. So happy it's spring!! We went to the Frederick Meijer Gardens to experience their butterfly garden this past Friday. It was a great time and the kids really enjoyed themselves! We enjoyed a few days with warm temps. Now it's back to reality again. It's back to "normal" April weather for West Michigan. Cold and rain. Yay. Not really; although we really do need the rain. Amara and I are wanting to plant some wild flowers this week too. If it does not rain all week that is! We are also doing a bit of spring cleaning in her room. Not all at once-she was overwhelmed with that suggestion! She cleaned off her cluttered dresser( she learned that bad habit from her parents), but she said she felt good inside to throw things away once and for all. Such wisdom for a 5 year old!

Healthy Family Updates

Operation Declutter continues..slowly but surely. We should be done by now, but we both HATE cleaning. I am not sue why. All of my friends ( all 8 of them..ha!) have immaculate homes. I am not kidding. You could probably eat off the floor without worrying. I thought that some of their cleaning powers would rub off on me, but I am still waiting...still waiting.

Anyway. We have until Saturday afternoon to get things in order around here. Which really means Matt has until then because it's my day to run ( 15 miles that morning). My sister in law ( Hi Lisa) and her boy toy will be coming to watch the kids while Matt and I are at a wedding and reception for the night. I am not sure why we need to clean though--she has seen the madness and chaos of our home before. I guess the point of doing all this( massive cleaning) is to try and keep it up. Our biggest downfall with "stuff" is that we simply don't have the room for our things. So we think we found a good corner for it, and then it just builds and build and builds from there. The on-going cycle. I wonder if there is counseling for this. I know there is..I have seen the episode on Oprah. I am breath a sigh of relief that we are not that bad- there is no hording here--just piling and stacking!

We got Amara's room done except for the dresser and closet last night. It was my idea to do her room first since it is already the least junky of the rooms! So one room down a few more to go.

Wish us luck!

Healthy Family Updates

So we took a break from Operation Declutter for a few weeks only to dive right into it yesterday afternoon. It helped that Matt's parents were an hour away ( a big motivator for us!). I tackled the kitchen ( again) and Matt tackled a corner in the living room. The corner was filled with magazines, exercise equipment, stacks of paper and who knows what else--dust bunnies too.

Well now there is a pile of things I need to go through. It's sitting right in the middle of our not-so big living room. So now that pile has spread. Miles likes to run right through the middle of it; slipping on magazines and falling on his face. He says "again" and repeats it a few times until I tell him to knock it off. Oh the life........ 1 corner down, 49 to go!

Healthy Family Updates

Operation Declutter continues! This past week Matt has made some progress ( I will give him the credit!). He took on the top of the fridge as well as our closet in our bedroom! Eeek! Lots of separating and sorting going on in there. We still have a ways to go, but we are slowly making strides to be clutter free ( or at least less cluttered).
We made a vow back in March to be clutter free by June....ooops!
I am gladly taking any tips you might have to help us stay cluttered free...I NEED to hear what you have to say!!

Green Works Review

Green Works natural all-purpose cleaner from Clorox is a fine product. We are trying to be more GREEN in my household including cleaning products. Most popular cleaning products are filled with foul smelling chemicals that are bad for the environment, our lungs and our skin. I hate when I clean and a chalky film is left behind-I have to go over that film with plain water. What's the point of that?

Green Works gives you the same cleaning power as traditional cleaners. It's made with plant- and mineral based ingredients. Green works uses biodegradable ingredients and has never been tested on animals.

What's not to like about that?!?! The first ingredient is filtered water.I use the all-purpose cleaner mainly for my kitchen counters and the kitchen sink. It really does work just as well if not better then my chemical based products ( which I am weeding out!). It has a pleasant fresh smell that does not burn my nostrils ( or my skin for that matter) and no film is left behind after I clean with it.

I not only recommend this because of it's cleaning power, but because of it's ability to be environmentally friendly as well. It is a product that I will continue to use on my crusade to "greening" up my life!