Bring on the holidays!

As I take time to prepare my home and menu for tomorrow, I take a moment to say am so happy and grateful for all the things that I have in my life. While I don't always take time out to publicly announce them and most days I'm lamenting about all the bad things that happen in it. I really do love my life and all who share it with me. I love the fact that in one week I will be celebrating 10 glorious up and down filled years with my best friend, the love of my life Mr. Mechanic. Followed by his birthday, Christmas, and a major milestone in my children's lives, the big 13th birthday for my oldest.

I have come a long way in my life, a large part of that is my husband who has been my rock when others say I can't he has helped me prove them wrong. Even when I doubt myself he has been my loudest cheerleader. My children have been the driving force in my life to be better than my parents and to take time out to smell the roses.

This year we are bringing in some new traditions and trying new things.
- I bought our first Elf on a Shelf and hope the kids love it even though they don't really believe in Santa anymore. I will try to keep up with pictures of all the stuff she's does.
- We're going to take time to enjoy a few Christmas light shows and tree ceremonies we haven't before.
- Mr. Mechanic and I are finally having our 'honeymoon'. A weekend with no kids or work antiquing and spending time at a local B&B.
- Cutting our own tree (hopefully)
- I was even given the green light to decorate the yard this year with large light up statues. I found R2D2 so of course he said yes LOL.

Now it's time for me to make some pies and watch some movies with the kids.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 5 Extra Rooms or Extra care.

This post is going to encompass the whole week. Week 5 is all about the extras that you may need. Extra rooms to get ready, office, your yard, extra time in a room already covered.

What do you need extra help with? I need extra time in my bedroom and office. I am so proud of my kids trying hard to keep the house in tip top shape. Even then we have a long way to go. I'm not proud to say it but some rooms in my house looks like an episode or hoarders light LOL.

I will also be getting my decorating on. I didn't get my Thanksgiving decor up this year since we hadn't planned on having people over for Thanksgiving, first year in my entire life. I wasn't planning on having or making dinner, and then Mr Mechanic said "Honey, I want to make a big dinner even if it's just us." While he's making dinner I will be taking stock of the Christmas decorations and possibly putting some up. Biggest decoration I can't wait to find, our tree. We're crossing our fingers to cut our own in a few weeks.

So I'm off to finish up my cupcakes for tomorrow and get a good nights sleep. Because tomorrow the cooking countdown begins.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 4, Day 4 - 7 - Coming along nicely

Though I posted the cleaning in one day you do not need to clean all day long. For me I'm spreading it out over the week, along with my other room routines. Each room gets 15 minutes to clean during school from me and 15 minutes from the kids after school. It's slow going but pretty soon my home will be ready for the holiday parties that always take over my life starting Thanksgiving. Now I know your home won't be fully caught up by then unless you speed through and clean a room a day, which by then you will totally burned out. I suggest the fake it till you make it.  It's not a great way to get things done but in a pinch it will do if guests are coming to your home for dinner. Clear off the main surfaces and spot clean the high traffic areas.
If you are lucky enough not to have people over for Thanksgiving just continue to follow your routine as normal and don't try to complete everything. It's great advise for both scenarios anyways. Remember your home didn't get dirty in a day it won't be cleaned in a day.

Try doing something fun between cleaning. Play a board game and add a prize, say winner gets the next day off from chores or gets to pick dinner. Put your favorite boogie music on and dance as you clean, burn extra cookie calories. Decorate rooms as you go. Do anything that can break up cleaning time. I like things that keep me active or spending family time away from the electronics. Especially now that I've been house bound all day long due to snow and icy roads. Well I'm off to do my routine and then to brave the streets for some much needed shopping.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 4, Day 2 & 3 - Bedrooms

Are your bedrooms ready for company? Are they black holes that stuff gets thrown in and never to be found again? Or are you one of the lucky ones that just have a messy room? Our goal for the next two days is to work on bedrooms. You may be asking yourself why all bedrooms? I don't plan on having people hanging out there. I have found over the years though you have no thought that someone will be in your room at some point they will. Times include, kids playing a game, playing with your children's toys, coat area, a place to wrap last minute gifts, taking care of a baby, or just to get away from the party. I am lucky to have friends and family who don't care how clean my house is but I wince every time someone needs to go in to rooms we don't use often. The goal here is to set up an easy to do routine over the rest of the week to start you on a better path.

1. Laundry 

- I know there are cute baskets out there, and we all buy them with the best of intentions. We all start out using them and for a bit it's great, then we forget about using them, they get buried under piles of clothes, or tossed in the back of the closet. Find those hampers/baskets again and fill them up. I know everyone has a secret dirty clothes pile in a room somewhere. Keep them up close and prominent in your bedroom or bathroom. Make it a point every morning to grab all the dirty laundry and place it in the washer. 

- Do you suffer from an abundance of clothes you never really wear but think one day you may need them/want them again? Grab out your trusty donation box and start filling it up with items that are too small or too large. They really aren't doing you a favor taking up space. "But what if I gain weight or lose weight? I'll need those clothes again." Toss them in anyways! You're not donating your clothes right away so you have a just in case set up in place. Now that you have all your old clothes out of the way it's time to pack up none seasonal items. Where I live we generally don't bring out the winter gear till the temps hit the teens and even then it's a toss up as long as we have layers. I pack away anything 100% summer; swim suits, sandals, shorts, and most of my tank tops. I leave out some tank tops to wear under t- shirts and sweaters since the temps here tend to fluctuate a lot.

2. Organize
- Nothing in my room is where it should be and my children's rooms are worse.  I started organizing our closets but it fizzled off last year because the system was HUGE! Just in my daughter's room alone she had 15 baskets of toys and clothes. This time I'm starting small, shoes area  big thing for me so instead of my hanging shoe holder I'm spending the money to buy more plastic shoe boxes. For toys I'm thinking large see thru totes with lids attached. That gets part of the clutter down and I can go from there.

- I'll be going through all of our stuff to see what needs to be tossed, donated, or saved for hope chests.

3. Bed
- Take off all your sheets and wash them. Pillows too if you can, if you can't throw them in your dryer at the hottest temp with a dryer sheet. It will help kill germs, fluff them, and make them smell pretty again. Replace your pillows if the no longer hold a shape or support your head and neck.

- Febreeze your mattress and flip over. Mattress should be flipped every 6 months and replaced every eight years. Things like dust mites and dead skin collect inside your mattress causing it to weigh more and not give you the best nights sleep.

- Remember to wash your sheets weekly and your pillows as needed.

4. Surfaces - including but not limited to; head boards, shelves, tables, and dressers
- Night stands seem to be some of the most cluttered areas in a bed room. Time to declutter it, do you need a space to have items such as jewelery, phones, eye glasses, or books? That's fine. I'm talking about all the other items that pile up, old dishes, papers, books you've read but never put back. Get them off! Put everything in it's place. Add a decorative bowl or plate for your daily needed clutter. If your table has drawers get them cleaned out as well.

- Dressers collect a lot of clutter as well. Clothes being pulled out in a hurry, lotions set down, movies and games if you have a tv and consoles in your room. 

- Every other surface needs a good cleaning off as well.

-Dust everything at least weekly. This cuts down on allergens and helps for a cleaner room.

Now you have a start to a clean and organized bedroom in your home. I suggest for the first cleaning in a child's room you involve them with any task they can help.If you are unsure what chores are age appropriate take a look at my chore post here. Routine is the key to keeping everything neat and tidy. A good routine for bedrooms and bathroom is to do your swish and swipe, grab the dirty clothes, and start your day.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 4, Day 1 - Guest Bathroom

This bathroom may be your main bathroom or it may be a separate bathroom just for guests, either way it's the focus of today's goals. I have broken this room down to daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routines.

Daily
1. The swish and swipe
Swish- take your toilet bowl brush and swish it around doing a preemptive cleaning. Helps stop dirty germ build up and keeps any normal bathroom smells down.
Swipe - take a moment to swipe a cleaning cloth over your counter and sink.

2. Put away - anything that is used daily. Toothbrushes should be in the medicine chest for sanitary reasons, but rags and towels (unless hung), toiletry items, should be placed away as well. Keep clutter to a minimal. This means less to move and clean plus less to make a mess.

3. Spot sweep and spot mop - This says it all, normally I do this every few days but during high traffic times I do this job almost hourly some days. Find what works best for your home and stick with the routine,

4. Clean - This for me isn't a daily item but usually done every few days to weekly. Every household gets dirty differently. Play to your home's needs.

5. Check - Check that your bathroom is stocked with items you need. Bath towels, wash cloths, toiletries, and hand soap.




Weekly
1. Clean -This is done if you haven't seen to it already in your daily goals now is the time to do this.
- Remove and wash all bath mats, toilet covers and tub mats.
- Scrub the inside and outside of the toilet
- Scrub your tub/shower.
- Wash mirrors
- Scrub walls and doorways.
- Mop floors


Monthly
1. Clean - Monthly cleaning is simple and can be done on the same day as a weekly cleaning.
- Wash shower curtain
- Wash windows and window coverings
- Flush pipes
- Check for leaks


And there you have it, a routine for your bathroom to help you keep on top of your routine.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 3, Day 5-7 - Find your grove and shake it.

Yesterday was an 'Oh MY POSH' day for me. We've had snow none stop over here in Idaho and I spent the day curled up with puppies, pillows, Vampire Diaries and pampered myself. I had completed my Dining room tasks and felt the need to reward myself. And so Dear Reader I want you to Pamper yourselves as well. take time to take care of yourselves and enjoy whatever weather you have in your area. Keep up your routine and stay tuned for next week's posts. I'm off to enjoy the snow day my monsters have.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 3, Day 3 & 4 - Crock Pot Meals

Yesterday was horrible for m, I barely got off the couch all day. I had to deal with a debilitating tension headache, but I did think long and hard about my post. And since they both deal with meals I decided to combine for ease of use.
  

      Day 3 is all about using your Crock Pot to make meals that work for your family as well as guests that take minimal prep so you can join in all the fun.I have several websites as well as books I love to use for this purpose.

My #1 go to for crockpot meals is non other than the Crock Pot Queen Phyllis Pellman Good from Fix it and Forget it. Though I only have 2 of her wonderful cook books I tend to over use when I need a meal plan with less prep work.

This book gets the least use for me. But even so, one my favorite dip recipe comes from here.  

                                                          Big hit over nachos in my house.

Next up is the one cook book I look to regularly, So much so that halfway though putting page tabs on recipes to try I gave up and just said the whole book. 

With this cook book there are so many variations for just one recipe you are bound to find one that uses your on hand stock. Soup and chili are our main staples doing the colder months and I can say their are enough recipes you never truly have the same meal twice. 

My # 2 go to is Pinterest. you can find so many websites and blogs all at your finger tips. I like to utilize most Crock Pot meals by turning them into freezer meals either as pre cooked or pre prepped and just throw them in the pot or oven.

My #3 Go to is the good ol internet. A quick search and I've found 100's of recipes faster than my Mom can answer the phone.

      Day 4 came to me after Mr Mechanic said he wanted soup for dinner Wednesday night and with how cold it is outside right now I don't blame him. This morning was in the teens with the wind chill making the temp feel like 7 degrees. Where did Fall go? So for today I will share my Crock Pot chicken soup recipe. it's not anything special, just a base recipe I use when I don't have all of a recipe ingredients.

• Chicken - Bone in is best for a good stock base if you will be home all day to check your progress. Boneless if you plan on not being around.  I use whatever I have in the freezer so tonight is bone-in thigh pieces.
• Water - cover your chicken in your crock pot to 1-2 inches above.
• Soup base or bouillon - I use a little to start so that the stock isn't overly salted
• Spices - use what sounds good to you. Salt and Pepper are a must but the rest is up to you.
• Vegetables - What every you have on hand to toss in and cook. Tonight I have onions and frozen mixed veggies. 
• Noodles - Homemade, store bought it doesn't matter.

• Place chicken and raw veggies in your Crock Pot (bone-in don't worry for now). Add your seasonings and cover with water. 
• Cook low heat for a few hours. 
• When you can smell the meat cooking it's time to take the bones out. Carefully remove just the chicken and set down to cool. Once cooled enough to your liking pull the meat off the bone and place back in your pot. If you are using boneless skip this step.
• Continue to cook on low for a total of 6 hours. Or until meat is cooked through.
• Add pasta directly to crock pot and cook till noodles are tender. Adding more soup base if taste isn't to your liking. 
• Serve with warm bread and crackers.

There you have it. Crock Pot Meals that will last you months to come. 

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 3, Day 2 - Making your home smell good

One of the quickest ways to make your guests feel welcome and your home inviting is to have something that smells yummy cooking. There are many ways to do this but I'm only going to focus on chemical free or multi use recipes.

1. Essential Oil diffuser and oils - This way is one of the best and it has many uses. You can buy all you need online or at your local holistic shop. Some great oils to diffuse are clove, vanilla, lavender, peppermint, pine, fir, and orange. Mix and match scents to create your own blends or buy blends from companies that make oils. I buy mine through Butterfly Express. They are locally owned in Idaho and I have had the chance to meet the owner, LaRee Westover in a oil class she teaches.

2. Essential Oils and a Tart warmer - If you don't have a diffuser or time to buy one you can run down to your local holistic store and buy your oils and place a few drops in the warmer with water. The oil scent diffuses faster but still works to scent your home.

3. Stove top potpourri -  There are many recipes on the internet but I have found my favorite one on Spend with Pennies. Before finding this blog I used the a form of the Cranberry Bliss recipe every Thanksgiving and loved how my home smelled. Now I have many others to choose from and they don't take much to use.

Cranberry Bliss
• 1 orange
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup cranberries
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 2-3 cups of water in a sauce pan or crock pot
  Cook on low and don't let the water cook out.

4. Cook or Bake - This one is by far the easiest. Make cookies, applesauce, cake, or any other yummy food right before your guests arrive. Not only will your home smell good but your guests will get a treat straight from the heart. 

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 3, Day 1 - Dining room

Now I don't know what your dining room looks like, for all I know you all have dine in kitchens or don't have a dining room area at all. But in my home we have a smallish dining room between the kitchen and living room. It's home to a very large table and chair set, an over hanging bar window to the kitchen, and numerous shelves, cabinets, and drawers that house the general population of my cake tools.

For me cleaning the dining room is simple, keep stuff off the table, the floor cleaned, and my cake tools organized. Sounds simple right... Not in this lifetime. The dining room happens to be craft central for me, the kids, and the one place the family doesn't use for it's intended purpose any more.
I plan to change that starting today. First order of business was to clear the floor and table. Everything in the room was put back in it's normal place in the correct room of the house. All my cake tools are getting reorganized later in the week when I have time to take inventory of everything I have again.

And there you have it, clean it up and keep a routine going. Since this room is fairly small and simple the rest of the week will be ideas for gatherings and meals. Stay tuned readers.

Cleaning up the holiday's ~ Week 2, day 6 & 7 - Planning and putting it all together.

Now that your kitchen is in order you can start planning a routine that keeps your house running smoothly even if you are not at home.

Meal planning weekly or monthly is a great way to use up what you have in your pantry and fridge, while stopping the dreaded "what's for dinner?" By meal planning you know what you have and what needs to be bought in the future not right that second. Need a few quick ideas for dinner? Stock your freezer with some prepared meals you made in advance. Stock your pantry with meals to go, create a basket with everything you need and a list of items that are frozen or refrigerated so you can grab and cook with no hunting.

Create a calendar center. Set up your routines where you can see them daily. Place your meal plan, your shopping list, school calendars, and phone notes here. One stop for the whole family to see.

Week 3 of the Cleaning series is short with just the dining room so I will be adding posts of meal planning and make ahead meals for my readers to use. Now take a bow and enjoy your smooth running kitchen.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 2, Day 4 & 5 - General cleaning routine

The last few days have been hectic for me, trying to get the house in order, making gifts, planning parties, and general life I have forgotten to update and post for the last week and I am sorry.

Day 4 & 5 are all about creating a cleaning routine and sticking to it. Keep it short and easy to use, plan monthly, weekly, and daily tasks to complete in tune with  your large appliance routine. For my routine it goes as such

Daily

Stove area - I wash off the top, wipe down the walls (my stove is in a tiny cove), clean up the jar of cooking utensils, brush off the spice rack.

Sink area - Shine the sink in the evening, wipe down water spots from dishes, stack dishes if needed, load dishwasher and wash sink full of dishes, wash counters.

General cleaning - sweep floor, spot mop, wipe down any small appliances that have been used.


Weekly

General Cleaning - Wipe down door jambs, cabinets, move small appliances and clean under, mop full floor,


Monthly

General cleaning - Wash walls and ceiling, dust cupboards and cabinets.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 2, Day 3 - Large appliances

Today is all about cleaning up your appliances, both in and behind them. With Holiday parties and meals comes an extra work load for your appliances. If they are going to fail they will at this time and right when you need them most. One way to keep them in tip top shape is to keep them clean at all times. I have posted just a few that need a scheduled cleaning that you should start right now.

Refrigerator 
Daily - Spot wash outside and inside.
Weekly - Clear out left overs
Bi -Weekly - Check expiration date on containers, clean off all paper clutter.
Monthly - pull out and dust back, sweep/vacuum floor, scrub outside and inside.

Stove
Daily - Wash down spills and outside
Weekly - Scrub stove top. Follow your stove's manual on proper cleaning procedures.
Monthly - Scrub inside of stove if not self cleaning. Pull out and clean behind, pull out drawer and clean under.
6 months - Self clean setting. (I like to do mine in October and March. If your oven is going to go it's going to go in self clean mode or under the pressure of cooking a Thanksgiving feast.)

Dishwasher
Daily - Clean out drain catch, sweep under as far as your broom will go.
Weekly - Run a cleaning load (no dishes, just vinegar/dishwasher cleaner)
Monthly - Check hoses, drains, and door seals.

Freezer
Weekly - Sweep around outside.
Monthly - Rotate your frozen food stock, check seals, and expiration dates as well. (Freezer Food Chart)
Bi - Monthly - Defrost

Kitchen Sink
Daily - Shine your sink
Weekly - Scrub out your garbage disposal,
Monthly - Clean out under the sink, check for leaks,

For today I want you to stick with the big 3, fridge, stove, and freezer. This may take the whole day but after you can set up a proper cleaning schedule to suit your needs. If you have time work on the other large appliances.

*Dear readers a note from me. As I take the time to clean my home in the way I ask you to clean yours I sometimes forget to submit my posts in a timely manner. I have taken to using Mr. Mechanic's work laptop since my desktop is old and flighty lately, so sometimes it takes a day for me to post. I will try to pre-post for the next day but please bare with me as I do this.

Cleaning up the holiday's ~ Week 2, Day 2 - Dishes

Do you have an abundance of dishes? Maybe more of one kind than others? What about utensils? It seems in my house we never have enough bowls, spoons, butter knives, or cups. My children take them and leave them somewhere and then throw them out because they get broken or furry. I have 4 different sets of dishes; one for every day use, 2 china for dinner parties, and 1 vintage. None of them are truly a full set anymore and today's goal is to put an end to that.

Today I want to to take stock in dishes, all your dishes. Take the time to tally what you have, what you need, and what you can live without. remember your donation box? Now is a good time to use it, pull it out and load it up with all your extra baking pans, dishes, and cooking utensils that never seem to be used but you needed them for something. Don't take too long to do this 30 - 60 minutes is more than enough time to go through everything.

After you have cleared up your dishes, organize them. If your cupboards and drawers look bare that's fine. You are downsizing the clutter for things you really need. If you find yourself needing that item you placed in the donation box down the road, go and get it and it only.

A few questions to answer.

1. Do you have dishes that are used only when guest come over? Place them where they can be used more often, Life is too short to save the good china for guests only. You deserve to have the best to eat off every day.

2. What if I don't have enough dishes to run a load in the dishwasher? Hand wash dishes as you use them. If it's just you at home all day but you know you'll need your bowl/plate/pan for dinner wash them before you have need of them.

Now that the organizing has commenced it;s time to get down to the heavy cleaning. But that is for another day.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 2, Day 1, Kitchen and Pantry

Congratulations on surviving week 1, now we're ready for week 2 and it's about to get very tough. Today will be somewhat simple to complete, just a few minutes out of your day to get a good list going.

Task 1 - Take 10 minutes in your kitchen and take stock in what you like to use, what you need to use, and what can go. This is a good time to have handy your donation box from the living room, if you come across something you are wishy-washy about throw it in and see just how well you need it when it's out of sight. if you have time figure out a better flow pattern to your kitchen, do you use counter top appliances a lot or are you more of a traditionalist and like working without hands and simple tools? How many of your counter appliance do you use every day? Are they sitting there gathering dust? Make a list that includes these as well.



Task 2 - Take 10 minutes on each step in your pantry/food cupboards. For this job you'll need a new list for shopping/items to keep, a garbage can, and a separate donation box.

- First step is to toss out all the expired foods. Make a note of what you are throwing out, was it something you got on sale and forgot about but now want to use? An items you use regularly but didn't realize it had expired? Many an item in my pantry was bought for a specific reason and then I never used it. Now that it's expired I find myself having a need for it again. By making this list I can narrow down what I need to buy for a recipe when I want the recipe made.

- Second step is to donate all foods you don't need/want/have too much to possibly eat. In this economy that sounds easier said than done right. There is no way you can have too much food for your family! Let me tell you a little story about my kids. For the last 3 years every Friday during the school year my kids would bring home a weekend food bag, now it wasn't something we needed but every student in their school got one no matter what. For the first and second year it was 3 a week, third year 2 a week. each of those bags had breakfast, lunch, dinners, drinks, and snacks for 2 days. We chose to stock them for days when Mom was too tired to cook, or quick meals when we were in a hurry. I had so many of those bags that they took over 3 shelves in my pantry, I did the rough math, it came out to being 624 of just one item in 3 years. 3,120 items that were stored in intervals in my pantry. The kids and hubby ate them all summer long for 3 years, eating so much in fact that my children refuse to eat oatmeal or single serve bowls of cereal, can't stand food that goes from a can to a pan, and if they hear the words chicken and rice together they run. Amazingly they love the drink boxes and snacks. Now we're on to year four, where thankfully it's only one a week. But instead of stocking up we donate it to the local shelters where it's needed more. Stocking up is great when needed but remember it can quickly get out of hand. Sometimes your family needs less than someone else.


- third step is to take stock of what is left. Do you need special items for holiday cooking? Have you created your weekly grocery list yet? If you had to menu plan your whole month just with what you have on hand no shopping could you do it? I shop weekly for things like cereal, milk, and snacks while saving my major shopping for great sales. As such my pantry and freezer had been stocked for over 8 months. My areas are now bare and it's time to stock up on things we like and pass on things that are still sitting around unused. Right now I couldn't make a menu plan for a week without having to run to the store for something. Most of which are convenience items like pancake mix or cream of chicken soup. My goal for this overhaul is to stop relying on them so much and find plenty of D.I.Y recipes out there.

Once you've given your kitchen and pantry a thorough look through you can start planning your routine in these areas to suit your needs.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 1, Day 6 & 7 - Routine, Routine, Routine

Our first week has come to it's end. By staying on top of this one room it has stayed clean but as you know it can't take a week every time to clean a room. Now that your living room and entry are back to square one it's time to employ your cleaning routine. 15 minutes a day to clear away clutter, quick dust, and organize.

How is that possible you say? I can barely dust one room in 15 minutes. It's simple, you keep up on your routine and whatever is not done in 15 minutes is done later. You can choose to finish your dusting/organizing/whatever you need till later in the day or save it for the next day. Don't let this become part of your routine, this is used only with the idea that today was a messier day than normal.

How to keep your cleaning to less than 15 minutes? Clean as you walk through your home and go about your day. Did you watch a movie last nigh and want to watch a new one today? Put away the movies when you are done with them. Can't ever find the remote? Buy a basket or caddy to place them in and set on a table or by the couch, when done put it away. Putting things away right away will become habit and keep your day clutter free.

Are you a list maker? Let Flylady help you build a Control Journal. What is a Control Journal? It's like a Home Binder and if you have one of those like I do, then all you need is a few areas for cleaning and planning. However you plan your day make sure it's in a prominent place in your home. Find the first place in your home that you officially start your day and make that Task Central. (Bathrooms don't count)
You can go over everything for the day and since your get up morning routine never changes much. For me task central is my couch, I wake up my boys for school then go sit down, but that's about to change, each morning I walk past my vintage desk that is cluttered and full of my children's things that I plan on taking it back to make it Task Central #1. I'll be able to get a general idea of what my day is to be like before I've had my cup of coffee.

There you have it dear readers, you've taken back your living room and have a solid foundation on which to keep on top of things.