I've been sick for so much of my pregnancy, I just haven't been able to keep on top of things around the house. Other than a brief stint with steroids (remember the Prednisone Projects?), the only "nesting" going on around here has been the kind that involves making my bed cozy.
But gratefully, I've been feeling better for two weeks now. And somewhere between feeling better and having more energy, I've found myself in the middle of a lovely nesting instinct.
A few weeks ago, I put together a list of all the things I wanted to tackle before Evan arrives. And in the past week, I've been able to check everything off:
Downstairs:
1. Clean out & organize closets (3)
2. Organize kids' toy cabinet
3. Clean out & organize kids' toys in garage
4. Sort & organize baby boy clothes
5. Wash co-sleeper
Upstairs:
1. Clean out & organize kids' clothes in closets
2. Clean out & organize kids' clothes in dressers
3. Sort & organize toys in kids' rooms
As of today, I've finished it all!! I'm SO glad! It feels awesome. In all, I filled about 12 bags of things to donate (old clothes, baby clothes I didn't need, old toys, etc.) and about 5 bags of trash. Because I had tackled the kids' closets a few months back, there wasn't a ton of work to be done, but nonetheless, there is more room everywhere now.
First I tackled the downstairs closets. The laundry room shelves house cleaning products and all the kids' art supplies. I was able to throw out a lot of old coloring books, half crayons, markers without ink, etc. I also organized all the supplies by category into various bags and bins. Sam helped me out by crawling behind the washer and dryer to retrieve trash, dryer lint, and other objects that had fallen.
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| in progress... |
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| Reorganized and cleaned out pantry closet |
The coat closet was easier--I sorted the winter scarves & hats, donating things we never wear. I organized and sorted our coats.
The kids' toy cabinet wasn't bad--mostly I pulled out a bunch of old plastic toys that haven't been played with in a while. I donated some puzzles, books and games that my kids have outgrown.
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| Ahhh....there's even empty space! |
In the garage, I sorted & organized all the baby boy clothes into bins (6-12 months, 12-18, 18-24, etc.) I pulled down the co-sleeper and gave it a good scrub inside and out.
I went through the dress-up bin and other kids' toys, removing the old stuff and placing in donation bags. Then I organized the toys into bins of weapons, outside sports equipment, blocks, tea set, books.
Upstairs, I removed all the clothes that are too small for the kids and sorted into donation or "save for Evan" bags. Sam caught me in the process and claimed back some pilled long sleeve shirts that are his "favorites!" The same thing happened with some jammies (size 3!)
I also dumped out and organized all of the toy bins in their rooms (Sam has one big toy bin, Maddie has an organizer with multiple bins). Because I tackled it back in the prednisone era, there was mostly organization, with just a little bit of tossing out.
Probably the thing I was most excited about was Maddie's "everything" drawer. She has one drawer in her dresser that keeps treasures, jewelry, "important" papers, projects, and the like. But it's basically a catch-all and it was FULL of junk. I dumped everything out, recruited Maddie to pick out all the change for her piggy bank, tossed out lots of little plastic crap and dried-up flower petals, and ended up organizing the drawer into hair accessories, treasures, with some extra room for little electronics, fish food, etc.
Once everything was done, I went ahead and washed all the bedding again and vacuumed everything thoroughly. And now, as I sit here on the couch, I'm tired, sore, and having lots of Braxton-Hicks. Might have overdone it a bit, but it sure feels good to have some organization to my home! Yay for nesting!!!
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