Taking Stock - August 2016

Welcome to another 'Taking Stock' for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog and share the blog love. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do, this year. You can read my previous Taking Stock posts HERE. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. I am dedicating the last Tuesday of every month to a Taking Stock post and linking up with the #IBOT team. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of AUGUST...

Making: my bed every morning not only makes me feel good...it's a great way to kick off the day.

Drinking: tea, water, and only a little bit of Coke. 

Reading: all about PROJECT LIFE - it's my new obsession. If you don't know what Project Life is...check out Becky Higgins' website, and be prepared...it's addictive. I bought these super cute journal cards from The Warehouse on clearance last week. I can't wait to get started.

Wanting: to buy all the pretty 'Project Life' supplies...but I need to make a plan first.

Looking: at these beautiful flowers. One of our Playcentre members surprised me with this gorgeous pot of flowers today (Tex Mex pelargoniums) to say 'thank you' for all the hard work I have been doing behind the scenes as President of our centre...awww. It was such a thoughtful thing to do and I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing Playcentre team to work with xxx Totally made my day!

Deciding: what curtains we should buy for the lounge....
BEFORE...


AFTER...
Simple, modern and a little bit elegant - they are perfect and best of all they were on sale. winning

Wishing: my two of my friends all the best for the upcoming birth of their baby girls. Can't wait for baby cuddles.

Enjoying: a clean & organised home. Last month I felt overwhelmed with everything and my home was suffering, so I have been working my way through the 20 Day Challenge and getting back into my routines again. I am in the last week of the challenge and my home is feeling and looking so much better, and so am I. 

Feeling: proud of myself for breastfeeding my son for 2 years and 5 months...At the beginning of the month I co-organised & took part in my 3rd Big Latch On event. We had 79 bubs latch on and 30+ local businesses sponsor us - it was a great event.

Helping: Daddy blow out his candles! I love this photo. Earlier this month, we celebrated my partner's birthday...we had friends over for dinner and finished the night with CAKE - you know it's not your birthday until you have cake. Master M loved blowing out the candles.

Waiting: for the jug to boil...so I can enjoy a hot cup of tea after cleaning my kitchen top to bottom! The surfaces on top of the cupboards were gross. Many thanks to a reader's tip - I now have paper towels on top, so all I have to do is take them off and replace them every 6 months (if not more!). PS How cute is the Dishwasher Dirty/Clean sign? It's from The Organised Housewife Shop

Loving: my new car. This week I shared how I keep our car clean and organised. You can read about it HERE.



Buying & Wearing: this new brown leather bag and teal & black top for our DATE NIGHT - well it was my partner's work do last Saturday...We were kid free, so it's a date night nonetheless. Dinner & Drinks were paid for too - whoop whoop. 

Admiring: this Snap Chat filter before going out on a DATE NIGHT. It's a favourite for a lot of snappers. 

Sorting: out my apps on my iPhone. I recently completed the #5daystominimalism challenge with Lavendaire and Naturally Thrifty Mom, and one of the tasks was to declutter your 'digital device'. I absolutely LOVE how it looks now. I only have two screens - the home screen is clear, and everything I need is organised in folders. SPARK JOY. It was a fantastic challenge - I highly recommend it. Be sure to check out their videos over on YouTube. 

Watching: my favourite YouTuber, Janine from A Young Mum - she's an inspiration, and I am super jealous that she is going to be a KonMari Consultant - she recently went to New York and met with Japanese organising guru and author of 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up & Spark Joy', Marie Kondo! *squeal*.  Check out Janine's channel - she will inspire you, I promise.

Hoping: Miss B keeps her new desk tidy and organised like this (hmmm) - She loves it!

Needing: to find a balance between HOME, LIFE and WORK (and PLAYCENTRE)...I am joining Leanne from Organising the Four of Us and many others in PROJECT 14 next week - I can't wait. 

Getting: #inthepicture with my family. Messy hair, no make up and I was actually wearing my pyjama pants...but I still took a moment to get IN THE PICTURE with my kids and my partner, on his birthday. I actually really love this photo.

Bookmarking: anything to do with Project Life.

Hearing: my son snoring on the couch, bless him. I've been home with two sick kids quite a bit this month, so when they are resting or napping...so am I.



Giggling: at all the stories and journals from my high school/pre-kid years...I konmari'd my Written Keepsakes - check it out HERE. Coming Soon to the blog is my Keepsakes/Momentos and Photos - all part of the Sentimental category of my KonMari journey. Watch this space.

Trying: to hold back the tears as I said farewell to my Toyota Caldina. x

Loving: the colour MINT - my office supplies are mint and now my bed is mint! I bought this gorgeous comforter set from Spotlight for only $50 (down from $130). I'm in LOVE. It's such a pretty colour. 

I am...
Embracing: life, love & positivity!

*********

Now it's YOUR turn...

Tell me, what's been happening in YOUR world? How was AUGUST for you?
Choose three (or more) words from the list and 'take stock' in the comments below.

Read previous Sunday Share: Currently & Taking Stock posts


Until next time, I hope the next month treats you well!
Charlene

Linking up at these parties. Friday Favourites


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13

Be Organised: Car Organisation

We recently bought a new car and I have been asked several times 'how do you organise your car?'...in particular 'the rubbish'! So I thought I would share with you how I organise our Honda Odyssey Absolute, and a few tips and ideas I have found online that you might find helpful as well.

'PARENT ZONE'

I like to call the front of the car - 'Parent Zone' - this simply means that there is to be no child-related items in the front of the car. Our car is fairly new, so keeping it clean and organised is a priority (well for me it is). I have a retractable car charger (purchased from KMart) for my iPhone, so I can charge my phone when I am out and about or on long road trips - it's handy to have.

'Parent Zone'

THE MINI COMPARTMENTS

We have quite a few mini compartments built in our dashboard. I have put a notepad and pens in one - just in case I need to quickly jot something down,  and I put a little bottle of hand sanitiser in another - which I like to use when I've finished at the gas station.  The other mini compartments are currently empty. 

Mini compartments

THE GLOVEBOX

The only things I keep in the glovebox are a dust mitt, to wipe down the dashboard when it gets a bit dusty and I also have our synthetic chamois to wipe down the outside of the car, after I have washed it - once it's dry I return to the glovebox so I know exactly where it is. Note: In New Zealand we have our registration displayed on our windscreen. I don't like to keep any papers in the glovebox that has our mailing address on it, mainly for security reasons. I am looking into buying a little first aid kit to add to either the glovebox or put in the back. If you have a first aid kit in your car, where do you put it? 

Glovebox

THE MIDDLE CONSOLE

Our middle console is fairly small and the whole console collapses on it's side, so I have decided to keep this area clear of items. I only use it for water/drink bottles. If I collapse it, I can put my handbag in the middle of the seats, but most of the time my handbag sits on the passenger seat. If we are travelling as a family, my partner can put his phone and wallet in the compartment. 

Middle console

THE DRIVER'S DOOR

The only thing I keep in the driver's door is a small hand-held umbrella. In my old car this is where I used to stash all my rubbish and it wasn't a good look when I opened my door.  There is also a space for a drink bottle if needed or I might actually buy a little cylinder-shaped box of tissues for this space. 

Driver's door

THE PASSENGER DOOR

Passenger door

'KID'S ZONE'

This is what I like to call the 'Kids Zone'! I have two children, 11 years old and 2 1/2. My daughter (11) is responsible for keeping their area clean and tidy. When we go on road trips, my daughter uses a tote bag that she keeps all her crafts, books, pens, notepads etc in. She also takes her lap tray to use as a little table. Our son will have a few of his favourite cars, diggers and maybe a book or two for long trips, but most of the time, he's either asleep or happy to look out the window. 

My son is still rear-facing and will probably be front-facing in Summer (due to weight and height restrictions of the carseat). I put his day care bag and shoes under his carseat (behind the passenger seat) and take it out when we get home. 

My daughter usually has her school bag next to her on the chair or on the floor by her feet. Again, when we get home, the bag is taken out. 

'Kid's Zone'

THE KIDS ZONE - DOOR

The door on my daughter's side is where we keep the wipes, and a plastic bag for rubbish or could be used as a spew bag (you never know). The bag is kept in this nifty slider compartment. It's also a great place to store her pencil case and other small bits and bobs for when we go on long journeys. 

Kid's Zone door

THE BACK SEATS

We keep this area clear because I tend to fold the seats down when we do our weekly grocery shopping. It's quite roomy back there and we look forward to filling the seats with friends and family this Summer, especially when we go to the beach! There is a place for a drink bottle on each side and has a mini compartment too. 

Backseat 

THE BOOT

I usually keep our small stroller (not pictured) in the boot for when we are in town shopping, some spare plastic bags tucked away to the side and this white flexi-tub container (more details below).

The Boot

FLEXI-TUB

I decided to use a flexi-tub to store our items in the back simply because it's easy to take in and out of the car. They are really handy to have at the beach or park - I usually put all of the stuff we need in this tub and carry it to the beach or park, that way everything is corralled together and makes transporting to and from the car a lot easier. 

Our Flexi-Tub consists of:

• picnic mat
• grocery organiser
• nappy travel pack (includes nappies, wipes, a mat and some nappy bags all rolled into this little organiser)
• A change of clothes for the kids (kept in a plastic bag)
• A spare towel (not seen in picture)
• First Aid Kit (to be added)
• Note: I will be adding baby powder to this tub in Summer (it helps get sand off easily)

Boot Organisation

Boot - with seats folded down

As you can see there is a lot of room in the boot area. Like I said above, I fold the seats down when we go shopping, and will probably do the same when we go on road trips to during the school holidays. Most of the time, I have the back seats up and my daughter occasionally likes to sit right in the back.

THE RUBBISH

I mentioned earlier that in my old car I used to stuff the rubbish in my passenger door, well that is not going to happen, not in this car! In the past few weeks, we have got into the habit of cleaning out the car when we get home each day. The rule is: what ever goes into the car, must come out...if things stay in the car, that's when I find it starts to get out of control.

As for rubbish, I don't have a rubbish bin/bag left in the car. We have plastic bags in the car that we do put our rubbish in, especially if we go on a road trip, but when we get home, we take the rubbish bag out and put it in the wheelie bin or kitchen bin, depending on how much rubbish we have.

We do a quick sweep of the car - I do the 'Parent Zone' and my daughter does the 'Kid's Zone', my son likes to help too, then our car is clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's a nice feeling jumping into a clean car, and I think the systems we currently have in place, it's going to stay like this. 

SOME MORE HELPFUL TIPS

Katrina from The Organised Housewife has some great tips for 'keeping your car organised' over on her blog, and Kathryn from Do It On a Dime shares 13 amazing tips for your car on her YouTube channel, in fact, I might adopt the 'essential oil peg' car diffuser idea. They each have different ways of organising rubbish - so be sure to check them out. 

I hope you found these tips and ideas helpful.

I would love to hear how you keep your car organised or let me know if you are planning to implement any of these tips/ideas mentioned - in your car. 

Happy Organising,

Charlene

2

My KonMari Journey: Sentimental - Journals, Scrapbooks, Awards, and Achievements

Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing: Sentimental - Journals, Awards & Achievements

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