{Awesome Vinyl Calendar}

Some days I feel like I'm losing my mind.

I guess it's because the kids are getting older and becoming more and more involved with daily activities such as school, ballet, and gymnastics. Add in other stuff like dentist/doctor appointments, church callings, family activities, plans with friends, anniversaries, birthdays, vacations, and so on. I used to be able to remember it all in my head but apparently the brain cells have been dying off slowly and I'm no longer able to keep track of it all on my own.

So I decided it was time to get a family calendar where I could write down all of our "stuff." I know. We've been married for 8 1/2 years and have 2 kids and I have never had a calendar in our house. 

I officially began my search for  1) a cute calendar and 2) a good way to display it. I knew I wanted a cute calendar that was fun to look at but I didn't want to commit to making one of those scrapbook styles because I have tried that in the past and I never made it beyond March.

So the scrapbook style was out. Next up. A digital one? Those are super easy and fun to create but I wanted something a little larger so there was plenty of room on the daily spaces to write stuff down. 

Scratch the digital. Then I was online one day and looking at Pinterest and I decided to do a search for "calendars" and see what other people had come up with. Lo and behold, I found a vinyl dry erase calendar that was perfect!

I hadn't thought of dry erase and vinyl but I loved the idea that it was going to be flat on my wall and that I could use colored markers and if I needed to make a change or erase something, it was as easy as wiping it off and adding something else.

I decided to head over to ETSY and I found a shop called "Simple Shapes" (click here to visit their ETSY Shop) who offered a ton of styles for these kind of calendars. I found one that I liked, ordered it, and had it just in time for the new month. 

Yay for organization and attempting to keep track of it all. 

Have a GREAT Tuesday!

- Junkie Tawni

{It's A New Year}

Do you set New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you actually follow through with them? Well, we are 2 days into 2012 and hopefully that means we are all still on track. If not, it's not too late to hurry and get some goals set now!

My goals and resolutions this year include the following ...


     1. Create and implement more family traditions

2. Drink more water (this is going to be a tough one)

          3. SIMPLIFY

4. Play with my kids on a more regular basis

5. Be Patient

    6. BE HONEST

          7. Read my scriptures daily, say daily prayer, and visit the temple once a month

8. Don't Procrastinate!!! If I say I'm going to get something done, GET IT DONE!

9. Use my video camera on a more regular basis to capture my kids in their childhood


And my #10?

10. Start working on the list of home improvement projects that I have wanted to get done for the last 2 years. And that list is quite a doozy.

And that was just the beginning. I added even more to the list and by the end of the day, every line on that paper was full. I suppose while it may seem overwhelming to look at 25 different projects to get done, I found it more thrilling that I had them all written down and could cross things off as I completed them.

And now it's time to let the fun begin - wish me luck!

 - Junkie Tawni

{Bathroom Hooks}

If you have spent any time on Pinterest chances are you have seen or pinned this quick little bathroom project.

 I like so many of you thought this idea was genius! I am always trying to find ways to make my small cozy home more space efficient. I loved the idea of assigning each of my kids a towel hook and I loved the idea of labeling them by using their pictures.  Here is what I ended up with.

 I snapped these pictures after the bath and then just popped them in some frames I had sitting around. It has been so nice to have a cute functional space for all 3 towels.

-Junkie Sheri

{Weekly Cleaning Schedule}

Cleaning Schedule from The Blooming Homestead 

(www.bloominghomestead.blogspot.com)

I knew the minute I came across this on Pinterest that I would be trying it out. I have been wanting to get myself on a cleaning schedule for a couple of months but never got around to sitting down and writing one down. Thank goodness for Pinterest. I had plenty of schedules to choose from but this one from The Blooming Homestead stood out to me. Maybe it was the colors, maybe it was the fonts, but for whatever reason, I loved it.

So we got home from vacation and unpacked the car and when I finally had a minute to look around, I realized our house was a disaster. Complete and utter chaos. I decided that it was time to start the cleaning schedule to get on track.

I printed out my new cleaning schedule and stuck it right up on my fridge and started with the area of the house for the day. It was the kitchen. My most dreaded area to clean. I have the HARDEST time keeping clutter off our kitchen counters. It seems like that is where everything that doesn't have a place to go ends up. It will be cleaned up for one day and then it's back to disaster the next. Grrr. But with my new plan in mind, I grabbed my ipod, stuck in my headphones, and started tackling the mess.


{Kitchen Table}

{Kitchen Counters}

I love displaying wedding announcements, baby showers, and pictures up on our fridge. But the problem is that after awhile, it starts to look a bit cluttered. So I took the time to put all the stuff in my memory box and got the fridge all cleaned up.

After doing the fridge, I was on a roll. I decided to get all those little fingerprints off the rest of the appliances. Love the look of stainless steel but the smudges can get out of control super fast.

{End Result - Love it!}

So I started this on a Tuesday and stuck to it all week long and I loved it! I thought it was nice to walk by the bathroom and see that it needed some attention but not feel like I had to get to it that minute because I knew that I would be dedicated it to it later in the week. It brought me a sense of peace and calm. It might seem lame but I loved knowing that there was an assigned time during the week for each area of my house. By the time the end of the week arrived, my house was in great shape and so tidy! I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a GREAT cleaning schedule.

- Junkie Tawni