Just a quick hello to announce the birth of our son, Eliott, born January 27 and weighing a whopping 9 lbs, 7 oz. While hubby and I get to know our sweet little guy, I’ll be taking a short blogging break.

Stay tuned for more ideas to simplify your life, add more eco-friendly habits to your days, and how to make handmade projects galore. Consider this blogging break one way to simplify. When your life changes, slow down and cut some things out to adjust and enjoy. You won’t regret it.

To continue my January “organizing” theme, here are few items which benefit Haiti relief.

stamped memo clothespin clips by caelum for Hearts for Haiti

Journal to keep your “to-do list” in one place by Ludid Ryu for HaitibyHand

Tote bag by leighadactyl for Craft Hope

Continued by guest writer: Kelly Feeney

Next, the instructions say: Blend the vegetable in the food mill. Now, I’m warning you – go dig out the directions for how to use this thing - getting all the appropriate parts out of the box was the hard part.

Then, take whatever reserve liquid is in the pot and add it to the food you are about to pulverize.

Here’s a bit of advice…GO SLOWLY when “milling” the food.Better yet, hold the mill OVER THE SINK. It was like “Old Faithful” exploded in my kitchen. I’m beginning to look like my son during feeding time. There’s more food on my hands and torso than in the mill!! Funny thing is… the outside of the packaging says that you can “Take the mill into restaurants and mill whatever you are eating for baby.” ARE THEY KIDDING?! This thing is MESSY. Plus, there won’t be any reason to take my son out to eat with us because he has enough sweet potatoes now to last him for MONTHS! I determine that, in the future, one spud will do.

Luckily, I have the trusty covered ice cube tray in which to preserve my nutritious, homemade baby food product. I mark on the lid with a dry erase marker: November 17, 2009. Phew, it says in the book that this stuff is good for at least 2 months from this date. I guess I will take their word for it and be sure to use it since I see as I am placing it into the freezer that there are bags of frozen corn in there from the days of the Reagan administration.

Hmmm…the book doesn’t tell you how best to warm the frozen concoction for making it palatable for baby.

I guess the microwave will do…

Organizing Your Way offered an interesting article on organization as a lifestyle rather than an event. Granted, I think some of us are more inclined to be organized than others, but incorporating various systems - which are different for everyone - and giving ourselves a break are keys to an an organized life.

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, spring birthdays, Mother’s Day, or a little girl’s birthday party, I loved this idea by maya*made to create flowers from upcycled paper (particularly, old sewing patterns or maps).

Ok, I know it sounds a little crazy. Who has an attic inventory? Or an inventory of anything really? I’m aspiring to create these little catalogs and have a few in the process:

1. Inventory of “stuff” in each room of our house (for insurance purposes)

2. Inventory of manuals - Binders that hold manuals for our “stuff”

• Kitchen: holds the instruction manuals for appliances, like the KitchenAid Mixer, Toaster Oven,                 Microwave, etc.
• Electronics:  Instruction manuals for the camera, mobile phones, iPod, and Xbox
• Home: Receipts and manuals for furniture, ELFA closet shelving, etc.
• Garage: Manuals for the lawn mower, garage door opener, power tools, etc.

When storing the Christmas boxes and bins back in the attic, earlier this month, I had this “nesting” desire (Yes, I am 9 months pregnant) to make a list of what we store up there. This inventory is in process, as I’ll wait until it’s warmer to spend some more time going through boxes and bins in the abyss.

Just a thought, but…

…usually, if it’s in the attic, you’re not using it. Obviously, you’re not going to be wearing winter gear in August, or leaving Christmas decor up all year, but we ALL have things we’re holding onto that just take up space. So, my first step to staying on top of that: an inventory.

Here are my categories:

• Baby/Kids
• Camping
• Christmas
• Clothing/Shoes (seasonal)
• Crafting
• Decor/Artwork
• Luggage
• Seasonal
• Sentimental/Keepsakes

Haiti has been on all of our minds and hearts this last week. Crafting a Green World shared a good list of ways to support the relief efforts in Haiti by buying handmade.

As we continue to make changes to many of our habits - recycling and composting more, eliminating paper products like coffee filters and paper napkins, and just being more thoughtful before we buy - there is always more to learn. We consider it a fun challenge.

We’ve been slowly shifting to a more “green” cleaning routine, and to follow-up on our speed-clean checklist from yesterday, a breakdown of the products we use seemed timely, in addition to shifts we’re making to make our routine more eco-friendly.

• All-purpose Cleaner: We like Method’s Pink Grapefruit all-purpose cleaner, but have begun shifting to a 1 part vinegar to 1 part water solution for surfaces in the Kitchen and Bathroom. From time to time we will sprinkle the counter with baking soda and then scrub with half a lemon. Wipe down with a damp cloth and your kitchen smells refreshingly clean!
• Furniture Cleaner: We like Method’s Wood for Good Surface Cleaner, but use it sparingly. Whenever possible we dust with a microfiber cloth that we then throw in the wash.
• Laundry Detergent: Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry Detergent, Perfume & Dye Free (so it’s safe for baby, too!) Arm & Hammer’s website has a fun tool to learn how to use baking soda for cleaning around your home.
• Dryer Sheets: None! These are not safe to use on infant clothing, and they leave a chemical residue behind in your clothing.
• Dishes: 7th Generation dishwasher and dish soap; Additionally, we’ll run an empty dishwasher with a bowl of vinegar every once in awhile to disinfect.
• Glass Cleaner: Mrs. Meyer’s Window Spray (for mirrors and windows)
• Toilet: 7th Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner; I also use straight vinegar occasionally
• Tub: Vinegar does wonders. Wipe down the grout and tub, let it sit for several minutes and then rinse.
• Mop: Cassabella mop uses washable microfiber mop refills.
• Garbage Disposal: When we use lemons in cooking, we’ll run a small piece of it through the disposal, which smells great. Baking soda is also a great way to clear out the gunk.

We’re stocking up more on vinegar, baking soda, and lemons for our cleaning needs, in addition to dishrags instead of sponges and microfiber cloths in place of paper towels. The most important point in all of this is that we are still learning and trying new things. As we learn more about a company or product, we may use up we what we have and try something new.

Thoughts? Ideas? Questions?

The story continues…

by Guest Writer: Kelly Feeney

Third, it says to put the potatoes into a microwave to steam for 5 minutes or place in a steamer basket covered on the stovetop for 15-20 minutes. I elect the latter so I can better track the progress of my precious potatoes. The steamer basket! (uh-oh, here comes another “mom story…” Since having a child, there’ve been so many surfacing…)

Using the steamer basket on the stovetop makes me remember my mom recounting one of her many stories. It was the late 70s and my mom was asking another mom for her recipe. The lady, more well-to-do than we, told my mom to just “stick [the whatever it was] in the microwave to steam for a few minutes.” My mom got a kick out of this as it was just when microwaves were becoming all the rage and still cost in the range of $500 or something and we didn’t yet own one.

To be continued….

We all have good intentions about “keeping house”, but life is crazy busy and reality keeps most of us from having that pristine “magazine” look.

I consider myself more organized than clean (although that may change with a baby crawling around), but we do have a weekly routine that helps us stay (mostly) on top of things. As I mentioned earlier this week, hosting friends regularly is great incentive to tackle this  weekly chore.

We reserve our cleaning for a weeknight, if possible. Weekends are for playtime! Here’s how we tackle our speed cleaning in less than hour:

1. Spray bathroom toilet and let the cleaner work while finishing the rest of this list.

2. Put away any clutter lying around. If there is a “place” for everything, then usually it takes less than 10 minutes to put things back.

3. Vaccuum - vacuuming kicks up dust, which is why I like to do this first.

4. Dust - If crunched for time, I focus on the furniture in public spaces, like the living room.

5. Kitchen - Sweep daily, mop weekly. Wipe countertops. Load dishwasher/put away clean dishes.

6. Bath - brush toilet, clean mirror, sink, counters and floor. Clean tub & tile separately, before a morning shower, each week.

The key: tackle cleaning up on an ongoing basis so the weekly routine doesn’t take half the day. Taking 10 minutes here and there to pick-up items that have accumulated around the house makes a world of difference. Stay tuned for the products we use, and how we’re simplifying in that area.