We have made it to our second week of 2013 and I have to say I am pretty proud of how well I have been keeping up with my resolution of creating a daily cleaning routine for the house. It usually only takes me about an hour (during Penn's morning nap) to get the house picked back up and complete my daily chore (minus laundry which I keep running until it is finished). I have not done so well on my resolution of keeping the T.V. turned off...but I have decided I don't see the harm in it as long as I am still getting stuff done and not just sitting on the couch. I have made tremendous strides in planning Penn's Birthday Party and can not wait until my new camera arrives this week so I can take his 1st Birthday pictures and Cake Smash pictures!!
So as I go into the 2nd week I wanted to share an awesome website with you! This is what has kept me motivated and if you are wanting to jump start your spring cleaning I highly recommend you check it out! It is http://www.cleanmama.net/. She has awesome print outs and schedules for you to follow each week. She also has a daily chore chart that has become my constant reminder...I printed it out and have it on my refrigerator to remind me every time I walk by. This is what it looks like:
This makes cleaning very manageable and easy to keep up with. She also has deep cleaning lists to do whenever you choose...I am taking one room a month and deep cleaning it. This month I am working on the living room/kitchen area. I will let you know how that goes when I finish.
One more thing that I heard on T.V this week that has made a lot of sense to me when trying to keep up with your New Year's resolutions is to make small goals. Create goals for this week, and then some for just this month. As you achieve those goals it will motivate you to take it one step further and try another month. This week my goal is to try and have all the dishes and kitchen cleaned up from dinner before I go to bed. I am really bad about leaving it until the morning. So I have made that my weekly goal!
I hope you have been keeping up with your New Year's resolutions...if you have anything to add or any helpful tips please feel free to comment!!
Well February is sneaking up on me and I just realized this week we only have a month before Penn's 1st birthday!! Where did the time go? My little baby is quickly becoming a little boy! It is such a bittersweet time...I love watching him grow and learn new things every day but the thought that he is no longer my sweet teeny tiny baby is a little sad! But on a happier note I now have a birthday party to plan! And I figure this is going to be one of the only birthday parties I get to plan my way so I am going all out! ...(well in a money conscience manner). I have decided to make most everything for the party myself starting with the invitations. I knew I wanted to do a "Little Man" theme with mustaches (because I am sure that is one theme Penn would never pick on his own) so this is what I created!
I am super pleased with the way it turned out! I have always loved creating things like this on the computer but it is even more fun when it is for my own baby!! I can not wait to get started on my next project for his party! More pics to come!
P.S.
If you would like me to create an invitation or any other type of
advertisement just send me an email! clhshover@gmail.com Here is one
other example of an invitation I created...
Well it is only January 3rd and I can tell I am already starting to lose that initial motivation I had for my resolutions. My main goal was to get our home organized and clean. I started by selling a few large items (futon, floor lamps) in our home that we haven't used in over a year on Craigslist. Then I organized Penn's room and all his new toys from Christmas. Yesterday I tackled the kitchen cabinets. I have been making great progress but now that all the big things on my list are done I am struggling to get moving. So this morning I decided to think of some ways to keep myself motivated throughout the year.
- Make a list of everything you can think of that you would like cleaned or organized in your home. Make sure it is a detailed list of even the smallest tasks. I work best off of a list. There is something very gratifying about watching each thing get marked off.
- Come up with a schedule or set time limits. For example I know I can not clean the floors when Penn is awake so that is the first thing I try to get done when he lays down for a nap. I also like to set time limits to motivate me. For me, I love to watch T.V. and I am trying to keep the T.V. off until I get certain things done each day. So if I want to watch the Chew at 1:00 I better get moving!!
- Create a playlist of songs that motivates you! For me there is just certain songs or music genres that are easier to clean to.
- Maybe use a new scent. I just recently picked up a new essential oil to add to all my homemade cleaning products and I love to clean with it!
- Something a friend of mine told me was try to think of you husband coming home as you would a friend coming over. How would you want your house to look if you had a friend coming over? Your husband is your best friend!! So think of how pleased he would be to come home to a clean house!
These are just a few things that motivate me...what are some other things that motivate you?
My little family was so tremendously blessed in 2012! We started off the year with the addition of our sweet baby boy, Penn, who arrived in February and every single moment since then has been full of love and laughter (ALOT of laughter)!! Now we are starting a new year full of new surprises and I can't help but join the masses and plan out all these resolutions that I will probably do for a week and then forget about (hopefully not). I tried to be a lot more realistic this year and choose only the things that I think are important and things that I know are possible with a active little boy at home all day! So here they are:
- Make time for quiet time every day!
- Watch less T.V. & Read more books
- Develop a cleaning routine
- Declutter & Get rid of things not needed
- Choose a healthier lifestyle (figure out a workout routine that works at least 2-3xs/week & learn healthier recipes & drink more water)
- Grow my photography business
Hopefully you will be able to keep me accountable as I post my updates on here! I have to say I am totally motivated as of today...we finally sold the futon and lamps that have been collecting dust in the office!!
Let me know what your resolutions for 2013 are!! & maybe we can help each other!
