heaven's in my heart

"mommy? is heaven in my heart?" will be one of those moments that will be etched in my heart forever.  since lucy's passing, we have had MANY conversations about angels and heaven and Jesus and all of the beautiful promises about eternal life in our home.  and in case you're just tuning into my blog, i don't have a seminary degree, and i haven't read every word in the bible [or let's be real...anywhere close to that]; however, i've had the gift of my daughter lucy whose life [and death] has made me, as a believer, dig deep, think about big things, and answer deep questions.

we often discuss how lucy is an angel who lives in heaven with Jesus and how she is healthy and healed.  when loved ones have died since lucy's passing [or ellie learns of loved ones who passed away before lucy], we always talk about how they're in heaven with lucy and there's no more sickness or sadness for them.  and how when we're hopefully really old, we'll die and go to heaven too and then live with lucy and Jesus forever.

i don't pretend to have all of the answers about heaven [or otherwise for that matter] when i'm conversing with ellie.  oftentimes, i'll say, "i don't know.  that's a great question!  we'll have to find out when we live in heaven!" or "i don't know. that's a great question!  let's ask God when we get to heaven!"  these are great [and truthful] answers to the questions like...do we wear clothes in heaven, do we live in a house in heaven, etc.  i honestly haven't thought of many of the questions ellie poses...like if we still get older in heaven?  my answer: maybe we do and just keep getting older for eternity?  i tell her i like to think of lucy as having had her second birthday in august, and she'll always be between ellie and charlie in age.

ellie has gotten into drawing our family recently and had drawn a family picture with lucy in it as a little girl, and i told her lucy needed a halo and angel wings because she's an angel now.  these are her first two independent "lucys".  i keep the left one in my agenda because it is just a happy picture.  she drew the right one on her minnie magnetic drawing pad and said, "fly, lucy, fly!" after she finished it.  if those aren't the sweetest angels you've seen, i don't know what is!

heaven is an astonishing place and state to ponder.  truthfully, i haven't spent much time pondering heaven prior to lucy because i just took it in faith that as a christian, i'll go there and live eternally worshipping Jesus when i die...what more did i need to think about?  WELL...since lucy's passing, i will often just pause to picture her running around in heaven, or eating too much cake on her birthday, or popping by to say hello through her wind chimes.  mark and i even joke when our life is chaotic that lucy got out of the madness when she could and how she gets to live in glory until we're all reunited [and we truly believe heaven is unequivocally the most amazing place to be].

within the last year, i read a book by emily freeman called simply tuesday.  in her introduction, she says...

When Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God, where did he intend for us to look?  And how will we know when we've found it? [. . .]

Someone once pointed out to me how, even though we always think of heaven as up--beyond the clouds, above the weather, and over the rainbow--it may not actually be far up.  

"What if," this person wondered, "heaven is simply one inch above the ground?"  

It's still up, but it's not so far away.  Instead the kingdom of God exists right here in the moments where we live.

i probably think about that concept daily...that heaven is all around us.  it has brought me great comfort and great joy!  but then, leave it to my sweet girl, to make heaven that much more present.  we were climbing into her bed one night for stories, songs, and snuggles, and she asked me if heaven was in her heart.  i had never thought about heaven being in my heart before, but thanks to emily freeman, i had begun to shift my thinking from heaven being "over the rainbow".

i told ellie that heaven could absolutely be in our heart.  Jesus [and the Holy Spirit] is in our heart, and so is lucy, and they live in heaven...so why couldn't heaven be in our heart?!  she seemed satisfied with this answer, and we moved on to our bedtime routine, but i will never forget the moment she made me think about heaven being in my heart.

so now, when i think about heaven...i like to think that heaven is in us, around us, above us...and always in our heart.  and that if we pause long enough to be still and to feel God's presence, we'll get a tiny sliver of a glimpse of heaven.

house schedule

hey friends!  i'm going to talk about how to schedule your tidying and chores around the house as well as discuss a division of labor between you, your spouse, your roommate...whoo hoo!

one of my favorite john maxwell quotes is: "if you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, then someday you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them." i would say this is 100% my attitude when tidying up and cleaning around the house.  if you're able to do a little each day, then staying on top of house organization/cleaning isn't so overwhelming.  doing a little each day also factors in those days when you're not able to get the tasks done because life....but then you can just do those a different day [or "make up" day on saturday].  when you wait for the weekends to do all of the tasks and cleaning, it can make you almost dread the weekend, or if something fun comes up, you may either a) feel guilty for saying yes to the activity because that means saying no to your home duties or b) say yes and just add to the overwhelm at home because you have "no time" to get things done or c) have to say no because it is your only time to do housework.

let's start with an often loathed task--laundry.  there are two methods to this madness.  if you have a work from home/stay at home job, you may find you like having a laundry day.  that means throughout this day, you are doing all of your loads of laundry and ideally folding and putting away.  i would not recommend this system for those who work outside of the home [or even those who are at home] because it puts unrealistic expectations on the laundry-doer to get all of the laundry done on one day.  if you work outside of the home, i would recommend putting a load in the washer when you leave for work, then flip the laundry and put it in the dryer when you get home.  i do not always fold my clothes after each load, but when the dryer beeps, i will pull each item out and lay it flat [in one pile], so it does not wrinkle [the incessant tumbling or rewashing doesn't work for me].  i can elaborate more on my laundry philosophies in another post.

now onto the other tasks.  i like to have bigger tasks assigned to days.  more often than not, since i stay at home, the housework is my job.  i tend to be our organizer/clean(er) one [shocker, i know]...although mark is definitely on board and helps around the house a good bit.  i know division of labor questions have come up about how to know who does what.  i would suggest a few ways to handle that.  first, you can sit down with your spouse/roommate and decide what, if any, specific roles you have.  for example, i do not like dishes, so mark does them.  if he is out of town, i will do the dishes, but if he's here, odds are not high the spirit moves me to do that task!  another method could be to assign tasks to certain days and you both do them together, or a third way could be to assign yourself days [you could do even/odd calendar days or MWF/TTH and switch each week], then that person is assigned for the tasks of that day.

there are tasks that need to be done daily as well as weekly.  using the systems mentioned above, i would decide how it's best to divide and conquer the tasks for you and your family.  for the daily tasks, you can switch days, or if you find one of you is a morning person then have them do the daily morning tasks and the night owl can do the daily evening tasks.

i think it's important that each person cleans out their own car each day as well as puts their own junk [shoes, car keys, bags, etc.] in their respective places.  when everyone takes care of their own specific things, it makes the whole house tasks that much more manageable.  here is a system that seems to work for me/my family.  hear me when i say that by no means does this get accomplished in this way, on this day, and 100% every week.  but it's a great guide for me to see what all needs to be done in a weeks' time, and it helps me stay on top of the housework.

take my table of tasks, and tweak it for what works best for you and your family.  if you try it one way, and you don't feel like it will be successful in the long run, adjust it until you find the sweet spot!  and don't wait to start trying to figure out a system!  today is tuesday--seize the day and start with cleaning your bathrooms and the kitchen!  by this time next week, your entire house will have been cleaned, and you'll be on track to stay on top of it!

do you have any other questions or thoughts about making cleaning/organizing systems and schedules?  i hope this post was encouraging and helpful--you can stay on top of your tasks and make it manageable [and dare i say, enjoyable?!...okay, i won't go that far]!  hope you have a happy day!

organize a newborn nursery

before i start, thank y'all so much for humoring a girl with a passion to organize by following along! the first question i got on "how to organize" was about how to organize a newborn nursery.  i will do my best to show systems that have worked for me and others!  however, i should also add the caveat that while i love pretty spaces, i am moderately practical in set up and decor in a nursery because the room is used in such a short time frame (and the nursery "look" is really for you, not the baby)! :) also, please bear with me as i write my first "how to" post.  i will try to make it as clear and concise as possible!

i would recommend having as few "baby specific" pieces of furniture as possible, so the pieces can transition to big boy/girl rooms.  i would also recommend having simple decor for a boy/girl because then it's easy to replace/update for your next baby.

i will take you through charlie's nursery and my "method to the madness."  charlie's room has an unusually big closet, but i still managed the same organization in the nursery closet in our last home too.

this is charlie's nursery.  it has (from left): a bookshelf, a glider, a crib,
a monkey seat, a "changing table," and a basket of lovies.

i will start with an explanation of what furniture i have in the room and how i organize it, and then i will move into the closet!

bookshelf

i wanted a bookshelf that i could put in any room for any reason.  i have a cd player and frame on top (and as you can see, i still need to add a picture).  i have a basket for toys on the top shelf (*i only keep toys in the nursery, but i do not keep toys in kids' rooms...more on that when we get to organizing kids' rooms).  then i keep books on the bottom shelf for easy access!

"changing table"

i fell in love with this piece of furniture when i was pregnant with ellie, and we bought it for our changing table. as you can see, there isn't a changing pad on the top, and that's because i just decided it was easier for me to change my babies on the carpet (i always have the new diaper under the current diaper, so no bare bottoms are on the carpet...i am still a bit of a germ freak).  anyway, onto what i store in the piece.  i put the extra diaper genie liners and diaper cream in the top left drawer, and i store new pacis and paci clips in the top right drawer.  i have used this piece of furniture with both baskets, one basket, and no baskets.  i currently have nighttime diapers, daytime diapers, and wipes in the top basket, and i have board books in the bottom basket.  i do not like to see a lot of "stuff", so the baskets help keep stuff out of sight while still being easily accessible.
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now onto your greatest asset or the bane of your existence...the closet!  my favorite way to organize a baby nursery is to put a dresser (or some sort of storage that will hold folded items) in the closet.  there are a lot of little baby items that will be needed, and a dresser (or the cubby system with pull out baskets/open shelving) is a great way to organize them.  baskets can be your best friends!

dresser in closet

i will tell you what i keep in the drawers for my babies.  i will go thru them by their numbers:

1. at first, i keep little items in here: socks, hats, mittens (for newborn scratching); then i transition to socks and shorts or pants depending on the season (as well as swim suits)
2. i keep swaddle/muslin blankets in here
3. i keep baby blankets in here (like the kind you use in the stroller or for snuggling)
4. i keep white essentials in here: snap shirts, onesies, footie pjs...anything solid white
5. i keep swaddles for sleeping in here (like the swaddleme, woombie, sleep sack, etc.) as well as burp cloths
6. i keep sheets/blankets in here: bassinet sheets, pack n play sheets, extra crib mattress pad and sheet

all of these above items do not have to go into dresser drawers, but it is a good way to group them together whether in cubbies, sterilite tubs, baskets, etc.


i would suggest two ways to do current clothes.

1. hang all clothes, including onesies.  this is a little bit of work after laundry (depending on how particular you are about buttoning onesies and such, but this is a great visual of the clothes baby has, and will show the length of the body of the outfits, so you will know when to rotate the clothes out. (this is the method that i use; see picture below)    
2. hang only "nice" outfits, and fold footie pajamas and play clothes.  drawer dividers are great for these, so you can fold the footies small, and just line them all up for easy access.  once you notice a few items are getting snug, take a moment to pull out the clothes to compare sizes, so you can retire some outfits and mix in the bigger size.

up close of hanging clothes

i hang clothes by type.  once they're in their type, i will organize each type by size.  for example, the footie pajamas go from current size to one size bigger.  the types i organize by, in order, are: onesies, rompers, collared rompers, footie pjs, and "nice" outfits on the right (see pano below)

panorama of closet

i use a hanging shoe cubby (on far left) to hold burp cloths and random items (like the sound machine and extra camera for the monitor).  i am a firm believer of keeping all baby things in the nursery/closet.  so, i keep the pack n play in the nursery closet as well as all boxes of diapers.  i also keep things in "storage" in the closet; i will describe how and what i store things below.

shelves in closet

i store my baby wraps, humidifier, and tubs of baby gear in the closet.  i will go through the contents of these tubs, by number:

1. this tub has extra diapers that i still have left over from when ellie was in diapers; i kept these because diapers are real money, and we knew we wanted more kiddos
2. this tub has all of my breastfeeding/pumping gear
3. this tub has anything baby/toddler that will be used while a kiddo is sleeping in a crib...for example: car seat cover, shopping cart cover, car seat insert, sippy cups, etc.
4. this tub has clothes for the future (whether the immediate next size needed or 2T); we don't have too many future boy clothes at the moment

i also have all of my girl nursery decor/bedding in this closet bc it is for a baby.  if your closet does not have the space, then i would store all of that in another storage space.  once clothes have been worn and are "sized out", i fill a tub (like these sterilite ones shown), and label the sizes contained within.  i will do a post on outgrown clothes/school work/keepsakes soon.

i hope this post answered your questions, gave you some ideas, or let you tweak your systems to be a little more organized for what works for you!  are there any areas of a nursery you still have questions about or wish i had covered more?

i hope y'all had a wonderful holiday weekend and are starting this four day week fully rejuvenated!

tis the season...to organize!

well hello there!  it has been a hot minute, to say the least, since i wrote my last blog post.  i hope to get into the rhythm of blogging more this school year.  i don't know about y'all, but i am always re-energized by the start of school...new school supplies, new teachers, fresh starts, etc.  now granted, ellie is only going into the 3's class for preschool, but the start of school [no matter how big or small] still brings an enticing energy with it!

i have at least twenty different topics i have journaled about that i want to share on here, but organizing has been on my mind and my heart for quite some time.  just recently, one of my best friends said i should look into virtual organizing for clients, and i have to admit that i'm pretty intrigued by the idea.

i believe we're wired by God to love and to crave order.  God created the world and everything in it in a very specific and intentional order.  i think He's created humans to crave order as well (probably why i majored math education and became a math teacher too).  i am slightly on the obsessive side of being organized, but i like to think that i channel my issues for good...amirite?!

after talking with several friends and gleaning different things from books, i truly believe the start of overwhelm for people is their home environment.  home can feed the constant dread and frozen feeling of not knowing where to start, or it can be the peace and calm in a world that hypes up busyness and productivity.  once someone's home environment is run by simple systems, i truly believe people have more time and energy [whether they really do or it's just perceived] to fill their time with the things they love.

without question, our saving grace during lucy's life was the fact that everything had a spot in our home, and everything had simple systems.  we could come and go and have friends and family pop in to help us when we were in divide and conquer mode and still be able to tell them exactly where things were and exactly how things worked.  i also believe this gave ellie GREAT consistency and expectation during [what i've really realized looking back] was a very chaotic and unpredictable time [i will write more on kids and home environment in another post].  at least we all knew what to expect in our home and could leave immediately to go to the hospital without worrying if we had our junk together.  historically, we have not been spontaneous people, especially when it comes to vacations, but we have decided and left day of to go to disney at least two times in the past year.  this is because we can wake up, tidy up, and exit without feeling guilty that we [let's be honest, me] were abandoning work on the home front.

in my brief stint as an organizer [after i taught school and before i had lucy], i learned that most people are so overwhelmed by stuff that they just don't know where to start.  their energy levels are less at home because they walk in and immediately put weight on their shoulders...so they get even less done at home than they typically could because they can't start.  i also understand most of the world doesn't want their home to be perfect, just somewhat put together where love can live there.  i will even say for me, that my home is not picture perfect during the days.  we have baby toys, little girl toys, and random papers i'm working on on the floors and on the counter.  BUT, i can take 30 minutes every night and return things to their "place," so we're all set when the morning comes.

it also helps to come up with a purpose/vision statement for your home, and that will help you decide how simplified, minimalist, or organized you want your home to be.  we live in the home we do because we want space for our kiddos to play, for friends and family to gather and comfortably stay, and to keep an open door for friends and family to stop by anytime.  so, we have organized and simplified to the degree that will allow us to successfully do that.  but don't mishear me, because we also won't turn company away if we're in the middle of transitioning closets or have stuff "all around."

so, on this first day of september, my question for you is this...would you like more posts about specific areas/systems to organize?  if so, what questions do you have or places do you want to cover?

happy friday to all and happy football season!  wahoo!