Doing chores

Doing chores is part of everyone's life. I clean a little every day so that way I don't have a lot of things to do on Saturdays. I scheduled Saturdays as official cleaning day, which sometimes varies depending on the circumstances.

Doing laundry is one of the things I hate the most because it involves IRONING and this is so time-consuming, it doesn't depend on your speed so there is no way you can do it faster... Nope, those wrinkles take their time to disappear!

After washing this pile of clothes comes the next step... my nightmare!

Looking on the Internet for a more effective way to do chores I found a "Weekly chore schedule" in www.home-ec101.com, see the link here.

Weekly chore schedule:

Monday: Laundry day.
Tuesday: Do the floors. Also pick up items that are misplaced and wipe down.
Wednesday: Errand day. Also clean the car and the entryway of your house.
Thursday: Bathrooms deep cleaning day.
Friday : Deep cleaning the kitchen and also dusting.
Saturday: They make it project day.
Sunday: Is plan the week day.

They also give you a very good tip: "The more stuff you own, the more it must be cared for, don’t be scared to get rid of items you don’t love".

I don't like to dedicate a lot of time to do house chores but at the same time I want a clean house and clean clothes. Do chores in a smart way so you can also enjoy time with your family and do the things you love.

Cleaning the closet

Many clothes and shoes Ramon and I have in our closet no longer fit us or we just no longer use. Instead of keeping these clothes is definitely better to make space for those that do fit us. So the first thing to do is to get rid of what you don't use. For me donating to someone who needs them is the best thing to do. You can also drop things off at Goodwill, Salvation Army or you can swap clothes with friends.

Take a peek into my closet!

I have always been advised to put away the winter clothes stored in a bag or a box when they are not in use, it makes sense but for some reason I like to keep all my clothes together in the same place. I just move the ones we use less to the end of the closet.

TIP: Put away for a while those clothes you hardly ever use but you think you need, if you don't miss anything then you really don't need them.

Cleaning your closet will save you time when getting dress, that way you don't have to go through everything else you don't use.

Inspiration everywhere

I talked a few posts ago about how being outdoors and right in your backyard you can find things that inspire you. I know I speak a lot about inspiration, but the thing is that people live with it everyday, it's around us and some people don't even notice. I believe that in order to generate creative ideas inspiration must be the first step. That's why is so important.

These are some of my dresses' patterns, which are also part of my everyday inspiration.

So inspiration is easy to find, you can find it everywhere. I also believe that creating brings more inspiration and it turns into a cycle.

 

The great laundry area

Yes! Now is the great laundry area, not the lame laundry area anymore, and it only needed a few changes. With a little cleaning and a low budget we made doing laundry a chore like any other, I hated it before but now it's okay, I can bear it.

I finally solve the problem with the sign and the best thing is that I was able to use the one I made myself, it feels better to have DIY artwork around the house.  I used the shelf to lean the picture against the wall, why not?!

Things you love but don't know where to put

We have this beautiful lamp my mom gave us when she was here a couple of months ago, the thing is that we can't find the right place to put it.

In our bedroom we already have two, and Ella's bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room are not an option for this lamp. I think that if an object means a lot to you then you definetly have to find a place for it. Somewhere you can display it or have it exposed, not in a closet getting all dusty, after all, things are to be used.

Anyways, we know we will find a place for this beautiful paper lamp which we love and means a lot to us!

What to hang on this wall?

I have probably talked about this a thousand times, but I have my reasons! This is the most important wall in the house and we still haven't decided what to hang on it.

Ramon suggested that maybe we should put a question mark like this one. I don't know if he was joking or serious.

I was thinking that probably a large mural would be the best choice, or maybe a wall decal. If the mural doesn't result then I would have to go with other options, like grouping framed art just as we did in the dining room. I really would like to have a mural wall behind the sofa, but they can get a little pricey.  Let see what happens.

If you have any ideas, please help us.

Four natural details in your home

When I was outside trimming some branches I decided to take a photograph of the texture of the tree trunk in our front yard, it called my attention for some reason. Then I took a picture of the leaf of a plant that's in front of the house. I don't like this plant very much, but looking at it in detail I began to see its beauty. I also took a picture of the tree, the tall tree that covers the lawn with its leaves and makes me sweep for an hour (but still is a beautiful tree).

Now, I know that a fence is not a natural element, but is made out of wood. I love how some of the wood looks blue in the picture.

 

(Top left) The fence. (Top right) The plant.

(Bottom left) The tree trunk. (Bottom right) The tree.

These pictures are great inspiration for color, ideas and who knows, maybe one of this could be an artwork to hang in the living room.

So next time you're outside cleaning, gardening or just mowing your lawn take a moment to look around you and you might find beautiful details that maybe you never noticed, right in your back yard.

The laundry room sign

OK friends, today I spent a few hours cleaning that shelf above the washer and dryer. They were DIRTY!!!! Finally I finished that. Yesterday I designed a sign to hang on the wall behind the machines. I came up with this:

I like the fact that I made it myself and its original, but then, today looking at that wall, I realised that I won't be able to hang anything there. It seems that this wall suffered some water damage and is a little fragile. Oh brother! Thanks to one of my readers and best friends, Vanessa, who suggested the idea of using wall decals I finally have the solution!

The lame laundry

Doing laundry is NOT one of my favorite things, but somebody has to do it.

I do laundry in the garage, that's where the washer and dryer are located. As you can see int this picture, that spot is not very inspiring, actually is very depressing. There's poor lighting in the garage, it's dirty (when we moved we missed cleaning it) and there are a couple of things we still have to get rid of, like our old sectional (you can see a picture of it here).

So you can imagine how horrible that garage looks (I didn't put a picture of it because it was too embarrassing, however I put a picture of the laundry area which is embarrassing too).

These are simple and affordable changes I want to do in the laundry area:

The fastest growing grass

Our lawn must be the fastest growing lawn ever! It has to be mowed every week. Investigating on the Internet about what kind of grass we had in our front and backyard I learned a couple of things I didn't know.

You have to choose the right kind of grass for your yard, some like shady places, others need direct sunlight, just like plants.

Don't cut the grass too short, is not good for the lawn.

Don't mow your lawn when its wet, otherwise you might get weeds in your whole yard.

Water the grass frequently (we actually dont need that, the frequent rains and the lack of sunlight are in charge of taking care of our lawn).

Fertilize it when is needed.

Ramon likes

Ramon and I mostly like similar things. We both love photography, movies and music but he has passion for some specific things.

He loves and I mean LOVES going to the movies. He really is passionate for cinematography. He has a long list of favorite movies of different genres but he particularly likes movies about musicians, bands, and about movie making. He also likes documentaries. Reading the critics in movie magazines is one of his favorite pass times.

He loves music, but he still doesn't assimilate MP3 players, downloading music and all that modern stuff. He still likes to listen to Cd's and even cassettes.

Favorite color is blue.

Cathy likes

If I list all the things I love, this post probably would never end, so I'll mention only some of these things. 

My favorite colors are yellow and orange which explains why my favorite flower is the sunflower. I love to use patterns in clothing.

Like many people, one of my favorite band of all times is "The Beatles". They made really good music and even now after decades they're still making news. John Lennon is my favorite Beatle. 

I love music (mostly oldies) and I love to hear and see a good guitarist playing, especially when they're doing a good solo, is hypnotizing.
My favorite movies are usually about reality something like: Drama with a touch of surrealism and magic. 

Ella likes

I wanted to start today giving you the news that the white ottoman is finally sold. I received a call from a person that was interested in buying it and she came to pick it up on Saturday, hooray!!!!

Now, for today I thought it was a good idea to let you guys know a little more about us, so we made a collage of the things we like and we feel that represent each of us.

Like many of you know, Ella loves Dr. Seuss' books, especially "The cat in the hat". She collects those fun and creative rhyme books that even we love.

She loves Jigsaw puzzles, painting, sowing, and like all the children in the world, she loves Disney characters and movies. 

Some stay, some go

We were done with Ella's room a long time ago, but there's still something to do. We have to select the toys she won't be using anymore. When we were in the apartment, before moving I got rid of some things, but now I realize that there are many more to put in the donation box.

Some of Ella's toys.

I also took the opportunity to arrange all her art supplies in boxes.

I kept the broken crayons for other kinds of crafts. Like melting crayons!

TIP: Obviously your child will stop playing with some toys at a certain age, get rid of the old ones and keep the new ones unless is something you know she still loves or if is one of her favorites. Also get rid of the ones that are broken or stained (but don't throw away the dirty ones, you can always wash them). Another thing is, if your child receives a bunch of gifts from relatives and friends, keep some of these new toys in storage so you can give it to your child later he or she will feel it as something new and at the same time you don't fill his or her room with more toys.

We had to get rid of some of her costumes too. She is growing so fast that many of them don't fit her anymore.

Outside but still inside

I remember when we came to see the house and I saw this space. I thought "it has a lot of potential".

I don't know how to call it really, is it sunroom, porch, lanai, I don't really know. What I know is that is a part of the house where you can feel a little outdoorsy.

This is what we have done so far. Just put our old dining table on one side and in the other an easel that Abu gave to Ella as a gift.



Now there is still a lot to do in this space. Here is my list:

-Paint the walls lighter (and the ceiling)

-Probably tile the floors

-Hang art

-Hang string lights (always loved the look of those)

-Fix the screen (is broken so bugs can come inside the house)