Spring Cleaning!

Finally gave myself the kick in the butt that I needed yesterday and got started on my spring cleaning checklist :) Kitchen was up first since I knew it would take a lot of work to empty out, clean, and put back.

Before I go into that, I want to brag a little about the homeade cleaners I've been making lately! So far I've made

-General surface cleaner (I made the fist option on this list)
-Powdered laundry detergent
-Tub & Shower cleaner
-Baby wipes solution (I made the 'basic wipe solution')




My review? They're all AWESOME!!

Ok so now onto my kitchen. I emptied it COMPLETELY! All drawers, cabinets, and countertops totally empty.






Gathered my supplies...


Baking soda and vinegar are the BEST cleaners! Seriously! And I had my homeade surface cleaner as well :) The chair is because I'm such a shorty and need it to reach the top shelf of the cabinets.

Don't forget the entertainment (I clean better with background noise!)


Then I got to work! Started at the top and worked my way down. I pretty much just scrubbed everything with my surface cleaner. I used vinegar to clean out my dishwasher, and baking soda to scrub my stove and shine my sink.



Look how shiny everything looked when I was done! It smelled kind of vinegar-y so I lit a yummy smelling candle :)



Then everything needed to be put back (lucky for me, James was home at this point to help! Much appreciated because by now I was exhausted!)



I love a neat sink :) I used an old applesauce jar to hold scrubby brushes...


I'm so happy with how it all turned out :)

Today hopefully Sam takes a good afternoon nap and I tackle the laundry room, guest bathroom, and hall desk. Pray for me because our hall desk is a disaster area!! ;)

Change of plans!!

Well... I went home to look at apartments and after deciding on one... changed my mind entirely! So now we're no longer moving and Sam and I will be staying here in North Carolina.

Since making the decision to stay, I've felt such a huge weight off my shoulders! Not that I wasn't looking forward to having time to spend with family, but the stress of packing and moving was really getting to me! Now I can really throw myself into my projects, and there's a lot!!

Spring cleaning the whole apartment top to bottom
Sam's 1st birthday party (throwing it early so that James can be there)
Reorganizing/decorating the living room
Framing & hanging a LOT of pictures
Making 'daddy' videos for Sam

And in the meantime going to get togethers and playgroups with our friends here, and keeping up with my fitness goals! Speaking of those... I've started a separate blog to track that :)

Needless to say, we have been very busy lately!

I'm really excited about Sam's birthday party :) I didn't plan on having anything too big for his first birthday, just some cupcakes for the family since we'll be at the beach. Since I decided to have an early party before James leaves though, I've picked a theme... and I'm running with it!! The theme will be The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Soooo excited! Hoping it turns out the way it looks in my head ;) I can't believe how soon Sam will be *1*!!

Speaking of that little man who's growing up oh so fast! I need to go get him up from his nap before it gets too close to bedtime! He napped late today because we spent the morning at a playdate :)

Can't very well end a post without any pictures can I? ;)