Wanna guess how much I got done???

Don't every let me drink a Mountain Dew at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday

It wasn't a good thing.  But we have a bunch of pop leftover from a holiday thing and I had one.  And at 2:00 am I was still up wandering around taking pictures of all the things I was planning to accomplish today.  And, of course, today I am a zombie.

A zombie with coffee. 

Paper.  Today is the day of paper.  And Costco.  And Target and Joanne's and the Dollar Store and Capital Sports and Office Depot.  You see the problem here?  Too much stuff and too little day.  So I'm using my handy-dandy new orange watch to time myself out 15 minutes to PLAN the day.

Make some lists.  See.  I'm doing that now.  A Costco list.  A grocery list (for later this week).  A hardware store list.  A craft list.  A list of things to do for the girls' room.  A list of categories of paper so I can finally completely get like with like and move on with the paper organization project.

Technology
1.  Set up profiles on the Kindle... with that timer thing to limit play and apps they can access.
2.  Copy new Mumford & Sons cd to computer and ipod.
3.  Look at playlists on old ipod and clean up in general.
4.  Make sure all photos are in 2012 folder.  Think about sorting the December ones.
5.  Read something on the Kindle (Sherlock Holmes at 2:30 am does not count.)
6.  Contemplate a case/screen protector for the Kindle.
7.  Charge camera battery.
8.  Label any stray chargers.  (I think this is all done.)
9.  Adore this.

Crafts
1.  Call Elle and figure out how to finish off the scarf I made under her tullage.  Also note:  knitting is a great way to keep your mouth shut....  who knew?
2.  Download Nevis font for birth card pictures.  Also, while sorting paperwork, double check time/weights/heights for birth of children.
3.  Do something with metal letter stampers and a hammer.
4.  Set up journal files for 2013.
5.  Contemplate these to store mittens on the wall.

Paper
1. Taxes prepped. This won't all happen today but I'm going to work on them a bit.
2. File receipts and find Target receipt for playdough. (Done. Took about 2 minutes. I have a system down for filing receipts... which means I have a system for FINDING receipts.)
3.  Clear out the dining room filer and hang it on the wall.  (Done.  Photographic evidence to follow.)
4.  Finally figure out the master plan for organizing all paperwork.  The end-all-be-all.  Today.  I need more coffee.  Ok.... how about if I figure out all of the categories of paperwork today and work on generating a trash bag of stuff I don't need....
5.  Put contacts in the "home" binder.
6.  Scan some stuff.  Ok.  This is too vague and won't happen.  How about, "Scan 10 documents and file them electronically in the appropriate file with the appropriate name."

Decor
1.  Hang curtain rod in the girls' room.
2.  Work on the top of the stairs closet.
3.  Hang jewelry hangers.
4. Sort the kids' clothes. I did this yesterday. I just wanted to put it on the list so I can check it off.
5.  Hang something adorable on the front door.
6.  Put away Christmas decor.  It's all boxed and in the garage.... which is as far as I'm willing to go in my slippers.  Today I will put on my muck boots and haul the boxes through the drift to the shed.

Personal
1.  Do a quickie workout video.
2.  Poop.
3.  Shower.
4.  Drink a whole pot of coffee.  (By myself.  Hot is gone this weekend.)
5.  Beat my son at some part of wii sports. 

Tossing.....

I'm on a get rid of lip stuff bender today.  Sometimes I think I need a "hoarder" tag.

"Yes to Carrots"  I'm going to say no.  I got a three-pack of these on clearance at Target... nice lip tint texture but rotten colors.  Sunset Pink sounds delightful and the cap color is lovely but the reality is nasty.  Now I know why they were on clearance and the color is no longer available on the website.  TOSSED.

Aveda lip gloss I found in the Subaru.... I know it was mine but, really, how long has it been in there.  Odd color, anyway... sort of melon-y.  TOSSED.

Sample in the bathroom drawer.  Great texture.... rotten color.  No point in writing down the brand... by the time I need it again it will be discontinued anyway... TOSSED.

I just polished off a, um, what's that dollar stuff?  ELF.  An elf lip gloss that was in a click up tube with a brush.  It was fantastic.  A shimmery champagne color and fun to apply.  Except that one time Bugsy was using it and sucking on the brush.  That was just gross.  It was my "car" lipgloss for the summer... it doesn't melt.  And, also, apparently doubles as a baby toy.  Bonus.

I have a clear tube of Bobbi Brown at work and a Burt's Bees pomegranate chapstick.  I have a lovely Clinique "Think Bronze" lipstick/gloss duo in my purse.  Something glossy and peppermint in a tube in the car.  A tube of Mary Kay stuff in the bathroom drawer (that goes with the mask they sell).  A pot of something shiny (Victoria Secret maybe?) in the junk drawer in the kitchen.  A tube of neutral chapstick that lives in my overnight kit bag.  And a tube of sunscreen stuff in the pool bag.

DONE.  The rest is gathered in a cosmetics bag in the cabinet to be used ONLY when something else runs out. 

Bonus:  Who knew me when all I used was "Natural Ice" chapstick with an Inglenook/Warren Miller label?? 

In which we document the continuing saga of the ever-changing sleep arrangements in our house.

Or.... rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Our house is small.  Not insanely live-in-a-sheepherder's-wagon small.... but Not.  Big.

Also.... not well laid out.  Old school homesteader's cabin with random parts tacked on as electricity and plumbing became available.

So there's the background.

In 2007 we split the living room and created a small bedroom downstairs in addition to the two bedrooms upstairs. 

We've gone through various configurations.

In June I moved Bugsy's crib out of our room and into the kids' room.  So Sweet was in the pirate cave, Tuff in a single bed and Bug in the crib.  CROWDED.  But it worked for a bit.

Then we decided to move Sweet downstairs.... this eliminated our "guest" bedroom/junk storage but seemed like a good idea.  He got the brass bed frame (full-sized) that was his papa's bed when he was a boy.  His clothes all fit in the dresser.  (Sidenote:  That dresser was the first piece of "real" furniture I bought.... from a consignment store.... when I moved here.  I love that dresser.  It is too big to go up our stairs or fit in our bedroom but I am resisting getting rid of it.  Silly, right?)

Most of his toys fit under the bed in flat plastic boxes. 

This room has no light fixture so we are using one of those wireless appliance remotes (purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a $5 off coupon.... whoo-hoo.) 

Oh... the room also has no heat.  So that might be a problem.

So Sweet is very happy in his new room.  He can play all he wants and set up elaborate lego stuff all over the place.  His bed time is now a little later than the girls.  He loves that. 

So then I decided Bugsy was ready to get out of the crib.  We've been using it with the side rail down anyway.  So we moved the futon upstairs and bought them some cute girly bedding.

First let me say... no human over 30 should even own a futon.  Seriously.  But when faced with the costs of buying the storage-type bed I wanted.... well.... I figure we will change things up again soon anyway so why bother.  I went with the cheap option.

So much of this weekend has involved switching over the clothes and sorting things.  It is getting there but I still need to change up the wall art and add a few cute girly details.  And I need to get a few lamps for Sweet. 

And I need to stop feeling sorry for myself about my tiny ugly house and just move on with it already. 

Mission Organization: The Master Closet Edition

Elle has put forth her Organizational Orgasm Challenge for this week.

The Master Closet

First.   I must explain.  Our bedroom is upstairs and the closets are built into the eves.  This makes for little stubby spaces.  Below is my main closet.  It contains all of my work and weekend tops.  In spite of how it might look to you (two-tone paint, light rope hanging), it is actually pretty streamlined.  I bought a giant pack of those narrow hangers at Costco.  I like them but you do have to exercise more care when hanging things because they stick wherevery you put them on the hanger.  Does that make sense?

 

So I realized this closet wouldn't be much of a project.  It needs to be painted.  It needs the little lights I got installed, it needs command hooks to hang the rope lights.  It needs fabric to finish the jewelry hanging board.  None of these things are happening today.  What DID happen?  I rearranged the hanging things so cardigans are all together, long-sleeved, short-sleeved & tanks... done.  And not photographed.

So I moved on to the dresser.  Below is the bottom drawer.  Socks (trouser socks for work, athletic socks, hiking book/smartwool socks).  Tights.  Middle is panties.  Left is foundation garment oddities... slips, jog bras, control garments, long johns....  I only own two good bras.  Yes, you read that right.  They hang on the back of the bathroom door.  I alternate them daily and hand-wash on the weekends and replace them on my birthday.  This system has been working for me for a while now. 

Top drawer:  T-shirts, shorts, long underwear tops, yoga capris, painting clothes (tank & shorts), jammies.  They all get crammed in this drawer.  I got rid of a couple of things but this drawer stays full... although the long underwear tops will go in a tub in the closet in the spring.

Top drawers:  Right drawer is spare socks without mates.  This is where they go.  Don't ask me why.  Middle is jewelry.  Left is odds-n-ends... sentimental jewelry boxes, shoe thingies for my cute sandals, notebook for recording weights and measurements, love cards from spouse, travel alarm clock for days I need an extra reminder to wake up, tape measure.

Odd cabinet of sweatshirts.  I have 7 items.  Top one is a zip-neck sweater for weekends.  Next is a red woolrich sweater I can't part with... I wear it when I need to wallow about something or on really cold weekends.  Bobcats painting sweatshirt.  Red fleece sweatshirt.  Yellow Saints hoodie that doesn't fit right... will be replaced.  Bottom is two fleece sweatshirts and a pair of running tights?  How did those get in there?  Get out.  I also regularly wear my husband's fantastic collection of hoodies and, of course, the grey zip-up sweatshirt you've already seen in all the photo challenges.... I'm wearing it now.  It usually hangs in the dining room/entry way closet for quick pull on when it is cold or my inlaws show up and I'm in jammies. 

Now the other closet.... side A.  Skirts, work pants, capris, wool pants, jackets.  Paper box of clothes that don't fit right now or are sentimental.  (Yes, my holey Dolphins t-shirt is in there.)  I need some better skirt hangers.  I culled this side pretty mercilessly earlier this year and then filled it up with stuff from other parts of the house.... snow gear, all of my coats from the dining room/entry closet.  Ah... the life in a tiny house....

Side B:  Jeans & yoga pants, vests, jackets, ski gear, randomness.  (The bottom of this side stores all the things I need to give to someone else.... right now the carpet cleaner is in there....)  See the poplight on the ceiling?  Not worth a damn.

Oops.. back to the top of the dresser.  My jewelry box.  Yes, I do love big chunky rings.

And the bottom section.  Yes, there is a rubber rat in there.... I have no idea why... tradition.

And a detail of that jewelry drawer.  Those are all bracelets in that cigar box, my friends.  ALL BRACELETS.  Also... I adore the change-a-stone necklace.  Adore.

Ah... a detail of the redneck rope lighting system.  The closets are dark and I get dressed in the dark all winter and most of my clothes are dark colors.  Made me crazy.  See that scarf hanger thing on the left?  LOVE IT.  Did not pay $7.95 for it.  Still love it.  I like scarves.

So we did this.  I need command hooks to put it up correctly.  Nothing like some rope lights for ambiance.  I have two sets of three lights that screw into the wall to put in each section of closet but that involves getting out the drill and the kids keep taking the lights to play spy games.  That's why the closet is two-tone.  I slapped some white paint where I will put the lights so I don't have to take them down when I paint.  How pathetic is that?

Lovely wall of belts and necklaces.... needs fabric to cover the corkboad.  I put cup hooks across the top... I'm pretty pleased with myself about that one.

Scary area under the hanging clothes.... that purple tub is my shoes.  Minus the 2 pairs of danskos I wear to work most days.

Cowboy boots.  And two plastic tubs.  The back tub has some random gear and outdoor clothing.  The front one is swimwear and panty hose and stuff like that.  Usually my grey duffel bag is on top of the front tub but it is in the car full of swimming gear right now.

Baby with crazy hair:

Oh... NAKED baby with crazy hair.... see the two pull out bin under the clothes.... one has turtle necks and the other has the three knit dresses I own.... the closets are short for them and they stretch funny when they hang.

Crazy, scary-hair naked baby IN BOOTS:

Strike a pose.

See the cedar chest she is holding onto?  FULL of purses, backpacks and bags.  Oh my.

Hmmm... also please note beautiful dolphins blue toes and it appears SOMEONE colored on her feet.  Catch that foot-coloring stranger....

So here's the final parting shot of random cabinet-o-sweatshirts & closet of skirts/pants/randomness.  You can actually SEE the lights that should be put up on the desk in the front there.... I'll get to that.  The door is just to the left of this picture and the other closet is to the right of the desk-ish area.  See the slant of the eves?  And all that painter-grade wood...

Goal One

Here we are at the end of the first week of January and no posted goals.  Hmmm.

Ok.  Well.  Here's one for you.

I put all of the pictures for 2010 in a folder.  And all of them are broken down into folders within 2010.  Then I did a quicky change name thing so each picture has a decent label. 

Then I made a folder called Album 2010 and picked the best 200 (well 199 actually) pictures of 2010 and put a copy in there.  Then uploaded to Costco.com and ready to print... after I find the perfect 200 photo album to put them in.... or maybe I'll wait for a good deal at snapfish and just print a 2010 album direct.

The cleaning of the shed continues.  The kids had a costume party at daycare this week and, in an effort to find face makeup for a vampire bat, I brought in (and sorted) the Halloween tub.  It wasn't bad.... I culled it pretty hard last year. 

I'm trying to sort/purge a tub every week.

I thought I had a tub in the shed full of towels I was saving for some unknown reason and I recently made some decisions about towels.... So I went diving in looking for them.

Guess what? At some point in a pregnancy-fueled fit of cleaning I got rid of those towels! I wonder which pregnancy it was? Anyway....

Here's the new improved towel score card at my house. I have one bathroom.... so that makes it easier.

The shed: A tub with a few towels in it. The beautiful butter yellow set that will go with my new bathroom after we remodel and a set of green/tan ones with moose or trees or something on them... brand new and a wedding gift and no real reason to keep them except I'm hoping to pawn them off on my sister later this spring.

The garage: A whole cupboard of towels and rags. Perfect for lining a dog kennel or cleaning bloody knives (What? My husband hunts....).

The laundry room: A gorgeous stack of cleaning rags.

The kitchen: My kitchen towels were inadvertently addressed last year. Leaky sink drain plus whole sink full of bleach water plus kitchen towels stored under the sink equals, well, lots of new rags for the garage cupboard and a renewed commitment to NOT use bleach. I have 4 main kitchen towels plus two Christmas themed ones and three little pink ones (for Valentine's Day and spring). I'd like to add two fall themed ones. Kitchen dish rags are replaced every year at Christmas time. Santa brings my husband new rags.

WAIT.  STOP.  Be horrified by my pink countertops.

Baby washcloths: These live in the drawer with the dish rags. I got a set of really nice ones from Ross in an effort to buy SOMETHING new and special for the baby. Love them. I'll also address baby bibs here. I have way too many. Need to cull this giant pile. I have one plastic one that lives on the high chair and is the one I use the most. (UPDATE:  DONE.  She is 14 months and hates to wear a bib.  Buy more oxiclean and leave her alone.)

Cloth napkins: I have 4 teal-ish blue ones in a holder. We use them every day. I also have a stack of red ones. We use them fairly often. I have 4 Christmas plaid ones that get pulled out and mixed with the red ones at Christmas time.

Wash rags and hand towels: They live in a wooden box on a shelf. They are ratty. There are 4 hand towels and 7 wash rags in rotation. (NOTE:  There are now 3 hand towels (one is in the cat carrier) and 5 wash rags (two were sacrificed to clean up some horrendous mess or another)... and they are ALL getting replaced the next time I find fabulous ones on clearance.)

Beach towels: We have 5 big pool towels on a shelf in the kids' room. They move to a trunk on the porch in the summer. There is also a spare in each car... affectionately referred to as the "Frow Up" towel.... for emergencies of all sorts.

And, finally, the actual towels: My hubby and I each have a towel on a hook, each kid has a hoodie towel on a low hook or the bathroom door (yes, that is an adorable tiny duck bathrobe on the back of my door..... the baby looks like a tiny demented Hugh Heffner when she lounges in it). I also have one of those dorky hair towels. Then we have 5 extra towels for guests.

All towels are swooped up and washed weekly and then hung directly back on their hooks. I don't like to fold towels. Are you horrified we don't use a fresh towel every time we bathe?

Holy Catfish.... who knew a post on towels would take this long to document?

Now I'm off to dream about plush white hand towels.....

Secret Confession: I had a really hard time letting go of some kitchen towels and rags my grandma made for me. But then I thought about what she would say. This was a woman who kept a specially marked "GIVE AWAY" bag in her closet before it was cool. She would tell me to use them up, cherish the memory and move on.

Time to go back to the "school schedule" routine around here..... class starts on Monday.

Dear Summer.... I will miss you.

6:00 am. The alarm goes off. I have a Spa Clock. Not as relaxing as it sounds.... how relaxing can an alarm clock be?? But I do like the ceiling projection. My alarm is set to the sound of thunder. Why? Because thunder doesn't wake a sleeping baby. And snoozing thunder 6 times doesn't disturb a sleeping husband. Although this morning it was static... loud static... because some small person messed with it. Ahem.
So the alarm goes off. I snooze it.

I drag myself downstairs.  I let the critters out.  I start the coffee and put away dishes in the drying rack.  I let the dog in.  I spend a moment missing my dishwasher.

Then it is off to the shower for me & to unloading the bathroom drawers for Bugsy.  In theory she should stay asleep in bed but she never does. My bathroom routine is, basically, this: scoop litter box, hang jammies on door hook, shower, apply lotions-n-potions (body moisturizer & pit stick), put on my face (let's be real.... tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, curl/mascara, eyebrows... in my old age I've added Boots serum, mascara and eyebrows.... and does anyone have a suggestion for a good high SPF face lotion??), brush my teeth (does anyone else have days when they think, "I don't have time for TWO WHOLE MINUTES with the electric toothbrush"????), comb hair, put on robe (yes, Elle, I'm still wearing the grey fleece robe from 20 years ago....).

I'm working up to cleaning my closet enough that I have just a handful of "go to" work outfits to select from each day....  baby steps.
Stagger to kitchen to see if coffee is ready.  Dork around.... load the washer and set it (via the delay mode) to be washed when I get home from work.  Maybe start the roomba.  Start a project.  Make a list..... whatever it takes to make sure I get off schedule for the morning.
Other things that need to be done that may get done before 7:00: change and dress the baby, pack my lunch, get out daycare bag and put milk in it, pack lunch for the first grader. 
My hubby usually makes Sweet's lunch. Bologna and cheese on wheat, granola bar, pretzels, carrot sticks, apple slices and a peanutbutter cup is the usual.  It's pretty automated.  And I'm not afraid to rely on convenience packaging (although it took me a while to accept it) for things like chips and baby carrots.  I confess that I rinse out baggies and reuse.  I pre-package apple sauce and cottage cheese and canned pears (not all together) in those cool containers you clip an ice pack into.  Oh... look at the cute new kid stuff they have.  I'll wait for it to arrive at Ros.

A few minutes before 7:00 the baby and I go up and snuggle Sweet and wake him up and decide what he wants for breakfast. He then grabs his clothes and comes down in front of the stove to dress. Tuff gets up and does the same around this time.
We are big fans of picking out clothes the night before.
My hubby's alarm goes off at 7:00.

I turn on the Today Show at 7:00 for a few minutes of news while I dress and snuggle the baby and sip coffee.
Then I turn the tv off. This seems to be the key to getting it together in the morning.
My son eats breakfast (I use that term freely.... "breakfast" can be leftover pizza, hot pockets, chicken nuggets....) and brushes and follows his schedule (on the fridge) while my daughter dorks around getting dressed. She usually eats breakfast at daycare.... a lifesaver since getting her to eat breakfast quickly usually ends in one of us crying.
Then I fix her hair and she brushes her teeth.
On cold days, my husband starts my car and brings it to the front door for me..... and tries to nicely remind me to not park so close to the workbench in the garage. :)
Then comes coats and hats and that last minute dash of the morning.
In theory I should be able to leave by 7:30 but it never works that way. You will also notice a lack of regular exercise routine in my mornings.... I'm working on that.
The important mental checklist for the way out the door: coffee, sunglasses, cell phone, car keys.  Usually I have my lunch, work papers, stuff to drop off and lists of things to do already stashed in my purse.

My hubby leaves at 8 with all the kids and drops our son at school and the girls at daycare on his way to work.

On "my" days to drop off I leave at 7:30 and drop the girls first and then Sweet at school a little after 8 and make it to work by 8:15.... in theory.
I'll tell you all about our evening routine next time.

Bowl. Bowl. Bowling.

I MOVED THE BOWLS.

That's right. I just got all crazy and moved them.

INTO A DRAWER.

And my dad was at my house and he said he'd never heard of such a thing.... bowls in drawers. And I started spouting "Montessori" and "Ikea" and, secretly, I started planning a post about it.... because what good is family unless they are inspiration for a blog post?

My only regret is I have no before pictures.

So let me back up and talk about the inspiration for this major act of kitchen treason and reorganization.

First, the facts:

1. My kitchen is quite small. Not postage stamp-sized but more like, um, post-it note-sized.

2. I've been thinking about this change since I got new pyrex for Christmas. Lots of new pyrex.

3. Also... new sippy cups. Only 2 new sippy cups.... but with these sippy cups came the realization we have a lot of sippy cups and lidded-drink cups and for the love of catfish, we only have 5 mouths in this house.... WHY do we have so many of them??? I'm all for hydration but this is just silly.

And so it began.

I consolidated two plastic container tubs into one. (And I questioned the need for so many plastic containers...) I put sippy cups into one of the plastic container tubs. (See the photo... those two tubs were plastic containers... now the one on the left is sippy cups) I wiped out the sippy cup drawer and then loaded it with bowls. Not all the bowls (the big white bowls are all still in the cupboard up top) but most of them. Then I shuffled a bit to accomodate the new pyrex. AND ta-da.



Here's what I'm left with:
1. A drawer of bowls (and baby spoons). These are the kid cereal bowls. The vegetables-for-dinner bowls (What? Nobody likes their cheesy-peas to touch their chicken tenders, do they??) and the snack bowls. The baby food bowls. The pack-the-leftovers-for-lunch-with-a-lid bowls (doubling as portion control... like how I built that in there?).

2. A tub of sippy cups... still easily accessed by the little set. (Added bonus: I cleaned out the travel coffee cup drawer.... I know... but believe me, this photo is a huge improvement.... the drawer opens and closes now....)
3. A big cardboard box of randomness. Sippy cups and plastic containers. A fancy Pampered Chef cheese grater, a ceramic garlic cooker, a Velveeta cheese holder (I am not kidding.), and some various odds-n-ends of kitchen life that needed to be retired. I have the box in the shed for the "if you don't need it in 6 months" dumping plan. So far no one has needed anything... you aren't really surprised by that, are you??

4. Follow up. There is always follow up. I'm now hunting for a perfect container to put on the shelf to replace the sippy cup tub.... 14x23x6. It will allow the sippy cups to be less crammed (see photo) together. (Nothing says frustration like a 3-year-old defeated by crammed-together sippy cups.) I'm thinking of cutting down a cardboard box to test that size to make sure it works before I spend any cash.

And I need more of those smaller-sized clear pyrex with the blue lids. 
And me? I'm feeling giddy with power. One kitchen thing done, one thousand to go.

This post is from February or so.  I've lived with the new bowl situation for a while.... and I like it.  I "edited" out a few more sippy cups and decided the white bin was big enough.  But I do need more clear pyrex bowls.... those solid white ones get lost in the fridge... if I can't see what is in them I ignore them.  And those 4 little pyrex ramekins with no lids... fairly useless. 

Emptying the dishwasher (if I had a dishwasher..... but I do have a draining rack....) is a breeze.  All the bowls just plop into that drawer.  So clever.
I wish I had one more drawer.  Then I could stash all the other bowls that are up top.

Next up:  The re-do of my spice cabinet and baking supplies.

So I read somewhere that if you aren't sure what to do with a room and you've become visually immune to the clutter..... take a picture.

The following is a series of photos of the bathroom this morning and my thoughts on what is stored where and changes that need to be made.

Does everyone have this odd kind of "stash" spot? Jammies, robes, shirts that need ironing.....

The dresser:  Top big drawer is Bugsy's clothes.  Bottom is Hot's.  Two little drawers contain Bugsy socks and shoes and the other one has a curling iron, a hair straightener, baby lotion and some baby-related items like aveeno soak and moisture stick.  That horse-shoe shaped wooden hook could probably go, couldn't it?  Fairly ugly, right?  The tub toy bin is hanging on it.

The white wood thing with hearts... what can I do with that?  It has some sentimental value but certainly isn't my taste in decor.  Hmmmm.  Also please laugh about the toilet paper situation in our household.  It's in that copper thing with the black lid.  Why?  Because the cats shred it on the roll.  Also... that tp holder needs replacing... U-G-L-Y.

The kid towels (except Sweet's.... for some reason it is over there on the horse-shoe hook)... this doesn't work... too far from the tub and too high for them to get themselves.... these pesky hooded towels hang really long.... I don't want the touching the baseboard heaters.  And, oh, hey... there are the swimmie googles.... I was missing those.

Paint the floor heaters white? Can you do that?  I need ideas for a new shower curtain.  The windowsill holds hand sanitizer, the adult toothbrush bucket and a 3-drawer container for hair pretties and randomness that the cats might steal.  I think I will move that white-curly-q shelf up and put hooks under it for kid towels.... but have to clear the baseboards.  Hmmmm.

Need to move this towel hook over.  And that big wooden expanse is begging for.... something.  And please don't get me started on the sexiness of hollywood lights over the sink.  I need an electrician.

I'm almost pleased with the storage shelves.  Almost.  Need a clever way to store the vitamins and to hide Hot's pit stick and shaving cream.  He culled his hair cut kit and now it all fits in a tub in the back along with his razors and blades.  Notice the classy spare cat pan stacked up on top... it is sealing and protecting the tp stash.... those kitties are shredders.  Also... that's a cat bed up there... than tan thing... and another on top of the laundry basket.  3 wicker bins... jammies for each.  A stack of baby blankets, a potty seat for those "stuck" poopies, and the mop bucket and toilet plunger is stashed in the back of the bottom shelf.  Also... diapers and wipes are stashed in the back of these super-deep shelves.  And, the final count:  7 adult towels (two on hooks, five for guests), 3 hoodie kid towels, 3 hand towels, 5 wash rags.  Finished.

Ugly light fixtures.  Cream ceiling fan.  Ew.

Gross-out.  The trim by the tub came out and, since we were planning to tear down this part of the house, I didn't fix it.  NOW LOOK.  BLACK MOLD.

Drawer shot for Kae.  This will totally gross her out.  Toothbrushes run amok.  Everywhere.  This is the kid tooth drawer.  Ew.  But please note the bottom drawer is EMPTY.  What should I put in there?  Hot had his razors, pit stick and shaving cream in there but he got tired of Bugsy taking them out and wandering around so now his stuff is on the storage shelves.

Under the sink... why do you care?  Because it looks so much better than days of old.

The bottom drawer of no return.  This has a container of bath packets and a contain of salt packets for my nose.... a container of mama hair pretties & mama's fancy makeup.  This needs further culling but, considering how it started, it looks pretty good.

This is mama's drawer.  My makeup in the striped bag.  All the hairbrushes and combs.  (The good brown brush has gone missing again....)  It also appears my pit stick is on walk-about....  I actually found it later in the laundry room... I love you Bug.

Here's a point of chaos in our household... how do YOU organize hair pretties?

I have this box on the shelf.

And clips are all here.... and there are 3 drawers in that jewelry box looking thing on the window sill that house overflow.

But that's a lot of hair stuff to wrangle.

And then there is this cute thing that came in from the swing set (at 6:30am) to give me a grin.  (Note the boo-boo where he ran into the hammock frame with his face.)