Organized kitchen cupboards, an organized fridge and spring cleaning fever

    This time of year always makes me feel the same way. That restlessness, that urgency, that urge to open all of the windows and let fresh air blow through the house. That urge to clean out, pack up winter stuff, and deep clean literally every inch of our house. That urge to organize, purge, donate and scrub all of the nooks and crannies that don't usually get touched. That urge to wipe down baseboards, shake out the throw rugs, scrub the boot trays, give all of our blinds a bath (click HERE to see how I did it at our last house), and wipe down every surface possible. 

Spring cleaning is in full swing around here. And I kinda love it. 

Not that our house is sparkling clean right now--not even close (we're in the middle of renovating our ensuite, so dust is just something that we're getting used to by now and piles of tools in our bedroom is just every day life by this point). But, still...a girl can dream of a sparkly clean house. 

So, here is a little tip if it all feels too overwhelming--if you're looking at your house (like I was looking at mine) and wondering "Where do I even start??"...just pick one little place. Everyone can clean or organize just one little place. A whole house feels impossible, but one little space is totally doable. 

Maybe it's your front hall closet. Maybe it's that part of the counter in your kitchen that collects all of your junk. Maybe it's a dresser drawer. Maybe it's the dining room table. Just do one little space at a time and all of a sudden by the end of a few weeks you'll have done an overhaul on your whole house. 

So I decided to start with the two little places that were bugging me the most. Our kitchen cupboards and our fridge. 

Remember a few years ago, when we were living in our old house, and I totally organized my kitchen cupboards? (click HERE to see what I did back then and how I actually organized it all, step by step). After posting my kitchen cupboards for the world to see, I can't even tell you how many emails I got from people telling me that they now had newly beautifully organized pantries and cupboards too. I'd get stopped in the hallway of my school by teachers showing me pictures on their phones of their pretty cupboards, buckets all labelled, shelves all having a purpose. It was pretty fantastic. But after moving into our new house, I instead shoved everything into my cupboards and decided future Erica would deal with it when it started bugging me enough. 

So now is finally the time. 

Because our kitchen cupboards once looked like THIS.   

No particular place for anything. No real order. Just a plain old mess. 

But now, after only a bit of work, we have beautiful organization. And my heart can beat steadily once again.

Because with just a few labels (which is the KEY to this whole process of actually helping everyone in your family actually KEEP it organized and beautiful) and a few white buckets from Dollarama, everything now has a very particular home. Just as I like it.

I also bought these long containers from Dollarama for our baking supplies...

but use what you already have on hand if you can--like these mason jars, huge pickle jar full of chocolate chips and pasta sauce jar for my baking soda. Not everything has to be bought brand new.

And our cereal? Well isn't is just so much better staring at these beauties than cardboard boxes?

From a mess, to complete order--I can now sleep at night.



Well, except for this little lady whose been wanting to snuggle and nurse all night long for the past few weeks---but, I digress...at least my cupboards are pretty, and she's super cute--so all is good.

So...once I was finished tackling the cupboards, I moved onto the fridge.
There isn't a lot to be said about a fridge clean out--it's not fun. It takes a long time.

But it's totally worth it.



But if you buy these amazing fridge sheets (from Walmart, in the kitchen hand towel section), you'll fall in love with how easy it is to actually clean out your fridge and keep it clean on a daily basis. These sheets can be thrown right in the laundry and with a push of a button they're clean and new again. AND, if/when milk spills (or juice or other liquids), these soft sheets soak it right up and you all of a sudden don't have milk dripping down into every inch of your fridge.

And they look funky.

So win/win.

Happy spring cleaning everyone. Tell me what you're doing over at your house so I can be a bit inspired to keep going.

Have a good rest of your weekend!
Erica xo

DIY Pillow Beds--easiest things to make, best kid loungers ever!

It was the night of February 13th and I was running around trying to find that Valentine's Day table cloth that I knew I had tucked away somewhere. I wanted the kids to wake up to a table that told them that it was love day. To a feeling that the day was different than the cold, dreary February day before. To a feeling that something great was going to happen that day (even though I had nothing planned). To a day that reminded them that we have to create our own happiness every day--even if it comes in the form of paper heart plates, cheap heart lollipops wrapped in cellophane, polka dot straws and Valentines from mom and dad at their seat.



So thrilled and happy, they were.



So we ate heart shaped pancakes (which may have looked more like blobs than hearts, but they didn't notice) with Valentine's Day sprinkles and chocolate chips hidden in them, and we made cupcakes on a whim when the baby went down for a nap.

And hours later when these two started squabbling over whose toy belonged to who, the words "Don't forget, it's LOVE DAY!!" could be heard echoing through our house.



So as the day winded down and kids were tucked into bed I finally finished putting the last of the velcro on the little project that I had been working on for them.

Because, you see, I had been searching for something for Mya and Carter for a while now.

Something for these two to use for quiet time during the afternoons. Something for these two to use when lots of friends come over and there aren't enough spots on the couch. Something for these two to cuddle up on with a good book or use in their many forts that they make as a comfy spot to hang out in.

And I finally found the solution: PILLOW BEDS.



They're pretty much amazing.

Because not only are they super comfy, but with a quick flip of a pillow they can turn from a cozy bed into a lounge chair in 2 seconds flat.  

AND (the best part), they're ridiculously easy to make. Even if you're not a great sewer. Even if you're not crafty. They're just unbelievably easy and quick to make. 

And another great part about them? Well, they're super cheap to make--especially if you go to the same stores that I bought my materials from (and I pretty much went ALL over town to find the best deals, so save yourself a ton of time and just go to the stores I went to). You'll save a bundle, and a great big headache.  

So, if you want to make these awesome beds for your kids too, all you need are a few pillows (I decided on 5 total since I wanted them to be able to grow into them) and you need the same amount of pillow cases. Then you just need some velcro and you're done.

Buy your pillows from Walmart (for less than $4 each!). Buy your pillow cases from Giant Tiger (if you want some funky patterns--they're 2 pillow cases for $2!). Or, I found out after searching Walmart forever and finding nothing, that Walmart also has $1 pillow cases--but they're hiding on the end rack (near the bedding aisle) on hooks in tiny clear bags (looking nothing like pillow cases, of course). 

Then I got my velcro from Lens Mill (but you can buy it at any fabric store I'm sure). 

So, here's how you do it. 

Pin your pillow cases together, two at a time (make sure that the openings of the pillow cases are all on the same side).

 Sew the pillow cases together, one by one, until you end up with a row of pillow cases.

Add your pillows so you can determine (around) where your velcro should sit.

Remove the pillows, pin your cut pieces of velcro onto the ends, and sew the velcro onto both sides so that you can fold the ends over and keep those pillows from falling out.



And VOILA! Pillow beds.  In about 30minutes flat.

You can wash them. You can fold them up to store them. You can snuggle on them. You can pull them out for movie night or snuggle up with your favourite book. They're pretty much a hit in this house. Big time.

And this little girl?

Well, something tells me that within about a year I'll be making a 3rd one of these beds since someone else will be looking for a soft spot to cuddle up to as well.

Have a great day everyone.
Erica xo

Super Bowl parties, Chinese New Year and February blahs

I remember it was only February 3rd and the words "This is the longest month ever" came out of my mouth. 

Because, well, winter is long. And I'm pretty much over it. 

So I've been trying to keep these two entertained inside on those cold days--but with a now very mobile little girl, who laughs at pretty much everything that her brother does...she has thankfully been providing the majority of the entertainment without my help. 

Because a moving, laughing, real life doll is fun to play with. Says every 3yr old everywhere. 

And on those cold February days when a mom is trying to convince her little girl to please keep those adorable little head bands on without tearing them off to eat them--well, big brothers come to the rescue, and show their support.

Which I'll pull out for him when he's 16, just to remind him.

But you know what else you do when it feels like a dreary, long, never ending month? Well, you hatch some plans. Some spontaneous plans that will surely result in memories for your kids. Because that's really what it's all about.

So on a day when Terry had purposely taken the day off of work, we waited until the end of the day, then called Mya's school and picked her up 20 minutes early. And called Jen to see if she wanted in on our plans too. So 2 little surprised cousins packed up their backpacks and walked down the school hallway, excited to have gotten called down to the office unexpectedly, and even more excited to find Terry waiting for them at the end of the hallway.

"We're going to McDonald's guys to play on the indoor playground and have an early dinner".

And the look of shock, excitement and the words "BEST. DAY. EVER!" came screaming out of their mouths.

Because we could have waited that extra 20mins and greeted them as they got off the bus and brought them at that time instead. But there is something pretty darn special about being called down to the office out of nowhere, and feeling like you're leaving school "early"--even though they basically missed the length of time it takes for kindergarteners to get their snowsuits on.

To them though, it was exciting. To them, it was thrilling. To them, it was something that they'll never forget.

Because I still remember when my parents did the same for us, all those years ago.

And for me, it all of a sudden made an ordinary, dreary, cold day feel a little bit special.

Because it was.

And then, just when I scanned the calendar to see if there was anything ANYTHING else great happening in February to look forward to, I realized YES! Chinese New Year. Of course. Chinese New Year and my favourite love day--Valentine's Day.

So February started looking up.

Because getting together with family to celebrate Chinese New Year is something that we've done now for several years and something that we do not only to help teach Oliver and Scarlett about their culture, but also for our kids, so we all can learn.

So we dress in red...

make dragon masks...

put up decorations...

and hand out red envelopes to little kids full of coins and gold chocolates.

And then I looked on the calendar, at that cold dreary month of February, to find that there was also some little ol' game called the Super Bowl coming up too. And although I don't care about the game, I do care to hang out at our neighbourhood Super Bowl party.

 Because our street gets shut down, a big screen is put up on my neighbours garage, the bbq cooks up delicious food, kids play street hockey and man hunt, everyone brings a dish and everyone hangs out until it's so dark out that you can barely see anymore.

And, sometimes we look up to watch the game--when Beyonce comes on at least.

So February has started to look up. A bit.

And when I pulled out the Valentine's Day decorations yesterday and Carter and I quickly put them up to surprise Mya when she got home from school...

well it made me realize that 10mins of Carter and I scurrying around stringing hearts meant that it changed the whole mood of our house--from dreary to happy.

All with just a few little hearts.

(And an impromptu Valentine's Day card making session after school yesterday).

Happy February everyone. Maybe this month isn't so bad after all. Love day is just around the corner.

But I'm still over winter.

Erica xo