30 Day Organizing Challenge

It's June. The kids are out of school, and I've got my two big events in May over and done with. I've wanted to do a full organizing overhaul of my home for quite some time, so I figured this was the perfect month for it. Now.....I consider myself a pretty organized person. But with a busy family of six, things can still get out of control (and they have).

My plan of attack? Take the 30 areas of our house that need the most attention and tackle one every day.

 

I started by making this handy dandy list.

My kids will be helping when we get to their rooms.

And here are my tools of the trade. The master list, black trash bags for donations, white trash bags for trash, a label maker, and Clorox wipes- so I can clean as I go.

If you're not a fan of blog posts about organizing, you might want to steer clear of my blog for the next 30 days, otherwise tune in tomorrow for the first post!

Back From Camp!

Yippee! I'm back from girls camp! The last four days have been exhausting, but wonderful. The girls in our ward are amazing, and were so fun to be with. I took some pictures, but unfortunately my camera broke on the second day, so I missed out on a bunch of fun moments.

 

Here's a group shot the morning we left. Don't we look all fresh and clean? We wouldn't stay that way for long.

 

I'm pretty partial to this little camper.

 

The backpacks I gave out were great- they made our girls easy to spot in the crowds.

Each ward was assigned a color, a YW value, and a country to represent. Ours were purple, Integrity, and Holland. We had these shirts made for us. They said "Integrity- Stand up and show it"

 

Our ward occupied two cabins: Haarlem, and The Hague (2 Dutch towns). We were in a great location, at the top of a small hill.

 Here are the girls making their lantern craft.

Skit night. Go Bellair girls!

Our turn to raise the flag.

 

The fourth year girls and I had the opportunity to go to the lake and canoe.

 

Beautiful!

This is the last picture I got before my camera bit the dust. I wish I could have taken more pictures of these awesome girls.

The rest of the week was filled with more great events including zip lining, firesides, kickboxing, dancing, Bishop's night, crafts, archery, service projects, nature walks, and impromptu late night dance parties on our cabin decks.

It was a week filled with lots of bugs and sleepless nights, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. These sweet girls amazed me with their great attitudes and desire to choose the right. I LOVE them!

Camp

Well.....tomorrow is the big day. I'm leaving for church girls camp, and will be gone for the next 4 days. Things will be quiet here on the blog until I get back.

Wish me luck!

Camp Flag!

 

Next week is girls camp. Yikes! One of our assignments was to create a flag to hand up at camp.

The girls from each ward (congregation), were assigned a country, a color, and a value- which are reflected on the flag.

The girls cut out all the tulips, and I finished up the rest of the flag.

 

Go Bellair girls!!!!!

Bagging and Tagging

 

I'm spending the whole day prepping for girls camp (so much to do)! Starting with bagging up, and tagging little goodies for each of the 25 girls from our ward that are going.

 

 I hope they enjoy getting these fun little treats!

 

Pretty Little Boxes

 

I bought three of these unfinished wood boxes at Target a couple of months ago, and have been looking for a way to spruce them up.

 

Usually I would reach for the spray paint, but I decided instead to break out the wood stain.

 

I did a couple of light coats and then sanded the edges a bit. I wanted them to look kind of rustic and old.

 

I bought these knobs at Hobby Lobby, drilled a hole in each box, and voila.........

The cutest little boxes!

Now I just need to find a place to put them.

 

The Reception!

 

There's a good reason I've been so skimpy with my blog posting lately.

My friends and I (Cyndi and Barb) have been working furiously on the wedding reception for my friend's daughter, Stephanie.

The reception was last night, and it was beautiful!

 

Her colors were champagne and blush, very soft and romantic.

She would have loved an outdoor reception, but with the heat of May here in Phoenix she went with the regular "Mormon church gym reception." I think it was a smart move.

 

Stephanie fell in love with this fabric and wanted to use it puddled on the tables. She also wanted a lot of glass. We added interest with glitter and monograms. The tall vases held white glittered branches and a series of photographs inside.

 

We used enormous black and white photos, branches, and draped walls, to cover up the ugly gym walls. Cyndi hung the lights and the white "fabric" from the ceiling and may have developed carpal tunnel from stripping all the branches.

 

There was LOTS of fabric behind the food tables, which covered up the gym stage.

I made this card box from a couple of floral stationery boxes, a little leftover bride's maid fabric, and felt flowers.

 It was fun to add a few little extra details, like pictures of the bride and groom as kids hung on the bathroom doors. (Thank goodness for Command Strips).

Also, a little something for the bathroom counter.

 The sign in table had a gorgeous picture taken at the temple, and more of the beautiful hydrangeas that we used in the centerpieces.

 The bride made the cake. It was so cool!

 

I love the topper they used!

 

Barb rocked the food!

 

Bundts, chocolate strawberries, 3 kinds of truffles, dipped rice crispy treats, candy, and popcorn.

 All pretty, and all delicious.

I loved how the bundt cakes looked on the tables.

 

The popcorn bar was a hit, especially with the kids.

 

I cut a lot of vinyl for this wedding, and labeled all the buckets and jars.

 

It took us two months to prep, and two full days to set up, but seeing Stephanie's face when she walked in was worth it.

Barb and Cyndi.....thanks for the fun!