Family
School Supply Shopping
Are you a spender or a saver? A tightwad or a spendthrift? For me, I find myself wanting to find the best deal on anything I can. To pay full price for anything just about kills me. School supplies is an area that agitates me. I want to get the best deal on items that are needed for the classroom. Waste and excess are two words I do not want to hear when getting ready for going back to school and have me looking for deals when school supply shopping. Planning for the routine and needs of school gets me thinking of other areas of our home that need preparation such as meal planning. A good refresher course for how to meal plan can be found here.
Purchasing Options
To acquire your school items, you have a few options. You may shop for each school supply on your own or order the school supply list from your school. Many schools are now crafting school supply lists then shipping them directly to the homes that have pre-ordered.
The benefit of ordering your school supplies from your local school is you do not have to go out and buy your items on your own time. One potential drawback is the overall cost of supplies tend to be higher on the pre-order list.
The down side of taking the time to shop for your own supplies is you are spending your precious time hunting down the best deals. Another option when searching for your own deals is completing a pick up order from Walmart or Target. You can order what you need then drive by and pick it up without having to go in the store.
Price Comparisons
I have wanted to know for a long time exactly how expensive school supplies are. Typically, I run into whatever store of my choice and throw in school supplies last minute with no knowledge of the cost until checkout.
This year, I did a price comparison between Walmart and Target on school supply prices. I will list the supplies I was shopping for and the price comparisons.
Item Walmart Target 1.5″ Avery Binder $7.64 $7.69 5 tab/poly dividers $3.33 $4.49 Wide Ruled Marble Composition Notebook $.50 $.55 #2 Dixon Ticonderoga Pencils 12 count $6.42 $2.99 Plastic Pocket folders with brads $.50 $.50 Crayola 12 count Erasable Colored Pencils $14.99 $3.99 Fisker 5″ scissors $1.47 $1.49 Elmer’s gluesticks .77 ounce $.52 $1.06 Comparison of prices between Walmart and Target For this week, Target has some great prices and selection so I purchased most of my school supplies from there. I was able to find binders cheaper than the Avery binder pricing. The Target brand binders were $4.69 each. Also, the price for the erasable pencils from Walmart seems just too high but that was the only price I could find online for that particular item. It was just too high compared to the Target price and I am hopeful that I simply made an error in looking up that item.
Ways to Save
Money tight in your household? Frustrated with buying the same supplies each year then getting them back at the end of the school year? Create a space to house all school supplies then at the beginning of each year, shop your stock pile first before you head out to the store. Below is a post from my friend JeriKay about a beautiful piece of furniture she has designated to house all her school supplies.
At times we have reused the plastic, pocketed folders with brads year after year. And with the use of pencil boxes and/or pouches, we have held on to crayons and colored pencils that are barely used. Shopping weekly sales in the days and weeks leading up to a new school year is another way to save money on school supplies.
If holding onto leftover supplies and hunting down the best deals is not worth your time, I totally understand! Do what works best for you and your family. School supply pre-orders may be just the option for you! Whichever you chose, may your school year be filled with peace, learning, and fun!
Let me know in the comments how you shop for school supplies. I would love to hear from you!
Back 2 School Ready!
For fellow Alabamians and many across the south United States, school begins within the next few weeks. I’m spending some time now preparing in order to be back to school ready. Read along for some quick tips for how to ready yourself and your family for the upcoming school year.
Out with the Old
A couple of weeks before school begins is a great time to go through your children’s closets and see what items no longer fit or have been stained or torn. Get rid of any of these items that are taking up precious space. Determine what needs to be donated and what needs to simply be thrown away.
Take inventory of what materials and supplies you have available at home. Do you have left over school supplies from last year? Will last year’s backpack still be a good choice for this year? From your assessment, create a list of what is missing for the upcoming school year.
Plan for the New
Once your children’s closets and backpacks have been cleaned out, determine what your needs are. Does your son need more pants? Has your daughter’s shoe size grown? Make a list of all needed items for the school year. Include school supply lists to your master list of needed items. Now, shop! Look for some great deals. Like to Know It has some amazing influencers to follow that will show you wonderful deals to check out.
I found a few clothing deals for my kiddos and linked them up here. You can also check out my Liketoknow.it images on the right sidebar of my blog.
In addition to clothing items, school supplies such as: colored pencils, binders, and pronged folders will all be on sale at area grocery and box stores. Publix usually does a great job of running Buy One, Get One sales on school supplies in the weeks leading up to school. I am so excited because I was recently able to purchase the Bentgo Kids lunchbox I have had my eye on for a while from Amazon during its Prime Day sales.
Establish or Reestablish Routines
Lastly, think through what your school days will look like: nightly routines, morning drop off, and lunch plans. As I shared in an older post, I had the privilege of sitting in an Organized Mom small group led by one of the children’s ministers at our previous church. This woman is amazing! She shared so much wisdom for back to school routines. Her guidance on preparing for each school week and how my morning ride to school should look like still has a positive influence on my family’s lives.
What did I learn? 1. Prepare your family’s outfits the weekend BEFORE the upcoming school week. Iron each day’s outfit if necessary and place with the appropriate shoes, underwear, and socks together or in a hanging organizational bin such as this one. (*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission off any viable links.*) 2. Prepare lunches the night before or get one of your kids to help prepare lunches. The last semester of last year, I worked in long-term substitute positions and my daughter would make our lunches every morning. This act of service was greatly appreciated! 3. Rides to school should include NO LECTURES. Proper preparation before the school week helps to avoid running late to school. Not being in a rush, reduces the chances of frustration and parental lectures. Play worship music and pray together. 4. Don’t bail your kids out. This one was and is a challenge but man, it has some good fundamental lessons for kids. Your kid left their lunch at home? Don’t deliver it. Homework come up missing from their backpack? Don’t go searching for it. Sometimes our children need to fail in order to learn how to thrive on their own.
Now You’re Ready!
Taking some time to purge the old, plan for the new, and establish positive routines will have you and your family back to school ready!
What to do at Seagrove Beach
A vacation to Seagrove Beach is a trip packed with fun! My family recently stayed at this beautiful 30A community and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. With lots of free activities, plenty of eating options, and gorgeous water, Seagrove Beach is a fantastic vacation destination.
The waters off of 30A are beautiful! Where to Stay
AirBnB and VRBO are my two go-to sites for vacation rentals. I am uncertain if AirBnB still does this trick but in the past if you “favorite” a location then come back to it later, the site will increase the price. I have learned to keep a running, written list of houses I like then go back and type in their description in order to avoid the price increase. On one hand, the fees are ridiculous but on the other hand, there are several whole house rental options that are a good fit for my family’s needs.
I do strongly encourage you to read the reviews left by previous guests. Do not only read one or two reviews – do a deep dive to see what a place is truly like. This advice was given to me years ago in an attempt to reduce being scammed or tricked by a fake rental host. Thus far, we have had great experiences with both our AirBnB and VRBO sites.
What to Do
There is an app called 30A and it provides a wealth of information about the stretch of highway 30A that includes several coastal communities in Florida. This app provides a running list of ongoing events in the local 30A communities. During the summer time, there is no shortage of free concerts, plays, and family movie nights.
We had the privilege this year of vacationing during the week of July 4th. The night of July 4th was nothing short of magical. From our beach chairs, we were able to view the fireworks shows from Destin, Seaside, Alys Beach, Panama City, as well as the fireworks shot off at our very own Seagrove Beach. The comradery of other beach goers along with the cool ocean air and music playing freely provided such a neat holiday experience.
This year, we were able to vacation with extended family.
Cousins are friends for life!As I have shared in other vacation posts, here and here, bike riding is a biggie for me on 30A. Another reason I like bike riding at the beach…it’s free! Seagrove Beach has several bike paths and gravel roads that will give you an abundance of adventure options. We would even ride our bikes to the Publix in Watercolor to pick up sundries.
Biking in Seagrove Beach Another free activity is games. Many vacation rental homes will have card or board games available to play. Don’t have a lot of money to go out and spend while on vacation? Stay in and play a board game as a family. We brought the game Taboo with us this year and played with my extended family. We laughed until we cried. This was a cheap way to make good memories!
Where to Eat
While on vacation at Seagrove Beach, we did not eat out every night. The 30a Farmer’s Market provides several meal options to make at your vacation rental. My family loves the tamales from It’s Tamale Time! We also picked up chips and guacamole from Alligator Pear Foods.
Local seafood markets such as Buddy’s Seafood and Goatfeathers Seafood allowed us to have a low country boil one night. We ordered our shrimp from Goatfeathers – it was delicious!
Low Country Boil for the win! Two restaurants we did visit this summer are Le Crema in Rosemary Beach and Bayou Bill’s Crab Shack in Panama City Beach.
Le Crema is located in Rosemary Beach –
a beautifully designed seaside community.No matter your tastes and likings, Seagrove Beach provides a wealth of options to enjoy your beach vacation!
Getting Ready for Vacation!
Lots of preparation goes into being ready for vacation. This summer my family will visit Rosemary Beach, a beach community located on the beautiful 30a highway of Florida. Read along to pick up ideas that may assist you in getting ready for vacation.
Make a Packing List
A packing list is a guide for me to ensure I do not leave anything important behind when heading out on vacation. Items included vary from clothing to toiletries to beach supplies to kitchen aids. When a family is gone for a week or longer, there is a lot to pack for said trip!
Not only do I keep a running list nearby in order for me to jot down items when I think about them, I like to also draw on the experience and expertise of other mamas who have been there, done that. Here is a blog post of a packing list I pinned from Pinterest.
The Folding Lady is also one of my favorite influencers to follow and check in with regarding how to get all my family’s items neatly and efficiently into our suitcases.
Bring Products that will Help You
Any mama or person in charge of packing for an entire family will have an idea of what products make your trip easier. For me, individual laundry bags like these help my kids keep up with their dirty laundry. When it is time to wash clothes, I simply consolidate the laundry bags and wash as needed. The bags can also be used to hold clean and folded laundry for me to return to each kids’ room.
Vacation is always a fun time to buy a few new things for the beach! We found a cute patriotic swimsuit from Target for my daughter.
You can check it out here!While I have yet to try them, I have heard a lot of people rave about packing cubes to use for organizing clothing and toiletries for trips. Here is a best seller on Amazon.
Travel size toiletry bottles are helpful as well as a variety of product bags. Rolling luggage is a plus on vacation. The ease of rolling your case along side of you allows you the space to carry other items in your arms or stack on top of your luggage. Our daughter got this set a couple of years ago. She gets a lot of use out of them. Truth be told Jeff and I need a new set for ourselves.
*As an Amazon Associate, I will earn from commissionable links. *
Create a Meal Plan
While I would love to share with you all the fun activities to do and places to eat while on 30a, I am going to save that post for the future. You can read up on our last year’s trip here. For this post, I simply want to focus on the preparation of vacay readiness.
Taking the time to think, dream, and discuss what food you want on your trip will help you save time and money while you are away. We have stayed at many beach houses over the years and when all the family is together, there is never a shortage of starving kiddos (at least they all think they are starving). Having a rough idea of what foods to bring, what foods to buy, and what nights you are eating out, makes for a smoother vacation experience.
While we have some favorite places to eat (The Donut Hole), we have some new places we are going to try out as well this year. My goal is to blog about everything we will do in an upcoming post.
For this preparation, you will need to make another list as well ( I love lists!). How many nights do you want to eat out? What special occasions are taking place while you are away?(birthdays, holidays, anniversaries?) Take this time to determine if any of your party has food allergies. Also, what are some favorite meals? For me, when I head to the beach, I want fresh, local shrimp. We have a funny but not-so-funny-at-the-moment story of the time my husband went to Publix and bought shrimp instead of going to the fresh seafood market while we were at the beach. Who knew Publix shrimp could cause such an uproar? 😉
Being ready for vacation will actually assist you in enjoying your vacation once you arrive at your destination. Hopefully, this post has given you ideas to implement as you prepare for any upcoming trips. Enjoy!
Moving…A Cautionary Tale
It has been just a little over six months since we moved into our current home. And while I am loving being here and the neighborhood we have moved into, I will share my cautionary tale of moving with you. Preparing for your next move by heeding my warnings may be just what you need.
By now one would think I should have moving down to an art form. In our nearly 19 years of marriage, this move was our ninth move. While there were several aspects of this move I would change, experience is what gives us the opportunity to collect nuggets of wisdom for the future. So, sit back, drink a cup of coffee, and possibly take notes from my cautionary tale 😉
What Not to Do When Moving
Today’s real estate market may be just as crazy as it was six months ago. Six months ago, we were able to list the house, show it, and have it under contract all within four days. That is crazy fast! The other portion of the move that was crazy fast was the new owners wanted full possession within 48 hours. Closing took place within 30 days and we were to be moved out completely within 48 hours of closing. While everything was fast paced, I enjoyed not dragging our feet on how long it would be before we moved. Now that I am able to look back at the situation, here are a few things I would not do when moving:
- I would not give myself a tight packing schedule. Thirty-two days is not a lot of time to move anyway; however, I still told myself I had plenty of time. For any future moves, I will start collecting moving materials and begin packing various sections of my home immediately. For a look back at our previous home, you can catch some snapshots here.
- I would not schedule any other events the weekend of the move. We moved during the Christmas holiday season and my husband had a business function that we had to attend. For a portion of our moving day, we were not physically able to stay with our movers. One of my parents stayed at the old house and the other parent stayed at the new house to observe the movers; however, there is only so much my 72 year old parents can do to help in such a big move. Our time away from the movers proved to be detrimental to the condition of our items moved.
- I would not have used the moving company we used. This last tip is a difficult one because I am not sure we could have done anything differently. We had used this company on our last move and they did great. For this move, something was off from the get go. I noticed some of the employees were different – same manager, different employees. I thought that was not going to be a big deal, but as I was talking to them at the beginning of the move, I felt like one of them could have been under the influence of drugs. At the time, I felt like we were trapped due to our deadline for being off the property. The tight deadline in addition to us not being able to physically oversee how the movers treated our items upon arrival at our new home due to our business function, really left us with some big regrets. Boxes were just thrown into a room. Furniture was broken and damaged. Ugh! It was extremely frustrating to discover.
Now that the painful tips are over, utilize these tips when preparing for your next move.
What to Do When Moving
- Collect the tools/materials needed for your move. Tools/materials that I would recommend would be: plenty of black Sharpies, clear packing tape, a tape gun, a variety of sizes of boxes, packing paper, and a hand truck. In our area, we have several community Facebook groups. Asking on these sites for moving boxes or simply reading daily posts to see who was getting rid of some boxes, proved very beneficial. I will add, get WAY more boxes then you think you need. We ended up having to run and buy (and that nearly killed me) extra boxes to finish the move. A hand truck will help you move boxes out of your way while you wait for your actual moving day.
- Hire professional cleaners. At first, I baulked at this. I had never hired professional cleaners for my move out. We had always cleaned the house ourselves before we left. However, our agent and the buyers agent had it listed for a professional clean of the home we were selling and of the home we were buying. We paid for the cleaners to clean the home we sold and the seller we purchased our home from paid to have our current house cleaned. Do it! Nothing is better than having your home deep cleaned before you move in. It just created a better mental space for me as we moved.
- Oversee your movers or have a contract that will hold them responsible for any damage done to your property. Personally, I believe our outcome would have been different had my husband and I been physically present to give guidance to the movers as they unloaded our items into our new home. This doozy is no one’s fault but our own. And while it was a painful lesson, I still am not sure how we could have done it differently due to our business function. Overall, there were only a couple of items damaged but it makes me cringe whenever I think of the poor job the movers did when they got to our current house. We were with them as they loaded all of our items from our previous home. You live and learn, right?
Hopefully, you use this post as a cautionary tale if you are planning a future move. Don’t worry, you can be sure ANY move will have some bumps in the road but this blog post can give you some helpful guidance. Happy moving!
3 Steps to Gobble til You Wobble
Thanksgiving is next week! Let’s look at three steps to gobble til you wobble. I love a good numbered list. It keeps me on track. Here’s another numbered list for how to decorate for fall.
1. Consider your audience.
As you begin to prepare for Thanksgiving, think of who you will be entertaining or who’s house you will be attending for the holiday. What are their likes/dislikes? Are there any food allergies? What are the ages of your audience? Toddlers and littles may make it worth considering to serve finger foods. Do you know your uncle’s favorite dish? Is there a certain recipe that seems to be a family tradition? For example, I typically bring a pecan pie. I can still remember one of my first Thanksgivings at my in-law’s, I made a homemade Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie with a made-from-scratch crust. During baking, the crust bubbled up into the top of the pie! It looked more like some type of cobbler and was very doughy. Since then I have nixed the bourbon and the made-from-scratch crust – ha! Pillsbury does a fabulous job with their ready-made crusts.
A nice table setting sets the mood for Thanksgiving. 2. Divide and conquer.
Once you’ve determined how many Thanksgiving meals you will be attending (we will be attending my husband’s family dinner one day and my family’s dinner the next) and who your audience will be, hatch a plan on who’s bringing what. If “what can I bring?” gets you nowhere try, “what are you making?” When your family members respond, then add in dishes that you know will compliment what is being brought.
For my in-law’s side, this will be a new experience. My mother-in-law, who always put on a big spread, passed away in December 2020. This will be our first Thanksgiving without her. I am feeling that void in more ways than one. For my husband’s side, I needed to talk to the other family members to decide what will be the main course, what the other family members are bringing then adding in what food I will bring. Having one member bring the appetizers and drinks while another brings dessert and side dishes helps to evenly distribute the work load on cooking.
Give thanks. 3. Plan a cooking schedule.
After your menu is set, plan a cooking schedule in order to know how many days out from Thanksgiving you need to start. For example, my father-in-law is providing the ham and turkey for the meal; however, I am going to pick them up this week in order to prep and have them ready for next Thursday.
For my side of the family, I am working with my mom and sister to see what is on the menu and deciding when I need to start my prep work. I can make my pies at the beginning of next week and let them sit for a day or two. Personally, I believe pecan pie tastes better the longer it sits. Other parts of my cooking schedule will include: purchasing my supplies a week before, making a cheese ball over the weekend and storing it until Thanksgiving, and prepping any side dishes a day or two ahead of the big day.
In planning your cooking schedule, are there any decorations you need to prepare ahead of time? Will you be in charge of setting the table or can you bring a floral arrangement for the host?
This pin from Pinterest shares a pretty good prep schedule for having your dinner ready or at least prepped for the weekend before Thanksgiving. Like any other event in life, taking a few moments to map out a plan of action will help the event run more smoothly. What dish are you bringing to your Thanksgiving meal? Whatever it may be may you gobble til you wobble!
(One year my sister-in-law gave me a Mud Pie dish towel. It was the cutest accessory to my kitchen. This towel I included above would make a cute hostess gift. *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission off any viable links.*)
3 things my family did at Lake Guntersville State Park
Camping is a hobby our entire family enjoys. Recently there were three things my family did at Lake Guntersville State Park. Our fall break was held in mid October and we took full advantage of the break from school by visiting Lake Guntersville State Park. We camp in our pop-up camper that we recently renovated. You can check out the transformation here.
1. We camped.
Lake Guntersville State Park offers an amazing campground. Not only are there camper/RV spots available, there are also cabins and tent camping spots. We selected a prime location for our pop-up camper – next to the bath house and across from the playground. Even with a portable potty, you cannot go wrong with parking your camper near a bath house. Our stay was four days and three nights.
2. We toured the property.
The Lodge at Lake Guntersville State Park boasts some of the best views in the entire area. Views from the back deck of the Lodge overlook beautiful Lake Guntersville. Fall colors shine bright next to the blue water. Views of sail boats and fishermen give off tranquil vibes. This park also has a reputation for being a nesting spot for many an American Bald Eagle. These amazing birds are quite a sight to see.
3. We hiked and biked.
Besides the playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, and nature classrooms, Lake Guntersville State Park offers, the size of the campground alone provides a lot of area to bike through. Bringing our bikes is a regular habit for us when we camp. Even if the entire family does not take a bike ride together, the kids love the freedom of being able to jump on their bikes and go throughout a campground. Meeting new friends while camping is a common occurrence. The following image shares a link to some inexpensive bike lights that we use while camping. The lights have three different settings: one is a steady stream while the other two are a variation of blinking light patterns. They are easy to add to your bike handlebars or wheels. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission off any usable link.
Lake Guntersville State Park is a favorite camping destination for us mainly due to the volume of wildlife we are able to view here. Deer are in abundance within the park and do not shy away from onlookers. Our kids loved seeing the many deer.
Such pretty scenery and beautiful creatures can be seen from the seat of a bicycle. The campground has an on site Camp Store with guide pamphlets for a variety of hiking trail choices. We gave our first attempt at geocaching. Let’s just say, we have a lot to learn. We could never exactly understand what we were looking for; however, memories were made as we trekked along a trail that ran beside the lake. We hiked on Seale’s Trail, an easy trail that covers up to two miles. We hiked awhile and turned around when we were ready to move on.
The sunsets each evening were incredible. Other activities available at Lake Guntersville State Park that we did not participate in are ziplining and horseback riding. Between the three things my family did and the other activities nearby, Lake Guntersville State Park is a wonderful camping location.
How to Clean
That’s quite the bold statement to just throw out there as a blog title. In fact, that directive has taken me YEARS to try and master. Even now, I am uncertain if mastery is the level I have obtained. However, here I am willing to share what I have learned over the past nearly 20 years and teach you how to clean.
The Helms House kitchen Cleaning Experience
As far as cleaning experience goes, my concept of cleaning and level of action taken has evolved over time. When I think back to my childhood, I can remember having specific chores to do: sweep out the garage and dust the furniture. Beyond those two tasks, I can not think of any structured cleaning I had to do. It is my understanding that my mother did it all. Fast forward twenty years and how to clean my home has been a task that lands squarely on my shoulders.
Key Influencers
The feelings of “how do I clean?” are still vivid in my memory from when I was a newlywed with a new-to-me home. I would come in from work and the house would be a wreck and I would think, “what do I do?”, “where do I start?” I believe it was my sister (she is five years older than me) that introduced me to The Fly Lady. Going from chaos to a set routine was like water to the dehydrated.
Learning how to clean helps keep your home in tiptop shape. Slight Evolution
While FlyLady got me on a routine, the need for consistent deep cleaning continued to perplex me. My next cleaning “influencer” that inspired me was/is (she is currently a big inspiration to me) Toni Hammersley with A Bowl Full of Lemons. Toni has a gift for taking any task and placing it into a step 1, 2, 3 format. Personally, I love a listed format of what to do. Her home, business, and books are some of the most beautiful areas and items to view.
My final step in the construction of my cleaning routine came from a pin I pinned from Pinterest. From the site The Simply Organized Home, I found a cleaning routine that I could tweak and implement in my daily chores.
Toni Hammersley from A Bowl Full of Lemons does a wonderful job of outlining how to clean and organize your home. Current Cleaning Routine
Nowadays, I typically spend 2 hours and 15 minutes a day on my house and laundry. Creating a timely routine keeps my home running smoothly. Roughly 30 minutes a day is spent on throwing a load of laundry in the wash then taking the previous day’s laundry out, folding and putting it away.
After laundry is tackled, I spend time cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, and focusing on a specific “zone” for the day. Zones for me are set areas of my home that I can rotate out cleaning and deep cleaning. Currently, I have designated 22 zones for my home. These range from the front porch to the master bedroom to the stairwell to the launch pad. Curious as to what a launch pad is? You can check mine out here. Each day I spend 15 minutes either picking up in a zone or deep cleaning a zone. This method helps keep my entire home in an orderly manner.
Resourceful Guide
To help you form your own cleaning routine, I have crafted a version of my daily cleaning routine. Subscribe to my blog and you will receive my daily outline for how to maintain your home. Comment below if you have subscribed. Tell me how you like the cleaning routine!
Tackling the Garage
Tackling the garage was a little more intense than I envisioned. While I have visions of a space similar to the one below, alas, my reality looks much different. An entirely new magazine-worthy space is not what I have but, I did clear out the clutter, implement a system I can use, and clean up our garage. Just as I tell my kids, focus on “progress not perfection”.
Start in a circle
I love following GoCleanCo ‘s feed. She gives an abundance of cleaning motivation. Feeling overwhelmed at the task of the garage, I reminded myself of Sarah’s advice, “move in a circle”. Beginning by moving in a circle helps keep you on track. I began in a circle in the garage and quickly realized I would need to narrow down my task. Therefore, I chose the storage room as my main focus.
Our garage like many others I am sure, houses not only my car, but our camper, camping gear, bikes, Jeff’s tools, tool boxes, toys, my children’s keepsakes, and seasonal decor. The main portion of our garage holds items that I would classify as “Jeff’s”. The storage room built within our garage I can easily identify as mainly “my stuff”.
A progress shot. Pulling all the items out in order to sort and clean. Pull Everything Out
After I swept and cleaned what I could in the garage, I started working in a circle inside the storage room: pulling out one storage container at a time. Being able to go through each container allows me to see what needs to be culled and tossed and what items I still use. Identifying labels on the fronts of each container helps to easily identify what I need when I go into the storage room throughout the year.
Organize Like Items
Once you have worked in a circle, pulled all items out, then organize like items. I had no clue how much Christmas decor I had. My fall decor was lost amongst all the Christmas. There are three main categories within my storage room: Christmas decor, fall decor, and keepsakes. (See how I recently decorated my home for fall here.) Once the front of each tote was labeled (I had to skip the stack right next to the wall due large Christmas decorations. When Jeff helps me get all Christmas decor down this year, new labels and totes will be assigned to this stack), I placed them in stacks together with labels facing out. One problem I had been running into was my labeling was on top of the totes. I had no way of knowing what was inside unless I took everything down from its stack – so time consuming!
Totes are neatly stacked with labels on the front. What I’ve Learned
From my garage experience, I believe my take away is: there is always some cleaning and/or decluttering to be done in your home. While I would love to be able to have all matching storage totes as seen below, I am super pumped that I was able to go through three boxes that I had yet to unpack from our last year’s move. Cleaning out this garage space brings peace to my mind. The ability to walk into this room and easily identify what tote holds what I need is a huge win in my book. Maybe future garage projects will include swapping out mismatched totes with matching ones.
Now to decide, how much Christmas decor is too much Christmas decor???
How about you? Do you clean out your garage regularly? What tips have you found helpful? Let me know if my life lessons in tackling the garage have been beneficial to you! Including some posts from women who have organized their garages like professionals hopefully provides some inspiration for you to tackle your garage!
What to Do and Bring When Camping
Growing up, I believe I remember camping exactly one time, maybe two. Trips as a child were often only to visit extended family not for the pure enjoyment of travel. Fast forward to married life and a husband who loves to camp. By association, I am loving it too. We have camped in tents, pop ups, fifth wheels, and bumper-pull campers. Currently, we own a pop up camper. To fully appreciate camping, there is some preparation that needs to take place. Follow along in this post to gain knowledge on what to do and bring when camping.
Camper
After selling our last camper, we have camped mainly in tents. Due to our desire to be outdoors but not totally roughing it, we purchased a pop up camper towards the end of last fall. With all the quick-fix and easy application materials available in today’s market, camper renovations are wildly popular. This Instagram feed is full of camper reno inspiration! To join in the fun, I have given our camper a little refresh. In order to fully appreciate it, you need to view the original look of our camper. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with our camper and it was maintained by the previous owners in near perfect condition. Aesthetic changes were all that was needed for it to truly become ours.
The overall appeal was low when we originally purchased our pop up camper
.Our camper can sleep six comfortably. One pop out side holds a king size bed, the other pop out side holds a full size bed, the dining table converts to a twin bed, and the L-shape couch converts to a twin size bed. Since we do most of our cooking and hanging out outside our camper, once we updated the look, we keep all its beds ready for sleeping.
Now, for what activities we like to participate in while camping, places we like to go, and what products I believe make camping more enjoyable, read on. I’ll intermingle pictures of our updated camper throughout.
Our camper looking from the full size bed towards the king size bed. Activities
On our most recent camping trip, we went tubing at Big Wills Creek Campground. Any type of outdoor activities multiply the fun of camping. Fortunately, our campsite was situated next to the creek and made for an easy commute from camper to tubing trail. Other activities we enjoy while camping are: sitting around the campfire, riding bikes, making s’mores, playing card games, and hiking nature trails. When visiting a campground, check out their website or their front office. Plenty of activities on site or nearby will be advertised. Many campgrounds include playgrounds, community activities, and nature programs available to participate in.
The left side view of our camper. Campgrounds
In addition to Big Wills Creek, we have visited several campgrounds nearby that do not require long hours on the road. Our longest road trip to go camping thus far has been to Grayton Beach State Park. The good news of owning a camper? Air conditioning! I’m uncertain I would camp anywhere without a little air conditioning running in the background (and a heater in the winter). Grayton Beach has some of the best trails to go biking due to its connection to all 30A communities.
Tannehill State Park is another favorite campground of mine as well as Guntersville State Park. While Tannehill has a beautiful creek and a cool trade day once a month, plenty of deer can be seen typically at Lake Guntersville. Obviously, Alabama campgrounds are what I am most familiar with; however, your vehicle can take you anywhere you want to camp.
Looking to the right of our front door of the camper. What to Bring
Time and experience has helped me accumulate a nice little “Must-Have” list for camping. I am all too happy to share my knowledge with you. Here are nine items that I feel make our camping experience a little more enjoyable. These items are linked in my LiketoKnow.it link included in the right sidebar.
Must-Have List for Camping
- Solo Stove – Jeff received this for his Father’s Day gift this year and I must say, I am loving it! It is light weight, easy to get a fire going, and once it is cooled off and emptied, it can be carried in its own carrying case. Perfect for a cozy campfire or some impromptu s’mores.
- Shoe Rack – Camping attracts a lot of dirt and debris inside a camper. To reduce the amount of dirt, I do not let my crew wear shoes inside the camper. Instead, shoes are housed neatly on a two-tier shoe rack.
- Outdoor Rug – Isn’t it rough to step out of your camper onto the ground with no shoes on? Good question! Me and my crew do not have to experience a rough or dirty ground when we come out of the camper and put our shoes on because we have a nice outdoor rug placed in front of our door.
- Mini Fridge – Some people say this item is cheating on camping and if that is true, I am totally okay with it. Jeff picked up a mini fridge at Bargain Hunt and at first I thought that was crazy because we have a tiny one inside the camper. Boy, was I wrong! This mini fridge has been amazing. Jeff simply plugs it up and sets it right outside our camper. It has been the biggest help with meal prep and storage.
- Stringed Lights – You know how amazing it is at Christmas time when you can drive around and see all the beautiful lights on display? I’m telling you, you can experience the same thing in a campground. Each camper, RV, and tent seems to have its own calling card when it comes to outdoor lights. We like to string one set of our lights inside our pop up tent where we house our table and another strand of lights around the awning of our camper. I’ve linked up an extra long set so you might want to get a shorter length but I think the long string looks better.
- Folding Table – A totable, folding table comes in handy while camping. We mainly use ours to house our microwave, toaster, and coffee maker. Hey, we never said we were roughing it while camping!
- Mini Keurig – As mentioned above, we place a coffee maker on our folding table. Jeff purchased a mini-Keurig for me when I was teaching a couple of years ago. Now that I am back at home with the kids, we use the mini-Keurig on our camping trips. I love it!
- Plastic Totes with lids – Storage totes are a huge help while camping. I like to use the ones that have a lock on the sides. We place storage totes under our camper in order to clear up space inside the camper. Non-pantry items such as ziplock bags, citronella candles, marshmallow skewers, tablecloths, aluminum foil, and so on are stored in one tote, another tote holds pantry items that we do not want racoons or other critters getting into, and another tote holds extra bedding. Thankfully, our camper has storage under all the seating areas to hold cooking utensils, small appliances, pots, and pans.
- Wedding Tent – Why my husband and I call our outside tent a wedding tent is beyond me. Maybe it’s because it looks like one of those tents you would see at an outdoor wedding. Jeff sets up this pop up tent right beside our camper and we call it our “living room.” It holds our folding table, small appliances, and camp chairs for us to sit around and hang out.
- ****BONUS**** I did not list this item on my LiketoKnow.it link but one item that Jeff purchased this year that has been a game changer for the middle aged woman that I am is… a portable potty. This may sound unpleasant; however, a portable toilet keeps you from trekking across a campground in the middle of the night to find a bath house.
Check out my LiketoKnow.it link in the right sidebar. If you have never attempted to camp, I hope this blog post has peaked your interest. If you are already a camper then I hope I have given you some ideas on how to improve your camping experience. Did I miss anything? Is there another facet of camping you would like to know more about, comment below. I would love to hear from you! And if you would like to read more about our travels, check out my blog post here for our recent trip to 30A!
