Pop Post: Meal Planner

I've tried tons of ways to stay organized with meal planning but it always seems to slip through the cracks. I decided to research some different ideas and came up with my own meal planner board. It took me about an hour to make. Enjoy !

First I took an old cork board that I was saving for something (but did not know what). I tend not to throw things like this away. I spray painted the whole thing black for a more vintage look.

Next I typed up the week and how I intend on cooking each night. "Crockpot" night is because its Monday and I don't want to cook. "Sit Down" Tuesday and Thursday is a night I want to actually make a nice meal and eat at a table, what a notion. Ryan, my husband, cooks on Wednesday. "Fun Friday" can be whatever but will probably be pizza. "Date Night", my husband and I eat out. "Home Style Sunday" is for a family style dinner with lots of casseroles and bowls and sides and rolls and anything thats totally bad for you :)

                

I cut my tabs out and taped (double sided of course) to recycled scrap paper I had leftover from my wedding programs. Now it is doubled recycled, ha! I placed the tabs along the side of the board for optimal spacing.

I decided to use the other million pieces of recycled paper as my recipe cards. The idea is for these cards to list ingredients on one side and instructions on the other side. Hopefully making meal planning super easy and grocery lists even easier.  I'm focused mainly on dinners right now as we have pretty standard breakfasts and both eat at work for lunch. When little ones come, I'll probably have to revise the board :)

I then made a recipe pocket holder out of scrap fabric. Basically I just cut a square and pinned it to the board with thumb tacks. I used thumb tacks for pinning everything to the board btw. I like the rustic look and if I decide to change the board, nothing is permanent. What will take a bit longer is writing different meals on my menu cards. I already wrote out our favorites and quick meals. My plan is to add a few more each week. 

I also made a "trending" column for any new recipes I want to try. I always find recipes in magazines or online. I'll pin it to my board and try it out - if we like it, then I'll make a recipe card for it and it will become part of the collection!

Final Product.

I added space for a calendar because they always help me out! The board itself is hanging in my kitchen, easily accessible. The board is not perfect and that's how I like it. It keeps my vintage feel alive and the recycled brown paper adds a touch of nature. Don't forget my house theme, Vintage Cabin in the Woods...

Thrifty Tip: find ways to motivate yourself. I am personally motivated by organization and fun, this board does both of those things for me. In the long run, I won't spend as much time looking up recipes and making grocery lists. 


Do you like my board? Have your own ideas or boards? Post away!

Spring Cleaning All Year Round

If you have not read my last post on, Playing House – Tips on Chores, you can find tips on weekly chores. This post however is going to show how I organize my “deep clean” that happens once a month. The purpose of a deep clean is to keep your house organized and hygienic. If you really stick with doing this once a month, you will never feel overwhelmed with clutter or grime.

First thing first is planning this weekend in advance. At the beginning or end of each month, take the time to plan your next deep clean. Choose a weekend that is totally open (or as open as it can be), and devote yourself to getting the job done!

Secondly, when it’s about time, round up all cleaning supplies. These are the products I use…

 

 

I also make sure to have a laundry basket which I haul all my supplies in throughout the day. Have trash bags ready and pull your trash cans to the front of your house for easy access.

Day 1

1st strip all beds, round up all blankets, bathroom rugs, table cloths, etc and put them in the wash. You will continue this all day.

2nd get the bathrooms out of the way. My least favorite rooms to clean. Remove everything from them and begin spraying/wiping. I personally do everything – tubs, toilets, sinks, and floors.

3rd closets. Medicine closets, linen closets, clothes closets, any closet. Take everything out, throw old stuff away then reorganize. This particular step will take up the most time today. Put aside clothes that don't fit or you don't wear, bag them up and put in your car to donate to charity. Put the winter coats and wrinkled shirts in a bag for dry cleaning. The key to doing closets before diving into real cleaning is having a spot to put things away. You'll tend to just throw things wherever if you don't have a solid organized closet to start with.                              

4th time to clean! I start in the basement and work my way up. But I always leave the laundry room for last since laundry takes all day. Cleaning includes wiping down all surfaces and dusting. I tend to spray with 409, then scrub with a Clorox cloth, and wipe dry with a paper towel. This seems to really work well! 

Day 2

5th reorganize. Now is the time to move that piece of furniture you've been eyeing or rearrange books on your shelves. Basically put everything the way you want it to be. I like this part :)

6^th Windows. Grab Windex and go to town.

7th sweep, vacuum, mop. Always save this for last because in the shuffle you accumulate dirt and trash. This includes your laundry room – don’t forget about that!

8^th Head to your car and drop clothes off at charities or thrift stores. Purchase any little things you may need, like baskets, boxes or new trash cans. Don’t forget to roll all your trash to the front for pickup!

For a finale, light candles in every room! Now enjoy your clean home!

Thrifty Tip: wear pants with pockets. I like to collect all the money around the house and see how much I made cleaning. Then I take it and spend it on something cute for the house. This month I made $8.00!

Do this deep clean in your own home and take before/after pictures. Post them here! 

Playing House - Tips on Chores

I used to love cleaning.... when I had a one room apartment. It took 2 hours at the most to be totally spic and span. I would light candles and enjoy the rest of my Saturday. Now that I own a two story, 3 bedroom house, I'll do just about anything to avoid cleaning. Anyone with me?

The problem is I hate mess! So here are some tips from a working couple, (who work more than 40 hours a week) and have 2 large dogs.

1.     Write down all the chores that need to be done on a weekly basis and assign based on preference.

My husband only has 1 day off a week and the last thing on his agenda is cleaning. We have come to an agreement that he does 1 chore on his day off. Turns out what I hate doing most, he doesn't mind so much - mopping the floors! Wonderful husband. 

   2.       Make laundry night fun!

Friday nights has actually become a fun laundry night. Doing chores together, makes them seem less like chores and more like an activity! We pick a movie, grab a bottle of wine and do the laundry, folding as we watch. A great tip that works for us is in between folds, we pause the movie and put that load away.

As for sheets, I tend to keep this separate and wash them on Sunday nights. Remake all the beds and put towels away. Sheets are less cumbersome and time consuming. Then the week starts off with fresh bedding - my favorite thing in the world.

3.       30 minute Tidy

This is a must do every night. When I get home from work the first thing I do is put 30 minutes on a stopwatch and clean whatever is insight. This is usually mail, clothes, doggie toys or whatever. I don't do less and I don't do more. It keeps the house generally clean and doesn't make me feel like I spend all my spare time cleaning.

  4.       Organizing

In the beginning of each month I pick one weekend that I devote to a deep clean. I make sure it's not a busy weekend with birthdays or celebrations. Then I know in my mind, I am devoted to a weekend of cleaning. It helps tremendously and keeps the house organized all year round. This type of clean should take you all weekend. So be ready with cleaning supplies and coffee!

Thrifty Tip: No matter how much you clean, your house will always become cluttered or dirty again. Do not spend a lot of extra energy trying to keep it perfect. This isn't a museum, its your home. 

Tune in next blog for how I organize my deep cleaning weekend!

Pop Post: Wedding Booze

Supplying your own alcohol for your wedding is something I encourage. It saves money and puts the alcohol selection in your hands. For my wedding in particular I had a few bottles of wine left over - so I decided to thank my vendors.

I bought 13 gift bags from Michaels craft store in a bunch for $7 and used some of my stocked up note cards (also from Michaels) to create gift bags containing a bottle of wine. It took me an hour to put the bags together and write the cards. The hardest part was delivering the gifts but since vendors don't expect a gift, there's really no time limit. Whenever you are around their way, just drop it by.

The obvious people to thank would be your event coordinator, florist, Dj, photographer, and officiant. But people who are many times forgotten about include the captain or wait supervisor at an event, the chef, the venue representative, your hotel coordinator, hair stylist, makeup artist and limo driver.

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Thrifty Tip - whenever I'm at Michaels Craft store I always raid the $1 section and buy note cards, paper pads, trinkets and anything that looks cute. Usually costs me about $5 extra bucks. I always end up using the cards last minute (instead of buying that $3.00 birthday card at CVS) and the extra goodies go far in personalizing any little gift.

Creating Your Palette

Many of you know me because we are friends and some of you may only know me from my blog, "Crazy Dog in Utah"http://crazydoginutah.blogspot.com . Either way, thank you for stopping by. "The Dollhouse Diaries" is my newest creation and this is my first post. This blog will basically take you along with me as I decorate and model my first home. I have been meaning to start this blog for honestly the past 2 years but with moving in to my first house and then planning my wedding, time seemed to go by! Enjoy...

Debut...

While I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was play with dollhouses. Sometimes I would even make them out of shoe boxes. I loved moving the furniture around, cutting construction paper for wall paper, and making little chandeliers or pillows out of leftover scraps. Today I find myself doing the same thing, but with a much bigger dollhouse - my own home!

We have been in this house for a little over 2 years now, which is enough time to really get to know a house. I suggest waiting at least a year before making any major purchases, painting or remodeling your home. You need to discover where the light pours in, your favorite room, which floorboards creak at night... Then you will find it much easier to dress your home because you know who it is.

There are many theories on interior design and I do not wish to disagree with other designers creativity. This is simply my process, my theories, my taste and my style. This blog will take you through many projects as I complete them. But before we dive into the details of dressing a home, a major piece must be established - your personal palette.

For many years I liked designing rooms individually; different themes and colors. It worked well while living with my parents, in college and in different houses. But now that I have my own home, a 1 level brick rambler, the rooms feel disjointed. My goal this year is to pull everything together. I have the base, but now I need to build!

The way I create palettes is very simple - build on what you know. Walk around your home and pick out your favorite items. It can be anything; pictures, books, decor, sheets, etc. Then try to narrow it down to your 3 absolute favorite items. Items that you would be genuinely upset if they went missing. Really study those items and write everything that comes to mind. Here are my 3 items...

I found this piece at a thrift shop for $3.00. I was originally going to repaint it but then the antique worn look grew on me. Now it's one of my favorite pieces in the house. I love the detail and knobs. I love the little drawers. It reminds me of something I would see in a victorian home. It reminds me of dollhouses. It reminds me of my past and my imagination. 

This is a painting I bought while at The Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. I absolutely love wolves and feel they are my power animal. The lone wolf howling at the moon has always been a favorite image of mine. Everything about this picture speaks to me. The misty gray mountains and clouds, the blue and black river, the nature appeal and of course the wolf itself. This picture makes me feel warm, like I want to be curled up in a soft blanket watching the moon.

Last is this Apache Blessing wall art that my mother gave to me. I love the saying itself and the way it pulls all the natural elements into one message. I also love the brown wood and white letters. The simplicity of this piece really speaks to me.

These 3 items teach me everything I need to know about choosing my palette - my colors and my overall theme. Clearly I am a neutral and soft color kind of girl; grays, creams, and whites should fill my home. I typically chose 3 main colors, I feel that is enough to keep it interesting but not have your palette get lost. Next, I know I clearly love nature but also love antique victorian (two very different styles). I also love soft textures, cozy surroundings and wood. So after pondering all of these elements, I come up with my "theme/mood"…..

"vintage cabin in the woods".

The last piece to creating your palette is finding your "color pop". I believe there should always be a color that is opposite of your palette to create interest and beat. It is like that unexpected drum solo that everyone loves in the middle of a song. Because my palette is soft and neutral, I need to go for a bold and loud color. I do not really have a science for choosing this particular color. It is mostly something that you already know in your gut, perhaps your favorite color or a color that dominates your home already. For me, that color is barn red. 

I have several pieces in my house that are already this color. I tend to gravitate towards this color when choosing decor. I also find that this color goes well with almost every season, in terms of decorating. It works well for Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer/4th of July. The only season it kind of misses is Spring.

Now that we have our Palette which consists of the overall color scheme, a color pop and theme/mood, we are ready to begin dressing our home. I suggest going to Home Depot and picking up free paint swatches in the color palette you have designed. Take a few copies of each to keep at home, in your purse and in your car. That way when you are buying things, you don't have to guess at the colors! 

Here are my colors (Pillar White, Renoir Bisque, Cathedral Gray, and Cherry Tart). The black swatch at the bottom is what I call "an anchor". This is totally a personal thing and does not suit everyone's taste. I personally love seeing a room with crisp black accents. I feel it is the bow on-top of the present. For me, it anchors and supports any room, so I always add it in.

Fair warning: when you go to pick up your color swatches, and see all the different beautiful colors, you will get distracted! Believe me, I have. You will end up looking at colors that are no where close to your palette, second guess your choices and basically fall into a rut of disjointed rooms and colors. Stick with your palette and plan. If after a year, you don't like what you've done and that "Flamingo Pink" is still in your head - then change it up!

Another strategy is to use those colors outside. I personally do love vibrant colors, but for some reason that is not what resonates in my home. I have however started using these colors in my garden and on my patio. This is a great way to make use of other colors and distinguish your backyard oasis from your cozy home.

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Stay tuned for upcoming posts including doors in the home, creating an unobtrusive craft area, and decorating your office. I will leave you with some images from Pinterest that capture my palette. Thank's for stopping by!