Catch up for the week, including an under $30 Thursday on a weekend.

I know I've been MIA this week, and I just want to say my motto this week is:

We had a last minute park adventure where Evan decided playing with the girls was way better than playing with the boys, a trip to the ice-cream factory with our adopted family (neither family has family nearby, and Evan prefers being with them to us, so why not?), a visit to Dad at work (on our way home from Ikea), a messy house to prove it all, and NO GUILT whatsoever! It felt REALLY good to just leave the mess and go enjoy life! I love love LOVE hearing my kids laugh, and they do it a whole lot more at the playground than they do in front of the tv. (Although, they do find humor on tv and Evan has the cutest belly laugh while Sophie does the sarcastic Simpson's "ha-ha.") Anyway, it was a FABULOUS week, and the house managed to get cleaned up pretty quick, which was all kinds of amazing. So now it's time to shop!

1. Here's the dress I was talking about last time on my first under $30 Thursday, which was on a Tuesday, and now it's on a Saturday. I seriously need to reconsider the Thursday part of that weekly feature. Anyway, when I first saw it, it was on sale for $20. I didn't get it but couldn't stop thinking about it, and the Mr. even said "Wow! That's a nice dress!" So I decided to buy it while he was gone and wore it to the airport to pick him up. I got it in black and white (of course I did) but I'm really liking the blue and green one too. Maybe if it drops down to $20 again. Oh wait there's a sale on. Buy one get one 50% off. I should have waited! ANYWAY. Now you can get the black and white AND the green and blue.


2. Or you could get this fun striped one.

3. I just discovered the J.Crew Outlet site (thanks to thebigmamablog.com) and think it may have rekindled my love for J.Crew. I'm always on the lookout for cardis in every color. Well, look no further. 20 bucks. I know you're surprised that it's in hot pink, but no, I'm not buying a hot pink one that would clash with my red hair, but you know ever since Sophie was born I've been becoming soft. I'm not buying it. Just not hating the color anymore. Ok, kinda liking it. Still not buying it.


4. I've decided it's time to wear capris. Not shorts yet, I'm contemplating a spray tan before the shorts, but it's Houston, and it's gorgeous weather, and my jeans are just not going to cut it for this weather. I've always thought Loft pants fit kinda funny, but then Quinette (my gorgeous sister) bought a couple pairs in fun colors and they were so flattering! So I'm contemplating getting them in this color, but I'm also liking the Amore Red. Lots of colors to choose from and 40% off with code TREAT


5. I was SO CLOSE to buying these and still SUPER TEMPTED because they're 40% off of $12.88 but I have NO IDEA what size I am!? If you can figure it out, please let me know. I want these. Shoot. For that price I might just buy some and if they're the wrong size, I'll give them away. I'm so torn right now.

You can accomplish a great deal in 15 minutes!

Has anyone else ever felt like you'll never get on top of the clutter and mess in your house? It's not like I'm a slob or my house is bad enough to be condemned or anything, I just don't know if it's possible to have the entire house clean at the same time. I think I might have finally found the trick!

I've ALWAYS been a planner, and recently, I've been obsessed with organizing books and websites.  I've been working on a "plan" lately. A planning binder actually. I'll share it with you soon, but I want to get it perfected. (One thing I've learned from all those books is that being a perfectionist is actually keeping me from cleaning and organizing -- it's hard to start a job if I know I won't be able to finish it. Either that or I work really hard and get a job done but then I'm exhausted and have no motivation to start something else.) 

Anyway, so from the mélange of organizing methods, I've created one that works for me. Again, I'll share more in the next few days/weeks, but I wanted to share one of the most helpful tips I've found. Set a timer for 15 minutes and start cleaning in the main area of your house.  Where do you spend the most time, and therefore have the most clutter? For me, it's our family room, and unfortunately, it can be seen from the front door. I tested it out this morning, and it was AMAZING the progress that was made!!!  So set your timer and do whatever needs to be done: throw away trash, clear out the dishes, pick up the toys, dust, vacuum, whatever it is that needs to be done, BUT you only have 15 minutes to do this! Don't overwhelm yourself with everything that needs to be done, just start small! Little by little you WILL get on top of all the clutter and housework! Small & simple leads to GREAT things!

backgrounds copyright stampin' up!