Organize Your Days

Hello there my loves. I hope everyone is doing fabulously.

So lately I feel completely unorganized. I just can't seem to keep things in order or even find time to fit in an extra load of laundry. That's why I've decided that starting this afternoon, I will be doing more to

ORGANIZE MY LIFE 

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm normally very clean and organized. I am a dust FREAK. I see dust, and you better believe I'm gonna touch it so it's gone. I cannot stand for dust to be anywhere. This is my biggest pet peeve and for some crazy reason, I have not dusted ONCE since I moved into my new place. I know, crazy. I'm losing it. I even bought a new duster recently! 

So instead of boring you more with my crazy dusting habits, I wanted to share with you my new way of organizing.

So without further ado.......

Stephanie's Tools to a more Organized Lifestyle: 

Okay so I'm not saying my steps are perfect for everyone, but hey, give it a try. It might be just what you need to feel more in order in your everyday life. 

I'm going to start breaking my weekly things into days. I mean seriously, no one washes their bedding everyday.... Right? Or am I disgusting? 

MONDAY: Everyone hates Mondays, or at least I do. So my Monday load is going to be a little easier than other days. So here's the Monday plan:

1. Keep laundry going. We don't live in the stone age where we have to wash our clothes by hand. So start a load of laundry. It can be doing itself while you do other things. :) 

2. Make your bed. This is for some reason tough for me. I always feel better after I do it, but it's almost pointless. I mean in less than 12 hours your just gonna mess it up again. This is one that I literally have to force myself to do. 

3. Since it's Monday, take it a little easier. You don't really have to vacuum today, but you should sweep the kitchen. No one likes to walk across the kitchen barefoot and get those nasty crumblies on the bottom of their feet. Take care of that! 

4. You better check on your laundry..... It might be time to switch it out. :) 

5. O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-E! Take a minute or two to de-clutter. I know throughout my week I get stuff piled up on my counters and coffee table. Put that stuff up girl, no one needs to see a big old scattered, unorganized mess. ;) 

6. Once you've put away things on your counters, wipe it all down. You'll feel cleaner, it'll look cleaner, and it might smell better. Ya know, that's always a plus. 

7. Dishes. Dishes are pretty much an everyday thing. If you have a dish washer, use it. It's the most fantastic invention ever made. Seriously. I love them. If not, it looks like your getting your hands wet! :) 

I think that's sufficient for an easy Monday. You've de-cluttered, got some laundry done, and you're no longer stepping on crumblies. Now that is a good feeling. 

TUESDAY: No excuses day. You've surpassed the excuse of "it's Monday. I don't feel like it." Time to get in gear and get some heavier cleaning done! :) 

A lot of the things I mentioned for Monday, are also going to apply for the other days of the week. Yep, looks like your not getting out of Laundry, dishes, bed making, and probably sweeping. 

I hereby declare Tuesday to be "Floor Day" ...... Not the most fun of the days, but hey, it's gotta be done. 

So vacuum, sweep, mop, scrub, wipe, and sanitize till you can't no more! Hey, I have it hard. Stairs take FOREVER to vacuum. I'm actually dreading Tuesdays now. 

WEDNESDAY: Hump Day!! Since I like this day, it's gonna be dusting day! :) I love dusting! 

Get out your nifty duster, or even just an old rag, cause it's time to get our dust on! 

Go over allllllllllll surfaces. I'm telling you, it's the best thing ever. You'll get addicted to dusting, cause it's fantastic. Or at least I think so. You might actually hate it.

Hey, don't forget your other cleaning duties! That laundry isn't gonna do itself! Well, actually it is... but you know what I mean. :) 

THURSDAY: I hate to clean out my fridge. There is no telling what kind of science experiment is growing in my fridge by the end of the week so this is risky business. 

Clean out the fridge today. I know, it's gross. I hate it too. But it'll be easier if you keep up with it. And look at it this way, once you clean it out, you have room to put in new wonderful goodies and leftovers! :) (I love leftovers. Saves me moneyyyyyyy)

You should also clean your bathroom today. It's also not the funnest thing. (Especially if you live with a boy. Seriously, do they know what the word "aim" means??) 

Sanitize and Organize! 

Regular cleaning duties still apply. Even on Thursday. :) 

FRIDAY: I'm gonna be honest with you, I can't think of any other major cleaning things at the moment. So Friday is your day. Maybe there is something going on you need to prepare for, or maybe you've kept up with your place so good that you get Friday off from organizing! How dandy! Enjoy Friday! Go out, see your grandma, watch a movie, whatever you do, just have a fantastic night. :) 

SATURDAY & SUNDAY: It's the weekend! Woohoo! 

Some people love to clean on the weekends, others hate it. So do whatever you think is best! On my days off, I like to go through my closet, maybe organize my desk, catch up on editing, and other things of that nature. The weekend is for relaxing so take it easy! :) 

I also wanted to share with you a nifty thing my mom taught me years ago! It's called

 the 15 minute cleaning boogie! 

What you do:
for 15 minutes, go through as much stuff as possible and throw 15 things away.
This is a fantastic way to get rid of old stuff that's just taking up space and it's kind of fun to try to find 15 things you can get rid of in a limited amount of time! :)

Turn on some of your favorite tunes and boogie away! :)



Okay, enough about cleaning. I'm even boring myself so I know you have to be bored too.

I have a FANTASTIC beauty product to share with you though.

These babies are a life saver for the skin. If you're like me, my skin is very sensitive. I get breakouts all the time and my skin stays oily and shiny. Acne is not my friend.... These makeup remover wipes have really improved my skin! I use them every night before bed. They take off eye makeup, thick facial makeup and leave your skin feeling squeaky clean! One more thing though, I wouldn't just wipe and go to bed. I always wash my face with face wash and then moisturize before bed! :) Don't need no dry skin! :) 

These are really affordable and they really do a great job! Available at wal-mart, walgreens, and other places of that sort. :) 

I have REALLY been needing some words from God this week. So I have been searching for a good one. :) ENJOY! 

Leviticus 19:18

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. 

It doesn't get much harder for me. When I get mad at someone, I'm usually mad at them FOREVER. I hold a grudge and I don't let it go. This past month I have been reminded of things people have done to hurt me. And then all of those hurt feelings, anger, and unhappiness comes flowing right back to me and my grudge gets a little bit bigger. I think God is trying to teach me something right now. I'm quite positive that I'm getting a "spiritual spanking" because this just keeps coming back up in my life. So what does this verse tell me? That I need to LET IT GO. I mean really, the person that hurt you probably doesn't even know that your miserable by their actions. They probably don't even give it a second thought. So really you're only hurting yourself. God is love, and the Bible says that anyone that doesn't love, doesn't know God because God IS love. So lay it down, pray about it, and let God take away your grudge. You'll feel a lot better, and then you don't have to worry about those hurt feelings anymore. :) 

Wow, I feel kind of bad. This whole blog was all about me. But maybe that's what I needed. So thanks for listening and I hope that maybe it helps you along your way too. :) Have a fantastic day! Love, Stephanie 

P.S. I got the images used in this blog from Google. I do not own these images, just using them as an example. :) 

That only took a million years.

OH MY LANTA IT'S BEEN FOREVER SINCE I BLOGGED.

So much to catch up on. This is gonna be lengthy, be prepared.



So let's start with what's been going on lately.

1. I am now a wife. :) Got hitched on November 30, 2013. It was fantastic and I couldn't have been happier.

2. I'm enjoying my days as a little house wife. :)

3. I'm trying to eat a little healthier, it's not going perfectly..... I need some encouragement.

4. Christmas is approaching and I'm trying my hardest to be able to afford it this year. (holy cow it's expensive.)

5. We are all moved into our new little home and I LOVE it! (I'll post a "home" blog here before too long, look forward to it. I've got some nifty ideas.)

6. I'm searching for what's right for me. Thinking of going back to school someday, finding a career, doing what I love, etc. Hey, I'm still young, there's still time. :)

7. Sadly, I've slacked on picture stuff lately. There has just been SO much going on in my life lately. So forgive me if you've tried getting in touch with me, I promise I'm not ignoring you. I'm literally just that busy.

8. Thayer and I have been on the search for a new church home. We think we have found one that we love! I'll get to that momentarily. :)


Okay so first things first, the WEDDING! :) How exciting is that! I'm married. I know, weird right? Let me show you a few things from our fantastic day! :)

 

And there we are :) Me and the husband. Looking all spiffy. 

We had a fantastic photographer. Her name is Braden Bell and I would recommend her to anyone! So easy to work with, and super sweet! I can't wait to see all of our pictures, I know she will do a fantastic job :) 

This was taken during our reception. We had a delicious cake made by Chasiti Baker. It was seriously good. You should be sad that you missed out on it because she did that awesome. :) 

Oh, you wanna see the fantastic wedding cake? Okay!! :)

 

  I think she did a fantastic job! It was also her first wedding cake so that is quite impressive! :) 

And now I would like to take a moment and tell everyone involved, everyone who came to support us, everyone who has always had our backs and helped us through struggles, everyone who cared enough to show their support, and everyone who made our day less stressful a BIG thank you! :) You made our day magical and we couldn't ask for better family and friends. 

Now on to my new life as a house wife. :) 

I do the normal wife routine. Clean the house, do the laundry, make dinner, do the dishes, blah blah blah, no one cares. I have to say, the first couple of days were more than tough for me though.

I was home sick and not just a little bit. I've always had my mom. Everywhere I went I knew I would always go home to my bright bright yellow painted room and wake up the next morning to my mom in the kitchen making coffee. That first morning wasn't too bad because Thayer was off work. But that night, oh man, that was tough. I wanted to go to Stoutland so bad. I missed my mom and I couldn't stand it any longer. So I texted her, knowing she was already in bed. She didn't get it until 5 in the morning and she called me. I bawled like a baby. I know, it's ridiculous. I'm not even that far away from my mom and it was killing me. But I got to see her later that week and now all is well. I realize that I'm gonna get to keep seeing her and our relationship hasn't changed so all is well. It still isn't the funnest thing being home by yourself all day every day, but I go back to work tomorrow! :) 

I make it seem like married life is terrible. Trust me, it's not. It's actually fantastic! I love spending my days with my husband and I am SO glad I get to do this for the rest of my life! :) 

Let's talk about food...... 

I'm not making the healthiest food decisions of my life. When you get your own place and do your own grocery shopping, you can get whatever food you want. That's awesome, but it can also be a bad thing. I don't think to buy vegetables. In fact I hate vegetables. So trust me when I say it is terribly hard for me to open a can of corn and eat it. It's sooooo not my favorite. So if you have any delicious fruit and vegetable ideas, I will be more than happy to listen. I am trying though! I bought some grapefruit, pineapple, and a bag of salad. Hey, it's a start. No judgement here.;) 

Christmas is quickly approaching! How exciting! It's the most, wonderful time, of the yearrrrrrrrr! 

Thayer and I bought one of those movie packs with all of the REALLY old Christmas movies! Ya know, the ones with the clay characters, puppets, and horribly illustrated cartoons. They are the BEST. If you have a chance, you should definitely watch them. They will brighten your day and put you in the Christmas spirit! 

That being said, I'm having the hardest time with Christmas gifts. I have been trying to find creative, yet cheap Christmas gifts and thinking of things for everyone in my family is just plain hard. But I do have something to share with you! Thayer's grandma actually showed me these and I think they are just nifty! 

Isn't that cute! It's scrabble pieces glued together and made into a Christmas ornament/decoration! You could make tons of different ones with Christmas themed words! Noel, joy, blessed, love, family, Merry Christmas, a name, and tons of other things! Soooooo easy and an adorable keepsake! :) 

This time of year is making me stir crazy. With all the snow we've gotten I've been stuck indoors with nothing to do but think about all the things going on in my life. And that's made me think about a career choice. Obviously I'm in love with the photography idea. But I need to be realistic. During winter time there just isn't much opportunity to take pictures. It's freezing cold, people don't want to get out during the harsh weather, there's not gorgeous outdoor scenery, and my studio isn't quite up and running yet. So I'm trying to think of something that I love that would allow me to do pictures on the side.

There have been thoughts of going back to school, being an astronaut, becoming a professional singer (totally kidding, I only sing in the shower, and loudly in my car.). But really, I just feel stuck. I feel like I need to decide on something and as I've said before, I'm an I want it now kind of person so I'm really pushing myself to find a new lead in life. So pray for me, I need it. I'm REALLY trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Ya know, besides being the coolest wife ever.

And last on my list of uninteresting things going on, we've been searching for a new church home. This past week we attended my cousins church. He recently started preaching and he does a fantastic job! He delivered a fantastic message this past Sunday and I think we are planning on attending again! :) So if you're looking at trying a new church, try West Side! It's great :)



Okay, I gotta show you this beauty product. It's pretty awesome.





I got this exact eye shadow this week at Walgreens here in Lebanon and I LOVE IT. It was only $3 and it came with lots of different shades of browns! I love browns, they look fantastic and more natural. This eye shadow stays on really well and doesn't leave a crease on your eye lid half way through the day. It's cheap, it's pretty, and it works. Hey! It could even be a stocking stuffer! :)



And now my favorite part of every blog I do, some words from God. :) Gosh it's been a long time! I'm so excited! 

Psalm 107

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

First of all, heck yeah we should give thanks! Do you realize how poopy our lives would be without Gods constant blessings? We would have nothing without God. We really don't even DESERVE anything. He just loves us and wants us to be happy. That's a pretty good reason to be thankful. "His mercy endures forever," Thank goodness for that statement! Without that, we wouldn't have a chance. I know I mess up every single day and it takes a pretty awesome guy to constantly forgive millions of people in the world just because they ask for it. 

That's a VERY small portion of Psalm 107, but those first 2 sentences were enough to reflect on for one day. Really think about those words and really think about where your life would be without him. It's a pretty crazy though!

Well I've typed till I can't type no more! I hope everyone has a fantastic afternoon, stay in from the cold, and remember that God loves you. And so do I! :) Love, Stephanie JUSTICE :) (yes, I am excited about that change in name)


P.S. I got all of these images used on this blog from Google. I do not own these images, just using them as an example. :)