The Doctors Wife

Making Your Home A Haven

Monica over at Homespun Heart is hosting a week- long Making Your Home A Haven Challenge. This kind of thing is right up my alley! I am a neat freak/ organizing maniac and while I like to get out as much as anybody, I really am a home body. I find that days that I am just itching to get out and do anything, my home is a mess and clutter has started to take over. When I feel the desire to get out just for the sake of getting out, what I am really wanting is to get out to avoid the chaos. (and that is not the home life that I want for myself or my family!) I enjoy being at home and I want my family and friends to enjoy our home too!

Today's theme is "tidy". Monday is the day that I do a thorough cleaning of Hannah's room- in addition to the regular cleaning, I sorted through all of the toys and pulled out the "baby" toys. I have been meaning to pull them out and put them away in preparation for the new baby, and it is the perfect time to make some room for new toys that Christmas is sure to bring. I am so glad that this is done! The "baby" toys just clutter the room while she is playing- she doesn't play with them, but they get pulled out and moved around. Now they are tucked away in the baby's closet.

Hannah's room generally stays pretty picked up- but Monday is the day that I clean/ wipe down the furniture, change the sheet, changing pad, etc., and put any toys that are in the wrong basket/bin away. I also refill her wipe warmer, add more diapers to the changing area, and wash a load of her clothes/ sheets, etc. One of the reasons her room is not a complete disaster is that a lot of her toys are stored in her closet in baskets and bins. (In her room she has a drawer and two bins that have toys that she has access to, but I find that if she can get out all of her toys at once- she will. I think it is overwhelming and there ends up being very little room to actually play, and she is more reluctant to help pick up) Here are some pics of her closet:

Hannah loves to be in her closet- she is such a girl- she was in all of the pictures I took!
The pink baskets hold extra hangers, hats and other random accessories, toys and books. The pink drawers hold toy sets, and one is for clothes that are out of season or she has outgrown. When the drawer is full, the contents get sorted and put away/ donated, etc. Taking advantage of the closet space has really helped to keep her room tidy.

Other things that are on my list to tidy today are:
Fold and put away towels
Wash and put away Hannah's clothes
Wash and put away whites
Empty dishwasher
Sort/ put away mail
clean out the freezer*

*I would usually do this on the day that I clean up the kitchen, but my freezer is in desperate need of a good tidying up. I honestly don't know what all I have and that has been driving me crazy- so since it fits in so nicely with the tidy theme (and I love me a theme) today it is!

Hopefully I will post before and after pictures of the freezer- but we'll see how the day goes! If you want to join in, head over here to join the fun, or just head over to check out and encourage what others are up to!

Recipe Box Swap- Lunchtime Favorites

It's time for another recipe box swap! This month's theme is lunchtime favorites! This is an easy, easy salad and is one of my favorites for lunch.
Layered Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
Lettuce (I like Boston or Bibb)
Cooked Chicken
Chopped Celery
Chopped Bell Pepper
Chopped Green Onion
English Peas
Mayonaise
Chopped Bacon
Shredded Cheese
(Base the amount you use from what you have on hand and how much you like each ingredient)

Layer ingredients in glass serving dish, top with a little salt and pepper. I like to serve this with some type of cracker, fresh bread, etc. This is great for luncheons, and a great way to use leftovers!

Thanks to Randi at I Have To Say for hosting- head over to check out other great recipes or post one of your own.

Recipe Box Swap- Bruschetta

One of my favorite things about summer is that there is no shortage of delicious fresh produce. This is a favorite recipe for bruschetta- it is easy, fresh, and delicious!
Ingredients:
2 small roma-tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 red onion
1 package of fresh whole mozzarella
fresh basil
(Ingredients are a rough estimate- I never actually measure but add based on my personal preference and generally eye-ball it)

Rough chop (or finely dice I have done both depending on how I plan to serve) ingredients so they are roughly the same size. Toss together and add basil to taste, finish with fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste. Serve with toasted bread, crackers, or serve alone as a side salad. YUM!

Thanks to Randi at I Have To Say for hosting, head over to check out other great recipes or post one of your own!

Purging

Today was the day-I finished sorting all of my clothes that were not keepers. I took a huge load to a local consignment shop, kept some for friends to take, and the rest are bagged up and ready for a charity pick up tomorrow. There are 15 bags to be picked up- that is a lot of stuff that I will not have to move! The best part is that a truck is coming to my house, so there is no way that I can procrastinate and not end up taking it to be donated. I have another bag of baby items to drop off tomorrow at a crisis pregnancy center, and one for the humane society. It feels really good to have everything sorted and ready to go to another home! My garage has been a mess and now it is nice and clean. I am on a roll- I think that more purging is in my future, I think some kitchen gadgets may not make it to the new house. What have you been holding onto for too long?

Recipe Box Swap- Chicken Wraps

It's tip for another Recipe Swap Box! I love wrap sandwiches and they are so easy to make at home! This recipe is quick, yummy and easily adapted to other flavors by changing up the ingredients.

Chicken Ranch Wrap
Ingredients:
Tortillas
Breaded chicken tenders or strips (I use the frozen kind)
Lettuce
Thinly sliced red bell pepper
Shredded Cheese
Ranch dressing

1. Heat chicken tenders according to package directions, meanwhile place lettuce and peppers in tortilla.
2. Add chicken, sprinkle with cheese and drizzle with ranch dressing.
3. Roll up and secure with toothpick
4. Enjoy!!

See how easy?! There are so many ways to change this up- but this is probably the way I make wraps the most (probably because I nearly always have these things on hand!)

Thanks to Randi at I Have To Say for hosting- head over to check out other recipes or post one of your own!

Works For Me Wednesday- Recipe Organization

I love to cook, and I love to find new recipes. For the longest time I had so many recipes that I wanted to try but never did because they were such a mess- some pulled from magazines, others emailed by friends, others printed from the internet- you know how it goes; all stacked up together in one big mess. But no more- I found a system that is so easily maintained and keeps all of my recipes at hand ready to try!
First I divided all of my recipes by type; mine are Chicken/ Poultry, Beef, Fish/Shrimp, Pork, Pasta, Potato Sides, Vegetable Sides, Appetizers/ Snacks, Brunch, Drinks, Desserts, Cookies, and Soups/Salads/Sandwiches. I divided them up this way so when I am planning my meals it is easy for me to find a new recipe that fits. Each category then went into a slash-cut jacket (plastic page holder thing- click on the link to see a picture!) Then each jacket was labeled and put in a three ring binder.

This keeps all of the recipes I want to try organized- when I try a recipe if I don't like it, it gets tossed.
For the recipes that are keepers:
I have general categories, main dishes, sides, desserts, etc. Each category has a divider, the recipes that I like get hole punched and put behind each divider. It is contained in a 3 ring binder- no more piles of recipes! Easy peasy!

Easy to maintain, easy to use- works for me!
Thanks to Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer for hosting- head over here to find other great tips, or post one of your own!

You Asked For It

I have had a few emails asking about my housekeeping schedule and how I find time to undertake tasks like cleaning out my closet.
How do you find time to do such a large project like organizing your closet with a small baby? Do you have help with housework? Do you have any tips for keeping up with housework?

Honestly I am flattered- but am not sure that I am the most qualified person to give advice! That being said- here I go!!
First off, I do not have any help. I am the help. (Mike is really good about helping out when he can, but overall it's all me.) I am a neat freak and I like a clean house. Since having a baby I have had to make some adjustments, while I haven't lowered my standards, I have lowered my expectations. I could choose to have a super clean house at all times, but I feel like I wouldn't be the kind of mother and wife that I want to be. But I still like a clean house. Right now my method for keeping things under control is staying on top of things and not getting behind. (as much as possible!) So this means that I try to keep each day contained- any mess that is made gets cleaned up that day. I run the dishwasher every day, usually one load of laundry each day, I vacuum every other day, and I straighten up every night before bed. Every day I have a room that I clean up in addition to the daily routine. Monday is our bedroom, Tuesday is the living room, Wednesday is Hannah's room and the bathrooms, Thursday is Mike's office, Friday is the kitchen and laundry room. I try not to spend all weekend cleaning so I don't plan on doing anything, but I will use weekends to catch up on anything that didn't get done or bigger projects. Cleaning out our closet is a big project so I planned a Saturday for it. Sometimes smaller (big) projects are broken up throughout the week, but I try to be realistic and I know that I only have so long each day to get things done.
How do I get things done with Hannah- she is mobile now so my methods are ever changing but right now I fold most of our laundry in Hannah's room in the mornings while she is playing. I also open mail, make my grocery list, clip coupons, etc. in Hannah's room. I clean up the kitchen and switch over laundry after her meals while she is in her high chair with a teething treat or board book. (our laundry room is right off the kitchen so please no emails advising me on the perils of leaving my child unsupervised in the highchair). My daily cleaning project gets done in the afternoon while Hannah naps. Some days everything gets done- others not so much. Some days things get shifted, for example this morning Hannah pooped in the tub during her bath. So today I cleaned our bathroom, and our room did not get dusted or vacuumed. I've had to adjust that this is how things are going to be during this season of life. I have lots of random tips, but this post has gone on enough as it is, so for the next few Mondays I will share other ideas. If you have any specific questions- email me and I will try to answer them. (this feels strange- again I am no expert!) Anyway, I hope this answers your questions!